Cloud Thinking

Seeing that the confusion in Mobius’s eyes was finally replaced by clarity, Helia’s tense heartstrings relaxed slightly, and she let out a long breath with a trembling voice.

She forced a pale, broken smile through her, enduring the excruciating pain in her abdomen, and tried to break the almost stagnant air with her usual slightly flippant tone: "Teacher... are you satisfied with me, the 'prince' who awakened Sleeping Beauty?"

Mobius released the grotesque bone blade still embedded in Helia's abdomen. His hands, covered in sticky blood, trembled uncontrollably, yet he still carefully and firmly supported the swaying student.

His arm was cramping from the excessive force, and his lips were trembling. The surging regret, fear, and heart-wrenching pain choked his throat, preventing him from uttering a single complete syllable.

Sensing her teacher's trembling, Helia tried to lighten the suffocating atmosphere with a lighthearted joke, but the moment she moved her lips, a sharp, piercing pain shot through her wound, causing her to gasp and her voice to tremble:

"Teacher...am I...too heavy? Can your small frame...hold up to me...?"

"Shut up!" Mobius growled, his voice a mixture of indescribable anxiety and anger, and a pain as if his heart was being torn apart.

This child, even in this state, is still putting on a brave face, still using jokes to cover up the severity of his injuries!

As he frantically recalled the bizarre and nightmarish fragments from before his consciousness sank, he half-supported and half-carried, with great difficulty, moving Helia to the edge of the tower ruins so that she could barely lean against them and sit down.

The sinister blade, forged from the melting of pale white bones, was embedded in the center of her abdomen, its cold tip protruding from her back, stained with a glaring red.

If it is pulled out rashly, it will inevitably lead to massive bleeding.

It's still raining, and the enemy probably won't let them leave so easily. Pulling it out would seriously affect subsequent operations.

However, this bone blade must never remain inside the body.

He knew all too well the resentment and poison refined on it—it was made from the remains of his deceased relatives and friends, the endless sorrow and resentment of the deceased condensed into the most vicious and potent poison in the world.

This was originally his own pre-arranged end, a journey towards death, but now it has become the murderous blade that severely wounded his apprentice.

Memories of the past surged and crashed against the shores of his consciousness like a barbed tide.

Mobius's eyes suddenly turned red, and hot tears, which he could no longer hold back, slid silently down his face, mingling with the rain and blood.

His trembling fingers lightly brushed the hilt of the bone blade, his voice choked and hoarse, yet he forced himself to project a reassuring calm: "It's alright... trust me... I will save you... don't be afraid..."

Helia keenly sensed the deep-seated self-reproach and pain in her teacher's eyes.

The manipulator behind the scenes probably did more than just put the teacher into a deep sleep; they also used his deepest, most tender memories to weave a nightmare that was enough to crush his will, plunging the teacher, who had just escaped the nightmare, into such a deep abyss of guilt.

She had never seen her usually somewhat cynical old man show such an expression before, and at that moment, a trace of regret crept into her heart.

Perhaps, waking him up in such an extreme way is ultimately too cruel.

“Teacher!” With her last bit of strength, Helia’s icy fingers gripped Mobius’s wrist, trying to pull him back from his self-reproach. “The enemy is still lurking in the shadows. We can’t let our guard down… I suspect they have a backup plan…”

She deliberately steered the conversation toward the imminent external threat, attempting to transform the teacher's self-reproach, which was enough to consume her, into a burning rage against the enemy.

Anger is better than being completely consumed by guilt; at least for now, they must stand shoulder to shoulder again to face their common enemy.

As a top-tier fire mage, once Mobius's rage is truly ignited, it's like a wildfire that can sweep everything away in an instant.

Utter rage replaced his grief, and he practically gritted his teeth as he forced out the vow: "If I don't avenge this, I, Moby Hughes, swear I'm no man!"

A surge of immense magical power coursed through his body like a volcano, and was channeled entirely into his palms.

He quickly and quietly recited an ancient and concise incantation, then slammed his palm heavily onto the wet ground!

The layers of magic arrays that imprisoned magic and slowed movement, under the impact of that pure and domineering magic, shattered like glass struck by a heavy hammer, emitting a series of crisp cracking sounds, and quickly disintegrated into countless shimmering points of light, dissipating into the torrential rain.

Admittedly, this magic circle is complex and intricate, with each element interconnected, but for Möbius, who always believed in overcoming skill with brute force, breaking it would simply require expending more magic power.

