Free Web NovelChapter 69: The Body Made of Smoke
Following the detailed instructions that Victor Shieldman had provided, it wasn’t difficult even for amateurs like Pyaxu and Orie to complete the elven magic circle to perfection.
The elven runes glowed simultaneously when the last scratch of the last symbol was made, pulsed for a moment and then all began to glow red, forming a circle and a magical barrier around the altar.
"HAHAHA! That won’t be enough to hold me here!" Gravisk laughed, seeing the small circle.
"Don’t worry, demon. We didn’t just prepare this to trap you." Victor said and then looked at Riggilo and nodded positively.
At that moment, Riggilo closed his eyes, concentrated for a moment on his connection with the Goddess Aela and began to recite:
"By divine grace and sacred might, a barrier strong, a shield of light. To ward off darkness, to banish fright, with holy words, our safety alight..."
A blinding glow began to emit from the top of Riggilo’s staff and this light spread throughout the chamber.
"What are you trying to do, you fools?" The demon’s voice echoed, charged with contempt and anger. "This magic... Aela, the goddess of fools and the weak, of course. Do you think a dying goddess can stop me?"
Riggilo continued to recite the sacred words, his voice resonating in a cadenced rhythm. The light emanating from his staff intensified more and more.
"... Through prayers deep and faith so true, a barrier of heaven, steadfast and new..."
The chamber began to shake, the air pulsing with sacred magic. The stone walls seemed to vibrate.
"Don’t underestimate the power of faith, demon!" Orie spoke to the demon directly for the first time, his hand gripping his bow tightly. "We are not alone in this battle!"
Gravisk let out a laugh that reverberated off the walls of the dark cave. "Humans really are pathetic. The gods give some of you crumbs of power and you follow them blindly. Even with all your devotion, you are no match for my strength. I am an ancient demon, a necromancer. Your tricks cannot stop me for long."
"Don’t be confused, Gravisk. This isn’t a seal or a cage. We’re just preparing a ring to make sure you don’t escape." Victor smiled and said.
Finally, Riggilo reached the end of his chant and he shouted with all the energy he had left in his body:
"Let evil’s tide be turned away! By this barrier, we stand and sway! Divine protection, steadfast and true! Barriers of light, we invoke in you!"
Riggilo’s eyes suddenly opened, shining brightly in a sky-blue hue as he raised his staff with both hands.
A powerful energy began to emanate from his staff, enveloping Riggilo and the entire chamber.
The seal symbols marked on the walls of the chamber began to glow in response to the holy magic invoked by the cleric, and a barrier of golden light began to rise from the floor, rising in radiant spirals like golden flames, and the chamber was transformed into a spectacle of light with the holy energy pulsating in every inch of the walls like a tornado of flames.
In addition, four magical columns appeared at the ends of the chamber. Heat emanated from them, but it didn’t burn.
Victor Shieldman looked around in awe at the barrier Riggilo had formed. He had already realized that Riggilo was a talented cleric, but this was beyond his expectations.
"That’s magnificent!" exclaimed Pyaxu, his face illuminated by the golden light. "I never imagined you’d hide something like this, Riggilo."
"Riggilo, you’re incredible!" added Orie with a smile of admiration.
Riggilo fell to his knees, breathing heavily, his clothes and hair slightly agitated by the magical energy surrounding him. His eyes still shone brightly, but now showed signs of exhaustion. He had channeled an immense amount of power to create the barrier, and the exhaustion was visible on his countenance.
"It’s not... over... yet," Riggilo muttered in a tired but determined voice. "I need to... sustain... the barrier." freёwebnovel.com
The demon’s voice echoed in the chamber again, but this time there was a note of surprise mixed with its anger. "You really put together a divine and elven barrier to try and stop me? That’s impressive for humans, but still fragile in front of me."
"That’s what we’re going to see." Victor said and touched the sword that imprisoned the demon.
Victor’s touch on the sword holding Gravisk silenced the chamber briefly and then an enormous amount of energy began to leak from the sword and envelop Victor.
Gravisk’s hoarse, melodic voice eagerly broke the silence.
"At last! After years of waiting, freedom is within my grasp! Ah, foolish humans and their tricks... Do you think that your magic and beliefs can contain what is eternal? You’ll regret what you’re doing, I’ll kill you and every human for miles!"
Victor’s eyes narrowed in determination as he endured all that energy coursing through him and the sword.
"Don’t... underestimate me, Gravisk!" Gradually, Victor’s aura began to overpower all the evil energy leaking through the sword.
When Victor finally lifted the sword off the ground, an electric bang rang through the air, accompanied by a high-pitched buzz that echoed off the walls of the chamber.
The symbols engraved on the walls by the seal created by Elban crumbled, and the ground of the cave began to shake, as if the earth itself were reacting to the demon’s awakening.
A deep, guttural roar echoed from the seal that held Gravisk prisoner. The ground shook violently, cracks formed on the altar, and black smoke began to escape from the hole left by the blade in the ground.
Riggilo, still exhausted by the creation of the barrier, stood up with effort, his eyes fixed on the terrifying form that Gravisk was beginning to assume.
The demon, freed from its bonds, began to form its physical body out of the black smoke, with skin as dark as ebony and glowing eyes in a head shaped like the empty skull of a buffalo.
"Riggilo, hold the barrier!" Victor ordered with authority in the chamber now filled with chaos.
The cleric, his body trembling and his breathing heavy, raised his staff once more, drawing on the last reserves of his energy to maintain the sacred barrier. At the same time, he began to swallow and chew the tea leaves given to him by Victor.
Pyaxu and Orie prepared for combat, bow and sword in hand, facing the black aura that spread like a gale through the chamber.
"It’s gaining strength with every passing second!" Orie shouted, but his voice blended in with the rumbling of the magical columns that were beginning to strain under the pressure of the demonic power.
Victor then drove the black sword hard into the ground again, but he didn’t do it in vain. Victor’s right hand, which held the handle of this sword, was soaked with his blood and marked with a strange symbol on the back of his hand, and at that moment Victor’s white hair became slightly whiter and thicker than it had been a few seconds ago. This was pure black magic, a corrupted and forbidden kind of magic.
"I can’t believe you actually did that..." Elban, standing next to Victor, said and then touched the handle of the black sword stuck in the ground. "Still, thank you for giving me the opportunity to finish the mission I started, Victor."
