Chapter 304: 79. Cursed Entity (Combined)
“What is coming?”
Balzak heard Ilos’s words and looked puzzled towards the outside of the shrine. Outside the protective magic set up by Fisher, the northern wind and snow suddenly became fierce under the moonlight. In the blinding white gale, a kind of pressure that the human eye could not see but could feel very clearly pressed down, causing everyone present to feel a chill run down their spines.
The clear moonlight above seemed to solidify, separating the northern world of the night.
In Ilos’s sight, everything around seemed to be tinted with the color of the galaxy, outlining bright little stars that blinked their eyes. Those eyes had only been gazing unintentionally until they saw Ilos, and then they all looked over as if they had discovered something interesting.
The gazes made Ilos feel a bit weak in the legs, but those eyes did not have obvious hostility; only the strange presence outside the shrine’s protective shield held significant malice towards her.
It wants to kill me?
“Bang!”
The cold wind breached the protective shield, blowing the tents and cooking utensils prepared by the Turan Family outside into chaos. Everyone noticed the change and instinctively grasped their weapons and firearms, looking towards the moonlit expanse outside the shield, but the only answers they received were silence and a few slowly growing dirty feathers in the void.
Fortunately, the world’s echo triggered by Fisher’s protective magic could block the attacks from the Spirit Realm. Those feathers merely stuck to the bright surface of the protective magic without invading the shrine. Balzak, inside the shrine, made a decisive decision and shouted to Ilos,
“Go! Don’t dawdle! While the protective shield is still active, quickly find the hidden Moon Rabbit Tribe mark, and then hide inside the relic, hurry!”
“Uh…”
Sister Ilos looked at the bizarre feathers that continuously grew and spread across the protective shield, as if some fear inscribed in her genes had been awakened in an instant. However, after hesitating for a moment, she gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and mumbled, “Mother’s blessing.” This phrase gave her immense courage, prompting her to turn around and examine the internal structure of the shrine at night.
Behind her, Valentina’s white hair fluttered slightly in the cold wind behind her, while Haldor, gripping the handles of her wheelchair tightly, pushed her towards a sheltered location.
“Felis, you aren’t suited to engage this time. Push Valentina outside to meet with the family members, and ensure she can use [Moon Princess] without interruption. Balzak and I will follow Sister Ilos to find the Moon Rabbit mark. If Fisher comes back, have him come in quickly; we need him.”
Felis drew the massive straight sword from her back, nodded at Haldor, and accepted her task. But just as Haldor was about to leave, Valentina, sitting in her wheelchair, suddenly spoke to Haldor,
“Haldor, take care of your body. You must protect Ilos and Balzak’s lives. If you cannot retrieve the Moon Rabbit mark, have them return to the relic to hide; I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“I understand.”
Haldor turned to leave, the steam rolling off his face and the bright blue light from his body flickering ever more frequently, causing an ominous premonition to rise in Valentina’s heart. But she could do nothing but silently pray to the Frost Phoenix for safety.
Not only prayer but Valentina’s hands moved slightly, and a small wooden box appeared in her palm. She gently opened it to reveal the peculiar weapon that Fisher had seen once before, now showcasing its noble form.
It was one of the four divine weapons crafted for the Phoenix Race by the Angel Race—the Moon Princess’s sword.
The Moon Princess’s sword could summon substantial moonlight, damaging not only physical entities but also magic. Haldor had previously mentioned that the essence of magic was to pry open the echoes of the world, closely relating to the soul. Therefore, this divine weapon should also be effective against soul-type enemies.
Valentina planned to use this weapon’s power to protect them outside the shrine.
“Mark… Huh? Father, Grandfather, and other uncles and aunts, where did you hide such an important thing?”
Returning to the situation inside the shrine, under the clear moonlight, the scene of the shrine transformed dramatically in Ilos’s eyes. The once lifeless murals on the surrounding walls seemed to come alive with color, the faded figures bursting into a colorful dance, resembling the beautiful dances of the Moon Rabbit Tribe.
She rubbed her eyes and saw that alongside those bizarre dances, countless eyes were now blinking at her, as if signaling something.
Soon, not only gazes, but they all began to giggle and whisper, crazily gesturing to Ilos,
“Gulu Bakenihatu”
“Kun Ba Ah Xilalu.”
The countless exuberant voices made Ilos feel dizzy; she panted as she cautiously moved towards the direction those eyes seemed to be indicating while looking at them, somewhat frazzled,
“What… what are you all talking about? I can’t understand anything. Are you saying the mark is in that direction?”
