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The curse cast on the armies that tried to subdue the dark forces of the Frozen Kingdom was called the 'Undying Curse of Corruption'.
It was a curse that would slowly corrupt the minds and the bodies of the people or any creature that was affected by it.
Their minds were slowly getting corroded by it until they lost their sanity while also contaminating their bodies with its corrupted powers, slowly turning them into Corrupted Beings.
If not for the guardian dragon that was accompanying them, then Caelum and Nel would have already become mindless beasts just like the others. But despite that being the case, they still couldn't stop corruption in their bodies which still led them to become Corrupted Beings.
Draco and Lycan were somewhat of an exemption since they belonged to the group who were almost reaching the heights of a Divine Being.
Draco, who possessed the blessing of an ancient dragon, was supposed to survive the curse but he chose to sacrifice himself to protect the souls of all of his soldiers, subordinates, and trusted aides, from the corrosion of the corrupted curse and made them suffer worse than death.
He was supposed to use that blessing alongside his guardian dragon and protect everyone for as long as he could up until the Divine Pope sent some reinforcements to rescue them.
Unfortunately, they waited for a very long time to the point that they already lost track of how long exactly they had been waiting
Due to that, Draco and the guardian dragon became too exhausted to the point where they could no longer protect everyone.
As more time passed, Draco started to become affected by the corruption. Lost all hope, they were forced to use their remaining powers to protect the sanity of Draco as well as Caelum and Nel.
On the other hand, as an Enlightened Beast, Lycan possessed the natural powers to reject the corrupted powers of the curse. Especially when he drank the water from the fountain of life as well as gained insight from the tree of wisdom.
Even if he didn't have the powers to protect his lord and his colleagues from the curse, managed to retain his sanity on his own and was able to nullify the corrosion of the curse
Moreover, he also possessed a very strong vitality that help him survive the tribulations that tested him during his stay in this region.
They patiently waited for the salvation sent by their homeland, but due to the seal built by the messenger of the Winter Goddess, no one was able to reach them.
Lycan's mind became weak due to guilt, the guilt of being the sole survivor of their army.
In the meantime, the bodies of Caelum, Nel, and Draco became even more corrupted that they could no longer be considered living being.
For a long time, they lost their purpose of living. Especially when they couldn't even kill themselves due to the curse preventing them from taking their own lives.
At some point, they even doubt their own existence and even questioned their faith. This almost cost them at falling deeper into darkness and accepted the power of corruption.
If not because of the blessing of the ancient dragon protecting them, then they already fell into the temptation of corruption and were unable to return and maintain their final straw of sanity.
After a long wait without any sign of the Divine Empire, Grand Marshal Draco and his two most trusted aides finally gave up on the hope of getting out of this place. Especially with the current states of their body.
All they could do was wait for the promised people who would break the tower wall of ice sealing this place and free all of the poor souls trapped there.
Until then, they have to continue waiting patiently and clung to that sliver of hope.
But they didn't waste their time in this place by staying still. They still experiment on themselves to see if they could find a cure for their current states.
They might have been cursed and almost resigned to their fates but that didn't mean that they couldn't do anything.
Since they have all of the time in the world, then why not spent all of it productively? And that was until they discovered that they could control the corruption within their bodies. They could transform that power into something that they could use during the battle.
Moreover, this particular power of corruption could fuse with their original powers, so it could make them much stronger than they were before. With that power, they could overpower anyone who was below their Tier.
Or, at least, that was supposed to be.
But to Caelum's surprise, the group of youngsters fighting him were not only able to fight him as if that powers were nothing, but they were also able to force him into the corner repeatedly.
The class suppression was one thing, with the classes that Shin, Faker, and Zero had together with their insane speed, Caelum couldn't gain any advantage over them when it came to that area.
He might be fast, much faster than those three, but the trio alongside their solid teamwork was able to fight him without concerning themselves with his speed.
Then, there was also Arthur who could keep up with him and the others despite one being the 'slowest' person in the battle.
Arthur didn't blindly follow after Caelum who was moving at extreme speed just like the other three. Instead, he focused on reading the movements of the others and predicted their paths through his sharp eyes.
Whenever Caelum would find a window to escape the pursuit of those three, Arthur was always going to appear at that moment and prevent the Archer King from escaping, also buying enough time for the others to catch up.
With Arthur's support, the tide of the battle never left the side of their group.
There were also Ara and Alucard who could freely fire their skills at Caelum without worrying about their safety.
With the pressure of the four Godlike Players, Caelum couldn't find the time to think about those two. Dealing with these peak-class players was already troublesome enough that he couldn't bother himself about the two of them.
During this battle, Caelum has to admit that this group of youngsters surpassed his expectation. They were much stronger than they expected them to be.
Wearing the black armor that was continuously emitting the power of corruption and wielding a power contaminated with such power, Caelum looked at these young heroes with eyes that were full of hope.
"Maybe, they can really carry the burden of this world," he muttered to himself as he thought about the prophecy once again.
It said that the world would suffer a calamity much worse compared to the ones that it had experienced throughout its history.
This calamity would not only bring true terror and chaos onto the world, but it would also threaten the Heavenly Principle itself.
It was a calamity that was more chaotic than the Racial Wars from the Warring Era and even more terrifying than the invasion of the Demons from the Repelling Era.
If it was true, then all of the races residing within the Atlas World needed to join forces once again to fight for survival. They needed to work together and fight against this terrifying calamity that was about to come.
Some of the legendary heroes were still present and currently in seclusion. With their help, the residents of this world could feel a little at ease with their protection.
But if prophecy still stated that the world was in danger despite the presence of those legendary heroes, then it could only mean that this particular calamity was not something, that even with the help of those powerful beings, could stop.
This was why they need to find a new ray of hope. And it was supposed to be from the people who did not come from this world.
Being trapped in this region, Caelum, Nel, and even Grand Marshal Draco and Lycan were not aware of the existence of the Otherworldly Individuals (Players). But given their vast experience alongside their knowledge of this world, they could at least tell that Shin and the others were not a resident of this world.
They were curious about it and wanted to know more about them, but after seeing them fight and witnessing their powers, these three great generals understood that they must be from the current era of the world.
Moreover, there was also the fact that most of these young heroes belonged to the Transcendent Race who were the core figures during the Repelling Era, so they could at least trust these people despite them not knowing who exactly they were.
Finally acknowledging the strengths of Shin and the others, Caelum knew that it was time for him to fulfill his real task. And it was to train these young heroes until they became strong enough to challenge the Vampire Primogenitor and break the curse cast upon them.
Caelum looked at Shin and the others with meaningful eyes before drawing more powers from his soul.
"Now, should I start my final dance before lying down on my coffin?"
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