Chapter 223 (1/2)

Chapter 223

The rain that had dwindled only got heavier and poured all night long Max orn out, yet she reht She wanted to close her eyes even for a little while to be able to do her duties the next day, but her heart was so erratic that it didn’t allow her to sleep a wink During what felt like the longest ti her eyes shut amidst the insufferable tension, Max ju froht that her nerves had finally gotten the best of her and she was hallucinating However, the soft cries continued to echo arew clearer She slipped into her robes and ran out of the tent

“W-what’s going on?”

Yulysion, who had spread a double awning over the entrance to prevent the rain froure illuht it provided He lifted his head at Max’s question

“That sound lanced at the land surrounded by the rain mist with a tense expression The thick rain had slowly thinned and was now scattered like dew in the early radually parted to reveal the bluish glow of dawn Out on the ghostly horizons, Max could hear the wretched wailing ofwomen that sent chills to run down her spine She looked around, trying to figure out where the crying was co? Did s-so happen… to the priestesses?”

“Those cries are not co from the priestess Banshees have appeared in the mountains”

“Banshees…?”

Yulysion got to his feet and went to the edge of where the tarp dripping with rainwater extended and pointed toward the black wall of rocks in the distance that surrounded the castle’s fortress like breakwater Max lifted her head following the direction of his fingertip, squinting to get a better look A huge dark rock protruded from the mountain like a snake’s head and on top of those were barely visible figures of people wearing dark robes Her heart sank to her feet at the o… that those are monsters?”

“To be precise, they are spirits They don’t cause any direct harm so please don’t worry They just…” Yulysion trailed off as he chose his next words carefully “…wail They will disappear once they’ve wailed loud enough for the sound to fill the whole castle”

Max could barely understand it, since his voice was buried under the hysterical wails of the spirits Max’s shoulders hunched over, creeped out as she looked at the black figures standing in the ht They were too far for her to see what they appeared like in detail, but she could count that at least six of the their robes dearly as they loudly howled their cries

“B-But the Banshees…”

Max bit her lip, not knohat to say From what she remembered, banshees were spirits that herald death It is known ast the folk people that when these creatures suddenly appear and shriek their cries, a massive number of deaths would occur

“Please bear with it although they are disturbing The priests are preparing a ritual to expel those Banshees”

Her fear must have been very evident, because Yulysion tried to reassure her in such an exaggerated way Max tried to s of the banshees didn’t stop It went on for hours To prevent theic to cast them away but it was only a temporary solution The Banshees, who had disappeared for a couple of hours, began to reappear and wail so ulfed in anxieties, felt like she was being driven to the point of insanity After half a day of checking on the patients in the infirnore the very audible cries, she lost her patience and sought Ruth

“Ruth… can’t we use ic to cast out those spirits?”

In a shts’ barracks, Ruth, as scribbling so when she interrupted hiic spell to counter the curse casted on Hebaron There was a pile of papers filled with coic formulas written on them Ruth placed aside his work and rubbed the corner of his eyes with an exhausted face

“Are you talking about those Banshees? We can drive the those spirits will onlywails If they cannot be driven out with divine ic, then it is for the best that we just leave them be”

“B-But… Itnervous and nobody knohat to do”

“It will only last a day at h, they will eventually leave Since you’re here, just please help me with this instead”

Ruth replied in his rude, dis similar to that of a flat tray Max took the item on a whim

“W-what… is this?”

“It’s a ates It’s a similar tool that the lady made back in Anatol It won’t be difficult” He turned the finely processed monster bone in his hand and pointed to the part where corave this ic formula around here, and that’s it”

“I-I only copied the formulas on parchments back then… I haven’t done this before”

“It’s not that different fro it on a parchic for for a way to break Sir Nirta’s curse has already drained me”

Ruth reached up to rub the back of his neck with an exhausted face He looked several times more tired than usual, and Max pulled out a chair and sat across fro herself occupied would help calrave the ic formula on the round disk, which she suspecter to be made of a wyvern’s bone However, she couldn’t concentrate with herorries about Riftan and the Banshee’s awful cries resounding everywhere She held thehands then held her forehead in exasperation

“I can’t I’ will change just because you worry about it”