Chapter 64: The Chaos at the Gate

The black energy seeped into Kelvin’s hand, making him yell out in pain.

"Kelvin!" Aelonen yelled as he rushed over to support him, intending to swing his sword at Nathan.

"Wait." Lilith suddenly grabbed his shoulder, and before he could protest, she threw him backward.

"W-What are you doing!? We have to help Kelvin!" Aelonen yelled as he tumbled to the ground.

Lilith didn’t answer. Instead, she dashed forward, coating her hand in purple energy and transforming it into a claw.

Just as Nathan was about to swing his dagger again, she stood in front of Kelvin and raised her claw.

*DING!*

The dagger clashed with the claw, and Nathan smiled.

"Another stupid one? How amus—"

But before he could finish speaking, he felt his chest cave in slightly before he was thrown backward with tremendous force.

"UGH!"

He rolled across the ground a few times before finally standing up, holding his chest as he struggled to catch his breath.

Looking down, he could see a fist-shaped imprint on his chest.

"How?" He looked back at Lilith, who was standing without any signs of discomfort.

He was sure he had sent his energy into her hand. She should have been in great pain by now.

"You don’t need to know." Lilith replied as she took another step towards him.

Nathan looked at her for a moment before smiling wickedly. "You think you can stop me just like that? I admit you’re slightly stronger, but so what?"

Changing his direction instantly, he dashed towards the youngsters around them.

Extending his hand, he enveloped them in black energy. They began screaming and shrinking until nothing was left of them.

"HAHAHAHA!" Nathan laughed maniacally.

Lilith rushed towards him, but he jumped backward and ran towards the others while she chased after him.

One after another, the young people around them were consumed by the strange black energy, disappearing from sight.

"RUN!"

"A MADMAN!"

Everyone panicked and tried to escape, but Nathan simply smiled and snapped his fingers.

Instantly, a thick barrier of dark energy enveloped the entire area.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

They attacked the barrier with all their strength but couldn’t even cause a ripple on its surface.

"What the!?"

"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!?"

Everyone started panicking.

Lilith looked around calmly, and her eyebrows rose slightly. She could easily see what was happening.

All around the barrier were corpses of giant insects, arranged neatly and emitting dark energy.

"So, you’ve planned this?"

She looked at Nathan.

"Hahahahaha, naturally. How could I let so much prey escape?" Nathan licked his lips with a wicked expression. "None of you shall escape today. Not even you."

Saying that, he took a step and disappeared in a blur, appearing next to another group of youngsters.

"AAAH!" "STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY—AGH!"

Everyone started running around in a frenzy, not knowing what to do.

Lilith pulled out a purple potion from her storage ring and drank it in one gulp.

Soon, purple energy began enveloping her entire body as she took a step and disappeared from her spot.

*BANG!*

"UGH!"

Nathan was struck from the side, sending him tumbling through the air.

Just as he was about to hit the ground, he twisted his body and landed on his feet, holding his side in pain.

Looking at Lilith, he displayed an angry expression. "So you have other tricks up your sleeve? But it doesn’t matter. I will—"

*BANG!*

He was punched again, sending him flying.

This time, Lilith followed and suddenly appeared above him in the air.

*BANG!*

She slammed her fist into his stomach, sending him straight down.

*BOOM!*

His body slammed into the ground with tremendous force.

"COUGH!"

Nathan coughed up a mouthful of blood before feeling a hand grab his throat.

"Let’s see how you run now." Lilith tightened her grip around his neck.

Nathan grabbed the hand holding his throat, and black energy formed around his own.

This time, however, the black energy was much darker and thicker than before. It instantly seeped through Lilith’s purple energy.

Just as he expected her to grimace in pain, he saw her hand become enveloped in the same kind of dark energy, which seemed to block his own.

His eyes nearly bulged out at the sight.

"Y-Y—"

He wanted to speak, but her grip around his throat was too tight for him to say anything.

’I guess I have no choice.’

Suddenly, he reached for his belt with his free hand, took out a strange black orb, and quickly put it into his mouth.

Lilith noticed, but she couldn’t react in time.

*BOOOM!*

A torrent of black energy erupted around his body, spreading in all directions.

"UGH!"

Lilith had to release him as she jumped backward to distance herself.

Soon, the energy began forming a vortex before gradually shrinking into Nathan’s body.

"Huff! Huff!"

His chest heaved violently as the energy entered his body.

Looking at him now, everyone around was startled.

What stood in that place no longer looked like a human.

His skin had turned black, his eyes were bloodshot, and two ugly horns had appeared on his head.

He looked more like a monster than a man.

"W-WHAT IS THAT?" a girl from the crowd yelled out in fright.

Lilith’s expression darkened.

"I don’t know who you are or why you’re standing against me." Nathan smiled as he looked at Lilith. "But today, you will die."

He took a step forward and disappeared.

"!!!"

Lilith’s eyes widened as she failed to follow his movements.

In the next moment, he appeared right in front of her, but he was moving too fast for her to react.

*BANG!*

"UUGH!"

A black fist connected with her stomach, sending her flying backward.

"HAHAHAHAHA! ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!"

He turned towards Kelvin, who was lying on the ground and holding his arm in pain, before smiling wickedly at Lilith, who was struggling to get back up.

"You tried to protect that one earlier, right? Then... I’ll kill him first."

He disappeared again and appeared right above Kelvin, raising his hand.

"STOP!" Aelonen yelled as he rushed towards him with his sword raised.

"Useless."

Nathan waved his hand, slapping Aelonen across the chest.

*BANG!*

Aelonen was sent flying, instantly losing consciousness as the black energy seeped into his chest.

