Sanders: "Wait."
Angel paused and looked at Sanders.
Sanders: "You mentioned you were swallowed into Dalmatian’s stomach and gained benefits; could it be from that Mysterious Fruit?"
Angel shook his head: "No, it’s knowledge about the essence of space. I’ll explain the details later to Mentor. There’s an unexpected character involved."
"Thief of Time!"
As Sanders was stunned, eyes wide, Angel’s figure suddenly vanished.
Sanders looked at the spot where Angel’s figure had disappeared and let out a long sigh: "That rascal did it on purpose, didn’t he?"
Did he deliberately mention the Thief of Time, pique my interest, and then just run off?
Smoothing his forehead, Sanders thought to himself that Angel was much more endearing when he had just joined the Barbarian Cave—courteous and sensible. Now... sigh, it’s beyond words.
Previously, Sanders vaguely suspected that Angel might cause some trouble over at the Mist Belt.
Now he could confirm that Angel really did stir things up. Although it was actually the Dalmatian that made a mess, Angel definitely had an indispensable role in it.
Sanders sighed repeatedly on the spot.
In the past, when Angel caused trouble, Sanders could still clean up for him. But now the things he stirs up are getting so big that even Sanders’ abilities can’t keep up.
Seems like I’ll need to enhance my abilities; otherwise, I won’t even be able to clean up after my apprentice. That wouldn’t do.
"Right, Black?"
As Sanders’ voice fell, his eyes turned pure black for a moment, including the whites. But they quickly returned to normal.
...
Angel had originally planned to catch up with his brother, Lyon, but there was no time now. He quickly went offline, and the moment he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of inquisitive eyes examining him.
At some point, the Dalmatian had jumped from his arms onto the table, stretching its neck to carefully observe Angel.
However, when Angel opened his eyes, the Dalmatian’s expression instantly changed from inquisitive to innocent. It even let out a few seemingly innocent "woofs" and wagged its tail furiously.
"Stop pretending, I saw everything."
The Dalmatian paid no heed to Angel’s words, not only acting innocent but tilting its head to play cute.
Angel also didn’t want to get entangled with the Dalmatian on whether it was pretending or not, so he directly said, "The black-and-white maid has come looking for you."
The Dalmatian’s wagging tail began to slow.
"Davasia and Meinnavaro have also left Xinnai Land. They might come around too."
The Dalmatian’s tail wagged even slower.
"I don’t know if the Boiling Gentleman and Minister Nuka will come looking for you, but if you don’t go back soon, I believe Minister Dim will show up."
The Dalmatian stopped wagging its tail and sat upright on the table, looking Angel straight in the eyes.
"I have things I must do in this world, and people I must protect. Whether it’s Minister Nuka from Xinnai Land or Minister Dim’s arrival, they could potentially harm what I want to protect."
Angel: "Just like how I want to protect you, if you were harmed, I would be very saddened."
Angel extended his hand, placing it on the table.
The Dalmatian hesitated for a moment, then moved a few steps closer to Angel’s hand. Angel took the opportunity to pick it up, lifting its two front paws to gaze into its eyes up close.
"So, you should go home."
The Dalmatian stared at Angel for a few seconds, letting out a few barks.
For the first time, Angel understood the meaning behind the Dalmatian’s barks—it was reluctant.
"Even if you don’t want to, you have to go back," Angel said. "And besides, if you need anything, you can have Wang Wang contact me through the void network. As long as you don’t bark nonsensically, we can communicate normally."
The Dalmatian barked again, but this time Angel didn’t understand it, and it started anew.
Angel: "Go back."
The Dalmatian nuzzled Angel’s forehead without replying.
"For Xinnai Land’s monthly gatherings, if I go, I’ll let you know. You can come then, just don’t wander around, and we can reunite," Angel pondered for a moment. "Also, after some time, I might go to the Nightmare Realm. If you get a chance and aren’t discovered by others, perhaps we’ll meet again."
The Dalmatian raised its head, its eyes brightening as it looked at Angel.
"I won’t deceive you, don’t worry."
Angel wasn’t lying to the Dalmatian; as a controller of Nightmare Illusions, he couldn’t avoid going to the Nightmare Realm forever. Eventually, he’d follow in Sanders’ footsteps to the Nightmare Realm to enhance his abilities.
Thus, the promise to reunite in the Nightmare Realm wasn’t a lie. But when exactly this "some time" would be was still uncertain.
The Dalmatian whimpered, and this time Angel understood its meaning—it agreed.
As long as the Dalmatian agreed to go home, Angel was relieved.
After gaining the Dalmatian’s agreement, Angel went to the Wilderness of Dreams to inform Sanders of the situation. Without waiting for Sanders to ask more, Angel went offline again.
Although the Dalmatian agreed to go home, it couldn’t leave immediately, especially considering the numerous troubles they were still facing.
For instance, how to deal with those two in the Pure White Chamber?
Previously, Angel hadn’t considered the Dalmatian leaving, so letting them stay in the Pure White Chamber allowed the Dalmatian to restrain them.
But now that the Dalmatian had to leave, the Pure White Chamber would naturally vanish as well, raising the issue of handling the Avatar of Gluz Deward and Polo Ye.
Angel certainly couldn’t handle it; one is a suspected Intermediate Rank legend, the other nearly legendary—how could he manage?
Therefore, they could only see if the Observer had a way to resolve this.
With these thoughts, Angel turned his gaze towards the Quiet Room.
In the Quiet Room, the Observer was still struggling to communicate with Wang Wang, explaining his plans.
Angel didn’t bother listening to what the plan was because now any plan would likely have to be altered.
Angel directly transmitted, "Observer, sir, the plan has changed, may I ask you and Wang Wang to step out for a moment?"
The Observer wasn’t upset by Angel’s interruption; in fact, there was a hint of relief. Communicating with Wang Wang was simply too difficult... Wang Wang couldn’t speak, wasn’t familiar with various things in the human world, and rather than discussing plans with it, the Observer mostly found himself explaining things.
Taking a break was actually a welcome relief for the Observer. However, he was curious about what Angel meant by a change in plans.
Soon, the Observer and Wang Wang were seated again at the dining table.
Angel wasted no time, stating directly, "The Dalmatian may be leaving."