Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 536 - 490 Twilight

Silvette.

The girl with the intriguing purple eyes stood before Ralph Butler, her hairband snapped by an invisible force, her black hair moving without any wind. From within the shadow of her bangs, the purple light flickered like flames, noble and mysterious.

As Ralph whispered, as if a magician revealing a secret, Silvette’s presence grew ever stronger. She shifted from a girl to a lady, from a lady to a queen, and from a queen to an even higher being.

"I have another question..."

The transformed Silvette gazed steadily at his shadowy eyes, locking eyes with Ralph without looking away.

"Is everything a lie? Kingslayer or Alchemist, everything I know about you, are they all lies you’ve woven to achieve your purpose?" Silvette tilted her chin up, her expression a mixture of confusion akin to a helpless child and a stern judge rolled into one. Her voice became feeble yet cold, charming yet fierce. Although it was a question, its tone was hardly more casual than the interrogations familiar to Ralph.

At this moment, Silvette’s authority surpassed all beings Ralph had ever seen, even angels. Her arrogant amethyst eyes seemed to penetrate the darkness of Ralph, like a deity looking down upon a crude beast.

Ralph revealed a playful smile.

"Foolish girl."

"..." The proud being did not acknowledge the nickname.

"You should learn to discern truth from lies and have your own ideas. You’re still too weak, your heart, still that of a young girl." Ralph chuckled, "You’re too naive. Compared to Lyle, who is a world apart, that boy stopped believing me after I deceived him out of twenty dinars. Unlike my sharp nephew, you have a long way to go. Lyle, Little Butler, has already spread his wings, free from the protection of elders. Although I’ve come to save him this time..."

Silvette frowned unhappily, her brows like lifted guillotine blades, suppressing irritation as she spoke.

"Must you go out of your way to sing praises of your nephew? You wolf in sheep’s clothing."

"Of course, he is my prized family member. He stands above everything in my heart... except for the adorable Nia. That’s my grandniece, the most dazzling treasure in this world."

Suddenly, the greasy Ralph made Silvette uncomfortable, and Degonris had already been reduced to a basin.

"Why return the power to me when you have already realized its strength?"

"It pleases me."

"..."

"No need for that power, I can still make my own choices as I wish. But you, without that power, you’re just a little girl."

The ground beneath Silvette began to crack, and she flashed a helpless smile, as if reverting to the flustered noble young lady.

"Your name, your real name."

Ralph looked into those beautiful eyes, and once more, he repeated the inception of this charade.

"Ralph Butler, a constable from Cassandra."

Silvette smiled, her body bursting with light, raising her hand to exclude Ralph and Verlet from the collapsing borders of Degonris, the girl’s voice lingering in their ears.

"This incarnation of reason, just a true prison of containment. My essence has already been driven mad by Loshutar, such a pity, I can’t express my gratitude to you."

"Let me spread my wings and sing of your bravery with my resurrection, mortals."

Silvette took a step back, falling into the fissure.

"Etch my name into your memory, young wolf, and see if your Little Butler is better than me."

Light, a purple light illuminating the night burst forth from beneath the ground of Degonris.

The ancient voice announced her resurrection, rocks and storms celebrated her rebirth.

"I am the detritus of an era, the great orphan. I witnessed the end at the edge of time, and I watched over the twilight in the land of the fallen. With hatred and loathing embraced, I inherit the curses of my ancestors in this world, and now, I shall unfurl my wings once again, let this world tremble once more at our roar."

"I am the bound twilight, the last of the dragons!!!" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"The Twilight Dragon, Silvette!!!"

The behemoth buried in the earth raised its head and roared, its majestic black wings fanning the fires and thunder of mysterious power. The amethyst horned crown and the color of her eyes matched the dragon’s cry, heralding her arrival to this world.

Madness swept across the land within the bright purple dragon breath, the storm bowing beneath the flapping dragon wings.

Degonris, crumbled under the wrath of the towering entity.