“Kuluba, Xia Kuxi.”
“What? I really can’t understand what you are saying.”
It was Ilos’s first time hearing these lively little creatures speak. Previously, she had only seen various tangible souls of creatures at night and occasionally encountered souls on the verge of dissipating. Those souls would have these small eyes like stars surrounding their bodies.
But for some reason, these little eyes were particularly lively tonight, even speaking to her.
“Sister Ilos, did you find anything?”
Behind the fierce wind, Balzak and Haldor caught up to her. They addressed Ilos, standing in the second-floor corridor of the shrine. However, clearly, she had not found the answer she hoped for.
Ilos explained what she had encountered to the two, but neither the knowledgeable Balzak nor the experienced mage Haldor knew what those eyes were. If Fisher were here, he might recognize that those eyes belonged to the Chaos Race hiding in the Spirit Realm, dimensions that had launched large-scale attacks against the Northern Region long ago.
“Forget about those eyes; we must find the mark quickly. The magic outside cannot hold for long.”
Before Balzak could finish his words, the faint blue shield outside formed fine cracks like glass. Countless feathers—the filthiest existence in the world—rushed in with the cold wind from Sema Snow Mountain, sending chills down Balzak’s spine.
Even he could sense some being fixated on them, or rather, on the Moon Rabbit orphan, Ilos.
“Quickly, upstairs! Something is coming! Damn it, that magician from Nali is utterly unreliable; what kind of protective magic array is this that it could only last this little time?”
Haldor’s steam flared, and the magical rings on his mechanical arms glowed brighter.
“It’s not that Fisher’s magic is flawed, but the severity of the curse attack is potent. Previously, we witnessed other Moon Rabbit tribe members being attacked, but never this ferociously. Could it be because this is the last Moon Rabbit direct descendant, and the source of the curse wants to eradicate her entirely?”
“Don’t discuss it in front of me! Ugh, I’m going to find the mark right away!”
Ilos was frightened by their conversation and didn’t want to see what the cursed entity outside looked like. She turned to look at the group of little eyes blinking at her, and at that moment, those star-like eyes were full of mischief. But Ilos could do nothing; she could only follow their hints and run upstairs.
Coincidentally, she had previously hypothesized a storage location at the top of the shrine.
“Whoosh!”
In the next moment, a shadow-like, formless entity broke through the outer protective magic and surged into the center of the shrine like the wind. Under the bright moonlight that flowed like water in the hall, Ilos turned to look, and the peculiar entity’s appearance imprinted into her vision instantly.
It was an ethereal shape like a projection, composed of countless swirling black feathers, without a fixed shape, only at the topmost part, which could barely be called a “head,” sprouted countless eyes.
Those eyes formed a mass but were not unified, gazing mindlessly in different directions, making one wonder if it could even see clearly.
No matter how many there were, their vision still remained blind.
This was the best description of that strange existence.
“Traitor. Traitor blood bait. Blood food.”
Only Ilos’s ears could hear the murmurs of that strange existence, reciting in an ancient Northern Region language that she barely understood. The moment she heard that voice, the magical circuits in her body activated uncontrollably, causing goosebumps to rise.
Haldor obviously noticed the change in Ilos’s body. Although he couldn’t see the cursed entity, he reached out to push it away and said to her,
“Go find the mark; I will set up protective magic along your path.”
Ilos bit her lip, shook her head to dismiss her fear, and ran toward the top floor without looking back.
“Magic, move protection, light acceleration, illumination.”
As Haldor continuously articulated his spells, the magic inscribed on his hands stirred the echoes of the world, unleashing various buffs and protective spells into the distance.
He could not see the curse and naturally did not expect any magic to affect it; he merely aimed to provide convenience for Ilos. But just at that moment, the blue light on Haldor flickered violently, and he suddenly lost control, collapsing to the ground as strange words repeatedly spilled from his mouth,
“Beep beep. Error. Beep beep error.”
“Hey, Haldor. What’s wrong with you? What did you just say?”
Balzak, about to move away, noticed the situation behind him and immediately turned back, only to be halted by Haldor, who raised his hand to stop him.
“Nothing, I’m fine; I just suddenly thought of something. Go, don’t mind me. Get the Moon Rabbit mark for Valentina.”
At this time, the luminescence representing the mechanism on Haldor’s body was dimming, but the temperature within him was rising. Another force, coming from the depths of the soul, unexpectedly connected through his iron frame to the mechanism’s luminosity, allowing him to stand up again and release the magic he had yet to finish.
