Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2177: Chapter 2178: Kalomchis

Inside a gigantic volcano crater.

Angel stood on a small path carved along the volcano wall, silently watching Toby, who was "bathing" in the volcanic magma below... Well, to be precise, it was Toby in Gryphon form.

The elemental tide had not yet receded, and the fire rain continued to fall from the sky.

So, Toby was both bathing and enjoying a shower, looking quite content.

By Angel’s feet lay a severed hand, none other than Dangross. It was perched at the edge of the path, peering down at the volcanic magma pool below, its gaze fixated on Toby.

The eyes formed of flame radiated evident admiration.

Dangross’s five fingers kept curling and stretching, as if in reverent worship of Toby.

Above the volcanic magma pool, a tall "demon" figure floated, surrounded by flocks of Flame Sparrows flying in circles.

This demon was the new king of the Region of Fire — Magma Lord Midir.

Magma Lord Midir was issuing orders to the Flame Sparrows, after which they dispersed.

Magma Lord Midir gracefully descended, suspending in front of Angel, offering a courteous salute: "I have sent my underlings to explain to the Phoenix and others that the previous conflict was merely a misunderstanding caused by Dangross’s ignorance."

"Please allow me to introduce myself..."

Faced with Magma Lord Midir’s graceful and polite action, Angel returned the gesture appropriately. However, his mind was still in a daze because he never expected a situation of such confrontation to suddenly take such a rapid turn.

The story began half an hour ago—

Earl Mi created a chaos that even Magma Lord Midir could not respond to. Angel knew the time had come, immediately choosing to activate the Illusion Node, using the Heart Illusion Technique to confuse Magma Lord Midir.

Then, Earl Mi returned to Angel’s shadow, retreating together with him.

The Heart Illusion Technique was based on Magma Lord Midir’s thoughts, so the "Earl Mi" it saw responded in ways it imagined, truly baffling Magma Lord Midir for a time.

This also bought Angel the time to retreat.

Angel performed an Astral Projection, fully activating the Gravity Meridian, and in less than half a minute, moved ten miles away.

Angel’s initial plan was to find a hidden place, have Earl Mi turn into flames to envelop him, and then activate the illusion for perfect concealment.

In fact, Angel did exactly that.

But unexpectedly, as Angel achieved perfect invisibility, Toby, who was engrossed in absorbing energy from the flames, unknowingly entered a peculiar state. Taking advantage of Angel’s inattention, it elegantly flew out of the pocket, soaring into the sky... transforming into the Berserker Gryphon.

In an instant, the Gryphon’s mane ignited the fire rain that fell upon it.

A series of fiery explosions occurred around Toby.

Though Toby remained unharmed, even lazily rolling in mid-air as if enjoying it, Angel found himself startled by this behavior.

He quickly flew into the air to check on Toby’s condition.

Only upon approaching did he realize that Toby had not yet awakened, and was subconsciously absorbing the fire energy from the surrounding elemental tide in its Gryphon form.

Although subconscious, the energy level of the flames surrounding Toby increased rapidly.

Seeing this, Angel immediately realized that it was a leap transition of Toby’s Gryphon form energy level!

In other words, due to the elemental tide’s cleansing, the Gryphon’s fire energy had rejuvenated, pushing it to the breakthrough stage.

Similar to a wizard’s advancement, Toby’s breakthrough could not be disturbed by outside influences, otherwise, it could easily fail or even backfire.

Angel initially wanted to awaken Toby but dared not touch it anymore, simply standing guard beside it.

However, his heart was filled with bitterness.

"Early no breakthrough, late no breakthrough, but it just had to breakthrough now..." Although Angel knew this was not Toby’s fault, since Toby had not felt its Gryphon form would enter the breakthrough state, it was entirely by accident— the elemental tide had directly pushed Toby to the brink of breakthrough.

Seeing matters were set in motion and unable to pause mid-process, Angel could only find a way to protect Toby.

However, the current location wasn’t far from where the fight with Magma Lord Midir had happened, if concealment could work, it would be fine, but now Toby’s condition didn’t allow for cooperation in hiding, so within mere breaths, the discerning Magma Lord Midir, along with the berating Dangross, appeared before them.

