Chapter 234: Assisting the Experiment

As those pitch-black demonic claws snatched at the air, Ansu felt his body stiffen as if bound by invisible chains.

The surrounding space distorted, and his Shield spell failed to hold at all, shredded instantly before that absolute power.

In the next second, he was yanked right in front of Celia by that force.

Celia narrowed her unsettling, blood-red eyes and stared at him, her voice hoarse and dangerous. "Why are you running? Didn't I ask you to assist me with the experiment?"

She leaned in even closer. Her fair cheek seemed to crack, adding another black crack that faintly leaked dark energy.

"Do you despise me? Or are you afraid of me?" Celia snorted, her tone a mix of resentment and anger. "Didn't you promise to stay with me forever! What... are you trying to go back on your word?"

Ansu was speechless at her series of baseless accusations. He could only steady his mind and look her in the eyes to explain.

"Of course I don't despise you, nor am I afraid... and I haven't gone back on my word."

Celia's eyes flickered slightly, and her tense expression relaxed a bit.

Ansu breathed a sigh of relief. Correct answer.

He privately assessed the situation. He had to admit, Miss Witch's strength was simply too overpowered.

He was already a mid-tier mage, yet his 5th Circle magic Shield spell was like a bubble before her, collapsing at a touch.

He couldn't help but recall the time he had successfully ambushed her and pinned her down.

Now he realized she hadn't been serious at all then—or rather, she was completely defenseless when with him, which was why he had succeeded.

But now... with her logic fading after entering a witch-like state, her truly terrifying side was revealed without any concealment.

Only by facing Celia's true combat state could one understand the true weight of the 【World Ending Witch】.

Celia asked obsessively, "You really aren't lying to me? You're not just humoring me?"

Ansu shook his head.

"Aren't you looking for a chance... to escape from me? You must want to get far away from a dangerous and annoying bad witch like me!" Celia's voice grew less confident, and the black mist around her churned.

"Of course not." Ansu shook his head again. He steadied himself and, amidst the chaotic mana and Celia's wary gaze, he took the initiative to walk to her side and help her organize the scattered experimental records.

"If I wanted to leave, I had plenty of chances during these ten minutes. I stayed here despite the danger all for you, didn't I?"

"Oh? Really..." Celia was still half-doubting.

Ansu said no more, choosing to prove it through action.

He reached out his hand as if holding an invisible key to open a door in the void.

As his spirit resonated with the magic space, a shimmering door quietly emerged and opened, revealing the view of the mine outside.

The 【Void Corridor】 was their shared secret treasure vault. Each held a "secret key" and could open the passage at any time.

"It's actually true..." Celia bit her lip, and the look she gave Ansu finally softened. The hostility and mania that had almost solidified quietly receded.

At the same time, the hideous black cracks on her cheeks stopped spreading, and the filthy black mist around her dissipated significantly.

Ansu relaxed; she had finally recovered.

Celia's voice dropped. "You're so good, Ansu... I misunderstood you."

Her gaze fell upon the manuscripts covered in messy, frantic corrections, and her tone became filled with exhaustion and frustration.

"It's all the fault of these runes! Every time I try to combine them, even the slightest mistake brings a terrifying mental shock, even..."

Ansu observed her condition, feeling that facing her just now was no better than facing the Fallen Demon God - Ersos.

This confirmed what she had said before: the failed combination of these small runes brought about exponential pollution.

"It's okay, we'll find a solution." Ansu smiled warmly and gently held her demonic hands covered in hideous textures.

Celia trembled slightly.

She looked up, her blood-red pupils reflecting Ansu's calm face.

"Don't you... really find me scary?" She tried to pull her hand back, but Ansu held it firmly. "I'm so ugly like this... I don't even dare look in the mirror... Ansu, my face must be terrifying right now, right?"

"Ugly? Not at all." Ansu carefully examined the intricate patterns on her hands. "Isn't this pretty cool? If I had hands like these, no one would dare mess with me! And to be honest, I actually quite like your monsterized look..."

He paused, staring deeply at Celia's current appearance.

"It has a... very eerie beauty to it."

An inhumanly beautiful girl with non-human traits... it hit his preferences perfectly.

Celia was completely stunned.

She stared at Ansu, many thoughts suddenly surging up. "Oh... I almost forgot. Your aesthetics are a bit problematic. When we first met, you praised me..."

Ansu said helplessly, "But I'm telling the truth..."

"I know, I know..." Celia suddenly let out a giggle, the smile dispelling the last of the gloom between her brows. "If you like it, I'll transform for you whenever I have time..."

"Let's not do that..." Ansu pursed his lips. Seeing her confusion, he explained, "This form is directly linked to corruption and erosion. It's not something to play with. I'd rather you never enter a witch-like state again."

"Rest for a while. Leave this to me." Ansu pushed her gently, making her sit in the only usable soft chair by the alchemy table. "Let me see where the problem lies. Just sit here and be good~"

Celia smiled softly and nodded.

Ansu turned around and patiently flipped through the scattered experimental records one by one.

Failure didn't matter. With simulation in hand, the thing he feared least was failure.

Once he found the problem, he could return to reality and warn Celia.

As he flipped through the pages, his thoughts gradually cleared. The difficulty in designing the 【magic formula】 was hidden within this seemingly simple "connection".

One could imagine each "basic purification rune" as a stable "gear". Running individually was fine, but now that hundreds or thousands of these gears had to be assembled into a precision clock, the difficulty rose exponentially.

Any tiny misalignment or interference would trigger an unpredictable mana distortion. Once the structure collapsed during construction, all participating runes would lose control simultaneously... resulting in a terrifying consequence akin to a "chain reaction".

"Hmm..." Ansu held the experimental records and crossed out the latter half where the handwriting was visibly chaotic and problematic. He looked at Celia and said, "Let's start over from this part. We'll try it bit by bit."

"Okay..." Celia responded listlessly.