Advent of the Archmage

Sleeping Giant Inn.

The black cat actually started talking. Masos was bewildered at this scene though he quickly recollected himself and said, "Tsk, did I really capture a god?"

Link nodded and said, "You can tell from the way he speaks. Only a god would call us mortals."

Masos then stroked his beard as he laughed, "I can brag about this for generations to come."

The black cat gave him a cold stare before he sneered, "A few generations? You will be lucky enough to live your life in peace."

Masos was suddenly reminded of the weight of the situation. The black cat seemed to ignore him after shooting him a glance.

Masos suddenly felt a cool breeze on his beck. Although this cat was in a wreck now, he was still a god. If he ever recovered his powers, Masos would definitely be in trouble.

"I don't feel good. I'll be going back to rest," Masos said as he quickly made his leave.

Only Link and Felina were left in the room.

Link was not afraid of the black cat. He sat beside the table and observed the cat quizzically before asking, "How do I address you? Do I still call you Elodim?"

"A name is merely an alias. Call me whatever you want." The black cat assumed its languid appearance once again. It no longer stared at the fish broth that was some distance away from him, though his nose would still switch ever so often.

"Why are you hiding from us?" Felina asked.

"I like to do so. What can you do?" the black cat said impatiently.

"I'm afraid that is not all." Link tapped his wand lightly on the table, emitting a clicking sound. He had a calm expression on his face as he stared at Elodim with an unmoving gaze. No one knew what Link was thinking about.

Elodim felt guilty upon seeing Link's face. He immediately stressed, "Like I said, it's none of your business!"

Link merely sighed and turned to Felina before saying, "Forget it, we are not in a rush anyway. We will eat our dinner in peace and discuss the rest tomorrow."

Felina naturally had no objections. She then started eating the cyan eel meat. There were still large amounts of fish broth left. The both of them ate with relish.

A few minutes later, Elodim could not withstand the temptations anymore. He leaned to the side of the cage as he eyed the fish broth expectantly, pleading, "Hey, mortal. Let's make a deal."

This was not fully due to his gluttony. After his power was sealed, there was only this much he could pursue in life as a cat.

What else could he do?

Usually, when he was hungry, he could only steal food from the nearby stores. However, he could only do so occasionally. If he was ever caught, he would be in a miserable position. He did not wish to die once again. Using a dead body to revive was not as easy as it seemed. When he died in an accident the previous time, he had to lie in his tomb for six months before a black cat somehow graced the area.

That miserable past was too much for him to recall.

After obtaining the body of the black cat, he could only catch birds and rodents for food. He could only eat them raw as no one would cook his prey for him. Although he would not die if he starved, the discomfort from a starving stomach could very well drive him crazy.

He had to endure the nauseating feeling every time he ate a mouse just to satisfy his hunger.

He knew that if he were to please a mortal using his cute and attractive figure, he would definitely be able to lead a good life as a house pet. However, he was a god! How could he do something like pleasing a mortal! That was preposterous!

Link was just sucking on a fish bone as he turned around and laughed, "Do you want to have some?"

"I…do not want it. I only want to discuss some things with you!" Elodim used the last of his willpower to suppress his urges and replied affirmingly, turning his head in the meantime.

Link then ignored him.

Felina was starting to pity the black cat. She whispered, "This is not very nice. Should we give him some?"

Link shook his head and said, "You do not have to take pity on him. He has never ever taken pity on us."

In his heart, Link added, You have no idea what he is planning. This guy is not someone to be trifled with.

However, Link did not say those words out. They were merely his predictions. Furthermore, Felina would not be able to help. There was no reason to make her unnecessarily worried.

After a filling meal, there was still a lot of food left, though Link had no plans on giving any of it to the black cat. He cleaned the oil off his mouth and told Felina, "Rest early, I will interrogate him in the night."

"Alright," Felina nodded before she left. After all, she had no idea how the Divine Gear worked. It would be futile to stay and do nothing.

At long last, there was only Link, Nana, and the black cat left in the room.

Nana sat on a chair at the side and ate the fish bit by bit. She seemed to be constantly intrigued by it, even playing with the bones. Link then allowed her to entertain herself while he walked towards the cage and whispered, "Isendilan approached you. Am I right?"

The black cat's eyes widened, and his pupils dilated. It took him a full second before he recollected himself and said, "He is a red dragon. It is normal for him to be able to find me."

"You taught him the revival spell right?" Link said.

The black cat fell silent again. After ten seconds, he nodded and said, "You have quite a good brain for a mortal. You are right again."

"He promised you freedom?" Link's questions seemed disjointed, though he knew very well the black cat could understand him perfectly.

"No." The black cat shook his head before continuing, "He is merely a larger worm in my eyes. He does not have the power to give me my freedom. Freedom is something that I fight for. He merely brought me a delicious meal while feeling self-righteous that he had stolen a revival spell from me."

"He does not know that terrible consequences of the spell?"

"He should know a bit of it, though, he is not very clear. I don't think he will use it that often…It is indeed a strong spell. He will not be able to help himself. As long as he continues to use it, haha, Magician, you should know what will happen."

The black cat did not conceal his plans at all. The reason was simple. The plan was already like a carriage that had set off, the coachman none other than the Legendary dragon Isendilan. The road ahead was extremely foggy and was a one way trip to the abyss, though Isendilan seemed to be oblivious to it, charging ahead aimlessly.

