Chapter 393 - 175: Slaughter Finale
"Find anything?" Clelia reached out as well, wanting to touch the Pyramid’s surface.
"Don’t touch it!" Wei’en pulled his hand back and grabbed hers, stopping her. His tone was serious. "This isn’t something you should be touching!"
Clelia blinked, looking at his hand holding hers. "Well, then I guess my hand is stuck touching yours."
Wei’en shot her an exasperated look. "If you don’t want to enter that murderous dreamscape, then you’d better not touch this thing."
"Oh? Are you saying the dream that appears at sea after nightfall is because of this?"
"It’s very likely!"
Wei’en nodded, pulling her along as he circled the Pyramid. Other than the strange runic patterns on each tier, he found no entrance. His spiritual perception couldn’t sense what was inside, either.
’Can I not get in?’
’Or is it completely solid inside?’
Before he could ponder it further, the runic patterns all over the Pyramid’s body lit up. Multicolored lights stretched upward, converging at the apex.
Seeing the change in the Pyramid, Wei’en’s brows furrowed. He immediately cast a Blink Spell, taking Clelia with him to get away.
’When things get this strange, it’s better to be cautious.’
"I remember now! I know what it is!"
Just then, Clelia suddenly cried out. She stared at the Pyramid with wide, bright eyes, as if she had seen something that astonished her.
"What?"
"Don’t ask yet! Look around and see if there are other similar things!"
"There are!" Wei’en knew what she was asking and nodded firmly. "Including this one, there are a total of five places on this island that my senses can’t penetrate."
"Just as I thought," Clelia took a deep breath, her tone heavy. "This is a type of ancient Alchemy Array!"
"Alchemy?"
Wei’en was taken aback. ’Alchemy?’
That wasn’t part of the knowledge system he had studied. He had only encountered the alchemical branch within the study of Magic Potions, but those were just simple methods for processing potion ingredients, nothing as miraculous as the Pyramid before him.
"That’s right," Clelia nodded. "It’s an ancient Alchemy Array that only existed before the Third Era!"
"Before?" Wei’en looked at her, surprised. "The Second Era?"
"I’m not sure about the specific period. I only know its effect: through some mysterious entity, it sacrifices an object at its center to create a new one!"
"What kind of object?"
Clelia shook her head, her expression grave. "The Era Relics I’ve read about didn’t offer detailed explanations, but it’s definitely nothing simple. Judging by the height of these five Pyramids, the Origin Power stored inside is at least on par with Director Level, maybe even Regent Level..."
"The final creation would be comparable to the Hand of the Kingdom at the very least—I suggest we leave this island right now, or we might face something truly terrifying!"
Wei’en agreed without a second thought. "Let’s go!"
His purpose for coming to the island had been achieved. He had found the murderer of the Keman people, killed a strange Extraordinary who wielded the Origin of Slaughter, and even confirmed the nature of the totem power that collected killing intent...
"Nico, Ruke."
He didn’t hesitate, appearing near Velen and the others with Clelia in tow. Before they could say anything, he stored the iron barrels filled with fuel directly into his Space Ring.
"Velen, get them back to the Ronan, now!"
"Captain!?"
"Follow orders! If you’re late, you can just wait here to die!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Hearing his command, Velen didn’t have time to worry about the disappearing barrels and hurriedly led his pirates toward the harbor.
Wei’en then took Clelia and returned to the Ronan ahead of the others. He shouted to Ronan, who was still in a daze, "Quick, Ronan, weigh anchor and set sail!"
Judging by the startup time for the Ronan’s steam engine, he would need at least a minute.
"Captain, what’s happening?"
"Hmm?"
Ronan saw his expression and felt a jolt. Not waiting for an answer, he ducked back into the cockpit and started working the levers and buttons on the console to start the steam engine.
Meanwhile, Wei’en and Clelia worked together to weigh the anchor and untie the ropes.
