When Catherine arrived at Anbaixiu's castle, she had expected to see throngs of skeletons and zombies, alongside cabinets packed with human organs.
After all, he was a lich; it would have been strange if he did not have such things.
Yet to Catherine's surprise, though the castle was somewhat austere, it was remarkably clean.
Not only were there few hideous undead to be seen, but the person who came to receive them was a rather adorable young human girl—not an undead creature disguised as a mortal, but a genuine, living human being.
Although the young girl was left in a daze for a long while upon laying eyes on her, Catherine felt that Anbaixiu had been very considerate in his arrangements for the elves.
At the very least, this lich treated the elves with sufficient respect.
Brought back to her senses by Catherine's gentle prompt, Isabel followed Anbaixiu's instructions and settled the elves into castle rooms to rest. As she closed the door, she could not stop murmuring to herself, "How can an elf in this world be so beautiful?"
Isabel's eyes had been entirely consumed by Catherine, to the point that she had no recollection of what the other elves looked like.
The injured elves were receiving treatment. Without demons interfering, providing care posed no pressure for the elven healers. With healing potions downed and a few restoration spells woven, severe wounds were reduced to minor ones, and minor injuries were nearly mended.
However, Catherine noticed that their consumption of healing potions was unusually high.
Even though the wounded had already recovered from their injuries, they could not resist asking for another bottle, as if doing so made them feel better.
Catherine knew in her heart that this was an early sign of mana addiction.
A growing craving for magic power would eventually drive them to swallow even poisonous potion ingredients without hesitation.
The elves had previously placed strict restrictions on ingredient exports precisely to stockpile reserves that could sustain them for a few more years once mana addiction broke out.
Yet now it seemed the condition was progressing much faster than Catherine had anticipated. Long before the war ended, a massive wave of mana addiction would likely erupt across the elven race.
The thought only deepened Catherine's worry.
To prevent the other elves from noticing her distress, Catherine made an excuse and stepped out of the room.
Isabel was a dutiful servant; seeing Catherine emerge alone, she hurried forward to greet her.
"Your Majesty," Isabel said nervously, "is there anything you need? Please, command me."
The young girl kept her head lowered, not daring to look directly at the elven queen for fear of becoming lost in her beauty once more.
Catherine chuckled softly and said to Isabel, "I merely wished to take a stroll. Why don't you give me a tour of the castle? This is my first time visiting a lich's home."
Isabel wanted to say there was nothing worth seeing; more than half the rooms were laboratories and libraries, while the rest were empty—not even a bug or a mouse lived here.
Yet Catherine had already started walking, so Isabel could only hasten to keep up.
"This is the master's laboratory, mainly used to concoct magical potions requiring distillation. The room next door is dedicated to centrifugal extraction... Oh, and here is a library. These shelves hold books on necromancy, while shelves for other schools of magic are in another library. Over there is a room reserved for research papers and treatises..."
Past every doorway, Isabel did her best to introduce each area with enthusiasm.
Catherine had not originally cared about the tour; she had simply needed a walk to divert her mind. But the more she listened, the stranger it seemed.
Catherine asked Isabel, "This Master Ultraman does not seem much like a lich. As far as I know, a lich's phylactery requires a vast quantity of souls for maintenance. Yet this castle keeps no pens of human slaves. Where does he obtain his experimental materials?"
Liches were classified as monsters of the evil alignment not merely due to prejudice from other races, but also because of their habits.
Vampires fed on the blood of the living, preferring the blood of beings with higher intelligence; to a vampire, the virgin blood of races like elves and humans was the most prized luxury.
Yet Anbaixiu's castle was spotless. Though skeletal remains could occasionally be spotted in the laboratories, a closer look revealed they belonged to various animals, with humanoid bones making up only a tiny fraction.
Could it be a deliberate facade?
That would make no sense. Had the elves not been ambushed, they would never have brought their wounded to rest in this castle in the first place. What reason would this lich have to go to such lengths just to put on a show?
Catherine grew increasingly curious about this lich—from his disguised human countenance, to his terrifying magical prowess, to this castle that defied expectation at every turn... Was this lich simply different from other undead, or did she know too little about their kind?
Hearing Catherine's question, Isabel explained, "The master can create a substance similar to souls, which can substitute for real souls in most situations."
There was no need to keep this secret; anyone who dealt with him knew of this ability. Back in the City of Alchemy, Anbaixiu had even considered advertising Simulated Souls, but ultimately dropped the idea because human slaves were too cheap for his creations to be commercially competitive.
"The power of a legendary boon?" Catherine asked in surprise.
Isabel nodded. "Yes. The master can synthesize Simulated Souls using simple magical materials. He mainly uses these blank souls for his daily experiments, and he has even been trying to use this power to create new life."
It was the first time Catherine had ever heard of such an unusual ability. Creating new life—was he truly still a lich?
Catherine was skeptical at first, but just as they rounded a corner, she saw several adorable little creatures bouncing around in the main hall.
The two largest were silver-white, resembling plump droplets of mercury, with golden threads outlining features that resembled eyes and mouths upon their surfaces, making them look extraordinarily charming.
