Chapter 188 – Chapter 39: Ghosts #3

The restraining force weakened.

As it had existed for so long, nobody knew when the thin film covering the Demon World was being torn bit by bit.

It hadn’t started today or yesterday. Instead, it had happened step by step, so nobody was aware. It was just like raindrops soaking a collar.

&

The Sky Forest wasn’t small, and the thick mist filled the entire palace was well as the residences of the dark elves.

The fog of the Sky Forest was a routine for the dark elves. They had lived in the fog for a long time, so they didn’t fear it.

However, today was different; screams of dark elves pierced through the thick fog which made it hard to see.

Simultaneously, howls swallowed up the screams. Banshees were howling all over the sky and land, which meant the cries of the dark elves didn’t reach each other. In the midst of the ear-splitting noises, the dark elves fell into a sense of isolation.

Little children cried for their mothers, and mothers tried to find their children. The dark elves lost their way in the fog. Some moved deep underground to avoid the fog, while others ran in the direction they thought the palace was.

The fog was moving, but the dark elves were still unaware of this phase. They couldn’t know.

&

3rd Queen Sylvia Doomblade’s breathing was rough. It was bedtime, so she was just wearing a thin nightgown, but now wasn’t the time to put on clothes.

Sylvia moved at a quick pace to the ruler’s office, which was at the highest point of the Dark Elves’ Palace.

Many people rushed toward the queen as she moved, joining in order to protect her, while others left to perform tasks at the queen’s command.

The knights of the palace formed a thick wall around Sylvia, who tried to figure out what was happening as she moved. Whether it was due to the abnormally strong magic power of the fog or the shrieking of the banshees, any communication magic was unstable. Her magic wasn’t able to see the situation of each floor properly.

Aside from the five guards who protected the queen, the rest of the guards moved down. Sylvia wasn’t stupid. This was the inside of the palace, so it was easy to guess what was happening outside the palace as it was directly exposed to the fog. The defense of the palace was a problem, but she also needed to protect the people of Sky Forest. There should only be a minimal number of people inside the palace.

“Your Majesty, the Queen!”

A familiar voice pierced her ears, and Sylvia turned sharply to see Delia. Sylvia imagined all types of horrible things after seeing Delia appear alone without Felicia. Delia hurriedly spoke when she saw Sylvia’s pale face.

Delia explained that Felicia was with 9th Prince and the other children of the demon king. She had heard they were moving down, so she was going to descend and join them.

Sylvia was momentarily puzzled about how the 9th Prince had instantly moved Felicia to his side, but she suppressed her curiosity. Felicia was safe if she was with 9th Prince. Additionally, the 7th Prince and 8th Princess were highly respected fighters, so her heart calmed.

Sylvia’s complexion was restored as she headed up. As she climbed up into the fog, the number of banshees popping out was greatly reduced. However, the news they got from new people who joined them wasn’t great. Stronger ghosts were appearing on the lower floors.

Sylvia’s footsteps quickened. Those who ran ahead opened the door to her office.

The king’s office, located at the highest point of the Dark Elves’ Palace, was also the royal hall. Like a real forest, the floor was covered with dirt, and the walls and ceilings were covered with tree branches. The coldness of the earth touched her bare feet, but it calmed her mind.

Sylvia had hastened to reach the king’s office because it was the backbone of the palace. At the king’s office, it was possible to see the situation both inside and outside the palace.

The throne was in the middle of the office, and like the throne of the demon king, it was placed on a high podium. A large tree grew behind the throne, making it look like the throne was part of the tree.

Sylvia sat on the throne. Then the tree branches stretched gently around the throne to wrap around Sylvia’s arms, legs, neck, and waist. Sylvia looked at the sight before her as many things popped into her head.

Fortunately, there wasn’t much damage to the inside of the palace. Due to the magic power in the fog becoming stronger, the power of the spirits had also increased. Instead of scattering, the dark elves gathered at the center of each floor, while the guards opened the palace doors and accepted the people.

‘Silvan!’

Sylvia screamed silently. Silvan was rushing toward the Black Flame Dragon which was completely buried in fog. Sepira and the crew members were yelling as they followed behind Silvan reluctantly. Sylvia was worried but decided to believe in Silvan. The Black Flame Dragon was also a treasure of the dark elves, so it should be protected.

She tried to find Felicia next, but the information coming from the tree branches distracted her. Sylvia closed her eyes, then she looked down at the palace from a high place.

The fog was growing. The density of magic power was also increasing. However, that wasn’t the important thing. A flow was occurring in the fog. It started to flow in a certain direction and was drawn into a huge circle. The fog was gathering, and it seemed like a giant vortex would soon be created.

The palace was at the heart. Maybe the palace would be safe in the eye of the storm. However, what about the outside of the palace? What about everybody in Sky Forest?

Sylvia’s eyes flashed. Heavy winds started to blow outside the palace, and Thunder and lightning ripped through the night sky. However, that wasn’t all. The abnormally high density of magic power didn’t just cause ghost-based monsters.

Sylvia gulped, shaking unintentionally. A horrible future was painted in her head.

&

Hundreds of banshees were screaming at the same time. The chorus of screams was enough to destroy the spirit. However, the dark elves gathered in one place didn’t go crazy or feel afraid of the screams because they were protected.

“Leave it to this Amita!”