A mad dragon had broken free of her prison.

The two human constables dusted their clothes off, Verlet looking at Ralph with excitement.

"Dragon! My dear! We actually know a dragon!"

Ralph straightened his attire, touching his head.

"And then, oh, she burned my hat."

Ralph didn’t dwell on it and turned towards the ominous castle.

"The dragon sealed within the powers has fled. Our task is complete, let’s go find Lyle."

Verlet hugged Ralph’s arm, looking at the red moon that appeared after the dragon had torn open the overcast sky.

"Will we meet again, with Silvette..."

"No, can you imagine a dragon descending on Naranya, or using the spires of Cassandra to pick its teeth?"

"Pfft. I believe Silvette would much prefer to pick her teeth with you."

"Such boring thoughts."

Verlet and Ralph walked shoulder to shoulder on the gravel path, the moonlight illuminating the smooth stones as if they were walking on starlight.

"Mr. Barkin has found peace, hasn’t he?"

"..." Ralph turned his head, the moonlight spilling onto Verlet’s face, her lips dewy and vibrant against her wine-red hair.

"Is the Butler family’s talent for lying hereditary? Lyle is like that, so are you. When you want to lie, your eyes lose focus and you state your lies like a puppet. It’s easy to see through Lyle, and you’re no different."

"Your cold gaze is indeed a fine disguise, but it can’t fool someone who has always been watching you."

"A wolf named Ralph wouldn’t dig up his friend’s grave, no matter if he’s a terrifying bastard, a big bastard."

Ralph ran his hand through his hair.

"I should improve that flaw."

"You can’t hide from me, never have and never will, I guarantee it."

...

Two weeks ago, Cassandra was experiencing a torrential downpour, the heavy curtain of rain blurring everything to the point where you could only see a vague outline five meters away.

At Cassandra Ducal Cemetery, a robust man stood before a grave, cloaked in a hooded leather robe, watching the rain-soaked tombstone.

A tall shadow moved through the rain, coming to stand beside him.

The pounding rain forced the men to raise their voices.

"Why have you come?" A drenched Ralph looked at the man who had stood still before the grave for some time.

"Maybe you need a helper, or an accomplice." Gareth, leaning on a shovel, bowed respectfully toward Barkin’s grave.

"You peeked at Barkin’s relics."

"No, but I can guess. Our old friend lived a solitary life; he wouldn’t bring anything valuable back with him to the grave. Unless it held significant worth to someone."

"The box contained the secrets of the Sage’s Stone and a note cursing me, which I peeked at before burying him. He’d written ’Ralph and dogs not allowed to open’ on it."

"What did the note cursing you say?"

"Go to hell, Ralph."

"The clever dwarf, his wisdom in sharp contrast to his stature, exceedingly intelligent, particularly at irritating you."

"Truly wise men wouldn’t turn themselves into the Sage’s Stone, leaving themselves restless in death."

"...Ralph, he guessed it, none of us can escape our past, you can’t shed your shadows, and this is Barkin’s legacy."

"I just came to have a look, I’m off to the mainland next, to bid farewell to you all."

Ralph turned and walked into the rain curtain.

"Ralph! You can’t let Barkin’s kindness go to waste, the matters of the Sage’s Stone will surface sooner or later. Look around, his grave is the only one where not a blade of grass grows, the soil is barren, the gravestone cracked. A miracle lies buried in this tomb; even if I try my best to keep it concealed, it will eventually be revealed."

"..."

"..."

"Amitage, a name built upon the fear of enemies."

"But I, I’ve not made my way here on the charity of friends."

"I will act according to my own will, neither violence nor authority will bend me, nor will kindness or begging change me. Let Barkin’s help rot with him in his grave."

"Ralph will have the last laugh, without any external force, because I am Ralph."

"Revealed? Let it be revealed then."

"I have memorized Barkin’s scent."

"Those who dare to desecrate his bones, I will find them..."

"Pleasant conversation."