No one could stop this carriage. It would eventually descend into the abyss.

The expression on Link's face did not change. His spoke in a calm voice, "Isendilan's greatest flaw is his arrogance. He completely ignores the power of mortals. If I am not wrong, he has just suffered a loss. He should be heavily injured. Am I right?"

The black cat stared at Link and sighed, "If not for my reminders, Isendilan might really die in your hands. However, you do not stand a chance now."

Link was startled upon hearing those words. He gasped, "I'm afraid you have also taught him a new Divine spell."

"Haha, you got it, though I do not have a reward for you," The black cat said as he squinted his eyes to stare at the fish broth on the table. He said, "Why don't you bring me a bowl of fish soup while it is still warm. If I am happy with how it tastes, I might bring you along in my escape. As for the Beastmen, you should stay out of it."

Link laughed and sat motionlessly in his position. He then sighed, "Little guy, you know how to cause trouble."

The black cat then said, "Mortal, are you sure you want to talk to me like this?"

Link ignored him. Instead, he turned to Nana and said, "Nana, the dagger."

Nana immediately took out the Breakpoint dagger.

Gliding his fingers across the sharp blade of the Breakpoint Dagger, Link laughed, "I don't think I need to explain how special this dagger is."

The black cat retreated for a few steps before nodding his head, saying, "It can destroy the point of singularity.

"Then, tell me. Can this dagger destroy your immortal soul?" Link glanced menacingly at the blade of the dagger while using his enchanting spells to smoothen out the golden exterior.

The black cat then shook his head firmly and said "There is no use. My immortal soul is indestructible!"

However, Link realized that the black cat kept his gaze on the dagger the whole time, instinctively displaying an alert posture. This meant that he viewed the dagger as a dangerous weapon that could probably hurt him permanently.

Link then laughed as he snickered, "I do not like to put my fate in the hands of others, even if they are a god. Therefore, I have decided to test this dagger out on your immortal soul. I will even use this dagger against Isendilan, to see if he is truly as powerful as he says. Do you think my plan will work?"

As Link said those words, the candle flames in the room flickered, casting an ominous illumination on his face. His voice was also extremely soft, to the point where a person would think he was bewitched.

Every sentence he said struck fear into the heart of the black cat. By the time he was done, the black cat had retreated all the way to the edge of the cage.

Link squinted his eyes and continued, "I am a Magician, and naturally, I am not adept in wielding daggers. However, my magic puppet can do this exceptionally well. She is extremely fast as well. Even if I open the cage and allow you to run around the room, you would not be able to travel more than three feet without getting caught. Of course, I do not like to push people into a hopeless situation, so I am giving you a chance."

Upon saying those words, Link turned to Nana and said, "Nana, clean your hands. I need a favor from you."

"Alright then, I am already full." Nana cleaned her hands on the tablecloth and took the dagger over from Link's hand.

Link then turned to the black cat and said, "I will open the cage. When I do so, you will run with all your might. My magic puppet will try to pierce your skull with this dagger. If you can escape from this room, we will not bother you any longer."

Link then placed his hands on the metallic cage door and cast an enchanting spell, changing the structure of the metallic lock bit by bit.

"Nana, are you ready?" Link chuckled.

"A simple request," Nana played around with the dagger as she said. Under the illumination of the candlelight, the dagger reflected a cold brilliance into the eyes of the black cat. Nana's eyes stared unblinkingly at the metallic cage door. The moment the black cat emerged from the cage, she would follow her master's order and put an end to its life.

Link then turned to the black cat and said, "Elodim, what about you? Are you ready to face your fate?"

The black cat stayed silent, though it retreated far away from the cage door.

The cage door was opened. Nana eagerly stared at the door, though after a long time, the black cat still sat motionless inside the cage. He seemed to have no intention of escaping.

Link then smiled as he asked, "What is happening? Didn't you want freedom? Why are you afraid now that I have given you this opportunity?"

The black cat then lay helplessly on the ground as he said, "Mortal, you have won. Let me have a good meal, and I will teach you a Divine spell more powerful than the one I taught Isendilan."

"Tsk, it seems like you still choose death," Link stared at him in contempt.

These Divine spells would definitely be detrimental to the World of Firuman in one way or another. The balance of the world would be greatly disturbed each time. This would accelerate the world's descent into the abyss.

If he used these Divine spells to go against Isendilan, the World of Firuman would quickly descend into destruction. Even if Link did not understand the exact workings of a Divine spell, he could easily guess it.

An amicable relationship never existed between Link and the black cat. Since the beginning, their interests were conflicting, and they had to tread extremely carefully to prevent themselves from falling into a trap. This was especially so for Link, who was still a mortal and was more likely to lose in this battle of wits.

Therefore, he had to be ruthless.

Nana then walked forward with the dagger in her hand, ready to end the life of this black cat.

The black cat caved in, "Stop, make her stop! I will tell the truth."

Link then stretched his hands to block Nana's way before he calmly said, "You have one last chance."

Link was simply too calm. He did not reveal any emotions in this entire conversation. This made the black cat extremely uneasy. He had no idea if Link would truly destroy him. If his immortal soul were to suffer a blow from the Breakpoint Dagger, he would at the very least be seriously injured.

He could not afford to take the risk.

After a long sigh, the black cat whispered, "It cannot be stopped. From the start, there were no brakes in this plan."