"Xia De, you first."
Worried that the crystals on her body would spread to Xia De, the maid pushed Xia De, but Xia De shook his head:
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
He poured an entire bottle of third holy water onto Tifa. As the liquid flowed down her body, her crystallized form began to return to normal.
But the holy water was evaporating quickly, so Xia De reached out and pulled her into his arms, letting the light from his body completely immerse her.
The two embraced motionless until the earthquake ended half a minute later and the surrounding crystallization stopped before they separated.
The surrounding Darkness grew thicker, and streams of Darkness surged towards the center of the crystallized forest. The ground was abruptly raised a layer due to the crystallization, and all surrounding objects were covered by black crystals.
The oppressive environment was affecting their minds. With the eruption of these dark crystals, Xia De clearly felt his mood becoming somewhat bad.
"Be careful, the demon's power is affecting us, it's Human Pus. Avoid any negative emotions, try your best to avoid any negative emotions."
The maid gently reminded him, her voice very low. With all four talismans broken, she was also close to her limit.
"I understand."
The streams of Darkness continued to flow forward. Following the direction of the flowing Darkness, the two passed through the thick Darkness, traversing crystallized trees in the oppressive silence, shattering the dark crystal boulders blocking their way, and finally broke through the crystallized forest, officially entering the innermost part of the Darkness Domain.
That last attack really could have been the final blow of the decisive battle. Along the way, they encountered many people sealed by dark crystals, even the "Servant of Secrets" and the hidden ones in the Darkness Domain were sealed by crystals. Xia De risked touching one, confirming that the people inside were not dead, but the crystals were extracting power, a method very similar to "Human Pus."
Leaving the crystallized forest, they finally arrived at the large clearing beneath the black giant pillar.
The dark stone pillar was quietly rooted there, as if drawing power from the ground, spreading Darkness to devour the world. Around the clearing beneath the pillar, massive black crystals encapsulated people with astonished faces.
Of these more than twenty crystals, Ring術士 from the Church accounted for two-thirds, while the others were likely helpers brought by the Weepers. From their positions, it seemed they were engaged in an intense battle before the earthquake, and the Orthodox Church clearly had the upper hand.
But now, neither side was moving.
There was a faint light under the tree, but the obstruction and sound absorption of the Darkness prevented Xia De and Tifa from knowing who else was still active.
They carefully moved through the strange black crystals standing like a forest, using the Darkness to conceal themselves, and confirmed that only eight people under the tree were unaffected by the dark crystals.
Three of them belonged to the Orthodox Church: Mr. Sari Pirot, the Thirteen Ring Sorcerer known as "Steel Right Hand" from the Creation Church, a middle-aged Eleven Ring Sorceress with a glowing overlapping leaf holy emblem on her chest, and Iluna.
The girl with brown long hair had a golden light flickering in her right eye. As she moved, this eye, formed by Xia De's last divine power, dragged golden streaks of light through the Darkness, as if golden flames burned in her eye socket.
Among the other five, an Old Professor holding a large bronze book emblazoned with the Zaras Academy emblem stood with the three from the Church; the injured Miss Jialinna stood leaning against a crystal a little further away; a tall, unfamiliar middle-aged man with a Twelve Ring Destiny Ring rotating behind him leaned on a staff, and beside him was another unfamiliar Ten Ring Sorcerer.
Everyone's figures were unusually blurry. If it weren't for Xia De being familiar with Miss Jialinna and Iluna, it would have been really hard to recognize them.
Xia De and Tifa arrived behind Miss Jialinna. The Sorceress glanced to her side and slightly nodded, signaling them not to speak.
As for Darkness, he leaned against the trunk of the giant tree, his left hand gripping a bandaged metal sword hilt. The black blade on the hilt was made of writhing pus, which should be the hilt of the Dark Sword.
And black streams surging from all directions were flowing towards his right hand. The red glove on his right hand was gone, and the Darkness was being swallowed by an open demon's mouth, simultaneously turning his entire body black, making him look increasingly powerful.
But his condition didn't look good either. His entire right leg was covered by black shadows, and there were dark traces all over his body. These traces were how he repaired his body, indicating that if it weren't for the "Darkness" talent, he probably wouldn't even have a corpse left now.
"The ritual, the Chosen One Ritual of 'Darkness' is to devour Darkness, absorb the power from the distant past, and integrate that power with himself, using 'Darkness' and 'History' to piece together the path to the future."
The Sorceress quietly explained the current situation. The sound absorption of Darkness meant that no one except the two nearby could hear her voice.
"Why are you here?"
The Sorceress asked cautiously, but due to the complex situation, Xia De did not explain. His hand touched Miss Jialinna's side from behind, the silver light representing the blessing of "Cynthia's Silver Moon."
"Who are those people over there?"
Xia De, hidden behind the crystal, asked quietly.
"Three Ring術士 from the Church. You should know Steel Right Hand. The Eleven Ring one is from the Natural Church. The youngest girl is the first Chosen One, and she's very powerful. I remember you seemed to have taken her to the Lucky Southern Cross Club? Beside them is Professor Gollis from Zaras School of Spellcraft. The man with the staff is a Vampire, a Twelve Ring. The one beside him might be a Ten Ring Sorcerer from the Blood Spirit School."
