Chapter 139: The Serpent of Purgatory

"And what else? Are you planning to leave once you have what you came for? Or perhaps you've already prepared a contingency plan?" Hughes looked at Mavis, a broad smile plastered on his face.

"Or maybe, could the item you've prepared have something to do with that scale?"

With every word Hughes spoke, Mavis’s expression grew more wretched. Her plan to bluff her way through had been laid bare.

"Didn't we agree? Everything here belongs to you; I was only going to take a few things!" Mavis floated toward Hughes, sounding deeply aggrieved.

"Stop pretending. You were imprisoned here by the master of this place. Let me guess—the laboratory here must contain the bloodline he left behind!" Hughes watched as Mavis bowed her head, remaining silent.

"I think we should have a serious talk. It's true that you can control the entire manor, but so much time has passed that the energy in many areas has been depleted. There are things here that you want, and things that I want, so you should be very clear about where we stand." Hughes knew that finding the real treasures would require Mavis’s cooperation.

"What exactly do you want?" Mavis muttered. She had originally mapped out an escape route, but she hadn't expected this wizard to figure it out.

"It’s simple. Sign a soul contract with me. We can work together. What do you think?" After weighing his options, Hughes decided a soul contract was the safest route.

"Impossible. I can cooperate with you, but a soul contract is out of the question!" Mavis refused instantly upon hearing the condition. She knew all too well the horrors of a soul contract and rejected it instinctively.

"Is that so?" Lightning flickered around Hughes's hands as he prepared to strike.

"We can work together, can’t we? I can tell you about all the resources in the manor if you just let me go!" Seeing Hughes's reaction, Mavis panicked. She had waited far too long for this day; she couldn't just die here.

"Do you really think that's possible? You know my bloodline well. If I let you go, what happens to me?" Hughes began to move.

"Wait! I’ll sign!" Mavis compromised. Her current soul strength was no match for Hughes’s attack; it was better to survive for now and figure things out later.

"That’s more like it." Seeing her agreement, Hughes’s face brightened with a smile once more.

"Wait a moment!" Just as Hughes prepared to draft the contract, Mavis interrupted him.

"I... I can give you my soul essence. I will become your servant," Mavis said, her expression conflicted.

"Your motive?" Hughes was well aware that there was no such thing as a free lunch. If she was handing over her life, she had to have an agenda.

"Help me find a body. And as for your bloodline... you must not harm me," Mavis stated her requirements.

"I can tell you the most valuable thing in this manor for you, and I will pledge my loyalty to you!" Seeing Hughes hesitate, Mavis quickly sweetened the deal. Her soul even knelt on the ground, waiting for his consideration.

"Very well. Hand it over." Hughes didn't refuse; as long as he held her soul essence, he wouldn't have to worry about Mavis playing tricks.

Mavis's soul body began to tremble violently as pain radiated through her essence. Soon, a pale blue orb of light floated into Hughes's hand. Mavis’s soul appeared even more translucent than before, as if it might dissipate at any moment.

"Good. Now, you may speak." Hughes felt the authenticity of the soul essence and tucked it away.

"There is nothing else in this laboratory except for one vial of Purgatory Serpent bloodline!" At the mention of it, a fiery fervor lit up Mavis’s eyes, like that of a devout believer.

"That was your goal? To obtain the bloodline and use it for yourself?" Hughes had mostly pieced it together. Mavis had been aiming for that vial all along. It was no wonder; if not for the Abyss-walker bloodline within him, this vial of Tier 5 Purgatory Serpent blood would have been enough to tempt even him.

"Yes. I wanted to get the bloodline, trigger the manor's self-destruct mechanism, and then, once you were all dead, pick a body and leave this place," Mavis confessed everything.

"Now, tell me about the scale." Hughes wasn't particularly interested in the bloodline—he dared not touch something that could drive a Tier 3 wizard to madness.

"That scale is a Magic Artifact, a spatial type," Mavis said reluctantly. But since she had already surrendered her soul essence, there was no turning back.

"Truly?" Hughes was ecstatic. A Magic Artifact was a step above high-level enchanted items, and a spatial one was exactly what he wanted most.

"All the resources in the manor are inside that scale!" Hughes had guessed as much; the scale was Mavis's own insurance policy.

"Exactly. Everything in the entire manor is in there," Mavis said, looking completely deflated and listless now that she had spilled all her secrets.

"Excellent, very good!" Hughes was enveloped in joy. Not to mention the resources inside the scale, just obtaining a spatial Magic Artifact made the trip worth it.

"Where is the bloodline vial?" After calming himself, Hughes wanted to see the blood of this Tier 5 high-level creature.

"On the left side of the workbench, there is a switch underneath. Just press it," Mavis said, floating over to lead the way.

"Right here?" Following her instructions, Hughes felt a groove under the workbench and pressed it firmly.

*Click!* With a soft sound, a cylinder rose from the flat workbench. The top opened like a blooming flower, revealing a vial of deep red liquid.

Hughes’s vision suddenly shifted. He felt as if he had been transported into an endless purgatory. Black flames licked at his body. He looked up to see a giant serpent, thousands of meters long and wreathed in black fire, locking eyes with him. Its dark red scales and bone spurs were bone-chilling. Just as Hughes struggled to break free, the vision vanished.

"Is that the Purgatory Serpent? It truly lives up to its Tier 5 status!" Hughes collected himself, looking at his surroundings and remembering he was still in the lab—it had all been an illusion.

Yet, the image of the Purgatory Serpent was firmly etched into his mind.

"Why does it feel so familiar?" Thinking back on the serpent's form, he suddenly thought of Gaglie. There were indeed some similarities.

"Um... excuse me... you..." Mavis, seeing Hughes fall silent, reminded him softly, gesturing toward the vial on the table.

"I have no interest in this. I'll leave it to you." Hughes stepped closer to the workbench, moving to the side. Even now, he could hear the faint hissing of snakes echoing in his ears.

"That's good, hee hee hee!" Upon hearing this, Mavis returned to her usual self.

"The bloodline is ours, let's go!" Mavis was impatient to leave, desperate to finally possess a body of her own.

"Don't be so hasty. Let's look around; there might be more," Hughes said, not rushing. A laboratory this large couldn't possibly have nothing else left.

"Why did your former master imprison you?" Hughes asked as he began to inspect the workbench for any other hidden items.

"It was for the things in the ocean outside. He kept many high-level creatures there; I suspect some are still alive. My role wasn't just to control the manor, but to maintain balance. There is a massive energy conversion array beneath the manor that draws energy from those creatures to sustain the facility. But most of that energy was channeled into my former master to counteract the backlash of his own bloodline," Mavis explained, no longer hiding anything.

"So the things in the ocean outside are still alive?" Hughes realized the danger. If that were true, his entire party might be in grave peril.