The black sun hangs high

Chapter 54 The Changes in Seren (Part 3)
Common sense told Hugh that the terrifying sound and vibration he had just heard could not have been caused by ringing a bell.

Judging from the scale of the tremor, it was more like some kind of spectacular explosion, or something else entirely...

Hugh couldn't be sure what had happened, but he could feel the panic that had been suppressed in his heart was completely released along with the terrifying tremors and sounds. This time, Hugh could feel the intense sense of crisis emanating from the narrow, enclosed underground waterway in front of him, as if all the fears accumulated deep in his memory were forcibly dug out at this moment. And when these emotions were displayed in his mind, they brought involuntary trembling.

Hughes's guess was correct.

In the central square of Seren, the towering clock tower that had witnessed nearly three hundred years of peace suddenly trembled after the eightieth chime. Almost everyone noticed the unusual tremor, but before they could react, a tremor from beneath the ground, accompanied by a deafening roar that seemed to tear the sky apart, struck the very center of the square.

The convoys that had entered the square area immediately stopped. The law enforcement officers guarding the surrounding area held their breath because they discovered that the magic pendulums they carried were swinging wildly in an extremely abnormal state. The way and frequency of their swings were so strange that the pendulums, which were made of magic crystals, did not seem to be capturing the fluctuations of magic power at all. Instead, it was as if they were being pulled forcefully in different directions by a transparent hand.

However, before people could take any further action, changes occurred that were beyond everyone's imagination.

Another terrifying explosion rang out.

Just like the legendary eruption of a giant volcano in the cold north, the entire central square, or rather, the entire city of Seren, "jumped" up.

The protective ritual site set up by the Legal Committee near the clock tower was hit by the most brutal impact in the world. The supposedly reliable protective force collapsed completely in an instant. The spellcasters responsible for monitoring and maintaining the ritual collapsed to the ground in pain due to the symptoms caused by the break in magic.

"The clock tower! The clock tower!"

Amid the chaos, someone shouted, and more people looked up toward the clock tower. In the next instant, almost everyone present witnessed that incredibly shocking scene.

The ancient and massive central clock tower began to shake violently, and then, like a building block kicked by a naughty child, it crashed down into the square, carrying a large amount of dust and brick fragments.

Prince Harvid and his wife, who were sitting in the vehicle, witnessed it all, as did Putrin and his companions, who were hiding on the edge of the chaotic crowd.

Although Putrin and the others had been told beforehand that a "magnificent scene" beyond ordinary people's imagination would happen in Seren today, when it actually happened before the eyes of these hot-blooded young people, they still couldn't help but open their mouths wide.

However, the collapse of the clock tower was only the beginning.

The violent tremors made it difficult for people to stand, and panic drove them to run aimlessly. Bricks and stones flew everywhere like arrows and cannonballs, crashing into the crowd...

Putrin and his young companions nervously hid in the shop they had chosen beforehand. To their surprise, the badges that the middle-aged scholar had distributed to them before their departure now displayed an amazing magical effect. A semi-transparent "shield" emitting a grayish-white light acted on them, and neither dust, gravel, nor even other people who accidentally bumped into them while running could have any effect on them.

They exchanged a glance, then simultaneously reached into their inner pockets and grasped the weapons they had prepared.

That's a crystallized gun, or rather, a new type of firearm similar to a crystallized gun.

It has an extremely sophisticated mechanical structure, specially made metal bullets, and incredibly complex, strange runes engraved on the gun body.

"With just a few of us and these few guns... is it really possible to do this?"

Putrin was breathing heavily, and the question resurfaced in his mind once again.

However, the moment that thought crossed their minds, the emblems worn on their chests and arms began to glow faintly, and the fleeting hesitation and confusion were instantly erased by the power of magic.

"When the smoke and dust fill the air, you may set off."

That's how the middle-aged man explained it.

So Putrin and his companions left the shop and ran towards the other end of the square, braving the rising dust.

……

The spot where the clock tower once stood is now an incredibly exaggerated pit, seemingly leading straight to the ground, or perhaps only connected to the water system buried beneath the city of Seren... It's pitch black there, and nothing can be seen.

Under the current circumstances, the ceasefire celebration had to be terminated. However, the chaos in the city severely affected the speed of the evacuation of the dignitaries. Prince Havid and his wife sat nervously in their well-protected vehicle and began to slowly evacuate back the way they came, escorted and protected by guards and soldiers.

The surroundings were in utter chaos. Countless people had been injured by the disaster, and countless civilians had fainted on the spot from panic and fear. Now, everyone here was trying their best to get away from the former central square. In order to get to a safe place as soon as possible, they pushed and shouted, not listening to anyone else, and having no time to pay attention to whether they were stepping on other people.

In this situation, the prince's caravan, which occupied the main road, became the biggest obstacle. Soldiers, police officers, and the princes' personal guards tried their best to stop the civilians who were forced to get close to the caravan. Some of the mages even tried to use magic to separate the chaotic crowd. However, the more they did this, the more chaotic the road became, and the slower the caravan moved.

"That's enough!"

Prince Harvid took in the chaos, glanced around through the car window, and then roared, "Tighten up the ranks and let the civilians through!"

"Your Highness?"

"Listen to my orders! Otherwise, we'll only be stuck here longer!"

