Chapter 52
"How is this possible?! How could you possibly trigger the crystallization?!"
The black-robed man blurted out in disbelief.
All the settings in his talent crystal were prepared for Xia Zuo. The various restrictions that were opened were just a condition. If the person who entered was not the right one, even he didn't know what would happen!
Even if it works normally - it's a waste! If anyone triggers it except Xia Zuo Freeman, it's a waste!
And he had clearly set it up to capture the most inspired person alive. How could anyone's inspiration be higher than that of a potential future high priest?!
The talent crystal has been activated, and even he can't take it back. He can only watch as the crystal suddenly expands and completely covers the black-haired boy in a time that no one can react.
Countless crimson threads connected to his body, surging with red light, as if greedily sucking his blood.
However, even at this moment, the black-haired boy's expression did not change at all, and he was still as calm as ever, even giving the man in black the illusion that he had expected this moment.
“——Cisar!!”
Among those present, only Xia Zuo reacted to this.
He lunged forward almost instantly, and this time no one stopped him. He reached out, wanting to grab César, but found that he and his friend were from two different worlds. He couldn't touch him at all, let alone pull him out of the prison.
The outstretched hand clenched into a fist, but failed to grasp anything, and the distance between friends grew farther and farther.
The black-haired boy still couldn't see. His eyes were blank. He blinked slowly and said softly and gently in the direction of Xia Zuo's voice, "I'm sorry, Xia Zuo."
He tilted his head, as if trying to understand something, then curved his eyes:
"It wants to suck your inspiration, your talent, your life out of you."
His tone was as calm as ever, the corners of his lips were as raised as ever, but his figure quickly faded, even... disappeared.
"That's the ridiculous purpose of the picket tower... They want to replace you, Xia Zuo."
The Federation wants to capture Xia Zuo, whose abilities have been developed sufficiently, alive for their research and experiments, but the Patrol Tower is even more ruthless.
Xia Zuo didn't say anything.
He had a very strong premonition, he vaguely saw the scene of César's death, his hands were shaking, but he couldn't say a word.
He was afraid.
At this time, Jace and the other two also reacted. They had no time to care about the young man who had triggered the crystal for some reason. They wanted to grab Xia Zuo immediately. However, at this moment, the man in black robe suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Immediately afterwards, his body swelled at a speed that was impossible to react to, and exploded in an instant.
Endless power seemed to be compressed in his body, and the strong sense of oppression instantly shocked Jace and the S-level talent holder who were closest to him, causing them to bleed from all seven orifices and their flesh to crack.
The huge energy aftermath spread out. Strangely, this energy wave that could almost kill an S-level talent holder bypassed Xia Zuo who was not far from the center of the explosion.
However, Xia Zuo did not notice all this.
He only heard a slight pause in his friend's calm voice, which for the first time added a real, relieved gentleness.
"Don't feel sorry for me. Take Ursula and leave, my... friend."
The crystal suddenly hummed, and blood-red light flooded everything.
With a "click", the dead and broken crystal fell to the ground, and the black-haired boy no longer appeared in front of him.
At the same time, the entire library, which was already shaky and heavily reinforced, collapsed in an instant.
"Boom—"
A huge roar sounded in Xia Zuo's ears.
However, he seemed to hear nothing. He just lowered his head and slowly picked up the gray-black, shattered talent crystal, allowing the edges to embed into his flesh.
The crystal clear liquid fell on his hand for the first time, bit by bit, blending with the blood stains and slowly flowing down.
He seemed to have lost all sense of the outside world. The tinnitus in his ears interfered with his thoughts and abilities. His brain was blank. For a moment, he even didn't understand what the liquid that fell from his eye sockets was.
"boom!!"
Just before the huge rock was about to hit his head, a thick tentacle blocked the damage for him, then tightly wrapped around his waist and lifted him out in an instant!
The girl, who had completely turned into a monster, said nothing, retracted her extra tentacles, and increased her speed to the extreme. At the same time, Ina Jess, who was sitting on the tentacles, gritted her teeth and activated her talent with all her strength, covering the shrunken Ursula and Xia Zuo who didn't say anything.
"Those with precognitive talents have very limited abilities. They won't be able to find you anytime soon!" Ina's voice came over, her eyes complicated. "...Use all your strength and leave here."
