The black sun hangs high

Chapter 55 The Changes in Seren (Part 4)
The black, slimy substance slowly wriggled and crawled through the ruins of the clock tower.

A terrifying odor filled the air, causing people to gag.

The spellcasters of the Legal Committee were the first to notice the strangeness of the slime. They were horrified to discover that these odd things did not seem to be spreading aimlessly. As soon as they crawled out of the pit, they immediately began to move toward the living and the dead in the vicinity.

The wounded trapped under the bricks and stones, the rescuers trying to save them, the dead who had already lost consciousness, and even the guards, mages and soldiers nearby were all their targets!
A poor soldier whose legs were pinned under the rubble of the clock tower was unable to escape. When he saw the dark, viscous liquid coming towards him, the two rescuers who had intended to help him immediately retreated in fright.

The soldier's desperate cries were instantly swallowed by the strange liquid. Everyone saw his body being enveloped by the viscous substance, and soon the still-intact human body disintegrated into a pitiful fragment within that unknown substance.

"Spread out!"

Some quick-thinking mages immediately issued warnings, and then a series of destructive spells were bombarded into the ever-spreading black liquid.

This must be a wrong decision.

Because when those powerful magical beams of light struck the pitch-black, viscous liquid, the resulting reaction exceeded everyone's expectations.

Just like those mischievous and arrogant students in the academy's laboratory who recklessly threw dangerous substances into other liquids, the black substance that had covered the center of the square trembled violently the moment it was struck by the scorching flames, the flashes of lightning, and the highly corrosive acid. Although the viscous substance struck by the magic did begin to dry and shrink immediately, the spellcasters saw many mouths "growing" from these clumps of liquid in the next instant!

These mouths varied in size and shape. Some clearly belonged to humans or humanoid life forms, but many more belonged to rodents, cats, dogs, and even insects! To everyone's horror, these mouths opened simultaneously, and then they heard that same piercing, sharp, and short sound.

At this point, people finally understood what the sound was all about.

That wasn't a whistle at all; it was a scream coming from the mouth that had grown out of the twisted entity in front of us.

After that piercing scream, the black, viscous substance began its counterattack. Amidst eerie and chilling sounds, it finally emerged completely from the dark waterway. Then, like a tide, it surged from different directions toward the nearest targets!
Despite the lack of effective organization, the soldiers and mages present reacted extremely quickly. Crystal bullets, standard alchemical bombs, and all sorts of lethal magic hit the target simultaneously. It turned out that the writhing viscous liquid was fragile. Whether it was the small-scale magical explosions caused by the crystal bullets or the magic summoned by the Stream-level spellcasters, it could cause very significant damage to it.

However, whenever people cleared a gap, more viscous liquid would immediately fill it. Moreover, this bizarre entity, which even the law enforcement officers had never heard of or seen before, showed astonishing aggression—its advancing speed became even more exaggerated, and limbs even "grew" from the black pus as it got closer to its target!
Just like the mouths from different life forms it had previously shown, these limbs also exhibited a great variety of shapes. They were either like human arms or like the sharp claws of cats and mice, and some even had arthropods that only insects had...

More and more people who couldn't evacuate in time were dragged into the black slime amidst their screams and cries. Among them were even a few mages who had forgotten their predicament because they were focused on casting spells. By the time they realized what was happening, the black pus had already sneaked around them and formed a circle around them.

In their haste, the mages could only rely on their magic to erect a universal magical shield in the hope of blocking the monster's invasion. However, the black slime crawled rampantly up the hemispherical shield, completely obscuring the spellcasters' vision, and then they heard an even more despairing sound.

Like refugees hiding in a deserted house in the wilderness, they could only listen to the wild beasts gnawing at the thin, rotten wooden walls with their sharp claws and teeth. Gradually, the sounds became more frequent and louder... Finally, with the destruction of the magic barrier, they also met their tragic end.

No one could understand what this monster was all about.

As it expanded with the increasing number of victims, the spellcasters and soldiers who still persisted began to shrink back in fear and panic. But just then, a tall, burly figure came rushing over. He stopped in front of the overwhelming black wave, reached out and forcefully pulled away a spellcaster who was retreating a little slower. Two expensive alchemical bombs that shimmered with dark red light flew out of his hand. With a loud bang, large areas of scorching fire burst open in the pitch-black color, instantly creating large gaps.

Heavy breathing emanated from beneath a metal mask inlaid with magical crystals. The taciturn swordsman strode forward, severing a black limb that had secretly emerged from the pus with his broadsword forged from demon silver. His left hand then opened his spellbook, and a crimson page was swiftly torn off by invisible magic with a crisp sound. Thus, the special elemental spell "Tongue of the Fire Lizard," which had earned the "Valley" rating in the Law Council, took effect instantly.

Amidst the awe-inspiring gazes of the other spellcasters, the blazing fire completely enveloped the sword-wielding hermit's left arm, revealing a gigantic, faintly visible red lizard head on his forearm. In the next instant, fierce tongues of fire spewed forward, the violent flames sweeping across the ground at an astonishing speed, causing countless eyes, mouths, limbs, and organs that had sprouted from the black pus to wither and die in an instant.

"Use fire."

