Chapter 380 Reverse-Engineer the Magic Energy Formation <TOC> Chapter 382 Isabella
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel furrowed his brow.
The actions of Black Castle could hardly be considered virtuous.
The magic formation he deduced did not have an explicitly cruel effect; otherwise, the Kulakuka tribe would not have persisted for a thousand years. However, sometimes straightforward cruelty is not the true abyss.
It was a sleepless night, but the only brilliant lights were at the altar below the sacred mountain. Ciporak had fallen into silence due to its emptiness, the peaceful streets devoid of people, with only the lonely streetlights illuminating the tranquil splendor.
Angel looked at the city that had settled into tranquility, and no one knew what kind of darkness lay beneath its quiet, refined exterior.
Gazing at it was like staring into an abyss.
Suddenly, Angel noticed that not everyone had left Ciporak. An elderly woman with white hair emerged from a residential building. She walked slowly, holding a bouquet of flowers in her hand.
At a glance, the streets of Ciporak were empty, with only this old woman walking alone.
She slowly made her way to a statue at the end of the street.
This statue was one of the three hundred and seventy-two statues with magic rune nodes.
A streetlight attracting tiny moths stood beside the statue.
With the help of the streetlight, Angel clearly saw the old woman’s face. Due to her age, the corners of her eyes drooped slightly, but from the wrinkles around her eyes, it was clear that she was a person who liked to smile. Although her face was full of wrinkles, her demeanor was gentle and peaceful.
However, Angel noticed that the old woman’s complexion was not good; her face was pale, and her eyes were slightly cloudy, looking quite ill.
The old woman placed the flowers in front of the statue, the corners of her mouth adorned with a serene smile.
Angel saw her muttering something, her expression a mix of bitterness and laughter, as if she was talking about something.
Angel knew a little lip-reading, but that was based on the other person speaking with a wide-open mouth. Now, the old woman’s mouth was not moving much, and she occasionally used her breath to make sounds, so he couldn’t hear what she was saying.
But Angel had some guesses.
Perhaps she was reminiscing about her life, sighing from time to time, occasionally smiling, and sometimes lowering her head in silence. It was as if a person nearing the end was reminiscing about the past, drawing a conclusion to their life.
As she spoke, she bowed to the statue, looking extremely reverent.
It was because of her actions that Angel turned his attention to the statue. He hadn’t noticed the statue before, only focusing on the magic rune nodes centered around it. It was only when he carefully observed the statue now that he noticed something unusual.
Although the statues throughout Ciporak were of various shapes and forms, they all had one thing in common: they all depicted a woman.
Though artistic styles may differ, Angel felt that these statues were likely portraying the same woman.
The statue in front of the old lady was of a kind-faced, robed woman with her hands in fists and her eyes closed. The craftsmanship was excellent, clearly conveying the sculptor’s respect and the sense of divine detachment attributed to the robed woman.
“Diavolo, do you know who the statues in Ciporak are depicting?” Angel took the initiative to contact Shadow with his psychic connection.
It took a while for Shadow to reply: “Sigh— the temptations here are overwhelming, and I really want to rush to the temple on the mountaintop regardless. Huh, you were asking about the statues?”
Angel: “Yes, are they all the same person?”
Shadow: “Ah, you just noticed now? Yes, those statues are all of the same person. If I’m not mistaken, it should be the witch of Black Castle who led the Kulakuka tribe here a thousand years ago. She’s also the mentor of the old witch, the Twilight Queen Isabelle. By the way, the old witch now mimics her mentor in everything, even changing her name to be very similar to Isabelle. It’s no wonder she cannot attain true knowledge, as she cannot escape her mentor’s shadow.”
“Twilight Queen, Isabelle.” Angel looked at the statue. Where was the sense of twilight? It wouldn’t be out of place to call her a sacred goddess!
As Angel and Shadow were conversing, the old lady in front of the statue seemed to have finished speaking. She knelt down, her head touching the ground, and remained silent in front of the statue.
After a long time, Angel saw that the old lady remained motionless and descended from the mountain. It was only after sensing her with his mental tendrils that he realized her body was already cold.
As he had thought.
The old lady may have known that her time was running out, so she did not attend the festival. Instead, she spent her final moments reminiscing about the past, talking incessantly with the statue until her last breath, leaving with a devout heart.
Angel sensed that although the old lady had died, her frail soul still lingered in her body, seemingly bidding a final farewell to her mortal remains.
However, at the moment her soul was about to leave, an ethereal light that ordinary people could not see flashed across the statue in front of her. Before she could react, her soul was swept into an unknown realm.