Greeting a formidable foe, Angel sighed, beginning to operate the Magic Vortex within him. This time, he not only needed to fend off external threats but also protect Toby; relying solely on Earl Mi might not suffice, he had to personally step in.

At least, until Toby’s breakthrough was complete, no harm could befall Toby.

In a flash of thought, Angel already simulated various scenarios in his mind, how to confront, how to defend, what to do if the enemy targets Toby... Angel had to consider almost every possible situation, having a plan at heart. After all, this concerned Toby’s safety.

As Angel and Earl Mi entered a state of high tension, the unexpected occurred.

Magma Lord Midir, though arriving with great momentum, strangely restrained his aura upon approach, quietly glanced at Toby in the distance, then hovered silently a hundred meters away, making no moves or sounds.

On the contrary, Dangross, clenching Magma Lord Midir’s wings, upon seeing Toby, exclaimed in a trembling voice: "That’s, an... ancestor?!"

Dangross pointed to Toby, who was sleeping soundly mid-air, with an unprecedented shock in its eyes.

Angel also had no idea how Dangross could mistake Toby for an "ancestor", but it was precisely due to this that Magma Lord Midir showed friendliness towards Angel.

Magma Lord Midir did not take action against Angel or Earl Mi, even waiting quietly for Toby to advance.

After Toby successfully advanced, Angel did not perceive any malice from Magma Lord Midir, who seemed to have something to convey. After a momentary reflection, Angel finally followed Magma Lord Midir to this current volcano.

...

Below the volcano crater.

After Magma Lord Midir introduced himself, he waved his hand lightly, and Dangross, who was secretly watching Toby "bathe" by the edge, got caught in mid-air.

Dangross struggled and swore, but Magma Lord Midir showed no intention of releasing it.

"This was your mistake, you must apologize to this..." Magma Lord Midir glanced at Angel, seemingly thinking about how to address him.

"Just call me Pat."

The Magic Flame Midir pinched Dangross: "Apologize to Mr. Pat."

After struggling fruitlessly, Dangross had to bow to Angel: "I’m sorry, it was my ignorance that led to me mistaking Mr. Pat as a spy..."

Although Dangross seemed to be apologizing due to the overwhelming pressure from Magic Flame Midir, Angel could see that on the way to the volcano, Dangross repeatedly tried to initiate conversation vaguely to gloss over the previous misunderstanding. This indicated that it had realized its mistake but was hesitant to admit it due to pride, feeling somewhat guilty.

Now, though it appeared to be forced by Magic Flame Midir, Dangross was not unwilling.

Angel didn’t harbor much malice toward this naive Dangross. Since things had returned to a peaceful state from confrontation, he accepted Dangross’s apology with a nod, not dwelling on these minor issues.

Upon seeing this, Dangross felt relieved and quickly reverted from an awkward state to its mischievous self, saying to Angel: "We’ve settled the score then. Gulada and Phoenix were defeated by you, even my good friend Kelonkcro had to use its talent for self-explosion once, and it will take years to recover its form. So overall, we’re still on the losing side."

The Magic Flame Midir gave a flick, tossing Dangross aside: "You’ve apologized, now get back, your teacher Magu is still waiting for you."

Dangross raised its middle and little fingers and shook them vigorously: "No, I don’t want to leave, my ancestors are here!"

After speaking, Dangross attempted to jump into the volcano magma pool, only to be kicked away by the Magic Flame Midir. Dangross wasn’t discouraged and tried repeatedly, but couldn’t escape the flying kick of Magic Flame Midir.

Finally, Dangross gave up on jumping into the magma and instead rushed to another side, clinging to Angel’s ankle.

In its view, Angel and Toby were friends, so as long as it held onto Angel tightly, there was a chance to get close to Toby.

Angel also felt tempted to kick away this mischievous child, but his noble etiquette restrained him. Instead, he summoned a light blue Hand of Magic to pinch Dangross off.

Dangross didn’t struggle, simply letting itself be held by the Hand of Magic.

At this point, Angel turned to look at Magic Flame Midir: "Your Highness the New King, I wonder what ancestors Dangross is talking about?"

