novelraw Chapter 228-1: Killing Stone, Shikigami Ritual Assembly (1)
Chapter 228-1: Killing Stone, Shikigami Ritual Assembly (1)
[You and the Onmyoji, holding your tokens, passed through the Absolute Barrier of the Ten Directions and stepped side by side into the grand palace…]
[Along both sides of the hall stood many statues, each depicting a shikigami of a different form. The shikigami statues bared their fangs and claws, looking vividly lifelike.]
[Their gazes all seemed fixed upon you, as if the moment you made any sudden move, the statues would awaken as living creatures and cruelly devour you…]
[At the far end of the palace were two thrones. On either side stood Onmyoji attendants with hands folded before them. The throne to the left was empty, while upon the right leaned an aged woman.]
[From her lavish hunting robes and the tall black crown upon her head, you could see her rank was exalted and her strength formidable…]
[You have discovered the Fire-Worshipping Vice Palace Master of Iya Palace!]
[The Onmyoji beside you led you up to the thrones and bowed deeply.]
[He reported everything that had happened in Fukoka Castle truthfully to the Vice Palace Master…]
[…]
[Before he was halfway through, the Vice Palace Master erupted in fury. Her original intention had been to send people to the Otaki Estate to investigate leads and seize that brazen demonic remnant.][She had never imagined they would fail to capture the creature and instead lose so many Onmyoji.]
[Under the Vice Palace Master’s wrath, the Senior Onmyoji trembled uncontrollably. He hurriedly fell to his knees and pointed to you, explaining that although many hands had been lost, it was not without gain.]
[You were a foreign mage of tremendous power. Only with your help had they managed to eradicate the monsters wreaking havoc in Fukoka Castle. And most importantly, the spells of foreign lands were entirely different from those of Sakura Falls!]
[The might of foreign spells was so astonishing that if the two traditions could be shared and complemented, it might elevate Iya Palace’s disciples far above ordinary Onmyoji and make Iya Palace stronger than ever…]
[The Vice Palace Master listened with skeptical eyes. She gestured for you to demonstrate your magic. If it was as he claimed, she would certainly not be stingy with rewards…]
[Proud Apostle, do you wish to cast a spell?]
[You raised your two staves, ready to chant an incantation, but suddenly spoke up, reminding them that foreign magic was enormously destructive. If the Vice Palace Master did not take precautions, it could end in catastrophe…]
[The Fire-Worshipping Vice Palace Master lifted her eyes, the wrinkles on her face deepening further. She waved a hand dismissively and declared it was no matter. She asked the foreign mage to unleash the most powerful spell. If she could not withstand it, then she was unworthy to serve as Vice Palace Master of Iya Palace!]
Lin Xun grinned.
In that case, he certainly wouldn’t hold back.
There were not many enemies that would so obligingly stand there and wait for him to finish a long incantation without counterattacking.
Not taking advantage of this opportunity would simply be a crime against himself. If he could kill the Vice Palace Master in one strike and claim a high-level Onmyoji Shell for free, he would laugh himself awake in his dreams.
Without hesitation, he aimed at the Vice Palace Master and unleashed his most powerful skill, Falling Starlight!
[You raised your two staves and began chanting a long, complex incantation…]
[As your chanting continued, starlight began to gather before you. From a faint glimmer of scattered stars, it condensed gradually into a radiant brilliance…]
[At first, the Vice Palace Master still reclined on the throne. But as the starlight grew ever brighter and the magical aura rose from gentle to powerful and then to terrifying…]
[She hurriedly stood and waved her hand, signaling you to cease the spell, proclaiming that she believed in the might of foreign magic and would doubt no further.]
[Do you wish to interrupt the spellcasting?]
Lin Xun firmly refused. He knew well that interrupting a spell mid-casting would inflict severe backlash.
In past game events, the President Shell had already proven this fact through painful injury.
[You shook your head, continuing your chant, indicating that once the spell began, it could not be stopped halfway.]
