Chapter 106 The Bell Tolls for the Era [16.5]
She was born from the moon and descended upon the earth.
She was both the Goddess of the Moon and the Earth Mother.
She was in charge of the proliferation of all things, bestowing endless blessings upon the earth.
She was the most beautiful goddess, the ruler of the night.
Her beauty was eternal.
She was sacred and noble, presiding over abundance, fertility, and love.
…
Kazel closed the book and shut his eyes.
The flower card etched with memories lay on the upper right corner of the desk, emitting a faint green light that wove itself into a green rose.
…
Atop the Spiral Bell Tower at the heart of the castle.
Professor Didi Maxwell floated in the air, her butterfly-like wings fluttering gently.
Deep lines etched her forehead like carved knives, and her eyes reflected two crescent moons.
“There are three minutes left.”
She lowered her head and gazed at various parts of the castle.
At the stroke of twelve, all the ghosts would vanish.
Pandora, who had summoned the final boss Behemoth, had only three minutes left to defeat it.
…
Principal Altair and others had already arrived at the banquet hall on the first floor, waiting for the students to pour in after the stroke of twelve, ushering in the second half of the masquerade ball.
Princess Eliza sat beside the principal, chatting and laughing.
Professors Thompson and Jones were conversing, while Professor Lily lay on the table, looking like a flopping fish.
…
Inside the secret chamber temple.
Dark, who was peering into the temple, found himself irresistibly drawn to the statue of the goddess.
He lifted his eyelids just in time to see the statue open its eyes from a closed state.
Their gazes collided instantly.
In that moment,
the thin mist covering his eyes suddenly dissipated, revealing a gaze as soft as water—only for it to turn evil and fierce in an instant!
The delicate, porcelain-like face transformed into a terrifying visage of a demon in the blink of an eye!
“Ah!”
Dark felt fear, quickly retracting his gaze.
But when he looked again, neither the eyes nor the face seemed to have changed—they remained pure and dignified.
Yet, the serene and beautiful ceremony under the moonlight had lost its color.
Time flowed backward through the hourglass.
Dark’s gaze pierced through the ceiling, seeing the night sky beyond the castle.
Though it appeared like a mirror, the moonlight indeed shone through this mirror into the hidden temple within the secret passages of the castle.
It tilted and converged, illuminating the statue of the goddess, reflecting a pure white light.
Occasionally, he could glimpse the white dragon dancing in the sky.
And the legendary monster, the master of beasts, Behemoth!
Only two minutes left.
Dark stepped out from behind the wall.
The sudden change a moment ago
solidified his resolve.
The imp beast flew by his side.
Between Dark’s fingers, a pale pink mana card appeared.
[Bliss: 92]
There was still room to spare.
…
The pink mist entangled the devout followers of the Sea产 Sect in a web-like manner.
The thirty-four captured individuals, injected with soul-dispersing water, lost consciousness and their souls loosened from their bodies, making them more susceptible to being separated from their minds.
Humans injected with soul-dispersing water were the perfect hosts for demonic parasitism.
In the previous era, soul-dispersing water was commonly used by demons for biological experiments.
However, this potion was thoroughly banned at the beginning of the new era.
…
Unbeknownst to him,
in this area,
only Dark seemed to be able to move.
He walked into the temple, drawing closer to the statue.
Seven liquid spheres swirled violently within his sight.
The closer he got, the clearer he could see the past reflected within these transparent water spheres.
They depicted the entire journey of seven couples from相识 to相知 to相爱.
To have true love in one’s lifetime was truly precious.
These were rare treasures.
Dark considered bursting them but ultimately decided against it.
“How much longer? It should be soon, right?”
His gaze shifted to the night sky in the mirror.
The moon tonight was truly beautiful.
…
Thirty seconds left.
…
“Sss!”
Among the thirty-four sacrificial victims, there was movement.
Unexpectedly, a short-haired girl dressed as a vampire countess stood up like a marionette, guided by the pink mist.
Her eyes were clear, yet filled with fear.
She seemed unaffected by the soul-dispersing water, possibly captured intentionally, waiting for the right moment.
But the mana card she treasured betrayed her at the crucial moment.
Pink mist, like spider silk, wrapped around her body, manipulating her limbs as she lunged towards the Black Crow Masked Prince of Night who had suddenly appeared in the temple!
“Grr!”
She tried to speak, but what burst forth from her throat was a roar like that of a wild beast.