Previously, it was due to the so-called "ancestors" that Magic Flame Midir hadn’t attacked them and even showed kindness. Angel was curious about the mystery behind this.

Before Magic Flame Midir could speak, Dangross excitedly said: "Let me tell, let me tell! My ancestors, surely let me tell!"

After seizing the right to speak, Dangross began to speak enthusiastically about the so-called ancestors.

It was indeed what Dangross previously often mentioned — Kalomchis.

Kalomchis was a Flame Gryphon burning with fierce flames, with the body and claws of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle.

As for the relationship between Kalomchis and Dangross... it was quite delicate.

According to Dangross’s description, it was born from the hill where Kalomchis was buried, inheriting Kalomchis’s fiery will, thus considering itself as Kalomchis’s descendant.

But to Angel, this sounded more like a humble birth but trying hard to claim ancestry.

Of course, though Angel thought this way, he didn’t voice it out. After all, even the New King Magic Flame Midir hadn’t denied it, and he as an outsider was less qualified to comment.

What Dangross knew was just this; it didn’t even know the birth or experiences of Kalomchis, only revolving around praise and worship of its ancestor.

Angel had no choice but to turn his head to Magic Flame Midir, awaiting its explanation.

Magic Flame Midir didn’t disappoint him; the first sentence it expanded upon was useful information: "Kalomchis is not an Elemental Creature; it is a true Flame Gryphon from beyond the skies."

Not an Elemental Creature? And from beyond the skies?!

Angel knew very well that Gryphons have no birth records in the Southern Domain, so this Gryphon definitely did not originate from there. Moreover, it was unlikely that a Gryphon would come here without reason; it was probably brought in by someone.

"Was it brought in by the Savior?"

Magic Flame Midir’s narrow eye slits flashed: "Yes, just like today, Kalomchis was also brought in by a human."

"You know I’m human?" Angel caught a piece of information.

Magic Flame Midir nodded, not denying it.

Dangross curiously inquired what humans were, but nobody responded.

"You’ve seen other humans?" Angel further asked.

Magic Flame Midir shook its head: "In our world, aside from that Savior from beyond the skies, no humans have appeared. You are the second human to come to this world."

That was Magic Flame Midir’s claim, but Angel was skeptical. Even if no humans came here after the planes fused, before the fusion it’s possible humans explored this world; the footprints of Wizards span the great universe, not just a mere saying—they just are unknown to these Elemental Creatures.

Angel didn’t continue dwelling on the human topic, signaling Magic Flame Midir to continue talking about Kalomchis.

"Due to the apocalyptic disaster, Elemental Creatures above Monarch level have mostly faded away. All regions were exceedingly chaotic at the time, so the Savior from beyond allowed Kalomchis to manage as the temporary King."

"Later, Monarchs emerged in various regions, and Kalomchis relinquished the authority."

When Kalomchis was sent here, it was already aged, and eventually didn’t live long, dying in this region.

But during the time Kalomchis was the temporary King, the entire Tidal World thrived, so Monarchs from most regions have great respect for Kalomchis.

Perhaps it’s precisely for this reason that the "humble birth" Dangross forcibly tried to claim kinship. — This is Angel’s speculation.

Angel now understood Kalomchis’s status in the Tidal World, no wonder Toby could quickly cease hostilities by showing its Gryphon form.

Angel secretly sighed: Had he known earlier, he wouldn’t have had to exert so much effort previously.

However, could Toby’s face alone make Magic Flame Midir instantly change its stance? Angel actually harbored some doubts about this.

Because during his initial meeting with Magic Flame Midir, when Angel tried to explain the spy matter as a misunderstanding, Magic Flame Midir’s response seemed to already indicate it knew it was a misunderstanding and even left room for subsequent "self-introduction."

As if it foresaw the current situation.

Angel didn’t believe Magic Flame Midir knew beforehand that Toby could transform into a Gryphon; there must be other reasons.

Unable to understand, Angel straightforwardly asked:

"Shouldn’t Your Highness the New King’s sudden change in attitude be due to more than just the Gryphon relationship?"