However, when even the innermost magic circle collapsed completely, a sudden change occurred—

As the final spell collapsed, a viscous, ominous black liquid silently gushed out from the cracks in the ground, mixing with the torrential rain.

So much so that the master and disciple, who were completely focused on dealing with the obvious threat, failed to notice it immediately.

By the time Helia felt the water beneath her become unusually slippery and sticky, it was already a little too late.

She clearly felt her mind beginning to cloud, and her temples throbbed with pain as if struck by a heavy hammer.

Even more terrifying was that countless dark and violent thoughts surged uncontrollably in her heart, and a bloodthirsty killing intent reverberated fiercely in her chest. Her eyes, which were originally as clear and blue as jewels, were now covered with an ominous blood color.

The body, already weakened by excessive blood loss, was stimulated by this strange external force and forcibly supported by adrenaline, causing a twisted and destructive power to emerge.

But amidst this unsettling sense of erosion, Helia also caught a strange feeling of familiarity.

This sticky texture, this frantically growing lust... she must have come into contact with something similar somewhere...

Mobius immediately sensed something was wrong. Fortunately, having suffered a great loss before, he had developed a stronger resistance to this kind of mental erosion.

He forcibly suppressed the anger that naturally rose within him due to the broken formation, and tried his best to maintain a clear mind.

There's something wrong with this water!

The master and apprentice looked down at the ground almost simultaneously.

Among the countless puddles created by the dense raindrops, something invisible seemed to be bulging and wriggling.

The black water, which has no fixed shape, is gradually rising, condensing, and taking shape.

They are not transparent, but rather like the deepest night, almost blending into the surrounding darkness. Only when illuminated by the occasional flashes of magical flames in the distance can their almost humanoid, constantly twisting and changing outlines be barely discerned.

The humanoid monsters formed from the black water quickly became agile and malicious, their movements changing from clumsy wriggling to nimble wriggling.

They emitted a low, bubbling groan, swaying and gathering from all directions, their hollow faces seeming to hold countless eyes staring at the two people in the center of the tower ruins.

"You're in the way!" Mobius hissed, shielding Helia behind him.

He didn't even need to chant the complete incantation; with a furious wave of his hand, scorching flames surged forward like a roaring tidal wave, instantly engulfing the first few water figures.

The high temperature caused the black water to boil and evaporate violently, emitting a hissing sound, and a stench similar to burning flesh filled the air.

However, what is chilling is that the evaporated black water did not disappear, but turned into thinner black mist, which then re-integrated into the surrounding rain and the puddles on the ground.

In the blink of an eye, more and larger water sprites reassembled and pounced again.

They seem to be able to be reborn infinitely with the help of this endless rain and the black water beneath their feet.

“Teacher…they can’t be killed!” Helia leaned against the broken wall, her breathing rapid as she reminded him.

The excruciating pain in her abdomen and the turbulent evil thoughts churning in her mind constantly assaulted her willpower.

She saw a water-man quietly circle around to Mobius's blind spot, and its claw-like right hand suddenly stretched out, turning into a black water arrow that pierced straight into the teacher's back!

In the critical moment, Helia instinctively summoned her flaming scythe and cleaved the enemy in two.

But how can water be cut off? How can it be chopped?

Helia's strike caused the water elemental to split into even more pieces.

Left with no other choice, she could only use fire to resist—but how could fire break through water?

The power that had been suppressed within him, originating from the polluted river, was instinctively mobilized.

She pointed her fingers like knives and made a sweeping motion forward—several black threads, deeper than the night, like living venomous snakes, shot out from her fingertips, striking first and precisely binding the water arrow and the monster's body.

“Strangle!” she uttered the cold words.

The black line suddenly tightened, emanating a chilling aura that seemed to devour everything.

The water-man did not vaporize like it was evaporated by the flames, but rather disintegrated and shattered from the inside by an invisible force, turning into the finest black particles, which were then greedily absorbed by the black lines!

This time, it did not come back to life.

“This is…?” Mobius caught a glimpse of this scene and his eyes flashed with astonishment.

But before he could ask any more questions, more water people had already swarmed over.

He spread his arms, and the incantation he uttered transformed into swirling storms of fire that engulfed and tore apart the approaching monsters.

The battle instantly intensified, with the sounds of flames exploding, water vapor rising, and monsters screaming all mixed together.

