From Blood Mage to Styx Ancestor

Chapter 82 Cinderella, the Fairy Tale Kingdom

"You want to learn magic from me?"

Akhen dipped his paintbrush in paint and applied it to the painting.

With just a few strokes, the fire is made even more distorted, as if a soul is wailing within it.

Without turning his head, he asked:

"Could you explain your reasons?"

"I... I've heard that magicians have the ability to resurrect the dead, and I want to resurrect my mother."

The girl lowered her head and stammered as she spoke.

"Resurrecting Mother?"

Arken then glanced at her.

The girl was wearing clothes with many patches and had many scars on her body.

This was not caused by the fire just now, but by the accumulation of over time.

It's clear she's having a terrible time and is often abused.

Arken stated bluntly, "I must tell you, magic doesn't necessarily resurrect the dead; at least I can't."

The difference between necromancy and resurrecting the dead is quite significant.

"However," he added, changing the subject, "magic can protect you from being bullied. Would you still like to learn it?"

He didn't talk about pursuing the truth or anything like that, because that was too far-fetched for her.

Upon hearing this, the girl was inevitably disappointed for a moment, but she cheered up again when she heard the second half of the sentence.

"Would you be willing to teach me?"

"You do have this talent. Be my apprentice for now. Also, my magic may be a little different from what you imagine. I call it witchcraft."

He slapped his forehead and asked:

"By the way, what's your name?"

The girl replied, "Teacher, my name is Cinderella."

"Cinderella?"

Not far away, Modi was reorganizing his troops when he overheard this name.

"First there was the Little Match Girl, then Cinderella; could this prison actually be a fairytale world?"

Judging from the size of the prison, the Mad King is much stronger than the Mountain of Worms.

The problem is just too big; he has absolutely no idea what's going on here.

"We need to ask the locals for information."

Through a soul contract, he gave Arken an instruction.

Arken paused for a moment, then said:

"By the way, Cinderella, could you tell me about this place?"

Still immersed in joy, Cinderella asked in confusion upon hearing this:

"Teacher, don't you know?"

"We are mercenaries from a faraway land; if we knew that, we wouldn't need to ask you."

Arken said matter-of-factly.

Cinderella suddenly realized what was going on and didn't suspect anything.

She answered honestly:

"Well, this is the kingdom's city of Fadis, well, it used to be, but now it's just ruins."

"What kingdom?" Arken asked again.

"A kingdom is a kingdom; it has no other name."

After asking a few more questions, Arken managed to figure out the surrounding situation and then transmitted the information to Modi through the contract.

"The kingdom... its prison may be large, but its size is still limited."

Mordi pondered and decided on his goal of heading to the royal city.

Since the ancient god here is called the Mad King, he must be related to the king.

"Bazette, go and see if you can find a map of this place."

"As you wish."

He's getting more and more comfortable ordering Bazett around.

It must be said that Bazett is indeed very efficient.

In less than ten minutes, it obtained a map.

"The residents of Fadis are very hospitable," it said. "A merchant gave us a map for free."

Modi glanced at it and memorized the rudimentary map.

"Let's set off for the royal city."

The troops assembled and moved northward under the awe-inspiring gaze of the residents of Fadisi.

Indeed, this army saved the city.

But their appearances were too ferocious, especially the flesh monsters and the leader who could turn into a dragon.

It is truly terrifying.

Surrounded by a group of monsters in the middle of the group, Cinderella was initially a little scared.

After walking for a while and realizing that they meant her no harm, she gradually felt relieved.

The fear in my heart was dispelled and replaced by a sense of security.

"Cinderella," Mordy suddenly called her name, "Aken said your stepmother often abused you, am I right?"

"Oh? Yes, that's true."

She snapped out of her daze and nodded quickly.

"I ran away from home and came to the city of Fadis because I wanted to escape my stepmother and my two older sisters."

"Oh, I see."

Modi nodded.

This family background perfectly matches that of "Cinderella".

"If you're heading to the royal city, you'll pass right by my house," Cinderella added. "It's just a short distance ahead."

Just then, a demon scout came running from the front of the group.

"My master, there is a man and a pig blocking the way."

"One person and one pig?"

What a strange combination!

Modi scanned the area with his spiritual sense and found that it was indeed true.

To be precise, it is a girl wearing a red cloak and a pig standing upright.

"Bazett, Arken, come with me to check out the situation."

"It's my pleasure." Bazette bowed slightly.

"Hopefully I can find new inspiration," Arken chuckled softly.

The two people and the demon walked to the front of the group and saw the people blocking their way.

One was a red-cloaked girl wielding a hand axe, and the other was a pigman wearing armor.

They looked wary, and the atmosphere was tense.

When they saw the trio, they looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Modi didn't speak, but simply observed them quietly.

Bazett understood what he meant, stepped forward, and asked:

"Who are you? Why are you blocking our way?"

They didn't answer, but instead turned their attention to Modi.

"Are you their leader?"

Bazett frowned, feeling ignored.

The other party disregarded hierarchy and directly questioned its boss, which it found very distasteful.

Just as it was about to lash out, Modi interrupted it:

"I am the captain of this mercenary group, Hans Christian Green. What brings you two here?"

