Diary of a Dead Wizard-Chapter 182: Whisper of the Elves

Saul immediately stepped aside. “Come in. 117 had some effect on me.”

Hearing this, Kongsha didn’t hesitate at all and squeezed through the narrow gap in the door that Saul had opened.

The moment she entered, she saw the bottle on the cart.

“This is Whisper of the Elves?”

“You’ve never seen it? Are you sure you want to use it?” Saul raised an eyebrow.

“It’s just... smaller than I imagined.” Without further hesitation, Kongsha took out a metal box.

She flipped the lid open, revealing a damaged doll.

Though it had been years since he last saw it, Saul immediately recognized it as the puppet Sid had once used.

Seeing this elf puppet again—one that had once made both Kongsha and Byron nervous—didn’t strike fear in Saul this time. He walked forward to inspect it.

Whatever Kongsha had done to it over the past two years, it was clear she had transformed the puppet drastically.

After examining it, Saul believed she did have the ability to interpret the Whisper of the Elves, and quickly went over the precautions.

“You can open the bottle, but don’t remove the branch inside. And don’t spill the liquid either.”

Kongsha nodded.

Without hesitation, she stepped forward and carefully but swiftly opened the bottle containing the branch. Then she took out a silver foil knife and, without flinching, sliced off the tip of her tongue.

The severed tongue tip fell—landing directly on the puppet in her hand.

The puppet, which had previously shown no signs of movement, suddenly animated and opened its mouth wide.

Its mouth was dark inside, a hollow cavity extending into the puppet’s body.

The tongue tip slipped into the puppet’s mouth, the wound facing downward, tongue tip up, settling into what resembled a throat—and it twitched slightly, as if alive.

A streak of red trickled from the corners of both Kongsha and the puppet’s mouths.

At that moment, it was as if they shared the same mouth.

Watching the blood-red tongue, Saul’s face remained expressionless as he lowered his gaze to check the time.

Kongsha had said it would only take a few dozen seconds. Ten seconds had already passed.

Seemingly aware of Saul’s actions, Kongsha sped up.

She pinched the puppet’s head with two fingers and slowly lowered it into the bottle.

Under their watchful eyes, the puppet touched one of the green leaves on the branch.

At that moment, Saul’s eyes darted quickly left, then snapped back to focus on the branch. He half-closed his eyes.

He entered a semi-immersive meditative state.

Kongsha’s mouth opened wide, blood flowing uncontrollably from her lips.

The puppet in her hands mirrored the motion, opening its mouth wide.

A chant-like voice came from the puppet’s mouth—ethereal, melodious, and hauntingly beautiful, making it nearly impossible not to be drawn in.

In Saul’s vision, a semi-transparent face appeared over the puppet’s own.

It was extremely blurry, but vaguely recognizable as a woman’s face.

Other than that, nothing else could be clearly seen.

He turned toward Kongsha—there was no expression of pain on her face, but she had tilted her head slightly, as if listening intently.

As time passed, Kongsha’s expression grew increasingly grave. In the end, several eyeballs pressed tightly against the glass, pupils locked in place, radiating disbelief and shock.

Saul broke from his meditative state and checked the time again.

Forty seconds had passed.

Only twenty seconds remained in the time they had agreed on, but Kongsha showed no sign of stopping.

“Kongsha,” Saul stepped forward. “Fifteen seconds left.”

Kongsha didn’t respond, but the puppet in her hand suddenly turned its head. Its crudely painted brown eyes—layered with the white spectral face—locked onto Saul.

The moment their eyes met, Saul felt his movements slowing down.

So the earlier sense of time distortion was caused by the elven influence.

Without hesitation, he pulled out a red candle from his coat and placed it on the cart.

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Elves might affect one’s perception of time, but they likely couldn’t influence the dead. No soul was more chaotic than the heap in the corpse room.

Just as Saul reached for the lighter hidden under the cart, the puppet in Kongsha’s hand swiftly turned back.

That slow-motion sensation immediately vanished.

But Saul didn’t stop—he continued moving the igniter toward the candlewick.

“Kongsha, you have…” Saul glanced at the clock. “Ten seconds. Nine, eight…”

Even though ten seconds remained, Saul had already begun activating the lighter.

Just as the flame burst forth, Kongsha abruptly pulled back.

The ethereal singing vanished, and even the puppet closed its mouth.

Kongsha lowered her head, avoiding Saul’s gaze. Silently, she returned the puppet to its metal box. She casually wiped the blood from her face with the back of her hand, then sealed the glass bottle of Whisper of the Elves.

After restoring everything to its proper place, she tucked the metal box into her coat and gave Saul a slight nod—indicating she was finished.

At that very moment, the hourglass marked exactly one minute.

Saul finally let out a small breath of relief.

If possible, he didn’t want to fall out with Kongsha.

The strongest Second Rank apprentice wasn’t just an empty title.

Saul laid the lighter down on the cart, right where his hand could easily reach it, then stepped forward and pushed open one of the large metal doors for Kongsha.

“Less than two minutes left. You should hurry back.”

Ever since completing the ritual, Kongsha had remained quiet and heavy-hearted. Even the eyeballs in her mind had stopped appearing. A deep, suffocating pressure hung around her.

She stood motionless while Saul tidied up the cart.

Only when he opened the door did she silently turn around.

At that moment, a figure suddenly entered from outside the door.

Startled, Saul immediately stepped back to his cart.

The somber Kongsha, however, suddenly raised her head. Her brain surged, Magic flared violently, and ice crystals formed around her head—she was about to strike without hesitation.

But when the figure finally stepped fully into view and revealed his face, Kongsha froze and abruptly dispelled the spell she was about to cast.

Standing behind her, Saul also saw who it was—it was Haywood, the man in charge of the First Storage Room.

Haywood was now wearing a silver silk short cloak, which was why neither of them recognized him right away.

His mismatched eyes took in everything inside the room.

“Did I interrupt something?” Haywood smiled. “No need to be so tense, I was just passing by.”

But when his gaze landed on Saul’s cart, he paused and withdrew the step he’d just taken.

Saul thought he was going to scold him—but instead, Haywood turned to Kongsha.

“I don’t really have the right to say this, but I’ll still offer some advice: don’t chase after the elves’ footsteps. All you’ll get is a fleeting, illusory dream.”

As he spoke, one of his purple eyes swiveled toward Saul. “We’re all pawns. Accept it.”

Saul’s eyes flickered with thought, but he kept his guard up, watching the two of them closely.

They knew each other—and were more than casual acquaintances!

Kongsha bit her lip tightly. Blood seeped from between her teeth. She couldn’t speak, but she shook her head with all her strength.

Inside the glass dome, the white slurry shook violently. Several eyeballs smacked hard against the glass wall.

Haywood sighed. “You’re still better off than poor Ivan. He wanders every night now, trying to reclaim his body.”

The mention of Ivan made Kongsha suddenly freeze. Still, she clenched her fists tightly and refused to lower her head.

Haywood said no more. He gave a faint smile. “If you insist… then I’ll wait for your good news.”

He stepped aside to clear the passage, and Kongsha swept out of the bronze doors like the wind.

The heavy doors closed behind her, leaving only two men in the corridor.

Now, Haywood’s blue and purple eyes both turned toward Saul. “I hope I’ll hear good news from you too.”

Saul frowned slightly but said nothing.

Haywood didn’t bring up the eyes again. He simply nodded to Saul, then turned and entered the second metal door.

(End of Chapter)