CA – Chapter 53
Chapter 53
The skeleton staggered out of the dense black fog, swaying with every step. It came before Tang Qiu and Lucille, the ghostly light flickering in its eye sockets seeming to size them up. It bent down slightly to pick up the small finger bone from the ground and reattached it to its hand.
Tang Qiu and Lucille glanced at each other, both seeing the surprise in the other's eyes. Just like Erin, they too felt that this skeleton's intelligence seemed far too high.
However, neither of them was a Black Witch, so their understanding of such monsters was limited. After their initial curiosity, they simply assumed it was a higher-level skeleton.
After reattaching its pinky bone, the skeleton beckoned to Tang Qiu and Lucille with a pointy finger, then turned and swayed back into the dense black fog.
It was rumored that a Red-robed Witch's Dark Domain could directly corrode an entire city. Its dark aura was comparable to the Dark World itself, with monsters spawning directly from within the domain without needing to be summoned. Even a vampire like Lucille felt uncomfortable, and Tang Qiu, protected by her light aura, was not much better off. She felt a sinister, bone-chilling cold trying to invade her body and devour her Power of Light.
A barrier of light formed in front of Tang Qiu and Lucille. Tang Qiu put away the light staff she always used and replaced it with a silver-white one inlaid with a higher-grade light gem.
The moment she took out the silver-white staff, Tang Qiu clearly felt the heavy pressure on her body suddenly lighten.
Lucille glanced at the staff in Tang Qiu's hand and said in surprise, "A Bishop's staff?"
The light staff Tang Qiu usually used could be crafted by any master craftsman with the right materials and a light gem, even those unaffiliated with the Holy See. But this silver-white staff she now held was different. It could only be forged by the Holy See, and like a Cardinal's scarlet cape, this silver-white staff was a symbol of a Bishop.
It could only be bestowed upon a Bishop.
Tang Qiu's grip on the staff tightened for a moment before slowly relaxing. She nodded slightly at Lucille, admitting with a smile, "You're not mistaken."
She had also found this Bishop's staff in the space gem on her person after she transmigrated. The original Grace had practically emptied the Gosse Church; not only was this staff inside, but there was even a set of Bishop's robes in the space gem.
However, after learning what the silver-white staff represented, Tang Qiu had never taken it out again.
But the current situation was special. The Red-robed Witch's Dark Domain was simply too difficult to resist. Without this staff, they might get lost in here before they could even reach Erin.
Of course, if she transformed into a werewolf, she might feel more at ease in this Dark Domain. But thinking of the ferocious werewolves who were also in the domain with them, Tang Qiu decided it was best to dismiss that idea.
Between exposing this staff to Lucille and exposing her identity to those werewolves, Tang Qiu chose the former.
Lucille glanced at Tang Qiu and, seeing her focused on scanning their surroundings, pushed her questions aside. The golden-haired priest had many secrets; this was just one more. As long as she stayed by the priest's side, she would uncover these secrets sooner or later.
Because Glanna's attention was primarily focused on the werewolves, Tang Qiu and Lucille, led by the skeleton, did not encounter any particularly high-level monsters. Ordinary creatures like Half-Human Monsters or lion-men could be handled by Lucille alone.
After Lucille tore apart another lion-man that had suddenly charged out, Tang Qiu handed her a clean handkerchief while frowning at the dense black fog enveloping them. Visibility in the fog was only a single step, so the skeleton leading the way couldn't get too far from them.
Outside, Tang Qiu had carefully observed the manor and committed its layout to memory. She had even made a point to get her bearings before entering the Dark Domain. Although her sense of direction might be off in the fog, it shouldn't be by much. Logically, after walking for so long, they should have run into some buildings by now.
Tang Qiu watched as the skeleton in front of them slowly came to a halt. She reached out and grabbed Lucille's arm, holding the silver-white staff horizontally before her. "What's wrong?" she asked calmly.
The skeleton looked back at them, the ghostly light in its eye sockets flickering strangely. It detached its own arm and bent down to arrange a line of characters on the ground.
