Quadruple split.

Chapter 2924 Lingering Warmth
"what do you mean……"

Mo Tan narrowed his eyes and whispered to Elfin, "As an apprentice necromancer, with the protection of my parents' obsession, I am already capable enough to intervene in the front-line battlefield. Can I help the Independent Army with my extremely resilient will?"

Elfin smiled and asked in return, "If this is my answer, then what would you say, Brother Black Van?"

"I won't say anything."

Mo Tan shrugged and said in a relaxed tone, "If that's your answer, then this conversation is officially over."

"I think so too."

Elfin sighed silently and said with a wry smile, "Although I can indeed do some things with my parents' help, this level of strength is really not enough. Let alone compared with those real warriors, even Reina could probably easily defeat me, a weak apprentice necromancer... After all, Sister Libra has never taught me any combat spells."

Hearing the girl's unusually childish complaint, Mo Tan subconsciously revealed a faint smile.

Admittedly, a very independent, self-reliant, mature, and intelligent little girl is certainly endearing in contrast, but if possible, Mo Tan still hopes that Erfen can retain some of the childlike innocence unique to her age.

A little bit of childlike innocence is fine; after all, if it reaches the level of Wenqiu's extreme naivety, it can be a bit of a headache.

[That child... I wonder how he is now... After all, that's the front line, even with my protection, it's still... uh?]

click-

[That child... I wonder how she is now... After all, I haven't been able to contact her since the confrontation. Sigh, could it be that she's afraid of blaming me if I find out she was the source of the plague in Misha County... Although she definitely needs to be taught a lesson... Now, although she hasn't deleted me as a friend, she won't even give me a chance.]

After a slight daze, Mo Tan, whose feelings were complicated because he suddenly thought of Wen Qiu, pinched the bridge of his nose, and a faint trace of melancholy flashed in his eyes.

"Brother Hei Fan?"

Elfin blinked, and after Mo Tan snapped out of his reverie, he smiled and said, "It's not very gentlemanly to daydream while chatting with a lady."

"Sorry, I was a little distracted just now."

Mo Tan didn't just brush off this overly precocious girl. He immediately and decisively apologized, then picked up the previous topic again and said calmly, "I'm glad you have a clear and definite understanding of your own strength. What I need to add is that even if you are indeed exceptionally talented, and even if Tianping has indeed taught you a lot of combat spells, I will not allow you to step onto the front lines unless you are strong enough to easily influence the course of the battle like Philip or Avery."

“I completely understand Brother Hei Fan’s concerns, and I am very happy to be so carefully cared for.”

Elfin gave a genuine, honest smile, his tone gentle yet firm: "But I have reasons to go."

"Is it just a reason of 'wanting to go' rather than 'having to go'? You're such a sensible child that it breaks my heart."

Mo Tan nodded slightly and said in a calm tone, "Then tell me your reasons. Since I've decided to listen, I won't just give you a perfunctory answer."

"My father and mother... or rather, the obsession left behind by my father and mother, the obsession known as the [Soul Nightmare], is about to disappear."

Elfin took a step forward, standing between Jürgen A. Heimda Arnor and Ariel Sila. She took a deep breath and spoke in her still elegant but slightly trembling, soft voice, "I've been studying the necromancy that Sister Libra taught me as much as possible every day, and I have indeed made some progress. But even so, being able to get the two of them to appear like this for now, without their bodies being destroyed by the obsession of [Nightmare of the Soul], is the limit of what I can do in the short term."

Mo Tan nodded and said seriously, "I am fairly clear about the ins and outs of [Soul Nightmare] and how Tianping taught you necromancy. I don't mind you taking this somewhat unconventional path. After all, you should be in control of your own life. Since you have won this opportunity, it proves that this opportunity truly belongs to you. But child, I think you have done enough."

"Not enough."

Alfin bit her lower lip, pursed her lips, and whispered, "It's still far from enough..."

"Well, I have indeed seen exceptionally talented necromancers, but many times, we have to accept reality, accept that we are not that outstanding, and that even with our best efforts, we still cannot achieve our expectations. It's like how I also hope that I can master my skills overnight and become a powerful figure who can crush the cliff with a single decree, so that those who think I am not good enough for my lover can see for themselves... But the reality is that my lover could probably knock me away with a single finger right now."

Mo Tan sighed silently and continued, "Of course, I know you haven't gotten to the real point yet, so I'll stop here with the general principles and you can continue."

Alfin let out a soft sigh of relief, and the corners of her mouth lifted into an endearing smile as she continued, "The real point is that I'm about to lose my parents again."

"Losing it again..."

Knowing full well that the couple beside the girl had died tragically at the hands of the Blood Barbarians long ago while protecting their daughter, and that these two were now nothing more than an obsession, Mo Tan narrowed his eyes slightly: "Explain it more clearly."

"My power is slowly growing stronger."

Elfin slightly raised her small hand and summoned a silent shriek, which directly scattered the pile of fallen leaves not far away: "And with this process, the influence of [Soul Nightmare] on me has completely disappeared, but my influence on them... has gradually begun to show."

Mo Tan frowned slightly and asked, "What impact?"

"Domination."

Elfin unconsciously twisted her fingers, then quickly put her arms back to her sides because the action was not ladylike. She remained silent for a while before continuing, "Because the [Soul Nightmare] is a spirit residing in my body, their power will increase as I grow stronger. It is precisely because of this that Sister Libra requires me to be able to completely control them, otherwise my body and mind will be affected. Even if I can use Sister Luna's special potion to get through this stage, there will be problems one day."

