The black sun hangs high

Chapter 53 The Changes in Seren (Part Two)
Bathed in sunlight, the two princes' carriages moved slowly forward to the accompaniment of a band. They would reenact the scene of the signing of the armistice agreement 299 years ago beneath the central clock tower of Seren, marking the official start of the armistice celebrations.

Among the crowd near the central clock tower, the middle-aged scholar who had previously given a speech in Place de la Lois whispered, "The car is moving very slowly and the route hasn't changed, so you don't need to rush. Just do as I said before."

"I heard that vehicle is very luxurious and must be equipped with a lot of weird magic. Will what we're doing really work?"

"Trust me, Putlin."

The middle-aged scholar reached out and put his hand on the young man's shoulder: "At this point, it's pointless to think about whether it's 'useful' or not. We've already made it clear that we need to do this... and someone has to do it. We are all Telanders, and many people here are Telanders too. If possible, I don't want to shed blood, especially since this might result in the shedding of a lot of our compatriots' blood!"

Upon hearing this, the last trace of confusion in the young man's eyes vanished, and he nodded vigorously: "Yes, this is the most powerful way to respond to those provocations, eliminate those who hinder our development, and spread evil intentions!"

The middle-aged scholar nodded solemnly and said, "I'm leaving this to you. Grano and Aycha are nearby, and they will do their best to help you."

After saying that, he took a step back, smiled and nodded to the young man in front of him: "Then, I shall go where I am meant to go, Putrin, do not forget our mission and ideals."

The young man nodded vigorously: "I won't forget!"

So the middle-aged scholar turned and left, disappearing into the crowd shortly afterward without a trace.

It is now 9:13 AM on the 29th of the month.

The princes had completed one-fifth of their journey, and the central clock tower had already struck thirty-two.

Following the echoes of the clock tower in Seren, the middle-aged scholar departed from the crowd. He nodded politely to several police officers maintaining order, passed a law enforcement officer on alert, and then walked past a sword-wielding hermit standing guard with his head bowed...

Finally, when the bell rang for the thirty-fifth time, he arrived at a shop far from the crowd. Guided by a waiter, he entered the dressing room. A flash of magic energy passed by, and his figure that had just stepped into the dressing room immediately disappeared.

Almost simultaneously, on the street next to Lovi Square where merchant groups gathered, a magnificently dressed goblin merchant with large ears hurriedly slipped into a basement. A moment later, the middle-aged man who had disappeared into the clothing store earlier slowly walked out.

At some point, his scholar's attire had been replaced by a magnificent black robe. The style of the robe looked somewhat similar to the spellcaster's uniform of the Legal Committee, but there were also very obvious differences between the two. Even so, his solemn face, slightly curly brown hair, and upright posture gave him an aura far superior to that of ordinary spellcasters.

On the black robe he was wearing were some patterns outlined with silver threads, but strangely, these patterns and lines, which should have reflected a bright luster in the sunlight, appeared extremely dark at this moment.

And so the middle-aged scholar walked through the streets, through two alleys, and finally arrived at a mansion at the fifty-second chime of the bell.

The mansion is numbered 37.

A magic book with a black cover was opened in his hands. There was no chanting of incantations or hand gestures for casting spells. However, the protective ritual that sealed off and protected the courtyard of No. 37 House lost its effect in the silent silence. He stepped into the courtyard and then entered the mansion as if he were returning home.

The previous group of "guests" had just left, and he could still smell the lingering scent of living people in the air.

The shapeshifters, who were already familiar with the giant-eared goblin's identity, stared in astonishment at the "stranger" who had suddenly appeared before them. Out of instinct, they immediately tried to "drive away" the man of unknown background. However, before they could launch an attack, a dozen pages floated down from the magic book. They seemed to have a life of their own, dancing in the air and eventually settling slowly in the center of the living room.

If Hugh were present at this moment, he would surely have noticed that the magical pages scattered by this middle-aged scholar, or rather the spellcaster, were completely different from those that Verin had used before!
Although both of their magic books were covered with numerous patterns used to sense magical energy and quickly trigger spells, the patterns on the pages fluttering around House 37 were extremely unique. The lines were chaotic and ancient, seemingly disordered, yet they also seemed to contain some kind of pattern. And when these pages fluttered, the dense, eerie, and twisted patterns transformed into long black snakes that slithered across the paper...

A vast and invisible ritual space descended upon this place in an instant.

Those shapeshifters who had escaped from the clutches of Verin and Hugh were unable to withstand the immense pressure that was suddenly placed upon their bodies. As a result, all the shapeshifters, including old Sergei, rapidly lost their newly acquired forms amidst agonizing screams of pain, transforming back into their original amorphous and viscous state.

But that wasn't all. Even after they lost their giant-eared goblin form, an astonishing force continued to act on them. Under the influence of that invisible hand, these poor magical creatures were forcibly driven and kneaded together. They rolled and merged in the center of the living room, eventually forming an enormous, viscous mass.

This was clearly an extremely cruel magical ritual performed on the shapeshifters.

As the ritual proceeded, these magical creatures, which had once possessed memories and physical forms and were infinitely close to being truly intelligent beings, still retained some of their "organs." Their remaining mouths cried out, their transformed eyes were bloodshot, and their mutilated limbs rolled back and forth in the slime of themselves and their kind...

The middle-aged scholar glanced at the horrific scene, then nodded in satisfaction.

At that moment, the sixtieth chime of the bell rang out from afar.

The middle-aged scholar held the magic book up to his face, gently kissed the sun pattern drawn on its cover, and then solemnly placed it in front of him. He spread his arms before the huge, amorphous, viscous liquid as if to embrace it, and from his mouth, obscure and strange words were slowly uttered.

