But the drawing of the Magic Array was far more difficult than Dominic had anticipated. Every rune had to be drawn by a Level 2 or higher Shadow Mage, and every line needed to be activated with Shadow Energy immediately after completion; even a slight deviation would force them to erase the whole circle and start over.
They had been working here for countless days, with everyone’s Spiritual Power already overdrawn, yet no one dared to stop.
"Check the Convergence Rune once more." Dominic’s voice was low and dry, echoing in the enclosed space of the cave, "Even if one rune is off by half a degree, you know the consequences."
The black-robed priests bent lower, their rune carving knives scraping the Rock Wall with a fine rustle, not daring to show the slightest negligence.
Dominic withdrew his gaze and took out a palm-sized Life Stone from his sleeve.
After Julius died, all the council members’ Life Stones were transferred into his hands.
The stone was now trembling slightly, a signal from the sentinels he posted on the perimeter indicating everything was normal.
He gripped the Life Stone, suppressing even the slightest ripple, then refocused on the core of the Magic Array, where the Shadow Stone Crystal was continuously shimmering with liquid luster.
Upon completion of the descent ritual, my master will descend to the Oracle Plane in the form of a projection avatar.
Level 3 Peak, according to the Oracle Plane’s division, is beyond all Great Mages, infinitely close to the limit of the Plane’s Power.
By that time, even the Child of Light will be no threat.
Everything was proceeding as planned.
In a little time, my master will personally arrive on this land, and Dominic, the Great Mage of the Shadow Council, will become the witness and executor of all this.
He slightly raised his chin, the dark purple light of the Magic Array reflecting in his gray-green pupils, a faint, long-repressed smile finally about to unfold at the corner of his lips.
Then he noticed the Shadow Torch at the entrance to the cave flickered.
It was not blown by the wind, for there was no wind at the bottom of the rift.
The flicker was so subtle that only someone who has long dealt with Shadows could detect it.
Something suddenly disturbed the Shadow Energy in a specific direction, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, the ripples silently spreading.
Several black-robed priests kneeling on the perimeter of the Magic Array hadn’t even reacted before a line of dark red blood mist burst from their necks simultaneously.
Their bodies, upon falling, were silently engulfed by the Shadow Energy spreading from their wounds, without even a scream, disappearing into the thick darkness like paper thrown into an ink pool.
Dominic suddenly turned around. Someone had appeared on the Shadow Stone Crystal at the core of the Magic Array, unnoticed.
It was a young man wearing a dark long robe, with a tall and slender figure, a calm expression on his face.
He stood above the Shadow Stone Crystal, feet on the massive stone shimmering with liquid luster, looking down over the entire cave as if he were the master here.
He was enveloped by a faint layer of Four-Color Divine Light, dark red, ink black, pale gold, and earth yellow, flowing silently around him like small fish, repelling the rich surrounding Shadow Energy a few steps away.
The Four-Color Light reflected on his calm face, dyeing half of his face in moving aurora, while the other half hid in the Shadow.
"So, you all are hiding here to prepare for the arrival of the Evil God?" With Duke’s insight, he naturally recognized at a glance what they were doing here.
Dominic wasted no time. As Duke’s final syllable of his sentence fell, his hands suddenly thrust forward.
The wide sleeves of his purple robe inflated like wings under the infusion of Shadow Energy, shooting forth dozens of substantial Shadow tentacles from his sleeves, each as thick as an adult’s arm, covered with dense Shadow Runes, splitting into five at the tips like some deep-sea predator’s maw, biting towards Duke from all directions.
Meanwhile, his feet lifted half an inch above the ground, his entire body wrapped in thick Shadows, retreating rapidly within them, creating distance between himself and Duke.
He knew he wasn’t a match for this Child of Light, but he didn’t need to win; he just needed to stall.
Stall until the Magic Array was completed and his master descended, and everything would reverse.
The Shadow tentacles collided with the Metallic Yellow Sand surging around Duke, emitting a sharp screech like hot oil splattering in ice water.
Each tentacle disintegrated at a visible speed upon contact with the four-color protective Light on the sand surface, with the power of the Shadow Rules directly absorbed by the Four-Color Divine Light.
The tentacles rushed relentlessly, and were crushed in succession, Shadow Energy fragments splattering like rain, punching countless fine holes in the cave floor, yet not one could penetrate the sand barrier.
By the time Dominic landed, he had retreated to the other end of the cave, leaning against a stalactite hanging from the cave roof.
His hands swiftly formed seals in front of his chest, causing the black-robed priests kneeling at the edge of the Magic Array to simultaneously stand up.
They didn’t stand up voluntarily, but were pulled upright by some invisible force from the ground.
Green fire burned in their eye sockets, faces twisted but unable to emit any sound, their bodies manipulated like puppets by Dominic, rushing towards Duke.
Each priest had Shadow Stone fragments bound to them, and they simultaneously detonated when within a few feet of Duke, concentrated Shadow Energy exploding like a series of small black suns in the cave, the violent shock waves shaving a layer of rock crust off the ground.
Duke didn’t blink. The Metallic Yellow Sand automatically condensed into an arc-shaped barrier in front of him, the Four-Color Divine Light flowing across its surface forming a brilliant light curtain.
The black flames from the detonated Shadow Stone fragments struck the light curtain like Waves hitting a reef, shattering into countless water mist, absorbed by the curtain cleanly.
The shock waves from the explosion didn’t reach Duke but were steadily blocked by a layer of pale golden Light, each impact dispersed into the countless grains of sand across the entire sand sea, not even stirring the fabric of Duke’s clothing.
Taking advantage of the explosion’s gap, Dominic’s right hand suddenly clenched in the void.
The ground beneath Duke’s feet abruptly cracked, a shadow fountain with feet in diameter gushing fiercely from the fissure, the black Shadow Energy climbing up his legs like living creatures, attempting to drag him wholly underground.
Simultaneously, Dominic’s left hand gestured in the void, causing the core of the Magic Array, the half-human-tall Shadow Stone Crystal, to tremble violently, an extremely slender dark purple beam shooting from its top, aiming directly at Duke’s brow.
This was part of the Shadow Energy stored in the Magic Array forcefully extracted for attack, with the beam ionizing the air it passed through, leaving a sharp ozone trace.
Duke glanced downward at the Shadow Energy creeping up his legs, then lightly stomped his right foot.
The Metallic Yellow Sand expanded rapidly from him as the center, and the Four-Color Divine Light on the sand grains swept the creeping Shadow Energy from its roots like an invisible broom, simultaneously filling and compressing the shadow fissure beneath his foot, restoring the ground to the smoothness of Obsidian.
The dark purple beam was intercepted precisely by a sand barrier slanting in from his side, with the Four-Color Divine Light exploding into a radiant halo at the contact point, absorbing the beam’s energy piece by piece until it fully dissipated a few inches from his brow, leaving only a faint ozone lingering in the air.
"Any other tricks?" Duke’s voice emerged from the center of the sand sea, as calm as if inquiring about the day’s weather.
Dominic’s gray-green pupils abruptly contracted.
He swung his right hand backward, fingers deeply inserted into the root of the stalactite behind him, pulling with force.
The stalactite broke off the Rock Wall, but held in his hand was no longer stone. His Shadow Energy infiltrated the stone’s interior, transforming the entire stalactite into a giant black spear with dark purple runes flowing on its shaft, the tip aimed at Duke’s heart.
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