CA - Chapter 195

Chapter 195

The night was lit up by a sky full of golden light. Erin hid within a barrier Tang Qiu had set up for her, kneeling on the ground and biting her finger with a grave expression as she interpreted the information revealed by her divination.

Since the Holy See took action, a quarter of the darkness on the continent had been dispelled. Only the areas immediately surrounding Witch City remained as severe as before.

"The Holy See is truly formidable," Erin said thoughtfully, fiddling with the various materials on the ground. "At this rate, it's only a matter of time before all the dark formations are sealed."

Of course, that was assuming the Garcia Family didn't show up to cause trouble.

And then there was Glanna... Erin frowned, trying to divine Glanna's movements, but she failed.

"How is the divination going?" After nearly three sleepless days sealing another dark formation, Tang Qiu raised a hand to wipe the fine sweat from her brow. She put away her staff and stepped back. Seeing Erin's worried expression, she asked with a slight smile.

When Erin saw Tang Qiu approach, she quickly took out a bottle of Holy Water of Light, opened it, and handed it to her, asking with concern, "Are you alright?"

Tang Qiu wearily rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I'm fine, just a little tired."

Using high-intensity light magic without rest was too draining.

She took the Holy Water of Light and drank it, feeling her tense spirit slowly relax a little.

"The divination shows everything is fine. Although the Holy See's delay has allowed the dark formations to grow stronger, their power is still not to be underestimated," Erin said happily. "As long as we keep this up, once two-thirds of the dark formations are sealed, we can attack Witch City and destroy the main formation."

Once the main formation was broken, the darkness would naturally recede back underground.

Erin had waited for this day for too long. Finally seeing the dawn of victory allowed her mood to relax considerably.

She didn't want to see any more innocent humans die horribly at the hands of demonic creatures... If she hadn't mistakenly entered the forbidden grounds of Witch City, Elder Noah would never have been able to obtain the Dark Key and do all of this.

This was like a thorn stuck in Erin's heart, tormenting her.

Tang Qiu glanced at Erin, reached out to touch the dark circles under her eyes, and said softly, "Don't overthink it."

Ever since the dark formations appeared, Erin had barely rested. With the Holy See delaying its response, she was the most anxious of them all.

Erin lowered her head and scratched her hair, a bit embarrassed, a warm feeling spreading in her heart. Little Fur Ball jumped out of her hood and ran to the top of her head. Erin reached up, plucked it down, and rubbed its head, whispering to Tang Qiu, "I'm not overthinking it."

Tang Qiu smiled but said nothing.

A flurry of hurried footsteps approached from a distance. Tang Qiu, who was drinking the Holy Water of Light, paused and looked quizzically in the direction of the sound.

Mario emerged hastily from the darkness, his face expressionless. Upon seeing Tang Qiu's figure, his expression shifted, and he spoke urgently before he was even close, "Bishop Grace, something has happened to Bishop Monica."

Tang Qiu was taken aback. She frowned and asked, "What's wrong with her?"

"Bishop Monica was taken away by the Holy Son's people. Archbishop Reese wants to go rescue her."

The knights Reese had arranged for Monica were one in a thousand, capable of holding their own even against the Holy Son's personal guard. Even if she were taken by force, someone should have escaped to report back.

But the reality was that all those knights had disappeared. This made Mario extremely uneasy, so while on his way to prepare a scroll, he made a special trip to seek Tang Qiu's help.

Why would the Holy Son take Monica at a time like this... Tang Qiu's heart sank. Just as she was about to say something to Mario, Lucille and Lola appeared at her side, one after the other.

Lucille handed a skeletal rat to Tang Qiu and said flatly, "It's for you."

Erin's sharp eyes spotted the skeletal rat. "Huh?" she exclaimed. She walked over, sized it up, and asked, "Can I see it?"

Tang Qiu took the letter from the skeletal rat and then handed the creature to Erin.

Scanning the letter's contents, Tang Qiu's expression grew increasingly grave. The message was simple, stating only Monica's condition and location, with no signature at the end.

"This looks like one of Rona's skeletal rats," Erin said after studying it for a moment, sounding uncertain.

She had dealt with the proprietress of the grocery store many times and was quite familiar with her dark aura.

Tang Qiu glanced at her and said thoughtfully, "Mark's Grocery Store?" She handed the letter to Mario and said flatly, "Then I know who sent this."

Mario took the letter, and his face changed as he read it. "Is the content of this letter true... I'll go report to Archbishop Reese."

Tang Qiu grunted in acknowledgment and took a scroll from his hand. "I'll go check on the situation first."

Mario left with the letter and the remaining scroll. Tang Qiu turned her head to meet Lucille's gaze, grabbed her wrist, and unfurled the scroll. "Let's go," she said in a low voice.

I hope we're in time, Tang Qiu sighed inwardly, a trace of worry appearing in her eyes.

The scroll unfurled, and a white light flared. After a moment's thought, Lola and Erin also stepped into the light.

The scroll Mario had brought only teleported them to Setaya. After arriving, Tang Qiu and the others had to search for a while before finding the dark formation mentioned in the letter.

The formation had not yet been sealed, and a dark aura permeated the air. A crimson skeleton hid near the formation, staring unblinkingly at a brightly colored mushroom in the bloody swamp, half of which had already been corroded. Beneath the mushroom, a piece of a white hem was soaked red with blood. The skeleton's jawbone clacked open and shut.

Erin, unafraid of the dark aura, was the first to run to the front of the dark formation. A barrier of white light tinged with gold protected her from the skeleton's attacks. Standing at the edge of the formation, she immediately spotted the vibrant mushroom cap.

