"Watch out!"
Duan Chen also noticed something was wrong at the first moment. With a flash, he appeared in front of everyone.
He raised his hand and pushed Long Yi, who was at the forefront, behind him. Qian Huan Pandora appeared in his hand, transforming from a gun into a shield and expanding.
It directly expanded into four.
He used the Shadow Clone Technique on Qian Huan Pandora, weakening its defensive power but expanding its protective area.
It was precisely in the instant he finished this series of actions that the embryos in front, which were frozen and still breaking free, suddenly exploded violently.
The force of the explosion was so strong that the Pandora shield held tightly by Duan Chen momentarily flickered.
It seemed as if it would disappear from Duan Chen's hand.
Duan Chen, with lingering fear, wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up coldly at the man standing in the small courtyard.
A hint of surprise flashed in the man's eyes.
"You couldn't even blow you all to death?"
"Who are you?" Duan Chen asked.
The man leaped down abruptly, his body transforming into countless black crows, which then condensed into his body on the ground.
He was like a medieval gentleman. He took off his hat and smiled politely at Duan Chen.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Magician."
"Nice to meet you. Please guide me."
The man who called himself Magician was also dressed like a magician. A white handkerchief was pinned to his breast pocket.
He calmly and leisurely took out his handkerchief, pretended to wipe nonexistent sweat from his hands, then tossed the handkerchief away, and it disappeared in a burst of flames in the air.
"May I ask why you are here in my paradise?"
"Your paradise?"
Duan Chen's tone was sarcastic, "These monsters are your paradise? You really don't find it disgusting."
"No, no, no," the Magician said, shaking his head three times to express his disagreement.
"Anyone who can make children happy is a magician. A place that brings joy and happiness to people is paradise. Don't you think this place is very happy?"
"Right, my children?"
Behind him, the villagers, having broken free from the ice, gathered around him. Especially the bride and groom, who walked over like puppets.
They stood beside the Magician, facing Duan Chen and his companions with a somewhat numb expression.
At the beginning, their expressions had shown some emotion. The bride, named Su Xiaoxiao, even struggled and resisted. Even during the process of the embryos breaking out, her eyes would occasionally flash with pain.
But now that the Magician had arrived, her expression was only one of numbness and lifelessness.
"I should be a lucky person, to be able to happily possess paradise, to happily possess so many family members, and to be fortunate enough to meet you."
"Duan Chen, I've wanted to meet you for a long time."
Duan Chen raised an eyebrow. "You know me?"
The Magician smiled slightly. "Of course, I know you. Your reputation among our Apostles is quite renowned. Aren't you the one who killed Apostle 03?"
"Oh—although it was indirectly."
"You are an Apostle?" Duan Chen's eyes narrowed.
He truly hadn't expected that this peculiar man would be one of the Apostles.
But logically, how could an Apostle appear in this place?
The mission danger level investigated during the mission was nowhere near what they were actually facing.
This shouldn't be the case.
The information control in Su City shouldn't have lagged this far behind.
"No need to overthink it. I am indeed an Apostle, but it's not yet time for you and me to truly know each other. Don't worry, when the time is right, I will come to meet you."
"Today is just a chance encounter between us."
The Magician's smile never faltered. He tapped his toe lightly on the ground, and the surroundings transformed into a blooming garden.
He even said to Duan Chen with some enthusiasm:
"If you like my paradise, I will give it to you as a meeting gift."
"Who are you?" Duan Chen asked warily.
"How strange," the Magician tilted his head. "Didn't I tell you? I am Magician."
"Or are you asking for my number?"
"Then it is my honor to introduce myself. I am Apostle number 08, Magician."
08.
An Apostle who shouldn't have been in this vicinity had appeared.
Duan Chen calmly assessed the situation, thinking about how to escape from this Apostle and how to safely bring back all the team members he had brought with him.
Unexpectedly, the Magician seemed to have seen through his thoughts.
"Nono, no."
He shook his head three times, expressing his negation.
His smile was somewhat eerie. "Don't worry, I'm not so unrefined as to kill everyone around you as well."
"I will give you ample time to grow, Duan Chen. Only after you have killed all the Apostles ahead will I appear before you again. Until then, this is just a chance encounter between us, and no one besides the two of us will know."
Hearing the Magician speak, a bad premonition flashed through Duan Chen's mind. He immediately turned his head and looked behind him, his pupils contracting sharply.
His guess was correct.
Behind him, Wang Zihao and the others had fainted at some point.
No wonder he hadn't heard their voices or seen their reactions just now.
The Magician, with a hint of regret, appeared within his line of sight, landing exactly between Wang Zihao and Su Baiyi.
Duan Chen cursed under his breath and was about to rush forward.
However, the Magician suddenly raised his cane and tapped it lightly on the open ground.
The distance between them stretched infinitely.
"You can't."
At this moment, Duan Chen looked into the Magician's eyes and, for some reason, felt an exceptionally familiar sensation, as if he had seen him somewhere before, yet couldn't recall where.
Soon, the Magician dispelled this thought from Duan Chen's mind.
He squatted down and stroked Wang Zihao's face. This action gave Duan Chen goosebumps.
"Is this the person you've chosen this time?"
The Magician sighed, whether in admiration or nostalgia, and then took out a pocket watch from his embrace and placed it on Wang Zihao's chest.
He stood up and smiled slightly.
"Then, I'll see you next time."