The moment Gary Watts's soul appeared, Anbaixiu threw aside his quill, swiftly warded himself with several defensive spells, and prepared to leap out the window to make a run for it.
Yet Gary Watts merely pointed a single finger. The window turned entirely to gold, merging seamlessly into the wall and sealing shut forever.
Since escape was impossible, Anbaixiu gave up on fleeing altogether. At worst, he would simply resurrect once more. He stood his ground, quietly awaiting the arrival of the Rose of Decay.
Looking at the golden window, Anbaixiu said in an envious tone, "Turning stone to gold—what an enviable legendary boon."
Anbaixiu's jealousy was genuine. If he possessed such a legendary boon, how could he ever be so impoverished?
Gary Watts shook his head. "You misunderstand. My legendary boon is not turning stone to gold. But now is not the time to discuss that. We can sit down and have a proper talk in a moment."
"You're not planning to fight?" Anbaixiu asked, surprised.
Gary Watts shook his head once more, saying calmly, "I have no confidence in taking this child away under the watchful eye of the Undead Queen."
The moment the old man finished speaking, several hazy silhouettes materialized beside Anbaixiu. It was indeed the Rose of Decay and her Death Knight bodyguards. They had slipped into the room under Mass Invisibility, intending to ambush the old man, but their Greater Invisibility had been seen through completely.
Anbaixiu instantly felt reassured. With the Rose of Decay present, they had nothing to fear from this wretched old man in terms of combat strength.
Gary Watts ignored Anbaixiu's smug expression, turning to Naomi instead. "Child, let me tell you the truth. You are my great-granddaughter, and my only remaining blood relative."
Naomi remained silent. She could not accept this so-called truth. All she wanted was to flee this place. Whether this old man was the mysterious president or her own kin, she did not want to know.
Running away might be cowardly, but to Naomi, it was the easiest choice.
"Just as that Shadow Druid said, I have been conducting a magnificent experiment," Gary Watts continued, "yet for a very long time, I was stuck, unable to make any progress. Then, one day, my daughter died in an accident. Although my obsession with research had left our relationship strained, her passing brought me an inexplicable, profound grief.
"It was precisely because of this unspeakable sorrow that my soul entered a unique state. At that moment, I realized this was the path toward the goal I sought.
"Thus, I turned my attention to my granddaughter. I raised and educated her myself, cultivating a deep bond between us. On the day she passed away, my grief was many times stronger than before. But in the wake of that sorrow, my soul was sublimated once again. That was when I confirmed this was the right path."
Gary Watts spoke as calmly as though recounting someone else's story, caring nothing for whether Naomi could bear it. "So, a mad idea struck me. Once I sever every single bond of blood, perhaps my soul can truly transcend the mortal coil and step into the realm of the gods.
"However, because the experiment had reached its final stages, I had no time to raise you myself. I arranged for you to be sent to a Shadow Druid clan so they could raise you in my stead..."
Anbaixiu suddenly cut in, addressing the president, "It wasn't merely raising her, was it? Shadow Druids wouldn't harbor affection for a sacrifice, yet this girl clearly had a pleasant childhood. When you made your initial deal with them, you never told them she was a sacrifice. Instead, you instructed them to take good care of her, only revealing the truth recently—am I right?"
Hearing this, Naomi was utterly bewildered, crying out in agitation, "Why?! Why go through such pointless trouble?!"
Had she not been treated with warmth since childhood, Naomi would not be feeling such overwhelming despair now.
Anbaixiu sneered and explained, "Because if you aren't miserable enough, his heart won't ache enough.
"Didn't he just say it? Only profound grief can stimulate his long-numbed soul. He didn't have the time to cultivate affection with you. If you had been treated coldly from childhood, would you be heartbroken now? Would you be in despair? If you yourself weren't heartbroken and despairing enough, how could this perverse old lunatic ever feel grief?
"He is using the cruelest, most ruthless method to scourge his own conscience, allowing him to completely abandon his humanity."
Gary Watts did not deny it. Instead, he praised, "Sending you an invitation back then was the best decision I ever made. What a pity you declined me."
Naomi released her panther form and slumped helplessly to the floor. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined the truth would be so brutal. How could such a venomous person exist in this world—and be her only living blood elder, no less?
Anbaixiu sighed and cast another Sleep spell upon Naomi.
If he did not put her to sleep, the girl would go mad.
Watching Naomi drift into deep slumber, Anbaixiu said to Gary Watts, "Back then I was still human, completely incompatible with perverts like you. But I have a question: is the sublimation of a soul really that simple? It feels like any random error would doom this experiment to failure. If this girl dies and you still haven't attained the realm of the gods, wouldn't all your efforts be wasted? Don't tell me you calculated it—when it comes to souls, I'm far more specialized than you."
Gary Watts replied, "Because that is my legendary boon. I can take a mere possibility of success in an alchemical experiment and turn it into absolute certainty, thereby eliminating every experimental margin of error. Although the conditions for its use are stringent, as long as everything proceeds according to my plan, this ritual magic is guaranteed to succeed. Yet, you disrupted my plans."
"Heh, if you hadn't tried to drag me down with you, I wouldn't have bothered with you in the first place," Anbaixiu retorted. "Since you decided to scheme against me, don't blame me for fighting back. But now that you've suddenly shown up without intending to fight, are you here to negotiate a partnership?"
