Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1348 The Devil’s Whisper

I really wanted to say "no," that way I definitely wouldn't fall for his trap... Angel's eyes flickered, but in the end he honestly admitted it:

“Indeed, this source of essence from the Outer Gods is difficult to handle when the barrier breaks. The ‘Bound God’ has already fallen, and you seem to be in poor condition. No one can truly contain it. At that time, the ‘Mother Tree of Desire’ will be able to retrieve the source of essence it needs immediately, and then have the spare power to seize other powers that it covets, or help other Outer Gods.”

Although she voiced her concerns, Angel remained vigilant. The "Napolidisri" before her, the demon king Fabti, was a remnant of the past, and had actively isolated his most malevolent consciousness, accepting the help of the Earth Mother and the Underworld. On one hand, he sealed his clone to isolate it from the influence of the "Mother Tree of Desire," and on the other hand, he used the clone who believed in the Earth Mother to cleanse his sins and avoid falling into the true abyss. However, his true form was, after all, the most powerful and ancient demon and devil, and lying and deception were in his nature.

Moreover, the demon family was involved in the "Shadow Tree" incident. They were the ones who planted this divine tree in the Fourth Age. No one can say for sure how much of the Demon King's relationship with the Mother Tree of Desire was one of conflict and cooperation.

"Hehe, you don't need to be so wary of me."

Napoli Disri, with his deep-set eyes and refined demeanor, chuckled lightly, which only made Angel's gaze sharper.

“This is not mind reading or divination/prophecy targeting you, but rather the demon’s instinctive perception of negative emotions. I can sense your wariness towards me.” He continued to explain, “There is actually a basis for cooperation between us. For example, you and I both come from that unforgettable era.”

Has He officially admitted to being a "time traveler"? With Him included, there aren't enough time to fit all the living time travelers in a car... Angel was taken aback, his vigilance inexplicably lowered slightly, and then he realized that even this might be the influence of the demon's words.

Of course, there are reasons why Napolidisley's attitude is completely different from the last time during the "Dream Festival". Last time, she was equivalent to the goddess's "messenger". Although she was protected by the source matter, she was only a Sequence 2. Now, she has become a true god of the witch pathway and is only one step away from the old one. She is fully worthy of the respect of another true god.

Most importantly, Napoli Disri clearly needed her help this time.

Thinking this through, Angel's last bit of wariness vanished, and a friendly smile appeared on his face as he asked:

What was your experience of 'time travel' like?

“Me? That’s not a pleasant memory…” Napoli Disri unbuttoned the bottom button of his suit to make himself more comfortable, and said in a sighing tone, “Suddenly, the world went dark, and I lost consciousness in excruciating pain. When I woke up again, I had become a powerful demon, my mind filled with murderous malice and bloodthirsty madness.”

"Fortunately, I was lucky enough to live to the end of the First Age, to the time when the dawn of civilization was breaking and the madness was gradually fading."

This sounds similar to the Earth Mother Goddess's experience; both were "physical transmigrations" rather than resurrections by God and the Celestial Venerable. Come to think of it, which category do I fall into? Angel was somewhat puzzled, and at the same time, he guessed that the era in which Fabuti and Lilith transmigrated was closer to his own than that of Klein, Roselle, and others, and most likely even later than his own, truly at the moment of "world destruction."

This method of "time travel" implies that the history of the five eras, from the old era to the present, was not actually completely severed; it was simply lost due to the destruction of the spirit world and the enslavement of humanity by various races.

But instead of delving into the details, she focused on the immediate priority and pressed for answers:

"After that, you were defeated by the 'Ancient Sun God'? Did you know at the time that He was also a time traveler? Did He know about you?"

Napoli Disley nodded and said:
“I had a suspicion at the time that although His ideas of salvation might have been intended to anchor faith, they were too similar to the old world we knew. And He probably knew my origins, so after becoming the ‘omniscient and omnipotent one’ and defeating me, He did not kill me, but only banished me back to the continent, or rather, the island, where the demons originally existed.”

“Australia?” Angel guessed.

“Ha, that continent that once exiled criminals has once again embraced the exiled demons.” Napolidisley laughed arrogantly, looking at Angel, almost making the latter think that his “origins” had been exposed. “I sacrificed my power and some disobedient subordinates to turn that place into a true ‘abyss’ and sink it into the ground, partly to get closer to the ‘Shadow World’ and partly to isolate it from external influences, so as to avoid being affected by any possible subsequent divine wars.”

So that's how the abyss was formed. I thought it turned out like that when the world first awakened and was destroyed... Angel said thoughtfully as he corrected the erroneous history in his memory:

“Grisha let you go back then, perhaps due to the influence of ‘God’.”

