Chapter 1401: Chapter 1401
After scattering the severed pieces of ivy onto the ground, Jenkins gripped his staff with both hands. Mimicking the gatekeeper’s posture when it plunged the cross into the earth, he drove the end of his staff deep into the dark soil at his feet.
A green ring materialized at his feet. As the small tree emblem appeared, a surge of immense life force erupted from beneath the decaying black earth, “igniting” the ivy cuttings scattered upon it.
Almost instantly, deep green tendrils shot up from the soil toward the sky. The ivy’s writhing, grasping suckers made the plants, which had now broken through their natural growth limits, even more terrifying than the black tentacles they faced.
He pulled his staff from the earth and noticed gray roots wafting from its base, but they vanished in the blink of an eye. Looking up, he saw the ivy and the black tentacles were already locked in a tangled struggle. Both were so massive that for a moment, the dilapidated cafe’s backyard seemed to be completely filled with writhing limbs.
The gatekeeper also withdrew its cross, holding it by the sides with both hands and raising it to the sky. Paired with its black robe, the scene resembled a devout cleric praying to a god. But what Jenkins saw was the frenzied gathering of dark spiritual light behind it. Orıginal content can be found at novelFirｅ.net
A terrible fear, like staring into an abyss, made Jenkins raise his staff instinctively and aim it at the mass of light. The luminous orb at its tip burst forth with a dazzling radiance. This light instantly dispelled the ambiguous, chaotic aura coating the black iron cross. Without a second thought, Jenkins leaped over the mass of tangled tentacles, landing before the gatekeeper, and pressed the orb directly against its chest.
The explosion of white light was so intense that even Jenkins couldn't help but shut his eyes. After a bloodcurdling howl, the black-robed gatekeeper began to melt from the chest outward, until all that remained was a cloud of ash drifting down in the windless, dead city.
The white light faded, and the seemingly eternal moonlight once again illuminated Jenkins.
“For that ashen, cursed doomsday... monsters like these would be enough to destroy the world on their own.”
The surroundings were eerily quiet. Despite the considerable commotion from the battle, no other monsters had gathered nearby. Jenkins didn't know if this was a measure taken by the old man in the clock tower to protect the warehouse or for some other reason. All he could do was quicken his pace and try to accomplish something while he still had time.
He pushed open the warehouse door and raised his miner’s lamp. His eyes immediately fell upon a man, his limbs splayed and fixed to the wall directly opposite the entrance.
He wasn't held by ropes or nails. His hands and feet had fused with the wall itself, as if they had been bent back and mortared into the stonework.
His clothing was also strange. His feet were bare, and he seemed to be wearing only a single robe. It was not the normal attire of the material world; in fact, the black robe was strikingly similar to those worn by the two monsters he had just defeated.
Centered on the man, a blood-red ritual matrix in the shape of an inverted pentagram was painted on the wall. The room was filled with burning red candles, leaving only a narrow, straight path from the doorway to the wall.
It reminded Jenkins of a recent Mysterious Realm, but this was clearly something else entirely.
Jenkins hesitated for a moment before asking aloud, but the man on the wall, head hanging low, remained silent.
Puzzled, he started to walk toward the base of the wall to check on the man's condition, but as he took his first step, instinct screamed that something was wrong. He immediately took two steps back. Just then, the man fixed to the wall began to convulse violently.
Jenkins could only imagine someone being electrocuted would twitch like that, and he worried the man might die from the seizure. But he didn't die. Instead, he lifted his head, his pure black eyes, devoid of whites, staring straight at Jenkins:
“I knew it. I knew you would break our agreement.”
The voice wasn't that of a middle-aged man; it was the voice of the old man from the clock tower.
“Should I say, ‘So it was you after all?’ Me, not honoring the contract? Was your promise to me completely sincere? I don't recall you ever mentioning that those ten rituals would cause the real Nolan to be peeled away from the material world.”
Jenkins wanted to retreat out the door, but he immediately remembered the purpose of his visit. Steeling himself, he stood his ground. Behind him was the dilapidated yard illuminated by the yellow moonlight; before him, the filthy warehouse lit by the glow of red candles. He lifted his head to face the man pinned to the wall.
“I didn't say because you didn't ask. But what you have done is a clear violation of our contract. I'm quite curious, do you truly not care about the penalty?”
Its voice was still just as hoarse, but not having to face that mouth in the palm of a hand greatly reduced the pressure on Jenkins.
“I'm not Jenkins R. Williams in the first place. Why should I worry about the contract?”
Jenkins asked sarcastically.
“Are all Enchanters these days so amusing? This reminds me of the era when I was still mortal. Adventurers formed their own parties to explore the continent's ruins, and supernatural power was open to all who were curious. The people of my time... we had a strong sense of honor when it came to contracts.”
“The phrase ‘sense of honor’ coming from your mouth is the height of irony. Do you even understand what that term means in modern language?”
“I have no intention of wasting precious time bickering with you. Since you were able to find this place, you are worth a compromise. Besides, you are clearly a capable person, and people like you are useful. I will give you power. I can even tell you the deepest secrets concerning the gods. How about you do one more thing for me?”
the man on the wall asked, his tone surprisingly sincere.
“Since I came here, it was obviously to stop you.”
“But you don't even dare to face me. Otherwise, we wouldn't be speaking .”
“But this is enough. I think I’ve figured out why you imprisoned this man. If I'm not mistaken, you're trapped in that clock tower, completely unable to break free. So, you had to find a suitable body to move about freely in the outside world. What would happen if I were to destroy this body right now?”
“Then I would simply have to find another suitable body. But that shouldn't be difficult. Soon, a great number of mortals will be coexisting with this city of doom. I will have many more choices then. It would just mean the rituals I worked so hard to prepare will have to be set up all over again. I was rather hoping to witness the moment of doom’s arrival in a free body. What a pity...”