…
That day.
The news that the Federation's Chief Executive Officer was seriously injured, one elder of the Patrol Tower was dead and the other was seriously injured, and the culprit had disappeared without a trace, reached the ears of all the talent holders.
…
Ursula and Xia Zuo didn't say a word to each other all day.
After the little girl turned into nothingness, she just stayed quietly aside without asking anything about the black-haired boy.
She is too quiet.
It was so quiet that Xia Zuo couldn't deceive himself. In fact, his smart friend was just joking and the other person was still alive.
"...Ursula," he tried to remain calm, but found his voice extremely hoarse and trembling uncontrollably, "Cesare, he..."
In fact, the answer is already obvious.
If Xizel was there, her aura would be impossible to conceal, forcing them to avoid pursuit almost all the time.
Ursula didn't stir at all.
After a long while, she said almost woodenly, "You should know best."
"He died in front of you."
The girl raised her head, her eyes dark, her face twisted and dazed. Her tentacles were all curled up, tightly tangled together.
Only then did Xia Zuo realize that her strange silence was just because she used all her strength to suppress her own abnormality.
She said: "Cesare is dead."
"...Shazo Freeman."
…
…
Césaire Kleist is dead.
—But not completely dead.
The reason why the black-haired boy took the initiative to step into the forbidden prison was very simple. He just wanted to prove his guess and take a quick look at what surprises the mark on his arm would bring him under such circumstances.
——In the previous round, he decided to start over after death because when he sensed the crystal flying towards him, the move that was supposed to target Xia Zuo caused the mark on his arm to move abnormally, causing it to begin to heat up slightly.
After realizing this, Xizel decisively gave it away.
After all, he can save and load files. It is such an easy way to obtain information. Anyone who misses it is a real fool.
Moreover, he had previously speculated that the talent crystal was able to lock onto Xia Zuo because of his extremely high inspiration. When locking onto multiple people at the same time, only the one with the strongest inspiration could activate it.
Then, as a descendant of a clerical family, do I also have the possibility of opening it?
——Just die once, and all the guesses can be answered.
Also, Xizel has always been curious about what his family settings would look like.
It was indeed surprising that the "Eastwood Prison for the Insane" was built by his family, but he still wanted to know more.
After all, in the comic world, his own appearance itself is full of doubts. For the rationality of the comics, this may also be related to his family.
After being successfully locked by the crystal, as a useless person with zero combat power, Xizel was ready to start over. After experiencing it himself, he could even chat with Xia Zuo about how this prison wanted to deal with Xia Zuo.
——However, when the crystal really began to absorb his power, he realized something was wrong.
He could vaguely feel that those blood-red threads like blood vessels wanted to dig out all his inspiration, talent, and remaining divine power from his body, even from the depths of his soul.
But they did not succeed.
In other words – they succeeded, but not completely.
Xizel himself didn't feel anything at all, but the mark on his arm was extremely noticeable. It seemed that an extremely terrifying power was sealed in it, and it directly traced back to the owner of the talent crystal, and then poured into it.
The result was that the opponent exploded and died.
Xizel: "..."
When he discovered that the energies swung out and filtered himself - deliberately avoiding Xia Zuo in the process - and then ran back and locked himself in the mark obediently, he remained silent for a rare moment.
At the same time, he felt a familiar pulling sensation coming from a distance—the feeling of his body being pulled somewhere else.
Cesar blinked.
In a flash, he had already thought about what his character might look like in the future and what he wanted to express in the comics.
Then, the "dying" black-haired boy gave a gentle enough smile.
"Don't feel sorry for me."
——After all, I am not dead.
"Take Ursula and leave."
——You won’t be able to find me here, and it’s easy for you to die.
"…My friend."
——Finally, let me briefly establish the character.
The timing is just right, isn't it?
…
Cesar returned to reality happily.
The comic's will was already numb: "Aren't you curious about where you were dragged to?"
The black-haired boy tilted his head slightly, his tone flat, "Eastwood Lunatic Prison. One hundred percent probability."
Comic Will: "???"
The comic's will choked on his breath and stopped humiliating himself.
