This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 606 - 539: The Decline of the Rose

Chapter 606: Chapter 539: The Decline of the Rose

Many in Hell had already heard the name of Amberser, wondering how many devils were inquiring about his whereabouts.

They all wanted to know, by what means did a sinner, already condemned to Hell, manage to escape the punishment of the Grand Duke of Hell and even gain Zariel’s approval, achieving a status much higher than that of an ordinary devil.

This wasn’t something that could be explained by mere deception; it was entirely like brainwashing, wasn’t it?

It was just like what the Lord of Hell had done to Zariel initially... Could it be that the Lord of Hell had planted some kind of command in Zariel’s soul, and this Lich knew the command, thus being able to completely control Zariel’s thoughts?

Others said that Zariel had simply become hopelessly in love with the Lich, wanting to gnaw on his bones every day. Only love could blind someone so, as it did with Fallen Angels.

Conspiracy theories began to spread, and within just a few days, they had fermented into thousands of different versions. This was the place where all malice converged, where countless rumors could be fabricated.

However, these rumors could not shake Zariel’s position in Hell, nor affect the Fallen Angel. The devils who cursed Zariel to die a terrible death were plentiful; Zariel had grown tired of hearing them.

The one who truly disturbed Zariel was Amberser. The Lich seemed busy with banking matters, handling various affairs orderly, but Zariel felt increasingly sidelined.

Although the share of the bank hadn’t changed and Zariel was still the major shareholder, he helplessly found himself unable to meddle in the bank’s affairs. It wasn’t that he wasn’t allowed to interfere, but whenever Zariel said a few extra words, he would be scolded bloody by Mammon, because those so-called suggestions would significantly increase their cost expenses.

Mammon bluntly said, "If you don’t understand, shut up. Go spend some time at the Blood River Battlefield chopping down a few more demons! Isn’t it nice to just lie back and earn money, why seek discomfort?"

Zariel was almost driven to duel with Mammon.

But Zariel had to admit the fact that he indeed did not understand economics, and he didn’t have such talent among his subordinates.

Therefore, Zariel turned his attention to Amberser.

After all, this was a sinner’s soul that had fallen into his hands, and under the laws of Hell, Amberser ought to be his slave, with his life and death controlled entirely by Zariel.

The Grand Duke of Hell didn’t believe what Amberser said, something about being here yet not being here, some special overlapping state... These were mostly ghost stories conjured up by the Lich himself. Therefore, Zariel had recently neglected the bank’s matters and started researching all the secret codices of Hell he could find, thoroughly studying the laws and regulations related to Hell, vowing to keep Amberser firmly in his grasp. Then, the bank would truly be under his control.

Amberser was not unaware, but he was not concerned in the slightest.

Because Zariel only understood Hell, but he didn’t understand alchemy.

The Magic Mirror is a very special alchemic product, created by the God of Alchemy after his breakdown and subsequent rise to Intermediate Divine Power.

Initially, it was only capable of communication, but the interesting part of alchemy is that the concept itself is continuously evolving. The core of the Magic Mirror also upgraded repeatedly, and Amberser, being inseparable from the God of Alchemy, knew everything the God of Alchemy did.

The most valuable of which was undoubtedly the complete knowledge of the Dark Web.

Amberser did not hesitate to share this part of the knowledge with the God of Alchemy, so the new generation of Magic Mirrors already contained the special effects of the Magic Web, unrelated to casting spells, thus the mysterious Magic Goddess did not express dissatisfaction.

Now, Amberser could be understood as a specter hiding inside the "pseudo-magic network," with only a single strand of hair remaining in Hell.

If Zariel wanted to pull him out, he first needed to understand the Magic Web, then alchemy, and lastly, the most difficult and crucial step—destroying the physical body of the Magic Mirror located within the Divine Realm of the God of Alchemy, completely cutting off Amberser’s ability to freely move within the network.

Unfortunately, the God of Alchemy was not the Koutoa Mermaid Goddess, nor was He insane, so how could He possibly leave His Divine Realm?

Thus, Amberser was not worried about what Zariel could do to him, nor did he take the minor trouble on the Hell side seriously, as he had more important matters to attend to.

In the depths of Gloomyland, Withered Rose changed into her original black long dress, standing in front of the Magic Mirror, quietly watching Amberser within.

Her expression was very calm, as if the person in the mirror was not the one she had longed for day and night, but just an old friend not seen for a long time.

Amberser said sentimentally, "Your feelings are gradually fading. Do you also feel that in the recent days, you’ve begun to lose the ability to think, staring blankly more often, unable to sense the passage of time?"

Withered Rose nodded calmly and said, "More or less, but this feeling is not bad."

Amberser fell silent, as Withered Rose’s soul was becoming self-enclosed, just like his state when he had first turned into a specter. Because she had lost all desires, even her thinking ability was gradually giving up.

This was also why Amberser had tried to have Melina conceal the truth of his resurrection, but unfortunately, Melina was obviously not good at keeping secrets, and it didn’t take many days for Withered Rose to find out.

After confirming that Amberser had indeed been successfully resurrected, hardly half a day went by before Withered Rose began to enter a "terminal" state. She was a bit better off than Amberser, the Instrument Spirit; Withered Rose might still hold on for ten to fifteen days, then she would completely fall silent, turning into a motionless corpse, or become a zombie completely devoid of cognitive abilities.