NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1463: Curing The Curse
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FLUOSH!
For a moment, I found myself both awake and asleep, part of my mind drifting into a land of darkness, with countless fragmented memories of this woman, whom I didn't really care about.
I waved my hand, passing through them and reaching deeper into the curse.
There, I found something, a presence, but I was stopped, a wall before my eyes, made of concentrated black clouds.
And then something.
A guardian.
"GRYAAARR!"
A monster leaped towards me, its form resembling an elongated humanoid creature, with a demon-like head, charcoal black skin and scales, and sharp red horns.
Its mouth constantly released black, ghostly foam-like ethereal essence.
"A Nightmare Demonic Beast, Belphegor's creations."
The creature leaped towards me, swinging its claws against me, aiming to slash through my soul.
I didn't move, as I let it attack me, slashing me, and biting me.
To its surprise, however.
"Unfortunately for you, I am not something you can easily snack on."
My Soul manifested, countless runes covering the creature, as Magic erupted, its entire body exploding.
"Gryyaarrgh?!"
BOOOM!
The thing disappeared, as I moved forward, touching the Dream Gate, and trying to force my way through.
However, the link was too weak to the source of this Curse, and the Gate, even when broken, revealed an empty void.
It would be dangerous to step into here; the connection wasn't as strong.
But I think I know what to do now.
I raised my hands, as I manifested the power of Lucifer's light.
"{Morning Star's Radiance}"
FLAAASH!
Bright golden light purified the entire curse from the inside out, everything disappearing.
When I opened my eyes, the woman was awake, gasping for air.
"W-What…?! Ahh, a handsome young man…? Oh my! Am I still dreaming~?"
"Alright, seems like I'm done here."
I ignored her, walking away.
"She's healed?!"
"You were able to destroy the curse?"
"H-How…"
"He really did it!"
The nobles celebrated as the woman seemed still confused, realizing she was healed a little later.
"So it worked?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, I wasn't able to follow up to the source yet, Belphegor might be lazy, but he didn't let me get to him so easily," I sighed. "But with our current power, we can easily destroy the curse and their wardens with ease, that should weaken Belphegor's influence."
"Wardens?" Alberta asked.
"Nightmare Demonic Beasts, creatures Belphegor creates, which eat away at the victims' souls and power over time, and then bring back that food to him," I explained. "Nothing to worry about, they're weak and only serve one purpose."
"What purpose?" Erika wondered. "Oh, right, what you explained before…"
"Well there's another purpose, to harvest the soul of the cursed ones," I said. "Elizabeth, shall we begin then?"
"Yes, let's do it," Elizabeth nodded.
She channeled the power of the Morning Star that I had taught her, and with her Saintess Spells, she expanded a Holy Domain around the entire house in a second.
"{Holy Domain: Morning Star's Brilliance}!"
FLAAASH!
The Holy Domain, made up of angelic runes and spiritual energy erupted with enormous force, the entire manor was covered by light, and the nobles, and everyone else that had once been infected by the curse instantly was bathed in the warm light.
In that moment, cries of agony from monstrosities they didn't even know were latched to them echoed, the Nightmare Demonic Beasts emerged one by one, crying in pain as they turned into ashes.
"W-What was that?!"
"Woah, I had monsters latched on me?!"
"A-Am I healed?"
"Impossible… to do it so simply!"
"Well, wait! Isn't she the Saintess?!"
"It's her…"
The nobles were still processing everything, but now that they were freed from the Curse, it was possible for them to tell us everything without problems.
"Impressive, you managed to destroy a Demonic Curse instantly…" Cattalina said. Erika's mother had been intrigued about this new menace as it was somewhat connected to her own powers. "I wonder if I could do something similar?"
"It shouldn't be impossible," I nodded. "I've enchanted everyone's equipment with the power of the Morning Star, so you will be able to purify people, although not on such a large scale without help."
"So that's why you asked for our weapons earlier…" Chris said.
"So what can we do now?" Eldrich asked. "I know you can heal the curse and all, but this won't really solve anything, even more, aren't there cursed people everywhere in this city by now? how can we get to everyone?"
"If we can destroy the source the curse won't affect people anymore," I said. "But yeah, we should do something for those that had already fallen asleep… That's why I've sent my Vampire Spirits ahead of time, they're now setting up a city-wide formation using large Holy Light Spirit Crystals I had created beforehand."
"Wait, what? You already prepared for that?!" Chris asked in surprise. "Man you always are one step ahead…"
"I had already imagined I would have to go to such lengths, so don't worry," I said.
"Alright then, can you guys tell us anything you know?" Eric asked the nobles. "Now that you're healed and everything…"
"Yes, of course!"
"We'll tell you anything we know…"
"It's the least we could do…"
"Yeah!"
Without any Curse to worry about anymore, the nobles agreed immediately, sharing everything they knew or had seen within that Black Fog or close to it.
"I remember seeing a group of people with black cloaks hiding within the fog, they seemed unaffected… but they didn't approach us or anything, they were talking between themselves," one of the women said.
"Do you know where you saw them?" I asked her.
"They were… close to the castle, somewhere within the garden," the woman said.
"I saw strange monsters roaming the castle too when we left, some were flying!" a noble man said.
"Flying… We can assume the Black Fog is some sort of Nightmare Domain then," I nodded. "Belphegor is deploying Nightmare Demonic Beasts to protect it… likely, connecting to that place could help us reach the source, him."
"Hmm…" Cattalina nodded. "I suppose this is where I enter?"
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