Retracting her hand from the still-sleeping green-haired girl, the priestess quickly considered her options.
If it was merely a depletion of magic, she had many ways to replenish it.
However, Theresa’s body was like a sieve, no matter how much she poured in, it would all leak out. Replenishing magic was only treating the symptoms, not the root cause.
In fact, Theresa herself wasn’t the problem. The reason she couldn’t stop the loss of magic in her body was partly because she was already asleep, reducing her control over her body, and more importantly, the pervasive absorption force around her was too strong.
Unless her room could be completely isolated from the outside world, or the cause of this situation could be found.
The first method... was rather troublesome and wouldn’t solve the problem at its root, but it could serve as an emergency measure.
At this point, Violet realized why the magic concentration in the air had suddenly become so high.
It was likely because the magic that originally resided in various organisms was being extracted by this force and accumulated in the air without dispersing. Given Theresa alone couldn’t cause such a level of magic depletion, the others...
After confirming that Theresa wasn’t in immediate danger, Violet didn’t hurry to wake her up or set up a barrier. Instead, she left her room, closed the door, and continued onward.
The priestess checked each room one by one. Leila, Rene, Edwina, and Esther of the Moon Shadow Clan, all of whom possessed at least legendary-level strength, were all forcibly deprived of all their magic and lay in a semi-comatose state, sleeping in their rooms.
Even those at the legendary level, the pinnacle of mortal strength, couldn’t resist it...
When Violet reached the first-floor living room, she saw several members of the Spirit Puppet Tribe who had been left to guard and be on standby, sprawled on the floor, unconscious with their eyes closed.
Spirit Puppets are bionic puppets powered by magic. In an environment where magic is forcibly extracted, their state would be even worse than that of ordinary creatures. It’s likely that not even Eilush’s emergency response mode for the mind core could activate.
Although it was unclear when exactly this situation began, it seemed to have happened quite suddenly.
The positions where these Spirit Puppet girls collapsed were very close to each other, suggesting that within a brief moment of realization or within a few seconds of sensing something wrong, they almost simultaneously lost their ability to move.
“........”
Violet crouched down and checked their condition, confirming that, as she had guessed, it was similar to suddenly unplugging an electronic device and shutting it down abruptly. There were no inherent issues with them, so she quickly stood up again.
To be honest, the priestess herself hadn’t felt any magic being drawn from her. This was most likely because the unknown force was directly resisted by her personal artifact—the 【Feather Robe Graria】. Therefore, it wasn’t until the magic concentration in the air reached an extremely abnormal level that Violet was startled awake.
She had no idea how far this anomalous area extended, but with the magic levels off the charts and no sign of Ini, Eilush, or any other Spirit Puppets coming to investigate, their condition was likely not good either.
Spirit Puppets don’t need to rest like ordinary creatures. The lack of any activity likely meant they had also entered a shutdown state like the ones here.
Did an enemy invade under the cover of night, using some sort of barrier to enshroud the Spirit Puppet Forest? But what kind of barrier could silently affect even legendary-level beings?
Wait.
Violet suddenly realized an important issue.
Just now, she hadn’t found that young Moon Shadow royal, Novia Moon Shadow, who Tiyelu called the source of magic?!
Normally, Esther, as her caretaker, should be inseparable from this little wolf cub, always keeping her close. At night, she would definitely have her nearby, in a basket lined with soft bedding or directly coiled around her in her true form for protection.
But earlier, in Esther’s room, where she lay unconscious from magic depletion, Violet had indeed seen a baby basket, yet she hadn’t sensed Novia’s presence in it.
However, because she was in a hurry to check everyone’s status, Violet had only glanced in from the doorway before quickly moving on. Moreover, the little wolf cub, who spent most of the day sleeping, had such a low presence that the priestess hadn’t noticed immediately.
Is the enemy’s target to abduct Novia Moon Shadow? But how would they know our exact location...?
No, no, it can’t be that simple.
Now wasn’t the time to hold back. Violet directly expanded her spiritual perception, a soul net like ocean waves instantly covering the entire Spirit Puppet Forest. Then, the girl’s delicate eyebrows twitched intensely, reflecting her inner shock.
She raised her hand.
“Contract Summon: Xiao Guang!”
A resplendent golden magic circle lit up instantly, and the dragon girl with a large tail appeared out of thin air, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
Having been awakened from her rest, the little dragon girl was about to say something, but the next moment, her brilliant golden pupils contracted slightly.
Her sharp dragon eyes quickly scanned the surroundings and the fallen Spirit Puppet girls nearby, then returned to the priestess beside her.
“Master, is there an enemy attack?”
Just having retracted her spiritual perception and seemingly seeing something unbelievable, Violet shook her head.
“No... it’s hard to say right now. I need to go out for a bit, Xiao Guang. I’ll leave things here to you for the time being.”
It seemed that the pervasive magic extraction in the air had limited effect on the Iv100 Holy Crystal Dragon. This allowed Violet to confidently leave Xiao Guang to guard this place, just in case.
With the powerful perception of the dragon lineage, the little dragon girl quickly understood the situation around her. Her body trembled lightly, and her dragon wings and horns naturally emerged, transforming into her accustomed half-dragon form. She nodded casually.
“Got it. I’ll maintain vigilance here. If Master encounters a strong enemy, please summon me immediately.”
“Ok, got it. I’ll be back soon.”
After a brief explanation, Violet left the temporary lodging alone. Instead of spreading her white wings to fly through the night sky, she moved swiftly along the forest path, propelled by her legs.
The influence of the magic extraction continued to deepen. The entire forest seemed to fall into a silent stillness, as if engulfed in deathly quietness. Even the sounds of insects were completely subdued in such a heavy and oppressive environment.
The shadows of the trees cast eerie reflections under the unusually bright moonlight, creating a surreal and unsettling atmosphere in the excessively quiet forest, resembling a realm of shadows and ghosts, instilling a sense of fear.
However, Violet did not feel afraid. Although she appeared to be just a young girl of fifteen or sixteen, her confidence stemmed from her strong mental resilience as a member of the divine race, her own power, and her advanced understanding of the situation through her initial scan with SP. Compared to these, the memories and experiences brought by her traversal were secondary.
The place she was heading to wasn’t far. With Violet’s agility, even without running at full speed, she arrived at her destination in just three or four minutes.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
It was a small lake.
The only lake in the Spirit Puppet Forest, serving as the primary water source for the Spirit Puppets in various aspects of their daily lives. Although not large, it was clean and clear, its source being mountain springs flowing down from distant peaks.
The rippling surface of the lake shimmered under the silver light of the Moon.
At the lakeside, there was a girl.