Balzak ground his teeth, glanced outside, swore under his breath, and followed Ilos to the upper level.
With the emergence of each magic, the stirred echoes of the world also influenced the Spirit Realm. The moment the protective magic was generated, it collided with the cursed entity, igniting its primal and most frenzied rage.
“Whoosh!”
An ear-piercing, eerie bird cry exploded in the ears of everyone present. Many of the workers outside felt their skin itch uncontrollably. Looking down, they saw the tips of feathers emerging grotesquely from patches of their skin, triggering panic among them.
Just then, a man draped in heavy robes, with a cold expression, burst into the wind and snow behind them, clutching a shimmering iron nail with a [soul] ring at its head—none other than Fisher, the newly hired personnel of Valentina!
Fisher had just guessed that it was very likely that a curse akin to the one on the island would strike Ilos. Therefore, as he ran, he inscribed a low-tier original [soul] magic on the nail, leaving Emhart speechless, unsure of how to evaluate the situation.
One had to admit that although Emhart thought Fisher was a bad man who loved sub-humans, his talent in magic was unparalleled.
Valentina also noticed the rushing man behind her. Just as she was about to say something, he hurled the steel nail towards the snowy ground of the Turan Family campsite. The moment the soul-level fluctuation emanated from the nail, the magical circuits of everyone outside suddenly lit up.
Second-tier magic, [Soul Activation].
The effect was to make the souls within the body more energetic. For mages, they could better sense the world’s echoes; for ordinary people, they could better feel magic. As Fisher had predicted, the curse’s effect targeted people’s souls. When the souls within the body became more active, their resistance against the curse would increase.
That was why Haldor, who had received the curse and grown feathers last time, felt no pain at all; it was because his soul was the fuel rather than the essence. Fisher should have realized long before that what resided within Haldor was not his true soul but a copy of consciousness.
But it seemed that even so, as long as he could continue serving Valentina, he was content.
As the ordinary people present felt their magical circuits ignite uncontrollably, the curse marks on their bodies began to gradually fade.
Fisher glanced at Valentina and Felis, who were sitting at the shrine entrance, then looked inside the shrine. Through the enhanced visual of the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans, the cursed entity that was howling in the air was exceedingly conspicuous.
“Fisher!”
Valentina was about to say something about the situation inside when Fisher had roughly pieced together what was happening. He silently drew his Fluid Sword, moving faster than ordinary people could perceive, and passed Valentina to reach the shrine entrance.
Simultaneously, the whip-like Fluid Sword extended backward, entangling tightly with the sealing cage buried in the snow outside.
Originally, the sealing cage was supposed to be placed inside the shrine, but the entrance was too narrow. It simply couldn’t fit, so it had to be placed at the doorway. But now Fisher couldn’t be bothered with that; if Ilos was attacked by that curse, there would be danger. He had to bring the sealing cage inside.
Fisher’s expression darkened as his ninth-tier physique suddenly exerted force, yanking the sealing cage, which was heavy enough to stress two horsemen, towards the shrine as if it were a spinning top. Valentina, sitting in the wheelchair, couldn’t help but widen her mouth in shock.
Is this guy even human?
Fisher glanced at Valentina. At this moment, her magical circuits were also vibrant, and being familiar with magical circuits and subhumans, Fisher recognized at a glance that her magical circuit was not human; he had never seen such a magical circuit shape.
But he had no time to ponder what kind of subhuman Valentina was. He needed to focus on the matter at hand, simply reminding,
“Get back!”
Felis, realizing the situation belatedly, pulled Valentina’s wheelchair back a step, and Fisher continued to push the heavy sealing cage into the shrine.
“Boom!”
With a loud bang, the sealing cage smoothly passed through the narrow stone door, heading towards the bright moonlight inside the hall, while Fisher took a leap, landing atop the cage and facing off with the eerie curse that was howling in the air, jumping towards the third floor of the shrine.
“Mr. Fisher!”
The noise generated by Fisher was so great that even Ilos on the top floor could hear it. She turned to look and first saw the cursed entity rushing rapidly towards her, scaring her into fleeing ahead, while Balzak was constantly itching; having not been affected by Fisher’s soul magic, he was hard-hit by the curse’s effect but gritted his teeth and followed Ilos without stopping.
“Kururu, Kuluba, Xia Kuxi.”
