Aidele sat beside Ashia, her deep purple Wizard Robe shimmering with a dark luster in the candlelight.

She kept her head lowered, taking small sips of the fruit wine in her cup.

She appeared calm, yet her fingertips unconsciously traced the side of the glass.

Ian sat in a corner of the guest seating, dressed in a simple gray robe. Gaga was curled up in a ball on his shoulder.

A glass of clear water sat untouched before him.

He just sat there quietly, his eyes half-closed.

Halfway through the banquet, Edmund suddenly stood up.

He raised his wine glass, a brilliant smile on his face.

"Everyone."

His voice was clear and carried a captivating magnetism.

"Family affairs have kept us all busy lately. It’s a rare pleasure for us to gather like this. I propose a toast... to the glory of the Justice Clan—"

Before his voice could fade...

Ian’s half-closed eyes silently opened.

Deep within his pupils, a silver light erupted like a volcano.

He had just been silently performing the Starry Sky Festival Meditation, and the Abyssal Soul Contract in his Sea of Spirit had once again sensed a wisp of the Abyss’s Will.

Inside his Sea of Spirit, a panel vibrated silently!

At the edge of his vision, dark red text cascaded down like a waterfall of blood.

[Resonance frequency locked...]

[Order Mark activated...]

[Abyssal Pollution Source resonance intensity: Peak!]

[Introducing Abyssal Will, resonating with Mark...]

[Violent Purification!]

The hall remained boisterous, with no visible anomalies.

But the moment Ian gave the command...

The smile on Edmund’s face abruptly froze!

The Crystal cup in his hand cracked with a SNAP, splattering amber liquid everywhere.

The next second.

He was violently thrown backward as if struck by an invisible sledgehammer!

"PFFT!"

A spray of dark red blood, mixed with inky black flecks, erupted from his mouth!

The blood splattered across the long table, instantly corroding the surface of the silverware with a dense pattern of pits.

A soft SIZZLING sound was unnervingly clear in the deathly silent banquet hall.

"URGHH..."

A beast-like roar rumbled from Edmund’s throat.

He clawed at his own neck, his nails digging deep into his flesh and drawing blood.

Across the surface of his skin, dark purple veins writhed madly as if they were alive.

An inky black fluid seeped from the depths of the veins, glistening sickeningly in the candlelight.

"Young... Young Master!"

The gray-robed old man beside him shot to his feet, reaching out to help.

But as soon as he touched Edmund’s shoulder...

"AHH!!"

The old man let out a bloodcurdling scream.

The skin of the hand that had touched Edmund withered and shriveled at a visible rate.

It was as if all moisture and life were being drained from it.

In the blink of an eye, the entire hand turned to charred, withered bone, its surface crawling with dark purple mycelia.

The mycelia writhed, spreading slowly upward.

"Help... help me..."

The gray-robed old man staggered back, his eyes filled with terror. This corruption was far beyond the scope of a Level Two Wizard.

He tried to shake off the withered hand, but the mycelia had already climbed onto his forearm.

Wherever it passed, flesh withered and bone crumbled.

It was as if something invisible was... devouring him from the inside.

At the same time, two more screams echoed through the banquet hall.

One came from the Guard Captain behind Edmund, the other from his personal Alchemist.

Both were also spewing black blood, the dark purple veins beneath their skin writhing manically.

Within just a few seconds, they collapsed to the ground, their bodies convulsing and curling into balls.

On the surface of their skin, small, bud-like protrusions began to emerge.

The protrusions writhed and split open, revealing dense clusters of eyeballs underneath.

The eyeballs swiveled, the depths of their pupils reflecting scenes of madness, agony, and despair...

"Abyssal pollution!!"

At the main table, a white-haired Elder shot to his feet, a terrifying light exploding in his eyes.

He waved his hand.

A tide of pale-gold Domain Power surged out, instantly enveloping the entire banquet hall.

All screams stopped abruptly.

Edmund and the other two were pinned in place as if seized by a giant, invisible hand, unable to move.

But the dark purple veins beneath their skin continued to writhe madly.

Like countless venomous snakes struggling and hissing beneath the flesh.

The white-haired Elder’s face was ashen as he walked step by step toward Edmund.

He looked down, staring at the twisted, deformed face.

"Edmund..."

His voice was soft, yet it carried the weight of a mountain.

"Explain yourself. You, and these men of yours..."

"Where did this Abyssal pollution on your bodies come from?"

Edmund opened his mouth, trying to say something.

But his throat could only manage a wheezing sound, like a broken bellows.

His eyes were filled with terror, despair, and... a trace of incredulous bewilderment.

It was as if even he couldn’t understand why his deeply buried secret...

...had been exposed at the worst possible moment,

...in the most brutal way imaginable.

The banquet hall was dead silent.

The candles still flickered, the silverware still reflected their warm light.

But the temperature in the air had dropped to freezing.

Around the long table, everyone’s face was deathly pale.

Edwin stared intently at Edmund, his nails digging into his palms, blood dripping from between his fingers.

Adrian’s fingers, which had been peeling a grape, froze in mid-air, juice dripping from his fingertips.

It spread into dark red spots on the tablecloth.

Aidele slowly set down her wine glass. Deep within her teal pupils, Dark Gold veins and silver patterns intertwined and flowed.

She raised her head and shot a furtive glance at Ian.

Like everyone else present, she was utterly shocked.

Ian had vaguely mentioned before that she should do her best to arrange an internal family gathering.

Now, the clan’s three Elders, Edmund, and nearly all the candidates were gathered here.

Aidele had never imagined that Ian would use such a bizarre method to cast Edmund directly into the Abyss.

’Just how... did you do it?’

Ian remained seated quietly, the glass of water before him perfectly still.

But at some point, Gaga had woken up on his shoulder.

Its small, silver-gray eyes blinked as it tilted its head, looking at the pool of dark red blood on the long table.

Then... it let out a soft cry.

"Gaga?"

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