"Now, it’s your turn."

He turned towards Kelvin and raised his hand again.

Just as he was about to bring it down, however, he felt something restricting his movement.

"Hmm?"

He looked at his hand, which was now held by what appeared to be thin strings.

*WOOSH!* *WOOSH!* *WOOSH!*

In the next moment, he felt both his arms and legs being tightly restrained by the thin strings.

Before he could process what was happening—

*BOOOM!*

A heavy hammer struck his head, making his vision blur for a moment.

A thick cloud of smoke surrounded his body in the next instant, disorienting him slightly.

Before he could regain his senses—

*BANG!*

He felt a powerful blow against his back, sending him flying into the air.

*BANG!*

Another hammer slammed into his chest while he was falling, sending him towards the ground even faster.

*BOOM!*

He hit the ground violently, creating a crater.

"NOW!" Lilith yelled out.

A black-haired girl appeared right next to the crater, extending her hand.

*WOOSH!* *WOOSH!* *WOOSH!*

Thin strings flew from her hand, enveloping Nathan’s entire body until they formed a cocoon, sealing him completely.

Another girl appeared beside her. Raising her staff, she began gathering red energy at its tip before slamming it down onto the cocoon.

*DING!*

Strange symbols appeared all over the cocoon before connecting to one another.

The two girls turned towards Lilith and nodded.

"Step back!" Lilith yelled.

They immediately obeyed.

Lilith stepped next to the cocoon and examined it for a moment.

What they had done was obvious to everyone around them. They had sealed him inside, but she was still worried whether it would be enough to hold him.

After looking at the cocoon for a moment and seeing no signs of disturbance, she slowly released a deep breath.

"It seems we succeeded." She nodded.

She then quickly walked towards Aelonen, who was lying on the ground without moving.

"Sister, is he alive?" Damien approached and asked as she examined him.

Lilith nodded. "He’s alive, but barely." She looked at his chest, which was covered in black energy. "This is something like a curse. Nobody in our country can lift it. We can only hope he stays alive long enough for us to contact the elven tribe. Maybe they will have a solution."

Damien displayed a worried expression. If the Elven Prince suddenly died while visiting their country, it could spell trouble.

"More importantly, aren’t you worried about your little brother at all?" Lilith suddenly asked him.

Damien looked at Kelvin, who was still lying on the ground while holding his hand in pain, and shrugged. "His life is clearly not in danger. He’s just in pain."

"Wrong." Lilith shook her head as she stood up and walked towards Kelvin. "He’s cursed too. If he remains like this, he will die as well."

Damien’s eyes widened for a moment as he displayed a startled expression. "We must do something about it!"

However, if someone looked closely, they could see a strange glint in his eyes.

Lilith simply shook her head as she walked towards Kelvin and grabbed his hand.

Purple energy began seeping out of her hand before enveloping Kelvin’s.

"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

Kelvin’s chest heaved as he took several deep breaths.

"Any better?" Lilith asked.

"Y-yes." Kelvin nodded as he wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. "Slightly better, but the pain is still there."

"This is the best I can do." Lilith stood up. "Try to endure until we exit. Maybe we can find a solution."

Kelvin nodded.

"Prince Kelvin!" His party members quickly approached before helping him stand up.

"I’ll be alright, no worries." Kelvin tried to comfort them, but he wasn’t even sure of his own words.

They all nodded with worried expressions.

"What should we do now?" Damien asked Lilith as he approached.

She looked at the gate of the ruins, which was now slightly ajar. "We should enter the ruins, of course. After that’s done, we should consider leaving the dungeon early to seek help for Aelonen and Kelvin."

Damien nodded.

Together, they approached the gate.

"That’s not enough." Lilith shook her head as she looked at the narrow opening. "We need to open it further to get through."

"How? You saw how the gate absorbed blood, right?" Damien looked at her. "You aren’t suggesting we kill our comrades to open it, are you?"

The people around them shivered as they looked at Lilith in fear.

"Of course not. What are you talking about? We should attack it together now. With enough force, we should be able to open it now that it’s in this state."

The people around them nodded at her suggestion.

"Then let’s try."

They all formed a line and gathered their attacks again.

Mages conjured spells above them, warriors raised their weapons, and other classes prepared whatever attacks they could use.

"NOW!"

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

Explosions rained down on the gate.

*CREEK!*

To their delight, it opened slightly further.

"It’s working! Let’s try again!" Damien yelled.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

*CREEK!*

After a few more rounds of attacks, the gate had opened enough for a person to walk inside.

"We did it!"

*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*

"Indeed, you have."

Suddenly, they heard clapping from behind, followed by a familiar voice that sent goosebumps down their spines.

They all turned around, only to see Nathan, still in his demonic form, standing right next to their group.

Looking at the crater where he had been sealed, they saw nothing. It seemed he had escaped without alerting anyone.

"!!!"

"Surprised?" he asked when he saw the shock in Lilith’s eyes.

He took a step forward before appearing right in front of her.

"COUGH!"

She was instantly grabbed by the neck and lifted off the ground.

"You’ve annoyed me quite enough, woman."

Lilith’s party members instantly attacked from all sides.

"Annoying!" Nathan yelled as a torrent of dark energy erupted from his body, sending them all flying before they hit the ground without moving.

He looked back at Lilith before tightening his grip. "Now, die for me."

But at that moment, he felt something strong gripping his wrist like a vice. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t tighten his grip.

*CRACK!*

The bone in his wrist shattered, sending pain through his whole body.

Before he could process what was happening, he heard a voice right beside him.

"What an interesting party here. Was I the only one left uninvited?"

"BIG BROTHER CHRIS!" Kelvin yelled loudly.