I, the wizard, the foolish Buddha

After the blond newcomer left, Wallace pulled Roland to a corner of the main hall, as if wanting to hide until Catherine and the others came down.

Roland knew time was of the essence and that he had to quickly deal with the demon in the palace, but this couldn't be rushed. He had to wait until the demon had completely consumed the blond newcomer before acting, otherwise not only would he fail to save his mentor and the others, but he would also die.

Therefore, he planned to wait until Claire was possessed before trying to drag Wallace into the mess.

Wallace said to Roland, "Roland, that demon might not fancy Claire's body. So, it'll probably try to lure Claire into finding us. During this time, he's like someone with the Black Death, untouchable. And that kid seems to have picked up a protective artifact. If he sees us, he'll throw himself at us, and we're done for. So, we have to hide well and stay away from him."

Roland's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, 'If the demon never consumes Claire, it'll be troublesome.'

He opened his mouth and asked, "Sir, if that's the case, wouldn't he be invincible? If we kill him, the demon will leave his body, becoming elusive and impossible to defend against. If we don't kill him, he'll keep causing us trouble."

Wallace smiled and said, "Don't worry, Abyss Demons are a collection of desires, they have no self-control. It's been who knows how long since it last ate, and with meat right in front of it tempting it, it won't be able to resist for long. It'll eat Claire eventually. We just need to listen for the commotion. After Claire is possessed, he'll definitely go crazy and cause a big stir."

Roland breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Sir, will Claire be easy to deal with after he's possessed?"

Wallace stroked his beard and said, "Not easy to deal with, mainly because the artifact in his hand is a bit tricky. The artifacts in this hall have all been tainted by the Abyss, only he can use it... Alas."

Roland frowned and said, "Sir Wallace, everything related to the Afflicted is supposed to disappear. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any artifacts in this palace. But why do I feel like those artifacts aren't illusions?"

This kid Roland deliberately said at the beginning that there would be many artifacts in the hall, telling his teammates to look for them. But he himself didn't believe there were any artifacts in the hall!

Wallace stroked his beard and said in a low voice, "Your eyes are indeed very sharp. Those artifacts are indeed not illusions. They are genuine treasures, but they have all been tainted by the power of the Abyss... As you said, everything related to the Afflicted will indeed disappear. But the demons of the Abyss have the power to prevent all of this. Those artifacts were deliberately placed here by that guy."

Roland asked with slight surprise, "Sir, you seem to be very clear about these things?"

Wallace shook his head and said, "I don't understand any Affliction Laws, but I understand the demons of the Abyss. Although Miss doesn't think much of my strength, my role isn't in combat... I told you, I specialize in demonology. No one understands them better than I do, whether they are Hell Demons or Abyss Demons. Kid, don't you think, if I didn't have a special skill, would Miss take me everywhere with her?"

Although Wallace's strength was only in the category of a mid-level apprentice, in the entire Black Abyss Academy, no one knew demons better than this handyman.

Wallace suddenly asked, "Brother Roland, you shouldn't have drunk that bottle of Evil Demon Immunity, right?"

Roland didn't answer this question, but instead asked, "Brother Wallace, the bottle of Evil Demon Immunity you drank earlier seemed to be a slightly different color from ours."

Wallace's expression was slightly awkward, and he said, "Roland, my physique is a bit special, the bottle I drank was indeed fake. But the one I gave you is genuine. It's just that the demon ultimately evolved from an Evil God, so Evil Demon Immunity doesn't have that much use against it. Roland, don't blame me for being ruthless, unless we first send it a scapegoat to possess, otherwise the four of us can't play with that thing. So, one of the four of us is definitely going to die first. If it's not Claire who dies, it'll be Wallace, or Roland!

After a pause, Wallace said seriously, "If I were to be possessed, no one would be able to walk out alive... If we die, it's just four people. But if we delay the important matter, then tens of millions of people will have died in vain."

Wallace said it very righteously, but in reality, this guy was just finding an excuse for being afraid of death.

Roland didn't expose him, after all, he was also afraid of death.

Wallace's next sentence hid a lot of information: "Roland, I'm not some Black Abyss Wizard... I'm a businessman. I follow Miss to make money. So Roland, since the potion is genuine, there's no reason to return it."

Roland was stunned for a moment, not expecting this guy to be so greedy. He was about to die, yet he was still haggling with himself over this little bit of money.

After thinking about it, Roland still drank the potion. Although this thing couldn't completely prevent the Abyss Demon from possessing him, it was better than nothing.

"That's right, Roland." Wallace smiled and said, "If you encounter an Abyss-tainted artifact later, you'll be glad I gave you this bottle of 'Evil Demon Immunity.'"

Evil Demon Immunity still had a very large effect in resisting curses, contamination, and other things.

Roland said, "Sir, let's make it clear beforehand. If I die, this debt will be written off."

Roland had just said that Wallace was calculating money even when death was imminent, but he was also acting the same way!

However, from a certain point of view, the two of them felt that they could definitely survive, that's why they were in the mood to calculate these things.

Or rather, the two of them felt that as long as they joined forces, they would definitely be able to survive.

Wallace stroked his beard and smiled, "Don't worry, Roland, you won't die. Miss is impatient. They'll definitely be down in a few minutes. So, the two of us, ah, can temporarily hide for a while."

Roland shook his head and said, "Sir, I'm afraid the mentor and the other three don't have time to pay attention to us... This thing is just an avatar, the real body is outside."

The smile on Wallace's face gradually froze.

He had originally been a little strange too. Although Catherine was ruthless, she was very loyal. He had at least been her slave for so many years, she didn't need to send her old servant down to die as well.

Moreover, it was enough to send down one expendable, why send down so many people?

So, Roland's words were probably true.

After figuring this out, Wallace's face became even more ugly, and he said, "I knew things wouldn't be so simple... Before Miss sent you down, did she tell you how to get out? Or give you some teleportation scrolls that could get you out of the Reverse World?"

Roland had an escape scroll in his hand that could teleport him and Wallace out. But he didn't mention it.

The mentor and the others were currently fighting desperately with the BOSS outside, and killing the avatar could increase their chances of winning. He couldn't be a schemer at this time.

Roland said, "Sir Wallace, how could the mentor give me a scroll? After all, only by killing the avatar here will they have a chance to win."

Wallace's face was ashen, and he cursed in a low voice, "No wonder Baron Hall has been exploring the ruins safely for so many years. He has long been possessed by the lingering thoughts of the Evil God!"

Roland was slightly stunned, and thought to himself, 'Even Wallace doesn't know Baron Hall's identity. Could it be that the BOSS above underestimated his strength? The mentor is also hiding very deeply, so the BOSS might misjudge her strength when assessing it.'

'If we kill this avatar again, the mentor really has a chance to win.'

Roland said, "Sir Wallace, if we want to survive, we must deal with that avatar. Otherwise, once the demon outside wins, we'll all have to die."

Wallace now understood the seriousness of the matter, and he stroked his beard and thought for a moment, and said, "Don't worry, this avatar is different from the one outside. Rather than saying it's an avatar of that Abyss mongrel, it's more like a cub that it laid—the thing outside might still have a trace of divinity, but the one inside is a pure Abyss Demon."

After a pause, Wallace seriously added, "Roland, I am well-versed in the art of exorcising demons, we still have a glimmer of hope."