During this brief moment, Helia's mind raced.

That familiar viscous feeling, that way of directly triggering evil thoughts... plus the fact that this black water monster fears the black threads within her body...

"It's the Foul River!" She looked up abruptly, her voice sharp with excitement and weakness. "Teacher! This black water is from the Foul River! It amplifies evil thoughts, and these monsters are formed by the resentment in the river!"

Mobius's pupils contracted sharply upon hearing this.

He recalled the ancient records about the filthy river—a cursed river that could devour humanity and amplify evil thoughts.

The old man's eyes narrowed, and his attack became even more ferocious. Flames formed a vortex around him, incinerating all the approaching water creatures in an attempt to clear a safe area.

But the water elementals were endless, and Helia's complexion was getting worse and worse. Her frequent use of the black thread power was obviously aggravating her injuries and mental burden.

"Take care of your injuries first!" Mobius parried a water elemental's attack and flashed back to Helia's side.

He could see that the venom attached to the bone blade was resonating with the power of the black water, accelerating the erosion of Helia's life.

"Hold on!" Mobius's voice was steady. He placed one hand on Helia's shoulder for support, while his other hand once again gathered a vast amount of magic power, precisely gripping the hilt of the bone blade and heating it until it was red-hot.

I'll count to three!

Helia gritted her teeth and nodded.

"three!"

Mobius's eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and his body was filled with surging magic.

"two!"

The movements of the surrounding water creatures seemed to slow down, and their roars became distant.

"one!"

"Pfft!"

The bone blade was pulled out cleanly, leaving a trail of dark blood.

Almost simultaneously, Mobius's hand, gleaming with a crimson light, pressed heavily onto the piercing wound in Helia's abdomen.

The ever-flowing magic force forcefully blocked the blood vessels and damaged organs, fiercely fighting against the remaining resentment and poison, emitting a faint "sizzling" sound.

Helia was in so much pain that her whole body convulsed and she almost fainted, but a warm current stubbornly dispelled the chill in her body.

Just as Mobius was fully focused on healing Helia, at the most crucial moment when his old power was exhausted and new power had not yet been generated—

A ghostly figure, like the darkness blending into the rain, silently appeared in the shadows behind Mobius.

It was that water ghost guy who appeared with Colin!

His face was expressionless, his eyes were cold, and his right hand was clenched together. His entire arm had transformed into a sharp water spear several feet long, formed from the black water of the murky river. The spearhead gleamed with a black light that could annihilate all life, and it silently pierced Mobius’s unsuspecting back!

This strike was incredibly precise and ruthless in terms of timing, angle, and power!

He came specifically to counter Mobius, and now that Mobius had revealed a weakness in order to save Helia, he decisively seized that moment of opening.

"Teacher, be careful!"

Helia, who was extremely sensitive to magical fluctuations, sensed the deadly threat the instant her opponent attacked, her body reacting before her mind could process it—

She unleashed her last bit of strength from who knows where, shoving Mobius, who was focused on healing, to the side, and simultaneously using her own body to block the path of the water spear!

"puff--!"

The dull thud of a sharp blade piercing flesh and bone was enough to make one's teeth ache.

The jet-black water spear missed Mobius's heart, but instead pierced through Helia's shoulder, which she hadn't had time to fully dodge.

The murky river water clinging to the water spear, with its intense corrosiveness and surging malice, instantly erupted at her wound.

"Ugh—!" Helia let out a short cry of pain as she was thrown backward by the immense force of the water spear, crashing heavily against the broken wall before collapsing to the ground. Her shoulder was a bloody mess, and black energy spread outwards like a spider web.

"Helia!!" Mobius's eyes widened in horror, and the protective aura around him dimmed instantly due to the shock of his mind.

He turned abruptly to look at the attacker, his eyes burning with fury that was almost tangible flames.

The water ghost man was slightly surprised that he had failed to achieve his goal in one move, but then he gave a cold smile, drew his water spear, and slowly retreated, once again merging into the shadows.

"What a touching bond between master and disciple... However, the game has only just begun. You two, enjoy the hospitality of the murky river."

Before the words were even finished, the black water that had been flowing around due to the battle seemed to be summoned, and it began to boil violently again, with more and more powerful water beings beginning to take shape.

Helia lay in a pool of blood, her breath faint, the black erosion on her shoulder spreading rapidly. The situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse, plunging her into a true desperate situation.