The First Pope - Chapter 96
Chapter 96
The dark aura surged forward. Unprepared, the Garcia Witches first had their vision stolen by the darkness, then were thrown into disarray by a fierce wind, scattering them everywhere. Even Kana, the first to react, found herself with fewer than a hundred of her people by her side.
The city was completely enveloped by a domain of darkness. The witches within it felt their bodies grow heavy. Their legs felt as if they were sinking into a swamp, their arms as if tied with iron weights. Even simple movements like lifting and lowering their limbs became laborious.
This was more than just the pressure of a domain; it was Dark Magic.
Having already guessed her opponent's identity, Kana's expression was grave. Her arms were bound, unable to be lifted. She simply let go of her bone staff, closed her eyes slightly, and began to chant an incantation in a low voice. The bone-chilling wind suddenly ceased. A ball of gray mist appeared before Kana, flowing slowly and gradually coalescing into the shape of a beast.
The witches beside her sensed the aura of Witchcraft and also dropped their bone staffs, beginning to chant their own spells.
More gray mist was summoned. The beasts formed from the condensed mist slowly awakened. They opened their eyes and let out silent roars at the surrounding darkness before lunging forward to tear and devour it.
Although the beasts dissipated after devouring only a small patch of darkness, it was enough for Kana and the other witches to regain their freedom. Kana bent down to pick up her bone staff, then looked around and said in a low voice, "Stay alert. Don't get separated..."
Before she could finish, another fierce gust of wind struck. Kana was prepared this time. She raised her hand and waved her bone staff, and a barrier materialized before her, blocking the gale.
Directly opposite the witches was the city gate. As Kana braced against the wind, she caught something in her peripheral vision. She turned her head slightly. The tightly shut gates had been opened at some point, and a group of several dozen men and women in black robes emerged from the darkness, appearing in the witches' line of sight.
The woman in the lead had long, grayish-white hair that fell smoothly to her waist. Her features were rather plain; only her grayish-white eyes seemed special. Maia raised a hand to signal the wizards behind her to stop their incantations. Then, she gave Kana a slight nod and offered a greeting, "We meet for the first time. My name is Maia, an elder of the Sethite clan."
Kana lowered her bone staff and glanced at the wizards behind Maia. "Is this how your Sethite clan says hello?" she asked, her face cold.
There was no telling how many more wizards were hidden in the darkness behind Maia. They had come fully prepared. Kana pressed her lips together, her grip on her bone staff tightening.
"It is a bit rude," Maia said with a slight smile, but her tone was exceptionally cold. "However, for witches who go back on their word, I believe this is the best reception you could ask for."
Kana frowned. "What are you talking about?" They had never had any dealings with the Sethite clan. Why would Maia level such an accusation against them?
Maia looked from side to side but didn't see any Anderson Witches. She narrowed her eyes and said in a low voice, "If you want to know what I'm talking about, just ask the Anderson Witches."
Anderson... Kana's face darkened. Just as she was about to speak, a loud crash echoed in her ears. The outermost section of the wall to her right collapsed thunderously. Through the billowing dust, hundreds of red figures could be faintly seen approaching.
The Anderson Witches, who favored robes as vibrant red as blood, were still conspicuous in the dim environment. A skeletal beast that had knocked down the wall charged into the city. Molly sat atop the beast's head, looking down at Maia with a smile. "Weren't you going to eradicate the God Race, Elder Maia? What brings you here?"
Her tone was perfectly natural, as if she wasn't the one who had turned on and killed Ryan.
Maia sneered. "You should know perfectly well why I'm here." She raised her hand slightly, and the darkness behind her receded like a tide, revealing several thousand black-robed wizards. She looked at Molly and said, word by word, "Weren't you supposed to help us with a divination?"
"Since you wouldn't listen, I had to come and extend the invitation personally."
