258 May My King Protect Me (1/2)

The dust-covered steel gate suddenly shook. The black aura around it danced, scraping past the musician’s face like a blade, causing sparks to fly.

Before the steel gate, a burly and unfamiliar man raised his hammer. The strange and muscular skeleton enlarged his body. As the strange music played, he expanded to more than three meters tall. The ragged red robe around him showed signs of battle. There was also the Eyes Within the Eye before his heart.

A distorted song came from his chest as if his internal organs were singing. His already-exaggerated muscles bulged once again amidst this song. His hammer swung down but there was no sound!

All the power had been poured into the single nail, forcing it through the thick steel gate bit by bit. The dark cloud around the gate weakened a bit with each inch the nail dug in. There had already been six nails hammered into the gate. This was the last one.

Enchantment-breaking nails. These were alchemy items used for unearthing ancient ruins. By pushing the nails made of alloy into the node of the enchantment, one could disrupt the flow of aether and force an entrance into the enchantment.

”Eziz, hurry up,” said Aloise, the dark lord clad in a red robe behind him. He held an aether ball the size of a fist in his hand.

Silver spots shone on the ball, representing the surrounding aether waves. In the distance, a writhing ball of darkness approached quickly. The darkness changed but no matter how he tried to investigate it, he could not see what was truly under the darkness. An abyss was approaching quickly, choosing prey to swallow.

One must know that even a Round Table knight who had transformed into a dark knight after falling would be revealed on the aether ball. So what demonic thing was this?! To be honest, he did not want to know at all. He just wanted to finish his mission before this thing arrived and then use his powers to escape.

Narrowing his eyes, he recited the god’s name, pushing down the unsettled feeling. He had entered the Disturbance level long ago with Hyakume’s blessing, he still felt unsettled here—after all, Avalon’s Shadow was where the late King Arthur’s scepter was. And why did the Royal Musician Division turn the banquet hall into a fortress? What did they hide inside?

”The door’s almost open. Everyone, be careful,” he ordered quietly.

The six dark musicians behind him emanated with an aura of destruction thick enough to be tangible. The black zone completely immersed with negativity was their paradise. Merely entering here had increased their power, practically allowing them to pass a whole level.

The steel gate vibrated lowly but the darkness around it scattered. The seal had been forced apart by the enchantment-breaking nails!

Pop! There was the sound of a bubble popping. The area surrounded by the seven enchantment-breaking nails shattered abruptly, flowing down as steel sand. A rotting odor thick enough to be liquid spewed out from behind the door!

At the very front, Eziz’s expression changed abruptly. He squatted and rolled, barely missing the attack. The gray air instantly moved through the hallway and disappeared. Eziz climbed up from the corner with difficulty. Seeing the grayness crawl up his skin, he quickly grabbed a bottle of medicine from his waist and poured it onto himself.

Sizzle! After the sounds of corrosion, the rusting scent disappeared but the muscular arm and half a chest had been corroded to the bone. Eziz’s face twisted. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his ragged red robe tightly, covering the bones that made up his body. He had been lucky and dodged the attack, but his companions were not as lucky.

Lord Aloise had been swallowed completely. Gray mist snaked around his entire body as if Avalon’s fog was wrapped around him, eating away his body bit by bit. His body changed dramatically under the grayness.

He transformed into a large werewolf instantly. After the werewolf was corroded by the grayness, the wolf quickly caved in and shriveled into a short and ugly dwarf. When the dwarf was corroded, he changed again, this time into something half-eagle and half-man.

This transformation survived longer but still could not fight the grayness off. Having already lost two bodies, he took off a bell from his waist with difficulty and shook strongly.

And so the sharp cry of an eagle sounded out of thin air. The apparition of a man with an eagle’s head and two wings appeared behind him. It waved, dissipating the rusting odor, murmured something, and disappeared.

Aloise knelt onto the ground and fervently recited a scripture. He did not look back until his god’s physical incarnation had been sent away. Of the six dark musicians behind him, only three and a half were still alive.

Two had been completely turned to stone after being shrouded in the gray mist. One had abandoned his body. In his last moment, his head had been yanked out of his neck, along with half a spine, with feet sprouting out like a centipede. Now he wandered aimlessly, still in shock.

”Let’s not waste any more time. We must grasp the timing.” Aloise coughed hoarsely and held his aether ball. He crossed the crack after confirming that there were no more dangers inside.

The gentle light fell onto his face. His wizened face was covered in wounds and blood seeped out; it was a mournful sight. But when he saw the inside of the banquet hall, deep fear appeared on that face involuntarily. Who were the true dark musicians who worshipped Satan?