The people on the other ships nearby saw the pirates of the Ronan in a desperate hurry, and were thoroughly bewildered.
’What’s going on?’
’Did the crew of the Black Pearl make it to Dakman Island?’
"What’s up with them?"
"No idea... Velen, what’s happening?"
"Get lost! Don’t get in my way!"
’You’re asking me? I’d like to know what’s going on, too!’
Velen and his pirates ran back to the Ronan, panting for breath. Just as he was about to ask what was happening, he felt a series of violent tremors from beneath them, as if an earthquake was happening under the sea.
Clelia stumbled and muttered a curse, "Damn it, we’re running out of time!"
Wei’en’s expression was ice-cold. He shouted toward the cockpit, "Ronan, how much longer until it’s started?!"
"Twenty seconds!"
Ronan roared back with difficulty. The cockpit had also been hit by the impact, and several cracks appeared on a few pipes, causing his expression to change drastically.
’Twenty seconds?’
’I hope that’s enough time!’
"What is that?!"
"My god, quick, look at the island."
’Hm?’
Wei’en blinked to the crow’s nest, his spiritual perception blanketing the entire Dakman Island.
He saw that the five places he couldn’t perceive before had been fully revealed. With the church in the island’s interior as the center, there was a silvery-white Pyramid in each of the four cardinal directions.
At this moment, the four Pyramids shimmered with flowing light. A massive, seven-colored sphere of light had already condensed at the apex of each. The intense energy fluctuations caused the Pyramids to tremble continuously, as if on the same frequency, causing the entire Dakman Island to shake along with them.
And aside from the bandaged monster Wei’en had killed, there was another bandaged monster next to each of the other three Pyramids. They stood with their long, thin arms outstretched, facing the Pyramids and letting out a cacophony of hisses.
"...Overture of Slaughter, Fantasia of Slaughter, Finale of Slaughter..."
"Despair, darkness, death—slaughter!"
"I beseech my Lord, bless the Illusion World, and let it fall forever into reality!"
"Falsehood, illusion, reality..."
As they chanted, the seven-colored spheres of light at the tops of the four Pyramids shot brilliant beams of light toward the central church, converging above it.
Only then did Wei’en notice that the bodies piled inside the church had vanished at some point, leaving only a deep, dark pit in the ground.
"Ronan, how long are you going to take?!"
"It’s started!"
The man with the triangular eyes had also noticed the pillars of light on Dakman Island, and a fine layer of sweat broke out on his forehead. Once the steam engine was fully started, he slammed the throttle lever, controlling the ship as it slowly backed out of the harbor.
The other ships around them, sensing that something was wrong, also began to weigh anchor and set sail, all while cursing the bastards on the Ronan.
"Damn it, that Red-haired Captain must be behind this!"
"Who else could it be? No wonder Velen and his crew were running faster than an Abyss Demon. They must have stirred up trouble!"
"Shut up and pull up the anchor, or you won’t even know what killed you!"
"..."
Wei’en ignored the furious pirates around them. His attention remained fixed on Dakman Island, his eyes gleaming brightly, reflecting the seven-colored pillars of light.
’An Alchemy Array from before the Third Era...’
’Knowledge of Alchemy?’
That was an explicitly forbidden topic recorded in the Wizard’s code—it was absolutely forbidden to seek knowledge from before the Third Era.
’Hm?’
[You are within the range of an Alchemy Array! | Evaluation: So there’s more... | Special Reward: Survival Points +200, Spirit Level +10, Resilience Level +10.]
"Clelia, take them back to the cabins first!"
"What about you?" Clelia had just finished arranging her Queen’s Guard when she heard Wei’en’s order. Seeing his serious expression, she couldn’t help but ask, "Why don’t we just return to the theater now? Forget about them!"
"Just do as I say!"
Wei’en’s face was calm. Even though the Steamship had started moving, he already knew it was too late!
"An Alchemy Array... I want to see what exactly it creates!"