Chapter 223: Nightmare Butterfly

“Cough, cough…” Saul was running out of time. As the enormous face lunged at him again, he quickly shouted, “Heidi!”

The charging Heidi froze mid-step.

That’s when Saul noticed—Heidi’s eyes were gone. Two deep hollows were all that remained on her face.

She now looked rather like the eyeless puppet dolls in Kaz’s laboratory.

The burning sensation around him intensified again. Saul glanced toward the rows of eyes watching from the distance, realizing he had to get out of there immediately.

He grabbed Heidi’s long nose and yanked her upward like pulling a radish, dragging her along as he ran.

From beginning to end, the eyes only focused on Saul, paying no attention to the Heidi in his hands.

As soon as they exited the crawlspace, the dazed, doll-like Heidi instantly regained her energy. Shrieking “Brother!” in a high-pitched voice, she darted madly toward the storeroom doors.

But just before reaching the horde of corpses, she skidded to a stop, abruptly turned around, and fled back behind Saul, sobbing with little “whimpers.”

If one could ignore the horror on her face, she did resemble a spoiled little girl.

Well, more like a spoiled little girl’s head.

Saul paid her no mind as she trembled in fear before the corpse horde. He first returned to his body and stood up again.

Looking at Heidi, who trailed closely behind him, Saul realized it didn’t seem appropriate to drag a woman by the nose in front of her brother.

But although she called herself a person, Heidi was really just a face. She had no neck or back of the head—more like a human-skin mask.

After examining her for a moment, Saul finally conceded and cradled her in one hand, loosely shielding her with the other as he stepped toward the corpse horde.

“I want to take her outside. Please don’t harm her, okay?”

Although the corpses hadn’t made a move just now, judging by Heidi’s fear, she must’ve sensed a threat from them.

So Saul decided to try reasoning.

To his surprise, the moment he spoke, the corpse horde shifted sideways in unison, parting to reveal a two-meter-wide path.

Saul blinked, taken aback by how cooperative they were. Had they grown attached to him after all this time?

After all, many of them had invited him into their own spaces to witness their dull daily routines.

“Thank you,” Saul said politely, nodding as he carried Heidi forward.

Of course, he remained alert in case the corpses suddenly turned hostile toward him or Heidi.

Fortunately, the journey was smooth. Saul pushed open the storeroom doors, and immediately saw Heywood still standing there with the black bottle in hand.

“Brother!” Heidi seemed to sniff out Heywood’s scent with her long nose and instantly flew from Saul’s hand to his side.

Saul didn’t stop her.

Heidi circled around Heywood’s head a few times, seemingly wanting to reattach herself to the back of his skull. But Heywood didn’t allow it—he simply raised the black bottle in his hand.

Heidi’s nostrils twitched twice, and she whined, “I don’t want to go back in.”

Heywood shook his head firmly. “You’re too filthy right now. If you’re not washed clean, you can’t come out.”

The frail, girl-like expression on Heidi vanished instantly. Her face twisted with fury as she began cursing at Heywood.

But Heywood was clearly used to this. With no expression, he grabbed her nose and stuffed her forcefully into the black bottle.

Saul: “…”

“Thanks a lot,” Heywood said as he sealed the bottle. Without any tricks, he then pulled out a small lead box from his coat.

Saul accepted it and was about to examine it when Heywood stopped his hand.

“It’s best to read this somewhere quiet and alone. Each session must not exceed ten minutes. For three days after reading, don’t sleep. Avoid deep meditation too.”

Heywood solemnly laid out all the precautions.

The diary offered no objections.

He also warned Saul, “When not in use, always seal it in this lead box. Don’t take notes. And after reading it, as your understanding deepens, you must never speak or write its name—especially if you have an immature cocoon nearby. The deeper your bond, the more likely you are to awaken it. Once it transforms, even a True Wizard wouldn’t dare provoke it.”

Saul nodded to show he understood.

