Chapter 189
Chapter 189: Positive Energy!!!
Every structure surrounding the Magical Creature Rift had long since been reduced to ash. As the rain fell, both sky and earth became incomparably clear.
That Rift, which had been stretched so enormously wide, seemed to have gone completely limp after venting all its energy—it had shrunk considerably.
The surging power within it had likewise grown far more sparse.
The glistening rain droplets gradually ceased. The earth around it seemed to have been adequately watered once more, and green vegetation began pushing up through the yellow soil, growing skyward.
No one could have imagined that what had once been a wilderness of wild terrain and sheer cliffs at the southern border had now given rise to a vast, dense emerald forest.
Nobody knew what had happened inside the Rift. The strange anomaly that had appeared at the Empire's southern frontier kept many people on edge.
The Imperial Army remained on high alert, every massive weapon trained on the swaying Magical Creature Rift.
The oscillating Rift gradually began to stir once more, and a powerful surge of air pressure came pouring outward from within it again—as though something was about to emerge.
The moment the metal cannons locked onto the Rift, the Rift slowly rippled.
At the sight of this, an officer immediately issued his command, swinging his arm and bellowing:
"Fire!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Countless energy shells erupted one after another in answer to the command, firelight blazing into the sky as they burst from the cannon barrels, piercing through the thick cloud layer and hurtling toward the Magical Creature Rift.
In an instant, waves of dust dozens of meters high were hurled into the air, and the tremendous impact punched an extraordinarily deep crater into the earth.
As the smoke and dust dispersed, a fierce current of white air spun wildly in front of the man, drawing in the surrounding atmosphere and transforming what had been an impossibly thin veil of force into something dense and dark.
The man hovered in mid-air, and beneath his feet an invisible wind had gathered into a platform, holding him aloft.
Every single energy shell had been blocked by the Wind Barrier, suspended motionless before him—without so much as grazing the hem of Viktor's Coat.
One arm cradled Erika. The other was braced out in front of him.
That colorless Wind Barrier continued to surge upward into the sky.
Everyone stared blankly at Viktor stepping out from the Magical Creature Rift, momentarily at a complete loss for how to react.
"Well."
"Is this how you welcome me?"
"I am deeply sorry! Count Viktor!"
Inside a large steel-walled room, the First Prince bowed deeply to Viktor, his apologies tumbling out in a continuous stream.
"I am profoundly sorry for my subordinates' attack against you."
"Please forgive us—it was not a deliberate act."
The First Prince's manner was one of great deference and sincere contrition.
Viktor had both hands in his pockets as he watched the First Prince bow and apologize to him, his own expression entirely neutral.
He cast a brief glance at Erika beside him.
The girl was lying on the bed, her face peaceful, breathing evenly as she slept.
Then Viktor turned his gaze back to the First Prince and said flatly:
"So you mistook me for that creature that crashed out of the Rift?"
What he was referring to was naturally the Calamity of Wind—Dorakon.
By military logic, their assignment was to guard this southern Magical Creature Rift and prevent anything more powerful from emerging from within it.
If the one who came out had not been Viktor, but Dorakon leading a swarm of Rift creatures with a battle cry—
They would have had to intercept at the very first opportunity.
The probability of that happening was low—but not nonexistent.
So Viktor could understand.
He tilted his head slightly, looking at the First Prince, and said in an unhurried tone:
"Your Highness, I am not the type to hold grudges over something like this."
At those words, the First Prince relaxed somewhat, though a trace of unease still lingered on his face.
"I still feel tremendous remorse, Count Viktor."
"I will offer compensation for this matter."
Viktor looked at him quietly and made no reply.
Whatever this person might be doing behind the scenes, at least on the surface, his conduct never gave anyone any grounds for criticism.
A perfect hero.
Was such a thing even possible?
The First Prince then turned to look at the sleeping Erika, studied her sleeping face briefly, and recognized her.
"This must be Duke Livi's beloved daughter. It was said she had fallen into the hands of that black dragon."
