Chapter 95: Spirit's Territory (7)
TL/Editor: Rungir
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
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'The timing was impeccable.'
Watching Liushina confronting Kezarus, Zion thought.
He had somewhat expected her and the mages of the Blood Tower to come here.
After all, he had informed Aileen in advance before setting out for the Angelosh Territory.
But he hadn't expected her to make such a dramatic entrance.
'She couldn't possibly have hidden on purpose just to appear now, could she?'
As Zion narrows his eyes at the witch who slowly unfurls blood-red threads around her,
“What do you want now?”
Kezarus glared at Liushina, his voice filled with fury.
At a moment when his victory seemed assured, this uninvited guest had shown up, which was bound to fuel his anger.
“You always have such... delectable beings around, don't you? How curious,” remarked Liushina, addressing Zion while nonchalantly brushing off Kezarus.
“Well, I suppose it works out well for me.”
“How dare you!”
Kezarus, realizing he's been ignored, shouted and thrust out his hand.
Whoosh!
From his open palm, countless ghostly arms lunged at Liushina.
In an instant, the witch vanished among these grasping limbs.
“Crush her.”
With a grim crunching noise, the arms constricted tightly, just as Kezarus clenched his hand.
But at that very moment, an amused voice emanated from the tight cluster of arms.
“With just this? I doubt that would work.”
Suddenly,
Hundreds of blood-red lines burst from within, shredding the ghostly arms holding Liushina.
“Maybe put in a bit more effort.”
Emerging unscathed, Liushina smirked and flicked her fingers.
With a sharp sound, the bloody threads morphed into dozens of fangs and shot towards Kezarus.
'Those are dangerous!'
Reacting instinctively, Kezarus quickly channeled all his power into a defensive spell.
However,
The fangs pierced effortlessly through his defense and embedded into him.
“Arghhh!”
Kezarus screamed in both pain and shock, not having anticipated that his defenses would be breached so easily.
But it was an inevitable outcome.
From the onset, when Liushina fired those fangs, she had imbued them with a destruction spell.
A feat that would be impossible for any ordinary mage in a lifetime. But for Liushina, who had reached the 'heavens', it was as simple as breathing.
“Mmm~”
Liushina hummed, leisurely advancing towards him with an unsettling glee.
“You wretched creature!”
Kezarus, who had just broken free from his agony, spread his aura in fury upon seeing her approach.
In tandem, faces of human apparitions surfaced behind him, all at once aiming their breaths at Liushina.
Roaaaar!
An even more potent blast than the one unleashed upon Zion earlier. The force distorted space itself, directly blasting away Liushina’s upper body.
“Hahaha! All that posturing, for such an inconsequential being...!”
Kezarus was laughing, looking at where Liushina’s lower half stood, thinking her dead.
“You know…”
That chilling voice reached his ears.
“...!”
His eyes widened in shock, realizing that the voice emanated from the supposed dead lower half of Liushina.
“I rather enjoy when my prey struggles.”
Whoosh!
As if turning back time, the missing upper half of the witch began to reconstitute.
“So, I wish you’d put up more of a fight.”
With that, a sly smile curled on the now fully-reconstructed Liushina’s lips.
“How... how is this possible?”
Kezarus couldn’t believe the spectacle before him. He knew of the Resurrection Spell, a forbidden art to bring the dead back to life, but that had several intricate conditions and could be used only once. Even someone of Kezarus's stature would find it a high-tier incantation to use. But the woman before him was performing something even more advanced with astounding ease.
Sssss-
Emerging around Liushina were the shadowy heads of malicious spirits, reflecting in the despair-filled eyes of Kezarus.
And the ensuing battle was utterly one-sided.
'Where on earth... How did such a being suddenly appear?'
Despair deepened in Kezarus's eyes.
He couldn’t win. If the black-haired man from before had predicted his moves and blocked his attacks, Liushina was just overwhelmingly dominant. No attack seemed to touch her, and he couldn’t defend against any of hers. Her might was unparalleled, something one would attribute to the legends of the 'Seven Heavens.'
‘Am I... really going to die?’
Now, even his Resurrection Spell was not an option. The specter of true death loomed.
Then,
‘That guy!’
Kezarus's gaze landed on Zion, who was nonchalantly observing the battle. The root cause of all this chaos, the one who jeopardized Kezarus's entire plan.
‘Even if I die, I must take him down...!’
“Arghhh!”
Taking Liushina's attack head-on, Kezarus lunged towards Zion with deranged fury.
With a speed so swift that even Liushina couldn’t react,
Kezarus, who closed the gap in an instant, stood right before Zion.
“I will at least take you with me!!!”
With a scream that seemed full of despair, he swung his right arm, pouring all his remaining strength.
However,
Thud.
Kezarus's arm froze in place mere inches from Zion's face.
Crackle!
His arm turned into solid ice.
Not only that, frost began rapidly spreading over his upper body.
Sitting on Zion’s shoulder, as he watched the scene without even flinching, was a frost spirit.
“What is this...”
Kezarus, now overwhelmed by this newfound power, spat out a mix of anger and confusion. At that moment,
“You were curious about who I am, weren’t you?”
Zion interjected, speaking calmly.
As he did, his silver hair and eyes slowly reverted to their original colors.
“Is this answer sufficient?”
Gazing at Zion's playful smirk, Kezarus's expression shifted from confusion to sheer terror.
“You... You are...!”
The emblematic deep gray hair of the Agnes bloodline.
A memory flashed across Kazarus’s mind.