The swordsman's voice was as heavy as the clash of metal, but at this moment, his demeanor and composure calmed everyone present. As a result, more spells aimed at summoning and creating flames were cast, from the "Instant Fire" spell commonly used by mages, to the "Rope of Fire" spell that transformed the flame element into a whip-like shape, and even the "Summon Flames" trick that even mage apprentices could master... With the continuous bombardment of crystal bullets and the sporadic alchemical bombs, the blazing firelight regained the upper hand in the square.

The strange life form, which appeared out of nowhere and was composed entirely of black pus, let out sharp screechs under the pressure of these magical flames. Finally, it could no longer endure the pain of having part of its body burned.

Suddenly, the black liquid mass that had remained a single entity split apart. The active parts that had just grown with the "fresh nutrients" broke away from the whole, turned around, and rushed toward the direction of Prince Havid's caravan while emitting sharp cries.

The more severely damaged parts began to retreat rapidly. Forced by the flames, the slime returned to the dark tunnel in the center of the square and disappeared.

……

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

That was the sound of Hugh's heartbeat.

It is also the sound made by the mirror messenger in his spiritual world when he knocks on the wall and table in his own groove.

In fact, Hugh's mental state at this moment was very similar to that of the messenger in the mirror.

However, he had no way to vent his emotions and had to keep himself calm. Even so, he was still breathing rapidly, his heart was racing, and his hands and feet were trembling.

Previously, Hugh might have been able to seek advice from Verin, but the previous tremor completely interrupted her process of opening the gap in the ritual field, forcing her to start all over again. Moreover, the previous interruption had clearly caused some damage to the female mage—her nose was bleeding, one of the effects of the magic break.

Sally and old Schubert, being ordinary people, were of no help at this moment. Hugh distributed weapons to them, including potions purchased from the alchemy shop to replace alchemical bombs, and simple magical flamethrowers that he had taken from the warehouse before entering the sewers, which had been modified by the smugglers.

"No... don't worry too much. I was in the same army when I was young, I served in Walter's army!"

Old Schubert was spouting nonsensical words, it was unclear whether he was comforting Hughes or encouraging himself, but after only two sentences, he was glared at fiercely by his niece, so he had no choice but to shut his mouth obediently, holding the flamethrower tremblingly, and looking nervously into the darkness in the distance.

"The only child of the abyss will be born from the sacrificial pit... the abyss... the sacrificial pit..."

Hugh kept recalling the strange prophecies mentioned by the members of the Black Sun Society. He knew that these prophecies, or rather, part of them, were coming true, because right after that violent tremor, the clock tower in the center of Seren had never made a sound again.

“Something must have happened in the city… Such a commotion could be caused by magic or some kind of special weapon.”

Hugh tried to control his heartbeat while guessing what was going on.

Just then, the sprinting rats that Hugh had sent as scouts gave a signal. They sensed something rushing rapidly toward Hugh and the others in the sewer. They were coming in large numbers and with great force.

Hughes reacted. He placed the magic lantern on the ground and turned it to its brightest setting. He then fully armed himself and went to the center of the waterway, ready to meet the impact from the darkness.

Sniggy's shriek came from afar; it had made contact with the enemy—a large swarm of "sewage snakes" swimming along the waterways. These were unassuming, low-level magical creatures that frequented the city's sewers because they were naturally drawn to cold, damp environments. Because they were highly venomous and occasionally slithered into residents' homes through the ditches and sewers, they became a nightmare for many city dwellers who feared snakes.

However, these groups of snakes did not pose much of a threat to Hugh and Sniggy. Although they were numerous, they were not fierce predators. If conditions allowed, Hugh could even let Sniggy deal with them on his own.

However, there were simply too many of these creatures, so when they rushed down the waterway, Hugh had no choice but to wield the Touch of Calron, using his most violent methods to kill all the magical snakes that might affect Virin.

The foul-smelling blood mingled with the cold sewage, and the severed snake carcasses floated in the water.

Despite having eliminated a wave of destabilizing factors, Hugh's complexion showed no improvement whatsoever under the light of the magic lantern.

During this brief but brutal encounter, Hugh realized a terrible truth.

"These guys don't want to attack us at all..."

His voice became drier than ever before: "They...are fleeing for their lives."

As if to confirm Hugh's judgment, the moment he uttered those words, Sniggy, who was still in the distant passage, suddenly let out a series of unprecedentedly sharp cries.

This was the first time Hugh had ever heard such a cry from this incredibly bloodthirsty and warlike summon.

Extremely chaotic information and emotions were transmitted to Sniggy. However, before Hugh could discern what his summoned creature was seeing, the magical connection between them was completely severed. Fortunately, Hugh had prepared himself mentally beforehand, and with his abundant magical power, he did not suffer too much of an impact.

The rat, which had "died" and returned from its frenzied descent, huddled in a crevic in the groove of the metal disc, trembling with fear.

"coming!"

Hugh gave a hoarse warning, gripping the new crystal gun tightly, his left palm pulsating with magic, ready to face the unknown fear.

As if in response to Hugh's "expectations," the strange "whistle" that had previously rang out in the central square of Seren came through the underground sewers.

It was the excited declaration of the predator, and also the painful cries of countless victims within its body.

Hugh's pupils dilated.

He saw the magic crystals embedded in the edge of the waterway, emitting a faint light, extinguish one by one, and in that chaotic yet pure darkness, one after another, eyes emitting an eerie green light slowly opened.

(End of this chapter)