Tang Qiu looked down, but the fog was too thick to see anything.
"He says there's a White-robed Witch around us," Lucille said in a low voice, pulling Tang Qiu behind her as her dark red eyes scanned their surroundings warily.
Seeing that they understood its meaning, the skeleton bent down and picked its arm back up.
With the Dark Domains of a Red-robed Witch and a White-robed Witch overlapping, the black fog grew much denser, and Tang Qiu could clearly feel the pressure around her intensify. She waved her staff and chanted a spell in a low voice. As time passed, the silver-white staff began to glow with a faint white light. The light grew brighter until a ball of light fire suddenly exploded overhead, the scattered flames illuminating a space of nearly ten meters around them.
Rows upon rows of dark monsters, concealed by the fog, were poised for a surprise attack. The sudden white light exposed their figures. Behind the monsters, a Gorefiend as massive as a small mountain was in the process of waking up.
Tang Qiu's expression darkened. The scattered flames of light paused in mid-air, then shot toward the nearby monsters. The monsters in the front row reacted a moment too late and were instantly ignited by the light flames, letting out tragic screams.
The sudden attack of the light flames caused a commotion among the monsters. The flames faded quickly, but just before the last bit of light went out, Tang Qiu saw the Gorefiend slowly open its eyes.
Her hand holding the staff paused. She turned to Lucille and said quickly, "It might be the Black Witch who escaped from Rose Manor."
She had seen this Gorefiend at Rose Manor. Back then, Monica, with two priests and several clerics, had suffered heavy losses.
Lucille nodded. "I'll deal with him." She paused, then looked up at Tang Qiu. Tang Qiu knew what she wanted to say and shrugged, her tone light. "I should be able to hold out until you get back."
Of course, if she couldn't, then when Lucille returned, a werewolf would be waiting for her.
Tang Qiu sighed silently. Although her werewolf identity constantly put her in danger, if she were just a minor cleric, she would have probably died countless times by now.
Being a cleric of the Holy See was truly a tough gig.
The awakened Gorefiend threw its head back and roared, then slammed its hands on the ground, causing the earth to shake violently.
Lucille wrapped an arm around Tang Qiu's waist to steady her. Looking down at her furrowed brow, she reached up and gently smoothed it away. "It's okay," she said softly.
She lowered her hand and was about to leave to intercept the Gorefiend when her arm was suddenly grabbed. Turning back, she saw the golden-haired priest looking at her with a smile. "Be careful," she teased. "If you really can't beat it, come ask for help. I'll save you."
Lucille was speechless.
Although she teased Lucille about not being able to beat the Gorefiend, Tang Qiu wasn't worried about that at all. The Gorefiend was definitely no match for Lucille. Her side, on the other hand... the number of monsters swarming them was simply too great.
Tang Qiu took a deep breath, raised her staff, and a barrier of light formed around her. A priest's frail body was not suited for close combat; she had to establish a safe distance beforehand.
The monsters growled as they closed in. Tang Qiu raised her staff and began chanting. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a stark white shadow flailing about. She paused, then glanced to the side. The skeleton was warming up its limbs.
Tang Qiu was speechless. She had forgotten she had a teammate on her side.
In that moment of distraction, several monsters suddenly lunged forward and slammed into the light barrier. With just one hit, a crack appeared.
The crack began to spread. Tang Qiu had no choice but to abandon the half-prepared spell and focus on repairing the light barrier first.
Before Tang Qiu repaired the barrier, the skeleton waved at her, then slipped out through the crack. Its sharp, razor-like bone hands glinted with a cold light. With a swing and a hook, a passing lion-man was sliced into three pieces.
Warm blood sprayed toward the skeleton, but after the mist of blood settled, the skeleton remained pristine white, not a single drop of blood staining it.
It shook itself proudly, looking as if it might fall apart at any moment. When the Half-Human Monsters, lion-men, and other creatures mistook it for an ally and ignored it, it would suddenly strike, chopping them into several pieces.
