Chapter 49: Igor’s Dao Heart Shatters
Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Igor’s Dao Heart Shatters
Having defeated two Witches in a row and captured two Blue Cards, Wang Xi felt his spirits lift.
He cleared his throat, his gaze drifting over the others as he mulled over his next desired contestant.
"Mr. Gai."
At that moment, Lillian, the quiet and cool girl in the white dress, spoke softly. The small hands resting on her skirt opened and clenched.
Her eyes were downcast, her long lashes trembling slightly.
"Can I... play a game with you?"
"Of course," Wang Xi said with a smile. "How would Miss Lillian like to play?"
"Earlier, I saw you use Water Magic."
As Lillian spoke, she placed her small hand on the table.
In her fair, slender palm rested a single, unremarkable match.
"As long as... you can extinguish this match by Spraying Water, you win. Is that okay?"
Hearing the words "Spraying Water," the corner of Wang Xi’s mouth twitched.
He looked at the match, unable to quite figure out what the girl was thinking.
’Is it that simple?’
’No.’
’It’s not simple at all...’
’As the strongest Fire Witch in the Magic Forest, could the match in her hand be an ordinary match?’
Wang Xi felt uncertain.
But seeing Lillian’s timid appearance, and the trace of anticipation in her stolen glances at him... Wang Xi sighed inwardly and dismissed the thought of changing the terms of the bet.
He could have easily used his eloquence to steer the contest toward a Domain he excelled in and secure a clever victory.
But this time, he didn’t.
’I’ll just think of it as playing a game with Lillian.’
The thought flashed through Wang Xi’s mind.
According to his Experience and intuition, even though Lillian was the most powerful Witch, she wasn’t happy inside. Coupled with her cool and detached nature, she probably had no one to talk to on a daily basis besides her two sisters.
’Setting aside her identity as the Fire Witch, she’s just a socially awkward girl who’s bad at math.’
"Alright." Wang Xi nodded readily. "Let’s begin."
Lillian hummed in assent, a flash of pleasant surprise in her Sapphire-like eyes. With a mess of blonde hair, she picked up the matchstick between her index finger and thumb.
Without any extraneous movement...
FWOOSH!
The match spontaneously burst into flame.
A tiny wisp of a flame flickered gently, emitting a faint glow. It didn’t look special at all.
But beside them, Bev and Sofia both took a small step back in unison. Even the Wolf Housekeeper, Igor, silently followed his master’s lead and moved away.
Wang Xi glanced at them, his heart tightening.
’Wait a minute.’
’You guys are scaring me!’
’This isn’t a match at all, is it?’
’It’s actually a nuclear bomb that just looks like a match, right?!’
"I’m starting," he said to the girl in the white dress, taking a deep breath and affecting a serious tone. "Are you ready?"
Lillian hummed again and nodded in anticipation.
Wang Xi flung his hand out.
—「Water Blade」
In an instant, four or five Flying Knives—each the length of a palm and the width of two fingers, condensed from water—materialized one after another and shot forward.
SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!
The others only saw streaks of pale blue water flash by.
But before they could even reach the light of the match, they let out a HISS and instantly evaporated into mist, vanishing without a trace.
’Huh?!’
Wang Xi was startled.
’They evaporated without even touching the flame...’
’Just how terrifying is this thing?!’
"Tch, a little chick is just a little chick!"
Sofia crossed her arms and scoffed mockingly.
"There’s no way you can extinguish Lillian’s ’match’ with that level of Water Magic. Just give up already!"
"Miss Sofia is right."
Wang Xi replied with a gentle smile.
"This level of Water Magic is indeed not enough..."
With that, he curved his five fingers as if gripping an invisible blade and swung forcefully toward the match in the girl’s hand.
—「Tidal Blade」
A spiraling column of water as thick as an arm gushed out, striking at the flame like a long blade being unsheathed or a long whip being cracked.
HIIISSSSS!!
The high-pressure, sharp blade of water instantly stalled a few inches from the flame as if blocked by an invisible force, splashing and evaporating into steam.
Amidst the swirling white mist, the flame began to flicker violently.
Surprise flashed across everyone’s faces.
Wang Xi noticed the match was burning faster; in just a few seconds, half the wooden stick was gone.
’Just a little longer.’
He could feel his stamina draining rapidly, so he gritted his teeth and maintained the release of the water blade.
HISSS—
After a few more breaths...
HISS!
The flame finally went out, leaving only a wisp of green smoke.
Wang Xi stopped channeling 「Tidal Blade」 just in time and started gasping for breath.
"Hah..."
His face was pale and his forehead was beaded with sweat.
Lillian released her index finger and thumb, and a rice-sized splinter of wood fell. She clapped softly, the corners of her mouth turning up.
"You win, Mr. Gai."
DING!
「Target Defeated!」
「Capture "Lillian’s" ability?」
Wang Xi smiled as well and gave his confirmation.
Instantly, a deep blue light flashed over the girl in the white dress, and a noticeably richer, dark blue orb of light flew out, sinking into the space between Wang Xi’s eyebrows.
He was stunned for a moment, then inwardly delighted.
’Deep blue?!’
’As expected of the strongest Witch, a Golden Skull Level one at that!’
"How strange. You obviously don’t have any Magic Power, yet you can use such high-level Water Magic..."
Sofia’s pretty brows shot up as she pouted.