"Are you mercenaries too?"

The girl in the red cloak raised an eyebrow.

"What a coincidence, we are too. My name is Orin, and others also call me Little Red Riding Hood. And this is...?"

"Three pigs," the pig-man muttered, "we are mercenaries, and also werewolf hunters."

"Little Red Riding Hood, Three Pigs?" Mordy squinted.

It corresponds to two fairy tales, one about Little Red Riding Hood and the other... the Three Little Pigs?

"Yes, we are hunting wolves, maybe several, maybe a dozen," Little Red Riding Hood added.

"What does that have to do with your roadblock?"

Little Red Riding Hood's expression turned serious when this was mentioned.

"We want to warn you that it's dangerous ahead; those wolves are right there."

The three pigs also said seriously:

"The wolf is very strong. Even if the two of us combine our strength, we can barely handle one."

Modi assessed their strength and nodded in approval.

These two are no ordinary people; the fact that they could make even the wolf feel troubled suggests that the wolf is not simple.

But that's how they see it.

"I think I can give it a try," Mordy nodded, "and it's already here."

The man and the pig's expressions changed drastically, and they immediately turned around.

A cold glint flew towards us.

Those are the wolf's claws.

"Oh no, it's too late!" Little Red Riding Hood thought in alarm.

She instinctively closed her eyes, a wave of resentment washing over her.

A few seconds later, instead of the death she expected, she opened her eyes in confusion.

The wolf's claws were less than a body length away from her.

The wolf, the owner of the wolf claws, had its head blown off, with only a small part remaining on its neck.

Even so, it did not die.

The giant wolf quickly retracted its claws, took a step back, and was about to turn and run away.

"Hmph, trying to escape?"

Modi pulled the trigger, and the Dragonfire Shotgun fired a blood-flame bullet, drawing a blood-red trail in the air.

In an instant, the giant wolf's lower body exploded.

Its remaining upper body was still struggling as it crawled forward using its two front paws.

"Die!"

The three pigs seized the opportunity and punched it in the head.

"Awoo!"

Before the three pigs could succeed, two more giant wolves sprang out and forced it back.

Modi initially thought they were going to rescue their companion, but their next move was beyond his expectations.

The giant wolves, including the one whose body he had shot open, began to devour each other.

"Watch out, they're about to merge!" Little Red Riding Hood warned.

As soon as he finished speaking, the three wolves turned into black mist and merged into one.

Before it could solidify, the black mist passed through Little Red Riding Hood and the three pigs, and surged straight toward Modi.

Bazet rushed forward, intending to sacrifice himself to intercept him.

Modi, however, grabbed its shoulder and pulled it back, while summoning the Frostbite Greatsword with his other hand.

The sword ignited with blood-red flames and slammed into the black mist.

"Awoo!"

A mournful cry rang out, and the black mist was forced to solidify, revealing the true form of the three-headed giant wolf.

The greatsword struck its left side, almost severing its entire head.

"So that's what you meant by the combination."

Modi pressed down on its head in the middle with one hand, and no matter how much it struggled, it could not move.

With his other hand, he drew the greatsword and chopped down heavily on the right side of the head.

"Pfft."

The sound of flesh tearing apart was exceptionally loud.

One of the three giant wolves' heads was thus severed.

"I smell madness. You also have the blood of the Mad King?"

The third mark trembled, and in an instant, all the flesh and blood of the three giant wolves were drained away.

The blood mist flowed into Modi's body along the giant sword.

"Indeed, it contains the blood of the Mad King."

He retrieved Frostbite and ordered his men to drag away the dried carcass of the three-headed giant wolf.

"You just killed a three-headed giant wolf like that?"

Little Red Riding Hood sensed the gap between the two sides.

Thinking back to her earlier presumptuous reminder, her face under the hood immediately turned bright red with embarrassment.

San Zhu wasn't embarrassed at all; he just looked at him with admiration.

"You're amazing. I admire you for taking down a three-headed giant wolf so easily."

"Can you tell me about the origin of these wolves?" Mordy asked.

The three pigs were not good with words, so they looked at Little Red Riding Hood, signaling her to explain.

Little Red Riding Hood took over and explained:

"These wolves, of unknown origin, have committed numerous atrocities and have become a burden on many people."

She seemed to recall some unpleasant memory, and her face darkened.

"My maternal grandmother, and the eldest and second eldest brothers of the Third Pig, were eaten by these wolves."

It actually matches up, but it differs quite a bit from the original fairy tale.

No hunter came to kill the wolf for Little Red Riding Hood, and only one of the three little pigs remained.

"We were determined to get revenge, so we teamed up to hunt wolves."

Little Red Riding Hood continued.

"But they are too cunning and too powerful. Most of the time they act in teams, wreaking havoc in one place and then moving on to another."

At this point, they all showed indignant expressions.

"Now, they're probably wreaking havoc on the villages and towns ahead."

"That's...the direction of my home."

Beside Aken, Cinderella covered her mouth.

"Let's go take a look on the way," Modi said, having made up his mind.

Since we're already here, let's just kill him while we're at it.