Being betrayed by witches filled the Sethite wizards with even more resentment than being ordered around by the Vampires. The witches... how dare such weak and useless witches play games with them?
She never should have given those greedy witches a taste of reward in the first place. Only by controlling their lives would they obey.
Before the Vampires decided to withdraw from the Sitatul Continent, the Sethite clan, like other races, lived as exiles. But the Ventrue clan's sudden order to retreat gave them an opportunity. The Lasombra and Tzimisce were dissatisfied with the Ventrue's decision, but due to the Ventrue clan's status and power, they couldn't openly plunder the Sitatul Continent.
It was during this time that the Sethite clan aligned with the Lasombra Vampires. They worked for the Vampires, and the Vampires gave them the rewards they desired. And the Vampires truly lived up to their reputation as the longest-surviving race on the continent; with their help, the Sethite wizards developed rapidly.
Unlike the Elves and the Wolf Race, the Sethite clan did not have insurmountable reproductive issues. With the threat to their lives gone, their population growth normalized. After a century of development, the number of Sethite clan members far surpassed that of the witches.
When Molly saw Maia leading people to besiege her witches, she mistakenly thought they had given up on the God Race. But in reality, the Sethite wizards had no intention of letting the God Race go.
While Shastaya was being invaded by the dark aura, Ochester faced the same situation. Ink-black clouds drifted in from an unknown source, swaying like a terrifyingly large fish in the ocean of the sky. In an instant, they had covered the entirety of Ochester beneath their belly.
Fierce winds and darkness appeared simultaneously. The chilling Power of Darkness rampaged with the wind, searching for targets to bind, but all of Ochester was empty. Not only were there no God Race members, but not a single human could be found.
Unable to find a target, the Power of Darkness unwillingly condensed into a giant beast. The beast's eyes were crimson. It roared at the sky, then tore it open with a single claw. Several thousand wizards in black robes emerged from the rift, clutching sharp, bone-white staffs.
Sunny removed her hood amidst the gale, which had no effect on her. She looked around, displeased with the empty scene. "Didn't Maia say everything was ready?"
"Is this it?"
Both she and Maia were the most talented of the younger generation. Becoming elders at the same time hadn't made them friends. Sunny had disliked Maia for a long time, but Maia's cautious nature made it difficult for her to find any leverage.
This setback at the hands of the Anderson Witches was a rare mistake for Maia, and Sunny certainly wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to mock her for it.
Even though Maia wasn't present, Sunny enjoyed the sense of superiority she got from belittling her in front of their clan members.
Sunny's voice was shrill; any louder and it would be grating. The Grand Elder was observing their surroundings, and her chattering voice made him frown in displeasure. "That's enough, Sunny."
The Grand Elder waved his bone staff, and the beast behind them dissolved into a black mist that enveloped them as they moved forward. "Be quiet. Haven't you noticed that the aura here is strange?"
Before the Anderson Witches turned on and killed Ryan, who had gone to check on their progress, Maia had also led people to inspect their work. The witches had already destroyed many of the Teleportation Arrays by then.
After learning what happened to Ryan, the Grand Elder moved up the time of the attack on the God Race. Even if the God Race had discovered the malfunctioning Teleportation Arrays and made preparations, they couldn't possibly have evacuated all the humans in such a short time.
Unless... The Grand Elder looked toward the Slade Sea Region, his gaze profound.
The closer they got to the Slade Sea Region, the brighter the surrounding light became, and the beast formed from the Power of Darkness grew more restless. The Grand Elder gripped his bone staff, sensing the repulsive aura around them, his brow furrowed tightly.
"The aura of light... it's so dense," a wizard next to the Grand Elder whispered. Out of repulsion, he had already tightened his grip on his bone staff involuntarily.
The wizards behind them had already raised their bone staffs and begun chanting, but before the Power of Darkness could coalesce, a burst of golden light erupted ahead. The surging Power of Light formed a dome that completely enveloped the Slade Sea Region.