Miss Jialinna quickly introduced them, and at the same time, Darkness silently raised the Dark Sword in his left hand.
This sword was a ritual sword used by the priests of the Ancient Evil Spirit "crawling darkness." After Human Pus repaired the blade, it seemed to have gained demonic power. The writhing Darkness made the blade appear curved, but no one would question its power.
"Do you think Mr. Hermons was really led away?"
His scarlet eyes looked at everyone around him. Even if the black crystals just now hadn't sealed the remaining people here, everyone's condition was poor. Darkness's current state was very strange; the towering stone pillar behind him seemed to be giving him power.
Xia De quickly pulled Tifa to hide behind the black crystals. He had a feeling that Darkness's eyes could also see through the surrounding Darkness.
"What exactly do the Weepers know?"
The Old Professor from Zaras School of Spellcraft asked in a deep voice. She was controlling five spheres of flame suspended in an arc above her head.
"You lost."
The demon's mouth devoured the surrounding Darkness, and Darkness breathed heavily, his Destiny Ring behind him also expanding:
"You shouldn't have let me come here. the moment I stand here, I've already won. Why do you think our Blood Spirit School sent people to investigate the Darkness Domain half a year ago?"
He was likely referring to the Vampire Xia De killed in the underground ruins.
"The Weepers knew long ago that the second Chosen One was related to the Darkness Domain? You have more whispering chapters?"
Mr. Sari Pirot, who was blocked by the Twelve Ring Vampire, asked in a deep voice. Although the Vampire still couldn't defeat the Thirteen Ring Sorcerer in this Darkness, being able to block him, that racial ability to transform into a swarm of bats was quite troublesome.
"Not just the Weepers, my companion gave me more information. I am not only the Chosen One, I am also favored by demons!"
Darkness's right hand suddenly moved backward, pressing tightly against the tree trunk. The demon's mouth bit into the giant pillar. Something seemed to be flowing in his arm, and his right hand was gulping something from the giant tree. The golden light spots on Darkness's body grew stronger and stronger; this improvement in strength was simply bizarre.
"God once killed a powerful Ancient Evil Spirit demon here and sealed its corpse, which is why this area formed. But do you know where the demon's corpse is?"
"Is it this pillar? This pillar is the corpse?"
Professor Gollis from Zaras Academy asked. Her opponent was a strange shadow, a product of Darkness's shadow seemingly merging with a shattered "Servant of Secrets," appearing even more terrifying than the Twelve Ring Vampire.
"Yes, this is the key to completing the ritual. That's why Mr. Hermons led the Sunlight Greatsword away early. And all of you, no one will escape! Mr. Hermons arranged everything, and I am the Chosen One, fate favors me!"
He removed his right hand from the tree trunk, then suddenly bent down and plunged it into the ground. Black pus instantly spread, and the ground trembled again. The surrounding airflow became chaotic, and with the wailing of the earth, the ground once again showed signs of spreading crystallization.
This time it was even more terrifying than before. Rustling crystals climbed layer by layer onto the surface of all matter.
Among the eight people who were still active just now, the Eleven Ring Sorcerer from the Natural Church and the Ten Ring Sorcerer beside the Vampire were the first to be sealed by crystals. Then, the Old Professor from Zaras Academy, still struggling with that shadow, was also unfortunately sealed:
"If I had known there was an Ancient Evil Spirit here, I should have let people from Cerces School of Medicine come."
This was her last grumbling remark.
Xia De held Tifa tightly, but even so, both of their feet completely turned into crystals. Fortunately, they were both wearing boots, so they just needed to take them off. This power from the Ancient Evil Spirit crystal demon seemed to be immune only to the light on his body.
Miss Jialinna summoned the Sorceress's Eleventh-Order Golden Staircase, barely resisting the dark crystal state, but she had no energy left to attack. Mr. Sari Pirot, the Thirteen Ring Sorcerer "Steel Right Hand" from the Creation Church, was completely unaffected. Cooperating with the equally unaffected Iluna, he actually managed to grab one of the flying bats from the swarm in the air three seconds after the earthquake, then, with a grip of his Steel Right Hand, restored it to human form.
Mr. Pierrot looked at Darkness:
"Don't you care about your companion's life?"
He choked the Twelve Ring Vampire's neck. The latter tried hard to pry open his hand but could only make gasping sounds from his throat.
"Companion? Didn't all my companions die?"
Darkness laughed, his panting back leaning against the giant pillar behind him, his right palm continuing to absorb the surrounding Darkness. Although it seemed he had used Human Pus combined with the power of the Ancient Evil Spirit to seal all living things in this crystallized forest, as a human, this also put a great burden on him.
Mr. Pierrot also smiled, then casually threw the unconscious Vampire aside. the moment it hit the ground, black crystals immediately appeared on its body surface and enveloped it within a single breath.
"Bei Ya Si, don't interfere, this thing is very dangerous. I'll deal with him. I want to see if the so-called power of the Ancient Evil Spirit is enough for him to deal with a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer like me."
"I am the Chosen One, I have already embarked on the path of destiny. I will not lose."
Darkness's scarlet eyes looked at Mr. Pierrot, appearing as confident as the Thirteen Ring Sorcerer.
Iluna did not disobey the order, gently nodded, and took two steps back. She glanced sideways in Miss Jialinna's direction, and for the moment, her eyes met Xia De's.