"That means the creature has already been……by you……"
Viktor said, with a certain unhurried composure:
"Your Highness, some things are best kept in one's heart."
"No need to publicize it further."
The First Prince opened his mouth wide, unable to stop himself from marveling:
"You truly are modest and yet extraordinary."
"The Empire is enormously fortunate to have you."
With those words said, he placed a hand on his chest and gave Viktor another slight bow, expressing his gratitude.
"You have only just arrived in the south and have no lodgings—this Manor is yours to use as you please."
"I still need to go attend to the matter of the Magical Creature Rift, so I shall take my leave for now."
Viktor offered no objection, simply giving a quiet nod and watching the First Prince depart.
The First Prince had impeccable judgment about such things—after clarifying the misunderstanding, he did not linger for even a moment, sparing both parties from any potentially awkward scene.
Engaging with the First Prince in conversation genuinely did put one at ease.
At least, the conduct he displayed in person was indeed consistent with his reputation.
As a Prince, he had even personally come to the front line to oversee the battle.
He engaged with others with fine judgment and great respect.
Even with his noble station, he carried himself with a warm and refined demeanor.
A perfect hero—Aubeny.
No wonder so many people supported the First Prince.
In the game's background, even Duke Livi had stood on the First Prince's side.
"But what a shame."
Viktor shook his head.
As long as Auréliane existed, neither of the 2 Princes was ever destined to ascend to that position.
No matter how much calculation they possessed, no matter how perfect their reputations.
Viktor glanced once more at Erika, then turned and left the room.
***
The First Prince walked out of the Manor, an officer keeping pace at his side as they strode briskly ahead.
"Has there been any news from the Beast Guild?"
At the First Prince's question, the officer began his report:
"Your Highness, Guild Master Hera and the 14 top-tier adventurers with her have all returned to the Guild headquarters."
The First Prince gave a quiet nod and continued:
"Make arrangements—I want to meet with Hera."
The officer who had received the order stepped ahead, pulled open the Carriage door before them, and allowed the Prince to enter.
The First Prince's eyes were incomparably calm, as though no piece of news held particular weight for him.
"Keep a constant watch on the Third Battle Line."
"My sister—they have not come out yet."
The officer snapped his head down sharply.
"Yes, sir."
***
【Soul-Lurking Undead】
This was a high-tier Magical Creature of roughly the 3rd Tier in strength.
The physical toughness of its body was extraordinarily extreme—an ordinary sword blade striking this creature could even shatter upon impact.
Its method of attack was also highly unusual: it would submerge its body into the earth and launch rapid surprise assaults on enemies from concealed positions.
Its terrifying destructive power and frightening attack speed gave even those experienced and powerful adventurers within the Guilds quite a headache.
However, it had 1 very obvious weakness—once its head was severed clean from its neck, it would die completely.
Auréliane looked at the creature before her with solemn focus, the Demi-human unit arranged around her in 2 rows of formation.
Behind the formation, she simultaneously directed the unit's offensive while maintaining a relatively steady combat rhythm, all while continuously releasing Magic and constructing Formations to apply Buff effects to the Demi-humans.
The Demi-humans drew the blades at their waists and launched wave after wave of attacks against the creature.
The blades in their hands were no ordinary weapons—wherever they cut into the creature's body, they left trails of burning, flame-scorched wounds.
The Soul-Lurking Undead slowly twisted its body, and the torso that had erupted from the soil began to retract partially back into the ground.
The earth swelled up in a patch, bypassing the attacking Demi-humans and hurtling at high speed toward Auréliane.
"Protect Her Highness the Princess!"
The other row of Demi-humans saw this and drove their blades into the earth with a collective lunge.
Dozens of sword blades pinned that swollen mound of earth in place, and no matter how violently the creature thrashed, it could not break free from its restraints.
The Soul-Lurking Undead's eyes grew frenzied with fury, and it suddenly let out a violent, howling shriek toward the sky.
Auréliane's eyes went wide. Watching the swollen earth heave and churn, she shouted loudly to the Demi-humans in the formation:
"Be careful! Get away from it—now!"