"The place where war has always been fought will become a place of sacrifice."

"The remains of incomplete offspring gather here!"

"The blood of incompetent descendants flows here!"

"The celebration of the ignorant will eventually provoke anger!"

"An empty shell eagerly awaits..."

"O eternal gods!"

"A lowly traitor begs for redemption... begs for redemption..." "May the black sun and the abyss share eternity..."

The distant bells continue to toll, sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-three...

As the bell tower rang its seventieth chime, a violent surge erupted from the invisible ritual space. The middle-aged scholar, who had kept his eyes closed, slowly knelt down. He opened his eyes, but they were devoid of any spirit. The magical pages that had been fluttering around him were instantly given an astonishing weight comparable to metal. They fell to the ground with a deafening crash.

On the middle-aged scholar's chest, a huge black sun pattern gradually appeared. The moment the pattern froze, some force suddenly acted on this middle-aged spellcaster who should have been incredibly powerful. In a series of crisp sounds, the middle-aged man's arms, neck, and even waist were violently broken in an instant. Bone spurs pierced through his flesh, and blood gushed out. His tattered body immediately tilted forward and crashed into the viscous mass of shapeshifters.

Amazing changes began to occur.

The shapeshifters' viscous bodies began to tremble violently. In an instant, the middle-aged mage's blood and body turned into a dark mass. Like a drop of paint in clear water, it easily seeped into the depths of the viscous liquid and quickly assimilated it. Stimulated by this force, the already enormous aggregate began to expand rapidly and soon formed a mass of black slime that could almost cover the entire mansion hall. Within this slime, various organs and limbs began to appear.

Chaotic sounds emanated from the eerie, now pitch-black interior, and as if sensing something, it began to surge toward the mansion and all the pipes connected to the sewers nearby…

As the seventieth bell rang at the truce celebration, the last drop of black slime disappeared into House No. 37, while the echoes of the incantation, chanted in a jumble of sounds, still reverberated in the empty and chaotic mansion.

……

Hughes, who was walking through the sewers, was feeling extremely bad.

He had never experienced anything like this before.

If he had to put it into words, he felt like a cat or dog facing a devastating natural disaster like an earthquake or tsunami... restless and unsure of what to do.

Even if you want to run, you don't know which direction to run in.

The sound of the clock tower in the center of Seren was so loud that even in the sewers, Hugh could still feel its vibrations. However, with each vibration, he felt that a terrifying crisis was approaching.

So Hugh turned to Sally, who had been assigned to count the chimes, and asked, "Sally, how many...how many chimes?"

"I missed a count, but there should be seventy."

The girl couldn't see Hugh's expression clearly, but she could sense his severely unfocused gaze, so she said worriedly, "You don't seem to be feeling well, do you want to rest?"

Vera heard Hugh's words and her previously calm expression gradually darkened. She had noticed Hugh's strange behavior before, but as a Lake-level spellcaster, she had not sensed any strange magical fluctuations here. The group had not encountered any of the legendary terrifying magical creatures that roamed the sewers along the way... Therefore, she did not understand what was going on with Hugh's reaction.

However, after spending these few days together, Vera also realized that Hugh was by no means a pampered young nobleman, nor was he the kind of flamboyant clown who liked to make a show of things to attract attention. As a special case who had inexplicably completed the magical inscription and mastered a variety of evil magic, it was not impossible for him to have some kind of special feeling.

"Hurry up, the sound of the water ahead has changed... we should be there soon."

After saying that, the female mage hung the magic lantern on her waist and ran ahead.

Veraine's judgment was correct. Based on the magic crystals embedded in the walls and the markings made by the smugglers, they had indeed reached the edge of the north gate of Seren City. Ahead, the magic ritual field used to prevent people from entering and exiting extended from the ground. It was this field that blocked the possibility of people entering and exiting the gate normally. Through the constantly trembling magic, Hugh could even see the iron gate in the distance that symbolized freedom and security!

"Keep an eye on my surroundings. I'm about to begin breaking the ritual... It will take a little time."

"I'll keep an eye on your surroundings for you."

Hugh gritted his teeth and said something, then took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart and erratic breathing.

At that moment, Hugh cast his gaze into his own mental world.

To his bewilderment, the metal disc existing in the spiritual world was completely calm at this moment. It simply maintained a steady rotation, seemingly unaware of his current unease. In the spell groove at the center of the metal disc, both the Touch of Karron and the Running Rat remained completely still. The only one showing any restlessness was the Mirror Messenger, who had been "following" Shug for the shortest time.

Hugh saw that the dark figure with a similar shape and outline to himself was pacing back and forth anxiously in the groove. It seemed so agitated that it could not calm down for a moment. It was even trying to shout at the world outside the groove, constantly slapping the invisible "barrier" between itself and Hugh, like a prisoner locked in a glass cage.

"What exactly is going on?"

Hugh gripped the crystal gun tightly in his hand, nervously watching the way he had come, but there was nothing there...

Verin had already begun to break the seal on the ritual site of Seren City. She held a spellbook in one hand and lifted the magic crystal engraved with the emblem of the Delan royal family in the other. Bright light emanated from the crystal, and under its influence, the magical wall that blocked the passage began to weaken slowly.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan.

Another tremor came from afar, and Sally whispered a reminder, "This should be the eightieth..."

Before the words were finished, an unprecedented and terrifying tremor, accompanied by a deafening sound, swept over them. It was so fierce that everyone on the edge of Seren City had to cover their ears. As for Virin, who was performing a magical ritual, she let out a painful groan and stopped what she was doing.

(End of this chapter)