Chapter 1387: 145. Nowhere to Escape

"How are things over at the Elemental School?"

"Not bad."

"With everything that has happened recently causing such an uproar throughout the city, there haven't been any disturbances?"

"Thanks to the fact that this kind of disturbance has already happened once before, the students below haven't reacted too strongly to it..."

Douglas suddenly realized something. His tone paused, and he hurriedly stopped what he had been about to say next. "Sorry, I didn't mean..."

"There's nothing to apologize for."

Beside the window frame carved with exquisite patterns from ancient wood, the gray-haired Hoggu looked toward the distant horizon, with neither joy nor sorrow visible on his face. "That matter really is a wound in my heart, but I've been around for so many years. I'm not at the point where, just because of one wound, I can't even listen to this kind of thing or look at that kind of thing. All of you keep your mouths shut in front of me instead. What do you take me for, a little child unwilling to look back on his dark history?"

"I'd rather that were only your dark history. That way, I could laugh at you mercilessly, you old bastard."

Douglas stood up. "What do you want? Coffee or tea? I have some fresh spring tea newly sent over from the Holy City. They say it's good stuff that only people at bishop level are qualified to drink."

"Keep it."

Hoggu shook his head. "I only came to give a simple report. There isn't time in the Tower for me to drink tea right now."

"...Sorry."

"I already said, there's no need to apologize."

"I was talking to my tea. Such good tea, yet no one is willing to appreciate it. What a pity."

Although he said it was a pity, Douglas closed the tea canister again as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders... This tea really was expensive. Even he himself was reluctant to drink it very often. If Hoggu didn't drink it, that was just fine.

"..."

Hoggu turned his head back, suppressing the thought of smearing this old fellow's face with some obscene Illusion Magic and ruining his reputation in his later years, then handed a stack of documents to him. "The matter you asked me to investigate already has some results."

"Oh? That fast?"

"It wasn't something particularly difficult to investigate. It's just that verification was somewhat difficult."

"Verification..."

Douglas picked up the documents, flipped through several pages, and frowned. "Arman... is still the same?"

"Yes. At present, we still haven't been able to obtain any useful information from him." Several traces of exhaustion appeared on Hoggu's aged face. "We've already used every method we can use, but how are we supposed to make a completely insane man tell the truth?"

"But that person... the one who escaped, really does exist, right?"

"Yes. Although it's very strange, that person's sense of existence seems to have suddenly disappeared from the world." Hoggu pointed at his own head. "As a master of Illusion Magic, I'm fairly confident in my own mental strength, but right now I can't remember that person's name, identity, or appearance at all. This is truly beyond imagination. If I hadn't had Feier examine me several times already, I would have suspected that my consciousness had been invaded by an Evil God."

"Fortunately, that person still left behind some traces. That person really does exist, of that I can be certain, and we've also caught hold of a small tail concerning that person's identity."

"Since he was able to silently escape from the encirclement and killing of several Truth-Rank Grand Mages, this much isn't particularly surprising. We need to hurry and find that person."

"Understood."

"When you're the one handling things, I'm at ease."

Douglas sighed lightly and did not dwell on this issue for too long. He casually tossed the documents aside and changed the subject.

"What about the people from the Church? They still haven't arrived?"

"No. Apparently, something inside delayed them. They told us to wait a few more days."

"Delayed?"

"They probably ran into some trouble again. According to the rumors, even that Saintess hasn't appeared for several days already. Quite a few believers are already worried about the Saintess's safety and are kneeling outside the cathedral petitioning to see her. They've made quite a scene out of it." Hoggu shrugged.

"Heh, interesting."

Douglas lowered his gaze, the corners of his mouth curving into a trace of mockery.

Was it really because something had delayed them, or were they planning something?

Hard to say.

Actually, he could understand it too.

Two Evil God crises had erupted in such a short period of time, and each time it had involved the upper levels.

From an outsider's point of view, perhaps the entire Origin Tower could no longer be trusted.

Conversely, for people from the Origin Tower like them, outsiders were also difficult to trust.

The Origin Tower had stood too high and for too long. There would always be people who wanted to take advantage of an opportunity like this to make it fall into the dust.

"Forget it. After all, it's our own matter. Most importantly, we still have to rely on ourselves... Right now, every side is demanding that we give an explanation, so let's give them one as soon as possible. The Origin Tower has stood for so long. It isn't going to completely collapse because of one Evil God crisis."