“That’s quite possible. I said back then that God once contained the ‘Shadow World’,” Napoleon Disri nodded in agreement. “However, I later learned that He also helped Lilith and Amanisis.”

So this was the original "Time Traveler Alliance," though it consisted of secret mutual assistance, and ultimately fell apart due to God's influence... Angel sighed, and continued to ask:
"How can you be so aware of the outside world while living in a secluded 'abyss'?"

The old man in front of him blinked his icy blue eyes, making no attempt to hide his smugness:

"Demons never gamble everything; they always leave themselves a way out. Some demons take human form to continue their bloodline as families and serve me. In return, I will send high-ranking devils and demons to answer their call."

This is the summoning ritual passed down from those demon families... Angel immediately thought of the ritual magic in the home of serial killer Jason Belial, and the occasional incidents of demon summoning mentioned in the official records of extraordinary beings.

Looking back at the various legends and hidden histories recorded by the church, Angel discovers that most of them are actually true, but they seemed too outrageous at the time, so much so that the extraordinary beings of the lower and middle ranks simply wouldn't believe them.

For example, the primordial witch who claimed to have inherited the authority of creation and was born from chaos... In her mind, there was the god who entangled her with snake hair and dragged her into the depths of the mirror world.

To dispel this thought, Angel continued to press:
"Then why would these families plant the 'Shadow Tree' in the ruins of Trier in the Fourth Epoch to serve that Outer God?"

Upon hearing this question, the smile on Napolidisley's face faded slightly, and he said:
"During the war of the Four Emperors, under my influence, several major demon families summoned the true 'Abyss'. But before the war was over, everything the 'Blood Emperor' did shook the Astral Barrier, and the 'Mother Tree of Desire' significantly increased its influence on me. Many things were no longer under my control."

“I returned to the Abyss, and then, due to the worsening corruption, I chose to cooperate with Death God Salinger. After that came the ‘Dream Festival’ that you know about. And those families, especially the three major families that possess a portion of true demon blood and continue to exist, two of them were controlled by the ‘Mother Tree of Desire’ and planted a divine tree that would not sprout for a thousand years.”

No wonder the three major demon families are now dominated by the North family, while Belial and Andrerad have both declined. The latter two were most likely affected by the Mother Tree of Desire, and thus lost the protection of the "Demon King". The timing of Fabuti's use of the "Dream Festival" to reduce pollution and the decline of the demon families also makes sense...

Having satisfied his curiosity, Angel glanced at the Fabbet clone, who was sitting comfortably on the soft cushions of the carriage, and asked with a smile:
"Then you should be continuing to fight against the 'Mother Tree of Desire' right now, so how could you have the energy to see me?"

His relaxed demeanor didn't seem to be an act!
Upon hearing this, Napoli Disri did not answer directly, but instead said mysteriously:
“Recently, my situation has improved a lot compared to before, and you can guess why.”

The reason… Angel's first thought was that the "Mother Tree of Desire" had lost its influence within the barrier after the battles of the Church of the Righteous God annihilating the original moon followers and Angel killing the "Bound God," but he quickly realized that wasn't the main point. To eliminate the influence of one Great Old One, the help of another might be needed… Could it be "God," who once housed the "Shadow World," leaving a spiritual imprint and a fragment of his will? Compared to the Celestial Venerable, this pillar seemed to enjoy leaving traces everywhere; if it weren't for the initial resurrection as a backup plan, the "City of Calamity" might have been ruined by Him… Even so, the "Primal Witch" Chick could use His spiritual imprint to fight against the feminine aspect of the original creator, so it made sense that Fabuti would use this to fight the "Mother Tree of Desire"…

“That God?” Angel asked tentatively.

"The clever witch."

Napoli Disley praised him, but Angel always sensed something amiss in that ambiguous, half-smiling expression.

It's all an illusion; He's not a hunter... Taking a deep breath, Angel continued his analysis:
"After the fall of the 'Eternal Sun,' God's will should have spread to other individuals affected by Him, and their spiritual imprints would have been strengthened. You used this to fight against the growing influence of the 'Mother Tree of Desire,' and your situation actually improved."

"In fact, most of His consciousness returned to the Chaos Sea, leaving behind only some mad spirit and malevolent consciousness, but it is actually just right to deal with that Outer God. In this state, the two sides are unlikely to cooperate in terms of corruption, and will only instinctively fight against each other."

Napoli Disley added.

"So you want to use this opportunity to save yourself, and that requires the 'Shadow World'?" Angel finally returned to the original point of the conversation and pressed for an answer. "But how can I help you? I can't let a god break through the seal and enter the Western Continent."

