Chapter 22 - Dark Rituals Mystery

Isabella opened her eyes.

"I'm not dead yet?" That's the first thing she said.

"How could you die so quickly?"

Isabella wakes up hearing the sound. She just remembered that just now she used enormous magic to kill Cody. Then Griffin went behind her, and somehow sealed the magic that was being released.

Beside her, Griffin who looked exhausted was using healing magic on Edison.

"Uncle!"

Isabella came over to check.

Edison's stomach had a large enough hole. His face was extremely pale, showing how much blood had been released from his body. Without being told, they already understood that Edison was almost at his limit. It's only a matter of time until he is picked up by death. Knowing that fact, Isabella couldn't hold back her tears anymore.

Even knowing that, Griffin did not give up on healing Edison. More precisely, he did not want to give up so easily.

"Hey, stop it. You know it's too late." Edison, during his almost lost consciousness, tried to convince Griffin.

"No! You can do it! You can't give up just yet."

Edison smiled.

"You're nice. But not everything can be solved just because you try. There are many things you cannot change."

Griffin's eyes filled with tears at those words.

"Sorry..."

"No need to apologize. I knew this day would come sooner or later. No matter what the result, you have tried to help me. It's just that destiny doesn't want me to stay in this world."

"Sorry uncle, if only I forbade you to come to this place." Isabella sobbed. She blamed herself for not being able to ban Edison to this place. Otherwise, surely he would still be fine in Lirest.

"That's enough. I want to come. There is no need to cry for an old man like me."

Edison felt his strength begin to disappear.

"You can't stay here. Quickly evacuate all mage in Lirest. The dark ritual is about to begin."

"Dark rituals?" Isabella was confused by Edison's words.

"Yes. Barnes plans to send out a large number of monsters. Monsters that will continue to appear and destroy all the mage in Lirest."

Isabella was confused to hear that. Because there's no magic that can summon monsters continuously. Unlike Griffin. He could guess what Edison meant.

"Could it be, venus area?"

Edison nodded slowly.

"What's that?" Isabella asked.

"There are many kinds of dark rituals. One of them is venus area. The energy of every living creature in the area will be sucked in and produce magic that continues to flow into the Venus area. And that magic, will summon monsters from hell. A monster that will destroy everything near it."

Isabella got goosebumps hearing the explanation about venus area. "Then we can't let Barnes use that magic."

"No, it's too late. The dark ritual process is almost complete. Take away all the witches from this place."

Edison's vision became increasingly blurry. He could not clearly see the conditions around him.

"Promise me. You must survive." Edison said with the last of his strength. He breathed hard, but barely any air could enter his lungs anymore.

Isabella, who saw that Edison was powerless, immediately held his hand. "We promise, we promise we will continue to survive." Her tears continued to fall.

Edison wanted to speak again, but his strength was completely gone. The only thing he could do was smile, so they wouldn't feel guilty from his death.

"Noooo..."

Isabella held Edison's hand tightly. The hands of the uncle who had raised her for dozens of years. She still remembered, how Edison cleaned the room when Isabella first lived in Lirest. How Edison cooked for her. How Edison taught her magic. And how Edison listened to all her complaints since childhood.

All those memories seemed to be shattered at that moment. Making her heart feel the deepest pain in her life.

But she couldn't be sad for too long. Because she has a responsibility. Like Edison's last words, she will live on. And she will live while protecting the most important people in her life.

Isabella got up and walked towards the sinner prison.

"Where are you going?" Griffin asked.

"Bring Raymond out. Only he can quickly evacuate all the wizards in Lirest."

Griffin approached and wanted to stop her. He didn't want Isabella to become discouraged seeing Raymond's current condition. But somehow, he had to convey it.

KRRRKK...

Suddenly, the floor around them moved. Some move up, some move down.

"What else is this?" Griffin said while trying to balance his body that was lifted up. Likewise with Isabella.

Edison and Cody were still down there, they were on top of the subsoil that didn't move.

[Sinner Cave begins to move]

[Dark ritual is about to start]

[Warning! Stop the dark ritual]

"Why did the process go this fast?!"

Griffin didn't expect that when they had just defeated Cody, the dark ritual had actually started.

Venus area, Griffin is well acquainted with that magic. From Dark Magic Knowledge, he could tell that the venus area would suck out all the life energy in an area, until there were no living things left in it.

They have reached the ground. Up there, the mages from Boaren who were supposed to be guarding the sinner's cave had gone somewhere. Griffin could tell, however, that they were busy preparing for the destruction of Lirest.

"Isabella! We must hurry!"

Griffin move forward, and Isabella followed behind. Even though they were exhausted, they still ran as hard as they could. They knew that even a few seconds too late would be dangerous.

Griffin wrapped mana all over his body. His movements got faster because of the magic just now, making he run far ahead of Isabella. He had almost used up his mana when fighting Cody, but because his mana healing was so fast, now his mana was almost full. That is one of Griffin's biggest advantages.

On the way, Griffin could see that there were many carrion marks on the surrounding trees. Land had traces that definitely didn't belong to humans. Then a faint scream sounded clearer. Griffin's premonitions weren't very good about this.

When he arrived at Lirest, the sight that greeted him was of wizards fleeing from the pursuit of the beasts. They ran as hard as they could. Some fell, some pushed each other, and some were unable to move anymore because the flesh on their bodies was being grabbed by the nearby monsters.

Dozens of monsters had attacked Lirest and the people inside.

[Venus area is being activated]

[Your health points are starting to decrease because you are in the Venus area range]

[Warning! Get out from venus area!]

[New quiz has arrived]

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[Quiz : Save the witches of Lirest and destroy venus area]

Completion reward: One of the high-level active skills

Failure penalty : Destruction of Lirest, Death

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