Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 1095

Flying at this altitude was still a bit chilly. Only in the height of summer, he mused, would soaring through the sky not feel like an invitation to catch a cold.

The journey to York Town had taken more than two hours, but the flight back to Nolan was far simpler. The path was a straight shot, requiring no turns or stops. Aside from a deliberate detour around the village where the angel resided, Jenkins wasted no time.

He reached the city's airspace before the sun had even begun to set. Though the sky had started to dim, it was still clearly afternoon, not yet evening.

"Flying really is the most efficient way to travel."

Jenkins patted his mount in praise. The unicorn let out a low whinny, a little disappointed that, being mid-flight, it couldn't affectionately nudge his arm with its magnificent golden horn.

In the distance, he could already see the "wall of fog" on the horizon—a section of the dense mist that perpetually enveloped the city. After a brief spell of clear weather, the fog had rolled in once more. Sunny days, it seemed, were a fleeting luxury.

As they flew into the dense fog, visibility plummeted. Mist swirled in from all sides, enveloping the unicorn and its two riders. Yet, Jenkins wasn't concerned about the unicorn losing its way; its sense of direction was just as uncanny as the mystical cat's.

This time, however, the journey home did not go as planned. They flew through the mist for what felt like a long time, yet they never emerged from the fog bank.

Logically, the fog shouldn't have penetrated the city center yet, merely lingering on the outskirts. To have flown for so long and still be trapped within it was impossible.

Once he confirmed that both he and the cat had altered their appearances, the pure-white creature threw back its head. As its cry grew louder, the golden horn erupted with a dazzling, brilliant light, sending visible ripples of golden energy expanding in all directions.

Armor of pure silver materialized on the unicorn's body, its plates linked by fine threads woven from strange runic chains. This was the creature's true form. It had absorbed a small amount of Jenkins's divinity and undergone an evolutionary leap. The cat, on the other hand, had absorbed a similar amount of divinity but had only managed to condense it into three life-saving strands of fur.

"I suppose that's the difference between an ordinary housecat and a unicorn."

The man on the unicorn mused silently. The cat, perched there as well, looked distinctly unamused.

The light from a sacred unicorn's horn was the bane of all darkness, theoretically capable of dispelling even the most potent curses. But as the radiance bloomed, only a small portion of the surrounding fog dissipated, restoring visibility within a limited circular space.

Jenkins realized something was terribly wrong and immediately instructed the unicorn to descend for a landing. But the descent itself was problematic. According to his pocket watch, they had been descending for at least ten minutes before he could faintly make out the land below.

Directly below was a black hill, standing stark and alone upon earth packed hard by drought. The soil was a terrifying shade of black, a color that seemed to promise a grave for any living thing.

The hill bore no tall trees, only thickets of low, dense shrubbery. The leaves of these shrubs were serrated, looking less like foliage and more like daggers designed for killing. At their base, the roots were stained a bloody black, a shade quite distinct from the unnerving, pure-black soil.

Aside from the shrubs, an ancient manor stood at the very peak of the hill, half-shrouded in mist. It looked as though it had endured the ravages of time: the plaster on its walls was yellowed and peeling, its roof was peppered with holes, and snake-like vines clung to its sides. Every detail screamed that the place was long abandoned.

But wherever this was, it was most certainly not Nolan. The body's original owner had grown up in the city and had never heard of such a frightening place in the vicinity. Furthermore, it had rained just two days ago; the endless, arid plain below the hill, littered with heaps of white bones, was nothing that could possibly exist anywhere near Nolan.

"Someone is trying to harm me again!"

Jenkins reacted instantly. He didn't allow the unicorn to touch the horrifying black earth, instead commanding it to hover in mid-air.

Activating his special sight, he scanned his surroundings. Thin, interwoven wisps of golden and black spiritual light filled the air. The eerie manor itself pulsed with a particularly strong aura, and he could sense a few familiar presences within its walls.

"I think I know what's going on here." Latest content publıshed on novel•fire.net

Jenkins muttered, then had the unicorn descend slowly. When they were close enough, he cradled his cat and leaped to the ground, leaving two clear footprints in the soft earth.

"You should go back," he told his unicorn. "This place is dangerous."

But the young creature was reluctant. It landed beside him and gently nuzzled his sleeve with its cheek, much like the cat did when it was being affectionate.

"Alright, then," Jenkins relented. "You can come with me this time, but you have to be careful. The instant something feels wrong, you leave. Understand?"

He hesitated for a moment, but remembering the unicorn was a powerful supernatural being in its own right, he didn't insist on sending it away.

The creature cried out with pleasure and retracted its golden horn and silver armor, reverting to its ordinary appearance. The cat on Jenkins's shoulder seized the opportunity, leaping onto the unicorn's back. It dug its claws into the soft, white fur, stubbornly refusing to move.

The black soil underfoot was softer than he'd expected. He prodded it a couple of times with the toe of his boot and discovered that the black earth was just a surface layer. Beneath it lay a strange, pinkish substance that looked as though it were bound by fine threads of blood.

The sight reminded Jenkins of a newborn's pink skin, which only served to confirm his suspicions.

The closer he drew to the strange manor, the stronger an unspeakable, chilling pressure became. It was different from the oppressive atmosphere of the abandoned hospital where the Corpse Gentleman had been. That had been a cold, hollow feeling; this was twisted and malevolent.

The manor grounds weren't particularly large, with the main structure being a four-story building. Jenkins quickly approached. As he looked up, he saw a man with a blurred face looking down at him from the roof. The man's features were impossible to discern, but his eyes were fixed directly on Jenkins. The instant their gazes locked, the man leaped from the roof, his body smashing into a pulp right in front of Jenkins and the unicorn.

Red blood and other nauseating fluids of various colors sprayed in every direction, splattering the manor's door, the mottled walls, and the withered plants clinging to them. A few drops even landed on Jenkins's shoes.

Both Jenkins and the unicorn recoiled instinctively, unsure of what had just happened.