volume 3 - Chapter 197 (1/2)

Chapter 197 – The final moment (14)

The dust and smoke slowly receded to a thin layer. Even though there was only silence where Veronica and Brendel were at, it felt even more ominous. The strong Mana had changed the shape of the landscape as a deep gully had been formed by the Wall of Chaos’s destruction.

Mana suddenly surged again, causing Brendel and Veronica’s hearts to skip a beat. Amman’s earlier monologue was to gain time so he could cast the Wall of Chaos. But he was currently nowhere to be found. Perhaps he had used a teleportation spell again during that interval.

“Boy, what exactly is that thing……”

Veronica took in a deep breath. Even at her level, she felt the Mana pulses in the area to be increasingly stifling. What kind of spell was Amman preparing now?

Brendel’s eyes were nearly shut. He could have an endless array of strategies when he had his Planewalker’s abilities and even shrug off Andesha’s Element Power to a certain extent, but he could not but feel like collapsing against the swelling Mana.

“Have you never…… heard of Mavekart’s Grimoire? To think…… that I will see it in this place.” Brendel gnashed his teeth.

“Is it really that cursed book? Why does Amman have it!” Veronica finally recalled that name.

[But the book was rumored to be destroyed in the Twilight War. How could it appear in Amman’s hands?]

Mavekart’s evil grimoire. It was the Disciples of Chaos’s bible, an evil artifact that was created in the Sea of Chaos where evil creatures resided, and was rumored to be a book that devoured everything to gain forbidden powers.

Its power rivaled nearly all divine artifacts.

Brendel watched the black-colored Mana gather into a single spot. It was as if a black hole had appeared in the center of the courtyard, sucking in the wind and fog in a spiraling manner. This phenomenon lasted only for a short while before the dark energy exploded in a circle, and it was followed by a physical shockwave that hurled Brendel and Veronica backward.

Several screams came from the nearby buildings. Scarlett pulled Faena and Sifrid, running away as the Dark Energy shattered the walls into rubble. The fragments were flung into the air, while the girls were knocked down onto the ground from the shockwave that reached them in the next second.

Andesha and Mephisto felt the world shake even though they were in mid-air. Several showers of spark rained across the ground as her claws met his greatsword. The Mana derived from nature was growing increasingly thin and Andesha found that she was nearly unable to maintain her dragon form. Her fury was causing her eyes to become bloodshot, but she finally tore her eyes away from Mephisto to peek at the courtyard.

“What?”

“Hmm……”

Both Mephisto and Andesha felt a second pulse of Dark Energy that was no weaker than the previous one.

“s.h.i.+t, he wants to kill everyone…… This spell is the Shadow Blasting Waves!” Brendel groaned.

It was a magic spell of the Eleventh Circle. Even though it was supposed to merely affect the ground area, the Eleven Circle was touted to be the limits of what a human could achieve and it was never going to be something straightforward.

The first phase of this spell was the ‘Chant of Forbidden Air’.

Mephisto and Andesha started to feel a great pull on their body. Mephisto was using his Element Power to slow his descent at appropriate moments to fight Andesha in the air, and he was surprised to find that he could not control his Element Power any longer. Andesha tried to beat her wings furiously but she could not gain any alt.i.tude. Both began to fall to the ground.

“You’re attacking everyone indiscriminately! Hamir, you insane fool!” Andesha screamed.

Amman’s freaky laughter transmitted over the thin fog. He was clearly doing it on purpose:

“Andesha. I need to thank you as well. You gave me enough time so that I can prepare this ancient holy artifact. It is unfortunate that you blood drinkers don’t understand the majestic dignity of limitless power…..”

He was never more confident of his victory, but his hands did not stop. The Mana gathered in the area was increasing at an exceptional rate. The third pulse of energy exploded once more, and this time it was the strongest explosion yet. The black trail of energy was like a whip sweeping through the entire valley.

Veronica lost her breath. The violent winds were causing her wind to flutter painfully. She turned to Brendel.

“As expected of Mavekart’s Grimoire, that artifact is something close to the power of the Divine. We are no match for him. Retreating is for the best.”

“It’s too late.” Brendel said through gritted teeth, struggling to get his words out: “If we run, we’re dead, but if we fight now there’s a chance for us.”

“How do we fight back?”

“Even though Mavekart’s Grimoire is one of the strongest artifact related to Chaos, it’s much weaker than the Twilight Dragon. In addition, the caster is definitely not from the Golden Lineage or even the Silver Lineage. He’s just a mortal being, undead or not, therefore we have a chance.”

“I have to ask again, how do you know all these things?” Veronica’s green eyes were full of curiosity.

“It’s really a simple observation, not my understanding of the lore. I think you can see the pattern here, Amman prattles on for a while before a new attack happens. Casting a new pulse takes time.”

[Is that really the truth?]

Veronica was doubtful of his explanation, but the youth continued speaking while he bit his fingers anxiously:

“In any case, there’s no time to explain. This is our only chance!”

[The timing to stop him is extremely crucial……]

The fallen bishop’s spell could not be stopped anymore. The Mana was still increasing and the youth could feel his skin blistering even from the considerable distance. Once it was released for the fourth time, no one would escape unscathed.

“But how are going to defend against his spell, boy?”

Brendel did not answer and merely squinted at a certain direction; Andesha was screaming as she tried to create a small boundary around herself to keep herself in the air.

Veronica immediately realized his intentions: “Boy, you can’t possibly be……”

But the fourth pulse of dark energy exploded yet again and Andesha could no longer keep herself in the air. The clouds suddenly parted as the Dark Energy fired up into the air, revealing a black Magic Formation that resembled a wheel.

[Arus, Cau, Tiamat…… Five seconds.]

Brendel counted in his mind. The gigantic formation lit up with the Rune Words activating from the outer formation before they led towards the center. Finally, when the center of the Magic Formation, a beam of dark energy struck Amman.

“It’s here!” Brendel stabbed his hand with Halran Gaia. The pain traveled up to his mind and shook off his body’s Frightened state that was dealt from the spell. “Let’s go!”