The Valley-level mage guard inside the carriage gritted his teeth, but he knew that the prince's judgment was correct. So he immediately relayed the order, and the guards who were fighting against the chaotic crowd began to retreat steadily. The spells that the spellcasters used to forcibly separate the crowd were also removed.

The chaos on the street was immediately alleviated to a considerable extent, and some of the poor people who had been trampled to the ground finally received help from others...

There were faint signs of order returning, the solemnity confined to this area, but enough to offer some reassurance. The young princess gripped her husband's hand worriedly: "Darling, we are in danger now."

"Their situation is more dangerous than ours."

Prince Harvid said in a low voice, "And if these people don't come to their senses, we won't be able to get out. Once we leave this vehicle, our own lives will be at risk."

"I'll listen to you."

The princess nodded, then turned uneasily to look at the square behind the car, only to see that it was also in chaos, with people covered in dust or blood constantly running out or working together to carry the wounded out.

She saw several young people running out along the edge of the square. They looked extremely nervous and had chosen the widest, yet most chaotic, road in a panic.

Then, her gaze shifted to the building beside her, where she happened to see a second-floor window of a shop being pushed open, and then a figure holding a long-barreled crystal gun peering out...

"Harvid!"

She instinctively cried out in alarm, but before her voice could even fade, loud gunshots rang out from all directions.

Almost instantly, the numerous protective rituals engraved on the luxury vehicle were triggered, and layers of magical light and shadow lit up on the vehicle body. As a result, the first round of crystal bullets fired from different angles immediately turned into useless dust in front of this protection. Just as the mage guards had explained before, the firing of the crystal guns could not produce any effective results. Under the tight defense, these weapons, which could easily penetrate steel and shatter human bodies, could only create chaos and noise.

The guards immediately launched a counterattack, and the gunmen disguised as merchants, civilians, and even guards suffered heavy casualties. The sight of bodies, limbs, and even heads exploding caused a new wave of panic, and this time, the riots in the crowd could no longer be contained.

Unbeknownst to anyone, amidst the chaotic crowd, several figures shrouded in magical protective light were struggling toward the vehicle. Finally, a few young people dressed in the traditional attire of the Kingdom of Delan squeezed through the crowd, and the moment they appeared, they drew their pistol-like weapons and pulled the triggers toward the vehicle.

The moment Putrin pulled the trigger, he felt time stand still.

He felt as if his breath, his blood, and all his thoughts were being poured into the gun in his hand—as if there was a huge vortex there, about to devour and absorb everything about him, and the bullets flying from the muzzle were the condensation of all of this.

The bullet, glowing with a dark light, easily pierced the massive silver shield in the hand of a strong guard, then burrowed into his chest. The dark energy attached to the bullet instantly eroded and devoured all the loyal guard's life force. After that, the bullet continued to fly forward, and all the magical protective rituals that had been set up seemed to lose their effectiveness in front of it. Even the secret rituals installed in the vehicle became disordered and malfunctioned under its strange influence...

And so, the bullet finally struck the transparent car window.

Like a venomous kiss cast by a demon from the abyss.

Blood seeped through the shattered car window, and the woman's pitiful cries and screams tore through the air. Several more bullets were fired from the guns in the youths' hands. With the last bullet fired, Putrin was surprised to find that his strong arms seemed to be withering away. His strength began to drain away, and his soul seemed to be called by some distant and strange voice, about to leave his body.

He could no longer hold the weapon in his hand.

The moment he let go, the protective ritual enveloping him finally collapsed completely. Under the charge of an angry soldier, Putrin fell to the ground like all his comrades. He heard the sound of his bones breaking, but he could no longer feel any pain.

At that moment, this young, impulsive, and passionate man finally realized that the instant he pulled the trigger, he seemed to have already sacrificed his future and his life...

"Is this really what I wanted? What have I done?"

In a fleeting moment of lucidity, the thought popped into his head, but before he could think about it carefully, the chaotic sounds around him crashed over him like waves, and his last shred of consciousness vanished completely into the oppressive darkness.

Prince Harvid is dead.

With his beloved wife.

The special bullets, capable of piercing through magical rituals, successfully penetrated the bodies of the prince and princess. The dark forces within them quickly robbed them of their life force, causing their bodies to wither and become emaciated in an instant, like dried corpses sun-dried in the desert.

The mage guards responsible for protecting the prince were completely stunned. Their brains, which contained countless magical knowledge and practical experience, went completely blank. However, at that moment, a strange sound suddenly came from the center of the clock tower square.

Sharp, short, and irregular.

Just like the piercing whistling sound of a gale blowing through tiny cracks and holes...

So he raised his head and looked towards the square.

Within the dissipating cloud of smoke, a huge black shadow seemed to be swaying back and forth. It looked as if it had "emerged" from beneath the square, resembling smoke or flowing liquid. As the strange shadow shifted, piercing sounds followed one after another.

Compared to the blurry scene seen by people in the distance, the scene seen by the soldiers and law enforcement officers stationed in the square was far more terrifying. They saw the shadow hidden beneath the crack in the ground slowly emerging from the pit onto the surface.

They were flowing and wriggling, and some spellcasters who were closer could see that in these nauseating black viscous liquids, there were even many blurry remains and shadows wrapped around and floating, which looked like things that existed in the sewers.

The bodies of rats and snakes, filth, human remains...

All the filth that any living person would instinctively abhor seemed to have gathered in this filthy black slime.

(End of this chapter)