Stray Ch113

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 113: Aurorae

There wasn’t much time left for him.

Nemo considered this possibility when he stuffed the gray parrot into the cookie tin. The control and monitoring of external communication spells had not been neglected because of the huge size of the church, but he and Bagelmaurus could ignore this.

It wasn’t because of how unbreakable the contract between them was. The power that Bagelmaurus lost to him was like a river flowing into an ocean, leaving no traces. Tracing the location of the contractor was out of Bagelmaurus’ unilateral and clear will. According to the law, the contract only exists in name. Even if his power was greater than that of Bagelmaurus, he shouldn’t have known the location of the gray parrot.

But Nemo knew where it was. The existence of Bagelmaurus was like a dim star, flashing in the corner of the dark sky.

Right now, he was too lazy to think about the principle. After confirming the location of the gray parrot again, Nemo directly cut the space like a cake, and then unsurprisingly saw Jesse Dylan’s beautiful and annoying face on the other side.

Looking at the surrounding scene, Dylan and Mr. Cross should be near the dungeon where the sacrifices were being held. The cookie tin was in Jesse’s hand. The lid was open and Bagelmaurus slowly stretched out its head and glanced at Nemo, then retracted its head even more slowly.

“What’s the matter, Mr. Light?” Jesse’s tone was relaxed and pleasant, as if they were heading towards a picnic at a scenic spot rather than on a mission at the base camp of the Abyssal Church.

He wasn’t surprised by Nemo’s behavior of splitting space.

“This place is going to collapse.” Nemo didn’t plan to have a long talk with the other party. “How long will it take you to get all those sacrifices to a safe place?”

Nemo looked at Jesse Dylan very directly through the rift in space.

“Oh, about this matter. It won’t take more than a few minutes,” Jesse replied eagerly. “You don’t need to buy me time, darling…”

“Then please act now,” Nemo interrupted the blond young man. “The sooner, the better.”

He then unceremoniously closed the space rift. Before the rift closed, Nemo was pretty sure he heard Jesse Dylan’s aggrieved hum. When the cracks in space that were forcibly opened were completely closed, the gorgeous prison became extremely quiet again.

In order to make room for the gray parrot, the cookies that were poured out were scattered all over the table. Nemo released his staff, pressed one hand on the wooden table, and with the other hand, began to stack the pile of cookies neatly in vain. The wooden table was too warm, even a little hot. It could be seen that his hands were abnormally cold.

He couldn’t be nervous.

Stomach acid surged in his stomach. Nemo didn’t like what he was going to do next. Not one bit. Instinctively, he reached out his hand and grabbed a few sandpoint plums and stuffed them all into his mouth in a single breath. Don’t be nervous. Nemo frowned as he tried to focus on the cookie tower in front of him. The next part, when they negotiate, was extremely important. He had to put on a sufficiently inscrutable posture…

Hagen opened the door with grace and elegance. She arrived earlier than he expected.

Nemo hadn’t removed his hand from the cookie tower. His face was still affected by the excessive sour taste, so it was wrinkled with a hideous expression. Even the Bishop of the Abyss was stunned for a few seconds. She turned her face and looked suspiciously at the staff on the ground, then at the cookie tower, and finally at Nemo’s face. She didn’t step into the room.

Nemo: “……”

He took in a deep breath, slowly moving his hand away from the cookie tower, and at the same time gulped down the plums in his mouth.

“Where is Lord Bagelmaurus?” She wasn’t accompanied by any Knights of Silence this time.

“Ate it.” His nostrils were full of the sweet scent of cookies.

“…” Hagen’s face was hidden under the gauze veil, so Nemo couldn’t see her expression. From any point of view, this wasn’t a good start to negotiations.

“That’s not a very good joke.” The Bishop of the Abyss still stood at the entrance. Her wide black skirt didn’t cross the threshold. “Mr. White, I only have one question for you. Are you from the ‘Gatekeepers’ side?”

Nemo straightened his back and made no comment.

“If you are, there is no need for us to be so opposed. Judging by your actions, I can’t think of any other possibilities,” Hagen said, assuming that the other’s response was an implicit “yes”. “Although our philosophies are different—after all, I’m also a Gatekeeper—I understand. In a sense, we’re also fighting for the truth.”

“Are you angry? Ah, you have enough reason to be angry,” Hagen sighed softly. “I have to follow the rules of the Abyssal Church, and now I’m here alone. I only need a small contract from you. A transaction seal. As long as you promise not to take any threatening action against the Abyssal Church, I can ignore this impolite invasion on behalf of the church.”

“Well,” Nemo said, lowering his gaze. The surveillance bug outside the church flashed through his mind and he suddenly realized something—about the upcoming battle between Aurorae and the Abyssal Church, there may be more than one spectator on the sidelines.

“Don’t look at me like this. I miss our time too.” Hagen’s voice had a bit of a smile in it. “You see, the impact can be controlled to a minimum. If you make this promise, I’m sure the others will not pursue you too much.”

She was trying to woo him. He had to say that if he was really an ordinary superior demon, he would indeed seriously consider this proposal. He was at risk of being sacrificed, plus under the pressure of other superior demons. For a superior demon who wanted to live wantonly on the surface, retaining their power was the most realistic choice.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t an “ordinary superior demon”.

“You know, this church is alive.” He didn’t respond positively to Hagen’s proposal. “You have always known those sacrifices… are almost equivalent to ‘feeding’. You’re forcing it to live, not making sacrifices to the demon.”

“Do you care about this?” Hagen hid the surprise in her voice well. “Obviously, if there’s still a chance for revenge, who would want to die?”

“Have you asked him?” Nemo sighed. “If you really want to, you should be able to perceive his emotions.”

