Thirdly, wait for the gargoyle to kill that human. When that happens, the gargoyle will revert back to a statue and the door will open.
What they need to do now is make a choice among these options.
Angel did not answer Lady Melo’s question, because he directly expressed his choice through action.
Suddenly, numerous pale white phantom limbs extended like tentacles from Angel, rapidly wrapping around the gargoyle before it could even react.
Only then did the gargoyle realize, in shock, that there were still people here!
But this shock turned out to be its final thought in life, because in the next second, the phantom limbs tightened slightly, crushing the gargoyle into countless pieces.
Retracting the phantom limbs, Angel ignored the gargoyle’s remains and walked over to young Tom.
"Honorable Wizard, you’re here, aren’t you?"
Angel did not dispel the illusion, so young Tom could not see him, yet Tom still spoke, and judging from the direction he turned, he seemed to be facing Angel, as if he could indeed see him.
But Angel knew young Tom could not see him; it was perhaps a coincidence, or maybe a kind of ability.
"You killed the gargoyle and haven’t left, do you intend to kill me?"
"If possible, I hope you don’t kill me; I have strong inspiration and can serve as your servant, offering my service."
Perhaps to demonstrate his inspiration, young Tom continued, "I vaguely sensed your presence before. You have been following me and the leader, all the way here to the prison."
Young Tom’s words made Angel raise his eyebrows slightly. Surprisingly, Tom’s positioning was not a coincidence; he indeed had a talent for inspiration. And judging by this talent, it seemed to have considerable potential.
Otherwise, with his limited power, young Tom shouldn’t have been able to perceive Angel’s presence behind them.
"Since you discovered me, why didn’t you inform your leader?" After young Tom spoke at length, Angel finally responded.
Young Tom secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, knowing that as long as they could communicate, there was still a chance: "Because I vaguely felt it might be my opportunity."
"Your chance to kill the leader?" Although Angel posed a question, his tone was quite certain.
Earlier, he had noticed a one-hit kill wound on the leader’s back, and there were no other wounds. This implied he possibly died before the escaped apprentices had the chance to vent their anger on his corpse. His death was unlikely caused by them; it was probably an unanticipated attack from behind.
Angel had a vague suspicion then that it might be the leader’s trusted confidant, as only a confidant would have had the chance to be behind the leader.
At that time, the leader only brought young Tom as a confidant into the prison.
"Yes, it was I who killed the leader. Initially, I believed you followed us with a purpose, perhaps intending ultimately to kill the leader. But when you didn’t act, I had no choice but to do it myself."
"Then the opportunity came quickly—when the leader discovered the guard mysteriously unconscious on the ground and bent down to check, his back was exposed to me, and I thrust the concealed dagger into his heart from behind."
Young Tom’s expression showed evident satisfaction when recounting the experience of killing the leader.
"According to your words, if I had killed the leader while following you, I surely would have killed you too. Aren’t you concerned about this possibility?"
Young Tom: "Not worried, since I was prepared to die. As long as that person dies, it wouldn’t matter if I die."
Young Tom’s expression remained serene, and his tone calm, yet the resolve concealed beneath this calm was remarkably powerful.
Angel: "Did he have a vendetta against you?"
Young Tom: "A blood feud."
Angel understood that young Tom entered the Princess Castle, ingratiated himself with the leader to become a confidant, all for revenge.
Angel pondered for a moment and continued: "Since you were prepared to die, why now seek mercy from me?"
Young Tom replied straightforwardly: "If I can survive, naturally I hope to live. Of course, if you decide to kill me, I wouldn’t resent it."
Angel could clearly see that young Tom was speaking the truth.
He indeed harbored a readiness to die but also had hopes of surviving.
Angel remained silent for a moment: "Since I didn’t kill you then, I won’t kill you now."
Young Tom’s eyes showed excitement, and he immediately knelt down: "Thank you, I am willing to become your servant."
Angel: "Do you think I would want a betrayer as a servant?"
Young Tom instantly froze.
Indeed, even though young Tom had a blood feud with the leader, he was ultimately a betrayer, regarded as treacherous by others, regardless of justification.
The Wizard before him evidently viewed it the same way.
"Then..." Young Tom didn’t know what to say, struggling to produce a syllable with nothing else to follow.
Then Angel remarked: "But your inspiration does have some use."
After speaking, Angel gently extended his finger, touching young Tom’s brow.
Young Tom’s expression turned dazed for a moment but quickly returned to normal.
After all this, Angel casually cast a healing spell on young Tom to prevent him from bleeding to death.
After receiving the healing, young Tom stood up, bowed toward Angel’s direction in silence, turned, and left.
Once young Tom’s figure vanished from the entrance completely, Lady Melo, who witnessed the entire dialogue, curiously asked, "Do you have plans for him, Wizard?"
Angel: "It’s not me who has plans for him, but you who has plans for him."
Lady Melo paused, confused.
Angel: "His inspiration is exceedingly high; this level of inspiration indicates that his mental power value won’t be lacking. I’ve sent him to find Old Porter. Once you leave the castle, check his talent, and if feasible, investigate his background. If all is well, you may classify him as a Talented One this round."