"That's what I think too."

Just as he himself had said, Hoggu did not waste time. After handing over the documents, he did not even chat for more than a few words before preparing to leave.

When he was about to push open the door, Douglas called out to him.

"Hoggu."

"Hm?"

"Do you want to rest for a while?"

Douglas raised his head and met his eyes. "You look very tired."

"Do I?"

Hoggu touched his own face. As his fingers passed over it, he suddenly realized that the wrinkles really did seem to have become much deeper.

But he still shook his head and gave a disdainful laugh. "Forget it. I'm not old enough for that yet."

"Is... that so?" Douglas tapped the tabletop and said softly, "You're one of the few old friends of mine who are still alive in this world. I'm still waiting for you to throw the last handful of dirt onto my coffin. Don't end up dying before me because of this..."

"Haha, there's no need to worry about that. You old bastard, you're a full twenty years older than I am. In front of you, I'm still young and strong."

Hoggu laughed twice and pushed the door open to leave.

A light breeze swept past, and the door automatically closed with a dull sound.

"It's only twenty years. It'll pass in the blink of an eye."

Douglas muttered a curse with a smile and was just about to close his eyes and rest for a moment.

However, the clock on the wall suddenly rang. He raised his head, only to discover that another long night had passed.

"If I'd known being Tower Master was this difficult, back then I would've stayed dead inside my coffin rather than come out."

Thinking of all the heavy and troublesome work that was coming next, Douglas completely lost any leisurely mood and could only smile bitterly.

He got up and still decided to make himself a cup of good tea. After all, no matter how precious the tea was, if it couldn't let him temporarily ease his fatigue, then it was useless.

He couldn't really wait until one day he lay inside a coffin and could no longer climb out before thinking about drinking it.

He didn't want to let these old bastards benefit from it.

Douglas reached out, just about to touch the tea canister... but at that moment, knock knock, the sound of someone knocking on the door rang out.

"You old bastard, in the end you're still thinking about my little bit of tea leaves?"

Douglas cursed with a laugh.

However, when he turned his head, an unexpected figure appeared in his field of vision.

"Huggins?"

Douglas raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here?"

"I... is it strange for me to be here?"

Huggins smiled slightly. "Did I disturb Lord Tower Master's rest?"

"Not really. I just thought that during this period, you'd be putting all your attention into figuring out how to secretly trip up the Enhancement School and wouldn't have time to show your face."

"In Lord Tower Master's eyes, am I this kind of petty, despicable person?"

"I wouldn't call you a despicable person. It's just that your desire to advance has always left a deep impression on me."

Douglas shook the tea canister. "Want some? Top-quality spring tea from the Holy City."

"No."

"Now that's strange today. My tea... I can't even give away a single cup?"

Douglas lowered his head and stared at the tea canister, rubbing his chin. He secretly wondered whether, during the period when he had been asleep, the market outside had already changed greatly and spring tea from the Holy City was actually no longer worth much.

Forget it.

Douglas put down the tea canister for the second time and looked at Huggins.

One of the Elemental School's Grand Mages, today he was still dressed in his standard mage's robe, pale-gold patterns embedded along the edges of the sleeves, symbolizing his distinguished status.

Among all the unkempt old fellows of the Origin Tower, he could be considered the one who paid the most attention to his own image.

But...

The corner of Douglas's eye twitched almost imperceptibly. He keenly discovered that today, Huggins actually had a thin layer of short beard on his chin. It made him look more dignified, and also...

More sloppy.

More importantly, faint bloodshot veins filled his eyes. It looked as though he had experienced some major mental blow, and Douglas could feel the faint aura of pain emanating from him.

This was very wrong.

"Lord Tower Master, I have something extremely important that I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"..."

Huggins did not speak. He merely silently glanced above his head.

On the ceiling of this room, an extremely complicated array could be faintly seen within the dim light. Unimaginably intricate lines spread outward from the glowing magic stone at the center, like countless flowers blooming, and also like countless branches, vines, and roots extending outward, before finally disappearing into the snow-white walls.

Hub · Primordial Singularity.

One of the original cores of this pinnacle of magic, its foundation was laid nearly a thousand years ago by several of the founders of the Origin Tower, then continuously perfected through generations of inheritance, until it was finally constructed into this powerful magical hub that guarded the most important areas.