“Look at what you’re saying. If he doesn’t want to cooperate, this church wouldn’t open a protective array for sacrifices… Oh, sorry, I shouldn’t explain it to you like this.” Hagen shrugged. “So let us talk as Gatekeepers—so what?”

“He wants to die, so what? Lord Colestoro has become a ‘symbol’ and he cannot fall.” Hagen’s voice began to become cold. “In practical terms, he is just a nightmare leopard.”

“I thought you believed in the Abyss.” Nemo almost crushed the table to pieces, but he held back.

“Of course we believe in the Abyss, but that it’s not blind faith. All we really believe in is the one at the bottom of the Abyss. Don’t you know very well? Whether it’s us or a superior demon—for that one, we’re all just ants.”

“…That’s just your imagination.”

“I understand. I get it. After all, I also came from that period, but after I really witnessed that one up close, I realized my stupidity and insignificance.” There was a bit of fanaticism in her voice. “In that crusade, a superior demon planned to take advantage of the chaos to gain some benefits. Ah, just like those lovely pseudo-gods from those churches.” She casually pointed in the direction of the surface above her head. Her voice was getting softer and sweeter. “Guess what happened? Our God didn’t even make a move.”

“It just looked at the superior demon—a complete superior demon, my friend—and it turned to ashes. It’s the biggest joke that such a being died at the hands of the surface race. If this is not God’s mercy, what is?”

“I’m sorry. I decided to be an ant and not think about that one’s thoughts.” Nemo thought for a moment before squeezing out a somewhat cold smile. “I don’t plan to cooperate with you.”

The location of Bagelmaurus was moving quickly outside the church. Good.

“Just lock me up like this.” When Hagen finds that their sacrifices have escaped, she will only have one option left.

Hagen took off her veil and sighed. Her movements stiffened and she took out a spherical black crystal from her pocket, as if staring at the flashing text on it.

“Very well,” the Bishop of the Abyss said calmly. “It’s just that you need to change places.”

She took off her lace gloves and hooked her fingers at the door. The erosion spell moved from all parts of the room and wrapped around Nemo’s body. They were wrapped tightly, squeezing into his skin. Nemo struggled symbolically a few times and stopped moving.

‘Great,’ he thought.

Oliver stopped in the scorched forest. Virgil hugged Colestoro and stopped cautiously. He still had doubts about the purpose of this weird team, but the strength of their players was too terrifying, and he didn’t think the opponent was trying to take advantage of him.

Perhaps for a gold coin? He bent the corners of his mouth weakly.

“What are we going to do now?” Virgil couldn’t understand what they were planning. He didn’t like the feeling that he wasn’t in control.

“We wait,” Oliver said. He began to quickly paint a camouflage array nearby. The overflowing power frightened Virgil. “Wait for Nemo’s signal.”

“Mr. Light… No, what is that person going to do?” Virgil hugged the unconscious demon tightly in his arms. “If you really still think I’m your client, then I have the right to know.”

“To be honest, I don’t know either,” Oliver didn’t stop the movements of his hands, “But I can guess. Nemo will send Colestoro’s body back to the Abyss, and then cut off the incomplete contract. He can’t cure Mr. Colestoro, and he’s very sorry for this.”

“After the contract is completely cut off, Mr. Colestoro’s consciousness will no longer be troubled by the pain of his body. His power will be greatly weakened, but…”

“He’ll still have decades to live.” Virgil quickly understood Nemo Light’s plan.

It wasn’t just a few days without pain or consciousness, but decades of sobriety and stability. Colestoro would lose the power supplied by the main body, but the flesh on the surface would continue to survive until the nightmare leopard’s body in the Abyss died unknowingly. Virgil buried the tip of his nose in Colestoro’s hair. His nose soured for an instant.

“Yes. ‘Then you can go anywhere, even to the Abyss and end it yourself’,” Oliver said softly. “Give me a gold coin.”

“You–” Virgil was about to speak. His vigilance honed over the years immediately interrupted his voice. Oliver’s reaction was faster, and the camouflage array was launched immediately.

A lonely figure flashed from the air, calmly advancing in the direction of the Church of Silence. He was far away from them, but it was enough for the two of them to see the figure clearly. He was wearing twisted armor and had a big sword behind him. The two people present simultaneously recognized him.

Aurorae had arrived.

Oliver immediately looked in the direction of the Church of Silence. As if responding to his gaze, the beautiful and twisted magnificent building began to shake visibly to the naked eye, slowly sinking below the ground, as if the foundation had turned into a swamp.

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. Not far from him, a surveillance bug stopped on a dead tree trunk with its eyeball on its abdomen spinning frantically.

Not far away, Aurorae stopped. He wouldn’t unwind just for the scene in front of him. The fierce superior demon slayer frowned under his armor—the abyssal magic in the air fluctuated powerfully.

‘There was an extremely bad guy here, and he was wreaking havoc,’ Aurorae thought and took out a communication crystal.

“Telaranea,” he asked in a deep voice after the communication connected successfully. “I remember you had some friendship with Hagen Ingram?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Has she reported any unusual events recently?”

“It depends on what you want to know, Vance.” The demon on the opposite side of the communication crystal sounded like it was in a good mood. “Ah, no. I forgot you were working—okay, what do you want to know, Aurorae?”

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The author has something to say:

Yes, Aurorae appeared a long time ago. XD Talbott Vance is just the name of his human shell~ Except for Nemo, there are no demons with a first and last name.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Note: I previously translated Aurorae’s name as Aurora. His official name, as given by the author, is Aurorae. Previous chapters have been fixed, but for those who read them before the change, please make note of this.

I wasn’t expecting Vance to be Aurorae. I thought he would be Jesse. Now this begs the question, who exactly is Jesse?

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