Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 1541 Dumb Teammates

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Date- 13 April 2321

Time- 9:54

Location- Southern Region, Southern Capital

Beplhegor's belief that Wyatt was merely bluffing with the threat to detonate himself in order to deceive him into releasing his grip was a clever and astute reaction. Who in their sane judgment would willingly trigger an explosion without putting up a fight or exerting maximum effort to change the situation when the opponent gains the advantage? 

Therefore, it was unsurprising that Belphegor would persist steadfastly in his choice until the very end. However, Beplhegor lacked a substantial understanding of Wyatt's abilities, which transformed his swift and prudent decision into a grave error.

After engaging in combat and thoroughly evaluating Wyatt within the secondary time flow, Belphegor held the belief that he had sufficiently measured Wyatt's skills and abilities, enabling him to initiate the conclusive confrontation. This conviction led him to boldly eliminate the secondary time flow and persist in pursuing Wyatt's soul within the original time flow, fully aware that allied demigods could potentially intervene to aid Wyatt.

Yet, Belphegor had greatly underestimated the many tricks Wyatt had up his sleeve. In the final reckoning, he faced devastating consequences for this miscalculation as the certainty of his life and death remained uncertain since the smoke and dust that enveloped the explosion's site made it difficult to determine if he had managed to survive the blast. 

"Wyatt," Ann was on the verge of impulsively charging into the area where the explosion had occurred, shrouded in a dense haze of dust and smoke, in order to verify Wyatt's condition. She had seen his giant body burst apart as it took down the malevolent devil, yet her mind resisted accepting this reality. Her heart clung to the possibility that amidst that obscuring cloud of smoke and dust, Wyatt might be there, potentially requiring assistance.

"Where are you rushing off to, stupid girl?"

But then, a strong hand grabbed her shoulder from behind, preventing her from dashing toward the explosion area. Filled with anger, Ann swiftly spun around to find the hand's owner, only to discover that it was her beloved, the very person she was so eager to save. Without hesitation, she embraced him tightly, taking in his scent, without a shred of doubt about the person she embraced was her beloved and shame of her intimate actions. 

"Wyatt, you're alive!" Jill cried out, attempting to embrace him, only for her ethereal form to pass through his physical body. Thus, she could only observe as Ann unabashedly held onto Wyatt, nuzzling against him and inhaling his masculine scent, all while shedding tears such that Wyat would not heartlessly pull her off of him out of compassion. Witnessing Ann's audacious display, Jill couldn't help but feel a sense of embarrassment.

"I'm okay, you both should head back to the royal palace grounds," Wyatt instructed Ann and Jill. A sense of urgency could be heard in his voice. Listening to his words, Ann quickly looked up into his eyes and responded, "Absolutely, let us head back to the royal palace grounds."

"Not me, just you two," Wyatt clarified, sensing that Ann had misunderstood. But then he heard Ann firmly declare, "No, I won't go if you're not going."

"What's the use? Didn't you just kill the devil using your clone detonation technique?" Jill asked, clearly puzzled. The only real danger they faced was the devil with time rule mastery. If it was gone, why would Wyatt be apprehensive?

"If only it were that simple, but it's far from finished. Plus, I had to carefully manage the explosion to avoid endangering you both in the aftermath," Wyatt sighed, as he detailed to Jill and Ann how he had missed a prime chance to defeat Belphegor's Worldhog incarnation.

"You should've targeted its core instead of its heart," Ann pointed out causing Wyatt to frown but he then proceed to explain his action to her even though he did not need to, "This devil's body is tricky. It actually has three cores, each one concealed within its three hearts."

Worldhogs possess three hearts, with each heart housing a demon core. This unique setup aids their natural skill to alter their body size. If you don't eliminate all three cores, there's a possibility of it surviving and regenerating its lost cores and body. Given that Wyatt was facing a devil realm Worldhog and an incarnation of Belphegor at that, it's reasonable to assume that this specific Worldhog possessed high-level body healing and core recovery capabilities. Furthermore, using his soul pupils Wyatt noticed a mass of versatile soul pathways growing at the explosion site, concealed within the shroud of smoke and dust.

"Wyatt, have you figured out why the devil was coming after you? Are you certain you can handle this, or should you just come back to the royal palace grounds with us?" Jill asked, expressing her worry. She felt that Wyatt might be shouldering more responsibility than was necessary for someone of his age and realm.

"It is the same devil I cheated into leading its powers to me to save Anna. it is back for revenge," Wyatt explained then hurried them to return to the royal palace grounds saying, "Enough chit-chat leave while the devil is still recovering and disoriented."

"No, I won't leave you alone out here. Head back to the royal palace grounds with us," Ann persisted, Ann continued to disagree with Wyatt and persuade him to return with them. 

"Ann," Wyatt firmly gripped her shoulder, locking eyes with her as he spoke, "You're at risk out here. Please go back to the royal palace grounds as I cannot fight the devil while protecting you."

Fortunately, Belphegor didn't display any desire to take Ann as a hostage to manipulate Wyatt, although he did mention it briefly. Thus, Wyatt missed a valuable opportunity to strike while Belphegor was recuperating, as he was preoccupied trying to convince Ann to go back to a secure spot. While Wyatt knew that Ann was Anna's origin card, he remained unaware of the consequences if something were to happen to her. Considering Anna's well-being, Wyatt had to prioritize ensuring Ann's safety over attacking vulnerable Belphegor, even if he found it frustrating. As he did not entertain naive thoughts that he could take out Belphegor without sacrifice. even if he was at his weakest since he stepped into the card world.