After receiving the order, the Demi-humans swiftly put distance between themselves and the creature.
The very instant they moved clear, the Soul-Lurking Undead began to expand dramatically, even slightly bursting the soil beneath it.
And then, in an instant, it triggered a terrifying explosion.
BOOM!
A horrifying detonation erupted from within its swelling body, sending boundless surges of force rippling outward—even the surrounding terrain was damaged by the blast.
As the cloud of smoke and dust rose and settled, the Demi-humans let out a collective breath of relief.
Had it not been for the Princess's advance warning, they would very likely have been caught squarely by that attack.
In the end, not even Auréliane's direction was needed.
A creature that had unleashed its ultimate move and entered a Weakened state was naturally no match for the assembled group.
The Demi-humans moved like hunters—the moment the smoke dispersed, they surged forward as one, bringing their blades sweeping down savagely at the creature's neck!
Shhhk!
Shhhk! Shhhk!
The creature's neck was shredded to pieces under the crossfire of blades, and its entire body began to slowly crumble apart in the aftermath.
The ground swallowed its remains, leaving only 1 glistening spherical object resting on the surface.
The Demi-humans moved with sharp eyes and quick hands, snatching it up before it too could be swallowed by this strange terrain into the ground below.
Once retrieved, they presented the item to Auréliane.
The Princess placed it in her palm and examined it briefly.
This was the drop item from the Soul-Lurking Undead.
【Soul-Lurking Undead's Eyeball】
This was the most commonly dropped material after defeating a Soul-Lurking Undead.
Auréliane remembered that Professor Viktor often collected items like this, so she intended to give it to Viktor.
After all—it was her spoil of war.
The battle was over, and the Demi-humans all relaxed.
Auréliane was very pleased as well. Her practical training course had temporarily concluded, and she could finally lead the unit back out the way they had come.
The training results had been remarkable.
After exploring all 30 Layers, both her commanding and her combat abilities had been greatly improved.
It was also thanks to the magical creature encyclopedia her teacher had once given her—inside it, the Magical Creatures found within the Magical Creature Rift were recorded in meticulous detail.
Without it, dealing with everything would not have been nearly so straightforward.
Auréliane pinched the material in her hand and was just about to lead the unit away when—
A sense of danger shot up from behind her, straight into her mind.
Gwen reacted in an instant, immediately stepping in front of Auréliane.
A white blur slammed into her and sent her flying.
She traced an arc through the air before landing on the ground, barely managing to steady herself.
"Your Highness! Danger!"
"Wha……"
All of a sudden, the magical creature material in Auréliane's hand vanished into thin air.
She widened her eyes, her gaze tracking forward.
A person of extremely slender and deathly pale build now stood at the center of the Demi-human encirclement.
She wore a sweeping head of white hair, and her eyes were like a pair of serpent's pupils—narrow and ruthless.
What was even more staggering was that behind her, growing from her back, was a pair of black and white wings, swaying gently.
A human? No……
The terrifying sense of oppression that radiated from this person toward Auréliane felt like……
Countless Magical Creatures fused into 1 single being.
All of a sudden, the woman moved.
Right in front of everyone, she raised the eyeball, opened her mouth, and seemed about to swallow it whole.
At the sight of this, Auréliane's eyes went wide, and she immediately cried out urgently:
"No—stop!"
"That's for my teacher……"
Bang!
All at once, a bolt of emerald-green Magic transformed into an arrow and exploded outward in an instant, striking the woman squarely and blasting her flying dozens of meters.
As the smoke cleared, the creature's eyeball floated quietly in mid-air, enveloped in Magic.
"Hey—I mean, really."
Just as everyone was standing there utterly bewildered, a languid voice drifted out softly.
Cocotte Yadh stifled a yawn, seated atop her cloud, one hand propping up her face, the other raised in a listless, half-hearted gesture.
She narrowed her eyes, and her tone carried with it a faint edge of danger.
"Just snatching things from a little kid."
"You,"
"did you get my permission first?"