Chapter 254: Chapter 237: Blade of Decay
They had prepared the Soul Shackles grand formation, three Tier Two Cursed Witchcraft Tools, and...
A composite poison known as Rotting Soul Poisonous Miasma, specifically designed for targets with high magic resistance.
"Two left." Ian glanced toward the passage on the left.
Almost simultaneously, Gaga leaped from the shadows, two still-bleeding heads clamped in its beak.
"Taken care of!"
The black Raven dropped the heads on the ground and, with a gentle shake of its wings, flicked off the dark green poison clinging to its feathers.
"Those two tried to ambush me with Poisonous Fog, but I dragged them into the shadows and tore them to shreds."
Ian nodded and quickly cleared the battlefield.
Three relatively intact corpses, two pools of mangled flesh, and the two Gaga had dealt with.
The Blade of Decay’s third squad, completely wiped out.
The spoils included five Dimension Rings containing an assortment of Magic Stones, materials, and Potions.
There were also three Tier Two Cursed Witchcraft Tools: the Wailing Skull, the Bone-Rotting Short Blade, and the Gloves of the Touch of Death.
And finally, twenty-three Bone Fragments engraved with Withering Runes, which were likely some kind of token or consumable.
Ian put everything away. His gaze fell to the ground, where the Gravity Singularity was still slowly spinning.
He clenched his fist.
The black hole silently dissipated, leaving behind a pit half a meter in diameter, its edges as smooth as a mirror.
"Let’s go," Ian said, turning around.
"We caused quite a stir. It’ll attract others soon."
"What about those three from Shadow Moon?" Gaga asked.
"They’re still back there, watching."
Without turning his head, Ian said, "Let them watch."
Fifty meters away, in the shadows of another forked path.
Leonard, Brude, and Doria held their breath, their faces as pale as a sheet.
They had witnessed the entire battle.
If you could even call it a "battle."
From the first pale purple beam that pierced the burly man to Mars fleeing with a severed leg, then Ian appearing overhead, the storm of Crystal Cones sweeping the area, and finally, that bizarre golden thread delivering the final blow...
The entire process took less than twenty seconds.
Five members of the Blade of Decay, all wiped out.
And Ian... had barely even moved.
"I-Is he really just Level One?"
Doria’s voice trembled. She gripped Brude’s arm so tightly her nails nearly dug into his flesh.
Brude didn’t answer.
The burly man was leaning against the wall, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.
He recalled how he had considered teaming up with the others to "deal with" Ian, a potential rival.
’Now, I just want to slap myself.’ he thought.
’Deal with him? With what?’
’A monster who can create black holes on a whim, rays that can snipe targets from a hundred meters away, a bizarre Domain that can even cause Erosion to Level Two Witchcraft Tools...’
’What the fuck kind of Level One Wizard has abilities like that?!’
"We..." Leonard took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"We leave now. Take another path. We avoid him, and we don’t start a fight. Got it?"
The other two nodded desperately.
"Also," Leonard added, his voice hoarse.
"When we get back, tell every surviving teammate... Wizard Marcus is the one person in these ruins you absolutely must not provoke. If anyone has a death wish, they can go right ahead, but they’re not dragging us down with them."
The three of them quietly retreated, melting into the shadows and disappearing from sight.
「Deep within the passage.」
Ian stopped and looked ahead.
There was a door.
It was a twisted archway pieced together from pale bones and dark blue crystals. The door within was shut tight, its surface covered in patterns resembling dried bloodstains.
A faint, unsettling Abyssal Aura seeped from the crack under the door.
"The entrance to the second level," Ian said in a low voice.
Gaga landed on his shoulder, its small eyes fixed on the door, its feathers slightly ruffled.
"Ian... I have a feeling there’s something terrifying behind that door."
"I know," Ian said calmly.
He reached out and placed his hand on the door.
An icy sensation spread from his palm, mixed with whispers of death and madness that tried to invade his mind.
His Spirit Devourer trait activated on its own, Devouring and Purifying the discordant whispers.
"The people of the Deep Red Royal Court, the Withered Council, and everyone else who wants to kill me..."
Ian pushed the great door open.
Behind the door was an unfathomable darkness and a pale staircase spiraling upward.
"I’ll be waiting for you down below."
He stepped inside, his figure swallowed by the darkness.
Gaga followed close behind.
The great door slowly swung shut behind them, sealing the passage in dead silence once more.
Only the scars of battle on the ground and the lingering echoes of Energy in the air remained as proof of what had just transpired.
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