After a while, it suddenly remembered something and warned with a shudder, "Wait, I could normally cover up a few things for you, but with a plot like this where it's unclear whether this important supporting character's death is real or fake, the comics might try to drum up buzz and make readers think you're really dead!"
Xizel nodded calmly: "You are right. This is exactly the effect I want."
"But don't forget, if the readers think you're dead, even if you're still alive, you'll be living like Final Destination!"
You might get hit by the suspension cabin as soon as you enter!
Xizel: "..."
He calmly extended a helping hand to the IQ of the comics: "I am only temporarily taking "Cesare Crest" offline, but this does not mean that I will not appear in the comics during this period."
So what do readers think Césaire Kleist is dead?
As long as he appears in the comics with another identity, what does the dead Cecil Crest have to do with his new character?
The comic's will, which understood everything at once: "..."
Césaire Crest, you have a dirty heart...!!
Characters that die, or characters that voluntarily sacrifice themselves to save the protagonist, are more likely to become popular and attract a lot of attention.
Not to mention that Xizel obviously had other plans for this identity and was just waiting for a second harvest.
——As for what to do during the gap between the exposure of the fake death?
Of course, it’s to put on a new vest to make your presence felt!
Comic Will: For a moment, I didn't know whether binding him was a right or wrong decision.
"...Do you have an idea for your new character?" Manga Will decided to change the subject.
César calmly opened his computer and said, "I've made some arrangements, but... I still need some details."
——I wonder if a blind, divine and transparent agent called "Son of God" can make these comic readers like him?
…
This time, Cesar stayed in the real world for three days.
He dealt with the things that were left over from before, and made an appointment with Dr. John to check his body to reassure him and prove that he was gradually getting better - although the speed might be a little slow.
After finishing these personal matters and slowly working on perfecting his new character, he leisurely logged onto the comic platform to browse the reader feedback that he had not had time to read before.
After several experiences of finding himself painted in strange ways, César was able to calmly browse the pictures in which he appeared, until he saw the "Kleist's
████".
Xizel: "..."
Xizel calmly found the comic's will and said kindly, "It seems that you also know that this name cannot be easily released."
Comic Will: "..."
Without wasting any more time with the comics, Xizel went through the comments first as usual, and then went to the forum.
A good comic should take care of all the protagonists, giving them their own strengths and highlights. Obviously, "Absolute Talent" can't be said to have achieved the ultimate, but it is also very successful. The latest chapter is full of ups and downs, exciting and thrilling, which makes fans feel very satisfied.
Of course, there are more and more CP fans, and basically the three main characters are a hodgepodge.
Looking at the grand spectacle before him, Manga Will sighed darkly: "Have fun, you'll be dead if you push the next chapter."
Xizel: "..."
The comic will couldn't help but ask: "Isn't this death a bit too abrupt?"
Xizel shook his head calmly: "No. When the truth comes out later, they will convince themselves that these are all foreshadowings."
The comic will was choked again.
"What's more," the black-haired boy raised his eyebrows slightly, "the deaths in comics nowadays are very quick and clean. I think they should be used to it."
Comic Will: "...I thank you on their behalf, really."
Xizel smiled slightly: "You don't have to be so polite."
The black-haired boy sitting on the ergonomic chair lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, and after making sure that he had missed nothing, he chose to return to the comic world again.
…
The feeling of opening my eyes this time is different from before.
Cesare's body travels between two worlds, and his poor physical condition can accompany him into the comics - although the double standard is that in order to maintain the balance of the real world, the abilities he obtains in the comics world cannot be used in the real world.
But now he felt that his body had become very light, as if he had never been sick.
"Lord Kleist."
A voice suddenly sounded beside him, with obedience and respect.
Xizel did not respond, but sat up first.
——It seems that the reason he felt something was wrong just now was because there was a stranger beside him.
As a person with a strong sense of territory, Xizel's perception has always been sharp, especially when it comes to issues concerning his own territory.
But this time, he just felt something was wrong, but he couldn't tell that the problem was that there was someone standing next to him.
Having already formed some guesses about this person's strength, Xizel blinked his eyes to make his vision clear, and then observed his own condition and the surrounding environment.
His appearance remained unchanged. After all, when he returned to the real world, his body was created by the will of the comics, impossible to destroy or alter. To a certain extent, this was similar to Crest's Fairy Godmother, a life-saving ability.