All things return to the singularity. Its terrifying degree even far surpassed the "Divine Sigh" below that suppressed Arman.

"This place records what I say. There are some things I don't want to leave a record of," Huggins said.

"Private matters?"

"That's right."

"Don't tell me it's about the Enhancement School again."

Douglas sighed. "I've already said it. As the current Tower Master, I can't help you with matters concerning the Enhancement School. That would break the Tower's rules."

"Lord Tower Master misunderstands. It's not about the Enhancement School, but about other, more important matters."

Huggins revealed a smile.

That smile was very complicated.

For a moment, even Douglas could not understand it.

"Please."

"..."

With an important figure of the Tower asking him like this, unless there was some major matter that he absolutely couldn't get away from, it would be difficult to refuse no matter what.

Of course, Douglas also didn't think that the other party might try to harm him. First, he understood this ambitious Grand Mage. He absolutely would not do something as self-destructive to his future as attacking the Tower Master. Second, when it came to strength, Douglas was fairly confident in himself.

"The Summoning School? Coffee?"

Douglas really couldn't connect these two things together. "Since when did those people who deal with magical beasts and monsters all day change professions?"

"Apparently, some genius formed a contract with a strange creature from the 'Sea of Stars'. After that creature eats coffee beans and excretes them again, the coffee becomes incomparably rich and fragrant. Even those all-night masters who drink coffee like water praise that rich fragrance."

"..."

Douglas's expression changed slightly, and the thought of refusing immediately appeared in his mind.

But looking at Huggins's calm and natural expression, he felt somewhat embarrassed to say it aloud.

"Cough, all right."

He coughed dryly. "New things always have to be tried once. Let's go, lead the way."

"Thank you."

Hearing Douglas agree, Huggins did not show the slightest sign of relief. Instead, another trace of struggle flashed through his eyes.

But he still said thanks, then turned around and walked out of the room.

"Interesting."

Douglas narrowed his eyes, suddenly feeling that things had become interesting.

He began to wonder what exactly Huggins wanted to say to him... or what exactly he wanted to do.

Therefore, without any hesitation, he directly followed behind him.

Very soon, the two passed through an internal teleportation array and arrived on the thirteenth floor.

The thirteenth floor of the Origin Tower was the territory of the Summoning School. The moment they entered, they could clearly feel a primitive atmosphere similar to that of a forest.

Unlike the Enhancement School, where "weeds" had grown because the place had been left unused for too long, in order to make it convenient to raise all kinds of magical beasts and summoned creatures, this entire floor had been carefully constructed by the Summoning School. Not only had they directly transplanted forests, grasslands, mountains, and other real terrains here through tremendous means, they had also used unimaginable spatial magic to connect several floors together and link them to certain special external spaces, constructing this unimaginably vast "little world".

As far as the eye could see, there was a primeval forest with no end in sight. In the distance, mountain ranges were hidden within the mist, while magical beasts resembling flying dragons circled in the sky, from time to time letting out sharp cries that made the mind tremble.

"Where is that coffee shop? Don't tell me they opened it inside this primeval forest."

Douglas looked around. "If that's the case, it's actually quite stylish."

"It's..."

Huggins lowered his head and muttered.

Then he suddenly turned around.

Douglas's pupils contracted. Could it be that I really was wrong? Defensive magical radiance immediately rose around his body.

However, after a dazzling ray flashed past, Douglas suddenly discovered that the attack had not been aimed at him.

He slowly turned around in disbelief, only to see that the teleportation array they had only just used had actually been directly destroyed.

"Why..."

Douglas murmured, then suddenly came to his senses.

The thirteenth floor where the Summoning School was located was special.

Because who knew how many layers upon layers of spatial magic had been superimposed here, the space in this place was unimaginably stable. Here, apart from this specially established teleportation array, it was basically impossible to use any other spatial magic.

Unless one directly relied on brute force to shatter the entire thirteenth floor!

In other words, he had temporarily been sealed inside this place!

"Huggins, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Douglas roared. With a raise of his hand, magical fluctuations that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth surged forth.

"You want to trap me here? Scheme against me? Ambush me? Huggins, are you going to betray the Origin Tower?"

"No..."

However, facing such overwhelming fury, Huggins only gave a miserable smile.

"Even this space, how long could it trap Lord Tower Master? Three minutes? Five minutes? Lord Tower Master, don't worry. I only want you to finish listening to what I have to say."