The mushroom cap, corroded by the bloody swamp, was tattered and torn. Monica, sheltered beneath it, lay there, her life uncertain. The pervasive dark aura had invaded her body, and her exposed skin was showing large-scale decay.

"She's here." Erin tentatively stepped into the dark formation but was forced back by the extremely aggressive power of darkness. The bloody swamp churned, and a drop landed on her arm. The fabric was instantly corroded, and the skin it touched split open into a wound.

Erin sucked in a sharp breath and retreated outside the formation.

Tang Qiu raised her hand and deployed her werewolf domain. She walked to Erin's side and looked at Monica, who had almost become a person of blood. Her eyes turned cold. She took out her staff, chanted a spell in a low voice, and a flash of golden light covered the still-decaying mushroom cap.

"It seems... she's still alive." Lucille knitted her brows and darted into the dark formation. The bloody swamp, detecting an intruder, began to stir. Waves splashed, and bloody water lunged at Lucille, but she dodged it with agile movements.

Lucille tried to approach the mushroom cap, but the swamp was enraged. The bloody water surged to an immense height, coalescing into a giant hand that slapped down at Lucille. With a grave expression, she dodged, but the giant hand blocked her path.

Tang Qiu was controlling the barrier to protect Monica from being swallowed by the swamp and couldn't free herself for the moment. With Lucille blocked by the giant hand, she turned and gave Lola a meaningful look.

Lola lowered her hand. Just as she was contemplating how to get in and bring the person out, a white figure rushed into the dark formation faster than she could.

Reese, who had wasted some time finding this place, stepped into the dark formation with an expressionless face. Seeing a new intruder, the power of darkness scrambled to surge toward her, but it was blocked by a golden light before it could touch her. Under the corrosion of the dark power, the light from the ring on Reese's hand grew dimmer.

Lola was stunned for a moment seeing Reese charge in. She clicked her tongue, then flashed behind Reese to block the swamp's attacks for her.

Some bloody water passed through the light barrier and flew toward Reese. She raised her arm to block it, and several bloody gashes were corroded into her arm. But as if she felt no pain, she turned to search for Monica's figure, her face pale, her brow tinged with anxiety and a hint of panic.

Catching sight of Tang Qiu's barrier out of the corner of her eye calmed Reese's uneasy heart somewhat. She ran over, went around the tattered mushroom cap, and immediately saw Monica lying there.

Monica's bishop robes were stained red with blood. She lay on the ground with her eyes closed, her brow furrowed tightly in pain. Her exposed hands were a bruised black, and her face was a mangled mess of flesh and blood from the swamp's corrosion, without a single patch of intact skin.

Only the slight rise and fall of her chest proved she was still breathing.

Reese's body stiffened. Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly by a hand, making it difficult to even breathe. She bit her lip, trying to calm herself. Blood trickled from her lip, mixing with the silent tears that fell.

"Monica..." Reese murmured in a low voice. She pursed her lips, took the bracelet from her wrist, and threw it into the swamp at her feet. The bracelet shattered, and a burst of golden light erupted, freezing the churning bloody swamp in place.

Reese calmly stepped onto the mushroom cap, her aura deathly still. She bent down and carefully lifted Monica into her arms. The person in her embrace was breathing faintly, and Reese's arms trembled slightly as she held her.

The golden light devoured the bloody water. The swamp struggled unwillingly before finally turning to ash.

The power of the golden light was too strong; it was an instant-cast, high-level light magic spell. Lola and Lucille agilely retreated, moving out of the golden light's range.

Lola watched the dazzling golden light with some surprise. "This woman's power of light is so strong."

Tang Qiu put away her staff and walked over, saying in a calm tone, "This doesn't seem like Reese's power of light."

High-level light magic spells were powerful, but their casting time was too long. Therefore, some Red-robed Archbishops would create instant-cast defensive items or scrolls to save their lives.

Cambecus had once made such a scroll, but unfortunately, he never had the chance to use it before he died.

However, creating such defensive items and scrolls was no easy task. A success rate of one in ten thousand was considered good, so instant-cast defensive items for high-level light magic were extremely rare.

The bloody swamp within the dark formation was temporarily cleared by the light magic, and it obediently retreated underground, not daring to cause trouble again.

Reese emerged carrying Monica, her gaze fixed on her sister's faintly rising and falling chest, terrified that her breathing might silently stop at any moment.

Erin cautiously approached, craning her neck to observe Monica's condition. Her expression was somber. Not daring to speak to Reese, she could only walk over to Tang Qiu and shake her head silently.

The invasion of dark power was too severe; it was impossible to purify completely.

Tang Qiu's heart was heavy. She glanced at Reese's expression and said softly, "Let's leave this place first."

Lucille quietly watched the now-subdued dark formation, wary of it erupting again. Suddenly, as if sensing something, she glanced to the side in a certain direction, and her figure vanished into the darkness like a bolt of lightning.

Tang Qiu frowned and said to Lola in a low voice, "Get them back."

Then she turned and followed Lucille. She had also just sensed an unfamiliar aura, one that seemed to belong to the Vampires.

Lola watched Tang Qiu and Lucille leave. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of white light. She instinctively turned her head and saw that Reese had already unfurled a teleportation scroll.

She froze for a moment, then remembered Tang Qiu's instructions and frowned, flashing into the white light just as it vanished.

The departures of Reese and Lola, as well as Tang Qiu and Lucille, all happened in an instant. Before Erin could even react, they were gone.

She stood there stunned for a moment. Without a teleportation scroll, she couldn't get back to Gosse anytime soon. She had no choice but to summon a skeleton to carry her as she headed in the direction Tang Qiu and Lucille had gone.

Get instant access to all the chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next