Behind the golden light were silver-haired members of the God Race, dressed in white robes and holding staffs of light. Darcy led her people, facing the Sethite wizards from a distance. Light Knights holding golden longswords flanked the God Race.
Seeing the golden light, Sunny couldn't help but take a step back, her eyes widening slightly, as if she hadn't expected the God Race's power to have developed to such an extent.
The Grand Elder was also surprised, but he didn't show it. He raised a hand to adjust his hood, lifted his bone staff, and said in a low voice, "Show no mercy. Leave none alive."
A suffocating black mist pressed toward the golden light. Darcy felt the pressure from the opposing side, but her expression remained calm and her gaze steady. "Hold the barrier."
They could not let the Sethite wizards get past them and into the Slade Sea Region.
There was too little time and too many humans; they simply didn't have enough time to evacuate everyone. Ochester had been emptied because they had moved its inhabitants to the Slade Sea Region.
The Sethite wizards were after the God Race, which seemingly had little to do with the humans. If the God Race fell, the humans would merely return to a life of exile.
But after witnessing the Anderson's Dark Magic-sacrificing an entire city of people to summon a demon-Darcy would never give the Sethite wizards that chance.
After all, blood and corpses were what the darkness loved most.
Although the Slade Sea Region had more cities than Ochester, it already had a considerable population of its own. With the addition of those transferred from Ochester, the cities instantly became crowded, and some people had to be temporarily housed in the wilderness.
The Teleportation Arrays had a limited capacity for each transport. Evacuating hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of people was no easy task.
In a city in the Slade Sea Region closest to the border, Chloe stood atop a lighthouse, staring blankly at the place where the golden light had erupted. Her vantage point was so clear that she could even make out the figures of some of the Sethite wizards.
"The Elf Race's Teleportation Array just lit up. Something must have happened to them. They sent the young elves over for us to protect." Doris's voice was tinged with sorrow. Her face looked haggard from anxiety. "But I don't know if I can protect them."
The Slade Sea Region wasn't safe either. She had to take the God Race children and the young elves and find another safe place.
Doris didn't know if she could do it.
"It's alright, Doris," Chloe said reassuringly, turning to look into Doris's eyes. "You can take care of them."
Doris still felt uneasy. Whenever she looked at Chloe, she had a bad premonition, but she couldn't see anything specific. She instinctively wanted Chloe to stay by her side. "Chloe, come with me."
She reached out and grabbed Chloe's wrist. "Let's get them settled first, then we can come back and help," she said earnestly.
Chloe pulled Doris's hand away and shook her head slightly. "I have to stay."
In the distance, a portion of the golden light was being devoured by darkness, causing the sky to grow even gloomier. Chloe glanced at the battle and said to Doris, "The Teleportation Array should be ready soon. You need to take them and leave."
Doris wanted to persuade her further, but seeing Chloe's resolute expression, she hesitated for a moment before sighing and turning to leave quickly.
After Doris left, Chloe turned to the person beside her and asked expressionlessly, "Aren't you leaving with your knights?"
Susan, who was dressed in knight's armor despite not knowing how to use a sword, turned to Chloe in surprise. "Where would I go?"
"Anywhere is safer than here." Chloe paused, her gaze dropping slightly. "Isn't betraying allies what you humans do best?" she said coldly.
Susan had heard from Cynthia about the reason for Chloe's hatred of humans, so she paid no mind to her harsh words. She glanced down at her knights below. Backed by the great tree that was the God Race, her knightly order had grown into what was essentially an army.
She was no longer the city lord who had to walk on eggshells under the rule of the Vampires.
"Before we allied with the God Race, Cynthia told me this was a gamble, and the stake was the future of humanity." Susan turned to lean against the railing, her hand resting on the sword at her waist. A slight smile touched her lips as she said softly, "I believe in her. She won't let me lose."
And she wouldn't let humanity lose, either.
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