Knowing she was lunging at someone who might be her savior,
she could only watch helplessly as she tore him apart—
“Awoof!”
The vampire girl let out a piercing scream.
The Prince of Night, without mercy, shattered her hopes with a heavy blow.
Then came a knee strike from below!
“Bang!”
Even though she had received Valkyrie training (very brief), Dark wasn’t easily overwhelmed by a weak girl.
He didn’t even summon a golem elemental, cleanly resolving the situation by kicking the possessed girl aside.
Dark’s gaze grew increasingly serious.
“Even such methods are being used… It seems time is running out?”
…
Suddenly, he looked up and saw a giant beast’s head with two curved horns fly across the mirror.
A pure white bride riding a slender white dragon sped past under the moonlight.
“Clang!”
The clock struck twelve.
…
In an instant,
the moonlight above the castle concentrated massively.
Areas deprived of moonlight were swallowed by darkness.
Only St. Marian’s Castle reflected white light like a giant lantern.
The students felt the condensed moonlight, mistaking it for a Halloween surprise.
Intense moonlight penetrated the mirror, directly shining on the statue of the goddess.
Dark felt something inside him stir uncontrollably!
Emotions fluctuated wildly.
Like staring at a full moon in an astronomy class,
but even stronger!
His two fingers trembled violently with [Bliss I].
The [Bliss III] in his deck almost leaped out!
The statue’s eyes suddenly turned towards him, its face twisting grotesquely.
But it seemed more mocking than threatening.
…
Veins popped on Dark’s forehead as he sensed rage surging.
He immediately activated [Bliss I], using it as a medium to connect with the [Bliss] within the statue.
As expected, [Bliss] surged back in like water.
Dark fixed his gaze on the statue’s expression.
He noticed the statue’s face twitched.
“Mana Summoning!”
At this moment…
Despite the backlash of [Bliss], Dark initiated [Bliss I] using a regular summoning spell, attempting to redirect the incoming [Bliss] towards the imp beast!
During his first encounter, he panicked and destroyed the mana card.
But this time, he was prepared.
Guiding rather than blocking.
The statue was still just a statue.
The [Bliss] flowing from its body, channeled through [Bliss I], continuously poured into the imp beast!
Simultaneously, the statue, bathed in intense moonlight, absorbed lunar essence.
It opened its mouth.
The liquid spheres produced by the seven couples were instantly sucked up.
Holy night, worship, sacrifice.
The ritual continued.
The power of yearning, [Bliss], and moonlight.
Plus the inherent, fundamental power residing within the statue.
These forces fused and fermented within the statue.
A corner of the long-buried mist emerged.
An ancient ruler leaked a trace of its presence from eternal slumber.
The entire St. Marian’s Castle shook.
Principal Altair, waiting in the banquet hall, slammed the table and stood up.
Anna and Angie, running in the castle corridors, were suddenly encircled by light circles released by small fairies and forcibly brought to Altair’s side.
Professors Shylph, Thompson, Jones…
Almost all professors at St. Marian’s wore grave expressions.
Only Professor Lily glanced up and shrugged, then laid down again.
…
Pandora, who had successfully defeated the final boss Behemoth in the last second, suddenly looked down at a part of the castle.
Her linked white dragon emitted a long dragon roar.
…
Professor Kazel gathered his books, stood up, and walked out of the office.
…
Inside the temple.
Dark held up [Bliss I], continuously channeling the goddess’s power into the imp beast.
Under the surge of immense power, the imp beast’s brow glowed brightly, the capital sin emblem more vivid than ever before.
Endless power, converted through the emblem, was absorbed by the imp beast.
With the emblem as the core, its entire body began to glow, forming a massive luminescent entity.
Its life structure underwent a dramatic transformation!
From a bat-like imp, it gradually evolved into a black cat curled up like a human infant.
Dark’s eyes flickered with excitement.
His original goal was to absorb the energy within the statue during the critical moment, causing it to suffer backlash during the ritual.
Now, however, the situation seemed to be developing in an unpredictable direction.
Was it good?
Or bad?
He couldn’t predict.
But the evolution of the imp beast hadn’t stopped!
Within the massive luminescent entity, the curled-up black cat stretched its limbs under the continuous influx of energy, rapidly transforming toward a humanoid female form.
She was a noble and powerful fallen angel, the embodiment of sensuality and beauty, the ultimate form of the digital creature—Demoness Beast!
