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Chapter 57 - Price and Calamity
Chapter 57 - Price and Calamity
Chapter 57: Price and Calamity
Simon felt his body gradually shrivel up and become lifeless. However, at the same time, his soul rapidly underwent a metamorphosis under the effect of the Conversion ritual, moving steadily toward eternal immortality.
This was the solitude of Death which corresponded to the resurrection of the God King. It was said that all kinds of Lich conversion spells developed by future generations were originally inspired by it.
The light on the dragon-snake devouring pattern gradually dimmed, and the Undead mana that filled the entire tomb gradually thinned. This was even while the Eternal Gift was still constantly channeling a huge amount of magic power from the Astral World.
Massive amounts of mana converged into his ether domain through the ritual, resonating with the mythological prototype of this land of the past.
According to the Holy Spirits Church’s theory, this was resonating with the profile of the seventh Holy Spirit, the Dead.
Imitation, resonance, similarity, and finally becoming. This was all ceremonial magic.
It was almost over.
Sensing that the King and Rebel ritual was about to be completed, Simon—who was intoxicated by strength—raised his hand and clenched it at the tower guardian who had been floating in midair.
Or rather, the true Blackwater Crown that could command ten million Undead.
Not long ago, he was still a mortal. He couldn’t even touch that power.
But now, he could seize that power.
Once he held it tightly in his hand, even the ancestor from a thousand years ago, the King of Blackwater who had once triggered the Rotten Moon Undead Tide that spread across the continent, would only be a pathetic failure in front of him.
He would complete the great undertaking that his ancestor hadn’t completed.
However, before that…
Simon slowly lowered his hand and first looked back at the Judge’s descendant who was struggling to say goodbye to the faerie before shifting his gaze back to the night sky above the dome.
The phantoms of the three Moon Realm goddesses were already watching him.
All effects have been determined. All causes need to be paid.
The three voices suppressed the roars of countless Undead and reached the depths of Simon’s soul. The immense pressure made him kneel even though he had already reached the Divine Realm.
In ancient times, people often called Moon Realm magic ‘contract magic’ because all powers originating from the Moon Realm were essentially a transaction, and a transaction ultimately needed a price.
20 years ago, he took over the Blackwater Province which had become the royal family’s backyard from his weak father as a mortal.
At this moment, he already held the authority of Death and had reached the Divine Realm. He stood at the peak of ruling the new Blackwater Kingdom.
All of this couldn’t be done without the generous help of these three Moon Realm goddesses.
Now, it was time for Them to demand a price.
“According to the contract, the new Blackwater Kingdom will have the three goddesses as its only legal faith. Every church of the Holy Spirits Church will be demolished, and every page of scripture will be burned. Every missionary will be expelled,” Simon said humbly.
Silence…
“According to the contract, the operation of the Astral Laws in the Blackwater Kingdom will be abolished. The Stranger Lighthouse in Thorn City and the Viper Lighthouse in Blacklight City will be shut down. Moon Realm magic based on the three goddesses will be made public to everyone to spread the gospel of the goddesses.”
Continued silence…
“According to the contract, I will offer an offering to every lord,” Simon, who was kneeling on the ground, finally said.
This time, there was movement in the night sky.
The Whispering Empress, Beatrice, was the first to speak.
One sword.
The pitch-black knight’s sword, Judgment 4, that had fallen to the side of Cass’s throne made a sound as a few spider silks tugged at it.
Then, it was the voice of the Lord of Nightmare.
One Soul Fragment.
The huge sarcophagus in the middle of the tomb that was surrounded by seven concentric circles cracked open, and fog spread in. Then, pitch-black crow feathers protruded from it.
Finally, it was the Lady of Starvation’s answer.
One seed.
Rotting vines crept up the sarcophagus and reached into the cracks, sweeping out a spotless white seed.
Seeing this, Simon finally heaved a sigh of relief.
Although he didn’t know what Their goal was in obtaining these things, fortunately, They didn’t ask for more.
Before he could express his gratitude, Cass’s sudden roar drew Simon’s attention.
The man who looked crazy was twisting his arm bit by bit so that one hand could break free.
But was it meaningful in any way?
So what if he was unrestrained?
With this in mind, Simon looked at Cass with pity.
To be honest, he didn’t hate this man whose fate had always been under his control. Instead, he admired the other party’s courage and hardiness.
If he had been more selfish, cowardly, or hesitant about some choices, this plan probably wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.
That way, he would need to spend more effort to make arrangements to reach his present state.
Unfortunately, Cass was a true warrior.
Sometimes, Simon even felt that if it weren’t for the other party’s background that destined him to become a sacrifice for this King and Rebel ritual, this straightforward swordsman might be a subordinate worthy of his recruitment and nurturing.
What a pity…
Therefore, when Cass shakily pinched out a Demon Sealing rune from his pocket with his freed hand, Simon only revealed a regretful expression and didn’t do anything to stop him.
How pitiful. Even in this state, he is still making meaningless struggles, Simon thought.
What could a Demon Sealing rune that sealed a Lv. 7 spell at best do?
The Nightmare Maid stood at the side and watched with interest without any intention of stopping him.
As his freed hand didn’t have the strength to crush it, Cass placed the Demon Sealing rune into his mouth and chewed it.
Intense lightning shot out of his mouth before penetrating the sealed fog, opening a distorted space formed by lightning about three meters in front of him.
Spatial beacon?
Simon looked at the distorted space in confusion.
He originally thought that it would be an offensive spell, but it was only a support spell that lit up some teleportation coordinates.
But what could this do?
At the same time, the sword, feather, and seed—these three items for the contract’s remuneration—were gradually approaching the night sky projected on the tomb’s dome under the guidance of the three Void Sovereigns.
However, the moment the distorted space appeared, They stopped in their tracks at the same time.
The three Void Sovereigns suddenly cast Their gaze over.
The distorted space exploded, and hissing lightning splattered everywhere like snakes. The impact of the spatial rift stirred up dust.
When the dust dissipated, a gray-haired man with silver eyes and a slightly weathered face appeared.
He wore bone armor that was distorted like fire. Countless rune totems were engraved on it, and ice-blue and blood-red light flowed over it before finally gathering on a fist-sized black crystal in the center of the armor.
He held a staff made of pure frost in his hand, and a blood-red orb was embedded at the tip.
The moment this person stood still, he didn’t look at Cass, who was using the Demon Sealing runes to send the teleportation beacon, or the Nightmare Maid standing beside him. He didn’t even look at Simon Walde—who had already grasped the authority of Death—not far away.
“I didn’t expect to meet some old acquaintances the moment I arrived.”
William Kane looked up at the three Void Sovereigns in the night sky and sighed with emotion.
In the next moment, other than William, the voices of the three Void Sovereigns sounded in everyone’s minds.
They were no longer as supercilious and emotionless as before as if They were looking down on ants.
Instead, it was a voice mixed with intense emotions like hatred, confusion, and anger.
One word.
They only said one word.
Or rather, a title.
In the Moon Realm, many powerful and ancient Lunar Monsters, including the Void Sovereign, were unwilling to mention that person’s name.
When They were discussing a topic regarding that person in a way that couldn’t be avoided, They would use this title to refer to him.
Calamity.