Chapter 2099: Becoming Light
The injured Circle Sorcerer rolled on the ground to relieve the impact, leaves sticking to him with no time to brush them off, clutching his wound as he sidestepped another silver Light Arrow. Without thinking, he turned and dashed urgently towards the distant woodland. Summer, holding a longbow high in the trees, bent his bow again and shot; but the arrow was deftly dodged, and he didn’t bother to give chase:
"I admit, you run fast."
The consumption of Time Stasis was immense, especially for Circle Sorcerers of higher levels than Summer. Therefore, unless he was confident of a sure-kill strike, Summer wouldn’t use this trick on high-level sorcerers. But if it was merely energy-type attacks, then putting them temporarily on hold consumed an acceptable amount of spirit.
The invisible arrows stayed suspended in the air. Normally, the intangible wind was difficult to affect with the sorcery "Move Object," but the completely still wind became solid, and Summer’s spiritual power merely nudged lightly to redirect the arrow’s advance.
Thus, as Miss Matilda and one Nine Rings lady fought against an Eight Rings Sorcerer and gained the upper hand, Miss Belindel at the Eleventh Rank and another Nine Rings lady battled another Ten Rings man but felt the pressure, the invisible Wind Arrow and dazzling silver Light Arrow almost simultaneously shot towards both of them.
The Ten Rings man easily dodged his companion’s invisible arrow, even utilizing the gale effect from the Wind Arrow’s explosion to evade another "Magic - Suppress Good Fortune" from Miss Belindel. But the Eight Rings Sorcerer, while summoning a shield to block Summer’s arrow, was struck on his left arm by Miss Matilda’s "Venom Splash." Subsequently, the Silvermoon Light Arrow penetrated the summoned shield unhindered, creating a through-and-through injury on his right side chest.
The attacks from a Sage-Level Relic aren’t easily guarded against.
"Retreat."
The man, with the Ten-Ring Destiny Ring suspended at his back, immediately made the judgment. Red dangerous light burst from around him like a circular ring, the heat scorching the earth and forcing back Miss Belindel and Miss Maggie Vincent. His form transformed into a glimmer as he supported his heavily wounded companion, and seeing Miss Belindel, Miss Lena Ponset, and Miss Maggie Vincent attempting to stop them, he gritted his teeth, tore off his heavily wounded ally’s arm, and hurled it fiercely towards the lowest-ranked Miss Matilda present:
"Light Spell!"
Like a white light capable of melting everything, it exploded within the night in the woodland like a sun. Two Circle Sorcerers from the Light Worshipper Training Association hurriedly entered the woods and immediately encountered Summer.
"Moonlight Greatsword!"
"Moonlight Greatsword!"
The yellow rune longsword clashed with the yellow rune greatsword, both sides hesitating momentarily before quickly separating.
Just as Miss Belindel merely hesitated before going to rescue Miss Matilda, encountering the enemy head-on, Summer confirmed that the Ten-Ring Sorcerer wasn’t at the end of his strength and allowed them to leave. Likewise, the Ten-Ring Sorcerer supporting his heavily wounded companion had no intention to fight and quickly entered the forest.
The sprawling light continued to expand, with Nine Rings Miss Lena Ponset and Miss Maggie Vincent at a distance from that white light, while Miss Belindel was already inside the light. Seeing Summer intending to enter, the maids hurried to stop him:
"This light will assimilate all living things. You can’t touch it lightly."
Within the dazzling white light, the figures of the ladies were still faintly visible. The Nine Rings maids attempted to suppress the light with incantations like "Dark Magic" and "Light Extinguishing Spell," but with almost no effect. Although Summer knew Miss Belindel wasn’t skilled in combat, he hadn’t anticipated her to be so inept. She appeared precarious within the light, and the "her" at his ear softly whispered:
[Even if it’s your body, rashly touching such light will transform you into light.]
The memory of "Bygone Era" Mr. Benhart’s dying moment surged in Summer’s mind, where last time a woman in a black skirt sacrificed herself atop the tower; this time they sacrificed an arm, yet both called forth such dangerous light. On the previous occasion, the distance was greater; this time, observing this white light up close, Summer was certain it is truly light, but the essence’s near-mad holy feeling and assimilation quality were definitely not ordinary light:
"Luckily, this isn’t the first encounter. After last time, I’ve made preparations."
The card was tossed from his pocket. The "Calamity Card: Shadow of the Deep Sea" spun along the central axis in front of Summer before being tapped on its surface by his flame-adorned finger:
"Dark Magic!"
Darkness stemming from the power of apocalypse calamity surged from the card, effortlessly overwhelming and engulfing all surrounding light. That peculiar white light resisted it, yet succumbed completely in just one to two seconds.