He had heard rumors.
Of a member of the royal family, hunting monsters in disguise within the empire.
Unlike the other royals, he was said to wield the darkness and take the most radical actions.
In that instant,
“Zion Agnes!”
Realization dawned on Kezarus, his voice dripping with pure loathing.
“This cursed Agnes bloodline!”
But he couldn’t continue.
“Where are you off to? Let's play a bit.”
Crunch!
Suddenly, from behind, Liushina's malevolent grasp engulfed him whole.
That was the last of Kezarus, the commander of the Sa'in troops.
Crunch! Crunch!
“...”
Watching Liushina consume Kezarus completely, Zion turned his gaze towards the castle's exterior.
‘Things should wrap up there soon as well.’
The battle between the blood mages and the Sa'ins continued, but it appeared the end was imminent, given the blood mages held a distinct advantage.
“How was it, Master? I think we did the work of one even with the two of us.”
Liushina approached Zion and commented. Her words were a bit odd, but given the level of the blood mages, she seemed to have put in considerable effort.
“Not too shabby.”
“Then, may I return to your side now?”
“Sure.”
Zion replied with a chuckle to her almost puppy-like question.
Then,
“Prince Zion Agnes, an audience with you!”
A loud proclamation echoed from behind.
Turning around, Zion saw Elysis kneeling, head bowed in respect.
She likely overheard Kazarus’s final exclamation moments ago.
“I'm so, so sorry! Your Highness! We were supposed to provide proper protection......”
Elysis cried out, her eyes wide with shock.
She had recognized his formidable power and suspected that he was concealing his true identity. However, she hadn't even dreamt that he could be from the direct royal lineage, especially not Prince Zion Agnes!
“You thought I was...?”
Zion retorted, wearing a playful smirk.
The realization of his identity by Elysis wasn’t all that troubling.
After all, he had contemplated that, for the future's sake, it might be okay to confide in her.
“We should have at least offered some assistance......”
Elysis replied, bowing her head even lower to Zion's playful question.
Yet, doubt filled her eyes upon hearing Zion’s subsequent words.
“You can start assisting me from now on.”
“Excuse me?”
Elysis quickly raised her head in surprise, but Zion offered no further clarification.
All the while, his gaze remained fixed on an altar, which continued to emit a soft glow.
“By the declaration of the Almighty Light’s messenger upon this place, all humans shall serve…”
A burst of energy!
As Elysis began chanting the prayer, the altar's light grew stronger.
The mysterious object on the altar seemed to undulate more intensely in response.
“So, Master... That's the blood of an angel, right?”
From the back, Liushina, who had been quietly watching the scene, asked Zion.
“Yes.”
Zion responded, his gaze fixed intently on the altar.
After the battle with the invaders, Zion had instructed Elysis to chant the prayer immediately. There was no need to waste any time here.
Of course, all the other mercenaries and the Blood Tap mages were kept waiting outside.
“And to obtain that blood, we need that priestess?”
“Correct.”
Using other priests endowed with immense holy power would have made obtaining the angel's blood possible.
But with Elysis, it would be much more straightforward.
The reason was simple.
‘Half of the blood flowing in her is that of an angel.’
A hybrid of angel and human.
This was the secret held by Elysis Desire, the future holy maiden.
One of the purest bloodlines in the world.
For such a ritual, where any other priestess would have to sacrifice an immense amount of their blood, potentially risking their life,
Drip!
She could do it with just a single drop.
Whoosh!
Once Elysis finished chanting and shed her blood, a radiant light began to emanate from the entire altar.
“Hmm... Somehow, I feel it doesn’t sit well with me.”
Liushina mumbled, looking at the brilliant light with a hint of unease.
It was understandable.
The malicious power she wielded related to blood magic was in direct opposition to the holy power.
That’s why, despite her obsession with blood, Liushina found holy blood to be an exception.
“Master, I'll watch from the back.”
With those words and a slightly displeased expression, Liushina retreated. Just then, the light from the altar reached its peak.
And something wondrous happened.
Whoooosh!
The once freely undulating light gathered and began to take on the form of a human.
No, not a human.
Humans don’t have such wings sprouting from their backs.
"...An angel?"
Just as Liushina said, it was an angel.
An angel made of radiant holy light.
“Ah!”
Elysis exclaimed, staring dumbfoundedly at the luminous angel appearing before her.
...
The angel, with a faint smile, looked at Elysis.
Soon after, the angel approached her, gently embracing her.
Tears...
“...What?”
At that moment, tears unknowingly flowed from Elysis’ eyes.
She couldn’t fathom why the embrace of this angel felt so familiar and comforting.
After embracing Elysis for a while, the angel of light turned its gaze towards Zion.
‘What’s going on?’
Just as confusion clouded Zion's gaze,
Swoosh-
The figure of the angel, who had ever so subtly bowed its head towards Zion, vanished without a trace.
And in its place remained the sacred blood.
The seal that had surrounded this sacred blood was now completely gone.
‘I have a feeling there’s another reason to visit the Luminous Assembly.’
As Zion moved closer to the altar, such thoughts occupied his mind.
Angels are known to be messengers of deities, but in essence, they are messengers of the God of Light.
Thus, the angel’s peculiar behavior likely had something to do with a divine mandate.
‘Regardless, there isn’t anything I can ascertain right now.’
With that thought, Zion proceeded to store the sacred blood in a special vial he had prepared.
“The preparations are now complete.”
Zion’s eyes began to glow faintly.
The time to mend this wretched body was drawing near.
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