Chapter 140: Chapter 139: Returning to the Team

Peace temporarily returned to the cave.

Alevia walked up to Ian. Her gaze swept over his tattered robes and the Raven Summoned Demon on his shoulder, whose feathers were scorched black but whose eyes were bright and lively.

"You’ve advanced to Level One? And... you’re quite strong."

Her tone was calm, but the shock in her eyes was unmistakable.

"Just a lucky break." Ian bowed slightly. "Thank you for your help back then."

"It was just a transaction. No need to thank me."

Alevia waved her hand dismissively, her eyes falling on the Crystal Cones in his hand that had yet to dissipate.

"That technique just now, using the Shield to split the attack, was very clever. Did you modify it yourself?"

"I merged two types of Shield Witchcraft."

Ian didn’t elaborate. Instead, he said, "I have some important intelligence."

He took out the black Bone Order he had gotten from the black-robed man, as well as a blood-stained Badge he had picked up near the remains of Blood Hand.

"There’s a mysterious organization in the Demon Cave that specializes in hunting Lone Wanderers who are high on the merit rankings.

"I was attacked by three black-robed men. They had excellent coordination and were skilled in Soul Attacks and Death Witchcraft."

Alevia took the Token. As her fingertip traced the symbol of the pupil-less eye on it, her brow furrowed.

"The Eye of Dusk... They’ve actually infiltrated the Demon Hunting Battlefield."

"The Eye of Dusk?" Ian asked.

"A Wizard Organization that operates in the shadows. Its members are mostly Fallen, Wanted Criminals, and Defectors.

"They specialize in Soul Witchcraft and assassination. They enjoy hunting promising Lone Wanderers to extract their Souls or plunder their Talents."

Alevia’s tone grew solemn. "With this Demon Hunting campaign, I’m afraid they plan to use the chaos to harvest a batch of ’seeds’."

She looked at Ian. "The fact that you were targeted means your potential has caught their attention. It’s too dangerous to be a Lone Wanderer. You should travel with us."

This was exactly what Ian had in mind. "Then, thank you."

"You came from Shadow Moon to begin with, and now you’re a Level One Wizard." Alevia turned to her squad members and said:

"This is Ian Marcus. He’s our new teammate."

The squad members all nodded in greeting, but their eyes held a mix of scrutiny and curiosity.

The Power Ian had just displayed, especially that beam Witchcraft of Ice and Fire Interweaving, made them unwilling to underestimate him.

"It seems you’ve sustained some spiritual injuries."

Alevia took a small Crystal Bottle from her robes and handed it to Ian.

"Moonlight Dew. It’s very good for soothing spiritual trauma."

Ian accepted it without refusing. "Thank you, Alevia Wizard."

He consumed the Moonlight Dew. A cool Energy flowed through his Sea of Spirit, and the feeling of exhaustion immediately eased considerably.

Gaga also flew down from his shoulder, curiously sizing up the members of the Shadow Moon Squad.

It finally crouched by Ian’s feet, its small head looking left and right.

"That Summoned Demon of yours... is a bit special." Alevia gave Gaga a few extra glances.

"It has the Shadow Attribute, but its Pupil Technique seems to have a fate-interfering effect?"

"His name is Gaga. He does have some special Talents." Ian didn’t elaborate. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Alevia didn’t press the matter. Everyone rested for a moment before continuing their advance toward the core area.

"According to intelligence from headquarters, we may encounter an avatar of the ’Cave Demon Witch’ up ahead. Everyone stay alert."

Everyone regulated their breathing to recover, and Ian took the opportunity to check his status panel.

The analysis progress for [Abyssal Soul Contract (Fragment)] had stopped at 15%, but a new note had appeared.

[Spiritual Power and specific materials can be consumed to build a simplified Contract Altar. Current material integrity: 22/100.]

’I still need to collect more Rune Stones...’ Ian made a mental note.

Once they had rested, the squad set out again.

This time, Ian walked in the middle of the formation, with Gaga perched on his shoulder.

It would occasionally flap its wings a couple of times, trying to attract the attention of a Female Witch in the squad.

A small cloth pouch hung from her waist, emitting the tempting aroma of nuts.

"Ian, I want to eat that..." Gaga transmitted telepathically.

"I’ll buy some for you when we get back."

"But I want to eat it now..."

"Be quiet."

"Gaa..."