The difference is that the effect of this ability is really strange. If it cannot be fully explained, it can be equivalent to chronic suicide.
Moreover, because the body has no autonomous will, everything that might happen in the comic book world is extremely uncontrollable.
Xizel noticed that the place where he woke up was a secret room made of an ore he couldn't identify, engraved with runes of unknown function. Even beneath him, there seemed to be a huge magic circle.
...It seems that this thing pulled me back from the crystal.
Retracting his gaze and thoughts, Xizel's eyes finally fell on the person who spoke at the beginning.
He was a masked man with a tall and burly figure. His clothes were decorated with iron elements. At first glance, he looked extremely powerful and indestructible.
However, such a person waited quietly and obediently beside the black-haired boy until he woke up.
Noticing his gaze, the man in the iron mask saluted and called out again, "Lord Crest."
Xizel raised his eyebrows slightly, not considering that he was also a member of Crest's tribe, and asked directly: "Who are you?"
"You are my master."
The man said calmly without any hesitation.
That is a status similar to that of a domestic servant in the Crest family.
"In that case, tell me everything you know."
Even when he opened his eyes and found himself in a completely unfamiliar place, there was no trace of panic on the black-haired boy's face. Instead, he was extremely calm and naturally grasped the dominant position.
"First of all, let me make one thing clear. I don't like you to answer one question after I ask one."
The black-haired boy added lightly.
The man lowered his head even more: "Yes."
Through his businesslike narration, César finally understood what his identity was.
——The last descendant of the Crest family, and also a genius who once again possesses the qualifications of an agent after a thousand years.
Xizel: "..."
I understand. Anyway, the question is, what special characters must appear at the same time as the protagonist?
He continued to listen calmly, and finally filled in the gap in the library about the Crest family.
——A thousand years ago, due to their timely withdrawal, the Crest family preserved a relatively intact strength. The Eastwood Lunatic Prison they built was feared by countless people, and every head of the Crest family would be the warden of this prison.
After gaining a firm foothold, they finally had time to secretly support another clergy family, protecting them from the dark pursuit and helping them hide among ordinary people in the marginal areas.
Since then, the Crest family has been guarding this prison and no longer entering the world, until... a child with the qualifications of an "agent" was born.
This child was too important and special to this God-forsaken world. Such a significant event couldn't possibly go unnoticed by outsiders.
Thinking of the madness of the group of people outside and fearing that some unpredictable situation might occur in the prison, the Crest family acted decisively and paid a huge price to conceal his breath and his birth, while also leaving several layers of insurance on him.
——The black eye mark is one of them.
Of course, the Crest family also has predictive means.
After observing that one day in the future, there might be a power that could threaten César's qualifications, they sealed the powers of several powerful talents of the Crest family in César overnight. This was equivalent to a talisman for their own child. As long as there were bad guys who set their sights on the child's qualifications and inspiration, they would kill him with it!
Hearing this, Xizel's expression was subtle: "..."
So, who is the protagonist between him and Xia Zuo?
From this point of view, he was fully armed at the beginning, and compared with Xia Zuo, the other party suddenly looked extremely pitiful.
The man in the iron mask continued to add settings for him.
When César was sixteen, he became the last member of the Crest family. The burden of the warden of the Eastwood Insane Prison instantly fell on him.
However, there are two conditions for becoming a warden:
One is that the talent level reaches S level, which is easy to understand.
Second, as an agent, he still needs to enter the world...
missionary work.
Cesar closed his eyes in pain.
...It turns out that the purpose of his appearance was to preach.
As for the reason for coming to Xia Zuo, it was also explained. When the distance was not far, a sober priest could of course sense the location of a priest who was still confused and the aura barrier set up by the family was gradually disappearing.
Cesar: Thank you.
Apart from being in and out of prison three times, he really didn't do anything to spread his faith.
Comic Will was also silent. After a long while, he comforted her dryly, "Look at it on the bright side. At least the appearance of your new vest is legitimate."
——On the surface, he is an ordinary devout believer, but in reality he is a clergyman with the status of an agent.
On a deeper level, it is the protagonist's best friend who died.
César: Very good, very interesting.
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