Versatile Mage (Web Novel)

Chapter 3108: Are You A Fallen Angel

In Northern Europe, the splendid palace and the snow-white glacier were in sharp contrast. This made the palace look even more glorious. The glacier looked holier and cleaner.

A great wealthy family lived inside the palace. The helpers were busy preparing a sumptuous dinner.

A woman with a scarf rode an oxcart. The cart was filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. The woman headed to the back kitchen of the palace. After she arrived in the kitchen courtyard, she could smell the aroma of baked pies.

“Oh, it’s you delivering the goods today. Don’t simply hang around. The guys in the family are still young and energetic. Their elders keep them restrained so that they can focus on their cultivation. I suppose you can understand their desire for a woman. So, don’t let them see you. If they lay their eyes on you, you might…,” the chef said with a wide grin.

The woman who delivered the goods today was unique. She was young with a stunning figure. Although she wore tawdry and conservative clothes, one could see that she was a voluptuous and beautiful woman.

It was rare to see a beautiful girl working hard to earn a living on her own. Beautiful girls like her would have married someone rich long ago.

“Perhaps I’m used to living an extravagant life. From now on, you have to prepare meals according to my instruction,” replied the woman icily.

When the main chef heard her words, he was stunned. He then laughed to cover up his embarrassment.

‘This woman has her own thoughts. She is the architect of her own life. I wonder why a beautiful woman like her must do this kind of labor work.’

“I heard that there are some strange rules to follow inside the palace. Although I’ve never seen it with my own eyes, many young ladies change their minds after entering this place. All the Ransicas want to squeeze into the palace that is filled with wealth and warmth, including us. Anyhow, just be cautious,” said the main chef.

“I come prepared.” The woman smiled.

The main chef shook his head in resignation. He had tried to give her a hint. Still, she insisted on going her own way. If that was the case, it was her own choice and that had nothing to do with him. After all, the chef was in no position to comment on the private life of a great noble family.

After unloading the fruits, she asked the apprentices to carefully cut them into nice platters. When the meat inside the oven was cooked to a precise degree, the main chef focused on making the dinner for the family.

The main chef did not know what the occasion was. He also had no idea what the celebration was about. He only knew that the elders of the clan wanted to mark today as the founding day. They were ushering in a new era so that entire Northern Europe would know the existence of the great Ransica family.

“You must line up the food cart neatly as you push them into the banquet hall. You must serve the dishes to all the guests in three minutes. You have to act fast, but you must not lose your composure. Do you understand?” The main chef raised his voice.

There were twenty attendants and ten food carts. The family’s banquet was as luxurious as a large-scale restaurant. They had to rehearse in advance.

The attendants would push ten food carts to the entrance from three different directions. Meanwhile, the main chef himself would march in with his signature roasted beef shank. His apprentices and attendants would push the food carts and enter the banquet hall together.

Suddenly, a strong smell of blood permeated the air. The main chef frowned. He was about to chastise his apprentice, who was slaughtering the cattle and geese in the back kitchen. He thought it was because of that. To his horror, the banquet hall was filled with corpses dressed in extravagant clothes. They lay in a pool of blood. The deceased looked like they had been slaughtered like livestock.

But they were humans. On top of that, each one of them held prominent status. At that moment, they looked no different from dead livestock in a pool of blood.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Food carts and dish plates smashed on the floor. The apprentices and the attendants were so shocked that they were at a loss. Even the strong aroma of delicious food failed to mask the stench.

The apprentices, the attendants, and the servants fled. They screamed at the top of their lungs. It was not a pleasant sight. It was a bloody massacre. The entire family was killed!

The main chef stood there and trembled in fear. Meanwhile, the rest stumbled and escaped the banquet hall. The main chef realized that if someone could kill an entire family of mages, they could easily kill commoners like him. There was no point in running away.

Just then, a woman in a purple robe appeared at the end of the bloody carpet. She wielded a long black sword that resembled a dragon tooth. Her eyes were filled with madness. The main chef found her familiar…

‘That’s… isn’t she the village girl who delivered fruits and vegetables a while ago?!’

The reason she stuck out like a sore thumb was that, despite wearing plain and old-fashioned clothes, her beautiful eyes exuded an air of nobility, like a fallen princess from a royal family.

“All your food is going to waste, am I right?” The woman retracted her black Dragon Tooth Sword into a scabbard. The scabbard appeared intangible, as though it was interwoven with light instead of physical matter. The sword in the scabbard disappeared somewhere around her slender waist.

“A-Are you from the Holy City? Did you come to punish them? They are filthy people. T-they deserve this!” said the main chef in shock.

“I don’t serve the Holy City. I came for revenge. Some people in this world always think that they are smarter than everybody else. They borrow great power from an unfriendly god to fulfill their selfish desires. Yet, they forget their own promises because of their overindulgence in wealth and luxury. They break their promises. This bunch of smart nobles evaded their debts through the loopholes in the dark contract. They thought the darkness would never befall their peaceful home. Little did they know that the god sees the greed in their hearts. Eventually, people like me must act as debt collectors and collect those “debts”. Of course, we never ask for anything else. All we want is to kill them, then send their souls down there.”

She pointed at something beneath the pool of blood. What could be under the pool of blood?

It was a dark hell. Those who broke the dark contract and dark sacrifice oath could never get away.

“Who exactly are you?” The main chef neither understood her words nor a thing about the mystery and rules of magic.

“I’m an angel to the victimized souls wandering in this mansion, but I’m a demon to this family who has gone against the rules of Black Magic.” The woman opened the dish plate and tore off a piece of beef shank with her finger. She then placed the beef into her mouth and tasted it. She sucked away the grease on her fingers.

