Chapter 12: Awakening (Part 1)

"You've been planning this from the beginning..." Master Aiden's face, visible outside his mask, had turned completely pale.

"Same to you. Everyone's been thinking about how to take each other's life from the start. It's just that your schemes aren't as clever, and your methods aren't as ruthless as mine." The necromancer with the golden skull mask leisurely toyed with a rigid lark, which he had just pulled from his robes. He looked at Master Aiden and said slowly, "As for you, I didn't expect that after all these years, the title of Tower Master hasn't dulled your instincts. Quite rare... What's even rarer is that, as a necromancer, you're still using scrolls to assist your attacks. I have to admit, on this, I'm not as good as you..."

The lark in his hand remained motionless, looking like a specimen, but Aiden knew that if the necromancer wanted, it could instantly become a deadly weapon, just like the sparrow that had dispersed his Thunderclap Bomb earlier and the attacking birds from behind. He couldn't fathom how the necromancer had so many of these strange weapons at hand, and he had to admit that these were indeed the most effective tools for utilizing corpse magic.

From the very beginning, even earlier than when they first met, the necromancer had intended to ambush them. The three sparrows had already been waiting in the distant corners out of their sight, long before Aiden's team even noticed the necromancer. What Aiden had thought was an opportune moment to strike had, in fact, been the perfect opportunity the necromancer had been waiting for.

"So, what's the plan now? Do you want to try again?" The golden skull mask necromancer was in no rush to attack. At this point, he had the upper hand.

Although the necromancer who had lost an entire arm was still standing, the cold sweat dripping from his head made it clear that he was almost out of combat ability. Both he and Aiden were not skilled in white magic, and his wound was only temporarily sealed using water magic.

Master Aiden groaned softly: "I just didn't expect, with your status and power, that you would think of ambushing us from the start."

"Of course. What, do you think people with status should fight with grace? Unfortunately, I'm not one for grace. Did you forget that?" The necromancer spat. "I didn't want to kill everyone. I've disliked this fat guy for twenty years, ever since he dared to compete with me for women. I didn't expect to kill him only now, two decades later, when I had nearly forgotten. Strange, isn't it? With him gone, the air in Dehya Valley will be much fresher. As for you two... I never really wanted to kill you, but once I've started, I'll go all out. If you're still alive, it's just your luck and strength. Now, leave."

However, just as Aiden and the other necromancer began collecting the remains of Nopolinot and had just pulled out their teleportation scroll, the golden skull mask necromancer suddenly called out: "Wait."

Aiden and the other necromancer froze and looked at the golden skull mask.

"I almost forgot to ask this... How did you two come to decide to kill the two down there?" The necromancer asked slowly, his gaze piercing. "I don't believe anyone can order you, but I also believe this wasn't your own idea. Give me an answer."

"Sorry. This is an internal matter of the guild. Even if I wanted to answer, you know I can't." Aiden replied coldly.

The necromancer's eyes beneath the golden skull mask flashed with a cold light, but then they dimmed again. "Right. I'm no longer part of the guild. According to the rules, you can't leak guild secrets to me. So… I'll ask you a simple question. You just need to answer yes or no. Are you here because of that new cardinal, Jarvis?"

Aiden paused for a moment and then nodded. "Yes."

"Good. I told him not to cause trouble." The necromancer with the golden skull mask sneered.

"By the way, let me give you some information." Aiden seemed to recall something and said, "Although I can't be too clear, I can tell you that this guy is closely connected with the current acting guild leader. Maybe this is also his doing."

"Acting guild leader? Who? I know Shante isn't interested… Is it someone who came after I left with Agrenel?" The necromancer under the golden skull mask looked surprised, then seemed to ponder for a moment, suddenly sitting up straight and closing his eyes.

This action stunned Aiden and the other necromancer, but soon, the necromancer under the golden skull mask opened his eyes again, and the light in them grew brighter. He raised his hand and waved it through the air, shouting coldly: "All come here!"

As his gesture made, four shadows appeared from four directions below and flew toward him. In the blink of an eye, they landed on the back of the large sculpture. Two crows and two owls appeared, staring blankly with their lifeless eyes.

Seeing these four creatures, the one most affected was Master Aiden, who coldly snorted in surprise and anger: "This guy actually dares to spy on us."

