The black sun hangs high

Chapter 65 Negative Distance

As Hugh's voice fell, Verin's mage hand immediately appeared, quickly skipping over the switches of the magic lamps and turning off the bright lights one by one.

"Snapped!"

As the last magic lamp went out, the entire carriage was plunged into darkness, with only the magic crystals placed beside old Schubert still emitting a faint glow.

The deformed offspring summoned from the Dark Abyss once again demonstrated their intelligence and instincts, far surpassing those of ordinary magical creatures.

The moment the lights went out, the green eyes that had been visible in the black pus vanished instantly, disappearing into the darkness almost immediately. Just two seconds later, a sound like glass being struck by a hammer rang out.

That was the sound of the magical ritual originally used to suppress the offspring of the Dark Abyss being impacted.

By the faint light of the crystals beside him, Hughes saw that the black shadow, which had become more vibrant after being removed from the light, had completely changed its appearance. It was like a lump of pitch-black dough that was rapidly fermenting and expanding, and in just a few breaths, it had grown to twice its original size.

The translucent magical shield that covered it, intended to prevent the Dark Abyss offspring from continuing to spread towards old Schubert's body, had now begun to vibrate violently, and Hugh could even see astonishing cracks appearing on its surface.

Veraine also noticed this change, and without Hugh's prompting, she reacted quickly.

Two simple magical shields were quickly erected and filled in. Under Verin's deliberate control, all the shields near old Schubert's body were repaired, while the direction where Hugh was located became a new gap.

Perhaps due to the deliberate guidance of the two, or perhaps because Hugh truly possessed some quality that the offspring of the Dark Abyss coveted, the fragile barrier facing Hugh immediately became the primary target of that dark shadow.

"Crack!"

A crisp sound rang out, and with the help of magic and the numerous magical rituals performed on his body, Hugh's body leaned back slightly, avoiding a black segmented limb that pierced out from the magical barrier like a blade.

Then, a series of sounds rang out again, and in the dim light, Hughes saw that his target had finally given up on old Schubert's body completely.

This dark abyss offspring rose straight up from the sickbed. In the shapeless, pitch-black shadow, countless dark limbs extended out and began to frantically knock and destroy the barrier that separated it from Shug.

"It seems that these Dark Abyss offspring can be viewed as a whole, yet they can also separate from each other. After separating, they can also exhibit their own characteristics based on the creatures they have devoured and absorbed... It seems that this part of the Dark Abyss offspring has absorbed some insects, which is why it can change into these kinds of limbs so frequently?"

As Hughes pondered, he raised his hands.

In the darkness, the shape of his hand had completely changed, becoming a thick black mist similar in nature to the body of the messenger in the mirror.

"Notice!"

From the darkness behind came Virin's warning, and only two seconds after she spoke, the already fragile magic barrier finally collapsed completely under the sharp limbs of the Dark Abyss offspring. Among the countless scattered and vanished fragments of the magic barrier, those trembling sharp limbs paused for a moment, and then, like countless black swords, slashed down fiercely at Hugh.

At this moment, Hugh chose to trust the plan and advice given to him by the messenger in the mirror. So he gritted his teeth and stretched his hands forward with all his might. His already ethereal palms spread out under Hugh's deliberate manipulation, turning into a large net in the air, directly meeting the slashing and piercing limbs that came at him!
This feeling is so strange.

Just like when he tested and used the Mirror Messenger's abilities before, he felt that the senses of his hands were evenly distributed to every tiny particle of the mist, and now, these particles were having the most "intimate" contact with the Dark Abyss Offspring, which also had no fixed form.

It could even be described as negative-distance contact.

Why would I think that?

A strange thought flashed through his mind, sending a chill down Hugh's spine. But at that moment, he had no time to examine his shift in thought further. Although the sharp limbs of the Dark Abyss Spawns were slowed down considerably by the thick fog brought by the Messenger in the Mirror, they were still relentlessly stabbing at his body.

As the three guests cheered and shouted within the metal disc, a large amount of magic was mobilized by Hughes. The mist spreading in front of Hughes immediately became thicker, and now it had almost merged with the darkness in the carriage. At a glance, it was impossible to distinguish their boundaries or judge what was happening in the darkness.

As the corrosive magic continued to be transmitted, the "digestion" of the Dark Abyss offspring immediately began.

Hugh could clearly feel the changes in those arthropods—these limbs, which were formed by the amorphous mucus twisting and imitation of their offspring, were rapidly losing their sharp and strong properties and changing rapidly toward their original soft state.

An extremely unpleasant odor began to emanate from the carriage, and even though Hugh was wearing a metal mask, he still couldn't completely block out this terrible smell.

As Hugh made contact with the Dark Abyss Child on a magical level, the icy feeling that had once invaded his mental world in the sewers and nearly crushed and defeated him resurfaced. Although the intensity of this bone-chilling cold wave was weaker than before, it still awakened the terrible memories in Hugh's heart.

Hugh never wanted to experience that feeling of being gradually eroded by the heavy, foul power and eventually squeezed into a corner again.

Moreover, he was unwilling to entrust his fate and all the possibilities of his future life to that faceless god whose background was still unknown and whose attitude was extremely ambiguous.

Thus, a surging wave of magic swept out from the spiritual world, driven by unwavering will, and met the cold power of the Dark Abyss offspring with extreme ferocity, which was full of spying and probing intent.

