The light from the cross slowly vanished after several minutes.
Angele put the robe down and packed everything up quickly. He hid the large claw into a black bag separately.
Angele calmed down quickly. He was still thinking about that girl who really creeped him out.
"I'm heading back to the school first!" Angele gritted his teeth. He pulled the dagger out of the wall and returned it back to the leather sheath.
"I must have triggered some hidden trap left by the previous owner of the manor." Angele searched through his memory. He thought that the tall red cap mushroom he saw when entering the garden was the problem.
He remembered seeing it somewhere before, but he was not sure if Zero had a record of it.
'Zero, try to catch any change happening in the energy field around and get me the data of that red cap mushroom,' Angele ordered.
'Mission created… Searching… Data not found.'
'Analyzing…'
'Four possible matches: Red Mouth Mushroom, 45% similarity. Dragonfly Mushroom, 34% similarity. Aria Mushroom, 13% similarity. Devil's Cap, 11% similarity.'
Angele was disappointed at the result, but there was nothing Zero could do at the moment as he hadn't yet collected enough data. Most of the data in the database were collected during his travels across the Anser Plain. On top of that, he did not have enough information on special materials or plants in the world of wizards.
Allen had said that the survivors from the garden went crazy and did many cruel things after. Angele thought he was probably in the same situation.
The girl would not appear twice a night, so Angele wasn't worried that he had to face her again today. Still, he decided not to sleep. He spent the rest of the night meditating, so he could respond immediately to anything that could happen.
The next morning, Angele left the town as soon as the vibrant sunlight began to warm the day. He started heading toward the Ramsoda College at full speed.
Trees in the area were thick and old, but the leaves already started falling as the winter approached.
Wheels of the carriage crushed the dried-up leaves on the ground into pieces.
Angele sat tight on the driver's seat, checking the surroundings constantly.
Angele was very close to Lennon City, but he decided to head to the school first. He needed Master Liliana's help to lift the strange curse.
He kept advancing along the main road. Angele barely stopped since he wanted to get there as soon as possible. Angele arrived at the logging site where they had hunted the Glowing Elephants after traveling for a while.
"Almost there." Angele was relieved. Seeing something familiar to him made him feel better.
Angele did not stop. Although he could change routes and visit the city first, he decided to deal with the more important matter.
A chilling wind was blowing over Angele's face. It felt like needles pricking his skin.
Several days later, the ruin above Ramsoda College.
The sky was blue like a huge sapphire, and puffy clouds were floating above the muddy land.
A black carriage was approaching the ruins quickly between the yellow trees. Its wheels were spinning fast, and its noise drove the birds away.
The carriage looked like a black dot swimming in the sea of trees; it was fast and steady. A young man with brown hair was driving the carriage. Several tree leaves dropped down to his face because of the blowing wind, but he did not seem to care.
The man was staring at the road in front of him. Slowly, the yellow ruin appeared in his sight, and the man looked relieved.
"Finally, I'm back," Angele said.
The girl had appeared once during the days when Angele stopped to rest. It seemed like nothing could stop her from tracking Angele down. Angele was hoping he could find the solution in the school.
"Halt!" Angele pulled the reins and slowed down the carriage. He parked it by the bridge.
He jumped off the carriage and wiped the dust off his clothes before taking the large, black travel case with him. He walked toward the bridge.
*GA GA*
A raven circled above Angele and landed on the stone bridge. It was staring at Angele with its blood red eyes.
"Master Moroco?" Angele stopped and asked.
"Are you heeding the summoning call? You are an apprentice, right?" Moroco's voice was sharp and high-pitched. It was the voice Angele knew.
"Yes, master." Angele bowed.
Moroco nodded. Angele's body reflected in its ruby-like eyes, and strangely, there was a girl right behind him. Their bodies almost overlapped. The girl had no expression on her face, and she was just standing there quietly.
"That's a strong curse… You may enter now, I think your master is already back," Moroco spoke in a light tone.
Angele hesitated for a second, and then he smiled, "Thank you, Master Moroco."
"Wait, before that…" Moroco opened its beak and laughed. The beak split from both sides, which looked horrifying.
A countless number of sharp teeth appeared in its beak, almost looking like an alligator's mouth.
When Moroco flew into the sky, its body started expanding. Black feathers dropped down its body, and the raven transformed into a 7-meter-tall, 4-meter-wide monster within seconds.
*GA*
The strange roar almost paralyzed Angele.
Moroco's wings blocked the sunlight and covered Angele within its own shadow.
"How dare you! You filthy soul! I'll make you pay for what you have done!" Moroco sneered, hovered in the air for a while and charged toward Angele. Its speed was much faster than an average knight.
Angele's sight blurred for a second.
"AH!" He heard someone groaning from behind.
Moroco swung its wings and flew toward the stone bridge.
Moroco's body shrunk back to the normal size as it landed on the bridge.
"Good, you may enter now." Moroco looked satisfied, licking the beak with its snake-like tongue.
Angele was not sure what exactly happened, but he now felt relaxed. It seemed like Moroco lifted the curse for him, so he immediately bowed again in thanks. Angele took a small box out of his pouch and put it down beside Moroco.
"I appreciate your help." Angele stepped back after putting down the box. He entered the ruin after seeing Moroco nodding its head.
Moroco opened the box with its claw. There was a red pearl inside it.
"My favorite snack. Great. He knows my taste." Moroco nodded again.
Angele found the entrance quickly. Nothing had changed. The door to the tunnel was still closed, and it was hidden in a dusty room.
However, the surface of the door was new. He was unsure whether it was replaced or not.
Angele knocked on the wooden and invoked the incantation. A black coating appeared on the surface of the door and disappeared after several seconds.
*Creak*
Angele pushed the door open and saw the bright tunnel and a staircase in front of him.
He looked around and walked down the stairs. Angele quickly disappeared around the corner, his footsteps echoing down the tunnel.
The wooden door closed by itself slowly. A thin layer of black coating flashed upon its surface again.
Angele kept advancing in the tunnel. The lights on the wall had brightened the whole place.
He walked passed two fellow wizard apprentices in the hallway. It seemed like they just returned to the school as well, but they did not greet each other. They just nodded their heads as a courtesy.
Angele reached the Faculty of Necromancy quickly. He stood by the entrance of the hallway and he could feel the chillness in the air.
Angele held the travel case in hand and reached a door by the end of the hallway.
He lightly knocked on the door.
"Please come in."
The door opened to a room with a dark interior. Angele carefully pushed the door open, and he saw a ray of light in the middle of the room.
Master Liliana's horrifying face was right under the light.
"That was a strong curse," Liliana spoke in a low voice.
"Yes, it was, Master." Angele already got used to Liliana's appearance. He closed the door slowly, turned around and bowed to her.
"I seek your help, Master."
"You should really thank Moroco. He did not just simply eat your curse. You'd be dead already if you didn't come back to the school in time." Liliana smiled, "You're brave. I don't know how you made it out, but Moon Gin Garden isn't a place for wizard apprentices to head into. How did you even find out its location?"