Chapter 345 God Descent Ritual
"You may come in."
Jia Na, who was still waiting outside the Elk Tavern, immediately flew into the second floor of the tavern upon hearing Grace-Eva's telepathic message, arriving at the door of Ilianna's room.
"The pregnant woman you mentioned has gone missing."
Upon hearing Grace-Eva's words, Jia Na's heart was startled, and she immediately looked inside the room.
As it was already evening, the sky had darkened. Thus, the pristine white bedsheets on the bed appeared exceptionally striking under the moonlight.
"It's Blood Fang—"
On the bed, at this moment, only Blood Fang lay quietly, his eyes tightly shut.
However, judging by Blood Fang's ashen face and his stopped breathing, Jia Na knew that he must have died.
"His death was due to his soul being taken."
Hearing this, Jia Na felt an inexpressible sadness within her heart.
"I apologize, Professor Grace, I failed to keep an eye on her—
"This has nothing to do with you—no one could have done better than you."
From Grace-Eva's expression just now, and Ilianna's sudden disappearance, Jia Na deeply realized that the Qimeng Butterfly's divination result was indeed correct.
The unborn infant in Ilianna's womb indeed harbored a great danger—and this danger was directly related to the Dark Sun Church.
However, as Jia Na looked at Grace-Eva's solemn expression, some terrifying conjectures continuously surfaced in her mind.
"Professor Grace, the child in Ilianna's womb—"
"Is the breeding ground for the Dark Sun Church's God Descent Ritual."
Upon hearing Grace-Eva's affirmative reply, Jia Na's eyes couldn't help but well up with profound fear.
If not for the Qimeng Butterfly's divination and her spiritual alertness, Jia Na would have almost directly faced the dark sun.
For a witch like Jia Na, who possessed only the strength of a Third-level Wizard Apprentice, directly facing the dark sun was equivalent to directly facing a God. With just one glance, her soul, like Blood Fang's, would likely fall into perdition, her soul fire extinguished.
"Professor, if I hadn't intervened to heal Ilianna this time, would I have been able to stop the God Descent Ritual—"
"And also prevent Mr. Blood Fang's death?"
"No."
Listening to Jia Na's slightly dejected voice, Grace-Eva merely glanced at her out of the corner of her eye before calmly stating:
"If you hadn't treated that pregnant woman named Ilianna, it would have led to the premature death of the mother, which would in turn have triggered the Dark Sun Church's God Descent Ritual prematurely—"
"And although the premature activation of the ritual would weaken the God Descender's power to some extent, it would also lead to more deaths in Duling City and catch us off guard—"
At this point, Grace-Eva, who was always known for her strictness, gently placed her hand on Jia Na's shoulder.
"But thankfully, you discovered this matter in advance, allowing us to contain the adverse effects of this incident to the greatest extent possible."
With that, Grace-Eva withdrew her hand from Jia Na's shoulder, and the expression on her face once again became hidden in the darkness.
"Jia Na, return to the Academy immediately and detonate the mandatory recall rune, instructing all White Coral Apprentices outside to return to the Academy at once."
"Understood—will you be returning to the Academy today, Professor?"
"Of course, I will return, but before that, I need to make a trip to Black Bone Forest—"
Bang! The originally tranquil night was shattered by a burst of blue-white fireworks, breaking the stillness.
As the fireworks bloomed, all the White Coral Apprentices who were still on missions outside received the Academy's mandatory recall signal from their Mist Branches.
"What's going on?"
At this moment, Idris, who was carrying out a plague treatment mission in Duling City, looked at the blue-white fireworks blooming in the sky, and a hint of confusion emerged in his eyes.
"It's actually the Academy's mandatory recall rune. Could it be that some emergency has occurred?"
Idris, a necromancy apprentice who took Medical Science courses with Jia Na, felt a deep unease, like a surging tide, constantly spreading within him the moment he saw the blue-white fireworks, in addition to his confusion.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the Mist Forest, Ilianna, who was nearly due, was at this moment like a madwoman, constantly muttering something as she fled quickly.
"Don't kill my child... don't kill my child..." Bang! As the second blue-white firework bloomed in the sky, its daylight-like brightness caused the distraught Ilianna to freeze in place.
"It's fireworks—"
The summer rain fell intermittently, especially the night rain in the Mist Forest, which always enveloped the entire forest unexpectedly.
And at this moment, Ilianna, standing stunned in the rain due to the sound of the fireworks, her face already soaked by the rain, and even the continuous murmuring by her ears, seemed to be diluted by the rain, allowing Ilianna's consciousness to gradually regain clarity.
"Lucas—Lucas is dead—"
Her trembling hands gently covered her face, feeling the wetness beneath her eyes. For a moment, Ilianna couldn't distinguish whether it was rainwater or her own tears.
"I killed Lucas—"
As her memories became clearer, Ilianna, recalling all the details, knelt directly beneath a nearby tree, her body beginning to tremble uncontrollably.
"Woohoo—"
The rain in the Mist Forest grew heavier, and Ilianna's mournful cries seemed so insignificant in this downpour. "Caw—caw—"
The next day, early morning.
Just as dawn broke, thousands of black ravens flew out from above White Coral Academy, soaring in unison towards Duling City.
"Urgent notice! Everyone in the South District, pack your belongings immediately and head to White Coral Academy for refuge!"
The ravens' raucous cries, like a clap of thunder in the morning, echoed throughout the entire South District of Duling City.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
The residents, who had just woken up, felt panic when they first heard the ravens' continuous announcements, but soon, they began to act in an orderly manner according to the ravens' instructions.
After all, as a Wizard Gathering Place constantly plagued by various Shadow Creatures, every resident of Duling possessed an exceptionally keen sense of crisis.
For instance, the ravens' temporary announcements of danger, requiring a large-scale migration of Duling City residents to the Wizard Academy for refuge, had not been unprecedented.
Therefore, for their own safety, after a brief moment of panic, the residents of Duling City's South District quickly packed their luggage and rushed to the nearest White Coral Academy.