"I'll listen to what you have to say. Why use this kind of despicable method?"

Seeing Huggins in this strange state, Douglas's movements paused. For a moment, he instead could not grasp the other party's true intention.

"Because I'm afraid that after hearing half of it, Lord Tower Master won't be able to resist wanting to run away, so I had to do this."

"Run away?"

Douglas laughed from anger. "I am the rotating Tower Master of the Origin Tower. A hundred years ago, I already roamed the continent unhindered. Even in the entire human world, my attainments in magic are among the very few at the top. Do you think that you, someone who only recently advanced to the Truth Rank, have the qualifications to make me run away?"

"I know. I know better than anyone, because the source of what I'm about to say is precisely Lord Tower Master's strength and might."

Huggins straightened his mage's robe.

His hands trembled slightly, as though even this tiny movement was extremely difficult.

His expression was incomparably complicated. Even Douglas, this widely experienced Grand Mage, could not interpret it.

Under the other man's gaze, he dispersed all of the magical aura around his body, then raised his eyes and stared into the other's eyes.

Within those eyes was pain, struggle, and even more, some kind of emotion that had accumulated for a very long time and was now bursting out without restraint.

"From a very long time ago, I admired Lord Tower Master's strength."

"Hm?"

Douglas faintly felt that something was wrong.

"Back then, before Lord Tower Master entered the coffin and fell asleep, your reputation was like thunder, echoing throughout the entire Origin Tower... no, echoing throughout the entire continent."

"It was precisely because I admired you that I chose to betray the Enhancement School and devote myself to the Elemental School."

"For me, this was the beginning of everything. I even paid an unimaginable price for it."

"...Y-you, what exactly are you trying to say?"

The bad feeling in Douglas's heart grew increasingly intense.

"Then came your more than thirty years of slumber. I knew that you had no choice but to make that decision in order to maintain the last bit of function in your body, but I still couldn't help worrying about you."

Huggins placed one hand over his chest. "On the day you entered the Holy Coffin, I kept silently praying for you in my heart."

"...I-is that so? I'm very happy that you felt that way, but is there really any need to say these words aloud?"

Douglas began to slowly step backward.

Clearly, he had just been so disdainful of Huggins, but now, after sensing something, he stepped back... stepped back... until there was nowhere left to retreat.

"I know there was no need to say them aloud, but right now, I have no choice but to say them... I can't control myself... no, I should say this is my final opportunity... I can't control myself... no, every one of these words comes from the bottom of my heart. There is absolutely nothing false about them..."

Half of Huggins's face forced out a smile.

But from the corner of the other eye, a clear tear flowed down.

This distortion and conflict made him look extremely strange. His entire body began trembling, as though he wanted to suppress something, yet was completely unable to suppress it.

Finally, he took a deep breath, as though he had made some decision, and slowly opened his mouth.

"Lord Tower Master, what I want to say now is..."

"Actually, from a very long time ago, I..."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

Douglas suddenly flew into a rage, his whole body like a male lion with its fur standing on end.

But he did not attack. Instead, he turned around and tried to flee...

An instinctive escape.

But at this moment, he suddenly discovered...

There was nowhere to escape.

The spatial array behind him was already nothing but ruins.

"No... no... no!"

Douglas looked terrified, pounding against the wall while magical power surged around his body, continuously constructing spatial arrays...

They could not be constructed.

As one of the very few top experts of the Origin Tower, at this moment he could not even construct a single path of escape. He could only pound helplessly, even using his own body to futilely crash against the wall.

Take back what he had said before.

He wanted to run.

At this moment, he really wanted to run.

He wanted to run!

But... no, he couldn't construct spatial magic, and he couldn't continue trying to construct it either...

The design of this thirteenth floor determined that he could not use spatial magic.

...Damn it, who the fuck designed this shitty thirteenth floor?!

Who the hell designed it into this goddamn state? When he got back, he'd cut your funding!

He'd cut it all off completely!

"Lord Tower Master..."

All the cursing was useless.

Huggins stood there and opened his arms.

His body trembled even more violently, and even his expression became ferocious, his eyes looking as though they were about to bulge out of their sockets.

But his tone became more and more sincere.

In the end, facing the despairing Douglas, he still spoke those words that made Douglas feel despair, fear, unbearable horror, words filled with taboo:

"I actually... love you."

"Ugh..."