[The Fire-Worshipping Vice Palace Master was aghast. Seeing the starlight growing ever more blinding and the magical power surging to terrifying heights, she urgently formed seals and began her own incantation…]
[A small defensive barrier sprang up quickly. The barrier was immensely solid but could only encompass her alone.]
[Feeling even this was insufficient, she began another incantation to summon a shikigami…]
[An ugly figure with black crow wings on its back and crimson skin appeared out of thin air.]
[The Karasu Tengu yokai had vacant eyes. Under the Vice Palace Master’s command, it embraced the small barrier and spread its black wings wide, wrapping both itself and the barrier in their protection.]
[The Onmyoji attendants beside the throne and the Senior Onmyoji standing next to you stared, dumbfounded and frozen in place…]
[You spoke the final syllable of your incantation…]
[The starlight, saturated with boundless power, compressed sharply. Dazzling, blinding radiance flooded the vast hall!]
[In an instant, the starlight exploded…]
[It erupted like a supernova, unleashing the endless destructive force of a falling star!]
[Everything around you was swallowed in the annihilating starlight. In that blinding brilliance, the Senior Onmyoji beside you never even had time to scream before being vaporized.]
[All the shikigami statues in the hall crumbled into powder under the blast.]
[The entire palace trembled and nearly collapsed. If not for the Absolute Barrier of the Ten Directions sustaining it, this magnificent palace would surely have been obliterated.]
[…]
[When the starlight finally faded…]
[At the far end of the hall, only a battered and scorched Karasu Tengu remained, still shielding the elderly woman in its arms. The two thrones and several Onmyoji attendants had all been reduced to ash.]
[You defeated the Fire-Worshipping Senior Onmyoji. Experience increased slightly.]
[You defeated the Fire-Worshipping Onmyoji Attendant…]
[You defeated…]
[You obtained the Purifying Exorcism Wand (Rare-Grade Weapon)]
[You obtained the Attendant’s Undergarment (Junk)]
[You obtained the Attendant’s Hunting Robes (Common+ Grade Equipment)]
[You obtained the Absolute Barrier Token (Key)]
“What a pity. I didn’t manage to finish off that old crone.”
Lin Xun stroked his chin, feeling that Falling Starlight still wasn’t fierce enough.
[The Karasu Tengu shikigami folded its black crow wings. Its ugly face showed no expression at all, as though it felt no pain from the terrible wounds covering its body.]
[The Fire-Worshipping Vice Palace Master of Iya Palace dispelled the defensive barrier around herself. Her gaze swept across the ruined hall before fixing upon you with a dark, brooding stare…]
Lin Xun raised an eyebrow.
Was this old crone about to fly into a rage and tear up their pretense of civility?
He readied himself fully, prepared to start fighting at any moment.
Starting a brawl in someone else’s headquarters was never wise, but the initiative here was no longer in his hands.
[The Fire-Worshipping Vice Palace Master’s face remained ashen. After quite a while, she finally forced out a strained smile and clapped her hands in praise…]
[Indeed, the foreign spells were truly formidable. Before, she had been like a frog at the bottom of a well…]
[You smiled humbly, saying that foreign magic differed from Sakura Falls’ traditions, it focused on channeling power through oneself rather than cultivating shikigami. Each approach had its merits, and the Vice Palace Master need not belittle herself.]
[Hearing this, her expression softened somewhat, but you smoothly shifted the subject, asking whether, since foreign magic had proven acceptable, the promised rewards would still be honored?]
[At these words, the old woman’s eyes went round.]
[Only after a long silence did she squeeze two words from between her teeth. “They will.”]
[The Vice Palace Master drew from her robes a black, lusterless stone that appeared at first glance to be nothing special.]
[She neither invited you forward to accept it nor came over herself to present it. Instead, she passed the stone to the Karasu Tengu, instructing the yokai shikigami to deliver it to you.]
[Clearly, she still held deep apprehension toward your spellcasting power.]
[The battered Karasu Tengu came up to you, handed you the black stone, then swiftly returned to stand guard at the Vice Palace Master’s side.]