Angel witnessed this moment, with no intention or ability to change it.
He only felt a sense of irony.
In the final moments of her life, the old lady did not forget the statue she had revered all her life, even wanting to spend her last moments talking in front of it. But she never imagined that the statue would be the one to push her into the true abyss.
As ironic as it may be, this was reality.
Isabelle had given the Kulakuka tribe the chance to continue thriving, ensuring their survival. But this protection came at a price, a hefty one— the cost of their souls.
The body could die, but as long as the soul remained, there was a glimmer of life.
If the soul dies, then it is a true death.
Angel turned and left.
In front of the streetlamp at the corner, a cold corpse still knelt in front of Isabelle’s statue. Isabelle had her eyes closed and her fists clenched, as if praying for something. The wind blew, scattering the flowers in front of the statue, their petals dancing in the air before finally landing on the old lady’s already rigid body. The white hair and soft petals seemed to merge into one at this moment.
You confided in me, and I bid you farewell.
…
Crossing the desolate and lonely Ciporak, the moment Angel entered the sacred mountain’s vicinity, the lively atmosphere accompanied by bright lights and uninterrupted hymns immediately enveloped him.
It was like passing through two different worlds, from cold to lively.
Looking at the temple atop the sacred mountain, its pulsating energy was radiating unrestrainedly, proclaiming its presence.
“How did you come here?” The voice of Shadow suddenly came: “Are you planning to give up on the calculation?”
Shadow never thought that Angel could reverse-engineer the effect of the magic formation in less than ten hours.
Angel: “I’ve calculated it, an unsurprising result.”
“It doesn’t matter if you can’t calculate it, anyway… Wait, did you say you calculated it?! Are you kidding me?” Shadow was so surprised that he almost shouted, if Angel could see his expression, he would find Shadow’s eyes bulging, and his hat unknowingly dropped to the ground.
“I’ve calculated a few important magic runes, so I’ve almost guessed the outcome. I did a little verification, and it was indeed within expectations.”
Shadow was still somewhat in disbelief, and he repeatedly confirmed it several times. It was not until Angel became impatient that he reluctantly believed it was true: “Alright, what is the effect of this magic formation?”
“Imprisonment and absorption of souls,” Angel paused, “Based on a few magic runes related to bloodlines, we can make a simple guess that the scope of this magic formation’s imprisonment may not be limited to Ciporak… but includes everyone with the Kulakuka bloodline. Even if they are not in this world, even if they are far away, as long as they bear the mark of Kulakuka, they will be lured here.”
Shadow frowned: “You mean…”
“This race is actually the sealed prisoner of Black Castle.” The Kulakuka people seem to have freedom, living in peace and happiness, but these are just the beautiful illusions given to them by Black Castle while they are alive. When they die, these facades are torn apart, revealing the hidden fangs that tear their weak souls into shreds.
“The result is not surprising, but the means are quite unexpected.” Shadow shook his head and laughed: “Perhaps Isabelle once truly pitied the Kulakuka people, and if she didn’t rescue them, the extinction of the Kulakuka people was possible. However, in her eyes, since I saved you, you should repay me, only that the form of repayment is somewhat excessive.”
“Whether it’s excessive or not, we can’t judge. Ordinary people rarely think about what happens after death; death for them is just death. Perhaps, even if the people of the Kulakuka tribe knew the effect of the magic formation, they wouldn’t care.”
“You’re right. The vision of ordinary people stops right in front of them.” Shadow paused: “However, now that you’ve mentioned it, I also have some reassurance in my heart. Do you know where those imprisoned souls went?”
Angel pointed at the temple on the sacred mountain: “It should be there.”
Shadow: “Yes, I’m pretty sure that the source of the laws is inside the temple. After I came here, I found that the fluctuations of the laws around the sacred mountain were very stable. If the laws were consumed, it would be hard to explain. But if the laws were not consumed, why couldn’t they spread beyond this floating island?”
“I couldn’t figure it out before, but after hearing you say that, I have a guess. If there are no accidents, this Wizard Garden relies on the absorbed souls as energy to drive the source of the laws. However, there is a flaw in this guess: ordinary people’s souls are fragmented, and the quality is not enough to become an energy source for the laws.”
“So… there should be some method to purify the souls?” Both of them thought of this almost simultaneously.
If there really is a way to purify souls… Angel’s journey here would not be in vain!
Chapter 380 Reverse-Engineer the Magic Energy Formation <TOC> Chapter 382 Isabella