The black sun hangs high

Chapter 360 Black Light Arc
After the somewhat tiresome maneuvering that had taken its toll, this special conversation finally moved on to the truly important topic.

Just as Hugh had guessed, the strange events occurring within the Kingdom of Saint Steel had already become known to these deep-sea mages.

Although the official regulations often limit the activities of these important figures to the "academic field," like Yetvich of the Cedar Scholars' Group and Edmund before Shug, these mages always find ways to expand their influence or actively participate in those affairs.

After the previous conversation, Hughes was basically certain that Edmund was actually a representative of the relatively conservative and cautious members within the Legal Committee. Then, Mrs. De La Ri also generously revealed some of her "additional identities".

Despite being a deep-sea level mage, Lady Delalie had an unusually strong preference and interest in business, especially her family's business empire. With her academic research stagnating, she devoted more of her energy to the operation of her family's business.

In this process, she successfully became the de facto controller behind several giant business groups with her own skills and the support of her family resources. These business groups, in turn, became tools for Mrs. De La Ri to broaden her horizons and obtain more information and intelligence.

After Lady Delalie finished her simple self-introduction, her previously faint mage aura was further suppressed by her rich and typical aristocratic demeanor.

"It's almost certain that the ceremony held by the Black Sun Society was just the beginning of a series of actions they're about to take."

Lady Delalie raised her hand and regained control of the giant crystal ball that could project magical images. At the same time, she explained, "As the war was about to end, several of my merchant groups successfully entered Saint Steel and proactively contacted the Black Sun Society."

"Although the people in the Black Sun Society are crazy, they are not stupid. At least for now, they are very clear about the importance of commerce and trade to maintaining their rule. Therefore, my merchant groups have all obtained their permission... However, out of caution, some members of the merchant groups did not come into the city, so they successfully recorded these scenes."

As she spoke, images from a distant region appeared within the enormous Eye of Mel crystal ball.

Hugh had heard of this special method of transmitting magical images—the images were captured by an expensive magical device disguised as newspaper equipment, and then several specialized spellcasters would quickly break the magical images into simple magical fragments, which would then be transmitted via a regular communication device.

After successfully acquiring the fragments, the spellcaster must then personally reassemble these "parts".

It can be described as a special method that is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and expensive.

However, these terrible restrictions were obviously nothing to Lady Delalie. With a light flick of her fingers, those fragments of magic were precisely woven into a clear picture from the territory of Saint Steel within the crystal ball.

The person recording the footage was clearly in the mountains near the city of Saint-St.

The weather in Saint-St. was just as cold as in Merlinle, so the footage initially trembled along with the recorder, a tremor that only stopped after the recorder stabilized the equipment.

Hughes saw that all around him was a vast expanse of white snow, and in the distance, there was an unsettling darkness.

Those dark shadows were the dark domes that had previously shrouded the major cities of Saint Steel. However, from the outside, they looked more like a terrifying dark cloud pressing down on the city, or... a black sheet covering the heads of the residents.

“The record has been maintained for several hours, and we have already carefully reviewed it here before… Young people are always a bit impatient, so I will directly show you the two most important parts.”

As she spoke, Lady Delalie quickly shook her palm, and as the magical lines changed, the scene inside the giant crystal ball began to accelerate.

In the footage, which was several times faster than before, Hughes saw that the black shadows gathered above the city eventually transformed into a deep shell that isolated the inside from the outside, making it impossible to see anything inside. On the surface of this shell, tiny, spike-like protrusions could be faintly seen.

Hughes frowned. Based on his knowledge of the Black Sun Society and the Dark Abyss Court, he judged that these strange protrusions were probably not so simple. However, because there were several deep-sea level mages around, he couldn't directly expose his true power. Therefore, he only activated a small amount of cold magic in his eyes.

With this limited magical vision, Hugh successfully glimpsed the truth hidden within the image.

He saw countless lines, countless black spiral lines extending from the spikes of the dark dome, stretching all the way up to the sky, looking like black chains hanging down from the real sky, or even higher.

In the magically accelerated images, Hughes saw dense abyssal power flowing down along these spiral chains, continuously pouring into the massive dome. In response, a pale, milky-white radiance traveled upwards along these chains.

"..."

Hugh wanted to observe these phenomena further, but before he could take any further action, a slight stinging sensation came from the depths of his eyes. Not only that, the metal disc, which had remained calm even when facing the magical detection of a deep-sea mage, also trembled slightly. The Fate Roots, which were extremely sensitive to these crises, quickly emerged from their spiritual pools and began to tremble rapidly.

This is clearly a warning.

A comprehensive warning.

Hugh immediately suppressed the urge to use more Dark Abyss magic, and to ensure safety as much as possible, he even proactively reduced the amount of magic stored in his pupils.

The strange stinging sensation vanished instantly, as if it had never existed, but the turmoil within his mental realm constantly reminded Hugh that if he didn't want to put on a show of bleeding eyes in front of these deep-sea mages, he had better proceed with caution.

"You don't look well?"

The plump elf asked kindly, while his lean brother added, "Is it because you're thinking of the city of Seren or the rugged hills? Well, there are indeed similarities between them."