From the exchange during the Dream Festival, Angel already knew that the "Abyss" was affected by the Mother Tree of Desire, and even demons dared not enter. If that special source essence were to leak its power, it would most likely only be inside the Abyss. This put Fabuti in a dilemma, unlike other gods who could use the source essence's power in advance with the help of Daoists in the Western Continent.

Napoli Disley straightened his top hat, which was almost touching the top of the carriage, and said sincerely:
"I need you to take my mental imprint with you when you do something. This is equivalent to a part of my consciousness, my clone, which will give me the opportunity to come into contact with the 'Shadow World' in advance."

"When I secretly made an agreement with the 'City of Calamity'?"

Angel suddenly realized that this was indeed an opportunity to "take advantage of a loophole".

By using the corpse oil candles made by Tudor to perform a deep intimacy, Angel can abandon his physical body and rely solely on his spirit and consciousness to pass through the seal and enter the Western Continent. This is equivalent to a special sacrifice, which is the manifestation of the authority of the "Red Priest" as the priest of the original creator. It can bypass the seal set by the pillar-level ancient "Celestial Venerables" and is currently the only known method for Angel to enter the seal.

The "devilish" path that can plant the seeds of desire in the mind and ignite evil thoughts is precisely the path of those who are masters of manipulating the mind and consciousness. In this regard, Angel believes that since Fabti made the request, he must have the confidence to successfully plant the mark in his mind.

The only problem is... this only benefits Fabti, but only risks Angel. If Fabti's motives are impure, he could interfere with Angel's actions when her spirit separates from her flesh and blood to make a secret pact, putting her in great danger and even turning her into the puppet of this demon king.

She weighed the pros and cons and casually asked:
"Are you sure this gives you a chance to become part of the 'Old Days'?"

“There is no chance,” Napoleon Disri answered honestly. “'The Shadow World' is the source material of the Outer Gods. Even though its original will was completely shattered in the war between the two pillars, too many spiritual imprints of that ancient being remain within it. The efforts of generations of Dao Mergers have not been able to completely eliminate them. Compared to it, 'The Mother Nest' is the only two source materials that have retained their original will because of its symbol of immortality, and 'The Key of Light', which luckily escaped the disaster. 'The Land of Chaos' has had its desire for self-revitalization suppressed because of the existence of that genie…”

"Under these circumstances, the only thing I can do is work with that Dao merger from the 'Shadow World' to utilize the power of the Source itself to reach the level of 'half an Old One' for a short period of time, and make a certain contribution to that final battle."

A demon is talking about sacrifices and contributions to the world? Have you been parasitized by Amon too? Angel thought to himself, then suggested:

“What if I give you the uniqueness of the ‘Bound One’ and a Sequence 1 property? You can try to become a dual-path True God first, and then contain the Source Matter. Although that is not the best way, the worst result will be the birth of a mad Old One who can occupy the ‘Shadow World’ and make the Mother Tree of Desire unable to contain this Source Matter.”

Napoli Disri was clearly tempted; his icy blue eyes flashed with thoughtful light. After a moment, he asked in return:

"Are you willing to believe that I won't use my mental imprint to interfere with you, or even entrust me with the uniqueness of adjacent pathways?"

Angel shook his head and said:

"Actually, I was unwilling, but with a formidable enemy at hand and our interests aligned, I was willing to believe in our shared interests."

Once the "Mother Tree of Desire" breaks through the barrier and descends, it will inevitably take away Fabuti's unique "Abyss" and Sequence 1 characteristics. Its fate will not be much better than self-sacrifice, and it will be an extremely humiliating fall. Angel believes that a demon king who has ruled the Abyss for thousands of years cannot accept such a defeat.

Under such circumstances, Fabuti would certainly cooperate with Angel and other deities in order to gain a chance of survival.

Sure enough, Napoli Disri revealed an arrogant smile:
"Hehe, when that day comes, I'm willing to give it a try."

“That’s good,” Angel nodded. “But now is not the time to go to the Western Continent. We need to wait for a more opportune moment.”

The demon, dressed solemnly yet with a rather unrestrained expression, nodded slightly, removed his top hat and pressed it to his chest, bowing to Angel in gratitude.

"It's time to leave..." the latter pondered, about to get up and leave, when he heard Napolidis speak in a low voice:

"Do you remember the last time I asked you whether I separated the good or bad part of the emotions from that 'divine abomination' avatar?"

Angel turned around, looked at the other person with a puzzled expression, and replied:
"At that time, I answered 'Yes'."

Upon hearing the same answer, Napolidisley laughed and said:

"Actually, there are more good parts, no, much more. Demons should be purer and shouldn't be bound by those emotions."

(End of this chapter)