The First Pope - Chapter 119
Chapter 119
After the Magic Dragons replaced the Sethite wizards and occupied the Capri Plains, the area returned to a state of tranquility. Their sudden gathering was merely to find a suitable place to sleep. Once they confirmed no one would disturb them, they each went their separate ways to find a favored spot to slumber, showing not the slightest interest in the Temple of Darkness that the Sethite wizards had been searching for.
A group of familiar guests arrived in the desolate forest on the northernmost edge of the Capri Plains. Witches clad in black robes walked silently through the woods. The bare, yellowed trees exuded an aura of death. The surrounding environment, both strange and familiar, stirred a faint emotion within the despondent and numb witches.
"Where did so many Magic Dragons come from?" Camille walked beside Betty, glancing at the skeleton mouse leading the way as she grumbled in a low voice, "How annoying, taking over our home."
However, if these Magic Dragons hadn't suddenly appeared here, it wouldn't have been so easy for them to sneak in. Camille knew that the Capri Plains had been occupied by the Sethite wizards before.
Although these Magic Dragons were more difficult to deal with than the Sethite wizards, as long as one didn't provoke them, they were far less dangerous.
Only half of Betty's face was visible beneath her black hood. Her complexion was pale and haggard. The swelling around her red eyes had subsided significantly, but her gaze remained dull. She stared blankly at the ground beneath her feet, lost in thought.
Camille spoke for a while without getting a response, but she didn't mind. Being able to stick by Betty's side every day like this, without being chased away by Eunice as before, was more than enough for her.
"Didn't Elder Kana say it was around here?" Camille reached out to take Betty's arm, pulling her toward the group of witches searching ahead. "Let's go take a look."
Pulled along for a few steps, Betty slowly came back to her senses. She pulled Camille's hand away, then turned to look around, her brow furrowed slightly. "Isn't this… the Morgan Family's cemetery?" she asked, uncertain.
She and Chelsea had also grown up together and often came to play in the Morgan Family's territory as children. Witches lived only slightly longer than humans; old age, sickness, and death were normal. The Garcia and Anderson cemeteries were adjacent to each other, but the Morgan Family had a separate, designated area.
Betty had come here once with Chelsea as a child. The Morgan Family's cemetery was in a remote and hidden location. Aside from paying respects, few witches ever went there.
Camille paused in the middle of bending down to pick up the skeleton mouse. She looked around, her eyes darting about as if lost in thought.
The group of witches searching ahead suddenly stopped, as if they had discovered something. Betty glanced in their direction, and upon hearing them discussing the Temple of Darkness, she walked over.
The witches had stopped because they saw the Morgan Family's cemetery. According to the results of their divination, the Temple of Darkness should be right beneath their feet, and the entrance… was this very cemetery.
Standing before the cemetery, the still-injured Kana couldn't help but tighten her grip on her bone staff, murmuring, "Why here…"
When Kana learned from Betty that the Temple of Darkness was in the Capri Plains, she had guessed countless suspicious locations, but she had never imagined the entrance would be here.
The patriarchs, elders, and members of the Morgan Family from every generation were buried here. Their witchcraft power had not dissipated after death but instead permeated the cemetery. A gray mist obscured the sky above and concealed the Temple of Darkness buried deep underground. If not for the location indicated by the divination, Kana would not have been able to sense the slightest trace of a dark aura through the dense witchcraft power.
"What, so the Morgan Family knew about the Temple of Darkness all along?" an Anderson elder standing beside Kana sneered, twirling a bone knife in her hand. "To think they even kept it from us."
"Disperse the witchcraft power. We're going in," she commanded the witches behind her.
Kana's lips moved, but in the end, she did not stop them. She stepped aside, and her gaze swept over the nearest tombstone. The name on it made her freeze for a moment. It was Elder Hettie's…
"Elder Kana, is the Temple of Darkness here?" Betty walked to Kana's side and looked up at the Anderson witches who were dispersing the witchcraft power, asking with a frown.
Kana nodded and said in a low voice, "The entrance is concealed by the witchcraft power."
They had lived in the Capri Plains for thousands of years; every inch of this land was saturated with witchcraft power, and a place like a cemetery would naturally be even more concentrated. Coupled with the Morgan Family's layout, which intentionally or unintentionally mimicked a concealment array, it was normal for the Sethite wizards, who had long abandoned witchcraft and were not familiar with arrays, to have overlooked this place.
"How could it be here…" Betty looked at the rows of tombstones shrouded in the night, her expression wavering. If Chelsea were here, she would never agree to them destroying the witchcraft power here to find some Temple of Darkness.
They had already violated the clan rules left behind by Elder Hettie, and the layout here felt as if the Morgan Family was telling them no. Logically, Betty felt they shouldn't continue searching, but… she still hadn't found Eunice, and she had yet to take revenge on the Sethite wizards.
There was no longer any space for them to survive on this continent. Humans could still rely on the God Race, but they had nothing left.
They had nothing but the clan members by their side.