A dim magical light surged within the enclosed carriage. Verine sensed the magical fluctuations emanating from in front of her. She was somewhat surprised. Judging from the intensity of the fluctuations, Hugh's magical reserves were indeed extremely limited. Up until now, he had only reached the standard level of Stream-level mages. However, what did not match this was his method of manipulating magical power—without undergoing systematic training, his magical power could operate in such a smooth and fluid manner, a situation that was simply unheard of.

This further solidified Vera's initial opinion.

This young man, who was once sent to a remote city by the Ernst family, was actually a special talent with amazing talent and expertise in a specific field of magic.

She carefully observed the situation, then quickly activated the magical ritual she had set up earlier to prevent mental attacks.

The moment the protective ritual took effect, Hugh felt the power emanating from the Dark Abyss Child weaken instantly. As a result, his already fiercer wave of magic surged up, and his forearms transformed into thick, ever-changing mist that quickly enveloped the Dark Abyss Child's body.

Intense struggles and chaotic screams emanated from the slurry, an ancient, strange, yet far from primitive language echoing throughout the carriage, like the desperate cries of a dying infant.

However, no matter what, Hugh was not going to let it go. With his full force, countless tiny mist particles kept piercing into the writhing body of the Dark Abyss Offspring. They were like blades coated with deadly poison, or like countless ants gnawing at their prey. Amidst the chilling sounds, the Dark Abyss Offspring's struggles became powerless.

Just as Theseus described in the dream sanctuary.

The Dark Abyss offspring, who had initially presented themselves as hunters, finally became completely enslaved and "meal" for Shug at this moment.

As the nauseating mass of liquid disintegrated, the icy power that had invaded Hugh's body was completely enveloped and assimilated by his magic.

As the wave of magic slowly receded, Hugh was surprised to find that in his mental world, right where the "battle" had just taken place, there was a ball of pitch-black slime. It looked very similar to the offspring of the Dark Abyss and was still wriggling. But clearly, it no longer possessed any aggression or destructiveness, and could no longer pose any threat to Hugh's mental world.

"It looks somewhat similar to the lump of matter Theseus was playing with in his dream... So, logically speaking, could this thing be the manifestation of the power of the Dark Abyss' offspring?"

Hugh tentatively "touched" it in the mental world, and the sludge immediately trembled violently. A few sparse limbs grew on its surface, but at this moment, it no longer had the ferocity it had before. Under Hugh's gaze, these limbs only swayed weakly a couple of times before returning to their original state.

"interesting."

Although he was eager to continue studying his spoils, Hugh immediately turned his attention away from his mental world, as there were other things to do at the moment.

This time, although he successfully won the battle between will and magic, his physical strength was still severely depleted. So, the moment his consciousness returned, his legs involuntarily went weak.

A hand reached out from the side and successfully supported him.

At the same time, Verin's mage hand appeared again, quickly lighting up all the magical lamps in the carriage, bringing light back to the dim and oppressive space.

"I'm fine, let's deal with other things first."

Hugh leaned against the wall of the carriage, and Vera responded softly before quickly going to old Schubert's side.

The old man is in very bad shape right now.

With the departure of the Dark Abyss offspring, his spirit and will are rapidly recovering.

The magical crystals that had been arranged around the room and the pages inscribed with healing magic simultaneously emitted a light. The emerald green glow, symbolizing vitality and healing, gradually enveloped the frail body on the sickbed, and old Schubert's heavy breathing and faint groans immediately subsided.

Just as Hughes had predicted, the part of old Schubert's left leg that went down from the Silver Ring had completely disappeared.

The Dark Abyss offspring's ability to corrupt the human body is indeed extremely powerful.

No trace of Schubert's left leg was left; from skin to flesh to bone, everything had completely disappeared. On the broken part of his thigh, however, there was a hint of gray and decay.

Veraine quickly finished examining Schubert's condition. She breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "It seems he should be able to survive... Although the erosion did not continue to spread to other parts of his body because of the Demon Silver, the flesh in contact with it has also died. This part may need to be removed by the doctors."

She put away her spellbook and said to Hugh, "I'm not a professional healing magic scholar, so I'm afraid the rest can only be left to the army doctors."

“That’s enough, Miss Vera.”

Hugh nodded gratefully: "If it weren't for your magical rituals, this attempt would have been much more dangerous."

Vera paused for a moment, then walked to a corner and picked up her coat and scarf: "I've said it before, this is the kind of help I should give my friend."

“Mr. Hugh, we should leave too. If we delay any longer, the soldiers outside might try to breathe fire on the car.”

The female mage made a rare joke.

Hughes stood up from his chair, glanced at old Schubert who was enveloped in healing magical light, and asked, "Do you think Magister Klaus and the others would be hostile to Schubert?"

"They will definitely not let Schubert die, although he may suffer some more."

Vera sighed: "But for the military and the academy, these remains left by that monster might be more valuable for research... I hope they can be a little gentler on the patients for your and your family's sake."

"It can only be the."

Hugh nodded, then picked up his own things. They opened the carriage door and, under the watchful eyes of many, walked one after the other into the open space.

Several mage apprentices and the accompanying alchemist immediately stepped forward, and incense used to dispel chaotic forces and prevent potential curses was immediately sprinkled on Hugh and his companion. After this step was completed, the mage Klaus stepped forward.

This time, his gaze toward Hughes held a more scrutinizing and cautious quality.

"Looks like you succeeded?"

"It's a success, Mr. Klaus."

Hugh nodded to the mage: "Just like you said before, I'm confident in this area."

(End of this chapter)