Chapter 557: Chapter 557 Alice Visits Again_1
Two nights later, at the apartment where Aiden resided, an old acquaintance made a long-overdue visit.
"It’s been some time since we’ve met in person like this, Your Excellency," remarked the golden-haired girl as she greeted Aiden.
"I’ve been waiting for you, Miss ’Alice,’" Aiden said, greeting his guest at the door before shifting his gaze behind her. "This is the spare body."
A frail-looking boy stood there, his face a spitting image of Tony Dodge, except for his glassy, vacant eyes.
"The stuff you asked for, I’ve delivered," Alice... or rather, the witch at the apex, Abigail, nodded expressionlessly.
Aiden let Abigail in, while Tony Dodge had been waiting inside the room.
Today was the day Abigail had agreed to "deliver the goods"; she had prepared a new body for Tony Dodge. It wasn’t very convenient for Abigail and Tony to meet in prison, so Aiden had changed the venue to his own home.
"He-hello! That is... uh..." he nervously greeted Abigail, "Miss... Abigail."
Abigail scrutinized his lean figure and the blackness of his neck and hands with a serious mien: "Quite crude, indeed. It’s truly made with the power of ’Chaos’; it’s a wonder you survived at all. Your body is a special case; there is still considerable research value to be mined from it."
Tony stood rooted to the spot, unsure how to respond.
Aiden coughed lightly, reminding her, "Don’t treat someone as research material to their face."
"Oh, my apologies," Abigail replied nonchalantly.
Leaning towards Tony, Aiden whispered, "These witches are all like that; they value research far more than ethics or morals. You just need to get used to their power."
"Right..." Tony followed her gaze towards the "self" behind Abigail, staring straight at it.
"I thought you’d be more surprised," Aiden observed his reaction.
"Because my father used to do the same thing," Tony murmured softly.
"And I have investigated that; he had dealings with the Harvest Mother Cult. This creation might be somewhat better," Aiden explained.
"The authority of the ’Sole Regent’ itself ranks higher than the saints, but such a hastily made body will still not have a lifespan longer than a year. It’s essentially just an empty shell controlled by the mother body," Abigail looked at Tony. "I’ve made some modifications. If you parasitize it, it should prevent demonization for a significant period. If any signs of demonization appear, alert me in time, and I can provide you with a new vessel."
"Thank you," Tony said politely.
"It’s just part of the trade; you don’t need to thank me," Abigail replied indifferently. "Regarding your final treatment, I can offer two options. Are you interested in hearing them now?"
"Yes, sure," Tony was having a hard time keeping up with her pace.
"One option is for me to craft a more complete vessel for you using the Incubation Egg, then extend the lifespan to normal levels with the ’Life’ authority, and have someone else transfer your spirit into that body," Abigail stated, raising a finger.
"Are you planning to leverage Presia’s magic?" Aiden interjected. Abigail was highly skilled in black magic but specialized in demonic pacts, life alchemy, and magic artifact crafting. When it came to mental spells, she was actually not as proficient as Presia, who specialized in this field.
"Correct, I’ve long heard about it, and she gets along well with Your Excellency. I’m quite surprised because Presia has always disliked men," Abigail said, staring at Aiden. "It seems Your Excellency’s charm is indeed extraordinary."
"I always feel your words have another meaning, and I hope I’m mistaken," Aiden said, furrowing his brow slightly.
Tony cast a glance at Aiden with a complex expression.
Abigail didn’t respond to Aiden and turned back to Tony, "If you intend to completely rid yourself of the demonic body and obtain a fully human one, this is a decent option. The downside is that the entire experiment would be unprecedented, and since another witch’s assistance is required, there’s a risk of failure.
The other option is for me to directly transform your body into a stable demonic state. You would retain some of the abilities of the possessing demon. This procedure, I have used on myself and frequently optimize and adjust; it’s a matured solution which you might want to consider."
"Miss Abigail, does that mean you really can cure me directly?" Tony blinked.
"I can, but right now it’s not convenient for me to deal with you directly; the person who truly wants the Hand of Eradication is not me," Abigail stated impassively.
"I was worried you might bypass Qiqimora and make a deal with Tony on your own," Aiden said with folded arms. "What caused this change of heart?"
"Promised matters, I’ll still do my best to honor. I will give you some face," Abigail said. "I’m not very keen on a conflict with Qiqimora either, just had to put my foot down where interests were concerned. Since Your Excellency is willing to mediate, I do appreciate it."
"Then, in appreciation, could you help me out with something?" Aiden immediately asked.
"I hope it’s not too troublesome," Abigail remarked. "Favors should be reciprocal."
"I just want to ask, how much do you know about the Hound, Duboman?" Aiden inquired offhandedly.
Abigail and Duboman were active contemporaries, so it was conceivable that they knew each other.
The night before last, after parting with Deborah, Deborah had not proactively contacted him again.
Aiden was now confident that what Deborah had said was mostly true. Deborah bore no malice towards him and instead had an unusually favorable impression of him.
But even if Deborah had no intention of vying for the Wordless Code, it couldn’t be ruled out that others might be using her to get close to them.
Knowing the Goddess of Conspiracy as he did, Melissa’s setups were seldom simple or straightforward.
"The Hound, Duboman?" Abigail inquired. "Asking like that, you should know he’s long since become a saint of ’Order,’ right?"
"Yes."
"You want to obtain the last divine words from him?" Abigail frowned. "You’re carrying the Sole Regency and want to approach a saint, as if you’re not already a target?"
"I’m just making a casual inquiry," Aiden shrugged. "He was active on the Southern Continent during your era, do you know him?"
Upon hearing this conversation, Tony perked up his ears. He too was very interested in any information on Duboman.
After some thought, Abigail gave a definitive answer: "I suppose so. We... have fought each other before."