The starry eyes nearby spoke again, guiding Ilos to a stone wall on the top floor closest to the moonlight. In her view, layers of tangible ripples, like water waves, shimmered on the surface of the stone wall, while rows of exquisite murals and Northern Region characters emerged beside it.
The murals depicted Moon Rabbit Tribe members kneeling beneath a towering snow mountain, while atop the snow mountain stood a golden divine tree with countless branches bearing snowflake-like fruits, symbolizing that the identity of that divine tree was the Frost Parasol Tree.
Nearby, similarly ethereal ancient Northern Region characters recorded the glory of the Moon Rabbit Tribe, one of the six races,
“Noble Phoenix, we thank you for your mercy, rescuing us from disaster. We offer you our loyalty and abilities to expand your vision, to discover treasures, to sing your praises.”
“The mark you grant us will serve as an emblem of loyalty, more potent than bloodlines, passing on forever.”
Ilos’s gaze slowly shifted along the text, finally resting in the center of the swirling wall ripples. These murals, texts, and ripples did not exist in the real world—or rather, they were not entirely in the real world.
She remembered when Fisher fled Saint Nali, a Demon Attendant had once used a mysterious relic to take him into the crevice between the Spirit Realm and the world, thereby evading the pursuit of Elizabeth’s fleet. Now it was the same. The Moon Rabbit Tribe, possessing exponentially sharper vision than other races, not only could see but excelled at hiding items in this crevice.
Ilos stared blankly, reaching out. In Balzak’s astonished gaze, her fair hand oddly passed through the wall before her, sinking into a void. As she slowly explored, she soon touched something hard within it.
When she retracted her hand, a pure white, snowflake-shaped mark appeared in her palm, at the center of which knelt a Moon Rabbit in a robe, looking up at the direction above the mark. Just like the Cangniao Tribe’s mark, the top of this mark also portrayed a peak of a snow mountain.
“We have the Moon Rabbit mark! Let’s go!”
Excited Balzak nearly jumped up. Just as he spoke, his body began to itch tenfold and rapidly escalated into intense pain. His face turned pale as he trembled, raising his hands to find that numerous black feathers were growing there.
Ilos felt the change and turned back, seeing the eerie cursed entity with a hundred eyes roaring and approaching, targeting her, the last Moon Rabbit orphan.
“Whoosh!”
Faced with the terrifying curse before her, Ilos was so scared that she couldn’t move, only gripping the mark in her trembling fingers tightly, afraid of losing it.
“Traitor, traitor, traitor, traitor, traitor… blood food, blood food, blood food, blood food, blood food.”
“Run!”
Amid the crazy whispers in the Northern Region language, the curse lunged at Ilos. She tightly shut her eyes, bracing for death, while Balzak, sensing something, rushed forward to push her away. At this critical moment, Ilos was shoved aside, narrowly avoiding the deadly assault. Although black feathers began to sprout on her as well, she was still alive.
However, Balzak was not as fortunate; his rarely exercised body was thrown to the ground. Furthermore, more feathers grew on him until he was completely engulfed. He gritted his teeth, closing his eyes in despair. In the next instant, something wrapped around his waist, pulling him down from the upper floor.
I… am still alive?
As the wind whistled past his ears, he opened his eyes in confusion, only to see the stern-faced Nali gentleman gently placing him and the fallen Ilos down using the Fluid Sword, his gaze steady on the quivering and murmuring cursed entity, seemingly trying to discern what it was.
In Balzak’s daze, he and Ilos were thrown onto the ground of the first floor of the shrine by Fisher, losing sight of the situation above. Yet, looking down at the black feathers growing on himself and Ilos, he realized that somewhere along the line, the sealing cage had been brought to the center of the shrine.
Looking again at the shrine’s entrance, which had been violently smashed open, Balzak couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows in surprise.
It can’t be… that Nali man did it, right?
He bit his teeth, stood up, and walked to the front of the sealing cage, opening the entrance and shouting to Ilos behind him,
“Quickly get in! We’ve been cursed, and we can only completely isolate the curse inside. Do you want to become a black-feathered chicken?”
“Huh? But Mr. Fisher is still up there.”
“Yes, and Haldor too.”
As Balzak ducked into the sealing cage, he looked towards the bright moonlight above the shrine. The atmosphere there remained terrifying.
“We have the mark; all we can do now is not to drag them down. We can only choose to trust them. Damn it, what in the world is that thing? I can’t see anything!”
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(The End of this Chapter)
