When Bernardino turned around and left to find the tower owner, a twisted "humanoid" suddenly appeared in front of him.
——It is a monster that seems a bit reluctant to use the word "humanoid" to describe it.
He has no hair or even hands, and the only way to tell is that he has legs when he is standing.
He wears a faceless black mask, and on the mask is an "Alpha" symbol drawn with a red pen. The symbol is shining with a red light. He wears a dark cloak, and his too slender and lanky body looks like a ghost.
The shadow is tied into a long strip by the cloak that shrinks tightly inward.
It's like a living pillar rising from the mud all over the black tower.
But when he saw this human form, the young Bernardino raised his lips.
He squinted his eyes and bowed deeply to the man, and said in a slow, polite and artificial voice: "My Lord Hugo...Long time no see."
"...Long time no see, Bell."
Somewhat unexpected.
After a moment of silence, a young voice came out from under the black mask: "I haven't seen you in about ten years."
"After all, you have trained many amazing young people."
Bernardino narrowed his eyes and said calmly and melodiously.
He has brown shoulder-length curly hair, and if you don't look at the horrific tattoos on his skin composed of countless alchemical runes, he looks like a noble prince.
Who would have known that he was the son of a fisherman?
A despicable person of humble status who will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.
A fool who lost all the tokens given to him by Father Ludwig, who was his teacher, adopted father, and benefactor, as well as the money he had accumulated over the years to give to himself as travel expenses and tuition fees.
A useless person who can't do anything and can only sell his soul in exchange for the chance to change his destiny...a waste that moans for no reason. He is over 100 years old and has finally begun to officially explore the path to transcendence. He is undoubtedly a "laggard".
And standing in front of him, who had lost his body, was the young and promising son of the tower who was less than half his age.
The proud son of heaven who is looked forward to by everyone.
A genius wizard who successfully advanced to the silver level at the age of seventeen.
The one who saved him from the hell of misfortune... his only friend.
Of course, ever since the forty-three-year-old Bernardino met the seventeen-year-old Hugo...he has never been able to look directly at the glory of Hugo.
Hugo is his only friend.
——But he is not Hugo's only friend. He doesn't even know if he is Hugo's friend. Or is it just... casual pity? Or charity to the poor?
But now, everything has been reversed.
What kind of creature is the "Tower Master"... He has long understood.
Poor creature like a hermit crab.
[Tower] will still exist without the tower owner, but if the tower owner leaves the tower...how many years can he live?
In Bernardino's view, that is undoubtedly unfree.
——More than just not being free.
It was simply a voluntary sacrifice.
The mission of each generation of tower owners is to cultivate the next generation of successors, which is also the contract formed between the tower owners and the tower. After the heirs are qualified to inherit the [Tower], the tower owners must build all their souls and curses into the successors.
Within the body, the soul of the other party becomes one.
Rather than saying it is one person, it is better to say it is a "group".
The twenty-four wizard towers brought from the east by the mysterious lady have always been like this, passed down from generation to generation.
Just like "Old Mian", a monster's lair.
Now, Bernardino is about to break this cycle.
He wants to split it up directly, kidnap Hugo's soul, and completely end the inheritance ceremony of the Wizard Tower!
But Hugo was completely powerless about this.
Have you really escaped from hell?
Maybe not.
——Because he is hell itself.
Bernardino raised the corners of his mouth: "How do you feel when you see me here?"
"To be honest, it's not very good."
Under the mask, Hugo sounded like a teenage poet, young, cheerful and gentle.
"I feel it. This is Sir Isaac's [Inert Refining]... Did you dig up his grave too?"
"I prepared this just for you, Hugo."
Bernardino said calmly: "You said it to me yourself back then. Isaac is the founder of the Transformation School, the greatest transformation wizard, and the last alchemist.
"All transformation spells using Isaac's model - that is, using the concepts of 'transformation', 'pre-transformation' and other concepts as the underlying framework, are an extension of Isaac's elements, and none of them can escape from being denied by him.
Destiny. And now at least 90% of transformation spells come from his invention.
"Even if you are now a fire thief of the Prometheus school, you still started out as a transformation wizard.
"Give up, Hugo... you have no chance of winning. If you are willing to surrender, I will no longer attack your students. Even if I don't attack them actively, as long as we wait for a fight, other creatures in the tower will
Die here."
He didn't come here for the many spines in the wizard's tower.
certainly.
If too much power is lost here... he doesn't care about replenishing his reserves here.
But Bernardino didn't expect that.
After a short silence, Hugo suddenly asked:
"——Are you in a hurry?
"Are you running from the Bell Ringer? Or Sir Silver?"
He took a deep look at Hugo, and then took a long breath.
Unexpectedly, he answered: "Sir Silver can't attack me. He will even help me stop the bell ringers from pursuing me...because I can't die in their hands."
"Why?"
"——Because I am [Mirror]."
Bernardino answered slowly: "I am the fifth egg sheath of [Seventh Light]."
Hugo paused for a moment.
The red symbol on his face suddenly flashed.
"...The light of the seventh ray is coming? So the virtual world is about to invade?"
"He has already arrived, but the mirror has not yet broken, so he has not yet awakened."
The corners of Bernardino's mouth slowly raised, but the smile on his face began to disappear.
"——[Destiny is the wheel of the heavenly carriage]. The heavenly carriage has not yet passed, and my destiny has not yet been finalized... Then why can't I fight against my destiny?
"I have been drifting with the tide for forty years, but I was awakened by a nightmare. I know that this is the fate that I should not fight the most. The light of the seventh light is the sky... But I just want to do it, even if I can't do it for the rest of my life.
Sublimation, so what?
"If I can complete the sublimation before the fourth mirror shatters, my destiny can be changed.
"For once in my life, I want to fight against my fate. Even if this time it may affect the whole world...it doesn't matter."
He looked at the monster with the voice of "Hugo" and said slowly: "The person standing in front of you is not the 'Spirit-bearing Monk' Bernardino. It is the future God of Death, Bernardino.
"I am a god, or the slayer of the world. Other than that, there is no other choice."
The person I am today is different from before.
I'm a big shot.
He's an amazing person.
He is the man who determines the fate of the world.
——At the same time, he is also a rebellious chess piece.
Bernardino looked at Hugo and declared: "In order to complete my great work... I must get your flame.