Tang Qiu thoughtfully withdrew her gaze from the skeleton and focused on repairing the light barrier. She concentrated her attention, chanting the most powerful offensive light spell she could currently use.
Compared to basic light spells, the power of intermediate ones was multiplied several times over. Gathering light elements in the Dark Domain was somewhat slow, but the silver-white staff in Tang Qiu's hand compensated for this deficiency, allowing her to cast the prepared spell at the exact intended moment.
Specks of white light quietly flew from the tip of the staff, elongating in mid-air. Arrows of light accurately found their targets, then descended with a whoosh, their sharp tips piercing through the monsters' bodies. The Power of Light exploded within the monsters, splattering flesh and blood and staining the light barrier crimson.
The specks of white light continued to multiply, and the pile of corpses around the barrier grew ever larger, yet the number of monsters showed no sign of decreasing. This was a battle of attrition. Tang Qiu's face had already turned pale, but her grip on the staff remained steady.
She single-handedly opened a bottle of Holy Water of Light and drank it down. Her exhausted spirit was instantly refreshed. She calmly assessed the situation and continued chanting.
A powerful burst of light energy suddenly erupted within her Dark Domain. Glanna, who was fully focused on dealing with the werewolves, paused. She closed her eyes slightly to carefully pinpoint the source of the light.
A few seconds later, she opened her eyes, a strange glint in her gray irises. Where did this priest come from?
During Glanna's moment of distraction, the werewolves seized the opportunity and tore the monsters she was commanding to shreds. A gray werewolf sniffed out her location and sprinted toward her at incredible speed.
Glanna sensed something. The skeleton behind her took a step back with her in its arms. In the spot where she had just been standing, a cold light flashed. A massive gray wolf emerged from the dense fog, its brown eyes burning with rage as it stared coldly at Glanna.
Jumping down from the skeleton's arms, Glanna looked up to meet the gray wolf's gaze and greeted her with a smile, "Long time no see, Fanny."
The gray wolf transformed into a human. One by one, her clan members arrived and stood behind her, all glaring furiously at Glanna, looking as if they wanted to tear her apart.
Surrounded by werewolves, Glanna remained unfazed, her gaze fixed on Fanny shimmering with a sinister light.
Fanny met her gaze coldly. "The last time we met, your mother died at my hands."
Glanna nodded, as if reminiscing about that time. "You tore my mother into several pieces," she said with a smile. "It took me a very long time to put her back together."
"I thought you knew the consequences of angering werewolves."
Glanna sighed. "I didn't expect that just by capturing two little werewolves, I would draw even you out."
Fanny was the Vice-Chief of the Wolf Race, the strongest warrior aside from the royal family.
"It seems the werewolf population hasn't improved much in the last few decades," Glanna chuckled, then made a death-defying proposal. "Want to cooperate with me?"
"After all my years of research, I believe I can completely solve your werewolf reproduction problem."
"Such a powerful race, yet limited by reproduction." Glanna shook her head with emotion. "Could this be the Light Goddess's punishment for you?"
"Because you werewolves betrayed the Holy See?"
Fanny's eyes darkened, her voice filled with killing intent. "Do you want to be torn to pieces too, Glanna?"
As her words fell, a white-haired werewolf behind her rushed out. Her slender hand clamped around Glanna's neck, sharp nails sinking completely into her flesh. She snapped Glanna's neck with sheer force. However, as blood gushed out, it was the white-haired werewolf who let out a scream.
Glanna's fallen body turned into a scarecrow, while the white-haired werewolf's hand was corroded by the Power of Darkness. Her entire arm became a bloody mess, with bone exposed in the most severe areas. Several werewolves quickly went over and poured Holy Water of Light on her arm, which only slightly slowed the corrosion's speed.
The white-haired werewolf forced herself to stay conscious. Watching bottle after bottle of Holy Water of Light being poured on her arm, she said painfully, "Okay, okay, save some."
Fanny looked at her, speechless. "You don't want your claws anymore, Jemma?"
Jemma flattened her mouth in a pout of grievance, muttering under her breath, "But we're poor."
Fanny was speechless.
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