Chapter 14: Shock
Glancing at Komer, the mysterious mage gave no explanation. Her other delicate hand swiftly moved, forming complex patterns. Giant silver-white halos appeared one after another above the piles of giant ape zombies. As the mage finished reciting her spells, these halos built up at a steady pace, forming a wave-like tower that suddenly exploded. Countless light spots covered almost all the giant ape zombies like snow.
Screeching noises filled the entire passage. The giant ape zombies hit by the light spots trembled violently, some even struggling to fall to the ground. Milky-white mist emanated from their bodies, and the areas struck by the light spots began to rot, with the rotting spreading further.
Rebri gasped, his eyes filled with shock and concern. While others might not be familiar with this light magic, he, who had long dealt with high-ranking figures in the Church of Light, knew such spells all too well. This was no ordinary light magic that any mage could cast, nor could it be performed by a mage with dark magic. To use such a spell required pure light energy, and this enigmatic female mage could unleash such a top-tier, authentic light magic—“Thousand Mountains Reflecting Snow”—without any tricks. If not for the fact that her mastery of this spell wasn’t yet perfect, Rebri might have thought she was a high-ranking figure from the Church of Light. Even so, these undead creatures from the dark world, after being struck by such pure light magic, had their bodies distort and rot into voids. Under the pressure of powerful gravity spells, they could barely move. Before they could reach the attack zone, they collapsed into pools of pus on the ground.
Who was this woman? Although the expedition wasn’t over, and mages usually didn’t inquire about each other’s backgrounds, and though Rebri trusted Mihajic’s guarantee, seeing the giant ape zombies turn into puddles of sewage filled him with shock. It was terrifying—more unbelievable even than encountering the dark god Hades. How could a dark mage wield such unparalleled light magic? Could she even be called a dark mage? Unless she wasn’t a dark mage at all!
Komer was equally astonished; even he himself could not cast such a top-tier light magic spell. Though this light spell, entirely reliant on sacred power, could deal a devastating blow to undead creatures, it demanded an extremely high level of magical energy from the caster—something Komer, at least for now, was far from capable of. Yet this mysterious man before him had managed to do it. Komer hadn’t considered other possibilities like Rebrí had; after all, although he relied on dark magic, he could still cast many light spells, and he hadn’t realized the potential threat posed by this mysterious figure.
The other mages and dark knights were also shocked, but clearly not as deeply as the two of them. After all, there are specialized fields in magic—the world of magic is vast as the starry sky, and a lifetime of study only allows one to grasp a fraction of it. Different fields are as separate as mountains; it’s impossible for a mage to have in-depth knowledge of other disciplines. It was precisely because Rebrí had long been involved with the leaders of the Light Church that he was particularly sensitive to this aspect. Mihajlović specialized in necromancy and puppet magic, while Newman was renowned for his dark magic and the creation of magical artifacts. As for the two dark knights, magic was merely a supplementary tool for them; they valued the improvement in strength gained through their martial arts training more. However, they preferred the immense destructive power of dark magic and thus chose it.
Perhaps sensing the shock his spell had caused among everyone, the mysterious mage took the initiative to explain that it was because he possessed a highly precious light artifact he carried with him, allowing him to cast light spells beyond what ordinary people could imagine. This explanation did make sense to the other mages who didn’t fully understand, as the power of a special artifact could greatly enhance the caster’s own magical energy, making it reasonable to think they could perform beyond their normal capabilities.
But for Rebrí and Komer, this explanation only increased their doubts. In Rebrí’s view, such an attempt to cover up something was merely a way to conceal some purpose. The mage possessed powerful and pure light magic, which meant it was impossible for her to have dark magic as well. Since she wasn’t from the dark side, what could she use to convince Mihajić of her identity? What was her purpose here? Various doubts swirled in Rebrí’s mind, greatly diminishing his interest in the expedition. Instead, he became more interested in the identity of this guy and his motives for coming here. Perhaps this guy hid many unexpected secrets; he might be a good prey. At that moment, a sinister idea arose in Rebrí’s mind.
Komer’s doubts didn’t stem from an understanding of magic but rather from an understanding of human nature. This mysterious mage had spoken no more than ten sentences in the few days she’d been in the Caucasus and mostly stayed in her room, never stepping outside. Even when Mihajić asked her questions, she simply replied with “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.” If it weren’t for that letter that convinced Mihajić to accept her, no one would have welcomed her. Yet such a reticent person went to great lengths to explain a spell, trying to make people believe its origin was legitimate—this seemed rather excessive. Magi were usually proud and unwilling to explain anything to others, but she, who went to extremes in this regard, behaved strangely, which left Komer puzzled. Of course, he didn’t know what caused her to act so abnormally.
As the herd of giant apes disappeared, the passage returned to calm. What they had thought would be a fierce battle was effortlessly resolved by this new companion’s actions, boosting the confidence of the group. Even though Komer still doubted the mysterious mage, he felt that having someone so powerful on this expedition was not a bad thing. Rebrí, though seemingly unchanging on the surface, had already begun to closely observe this new companion’s every move, all while keeping it hidden from others.
