Chapter 104: The Dark Demon Watches the Sect
Despite Dark’s words of “watching from the sidelines,” it was clearly not the time for such thoughts now.
After a moment’s consideration, he gave a subtle signal to the Imp Beast, then found the entrance to the secret path and channeled his mana.
As the walls rippled like water, the Imp Beast dived in headfirst.
Seconds later, it poked its head out again: “Safe!”
Dark swiftly slipped inside,
The torches on both sides of the secret path had already been lit, making this method of concealment quite risky.
But there was no better option at the moment.
He glanced at the ground and noticed water marks still present, indicating that someone had recently passed through here.
Following the water marks led him to a fork in the path where they suddenly disappeared.
By this point, Dark was almost certain that their destination was the temple!
He sped up along the route leading to the temple.
Soon, Dark arrived at the spot where he had previously fought Wit. After another turn, he saw the road leading directly to the temple was brightly lit.
Several bats flew in from somewhere, following the light into the temple, and faint noises could be heard.
“It seems like some kind of gathering?”
Dark observed briefly and chose to take a detour.
Finally, after a few minutes, he approached close to the temple.
Not wanting to risk being seen, Dark didn’t get too close, stopping to watch from around the corner about ten meters away from the temple.
From here, he could see the shadowy figures and dense crowds inside the temple.
“Is this the seafood sect?”
Dark’s mind raced as he realized that Wit was likely captured by members of the sect.
Although he knew little about the sect,
Using his brain, he could imagine what they might do.
“Praying, sacrificing, or something else?”
…
“Roar—”
Suddenly, a roar that seemed to penetrate the entire castle erupted from directly above.
Unprepared, Dark quickly covered his ears and stepped back.
Immediately after, a dragon’s roar echoed through the night sky, startling the students within the castle.
Dark was momentarily confused, only seeing that several people inside the temple were also startled, rushing out but quickly retreating.
The roar from above was abruptly cut off, leaving silence once more.
Pressing against the wall, holding his breath, Dark regained his composure after a moment.
Then he realized that no one was hiding in the shadows outside the temple.
The roar from above was likely caused by the final boss of the ninth floor being summoned.
This was a regular event during Halloween each year.
It was not unusual.
…
Dark sent the Imp Beast to scout ahead, confirming no one was hidden outside before carefully approaching the temple entrance.
Inside, the voices were very clear.
Though the view was limited, he could glimpse part of the temple.
Dark’s heart skipped a beat when he saw inside.
He had guessed some of the sect’s actions, but never imagined they would target the students.
“Since Professor Kazel has investigated, it should be impossible for something like this to happen!”
But the facts were undeniable.
A quick glance revealed over ten pairs of male and female students bound inside.
Dark immediately spotted Robert at the front.
He was tied with another girl, his mouth stuffed with a cloth, but appeared alert, eyes wide and full of spirit.
Scott, wearing a squid costume, stood in front of him, chin raised.
Unfortunately, Dark did not see Wit among them.
Perhaps he was tied elsewhere?
…
Besides Scott, who was guarding the captives, other sect members were busy.
They drew intricate magic circuits around the goddess statue and placed special candles at the nodes.
Once everything was set up,
A sect member wearing a sea eel mask approached, examining Robert and the girl behind him with interest.
She asked curiously, “These are the couple you caught?”
Scott replied proudly, “Rest assured, they meet the criteria.”
The sea eel lady nodded slightly, “That’s good. Everything will change tonight.”
Scott exclaimed excitedly, “With the goddess revived, we will become her most devout followers, and everyone will praise us.”
The sea eel lady smiled, “I don’t have such grand ambitions. I just want all unfaithful people to die out.”
Scott: “…”
…
After a while.
A person in a starfish costume appeared in Dark’s vision.
He circled the couples, then reached down, picking up a mana card with his fingertips.
“Mana Summoning.”
The last whispers of the couples vanished completely.
— It was the Silence Card!
This discovery made Dark even more cautious.
Only the top students could create the Silence Card.
It seemed not all members of the sect were as useless as Scott.
The starfish man did not stop there.
He took out a tiny bottle, his lips moving slightly, and produced a crystal-clear droplet of liquid from it.
One of the bound couples seemed to recognize the liquid, struggling and roaring furiously.
But his voice was silenced by the Silence Card, not a sound escaping.
The starfish man smiled, “No wonder it’s Antonio; even the Dispiriting Water is recognized.”
The man struggled even harder!
But the starfish man flicked his finger, sending the droplet of Dispiriting Water into the man’s forehead.
In an instant, the man stopped struggling, his pupils dilating, losing consciousness.
…
Hidden outside, Dark frowned.
He realized he had encountered another knowledge gap.
What exactly was Dispiriting Water?
…
It wasn’t just him.
Everyone except Antonio and the sixteen sect members clearly did not know what Dispiriting Water was.
But this did not stop them from struggling desperately after seeing Antonio’s fate.
Some even managed to break free from their bindings and lunged at the sect members.
Without mana cards, they were subdued again within two minutes.
The starfish man dripped the Dispiriting Water onto each of their foreheads.
As the Dispiriting Water seeped into their brains, everyone lost consciousness.
