“You cannot rely too much on the darkness box. The disparity between them is too great; the darkness box has already been corrupted by the Darkness Domain. Xia De, look at these marks...”
Tifa pointed to the black stains on the brass gear mechanism box:
“This is the external manifestation of the corruption. Fortunately, as long as the box is not opened, the Darkness Domain’s corrosive effect on it is almost negligible, so we can carry it as a safety measure on the way. But unless absolutely necessary, it’s best not to let it lose control, as this will severely accelerate the corruption.”
“What happens if the darkness box is truly corrupted by the Darkness Domain?”
Xia De asked curiously. Tifa couldn’t answer, but Luvia provided the explanation:
“This would result in a very rare phenomenon: the fusion of relics. When relics of similar function are in close proximity and the power of one is far stronger than the other, the weaker one will be absorbed by the stronger one, just like water merging into the ocean. But this situation is extremely rare, abnormally rare.”
Everyone who was awake looked at her; it was the first time they had heard of such a thing.
“So that’s how it is...”
Xia De considered for a moment:
“Tifa, in that case, you carry it. Unless absolutely necessary, I will not use its out-of-control effect.”
The Ling Rune of Light was meant to kill the demons in the Darkness Domain, but since the Maid was by his side, Xia De didn’t need to eliminate them himself.
“Alright, then do you need to rest a bit more?”
Tifa asked again.
“No need, time is short, we’ll depart immediately.”
Xia De said. He had rested enough while standing behind Riddle watching the card game.
“Luvia, wait here for my good news.”
Xia De said to the female Diviner, shaking the small glass bottle stoppered with a cork. This was the core ritual material for the demon-sealing ritual that Luvia had found. He was indicating that he would be fine.
All he had to do was witness the outcome for the second Chosen One. Only if the Church, the Witches, and other strange Ring術士 organizations all failed, and Darkness not only completed the ritual but also had a chance to escape, would Xia De himself need to act.
But compared to the dozens of other possibilities, this one had the lowest probability, so Xia De wasn’t worried about the rest of this journey. He believed his only task was to observe and then bring back the results.
“I’ll wait for you here… This time, you have to face it alone again. Take this; it’s an alchemical item I made myself, capable of bringing some luck to its owner.”
She took off a silver necklace from her neck. Inside the pendant at the end of the necklace was a photo of her deceased parents. Every time Xia De saw Luvia, she wore this necklace. It was not just an alchemical item, but also her most precious personal jewelry:
“Don’t worry, compared to the doctor, my luck has always been quite good.”
Xia De put away the necklace. Luvia nodded, her eyes seeming to hold a thousand words she wanted to express, but in the end, she only took off the four metal amulets on her body, which already had cracks, and handed them to Tifa. Xia De was mostly unaffected in the Darkness Domain, but Tifa, even as a Hexacle, would certainly be affected by an angel-level relic.
The Maid gripped the string of amulets tightly and nodded:
“I will protect Xia De.”
Tifa made arrangements for who would be in charge after she left the manor, and then, together with Xia De, each carrying a metal box, they left the master bedroom on the third floor.
Sure enough, when the two came to the corridor shrouded in Darkness, Tifa stumbled and almost lost her footing, but because her level was much higher than Luvia’s, and she also had the power of a Witch, she adapted quickly and seemed fine.
As for Xia De, the strange blessing bestowed by Priest Augustus was still in effect. Although this effect couldn't last forever, as long as there wasn't a significant drain on the blessing’s power, the Priest’s blessing was enough for Xia De to travel through the Darkness Domain.
They did not leave the manor directly but headed to the stable on the side of the manor under Tifa’s guidance.
The horses in the stable were all ordinary creatures, and of course, they had all fallen into a deep slumber. Perhaps because their intelligence was lower and their mental and spiritual powers weaker, one horse had even been dissolved by the Darkness, transforming into a strangely shaped one-eyed “Servant of Secrets,” which Tifa then casually dealt with.
The Maid possessed the Ling Rune of Light; however, the last time they encountered a Servant of Secrets at the ophthalmologist’s, neither of them knew that Light could kill this kind of demon, so she hadn’t acted then.
Coming to the stable wasn’t to wake the horses. Tifa asked Xia De for a small knife and cut some mane from a red pony that had collapsed on the ground, and some tail hair from an unusually tall black horse. Finally, she found a rusty horseshoe and some horse bones in the stable.
After drawing a circular ritual base array on the ground with chalk, composed of tadpole-like script, Tifa placed the four items in the four deliberately left square spaces in the center of the dense script.