An enormous power radiated from Amita as they shouted with both arms wide open. It was Amita’s powerful ward magic.

“Amita!”

Daphne cried out with admiration at the translucent wall of magic which prevented dozens of banshee screams. Amita, who was sweating, banged their tail against the floor.

“I will protect Daphne! Karma as well, so don’t be afraid!”

Daphne, Karma, and the dark elves gained strength from Amita. Indeed, Amita was a truly trustworthy raccoon. In order to reassure everyone, Amita forced a brighter expression onto their face. Even the ghosts, which were more powerful than banshees, didn’t dare cross the barrier of divine power.

Daphne and Karma weren’t quiet either. The two druids and the dark elves used the spirits; spirits of fire appeared outside the magic ward and destroyed the banshees. It wasn’t bad, so the dark elves couldn’t help smiling a little bit.

However, the one who had created such an atmosphere, Amita, wasn’t laughing. This situation wasn’t simply hard. They had fought for a lifetime, so they felt something unusual.

“Amita?”

Daphne felt the same thing. She rushed toward Amita, while Amita made a shocked expression. They exclaimed hurriedly,

“Stop using the spirits! Karma! Everyone!”

It was an incomprehensible command, but Karma, who was familiar with Amita, cut off her spirits. However, the dark elves didn’t, and this was their big downfall.

The dark elves operating the spirits screamed. Those using fire spirits were burned, while those with wind spirits had their bodies hacked.

Daphne started sweating, and Amita’s face distorted.

The spirits had gone crazy. They escaped from the control of the dark elves and started to run wild.

&

“Princess! Heads up! This place is dangerous!”

“Get out of the way!”

Felicia shouted at the guards blocking her way. In-gong used Telekinesis to push the guards aside, and the demon king’s children continued moving. The party was still too high up. As the density of magic power increased, jumping down the floating disks took too long.

“Take the shortcut! Follow me!”

It wasn’t Felicia but Chris who yelled. Felicia’s eyes widened with surprise, but she soon cursed. Chris had used aura to destroy the floor.

“Go!”

He threw his body through the open hole. Caitlin and Seira were right behind him, but Felicia was stunned. It was too high for her to jump. However, there was no time to delay. While Felicia was hesitating, In-gong grabbed her and hoisted her over his shoulder. Carrying a princess like this wasn’t appropriate, but the situation wasn’t good.

In-gong and Carack jumped down the hole, while Felicia moaned from the impact of the landing. However, there was no time to recover from it. Chris had already made a new hole, and In-gong continued jumping down.

The height of one floor in the Dark Elves’ Palace was seven meters tall, so by jumping through the holes, they could go down dozens of meters.

“Almost there! It is here!”

Felicia screamed as they continued going down. Caitlin stopped from where she was about to break the floor, and Felicia fell breathlessly from In-gong’s shoulder.

“The entrance to the catacombs, over there.”

As Felicia raised her hand to point in a direction, In-gong hoisted Felicia up again. There was no time to complain, so Felicia just held on while In-gong ran with the mini-map open. The dark elves were surprised to see Felicia being carried, but no one stopped them. However, it wasn’t due to the dreadful momentum created by Chris; the ground floor was already a crucible of confusion.

Due to the effect of the fog, the number of banshees and ghosts was high. To make matters worse, some of the spirits were running wild. Most of the dark elves were heading up from the ground floor, so they were different from In-gong’s party that was heading downwards.

Felicia trembled in fear from her position on In-gong’s shoulder. If this was the situation inside the palace, then what was happening outside? She felt like crying at the thought of the dark elves living in Sky Forest.

“We’re here! Door!”

Chris shouted. The door was big enough to almost reach the ceiling. It was a door which opened on either side, and its state was like that of a castle in the middle of a siege. The door’s latch seemed like it would break at any minute.

“Princess!”

One soldier shouted at Felicia who was hanging on In-gong’s shoulder. In-gong put Felicia down, while Chris and Caitlin raised their auras.

“We are going to open the door to the tombs! Avoid it!”

The soldiers seemed to be the guards protecting the entrance to the tombs. Instinctively, Carack knew what was happening inside, and Siera was no different.

The banshees and ghosts were already there. Since it was a grave site, there would be a massive number of ghosts.

The door shook again. The door hinges seemed like they would break before the latch.

“Back off! We will cope with it from here!”

In-gong shouted. Felicia regained her spirit and gave the same order to the guards.

“Shutra!”

Caitlin looked at In-gong. Instead of responding, In-gong looked at the door and pulled out the power of Conquest. He released it and shouted,

“Green Wind!”

It wasn’t a simple call. This was a command. Green Wind, who had been upgraded to an apostle, appeared above everyone’s head and emanated a divine power.

She glared at the door. The hinges were cracking, and the door broke open with a loud sound!

“Below the King’s Flag!”

In-gong yelled and lifted the flag. At that moment, an enormous white light poured toward the front. The apostle Green Wind created divine winds, and the dozens of banshees and ghosts couldn’t survive. They shattered into dozens and hundreds of pieces.

However, the insides of the tombs were still full of a unique power. There was already fog just past the door, and new banshees were pouring out from the fog. The group had to rush in now. It was clear that the underground tombs were closely related to this phenomenon.

Felicia ordered the guards to flee, while In-gong took a deep breath and once again activated the power of Apostle Appointment.

“Carack!”