A huge magic circle formed with numerous magic strokes.The magic circle scattered red light dyeing the space with a reddish glint signifying the harbinger of destruction.
A suction force appeared around Heinkel that started to suck the life force of the people around him.
"How can you do this?"
"Noooo!"
"Don't kill me?"
"You bastard."
The black wizards screamed and tried to run away but all of them were locked by an invisible barrier. Helpless, they screamed while trying their best to go out but everything was meaningless.
Their body was sucked dry out of vitality, and all the life essence was moved into the red pillar.
For the first time, an expression of panic appeared on Julian's face.
This was a mistake.
A grave mistake on her part.
She had never expected this maniac to be this ruthless. Not only did the leader sacrifice his people but he also sacrificed his own life.
With the death of black wizards, the ghouls and undead summons were undone and the space before her was cleared of obstruction.
Julian barged her way through the barrier and raised her sword to attack and disrupt the summoning ritual.
She gathered her aura and condensed it over the sword but before she could attack, the magic pillar exploded disrupting her.
A strong shock wave of pure magical energy hit Julian.
Spurting blood,Julian's body flew and crashed onto the ground forming a crater.
"Ughhh!"
A groan escaped from her lips as she felt an intense pain in the back of her head to the point that she thought she was going to faint.
Blood trickled from her forehead and her left arm became numb with pain due to crashing awkwardly.
As she tried to get up on her feet and pull out an elixir, her feet trembled and she coughed more blood.
The attack hit her at a crucial point disrupting her mana flow. She made an effort to force out the foreign mana from her body but it was stronger than she imagined.
Moreover, she suffered a backlash due to the Curse of Frost that froze and blocked her mana vessels.
Intense pain as if her body was ripped apart coursed through her body. Every time the illness flared up, she had to suffer endless pain and stay in a warm heated area for a few days.
For her, it wasn't anything significant as she was already used to this but it came at the worst time.
"I can't go down. I need to kill it before the summon appears otherwise there would be a huge threat."
Julian with great difficulty drank a healing potion with trembling hands but except for healing the wounds, it didn't lessen the pain nor did it get rid of the chill attack.
As Julian got up on her feet, a red aurora filled the sky. A single eye large enough to cover the sky above began to look at the world.
Heavy dark mana filled the atmosphere. A feeling of pressure weighed on Julian. It was only then she realised the darkness of the abyss that was crashing into her.
In the darkness beneath her feet, many eyes that had been silent floated upward. It was then eerie eyes made up of red and black that shifted their attention towards Julian.
Julian's heart froze seeing the eerie scene. Suddenly she felt a sense of emptiness. Her vision turned blurry.
Her emotions died down and for a moment she started to look back at her life.
'Why am I doing this?'
'Why did I come here?'
'Does it matter if I die?'
'Does my existence have any value?'
'Why should I fight for the people who don't mean anything to me?'
'All of them pretend good but if I show a moment of weakness, all of them will stab me in the back?'
'It's laughable that I am fighting for the people who can stab me at any moment.'
'While I am suffering here, all of them should be lazing on their cosy bed?'
Various questions flashed over her mind.
Whispers echoed in her ear asking her to give up. The flow in her eyes dimmed down and it became blank.
"You are right, I should just die. I am just a cursed woman destined to die tragically before 30 so why should I struggle? Is there any meaning to it?"
Julian felt a wrench in her brain and she couldn't think straight anymore. Gradually, her consciousness started to drift apart and sink into darkness.
She felt as if she was drowning in the darkness with no one to see her.
It seems she would die without anyone to grieve for.
Instead of being sad, she felt happy about approaching freedom.
"Finally, I will be free of suffering."
"I will be fr...."
"Shut up."
A shape voice pierced her sense of reason and through the darkness, she showed a bright hand holding her tightly.
A warm golden light flashed and cleared away the darkness.
Julian's vision became blurred and when her eyesight recovered, she saw a man dressed in Vestige armour pinning her down.
"What?"Julian's mind exploded and became blank for a moment, unable to discern the situation.
"Your Highness, you are not alone."
Julian snapped out of her thoughts hearing a choked voice.
She stared at the figure pinning her with a dazed expression.
The face of the man was covered with a shiny helmet but through the eye holes, she could see sharp golden eyes staring at her.
"Lu...Lucas.''
"Even if your life is full of sadness, please don't throw it away like this. There may be thousands of reasons to die but one reason to live is enough to overpower those thousand reasons and bad memories"
"There are many people who care for you genuinely and you will encounter many who will love you truly. So, you will never be alone believe me."
"I swear in the name of Gods."
For a moment an awkward silence prevailed. Except for the sound of two people gasping heavily, all noise ceased to exist.
Julian stared at her wrist held tightly by Lucas's trembling hands as if she was gonna disappear, the moment he let go of her wrist.
Julian's face heated up but she just took a moment to stabilise her thoughts and muttered"I understand so can you get up."
"Yeah!"Lucas immediately stood up and helped Julian to get up on her feet.
"What's going on?"Julian asked with a confused expression.
"Your Highness, you are under the influence of this evil spirit Ajkerbern, one of four Evil Heavenly Spirits under Evil God. On being close to it, your deepest insecurities will resurface that clouds your mind with negative thoughts. Once your mind is controlled, it feeds on your negative emotions and destroys you. It doesn't matter if you are a 9-Star. As long as a person has regrets and insecurities, the person will be influenced unless he had a strong mental strength."Lucas explained hurriedly.
"When I came here, I saw you holding a sharp icy shard that was almost near the throat. If not for this Holy Cross lent to me by the Saintess, I might have also fallen for this."
Lucas didn't want to make a move but the situation was quite bad.
'Princess was unlucky this time, otherwise, she would have frozen everything already. Moreover, her illness flared up at the wrong time.'
Julian blinked in surprise as she couldn't believe that she would fall into such cheap tricks. But as he thought over Lucas's words, she had to accept that she had too much fear hidden under the cold mask and for a moment felt embarrassed that a person had seen through the veil.
Remembering Lucas's words, she was slightly flustered. In fact, she didn't even know how to react to all of this.
Still, she needs to behave and maintain the dignity of a Princess. She can't just throw a tantrum or behave like spoiled children just because the other side sees her embarrassing side.
"By the way, how did you come....aahhhhh?"A scream erupted from her lips before she could finish her sentence.
A cold, piercing aura pierced through Julian that froze her whole body. But regardless of the pain, she tried to stand up.
Her vision again sank into pitch darkness but unlike before she moved forward without hesitation and it was then, a pair of warm hands touched her, conveying the warmth that her body craved.
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