She looked incredibly elegant with a charming voice. Her every movement was graceful. However, when he saw the blood-soaked scene behind her graceful figure, the main chef shuddered in horror!

The palace shimmered in gold. Snow remained pure and unpolluted. However, the place was filled with screams of terror. The people fled in fear.

The woman put on a cozy robe. Her long and beautiful hair fluttered in the middle of the snowy breeze. She walked out of the bloody palace. She looked up at the clear sky. The galaxy shone brilliantly, and light intertwined. The sight was as surreal as a fairy tale. Northern Europe was cold, but it was beautiful.

“Are you watching the stars alone?” A man’s voice resounded somewhere behind her.

The woman immediately turned around. She drew out her sword from the scabbard on ner waist witn ner talr and slender fingers. ‘l’ne black Dragon Tooth Sword radiated an imposing aura as if an enormous ancient dragon was roaring!

The woman looked as if she faced a great enemy. No ordinary mages could approach her without her realizing their presence.

“Don’t be nervous. It’s me, MO Fan.” The man stood before the woman. He held the back of her slender hand down as she was about to draw her sword.

The woman stared at MO Fan in puzzlement. She smelled his familiar scent with a trace of warmth. He was so close to her that their noses almost touched. There was passion in the air.

“I-It’s been a while.” The woman recovered her senses. She smiled at him.

MO Fan stared at her. He was attracted to her beauty. He was at a loss. He then took a step back in embarrassment.

He could not stay so close to her.

‘She’s very poisonous. I can’t solely rely on my willpower to resist her beauty!’ “I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” said MO Fan cautiously.

“If you come for me, then you can find me with ease. If you come for someone else, then you will never find me.” Asha’ruiya put her Dragon Tooth Sword back into the scabbard and sat down on the snow.

“Your butt might freeze off. Do you want to sit on my lap?” MO Fan quickly pulled her up.

“Sure.” Asha’ruiya did not mind.

“I was just joking…” MO Fan scratched his head.

“Spill it out. There’s no need to beat around the bush. But you only have one chance. I’ll only promise you one thing.” Asha’ruiya did not sit on the snow again. She stretched out her hand and held MO Fan’s arm. She wanted MO Fan to accompany her for a walk in the snow.

“I learned from an old angel that there is more than one Fallen Angel…,” said Mo Fan.

“Huh?” Asha’ruiya did not answer his question.

“I followed some clues and found many people who met the requirements. I eventually thought that the other Fallen Angel could be someone I know well. Asha’ruiya, are you the Fallen Angel that I’m looking for?” MO Fan stared at Asha’ruiya solemnly.

“Aren’t you going to think about it first?” Asha’ruiya looked up to meet his gaze.

“What do I need to consider?” asked MO Fan.

“As I mentioned earlier, you can only ask me one question. You should think about it. I notice that whenever you are close to me, you try very hard to restrain yourself. Am I really that dangerous?” asked Asha’ruiya

For a moment, MO Fan did not know how to answer her.

After all, he never considered himself special. He was just like any other man, and every man was attracted to Asha’ruiya’s beauty.

“You’re indeed a very dangerous woman. On one hand, I’m attracted to your excellence and beauty. On the other hand, I must caution myself to not cross the line. I don’t know what you have in your mind even to this day. But I’m a family man now, so I have to… Ahem… I have to be disciplined.” MO Fan wondered why he uttered such nonsense. Still, he needed to be honest with her.

“You can ask me now. I will answer you. Since you don’t know what I’m thinking, and don’t understand why you behave so cautiously, I feel that we can both remain fair to each other,” said Asha’ruiya

“Can’t I ask two questions?” MO Fan asked with some difficulty.

Asha’ruiya shook her head.

“Why?” MO Fan asked in confusion.

“I live by one philosophy. Even when a woman falls for a man, she can’t simply give up everything for him. The reason I can answer only one question is that I am not going to chase after you and give everything up. The fact that I allow you only one question means that I value myself more.” Asha’ruiya gave MO Fan an honest reply.

MO Fan frowned. He had two questions he wanted to ask, but he could only choose one.

MO Fan was aware that regardless of whether the angels who traveled on earth were the angels from Holy City or the Fallen Angels, none of them would reveal their identity before “returning to glory”.

Asha’ruiya was willing to answer one of his questions, but she had to keep one question to herself. MO Fan understood her reason for doing so. After all, she had already done him a great favor by helping him for free.

Instead, MO Fan thought he owed Asha’ruiya a lot. He had to return the favor someday.

But Asha’ruiya didn’t want anything.

Besides, Asha’ruiya was not the kind of person who could provide him with two answers with mere sweet words. When she said she could only answer one of his questions, she meant it. Even if they became close friends in the future, she would never tell him whether she was a Fallen Angel.

The night sky was filled with stars. But Asha’ruiya was even more mesmerizing.

MO Fan was in a dilemma. He knew what he was bound to lose.

Asha’ruiya was a very clever woman. He could ask her what she had in her mind. If not, he would never ever get the chance to understand her.

But what question should he ask?

‘Are you a Fallen Angel?’

‘Or do you love me?’

If there was another way out of the situation, MO Fan would do everything to not have to choose just one question.

“Great.” Asha’ruiya breathed in the cold air. She looked at MO Fan. “I thought you would immediately ask whatever you have in your mind. Looking at the way you hesitate, I guess you know my value.”

“I want to ask…,” MO Fan finally said.

The gale blew a large area of snow at them as they walked in the snow under the galaxy.

MO Fan whispered to Asha’ruiya. She was close to him, so she could hear his words.

Still, Asha’ruiya remained graceful and kept a safe distance from MO Fan while holding his arm. She did not put a lot of distance between them, but she wasn’t very close to him either. Her footprints were shallow at times and deep at others..