Heywood finally let go. “Dangerous yet beautiful—that’s what makes wizardly so fascinating.”

He then seemed eager to show off more, inviting Saul to tour the First Storeroom—clearly roused by the Nightmare Butterfly.

But Saul felt it was best not to wander for now.

Heywood didn’t push it. “I’ll go prepare. I’ll come help stabilize your soul-body connection at noon tomorrow.”

That was the first reward Heywood had promised Saul.

Saul wasn’t in a rush. Cradling the lead box containing the information on the Nightmare Butterfly, he returned to the Second Storeroom.

But despite finally having the long-desired material, Saul didn’t open it right away. Instead, he placed it on a distant shelf, away from the cocoon.

“My soul and body are still unstable. Viewing this now might be too dangerous. Better to wait until after my second physical modification.”

Resisting the lure of knowledge, Saul lay back on his single bed. “What I really need now is sleep.”

But the moment he hit the mattress, he bolted upright again, rushed to the corner of the storeroom, and dragged out a stone coffin.

This coffin could partially seal souls. Apprentice wizards often used them to bring mutated corpses back for research.

Saul had gotten this one from a senior who’d tried to deceive him by pretending to be possessed. He had killed her, and the late-arriving Senior Byron handled the cleanup and divided the spoils.

Saul ended up with this coffin.

He hadn’t had much use for it since. Who would’ve thought he’d eventually use it as a bed?

Not that he minded. After cleaning off the dust, he tossed in his bedding and pillow.

…

A dozen or so days later, Saul was holding two test tubes, comparing the differences.

One had triggered a death warning from the diary. The other was safe, but hadn’t turned crimson as described in Ralph’s notes.

“Something must’ve gone wrong in one of the steps.” Saul shook his head. He couldn’t figure out where he’d erred. “As expected of a True Wizard’s research—the diary’s corrections still can’t help me fully replicate it.”

Never underestimate any wizard in this world.

He set down the test tubes and prepared for a third attempt.

Once he perfected the fleshcrafting potion, he could try combining it with his plastic bones.

A body-modification method focused on devouring flesh, combined with Soul Resin that could store souls—he wondered what kind of sparks might fly.

Of course, the diary’s help would be crucial in nudging the final results in his desired direction.

Little Algae obediently handed Saul a new empty test tube and stirring rod.

It was always the most exciting when Saul did experiments.

Unfortunately, just as Saul accepted the tube, the feathered message quill on the left suddenly flew up and began scribbling rapidly on the blank parchment on his desk.

“A mission?” Saul blinked. He’d been back for nearly a month and was finally getting new work.

It was as if the mentors had known he was in seclusion and had intentionally avoided disturbing him.

If that was the case, it was probably the Tower Master’s order.

He handed the tools back to Little Algae and approached the quill to read the new assignment.

There were no rare materials listed. The final signature read: Mentor Gudo.

“Oh, Keli’s mentor.” Saul picked up the paper and cross-referenced it with the inventory list he’d prepared.

“It’s been a while since I last saw Keli. I wonder if she made it back safely from her expedition. Judging by her face, she doesn’t seem like someone who’d meet misfortune on the road.”

Having faced death twice himself, Saul sincerely hoped Keli’s journey had gone smoothly.

In less than two hours, Saul had gathered all the required materials and wheeled the cart back to the lab bench. He picked up the feathered quill and wrote “Completed” on the task sheet.

Almost immediately, someone knocked on the storeroom door.

“Could it be Heywood again?”

Saul went to open it. Ever since he’d pulled Heidi out of the crawlspace, Heywood had regularly helped him improve the stability between his body and soul.

Interestingly, he did so using physical conditioning techniques, which had opened Saul’s eyes.

Though each session felt like acupuncture—being pricked all over—it was worth it. The effects lasted nearly a month. And it was free. So Saul endured.

But when Saul opened the door this time, he found someone he hadn’t seen in a long while.

A smile spread across his face. “You’re finally back, Keli.”

(End of Chapter)

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