“Wait... Sister, now is not the time for a fight!” Moen said, feeling a headache coming on as she saw the tense atmosphere between the two.
“Hmph! You’d better be here to help. If I find you have any improper thoughts, the arrows in my hand won't be so forgiving!”
The girl glared at Po Kong, then turned away. With a fluid motion, she nocked an arrow and fired, accurately piercing the head of a human puppet through a gap in the defensive line. Her voice was icy.
“No! I... Little Star, what are you doing?!” Po Kong was speechless and about to explain when Starlight pulled him aside.
“We can talk about problems later. Is this the time for chatting? Instead of wasting time arguing, why don't you go out and cut down more monsters!”
Starlight said as his hands moved like a conductor leading a symphony. Fireballs rained down from the sky, accurately striking the skeleton soldiers surrounding the treants and quickly easing the pressure on the group.
“I wasn't even arguing! ...Anyway, fine. Let me out first. The problem is that guy floating up there, right? I'll go clear out some of those troublesome monsters in front first, okay?” Po Kong shrugged helplessly and turned to Moen.
Moen looked at Starlight with her beautiful blue eyes, her gaze questioning.
Clearly, she didn't know Starlight and Po Kong well enough yet. Although Po Kong had sparred with her sister once, she was still unsure if she should let him out so easily.
Starlight caught the silent question in Moen’s eyes and nodded immediately. “Do as he says. His battle qi is earth-element; those ordinary monsters won't be able to hurt him.”
Having received confirmation, Moen gave a light wave of her hand. At her command, the treants opened a gap once more. Before Po Kong could step through, she cast a green light onto him.
“This is Nature's Blessing. It will significantly increase your strength and recovery speed for a short time. I know you're confident, but please be careful.”
Enveloped in the green light, Po Kong paused for a moment, instinctively stretching his body. He seemed surprised by the steady flow of power surging within him.
This spell’s quality far exceeded his expectations, nearly doubling his strength. No wonder the two of them had been able to hold out against the monster horde for so long.
“Then I'll go clear the way. Follow me when the situation allows!” Po Kong didn't hesitate. With a flash, he rushed out of the treants' protection and dashed toward the bone altar.
With the enhancement of Nature's Blessing, he became a human juggernaut. He didn't even bother dodging the monsters' attacks, letting them land on him as he simply crashed through them.
Instead, the monsters that attacked were sent flying by the immense force he exerted; none could stand against him for even a single exchange.
Once he was sure Po Kong was safe, Starlight turned and asked, “So, Miss Moen... can you tell me exactly what happened here? How did you end up in this place?”
Moen sighed softly and briefly explained their situation.
Their actions were largely as Starlight had deduced. They had originally intended to stay in Violet City for a while and look for a few clan members who had lost contact.
However, being inexperienced, they had spent quite some time in the city without gaining any useful information. It wasn't until the previous night, as they were heading back to their lodgings to rest, that they noticed something unusual in a corner of the city. Three vagrants in a dark alley were suddenly snatched away by something.
Normally, the commotion in that alley wouldn't have attracted any attention in the noisy city, but her sister, being an archer, had sensed the anomaly with her extraordinary senses.
By the time they reached the scene, only a few signs of a struggle remained deep in the alley, along with a trace of nearly undetectable dark elements creeping down into a nearby sewer entrance.
Thinking the clue might be related to the missing people, the two of them entered the Violet City-State’s sewers with the intent of checking it out.
After tracking the trail for a while, they had unknowingly arrived at this terrifying chamber.
At that time, several people in the room seemed to be performing some kind of ritual beneath the altar using the flesh and blood of living beings.
As a mage, Moen had realized the horror of the ritual as soon as she saw the script inscribed around it. If they were allowed to complete it, the result would be an absolute massacre.
Originally, the two had planned to retreat quietly and report the situation to the city officials. However, just as they were leaving, they ran right into a monster emerging from the sewer.
This sudden battle disrupted their plans and alerted the people in the room to the presence of intruders, who immediately launched an all-out attack on them.
They then feigned a retreat, using illusions to draw away some of the black-robed mages and summoning treants to block the entrance. Their true goal was to attempt to destroy the altar, but before they could get close, they were surrounded by an overwhelming tide of monsters.
“So that's it... Wait! Moen, do you know what those ancient scripts mean? If we can decipher them, it might be possible to break this ritual,” Starlight asked immediately, struck by a sudden thought.
“Yes. Although I can only recognize a portion of it, it is indeed an ancient script from before the Age of Gods. There are some records of it in the ancient texts of the elves.”
Moen nodded with certainty. She then pointed toward the text on the altar and read it out haltingly.
“Let me see... it says... living beings... flesh and soul... offered here... endless... Master of... Darkness... God of the night sky... the Great... Taros.”
“Taros? It sounds like a name. Is this ritual meant to summon his soul? ...What's wrong?” Starlight murmured to himself, but when he turned back, he saw Moen looking shocked.
“Taros... if I remember correctly, that was the name of the God of Darkness from the primordial era... a wicked god who controlled darkness and fear!” Moen said in a low voice, her tone filled with deep apprehension.
Hearing her explanation, Starlight’s heart sank.
Although he had never heard of the deeds of any primordial evil gods, Moen clearly wouldn't joke about such a thing in a situation like this.
The term 'god' was now a distant and unfamiliar concept. Since the Age of Gods ended ten thousand years ago, almost everything related to gods seemed to have vanished into the long river of time.
Except for long-lived races like the elves and certain churches, almost no one discussed gods. The name Taros that Moen mentioned was clearly even more ancient and mysterious.
Although neither of them knew the true significance of the name, one thing was certain: anything associated with the word 'god' represented a gap in the very level of existence.
Just like the Saint Rank, which completely transcended ordinary people, the existence of a god was more like being beyond the laws and regulations of the world—an existence that all life could only look up to.
“This altar and magic formation... they couldn't be trying to resurrect this ancient god, could they?” Starlight couldn't help but swallow hard, cold sweat unknowingly soaking his back.
“No... Noah said back then that the power of a god is definitely not that easy to obtain, let alone resurrecting one! And those descriptions of Taros... Could it be the guy from back then!?”
Thinking of this, Starlight suddenly looked up, his gaze locking onto the figure floating at the top of the altar like a torch.
Previously, he had been distracted by the intense battle and the shocking information about the god. Only now did he suddenly realize the truth.
Sure enough, that figure wrapped in black and red was the same strange person wearing the black-and-red patterned robe they had seen at the bottom of the bandit stronghold.
However, his aura had become completely different from back then. If not for the memory of that peculiar clothing, Starlight wouldn't have been certain of his identity.
After connecting these clues, Starlight also vaguely guessed the man's true intention.
Rate on N.U.
