Chapter 984 Against The Warlocks
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As we moved deeper into the pyramid, we managed to catch another six more warlocks. All of them were on the duty of retrieving materials for whatever damn ritual they were doing. But the rest of the dungeon was incredibly empty. There were laboratories here and there, but we couldn't find a single survivor. We only found corpses and no lingering souls. They took them away, all for the Dark Pest. That bastard.
"I can feel him, his presence!" Said Eustace, he seemed unease. "Yin Shang… That monster. He's somewhere around here!"
"So you can feel that horrid stench as well." I sighed. "Well, that Yin Shang is the Dark Pest, right?"
"Yes… He's a bastard from Murim, a Demonic Sect Young Master with incredible power, and a heart blacker than the night. He's merciless, ruthless, and a sadistic monster." Eustace said. "I can't believe these vampires are worshiping him as some kind of god… He's just a monster!"
"He grew stronger by acquiring a fragment of the Evil God, I am impressed he was able to manipulate the power of that fragment despite being a human…" Tyr said.
"People that originate from Murim are not normal humans. They cultivate their bodies, minds, and souls to completely superhuman levels." Eustace said. "They utilize millenary cultivation techniques to imbue the essence of heaven into themselves. The reason why he was able to dominate the fragment must be that… He's a Demonic Cultivator, someone that cultivates Yin Energy the most, Darkness, Evilness, Bloodshed, all of that nourishes him and makes him stronger."
"Yikes, what a guy." I sighed. "We better slay him before he even wakes up then."
"I agree, it would be better if we get him out of our way right away." Lucifer nodded. "Look, we're getting closer to some sort of larger hall… There are many warlocks there!"
"At least a dozen." Jonathan said. "They're circling around… Some sort of black statue?"
"No, that's not a statue!" Nyx said. "I can sense some strong aura from it, something terrifying! I-I think that's the Shing Shong guy Eustace talked about!"
I concentrated my senses towards that direction utilizing my powerful Multi-Layered Mind Domain. And then I had a really good view of everything, which I projected into my Shadow Realm through an Illusion Magic Spell.
What looked like a statue made of black crystal and with some strange red and black liquid inside was in fact, a sealed entity. Several parts of its body were missing, as if they had been cracked down and fell apart.
And from the cracks, I could see pulsating black and red flesh, with veins and blood pouring out of them. Something was alive below that rocky, crystalline skin, and it was slowly beginning to awaken.
The humanoid statue rested in the middle of an incredibly intricate ritual magic circle engraved into the floor.
"Yin Shang…" Eustace muttered. "Or as you know him, the Dark Pest. The bastard that killed me and… killed my beloved Naiad. He's there, and he's slowly being unsealed!"
"I can feel some of Naiad's leftover energy there…" Celes said. "S-So she really used her own body to seal him there, for all these years…"
"Goodness, our Divine Spirit sacrificed so much for us…" Nia was almost on tears.
"Enough, there's no time to cry, Nia." I said, looking into the warlocks. "We need to strike while the iron is hot. That old guy at the end of the hall, above the pedestal, it must be Maleficus. My Analysis quickly told me so."
"Maleficus, their leader?" Nia asked.
"Yes, as long as we can kill him, the ritual should end, and everything will dissipate. Then we can finish off Yin Shang by destroying him without him even being able to fight back. I have a way to deal with those that take upon fragments of the Evil God, so don't worry about that." I said. "The thing is, all those twelve other warlocks, are all S Rank."
"We'll have to get through all of them to get to Maleficus…" Lucifer said. "They do look rather focused. Can't you sneak behind him?"
"I'll try that. But everyone, be prepared. These guys were the ones that trapped us inside a pocket dimension and all, there's nothing saying they don't have another trick." I said. "I'll do what I can to defend you, but once you are out, you need to fight for your lives as well."
Everyone nodded, nobody doubted themselves anymore. It was finally time to end this damned conflict once and for all.
"Then let's go."
With as much speed as I could, I moved towards the hall. I was unable to teleport because of how bright the entire area was due to large spheres of light below the ceiling. There were no shadows in range.
FLASH!
However, I was able to easily slip pass the warlocks focusing on the ritual, and swiftly made my way behind Maleficus, who was constantly reinforcing the ritual circle with his magic.
"Oh, lord of darkness, lord of pests, please bless us with-"
Before he could speak any other word, I appeared right behind him, and my entire party leaped out of my shadows, at the same time as I summoned both of my weapons. The giant halberd and the magic sword and attempted to quickly cut him into pieces.
"YOU?!"
"Hey~"
His face twisted in shock before my two weapons slashed through his body, cutting him into three pieces. Blood and guts splattering everywhere, as an explosion of darkness and phantasmal energy erupted, the entire ritual was interrumpted!
BOOOMM!!
Shadows and phantasmal flames engulfed everything in the hall, the warlocks panicked as they saw the destruction. Their smaller bodies swiftly transforming into all matter of chimeric abominations, overflowing with dark and blood auras.
"Who is it?!"
"They attacked Master Maleficus!"
"Bastards!"
"Kill them!"
"Don't let them stop the ritual!!!"
The dozen S Ranked Warlocks leaped towards us, my party swiftly leaping into action, clashing against all of them at once. At the same time as I felt a presence lurk behind me. A giant claw made of darkness and blood reached my head, crushing it.
CRAAASH!
"You're still alive, huh?"
However, I swiftly reformed several new ones, glaring at the figure surging from within the smoke.
Of course, it was Maleficus.
"What an amusing being you are…"
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