"Dehya Valley's 53rd Acting Guild Leader, no greeting for an old friend?" The necromancer with the golden skull mask grabbed one of the crows and held it before him, eyeing it closely. "I didn't expect that as an acting guild leader, you would still waste your magical power training these puppet eagle eyes..." He turned to Aiden and said, "This guy's schemes are deep, you've been played."

Master Aiden's expression changed, but he didn't speak.

"Although I'm no longer part of the necromancer guild, I still won't allow anyone to cause chaos in Dehya Valley. I warn you, if you keep messing things up, that fat guy will be your role model." The necromancer with the golden skull mask finished speaking and waved his hand lightly. The four flying creatures immediately began to rot and disintegrate, evaporating into black smoke that dissipated in the air, leaving no trace behind.

Far away, in a room in Dehya Valley, the four crystal balls on the table simultaneously extinguished.

However, there was no one in the room at that moment. The owner had hurriedly left right after seeing the image projected from the crystal balls.

Watching Aiden and the other necromancer escape on the stone gargoyle, the necromancer under the golden skull mask didn't show any joy. Instead, his expression darkened with worry. He looked at the emperor and Roland, who were lying on the ground, but didn't pay them any attention. Instead, he took out a teleportation scroll and unrolled it.

The familiar blue teleportation glow lit up as the scroll unfolded, but the necromancer seemed distracted, not noticing something strange happening around him. The usual stable and transparent teleportation glow surrounding him began to flicker and grow dimmer.

Finally, the necromancer noticed the abnormality and froze. His usually calm demeanor quickly shifted to one of shock and panic.

"That bastard..." he shouted, suddenly moving with an agility that didn't match his age, trying to shift away to stop the teleportation magic from activating.

But it was too late. The moment he moved, the blue light had already become blindingly bright, exploding in a flash.

In that instant, the blue light in the air exploded like a small sun.

This was not the usual effect of teleportation magic. The sculpture carrying the necromancer also shattered into pieces in the blinding blue explosion, its remains scattered in the air. Even the necromantic puppets, far from the blue explosion, suddenly fell helplessly to the ground, disintegrating in mid-air and dissolving into a sky of bloody rain and decay.

"This is impossible... How could Mr. Sandru... What's going on?" On the ground, Commander Roland's face was filled with shock and disbelief.

Meanwhile, in the magic academy's teleportation room, a burst of blue light flashed. With a soft crack, the star-eye at the center of the teleportation array shattered.

"Goodbye, respected Mr. Sandru. I'll make sure to keep your name on the wall of the Dehya Valley meeting hall forever." The Marquis coldly watched the teleportation array below. The blue light from the magic gems continued to flicker intermittently.

This teleportation array had now served its purpose, but the Marquis bent down and began to reposition it. After a while, the teleportation array returned to its original form. Of course, this was only a superficial change; the shattered star-eye could no longer serve any purpose. Now, it was merely there as decoration, appearing whole and undamaged.

After finishing this, the Marquis approached the door and gently patted two magicians on the shoulders, clearing his throat. The two senior magicians and several guards around them suddenly snapped out of their daze.

"Marquis, you've returned to the capital?" the two senior magicians turned to the Marquis, smiling and nodding.

"Yes, it's been a long time since I've been back. Just came home to check things out," the Marquis smiled and nodded. "By the way, anything happened in the capital during my travels?"

The magician nodded and replied, "Of course, you probably haven't heard about it while traveling…" Neither of the two senior magicians nor the guards nearby glanced at the teleportation magic array. In their memory, the Marquis had come over to greet them warmly the moment he appeared from the teleportation array, with no sign of anything unusual having occurred.

"Oh? The new cardinal is that formidable?" After hearing the magicians' explanation, the Marquis nodded slightly, then asked, "You said the bishop and Lord Rodhart were together capturing an important prisoner. Do you know where the prisoner is being held?"

"Right in the dungeon over there." The magician pointed in the direction. "But only the bishop and Lord Rodhart can go in. Why do you ask about this?"

"I was just asking casually. By the way, where is the cardinal now? I'd like to meet him."

"Oh, that's a bit strange. According to others, the cardinal suddenly rushed off with High Pries Ryan to the cathedral, and they even sealed it off, not allowing anyone else inside. No one knows what they're doing in there…"

Upon hearing this, the Marquis, who had been smiling charmingly up until that moment, suddenly froze. His expression became stiff, and before he could even say a word to the two magicians, he turned around and dashed out with astonishing speed.