"Hey! You’ve got some powerful magic treasure in your hands, don’t you?!"
"You could say that."
Wang Xi took a moment to catch his breath, recovering from his exhaustion. He wiped away his sweat and smiled at the girl with the Red Cloak and twin pigtails.
"Miss Sofia is truly sharp-eyed, seeing through my little trick in a single glance."
"Hmph, obviously!" Sofia’s lips curled in a smug pout.
Just then, Lillian spoke in a small voice:
"Mr. Gai, will we have a chance to play again in the future?"
"Of course." Wang Xi nodded. "If the trouble Calvin is causing can be resolved... I’ll come visit the Magic Forest often when I have time."
Lillian kept her smile and hummed in agreement.
With all three Witches defeated, Pinocchio, who was standing at the side, grew eager and repeatedly shot glances at Wang Xi.
His animated expression, as if he’d eaten poisonous mushrooms, was so comical that even the Witches found it amusing.
Wang Xi deliberately avoided looking at him, instead turning his gaze to the silent, blond-haired man behind Sofia.
"Although this game is called ’Hero vs. Witch’, it’s still early. Why not have more people join in for a while..."
Wang Xi rose politely and bowed to the Wolf Housekeeper.
"As Miss Sofia’s personal housekeeper, Mr. Igor must be exceptionally skilled. For the next match, how about the two of us play?"
"Not intere—"
Igor shot him a cool glance and began to speak.
But before he could finish, Sofia turned her head and said:
"Accept his challenge! Don’t let him get cocky!"
The Wolf Witch tapped the toe of her black leather shoe rhythmically, making a TAPTAPTAP sound. She crossed her arms and commanded:
"Igor, show him what you’ve got and beat him, lest a certain little chick think we’re afraid!"
Igor lowered his head slightly.
"Yes, Lady Sofia."
With that, he walked out slowly, his posture ramrod straight, and looked calmly at the black-haired young man.
"How would Mr. Gai like to compete?"
"Hmm..." Wang Xi pretended to ponder. "Let’s say I’m a bad guy about to harm Miss Sofia. You would definitely kill me, right?"
"Of course," Igor said flatly.
"Alright then. I will now play the role of such a bad guy. I’d like Mr. Igor to leave the Candy House and approach from any direction. If I can detect your position beforehand, you lose."
Wang Xi said with a smile.
"Conversely, if I can’t figure it out..."
Before he could finish, the Wolf Housekeeper placed a hand on his chest in a gesture of acknowledgment, then turned and left the Candy House.
Although he didn’t say a word, Wang Xi could feel a strong sense of confidence radiating from Igor.
He also noticed the smile Sofia couldn’t suppress. Clearly, she had immense trust in Igor as well.
"Mr. Igor, you have ten seconds. You can try whatever you like during that time. But once that time is up, Miss Sofia’s safety will no longer be in your control."
Wang Xi said jokingly.
The twin-tailed girl’s eyes widened, and she was about to curse him out. But just then, she saw the black-haired young man close his eyes, so she narrowed her pretty eyes and muttered:
"Let’s see where this little chick gets his confidence!"
—「Listen to Heartbeat」
This was the Card Wang Xi had captured from the high-risk fugitive "Black Mamba" Park Hong in the Main World. It could sense living beings within a twenty-meter radius.
He closed his eyes and listened intently.
In the darkness, apart from the red threads of heartbeats inside the Candy House, there was another steadily pulsing red line to the east of the house, silently approaching.
’So fast...’
Wang Xi sensed the red line flash, suddenly crossing over ten meters to appear behind him, on the south side of the Candy House.
"Found you, Mr. Igor."
Wang Xi said with a smile, his eyes still closed.
"You’re behind the house."
"?!"
Outside, the blond-haired man’s figure froze, a hint of confusion and surprise flashing in his eyes.
He was certain he hadn’t made a single sound, not even letting a whisper of his breath escape. And yet, the human inside had still detected him...
’Luck? A coincidence?’
Igor’s eyes lowered, and with a shift of his feet...
His entire figure blurred and vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye.
The next second.
"Found you again, Mr. Igor."
Wang Xi said with a laugh, keeping his eyes closed.
"This time, on the west side of the house."
"Found you..."
"East side of the house."
"Southwest."
"Northeast."
As he called out the Wolf Housekeeper’s approaching positions with unerring accuracy time and again, the expressions of everyone inside grew increasingly astonished.
Even they would have a hard time detecting Igor when he was stealthily moving in earnest, yet Mr. Gai had done it with his eyes closed.
Could it be that his hearing is exceptionally sharp?
But no matter how sharp, he was just an ordinary person completely devoid of Magic Power!
"Mr. Igor, you’re outside the main entrance."
As Wang Xi spoke, a puzzled look appeared on his face.
"You stopped moving?"
He opened his eyes and saw the cookie door of the Candy House slowly swing open. The blond-haired man was standing there silently.
But compared to his composure when he left, Igor’s face was now downcast, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
He seemed to be radiating an intense air of dejection.
"I... I lost."
DING!
「Target Defeated!」
「Capture "Igor’s" ability?」
Watching the blond Wolf Housekeeper’s devastated expression, Wang Xi felt a pang of guilt. He mentally confirmed ’yes’, and a blue orb of light flew from the other man’s body into the space between his eyebrows.
Igor strode before Sofia, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head deeply:
"Lady Sofia, please kill me, this useless wolf..."