Chapter 290: A Gift from Those Guarding the Boundary
"I wonder how the war is going… although blocking off escape routes is also extremely important, not being allowed to enter the core area of the Evil Dragon Followers and fight is just… I'm not afraid of death… why am I stuck here…"
In the central area of Fallen Shadow Valley, Malcolm sighed incessantly as he sat atop a rock beside the immense pillar of billowing dark purple gas.
This tall black haired man wore the uniform of Three Headed Dragon Academy. Indeed, he was one of Three Headed Dragon Academy's elite teachers, and also a member of the Office of Special Affairs.
To an arcane master like him, fighting to the death in the midst of danger during a great war like this was true glory.
Observing the immense pillar of dark purple gas while standing beside it was incredibly different from observing it from afar.
From where Malcolm was sitting, he could clearly differentiate every particle and flame which formed the column.
The largest of these particles were the size of fists. As they surged out from within the abyss and collided with flames, they would continuously pop and split in all directions like soap bubbles.
The astonishing thing about these particles and flames was that they all contained the same aura as the arcane energy of the Evil Dragon Followers, the Evil Dragon's aura of evil.
Just what had the Evil Dragon King left amidst all of the altars within the Abyss of Evil?
Was it some kind of corpse? Or perhaps it was some kind of special bloodline existence created from arcane particles?
As the evil aura became increasingly thick around him, Malcolm began feeling that if this war didn't result in the annihilation of Fallen Shadow Valley, the Evil Dragon Followers could actually recover the Evil Dragon's bloodline as recorded in legend, leading to the rise of a new Evil Dragon King.
Suddenly, flames and particles of varying colors began appearing within the immense dark purple pillar of gas. Electricity-like streaks of energy connected these flames and particles as they shot out from within the pillar into the sky like bolts of lightning.
The battle within the Abyss of Evil was continuing on, and had perhaps become even more intense.
"Eh?"
At this moment, Malcolm stood up as a giant black eagle abruptly pierced through the dense layer of dark clouds above his head and descended towards him like a meteor before gently landing on his shoulder.
An icy coldness radiated from the feathers on the eagle's wings and a penetrating gaze emanated from its eyes, which were like two white gemstones which had been poked in the middle with a thin black brush.
A powerful arcane energy fluctuation rippled from its body, forming a layer of ice in the air around it.
This giant black eagle was clearly a Highland Eagle sent by "Lord of the Frozen Lands" Arnold!
A glint flickered through Malcolm's eyes as he turned and looked towards a rocky patch of earth beside him.
"A necromancer? And a dark creature?"
A look of excitement appeared on his face as he coldly smiled.
At the same time, a figure emerged from within the dark purple pillar of gas behind him.
This figure wore the uniform of Winterfell Academy's arcane masters. They were rather tall and dignified.
"Have some powerful characters finally arrived?"
This tall, middle-aged arcane master repeatedly clenched and loosened his fists as if he couldn't wait any longer.
"This?"
But then, he and Malcolm immediately froze in shock.
As the last vestiges of light were overcome by darkness, a golden-haired youth wearing the student uniform of Holy Dawn Academy walked out amidst the rocks.
This youth constantly combed through his hair in a narcissistic manner and gave off an unreliable feeling. But what shocked them was that there was a dark aura releasing Dark Queen Mermaid following closely behind him!
"A Dark Queen Mermaid?"
After this boy and Dark Queen Mermaid were two more youths wearing the student uniform of Holy Dawn Academy.
Finally, behind these two youths was one more slouching youth. A powerful aura of death rippled from his body.
"Vengeful Spirit?"
"That is a corpse! But because they died with too much resentment and willpower, they have managed to remain atop this earth at the boundary between life and death. A Vengeful Spirit which is neither dead nor alive!"
Malcolm and the tall, Winterfell Academy arcane master were both stunned.
The group of four before them was just too strange!
For one, there wasn't a single arcane master atop Doraster that they knew of, Evil Dragon Follower or not, who could summon dark creatures like this Dark Queen Mermaid.
As for the Vengeful Spirit… Vengeful Spirits were extremely rare, even during the Era of the War of Dragons and chaotic Magus Era.
If a Dark Queen Mermaid or Vengeful Spirit had been following behind a five or six gate arcane master, then perhaps they could have accepted it.
But both had appeared here at the same time, and they were following alongside a team of young students!
The powerful impact of what they saw caused the two of them, who were accustomed to seeing amazing things, to remain speechless.
"Huuu…"
On the contrary, the three strange youths let out sighs of relief upon seeing the two arcane master before them.
"They are our people… Misters, are you arcane masters of the Office of Special Affairs?" asked one of the three youth, breaking the silence. A strange yellow crystal ball floated in the air beside him, and he seemed to have the greatest fighting intent of the three.
"I am Malcolm. He is Lucius. We are indeed both arcane masters of the Office of Special Affairs. What about you three?" Malcolm responded as he regained his wits.
"We are members of Holy Dawn Academy's team. I am Ayrin, this is Stingham, and he is Rinloran," Ayrin warmly introduced himself and his teammates.
"These youths are the strange members of the powerful Holy Dawn Academy team which entered the semi-finals of the national tournament?" Malcolm and Lucius thought as they looked at each other. Although they had not watched any of the matches, they had long since heard of Ayrin and the others, whose names had rapidly circulated through the Kingdom of Eiche.