The fading of the light caused the two ladies within it to enter darkness. The power exerted by the Calamity Cards seemed unopposable by anyone except Summer, so Miss Lena Ponset and Miss Maggie Vincent couldn’t see the specific positions of the witch and Head Maid.
Summer could only reach out to hold the ladies as they leaned towards the ground. Once the card returned to Summer’s pocket, the moonlight illuminated the area again. Protected by Miss Belindel, Miss Matilda didn’t seem significantly harmed, though the blond witch was limp within Summer’s embrace.
The maids gathered around, waiting for Summer to help Miss Belindel stand upright. Only then did they realize her right shoulder and right half of her face had become semi-transparent. The clothes at her shoulder were entirely dissolved, revealing transparent skin through which blood vessels, bones, and muscles could be seen.
"Miss, Miss."
Always cold-faced and rarely speaking, Miss Matilda couldn’t help but cry at that moment:
"Why did you..."
"You are my apprentice, how could I not save you?"
She was still conscious, but after saying this, she seemed to have exhausted her strength and closed her eyes again. The normal half of her face was deathly pale, and the speed of her heartbeat was rapidly decreasing.
Shard supported the witch and asked the red-eyed Miss Matilda:
"How did she resist the assimilation effect of that white light just now?"
"It was the Witch’s Secret Arts: Realm of Revelation, which allows the knowledge of all supernatural phenomena within the domain and automatically transforms one’s spirit to resist the effect. This is the top-tier incantation mastered by the lady, a pinnacle creation of the School of Prophecy among ancient witches. After being attacked on the tower last time, she thought this might be useful for protection. She did it all to protect me..."
She wiped her tears and noticed that the translucent areas on the witch’s skin were still expanding outward.
"Can the Dark Magic just now dispel this?"
Miss Lena Ponset hurriedly asked, prompting Shard to take out a card to try again. But the glimmer had already merged into the witch’s body, and even the darkness of the Apocalypse Calamity couldn’t absorb the glimmer attached to the skin. Fortunately, darkness could prevent the expansion of the light-infected area, stopping further deterioration.
As darkness descended, the unconscious witch once again half-opened her eyes:
"[Realm of Revelation] was indeed useful, my divination wasn’t wrong, just my level wasn’t enough."
She looked at Shard and then at her maids, her lips moved slightly:
"I’m fine, probably fine."
The lipstick on her lips was still bright, but her voice was already hoarse:
"This really is trouble, just now it was the Light Worshipper Training Association people again, they are probably also here for the cave and those two things. Let’s leave here first, Matilda, and then you immediately contact others through the council."
After saying this, she looked at Shard, who was supporting her:
"This really is embarrassing now."
Her golden eyes were somewhat dim:
"I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you to stay by my side until others come up with a solution. This darkness really is reassuring."
The Calamity Card: Shadow of the Deep Sea in Shard’s pocket continuously cast "Darkness," but the place where they currently stood wasn’t devoid of light. The faint silver light on Shard’s body was enough to illuminate the witch’s face, which was gradually turning pale, allowing her to see Shard’s appearance up close:
"I was the one who asked you to come out with me, but didn’t expect I’d be the one dragging behind in the end."
Although saying this was somewhat inappropriate, she clearly felt an unusual gentleness and warmth in this embrace. Countess Bella Belindel was definitely not someone with a fragile character, but at this moment, the stirrings in her heart were indescribable.
"Let’s not say such things for now, these are small problems that can be easily resolved. You are really lucky because today happens to be the first day of Thunder Moon... go get the horses, let’s leave here first."
Miss Maggie Vincent immediately went to get the horses. Fortunately, those horses weren’t nearby and, just like the unconscious werewolf, hadn’t been affected by the earlier battle.
They really couldn’t stay here any longer, and Shard wasn’t sure if the three who escaped would return. Although the maids brought five horses, given Miss Belindel’s current state, she couldn’t ride alone. Also, her body state still required Shard’s Dark Magic for suppression, so it was agreed that Shard would ride with her, with Miss Matilda assisting her mistress onto the horse, not forgetting to remind Shard to ride steadily.
It took too long to return to the city, and they only intended to temporarily leave here to find a safe haven. The remote Whisper Hills always had deserted places, but for safety and to erase traces on the road, the five horses ran for fifteen minutes before stopping.
During this time, Miss Belindel always sat sideways in front of Shard, curled up in Shard’s arms without saying a word. Although the maids knew their mistress felt aggrieved, and it was indeed an affront to the Countess, for her safety, they had no choice.
Shard also understood that it wasn’t right for a Pure Witch who had never been in close contact with a man to be in such contact with him. He didn’t want to take advantage, so during the ride, he merely held her waist to help her keep balance, not daring even to look at Miss Belindel’s face.