Chapter 41: Chapter 41
"Don’t tell me he is the reason for all this..." Aziel thought to himself, his mind entertaining the ridiculous idea that all the smoke could’ve come from that single figure, that maybe the explosion had been something else entirely.
But the notion was short-lived. No matter how much he looked at it, there was just no way smoking, even with whatever strange material that glowing stick was made of, could’ve created this much smoke.
He exhaled sharply. "Hey, you—"
His voice rang through the hollow chamber, echoing faintly off the quartz-like walls.
The figure, however, didn’t move an inch. Not even a twitch, as if the words hadn’t reached him at all.
Aziel frowned. ’He heard that... there was no way he didn’t.’
"Wow," Aziel muttered under his breath. "...Tough crowd."
And just as the words left his mouth, the figure finally stirred.
With unhurried grace, he turned, the white coat swaying slightly, the faint blue ember still glowing between his fingers. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel-fire.ɴet
A thin trail of silver mist escaped his lips as he faced Aziel, the edges of his mouth lifting into a small, knowing smile.
"Where did you learn that phrase?"
The figure spoke, his voice carrying a low, almost melodic purr. Slowly, his face came into view. Aziel’s eyes sharpened, taking in the details with a mixture of curiosity and caution.
Dark circles traced the hollows beneath his eyes, like two exhausted raccoons had decided to take permanent residence there, hinting at days, maybe even weeks, without proper rest.
Stray locks of green hair fell across his forehead in every direction, sticking out as if each strand had its own chaotic agenda, like he’d just survived a wind tunnel designed by a toddler.
His ember-colored eyes glowed faintly, sharp and unblinking, as if he had binge-watched every thriller series in existence in one sleepless night and could now read Aziel’s thoughts like spoilers.
"Damn, at least someone remembered to pack a lethal face card," Aziel muttered under his breath, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth despite the tension growing in his mind.
The man tossed aside the material he’d been holding to his mouth and stepped forward. His posture was so ridiculously stiff and awkward that Aziel half-expected him to trip or topple over at any second.
Yet somehow, he continued his march, which barely began before it ended, halting precisely in front of Aziel.
He was tall. Taller than Aziel, so much that Aziel couldn’t even see the top of his head.
"Your choice of words continues to intrigue me. Would you like to witness what I just made?" He spoke in a tired yet loud tone, as if each word had to be forced out.
Aziel brought both hands forward, keeping a careful distance. "Sure. I would like to see what it is that caused this mess, wouldn’t I?" he replied, voice calm but tinged with dry amusement.
The man winked in response, then glided in a peculiar, almost floating motion, muttering gibberish under his breath.
Aziel couldn’t help but think, ’This Plasma... His presence isn’t provoking at all. Hell, it doesn’t even...’
"Ahh, Sir Aziel, I have got some work to do. Till then, you can either stay with the Forbidden Soul, observing him, or come along," Frickon called out from behind, half-grinning, his tone a mix of excitement and casual mischief.
"Then what the heck are you doing here? Go do the task already. And as for me... well, I am staying here for some time.Pick me up when you return. Oh, and where is even that Forbidden Soul?"
Aziel asked, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
Frickon tilted his head, confusion flickering across his features.
"Well... didn’t you just talk with him? How can you be so forgetful? Are you pretending, sir Aziel, to test me?" He laughed softly, though the sound had an almost nervous edge, as if he weren’t sure whether Aziel would take offense or chuckle.
Aziel gave a faint, unimpressed hum, keeping his gaze locked on the gliding figure. "Pretend? Not at all. I’m just... choosing to enjoy the chaos for a while."
The man in white suddenly paused mid-step, a thin curl of silver mist escaping his lips as he exhaled, his mouth twisting into a subtle, knowing smile. "I will show you my most recent discovery."
’So he’s the Forbidden Soul... from the human realm, just like me. I wonder how I will let him know that I am a human just like him,’ Aziel thought to himself, biting his lips just as they were about to widen in excitement.
He knew it wouldn’t take long to let that man know, especially since Frickon—even though he often acted dumb—possessed surprisingly sharp observational senses and was heading off somewhere.
Naturally, that left only the two of them in the room.
A faint thrill ran along his spine. Just him and the stranger now.
No one else watching, no distractions.
His mind raced through the possibilities, imagining how the man would react, how the atmosphere would shift the moment words were exchanged.
"I’m headed off. See you guys later. Hope you won’t forget me when I return," Frickon declared, twisting into a gaseous form.
His body drifted along the currents of air, outside, leaving only Aziel and the man in the room.
The man moved sluggishly, holding two long flasks, one in each hand, filled a quarter of the way with liquids of strange colors: red and green.
He carefully cleared the nearby desk, tossing aside materials to make space, and set one flask down.
"I won’t just show this to anyone, so watch carefully," he said, his voice low and deliberate.
He gently swirled the red liquid, then tilted the flask upside down just enough for one or two drops to escape through gravity.
Aziel’s eyes followed the droplets as they tumbled toward the other flask on the desk. They fell into the green liquid, and the moment they touched, a blinding flash of light erupted for an instant.
A small explosion followed, sharp and sudden, carrying a strangely familiar echo, like the larger sound he had heard earlier, only condensed into a miniature scale.
Aziel instinctively leaned back.