Beside one blob of mercury were several sparkling little globules that seemed formed from crystal shards. Beside the other mercury blob were little globules made of sand; though less dazzling in appearance, they moved with even greater vigor. The two mercury blobs appeared to be commanders, arraying the crystal and sand globules into battle formations against each other.
At a glance, it seemed like simple bumping and shoving, but closer observation revealed their movements were remarkably disciplined, employing a distinct set of combat maneuvers.
The little globules clashed in a tangle, tumbling and mixing together.
It was not intense in the slightest; instead, it was rather endearing.
The sparring globules seemed to notice Catherine and Isabel. The moment they saw Catherine, their movements froze in unison. Then, bouncing and tumbling, they surged toward Catherine, dancing merrily around her.
Isabel watched with deep envy. She interacted with these little fellows often, yet these beings created by the master lich had always treated her with cool indifference. Who would have thought that upon their very first sight of Catherine, they would rush over so eagerly to act cute?
Even these little creatures were powerless to resist the elven queen's charm.
Catherine observed them carefully and said in astonishment, "These are... elemental lifeforms? No, they feel like undead... wait, that's not right either."
As the Elven Queen, Catherine had seen much of the world. Celestial beings, extraplanar visitors, and all manner of bizarre oddities were familiar to her, yet she truly could not identify what these creatures before her were.
High elves possessed an extraordinarily keen sensitivity to magic. Catherine could clearly discern the dark magic within the crystal and sand globules, a telltale sign of the undead, yet their bodies were pure elementals, entirely devoid of corpses.
Could this lich have mastered a technique to turn the remains of elemental beings into undead?
Catherine found herself more baffled by the moment; everything about this lich defied her understanding.
"A truly peculiar lich. I have never seen anything so fascinating. He must be an exceptionally learned scholar."
Isabel agreed wholeheartedly. "Although the master is undead, he is the wisest and most learned person I have ever known. He is also very kind to living folk. He took in many human refugees before and allowed them to live on this land, and their lives are far better than those of serfs elsewhere."
Isabel spoke with utter sincerity; Anbaixiu was far better than her previous lord.
The more Catherine listened, the more bizarre it sounded. Could such a lich truly exist in this world?
Though she remained skeptical of Isabel's words, Catherine could not help but develop a favorable impression of Anbaixiu.
After walking several more laps around the castle with Isabel, Catherine suddenly asked, "By the way, do you know where... prisoners are held in this castle?"
Isabel said, "Prisoners? Oh, I understand. Your Majesty wishes to visit your people, correct?"
Catherine had not expected Isabel to be so blunt. She did indeed wish to see Cicero and the other captives. She did not intend to sneak them away while Anbaixiu was absent, but she at least needed to verify their safety. Naturally, if an opportunity arose, rescuing them outright would not be out of the question.
After all, the elves and the lich were still on opposing sides. It was the lich who had brought her into his home, so he could hardly blame her as the Elven Queen for breaking them out.
She had not anticipated Isabel raising the matter so directly. If the girl proved unwilling, Catherine would have no choice but to knock her out and search on her own.
To Catherine's astonishment, Isabel simply said, "Very well, please follow me."
Catherine was half-convinced it was a trick. Was this young girl truly unafraid that she would stage a prison break?
She was merely a frail human. Catherine would barely need to lift a finger to render her unconscious.
Despite her doubts, Isabel was already leading the way, so Catherine followed along.
Catherine had no idea what Isabel was thinking. Isabel, of course, was not taking Catherine to see the elves on her own initiative; it was entirely Anbaixiu's order. When the master lich had made a sudden trip back that night, besides telling her to receive the elven delegation, he had also instructed, "If the elven queen wants to see the captives, just take her straight to them."
Thus, Isabel took no detours and led Catherine directly to the castle's cells, where they found Cicero and the other Twilight Guards who had been held captive for so long.
Cicero was the first to spot Catherine, crying out in shock, "Your Majesty?! How are you here?!"
"To rescue you, of course. Cicero, have you all..." Catherine began, intending to ask if they had been mistreated, when she noticed strange energy patterns inscribed across the elves' chests.
Noticing Catherine's gaze, Cicero hastily explained, "This is a seal placed by that lich. It completely suppresses the magic power in our bodies, leaving us with no way to escape."
Catherine examined it closely for a moment, then gasped in astonishment. "No, this is not merely a seal. This magical structure has completely severed..."
Catherine swallowed the final words before they left her lips.
Every elf before her, with the exception of Cicero, was enclosed by this magical structure as if within a specialized antimagic space, completely severing the legendary power Catherine had shared with them.
Even an Antimagic Field could not sever Catherine's Selfless Sharing, yet this small magical seal had accomplished it—and Catherine could not even begin to decipher its magical structure.
*If this seal can be placed on all elves suffering from mana addiction, wouldn't they be saved?*
Catherine felt her heart race at an incredible pace, pounding as though it would burst from her chest.
Rescuing the prisoners was no longer the priority—this magical seal was the key.
The elven race could be saved!
Chapter 123