"Let's go in and see," Elder Kana sighed. Her injuries had been slow to heal due to the constant travel, and sleepless nights caused by their dilemma had etched a trace of weariness onto her face. "I will explain to the Morgan Family."
This was their only chance.
Dispersing the witchcraft power and breaking the concealment array was not easy. Even for the witches, who were very knowledgeable about witchcraft power and arrays, it took several days and nights to finally open an entrance. A chilling Power of Darkness seeped out from the opened fissure. A pitch-black mist flowed out slowly, with occasional flickers of dark light, like pairs of eyes.
Camille rushed to the fissure, her face alight with excitement as she gazed at the black mist. "Sister Betty, this is it."
Betty walked to her side and remained silent for a moment before turning to look at Kana, as if seeking confirmation.
Kana nodded at her, then turned to the witches behind them and warned in a solemn voice, "Everyone, be careful."
The God of Darkness, one of the three main gods, was the most mysterious. She had never created any race and was only accompanied by the generals who fought alongside her. Moreover, the Power of Darkness had always been a symbol of evil. Although they were now practicing dark magic, it didn't mean it was safe for them to enter.
This place might hold opportunity, but it could also be purely dangerous.
The sky was dim, the night alluring. Cynthia stood on the bridge, the hazy moonlight spilling over her, draping her in a layer of silver gauze. The flower nectar in her hand emitted a light, floral scent, but she had no intention of drinking it. Instead, she lowered her gaze to watch Olivia, who was speaking with Polly below, her golden eyes filled with tenderness.
Olivia's conversation with Polly did not last long before she returned to the bridge. The bridge was still simply furnished with a wooden table and chairs, along with a bed woven from vines that was not particularly spacious.
A faint sound of wind rustled behind her. Cynthia turned, a slight smile gracing her lips as she faced Olivia. She handed the flower nectar to her and said softly, "What did Clan Leader Helen's letter say?"
Olivia took the flower nectar and walked to Cynthia's side. She glanced up at the crescent moon hanging overhead and replied, "The Wolf Race has left Yezreet. The Vampires know they were watching that place and have given up on attacking the temple there."
The Vampires had changed their target, but Helen was not yet sure which temple they were after. There were too many temples on the Sitatul Continent, and the Vampires knew the locations of many that they did not.
"Wasting time looking for temples is very disadvantageous for us," Cynthia said, looking at Olivia's profile. She suggested with a smile, "Why don't we ask Avira?"
Olivia frowned and said flatly, "You trust that vampire."
It was not a question, but a statement, her calm tone laced with a hint of displeasure.
"It's not about trust, just convenient to use." Cynthia tilted her head, trying to see Olivia's expression, but Olivia pushed her away with a hand.
Cynthia reached out and caught Olivia's retreating hand, bringing it to her lips and deliberately biting it. Seeing her frown, she let out a low chuckle. "Don't slander me. I don't trust her at all."
"It's just that on this matter, she has no reason to lie."
Avira wanted to use them, but in turn, they were also using Avira.
Olivia pulled her hand back. The bitten finger didn't hurt, but the moist sensation lingered. She placed her hand behind her back, her fingers curling slightly. Her voice was cool. "Vampires are cunning. Don't meet with them alone."
She trusted Cynthia's strength, but a Second Generation Vampire was not to be trifled with. Getting too close was far too dangerous.
Of course, she was also somewhat displeased by the way Avira always flirted with Cynthia.
But naturally, she would never admit this selfish thought to Cynthia.
Cynthia, perhaps sensing Olivia's faint jealousy, just smiled without saying a word. She wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss the corner of her lips. Having just drunk the flower nectar, Olivia's lips still carried a hint of its sweetness.
Olivia had grown somewhat accustomed to being kissed. She turned, her light green eyes half-closed, and parted her lips slightly to allow Cynthia's entry. Cynthia took her hand, which was hanging by her side, and pressed it against the bridge's railing, their fingers intertwined.
The press of their palms was even tighter than the closeness of their bodies. Olivia responded to Cynthia's kiss, but half of her attention was drawn to their clasped hands. A fiery emotion that was not her own suddenly flashed through her mind, making her heart tremble slightly.
This is Cynthia's emotion… The corners of Olivia's eyes reddened. Her fingers twitched as she tried to pull her hand away, but Cynthia held it fast.
"Her Majesty the Queen's kissing skills are getting better and better." Cynthia's lips traveled from the corner of Olivia's mouth downward, kissing her chin and neck. Her gentle voice, deliberately lowered, took on a more intimate, ambiguous tone. "It's making it a little hard for me to control myself."
She playfully squeezed Olivia's hand.
"…We're outside," Olivia said in a low voice, placing her other hand on Cynthia's shoulder.
Besides, Polly was still patrolling below.
Cynthia blinked and smiled. "So it's okay if we're not outside?"
She had only said it to tease Olivia. They had only just confirmed their feelings for each other, so she wasn't actually in a hurry. But now, it seemed she could perhaps be a little more eager?
Olivia glanced at her and pushed her away with a bit of force. She lowered her head to tidy her messy hair but said nothing to deny it.
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