Mo Tan's gaze sharpened slightly, and he asked again, "So... this process didn't go smoothly?"

"No, the process went very smoothly."

Elfin shook his head and said softly, "My father and mother loved me very much. Even after they died, their obsessions turned into undead creatures, becoming spirits called [Nightmare Souls], they still tried their best to control themselves so as not to harm me. And when I started to learn necromancy, they even voluntarily handed over the right to control their own 'souls' to me."

"Um……"

Mo Tan nodded slightly, indicating that he fully understood what Elfin said. After all, although he was not a necromancer himself, he knew many friends who were quite influential in the field. Putting aside Wen Qiu, who had not revealed his identity until they parted, and Juechen Tianping, who was practically useless except for bone control after leaving the textbook, he could still learn about necromancy through Yi Dong and Gu Xiaole.

So at least in the state of chaos and neutrality, Mo Tan did spend a lot of time studying the concept of necromancy, and often even gave Yi Dong a lot of inspiration by drawing inferences from it.

That's why he knew very well that the 'soul' Elfin was talking about was not the true soul of the Arnor couple, but rather the original consciousness of the two [Nightmare Souls].

For undead creatures, the source of consciousness is the absolute foundation and lifeline. Once one gains the authority to intervene in the source of another's consciousness, it means having the right to dominate everything about that creature.

This unique concept exists in many other undead creatures, and it is precisely because of these eerie aspects that both the undead and the groups that control them have a terrible reputation. Playing with souls is despicable, and many people with weak wills become increasingly indifferent to life due to frequent interaction with this concept. In short, judging from the fact that those two [Soul Nightmares] instinctively decided to relinquish their power over themselves, completing an action comparable to strangling themselves, Mo Tan could be certain that they truly loved Elfin to the extreme.

but--

“After they opened everything up to me, my own sense of presence began to influence them.”

Elfin gave a bitter smile and said helplessly, "Although that was not my intention, because I am slowly becoming stronger and my soul is healthy and complete enough, they, who were originally just fragments of consciousness, are being 'melted' by me in a subtle way. This is a process that can only be controlled but cannot be stopped. And the final result will probably be that their consciousness will completely dissipate, leaving two bodies just like theirs to accompany me as I grow and protect me."

Mo Tan nodded slowly and asked, "You don't think this is a good ending, do you?"

"I want to be protected and accompanied by my father and mother, but I don't want them to be just undead creatures that look like my parents and have no independent will."

Elfin's eyes were a little red, but stubborn tears only swirled in front of her eyes and did not fall in the end: "I also know very well that Father and Mother are dead, but Sister Tianping said that the two [Nightmare of the Soul] obsessions in me are indeed theirs, so... I want to keep their memories."

Mo Tan slowly walked up to Erfen, then gently squatted down and pulled the girl's trembling, slender body into his arms, whispering, "I can't see your face now."

"...!"

The girl's body trembled slightly, then she grabbed Mo Tan's collar, pressed her head against his chest, and began to sob very softly.

……

two minutes later
"I'm sorry, Brother Hei Fan."

The girl, who had regained her composure but whose eyes and nose were slightly red, sat next to Mo Tan with her knees drawn up to her chest and whispered, "I lost my composure."

"No one expects you to always be presentable, Erfin."

Mo Tan shook her head and chuckled, "Although I know it's this strength that's been supporting you all along, it's not a bad thing to hide under the covers and cry once in a while."

"If you can hide under the covers... then it won't be considered a breach of etiquette."

Elfin muttered something under his breath, then said softly, "Everyone on the front lines is working so hard. People are falling every day, but even so, they want to protect us until the very last moment."

Mo Tan smiled and asked, "So? Your purpose is to collect souls from the front lines to nourish your [Nightmare Soul]?"

"A lady would never do such a bad thing."

Elfin shook his head vigorously and whispered, "But in a place where obsessions are strongest, Father and Mother would likely be agitated. Besides... the enemy killed them back then and also wanted to kill my Blood Barbarian. If they were there, their obsession to protect me would be much stronger, and in that case, the situation might change."

Mo Tan: "...Is this your reason?"

"I know this request is very, very unreasonable, and it will make things very, very difficult for Brother Hei Fan."

Elfin gently grasped Mo Tan's sleeve, lowered her eyes, and said, "But I really want to protect this..."

"If your obsession grows stronger, won't your [Soul Nightmare] feel pain?"

Mo Tan interrupted Elfin and asked calmly, "After all, as far as I know, their birth process must have been extremely painful. Even after their own deaths, their desire to protect their daughters until the very last moment might be tragic, noble, and selfless... but it would also be accompanied by pain, despair, anger, and sorrow."

Elfin paused for a moment, then hesitated and said, "Brother Black Van, you mean..."

"Answer my question first."

"I asked Sister Libra about this from the beginning, and then after I recovered, I tried to sense my parents' feelings. The conclusion is that as long as I am well and healthy, they will be happy, instead of being trapped in the last moment of their lives."

"I see."

"So, Brother Hei Fan, you... you've agreed to my request?"

"In principle, I don't want a good girl like you to cry because of me."

"!!!"

"Don't be too happy yet. I'll discuss this with Tianping and then we'll take a longer look at it. How long will it take before your [Soul Nightmare] causes you to irreversibly lose consciousness?"

"If I try my best to protect them... I can probably hold on for another month."

"I understand, I will keep this in mind."

"Brother Hei Fan!"

"Don't say I have bad intentions next time."

"This won't do!"

"Huh?"

"Stealing a girl's heart is a grave sin, no matter what!"

"Don't joke about adults."

"~"

Chapter 2915: The End