Chapter 399: Chapter 399
The pool contained many materials rich in spirit, and Chocolate had a voracious appetite. Those two facts perfectly explained what the cat was doing now.
Seeing that Jenkins had noticed, the kitten feigned an interest in the water, repeatedly testing the edge of the pool with its front paw. But Jenkins knew his cat loathed getting wet.
"You can't eat these."
He scooped up the reluctant kitten and pointed to the items at the bottom of the clear pool.
Chocolate's tail curved into a bizarre arc, slapping against Jenkins's neck as it struggled to break free from his grasp.
He extended his right hand, and a green, round bead materialized in his palm. Without another word, he pushed the bead into Chocolate's mouth, and the kitten immediately fell silent.
It was only today that Jenkins truly understood the meaning of chaos. As time went on, the bite taken out of the sun grew larger, and more and more Enchanters appeared around the valley.
Something had definitely gone wrong. It was as if every individual with supernatural powers in the entire city had shown up for a massive brawl.
Incomprehensible explosions rumbled from all directions, and strange colors intermittently flashed across the sky.
The people who left never returned, and Jenkins was starting to feel bored. He wanted to leave the area to see if he could help, but was surprised to discover that the giant tree was completely encased in a barrier of golden, divine runes.
This had to be the protective measure left for him. He tested the barrier a few times but couldn't get through.
The abundant life force in the valley continuously affected the terrain outside. The nearest patch of wasteland was now lush and green, even in winter. In the middle of this grassy field, a small area was enclosed by a transparent barrier. It was impossible to see inside from the outside, but for those within, the world beyond was in plain view.
Agnes Howard clapped a hand over her mouth, lying prone in the tall grass. Her clothes, like a chameleon's skin, blended perfectly with the surrounding weeds, so even though the people in the center of the field glanced her way several times, they never spotted her.
A white, lime-like powder was poured out to form a circle on the grass. A man, bare from the waist up, sat in the center while a young man in a black robe wrote characters on his back with some kind of stylus.
"Mr. Clark, do not forget our agreement."
Aside from numerous black-robed cultists, a middle-aged man who looked like a professor stood near the circle. He wore an elegant pair of gold-rimmed glasses and watched the ritual unfold with his arms crossed over his chest.
"If you truly manage to obtain the status of a Savior, the Treehouse will certainly shelter your organization. But... I'm afraid you're running out of time."
He glanced pointedly at a column of smoke rising in the distance. Fortunately, they were far from the city. Otherwise, the citizens would have a new rumor to add to their idle chatter.
The middle-aged man, naked from the waist up, nodded grimly.
He had been preparing for this moment for nearly a decade. When the prophecy of the Epoch's end first emerged, he was among the first to believe it and begin his preparations. Sure enough, the various changes over the past six months had proven the prophecy correct. Read complete versıon only at novel★fire.net
Nine small vials were placed before him. After everyone had backed out of the white circle, the man opened the vials one by one. Softly chanting an ancient incantation, he sprinkled the ashes from them onto his head, bit by bit.
A green aura was drawn toward the white circle. And because this place was near the forest, the green energy was especially abundant.
When it was all over, the middle-aged man's face had reverted to that of a twenty-year-old. He took a deep breath and looked to the sky, his expression grave and solemn. Beyond the barrier, Enchanters from the Church had arrived, though they had not yet discovered this spot.
He summoned the light of his ability, and there it was—the yellow spell: [Undying Man].
He roared in a low voice, his face flushed with excitement.
Mr. Clark shook his head in disappointment. "What a shame. So an ability with the same name really does exist."
He didn't bother explaining to the furious and incredulous man. With a wave of his hand, the barrier vanished, exposing everyone to the Church's combat squad.
With another wave, the shield around Magic Miss dissipated, revealing her as well.
After a heartbeat of stunned silence, dozens of abilities activated at once. In an instant, the hundred-meter area descended into a chaotic melee. And no one noticed that the man who had orchestrated it all had already vanished.
Ten minutes later, in a small coniferous forest east of the valley, Agnes Howard leaned against a tree trunk, gasping for breath.
Her left arm hung limply at her side, her clothes stained with faint traces of blood.
Gritting her teeth, she held out her right hand. A hexagram pendant materialized in a gentle white glow.
"My Lord, grant me your protection."
She murmured, then brought the pendant to her lips.
She caught the sleeve of her right arm with her teeth, baring a pale wrist. With some difficulty, she managed to wrap the pendant's silver chain around her arm, leaving only the hexagram pressed flat against her palm.
Once this was done, she let out a slow breath and then stepped out from behind the tree.
Three men in black robes stood a short distance away. Embroidered on the front of their robes in silver thread was the terrifying holy symbol of the Lord of the Undying: two skeletal arms clasped together.
They had clearly also been through a fierce battle; nearly every one of them was stained with blood.
The woman muttered in a low voice.
"Ritual and Mystery are eternal..."
A hexagram materialized before her as a faint blue light spilled from her right palm. The colors seemed all the more vivid under the light of the eclipse.
"Gods, protect this world!"
She raised her right hand toward the three unsuspecting men. With her final cry, a staggering amount of energy erupted from the materialized hexagram array. A deafening blast followed, carving a deep trench before her. Along the path of the energy burst, nothing remained.
She cast a wary glance at the half-devoured sun, tucked away her pendant, and turned to leave. But as she glanced down, she saw that her own shadow had come to life. It stretched up from the ground like a hand, its fingers wrapping tightly around her ankle.
Looking around the coniferous forest, she saw that every shadow was writhing, spreading across the ground like grasping tentacles. A terrible wave of dizziness almost made her collapse. She steadied herself against a rough tree trunk and forced her gaze around her. There was no way out.