ALL NOVEL Chapter 481: The Far East Wasteland
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“Hmm… Ahh… Like this? Is it working?”
To the east of Regalia, in a place known as the Far East Wasteland, Tūs the High-Order Muscle manipulated arcane energy throughout his body, his brow furrowed in concentration as he struggled with the intricate magecraft formulae before him.
A man was kneeling in front of him, watching him.
“…Master Tūs, what are you even trying to accomplish?”
Tūs gaze upon upon the man was sharp as a blade, enough to unsettle him.
“What, when did I say you’re allowed to speak? HUH?”
With Tūs pointing that out, the man hurriedly covered his mouth.
“Mm! Mmngh!”
He was currently in the midst of a lecture from his mentor, Tūs.
The reason being his possession by a Devilkin, a fact painfully obvious.
Subsequently entering the scene was Melchi, skipping on her way.
With a sidelong glance at Gaspard, Melchi chuckled gleefully, as she did every day since returning to this place.
“Always so pleased with yourself… The hell’s wrong with you?”
Tūs’ words elicited a response from Melchi.
“Well, you’ve always had Gaspard all to yourself, Master Tūs!”
Melchi glanced at Tūs, her gaze sharp.
“As his mentor, it’s my responsibility to straighten out this idiot’s flaws.”
“Meaning… keeping him to yourself?”
Melchi tilted her head, and Tūs trembled slightly.
“GAH, OKAY, FINE! WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS! YOU TAKE CARE OF HIM YOURSELF!”
“NAHAHAHA! I WIN!”
With a triumphant raising of her fist, Melchi turned to Gaspard.
Since Asley had saved Gaspard, Melchi had been subtly hinting to Tūs every day: “Hand over Gaspard already.”
“Look, don’t destroy him, all right?”
Tūs referred to Gaspard almost as if he were a toy.
“Nuhuhuhu… Well, you heard him, my dear Gaspard~~! It’s my turn~~!”
Melchi proceeded to also refer to Gaspard as if he were a plaything.
“…! Maybe I’d be better off dead after all!”
“Hehehe… Nah, you’ll live! I’m gonna have a reeeeeeally good time with you…”
Melchi’s slender fingers wriggled like a monster’s tentacles.
Gaspard, trembling uncontrollably, had no means to resist.
After all, Gaspard…
“He’s suffered the consequences of being completely possessed entirely by Devil King Lucifer. Now he’s back down to level 1… Man, that’s gotta suck.”
Indeed, Tūs was correct.
Gaspard, now forced into a maid outfit by Melchi, had lost all of the powers he had once possessed to Lucifer.
Presently, Gaspard was almost as weak as an ordinary person.
Of course, he retained the skills he had honed. However, facing Melchi, who had undergone a Limit Breakthrough, Gaspard stood no chance.
Forced into the role of a living dress-up doll, Gaspard’s face remained contorted in agony as he silently pleaded for help from his mentor, Tūs.
“M-Master Tūs– HELP!!”
“Next, let’s go with this one! A skirt with a nice slit, perfect for you, Gaspard!”
“No… Stop…!”
Tūs’s gaze upon Gaspard, who cried out in unintelligible despair, remained cold and unyielding throughout.
While he was grateful to Asley for saving Gaspard from what would have been a dire fate, Tūs also recognized his responsibility as Gaspard’s mentor to administer punishment for his mistakes.
As Gaspard’s ordeal of being dressed up like a doll came to an end, Melchi, noticing Gaspard’s deteriorating mental state, once again turned to Tūs with a question.
“So, what exactly have you been up to, Master Tūs?”
“Hm? Should be obvious, yeah? I’m tryin’ to figure out the Darklight Eikon.”
“Oh, the same magecraft Asley used?”
“Yeah.”
Melchi’s response to Tūs’s confirmation was one of exasperation.
“Uh… Why not just go ask Asley? I’m sure he’d happily teach you, right?”
Tūs paid no heed to Melchi’s advice.
“Hah! No way in hell!”
Tūs’s retort was biting, causing Melchi to shrug.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought…”
“What? You said something?”
Even Melchi’s muttered words failed to catch Tūs’s attention.
“Man, you really suck at listening… Anyway, what’s the point of learning the Darklight Eikon now?”
“Why not? And after this, I’mma learn the Eternal Fool.”
At this casual mention, Melchi was taken aback.
“Whoa, wait a sec! Master Tūs!? How powerful are you planning to become? And didn’t Asley say it’s a ridiculously dangerous magitek!?”
“If that little shit can do it, then so can I. Besides, maybe even Gaspard can–“
Tūs’s words stumbled for a moment.
His eyes met Melchi’s for a brief moment, and the one to look away with blinding speed was… him.
“A-anyway, I just wanna!”
Melchi narrowed her eyes into an expression of mischief.
“Hahaha… so you ARE thinking about things properly! Mm-hm, mm-hm! I knew you’d eventually come around and show how much you love your students! Well, no need to hide it now! I know you want your students to succeed — even Gaspard! Mm-hm, very nice!”
Then, as Melchi closed her eyes and nodded, the inside of her eyelids suddenly became darker. Then, when she opened them again, it was too late.
The giant Elf’s fist accurately struck Melchi’s head, the resounding crack echoing across the wasteland.
“YEOWCH!!”
Writhing in agony, Melchi’s flailing legs indicated that, unlike the mental damage Gaspard had suffered, her physical state was near collapse.
By the time Melchi had rolled across the Far East Wasteland, her consciousness had already begun to fade, unlike Gaspard, who was slowly regaining his senses.
And then, turning his gaze to Tūs, who continued to experiment with Magitek techniques repeatedly, Gaspard spoke,
“Master Tūs… Why…?”
He raised himself up, kneeling once more before Tūs.
“Oh, c’mon. I’m just doing what I want to do. Restoring your level is just a side thing.”
“What you… want to do…?”
“Whoop Asley’s four-eyes ass, what’s what! HAHAHA!!”
Tūs declared with a cheerful smile.
Indeed, Tūs’ kindness was not as deep as Melchi and Gaspard believed, as he himself admitted.
His innocent smile, akin to that of a child, and his insatiable curiosity for further exploration of the arcane arts widened Gaspard’s eyes in astonishment.
How palpable was the sense of excitement, the stirring emotions?
The difference between the Asley the Fool and Tūs the Philosopher was trivial.
What they both sought was the summit of strength, but inevitably they both faced setbacks along the way.
Asley had chased him relentlessly, overtaking him without realizing, being the Fool that he was.
Tūs ran tirelessly, confident he could overcome any obstacle as the Philosopher that he was.
Gaspard looked up at the Philosopher — an imposing figure indeed.
Restoring his level was just a side thing.
Realizing the truth in those words, Gaspard let out a deep sigh and quietly remarked,
“Honestly… I’ll never match up to how stubborn you are.”
“What? You said something? Or are you gonna stop talking nonsense and start doing some training?”
Naturally, the sage of the Far East had sharp ears. Gaspard’s muttered words were easily caught.
Gaspard’s face twitched as he wore bright red lipstick and an equally bright red dress, but his eyes were shining brightly.
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