“Newman, since you recognize this as Bremoden script, explain to everyone what these symbols mean. Let’s see what they signify.” With the imminent danger suddenly gone, Mihajić’s mood became much more relaxed.
“No, no, I’m sorry. I can only recognize this kind of script, but it’s different from the existing orcish script. I think it’s very difficult to find even a few people on this continent who can understand it.” Shaking his head, Newman’s expression returned to normal. The appearance of the group of giant ape zombies had indeed shocked him greatly, but he never expected that the zombies, which he regarded as fierce beasts, could be dealt with so easily by his companions. This gave him immense confidence.
“Oh, that’s too bad. It seems we’ll have to wait until the expedition is over to figure out the meaning of these symbols.” Mihajevic turned his gaze to Rebrí, who was lost in thought. “Rebrí, shall we keep moving?”
“Of course. Can a bunch of giant ape zombies scare us?” Shrugging, Rebrí smiled meaningfully. “Now that we have a mage skilled in light magic, I think this expedition will go much more smoothly.”
The dark passage seemed endless. The group continued forward in their original order, but they were much more cautious now. They had encountered the group of giant ape zombies as soon as they entered the dark passage. If it hadn’t been for the presence of a mage skilled in light magic among their new companions, whose outstanding light spells proved decisive, it would have been difficult to know how much effort it would have taken to deal with those zombie apes. Who could predict what other challenges they might face on the rest of the journey? At this moment, the secrets of Damolensk Fortress seemed increasingly out of reach. Just opening one secret passage had led to such complex experiences—what about the other two discovered passages? And what about the ones yet to be found?
The passage resembled a maze. As they slowly advanced about a hundred meters with careful steps, another fork appeared before them—a crossroads this time. The path ahead was slightly narrower, while the passages on both sides were much wider, putting them in another dilemma.
With three paths appearing at once, how could the seven-member expedition group make a decision? They immediately began arguing. This time, the mysterious mage couldn’t persuade the others. The encounter with the giant ape zombies seemed to have made them doubt the mage’s judgment. Although he had dealt with those zombies alone, they doubted he would be as lucky next time. The danger posed by those zombie apes was well-known to everyone. What would happen next?
Mihajic and the two Dark Knights advocated going straight, as the straight passage seemed slightly different from the wider paths on either side. While the wider paths might be advantageous for mages, they posed greater threats to the two Dark Knights. They preferred the middle passage, which was relatively more suitable for wielding martial skills. Newman, on the other hand, seemed inclined to go left—there were significant threats on the right, while the left might be safer. That was Newman’s simple yet practical reasoning. This time, however, Rebrí unusually chose to support the mysterious mage’s opinion, which surprised Komer, who had remained neutral until then. He could sense Rebrí’s attention toward this mysterious mage, even a hint of wariness, yet at this moment Rebrí chose to back his side—Komer seemed to understand something.
When Komer also decided to support the mysterious mage, Mihajic changed his attitude and agreed to continue moving right. Thus, the remaining three had no choice but to follow the majority’s decision.
The exploration team soon realized that their choice might have been correct. The spiraling downward passage appeared exceptionally calm and safe, with no obstacles encountered. The magnificent patterns on the stone walls captivated those who kept casting light balls for illumination. These patterns were mostly inspired by ancient myths, depicting various strange creatures, giant beasts, dragon-like monsters, and undead beings of all forms. Aside from these unimaginable scenes, the only human-like figure in the paintings was extremely blurred. It seemed the artist intentionally blurred this figure’s appearance—only a tall and strong silhouette could be seen, with only the eyes clearly carved; the rest of the face was flat and unidentifiable, leaving everyone puzzled.
Due to these exquisitely carved and lifelike stone reliefs, the group unconsciously slowed down. After careful consideration, they concluded that these were praise paintings celebrating the protagonist’s battles against demons and monsters. However, the overly blurred image of the protagonist made it impossible to guess which deity he might be.
Komer was truly shocked! It was so similar to the scenes that had appeared in his dreams! It seemed as though someone had meticulously recreated each scene from his dreams, especially the eyes of the protagonist, which were exactly the same as those of King Canifer III who had spoken to him in his nightmares. The expression of desolation mixed with unwavering determination was portrayed with incredible precision!
Komer could hardly believe that such a strange spectacle could exist in the underground complex of Fort Damorlensk. To others, it might have been nothing more than a mythic carving, but for Komer, who already knew the secrets of King Canifer III’s past, this meant that the true owner of the castle was highly suspicious. Who could this person be? Why would he choose to build such a massive castle in the Caucasus? And how did he know about King Canifer III’s experiences? The castle was built 160 years ago, yet according to King Canifer III, the fall of the Dark Empire had already happened 500 years prior. How could more than 300 years have failed to erase the glory of that event, which was like a comet strike?