She cut her finger, dripped a drop of blood into the center of the ritual array, then clasped her hands into fists, bowed her head, closed her eyes, and softly chanted a spell. The Darkness Domain swallowed the light produced by the ritual’s effect, but it could not swallow the skeletal horse that walked out of the rolling black mist.
“Oh~”
Xia De looked at this thing with admiration. It was a pure undead creature, with blue flames in its eyes that were the flames of its soul.
“Let’s go quickly.”
Tifa found a saddle, bit, reins, and other equipment and placed them on the undead horse, then hung the box she was carrying on the side of the horse.
“I thought with this kind of summoned creature, the saddle and other things would be ready when it appeared.”
“Items on an undead are not part of the undead.”
Tifa said, reaching out to stroke the horse’s skull a few times:
“Xia De, can you ride a horse?”
The Maid asked again.
“Of course not.”
Xia De said.
“Alright then, I’ll ride.”
She gracefully swung onto the horse’s back, but because she was wearing a skirt, she sat sideways. She waved to Xia De, signaling him to get on too, but Xia De hesitated:
“Um... how do I get on?”
So Tifa had to pull him up, and then had Xia De wrap his arms around her waist to prevent him from falling off.
“Wait a moment!”
Before Tifa pulled the reins to depart, Xia De reached into his pocket again, first taking out the small bottle containing bright yellow eye drops:
“Remember this? Drop some in your eyes, it can expand your field of vision.”
Then he handed her the youthful immortality leaf, which originally recorded the Miracle - Breath of Years:
“You take this, in case of an unexpected situation.”
“This is...”
The Maid looked at the green leaf in Xia De’s glowing palm, as if it too was stained by the silver Moonlight.
“youth everlasting leaf.”
“What?”
She clearly knew about this relic as well.
“Let’s go quickly. I’m lending it to you for now, just in case something unexpected happens.”
Xia De pushed the leaf into her hand, and Tifa softly hummed in acknowledgment. Once ready, the skeletal horse carried the two out of the stable, galloped along the central axis of the courtyard, out of the manor, and towards the far southeastern suburbs of the City.
This undead horse, summoned by Tifa using the ritual, ran even faster than a normal horse. Although undead creatures themselves would also be dissolved by this silent Darkness, because Xia De, who was on its back, was constantly glowing and dispelling the surrounding Darkness, both the undead and Tifa, when in close proximity to Xia De, had their degree of influence from the Darkness Domain slightly reduced.
Knowing their destination and the terrain, even with extremely poor visibility, the two could choose the shortest path. Passing through deserted villages and dark, empty farmlands, as they gradually approached the core area of the Darkness Domain, the black shadows representing “the past” that roamed around, and the occasional Servant of Secrets that attacked from the Darkness, became increasingly dense.
At first, the two on the skeletal horse could still counterattack with Tifa’s strength, but as the demons’ power grew stronger, they had to open the darkness box, allowing another kind of Darkness to envelop them.
This was very effective; it not only more clearly dispelled the influence of the Darkness Domain but also made the Servants of Secrets act as if they couldn't see them at all.
However, on the darkness box hanging on the side of the skeletal horse, more and more black marks gradually covered its original brass color. And as they moved closer to the central area, the black marks spread even faster.
Clearly, they absolutely could not rely on this relic for safety indefinitely.
If the edge of the Darkness Domain was merely a silent area where Darkness slumbered, then as the two delved deeper, various terrifying illusions, as well as truly existing demons and phantoms of the past, became increasingly dense.
This Darkness could not only dissolve those who slumbered but also bewitch and frighten conscious intruders. And once one's emotions were affected, it wouldn't be long before they too fell into slumber.
Not far from the location marked “Core” in Miss Jialinna’s handwriting on the map, they finally encountered a Ring術士 team from the Church in the Darkness. However, due to the severe obstruction of vision by the Darkness, when Xia De discovered them, they had not noticed the two on the skeletal horse at all.
Xia De relied on the light from his body and the “God’s Gift Box” on his back to dispel the Darkness, while the twelve-person team from the Peace Church relied on a glowing holy emblem. That holy emblem was not a relic, but merely an ordinary divine artifact, yet because the true God, father peace, truly existed, this divine artifact could directly protect the twelve-person team, allowing them to move freely in the Darkness.
Xia De told Tifa about the situation ahead, and both agreed there was no need to meet the Church’s team, so they took a detour. On the subsequent journey, they encountered more and more Church Ring術士.
Just as Xia De had estimated, although the uncontrolled area of the Darkness Domain had expanded, the Church still maintained basic control of the situation. If luck was on his side, he would only need to witness Darkness being captured or killed by the Church, and his final adventure of late summer would truly be over.
