Chapter 359: A Feign Death Plan?

After Professor Duncan and several elders collapsed one after another.

A buzz of discussion filled the laboratory hall, and a deeply pessimistic mood began to spread.

Ansu rubbed his throbbing temples and first sent instructions to the South: have Barnes immediately withdraw to Norvigel for recuperation, and transfer command to Elder Matthew.

After giving these orders, he put away his communicator and turned towards Celia's private laboratory.

The laboratory door wasn't fully closed, revealing a messy scene inside.

Ancient books and manuscripts were piled open on the floor. Celia sat at the table, irritably clutching her silver-white hair, a gloomy hostility suppressed in her eyes.

“If you keep pulling your hair like that, you’ll go bald,” Ansu joked helplessly, looking at a few strands of silver hair that had fallen onto the manuscript.

Celia looked up and saw him, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly.

“Ansu! You’re just in time. I just thought of an approach that might be worth trying.”

She sighed, pressing her fingers to her temples, and handed him a messy manuscript. “Since a direct curse isn't working, let’s try a different direction.”

Ansu curiously flipped through it. The manuscript was densely covered with the principles of a black magic related to the mind and soul.

“Tell me about it.”

Celia then explained to him, “Human death can be divided into two types: the demise of the body and the dissipation of the soul.”

She pointed to key sections on the manuscript, her speaking speed a little faster than usual.

“Since the curse anchors itself to ‘living targets’ like us, perhaps we can fake a ‘death’ to deceive the false god’s gaze.”

Ansu immediately reacted, “You mean... Feign Death?”

“Feign Death... it certainly falls within what I’m talking about,” Celia said, looking up at him. “But do you know this spell?”

Ansu silently watched her, thinking, I know it all too well...

【Feign Death (Necromancy Magic)】

【Puts the target into a feigned death state, granting resistance to all damage types and suppressing disease and poison.】

【Any physical examination and spell detection will show the target as dead. The target is blinded and incapacitated during this period, lasting 12 hours.】

It was this very spell that caused the simulated Miss Witch to transform into the World Ending Witch... a scene he would never forget.

“What’s wrong?” Celia asked, finding his expression subtle and a bit strange.

“Nothing,” Ansu shook his head, pulling his thoughts back. “But the opponent is a god, the so-called ‘God of Magic.’ Our statuses are too far apart; using this spell to deceive them might not be entirely reliable.”

He paused, then added, “And even if the feigned death succeeds, the target will revive after twelve hours. Will the curse re-lock onto them?”

“We’ll only know after trying,” Celia said, seeing his doubts and curving her lips slightly. “Don’t you have special abilities? Use your prophetic dreams to predict the future and see if this trick works.”

Ansu nodded. “Hmm, I can try.”

At worst, he could use brute force, listing all possible methods to find the optimal solution.

“And this is just the first method,” Celia said, changing her tone and growing more serious. “The second is more dangerous: I want to research methods for long-term soul separation.”

“Elder Feline, who lives in seclusion within the cult, has very unique insights into the domains of mind and soul. He can even easily dominate another person’s will... quite impressive, isn't it? Perhaps we can find similar black magic from him to circumvent this curse.”

As she finished speaking, she looked at Ansu, and the smile on her face suddenly turned a bit awkward.

The hypnosis and brainwashing techniques she’d used on Ansu back then were learned from this very elder...

Ansu was somewhat surprised she brought it up herself, and his tone carried a hint of knowing amusement. “Oh, really? Then Elder Feline must be a very formidable elder indeed.”

But he didn't press the matter further, instead following her line of thought to analyze:

“Theoretically, as long as the soul leaves the body, the cursed flesh becomes an empty shell, effectively bypassing the curse’s judgment...”

“But all of this is predicated on us first understanding the exact mechanism of this curse,” Celia said, lowering her eyes and beginning to absentmindedly tidy the scattered manuscripts before her.

Perhaps due to days of anxiety and exhaustion, her profile looked particularly pale under the light.

“I hope this trick really works...”

Her voice suddenly became very soft, as if she were talking to herself.

“Ansu, you’re different from us. You have the protection of a righteous god; you are the most special.”

Her tone carried an undeniable sense of self-abandonment.

“If that day truly comes, when the curse takes effect, after I die, you must live well...”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!” Ansu’s voice held a rare note of rebuke. “If we’re going to live, we live together. Don’t think about giving up on yourself. Haven’t we still got a bunch of plans to try?”

Celia mumbled an indistinct “Mm,” as if she hadn’t really heard him.

Her gaze remained fixed on the manuscript, her voice light and lacking any strength. “I had a bad feeling when we left the South. The results of my divinations have been ridiculously bad several times. Perhaps this time, I truly won’t make it. If it really comes to that, Ansu, you must—”

“Celia!”

Ansu grabbed her hand, squeezing it fiercely, and stared straight into her unfocused, beautiful eyes. “Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll just go find Freya and live happily ever after with her.”

“What?!”

Celia, who had just been deep in despair, instantly bristled, her eyes wide and round.

“No! Then I won’t die!”