Hugh nodded slightly, expressing his gratitude for the two elves' concern. At the same time, he had a strange feeling—when the two elven mages looked at him, their eyes seemed to contain something special, and the dark abyss magic hidden in his eyes did not seem to escape their detection.

However, the twin elven mages of the deep sea level did not say anything more.

Then the scene inside the crystal ball began to change a new round.

As more and more Dark Abyss magic flowed from the sky, the strange patterns that Hugh had seen many times before gradually appeared on the dark dome. They appeared, disappeared, or collided and merged with each other. "Don't worry, Mr. Ernst, we will keep detailed records of these patterns. People waiting to study them are probably already lining up in Merlinle."

Edmund offered an explanation at the opportune moment, then pointed to the crystal ball and said, "It was at this stage that all the spies and agents hidden in these cities, regardless of their country or organization, lost contact."

Hughes asked, "Was the secret communication blocked or cut off?"

"No, it's not."

Edmund shook his head and said, "We initially thought that was the case, after all, these black domes looked very deceptive, but after our reverse inspection, we found that the occult instruments used to connect the two sections were in good condition, and the connection between them was still intact... In other words, the problem was not with the occult instruments, but with the people operating them."

"They're either dead, or they're close to death."

"If they are captured alive or controlled, the situation will be even worse, and it may even cause a chain reaction."

The two elven mages offered their assessments. Faced with this serious topic, they finally abandoned their relaxed demeanor. The lean elf looked at Hugh: "To maintain secrecy, the Legal Committee has set up multiple contact points within the territory of the mountain elf tribes in Saint Steel. But now, these hidden strongholds could be discovered at any time."

Hughes nodded, then looked at Edmund: "I fully understand the seriousness of this matter. It could very well completely destroy our intelligence gathering channels within St. Steel, but I'm afraid the help I can offer in these matters is very limited."

"That is indeed the case so far."

Mrs. De Lali nodded and said, "But don't rush, keep watching... keep watching and you might understand what we're thinking."

Then the scene began to change again. Under Lady Delalie's manipulation, the speed of the magical images became faster. With his thin magical vision, Hugh saw more and more milky white light and shadow being drawn out by those black spiral chains. As this process continued, the black domes that had originally just covered the city seemed to begin a new round of growth and expansion.

Yes, they've gotten bigger.

Although the growth rate is very, very slow, Hugh is certain that its coverage is definitely a little bit larger than it was at the beginning.

"Attention, it's coming."

Just then, Lady Delalie suddenly spoke up to remind him, and the accelerated magical image returned to its calm, slow speed. Hugh raised his eyebrows; he didn't see any obvious signs or changes in the image. Just as he was about to ask, the image trembled violently.

"Is there a problem with the recording equipment?"

The idea popped into Hugh's mind, but the next moment, the colors that appeared inside the crystal ball made his eyes widen.

The tremor didn't come from the recording equipment, but from the reality being recorded—a violent impact swept across the ground. Hugh saw the still relatively loose snowflakes in the scene scatter and fly everywhere under the impact, and the withered branches instantly turned into fragments. Hugh even heard the terrified scream of the recorder.

There was no preparation, and no warning whatsoever.

This invisible force suddenly appeared, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed from the invisible pattern into a tangible color.

Hugh's mouth opened involuntarily, because he saw an enormous black arc of light that almost spanned the entire screen. It looked like a huge blade being swung with force, falling directly towards the massive dome that covered the entire city.

At first glance, the color and nature of this arc of light seemed very similar to the dark abyss magic mobilized by the Black Sun Society, but in Hugh's eyes, it inexplicably revealed a sense of familiarity.

And that's how the collision happened.

The arc of pure black light slammed into the dark dome, snapping countless black chains that connected it to the dome instantly. The dome, which had been flawless, cracked under the violent impact, and Hughes witnessed a towering Northern Bell Tower crumble as a result.

Then, in just over ten seconds, all the magical colors in the scene began to fade. The black arc of light that had destroyed the ritual disappeared as if it had never existed. The magical dome filled with dark meaning also collapsed and dissipated quickly, leaving only a thick layer of black mist still hovering over the city.

Whatever the Black Sun Society wants to do, their plans in this city are absolutely doomed.

However, in the distance, there are many more dark domes that are growing and expanding.

A somewhat absurd yet reasonable guess emerged in Hugh's mind, so he hoped to see the arc of light reappear and destroy more domes. However, no new changes appeared in the image until it ended.

The mages present had watched this video countless times, yet their faces remained impassive. Edmund forcibly averted his gaze and looked at Hugh: "Quite astonishing, isn't it?"

Hugh nodded, the shock on his face genuine: "What is that? Magic? Or..."

"do not know."

The mage Edmund shook his head: "We only know two things."

"First, this city, which narrowly escaped the Black Sun Society's ritual, is located in the border region of Saint Steel. Controlling it is equivalent to controlling all the important passages in the surrounding area."

"Secondly, that black light... it is not any kind of magic we know, nor can it be created by any weapon, but it has appeared once before, at the Cedar Scholars' Tower complex."

(End of this chapter)