"Then this Dark Queen Mermaid?" Lucius asked as his gaze fixated upon the Dark Queen Mermaid beside the three youths. These members of Holy Dawn Academy's team seemed to be as strange as the rumors stated. Dark Queen Mermaids were known for their aggressiveness and inability to be tamed, yet this one before him was acting rather docilely.
It was just too strange.
Upon hearing Lucius' question, Ayrin and Rinloran's expressions turned weird.
"She is my girlfriend," Stingham loudly replied.
"What? Girlfriend?" Malcolm and Lucius exclaimed as they nearly collapsed in shock.
"Yes. By the way, do you have any extra arcane master robes?" Stingham responded as he excitedly looked at the two of them, especially the tall Lucius. "Your arcane robes seem like they could fit her. Although her long hair is currently covering everything, it is still not good for her to wear so little. And I'm quite certain that she will be more beautiful than most female arcane masters if she puts one on."
"He's not joking?" Lucius and Malcolm muttered to each other as they exchanged looks and gulped.
"Misters. Do you have any robes or not?" Stingham impatiently asked as he missed their exchange.
"Here."
It turned out that Lucius actually had an extra pair of black arcane robes as he took it out and handed it over to Stingham.
Malcolm and Lucius watched in shock as the Dark Queen Mermaid obediently received the black robes and put them on.
The long black robes completely covered the Dark Queen Mermaid's lower half. If one didn't already know, then it would be impossible to differentiate this robe wearing Dark Queen Mermaid from a charming female arcane master who practiced dark type arcane skills. She was virtually indistinguishable.
"Then this…" Malcolm couldn't help but stiffly nod his head towards Lotton.
"He is our friend. He is going to fight Evil Dragon Followers with us," Ayrin immediately responded.
"This…?" Doubt appeared on Malcolm's face.
"It's a secret!" Ayrin added.
"Just why would a Vengeful Spirit appear within Holy Dawn Academy? And one with such a strange aura. It's not evil, yet it still causes one to shudder. This feeling is as if he could kill me at any time," Malcom and Lucius thought to themselves as they exchanged looks once more.
"Alright, but for what reason have you guys come here?" Malcolm asked.
"We've learned of the existence of Lunar Spring Essence within the Abyss of Evil. So we are going in to retrieve it," Ayrin honestly replied.
"Lunar Spring Essence?" A trace of surprise flashed through Malcolm's eyes as he asked, "Is this a mission given to you by the Office of Special Affairs?"
Ayrin shook his head in response, "It's not. This is something our team wishes to do."
"Then I'm afraid that we cannot let you enter the Abyss of Evil. We are here to prevent any Evil Dragon Followers from escaping, but at the same time, we are here to prevent anyone without a mission to enter." Malcolm's expression turned serious as he looked at the group before him and said, "You guys should know quite clearly just how powerful the Evil Dragon Followers within the Abyss of Evil are. With your strengths…"
"It's not like this will be the first time we have disregarded the Office of Special Affairs' orders. Teacher Liszt told us to not fight any four gate Evil Dragon Followers, yet we have already killed several of them," Stingham unhappily muttered.
"What? You guys have killed several four gate Evil Dragon Followers?" Malcolm and Lucius cried out in astonishment. They couldn't believe their ears.
"What? You think I'm lying?"
Stingham felt ridiculed as he released his arcane particles. With a loud boom, three giant sandworms and a golden zombie appeared.
Seeing Stingham's actions, the Dark Queen Mermaid thought they were about to fight as an insidious look emerged on her face and countless rays of black light radiated from her body.
"Ayrin, give them a taste of your ball!" Stingham shouted.
"Ah."
Ayrin obediently had his golden crystal-like shadow ball float before Malcolm and Lucius.
"This is Lover's Corpse: Infinite Arcane Armor?"
"What a great draconic aura and energy of death. What arcane skill is this?"
The thoughts and emotions surging through Malcolm and Lucius' minds right now were indescribable.
The strength of this team before them was completely illogical. It couldn't be predicted using common sense.
Ayrin's face was full of fighting intent as he clenched his fists and shouted, "Misters, just let us go in. Although it is dangerous, we really do wish to enter and search for the Lunar Spring Essence!"
"This…" Malcolm and Lucius both hesitated. Although they had both accepted the strength of this team before them, they felt like the Abyss of Evil was still too dangerous. Furthermore, with these youths being so powerful already, they were the absolute jewels of the kingdom; they were the future elites. They could absolutely not be allowed to die at this time.
"Ah. If you two are truly worried, then why don't you help us out by allowing us to seal some domains?" Ayrin asked as he suddenly remembered the Treasured Book of Sealing in his possession and took it out.
"Seal domains? This… this is Melissa's Treasured Book of Sealing!"
Malcolm and Lucius were stunned by the appearance of the book between Ayrin's hands.
Malcolm took a deep breath and regained his composure as he looked at Ayrin in a serious manner and asked, "You truly have the ability to use this Treasured Book of Sealing?"
"Rinloran said that I would be able to as long as I used Holy Gate of Life," Ayrin replied with some hesitation.
"If you all really must insist on entering… in that case, then let this domain be our gift to you."
Malcolm nodded.
"Spirit's Wheel, Domain of the Lost!"
Following his invocation, a strange wheel of blue light containing a powerful domain energy emerged in the sky above Ayrin and the others.
"Holy Gate of Life! Treasured Book of Sealing!"
A loud boom resounded beside Ayrin as the Treasured Book of Sealing flashed with light and absorbed the wheel of blue light and domain energy like a giant monster.