Her tone was urgent and fierce:

“I’m the one who should be with you, not her! Why should I exhaust myself trying to find a solution here, only for her to reap all the benefits in the end? Don’t even think about it!”

Ansu couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

Sure enough, as soon as her number one ‘enemy’ was mentioned, she was instantly filled with fighting spirit.

“So you don’t want to die anymore?” he teased.

“No more dying! I want to live! I have to live on with you!” Celia said fiercely, her chin slightly raised.

“Besides, I made a pact with her! Once everything is over, once the dust settles, we still have a life-or-death final battle to fight!”

“A final battle?” Ansu’s face was full of bewilderment. “When did this happen? You two actually made such an agreement behind my back?”

And a life-or-death one at that!?

Seeing his stunned expression, Celia’s earlier depression mostly dissipated, and the corners of her mouth even curled up.

“Hmph! I won’t tell you, but in short, we agreed to a duel.”

Ansu shook his head helplessly.

He had thought the love triangle chaos had subsided, but it turned out to be merely the prelude to a storm.

There was actually a final explosion at the end?

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on this... He didn't ask further, simply stayed quietly by Celia's side as she regained her composure, researching the ancient books and manuscripts with her.

...

Ansu left the oppressive underground laboratory and returned to the manor above ground.

The faint stinging under his skin never ceased, like countless fine needles piercing his bones along his blood vessels.

The late autumn wind, carrying the chill of withered vegetation, blew into his face. He took a deep breath of cool air, barely managing to suppress the surging heaviness in his chest.

In the living room, Altina sat by the window, holding a teacup, but the hot tea inside had long gone cold.

She seemed to have been waiting for someone, her gaze constantly drifting towards the door.

Hearing familiar footsteps, her pointed elven ears twitched slightly, and her fingertips gripping the cup slowly tightened.

“Altina...?”

Ansu noticed that she had been secretly observing him these past few days, as if investigating something in the shadows.

Just as he was about to ask, the elven lady spoke first.

Her voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable certainty: “You won’t die.”

Ansu was taken aback.

Altina looked up, her emerald eyes surprisingly bright. She repeated with added emphasis:

“Ansu, you won’t die. You absolutely won’t die!”

Ansu curved his lips, the gloom in his heart dissipating slightly.

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it. I definitely won’t die.”

After a brief chat with Altina about the latest in the laboratory, Ansu walked through the living room to the backyard lawn.

Vera was practicing swordplay fiercely against a wooden stake, her Elven shortsword wielded with incredible ferocity. The blade struck the hard stake repeatedly, sending wood chips flying.

She was drenched in sweat from her practice, stray hairs plastered to her cheeks, yet she wouldn’t even pause to wipe it away.

Vera was actually going mad with worry.

But the young girl who usually clung to him, playfully teasing, didn't come near him today. She just swung her sword again and again, as if holding back a surge of determination, wanting to become stronger.

Ansu sighed softly, standing by and watching her, his thoughts drifting back to the curse.

The 100-hour simulation had a stay time of 48 hours. He calculated the remaining time; he still had a day and a half to record data.

Even if he couldn't find a way to break it, he needed to at least figure out the daily deterioration pattern of the curse and calculate each person's death point...

A night passed. Just as dawn was breaking, an urgent communication from the South came through.

Elder Matthew's report was urgent and filled with anger: the demon army was launching a full-scale invasion, systematically dismantling the teleportation matrix they had painstakingly built, and their rear camps were also embroiled in chaos.

Although the battle mage regiment had strong individual combat power, they couldn't withstand the tide-like assault of the demon army. The collapse of their defenses was only a matter of time, and control of the South's heartland would soon change hands.

Normally, he and Celia could stabilize such a situation by returning, but now both were afflicted by the curse and couldn't leave.

Ansu clutched the communicator, only able to instruct Elder Matthew to retreat, with other matters to be discussed later.

After dealing with the mess in the South, Ansu returned to the underground laboratory.

As soon as he stepped into the hall, he saw a chaotic crowd surging in one direction, mixed with panicked whispers.

Ansu frowned deeply and quickly followed.

“Professor! Professor Duncan!” Valger’s shouts came from within the crowd.

Ansu pushed to the front and saw Professor Duncan collapsed by the experimental table.

His eyes were so swollen they threatened to pop out of their sockets, and his skin was covered in dense, hideous patterns. His entire body was red and bloated as if inflated, with foul, black blood oozing from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

“Everyone step back! Get away!” Ansu immediately raised a hand to stop those who wanted to rush forward and help.

No sooner had he spoken than a sudden change occurred.

With a muffled bang, Professor Duncan’s body exploded into countless tiny fragments of flesh and blood, splattering outwards.

In just a few short seconds, the person who had just been alive vanished, leaving only a large puddle of foul, black-red blood on the clean white floor, and a pungent, bloody stench permeated the laboratory.

The surrounding researchers all froze in place, unconsciously holding their breath.

Ansu stood still, silently watching Celia, who had just arrived. Her expression was also one of shock.

This was the first person to die from this false god’s curse.