Alevia walked at the very front, her Spiritual Power spreading out like a tide as she sensed the flow of Energy in the passage.

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and raised her Magic Staff. "Stop!"

Almost at the same time, a humanoid figure slowly "grew" out of the shadows in the passage ahead.

It was patched together from decaying fungal mats, dark red blood vessels, and grayish-white bones.

Its face had no features, only three constantly rotating, purplish-black vortexes.

"The Cave Demon Witch... an avatar," Alevia said, her voice icy.

The avatar slowly raised its hand, the vortex in its palm aimed at the squad, and a silent spiritual shriek erupted!

The spiritual shriek was formless and intangible, yet it struck everyone’s Soul like a heavy hammer.

Within the Shadow Moon Squad, two of the weaker Wizards grunted in pain. Their Shields vibrated violently, and trickles of blood seeped from the corners of their mouths.

"Brace your minds!" Alevia shouted.

The Sapphire at the tip of her Magic Staff blossomed with a cold moonlight, forming a soft halo of light that enveloped the squad.

The [Spirit Devourer] trait in Ian’s Sea of Spirit activated automatically.

A dark red vortex devoured most of the invading Spiritual Attack, and his liquefied Spiritual Power withstood the rest.

His eyes sharpened. The instant Alevia’s moonlight barrier unfolded, he had already made his move.

Twelve Floating Crystal Cones shot out, but not to attack the Witch Demon’s avatar.

Instead, they flew toward the blood vessel-like patterns on the surrounding rock walls, which were continuously channeling Energy to the avatar.

PFFT PFFT PFFT...

The Crystal Cones pierced the vessels, and the Power of the attached [Spirit Devourer] began to frantically siphon the polluted Energy within them.

The avatar’s body trembled, and the rotational speed of the vortex in its palm slowed noticeably.

"Disrupt its Energy supply!" Ian shouted.

The squad members reacted instantly, blasting the blood vessels on the rock wall with all sorts of Witchcraft.

Lightning crackled, frost froze, and Wind Blades slashed... Large swathes of the vessel patterns dimmed and broke apart.

The avatar’s body began to destabilize, and the fungal mats and bones on its surface showed signs of peeling away.

"Gaa! Watch me!"

Gaga leaped from Ian’s shoulder, spread its wings, and fully activated its [Omen Eye].

A dense gray light washed over the three vortexes on the avatar’s face.

The spinning of the vortexes suddenly stalled and even briefly reversed.

"Now’s our chance!" Alevia raised her Magic Staff high.

Before her, the moonlight gradually coalesced into a three-meter-long Moonlight Spear.

Silver Runes flowed across the spear’s shaft, emitting an aura of Purification and Annihilation.

"Go!"

The Moonlight Spear shot through the air, precisely hitting the avatar’s chest!

BOOM!

The avatar’s body exploded, sending decaying fungal mats, bone fragments, and purplish-black Energy flying everywhere.

But the fragments did not completely dissipate; instead, they attempted to re-form.

"It’s trying to regenerate! Purify it completely!"

Alevia cast spells continuously, and moonlight rained down, scorching every last fragment.

Ian coordinated with a sweeping [Frost Ash Beam], its Power of Ice and Fire Interweaving freezing and incinerating the fragments.

The other squad members used their own methods, and finally, all the fragments were reduced to Ashes in the Purification.

The cave fell quiet once more. Only the remaining blood vessels on the rock walls still pulsed weakly.

"It’s over..." a young Female Witch sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Alevia looked at Ian, undisguised admiration in her eyes.

"Your reactions are fast. The Devouring ability of your Crystal Cones is very powerful."

"It was just a clever trick," Ian said, retracting his Crystal Cones.

"In a battle of life and death, being able to use clever tricks is a skill in itself."

Alevia walked to where the avatar had dissipated and bent down to pick up a dark purple crystalline fragment.

"This is a core fragment from the Witch Demon’s avatar. It contains distorted information about the Rules. Turning it in to headquarters can earn you Merit Points."

She handed the fragment to Ian. "Your spoils of war."

Ian thought for a moment, then shook his head. "We all killed it together."

"But you performed the key disruption," Alevia insisted. "Take it. It’s the rule."

Ian no longer refused and took the fragment.

It was cold to the touch. He could feel a faint flow of the Rules within it, but it was filled with distortion and corruption.

He put it away for the time being, planning to try and Purify it with his panel after he got back.