Chapter 196 : Ritual of Divine Descension
Chapter 196: Ritual of Divine Descension
“Furnace Ash Repair Shop?”
Staring at the unremarkable signboard, Janna—who had followed the trace of Darksun Contamination to the branch across the shop—perched as a “sparrow,” couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
“I remember this shop had already shut down—”
It wasn’t large, was located in a remote corner, and operated irregularly. For those reasons, this shop had already closed down a month ago.
Janna remembered this place solely because the shop happened to be on her usual route home from work.
With her growing reputation, Janna’s “fanbase” had also increased considerably. Even though she wore a Wizard Hood every day, people who were familiar with her could easily recognize her by her silhouette.
Therefore, to avoid causing traffic jams when returning to the academy, Janna would always deliberately choose quieter, more secluded paths.
It was for this reason she knew the Furnace Ash Repair Shop had closed.
Clang—clang—clang—
Despite being shut for some time, the Furnace Ash Repair Shop now emitted faint sounds of hammering from within.
Flames flickered. Watching the intermittent glow through the window, a strange chill sprouted from within Janna’s heart.
“What in the world are these Darksun cultists up to—”
Just as Janna was carefully observing, the shop door creaked open.
An emaciated old woman with silver hair, hunched over and trembling, stepped out, leaning on a cane.
“Gone?”
The moment the old woman exited the Furnace Ash Repair Shop, the banging sounds ceased entirely. Along with them, the stench of Darksun Contamination vanished as well.
“Could it be that this time, the Darksun Apostle is merely a human skilled in disguise?”
Whoosh—another cold gust blew past. Just as Janna flapped her wings, preparing to tail the old woman, a sudden wave of dread crashed over her, freezing her “sparrow” body in place.
“So you were hiding here—”
As if a slimy tentacle brushed against her neck, before Janna could react, a raspy, eerie voice echoed in her ear without warning.
“Aah—!”
With a sharp, anguished cry, Janna broke free from her paralysis and returned to her human form.
Leaping down from the tree, she saw an elderly figure writhing and howling on the ground, engulfed in blue-white flames.
“There really are Darksun Church members operating in Turin.”
After casually disposing of the Darksun cultist who had attempted to ambush her, Anthony-Rook’s expression grew solemn as he stared at the pile of ash left behind.
“Let’s check inside the building.”
Once the blue-white flames extinguished entirely, Anthony-Rook turned and headed into the Furnace Ash Repair Shop.
“Can you still sense the Darksun Contamination here?”
Having found nothing suspicious upon entering, Anthony-Rook turned to Janna.
“I can’t sense anything at the moment—but I can have my Contract Summoned Creature give it a try.”
Still lacking sufficient mastery over the Fragment of the Law of Purification, Janna began chanting a summoning incantation.
“By my will, I summon—the Celestial Finch.”
Shoom—
With a flash of milky white light, the Celestial Finch, radiating divine energy, appeared before her.
“Aph, can you sense the contamination here?”
“I cannot, Master—but I really dislike this place.”
“Dislike?”
Hearing the vague response from the Celestial Finch, Janna thought for a moment, then said to Anthony-Rook:
“Headmaster, my Contract Summoned Creature didn’t find any traces of Darksun Contamination either—but I’d still like to try something.”
Not knowing what she intended, Anthony-Rook merely glanced toward the Celestial Finch, then nodded.
“Aph, ignite this building with the 【Holy Flame】.”
“As you command, Master.”
Caw—accompanied by a sharp screech, the Celestial Finch flapped its wings and rapidly expanded in a blinding white light.
Fwoosh—
As the white light faded, the majestic Celestial Finch spread its long wings and spewed a stream of radiant golden fire at the Furnace Ash Repair Shop.
The golden blaze surged. Feeling the divine energy emanating from the flame, Anthony-Rook—an Undead Faction wizard—couldn’t help but frown.
“Headmaster, this is the problem!”
Despite reacting only to dark energy, the 【Holy Flame】 was burning fiercely across the floor of the Furnace Ash Repair Shop.
As the flames spread, a bizarre totem outlined in golden fire emerged on the ground.
“A Ritual of Divine Descension—these Darksun cultists actually dared to set up a Ritual of Divine Descension in Turin!”
Each word was spat through clenched teeth. Anthony-Rook’s face turned cold as he stared at the wooden floor engraved with “Ritual of Divine Descension.” A terrifying killing intent surged from his body.
“Looks like I’ll need to visit Blackbone Grove soon and finish the soul experiment I left undone last time—”
Hearing Anthony-Rook’s sinister tone, a chill ran down Janna’s spine.
If she guessed correctly, the “soul experiment” he mentioned referred to the soul of the Darksun Apostle they captured in the Shadow Rift last time.
As a specialist in the field of souls, Anthony-Rook had at least a thousand methods of inflicting tortures worse than death upon a soul.
“You did well this time. I’ll remember this merit.”
“But I doubt this ‘Divine Descension Ritual’ is the only one. So I’ll have to trouble you and your Contract Summoned Creature to accompany me for another round tonight.”
“No problem, Headmaster—caw—”
Before Janna could finish her sentence, a dizzying vertigo washed over her like a tidal wave, briefly muddling her thoughts.
When she regained her senses, everything around her had grown enormous. She herself had transformed into a black rook barely the size of a palm, now perched on the Headmaster’s shoulder.
“Hold on tight. Don’t fall off.”
“Caw—” This time, not only her body, but even her voice and aura had become indistinguishable from that of an ordinary rook.
“It seems the Headmaster’s 【Complete Transfiguration Spell】 has improved a lot since last time—”