Gary Watts nodded. "How much do you know about this ritual?"
"I only know that even if you succeed, you won't become a god. You'll become an artifact—an artifact truly capable of casting Wish. That's hardly any different from suicide," Anbaixiu said with absolute certainty.
Gary Watts responded, "That is enough, for Wish is fundamentally a spell that only deities can cast at will. I don't care whether my conscious will vanishes; all that matters is that I attain the realm of the gods."
"Why? That's completely meaningless," Anbaixiu asked, puzzled.
If one lost their sense of self, what was the point of becoming a god? Becoming a tool to be used at someone else's whim was even more pathetic than being a mortal.
"Alchemy is a wondrous discipline. The moment I synthesized my first potion through alchemy, I fell utterly in love with it. Once this path begins, it cannot be stopped. I only wish to press forward to the very pinnacle. As for what method or form I take to reach that summit, I do not mind in the slightest."
A trace of emotion finally stirred in Gary Watts's tone; evidently, he had not yet completely stripped away his human feelings.
Anbaixiu looked upon him with even greater disdain. "Doesn't the God of Alchemy bother to keep you lunatics in check? Just like before, dropping a divine punishment so you wouldn't dare blaspheme the gods again."
Gary Watts shook his head. "Divine punishment? You think his previous curse was meant to punish us? You're wrong. In truth, it was merely to push us a step further.
"The God of Alchemy is not a deity of faith, much like the God of Justice. As long as someone upholds justice, even without knowing Tyr's name, they provide divine power to the God of Justice. Every time an alchemist invents a new formula, the divine power of the God of Alchemy grows stronger by a fraction. As long as people continue advancing along the path of alchemy, his power will keep rising.
"He does not need faith. What he needs are mortals like us, who are willing to sacrifice everything for alchemy. He doesn't care whether we blaspheme him, because even an act of blasphemy will leave a monumental mark in the history of alchemy capable of driving the world forward, and through it, he too will ascend to a greater realm.
"So, in truth, he is the most selfish of all. The deity constantly suppresses us, forcing us to spark a brighter flame of wisdom. In the years since I broke the divine curse, alchemy has developed faster than in the past several centuries combined.
"He has never bestowed favor upon us; he only takes from us alchemists. Therefore, since there exists a method to become a god, and I have the power to achieve it, why shouldn't I do it?"
Anbaixiu hastily waved his hand to cut off Gary Watts's speech. He had no desire to listen to such blasphemous rhetoric. Every madman possessed their own set of logic; whether it was self-consistent or not, only a fool would believe it.
"Cut the nonsense. Let's get down to business. How do you want to negotiate?"
Gary Watts replied, "Help me complete the ritual. I will become an artifact capable of casting Wish, and you may take control of this artifact. A win-win, is it not?"
Anbaixiu countered, "Fring won't agree. Your underlings have spent so much effort; there's no way they don't have wishes of their own."
"It doesn't matter. They can be sacrificed together, becoming part of the artifact. I am their president. As long as I bring this child back, they will not suspect a thing. When the time comes, you need only launch a surprise attack. With the power of this Undead Queen, turning them into sacrifices will be effortless."
Gary Watts proposed this atrociously venomous scheme with utter calm. He would not even spare his own subordinates.
Even Anbaixiu and the Rose of Decay, two liches, felt a chill. This old man was far more ruthless than the undead. He had discarded not only his emotions, but even the lawful alignment entirely, acting as pure chaotic evil who stopped at nothing to achieve his goals.
"Well? For you, this is pure profit. You have no reason to refuse, correct?" Gary Watts urged. "My time is running short. If we do not begin the transformation ritual soon, everything will lose its meaning."
Anbaixiu was inclined to agree. Logically speaking, accepting carried no downside whatsoever; instead, it maximized profit while minimizing risk.
Yet an odd sense of unease gnawed at Anbaixiu's mind.
Because there was still a prophecy that had not come to pass.
Naomi, this druid girl, was supposed to be murdered, dying in the Hall of Wisdom rather than being taken to the sewers for sacrifice. But right now, she was alive and well. That meant whether Anbaixiu agreed or refused, events would not unfold according to Gary Watts's plan.
Where had things gone wrong? Logically, all he had to do was nod in agreement, and every risk would be eliminated.
Could this girl manage to run away?
No, thinking that way was a waste of effort. Since the druid girl was fated to be killed in the Hall of Wisdom, there was no need to dwell on the reason. What Anbaixiu needed to ponder was why, after the ritual's procedure was disrupted, he would still appear in the sewers and personally preside over the ritual.
Evidently, in the prophecy, Anbaixiu had not chosen to cooperate. That was what led to the ensuing cascade of changes, culminating in the destruction of the City of Alchemy, which floated into the sky as ruins.
What was missing? Exactly what piece had been overlooked?
Anbaixiu's soul fire flickered erratically. He shut out all external stimuli, devoting every shred of his soul's power to contemplation, linking together every clue he possessed.
An external force was missing—an immensely powerful external force, strong enough to disrupt everything even if he cooperated with Gary Watts. Who could it be?
Suddenly, a name surfaced: James Watson.
Anbaixiu shuddered violently, then asked Gary Watts, "Where are those paladins from the Ryan Empire—and Supreme Arbiter James Watson? Where are they?"
Chapter 81