As a barrier magic, Via Shilheim not only possessed extremely strong defensive power, but also had a group-defense effect that was extremely rare among defensive magic. It did not act on an individual, but instead established a defensive barrier within a certain range, blocking all attacks coming from outside the barrier.
Whether it was a physical attack or a magical attack, as long as it did not exceed the endurance limit of Via Shilheim, it would be completely shut out.
Needless to say, its effect was very similar to the Tier Magic Force Sanctuary.
However, when Riezel activated the modification magic Lost Truth and granted Via Shilheim the Imaginary attribute, the target and specific effects of this magic underwent a reversal.
Originally, Via Shilheim defended against the outside, isolating physical and magical attacks beyond the barrier, but after obtaining the Imaginary attribute, Via Shilheim, which should have produced its effect outward, instead began producing its effect inward, changing from defending against what was outside the barrier to interfering with what was inside the barrier.
After obtaining the Imaginary attribute, Via Shilheim could choose either the physical level or the magical level, and abilities on that level would be suppressed by the pressure of the barrier.
Just like Jinas’s Strategic-Class Defensive Barrier, Light of Heaven, when one was inside that barrier, not only would Riezel’s magic be restrained, but his body would also be subjected to pressure, greatly weakening his strength.
After obtaining the Imaginary attribute, Via Shilheim produced the same effect, only it was simply not as domineering as Light of Heaven, since it could not completely restrain its target and could only interfere with either the physical level or the magical level.
Regardless, the advantage was that the effective range of this version of Via Shilheim would expand many times compared to the original.
At this moment, while under the effect of Lost Truth, Via Shilheim’s invisible barrier rippled outward like waves, spreading down toward the underground of Daedalus Street, and before long, the barrier covered the entire Man-Made Dungeon Knossos.
Naturally, the target Riezel chose to interfere with was magic.
Under such conditions, all magical abilities within the barrier were restricted, suppressed, and interfered with.
"..."
Soon enough, among the six altars on the 10th Floor of Knossos, not only did the singing of the six Demi Spirits weaken significantly, but the magical energy lines extending from their bodies also dimmed.
Now, the flow of magical energy changed from smooth to sluggish, while the extraction of magical energy also became extremely inefficient compared to its previous scale. Because of this, the magic circle appearing within the labyrinth on Knossos’s 10th Floor also dimmed, no longer looking as bright as before.
Needless to say, the great ceremony of the spirits had its completion efficiency greatly reduced under the interference of Via Shilheim.
"What is this...?"
In one corner of Knossos, Ein, who had been silently gnawing on a magic stone, suddenly raised her head and looked upward, as if she could see the surface, and slowly stood up.
"Was this his doing?"
In her mind, the image of a certain person flashed by, and her gaze turned cold.
"Liberator..."
A certain divine entity hidden in the darkness also seemed to sense something, murmuring this world-renowned alias in a low voice, like a curse uttered by a devil from the depths of hell.
"Go."
A voice reached Ein’s ears.
"Find a way to remove this layer of interference. If that’s not possible, eliminate the troublesome source."
Hearing this, Ein silently left the area.
In the bottomless darkness, the Demi Spirits’ singing continued, but it was no longer as graceful or as smooth as before.
===
"Hm, that should do it, right?"
After completing his mission, Riezel withdrew his hand, allowing the floating mirror fragments and magic circles around him to gradually disappear.
"Is it finished?"
Seeing Riezel restrain his magical energy, Shakti seemed to understand something and walked over.
"Yeah, more or less..." Riezel replied, nodding to Shakti. "I messed with whatever the enemy was trying to pull. For now, there shouldn’t be any major issues, but that green flesh invasion’s probably still gonna keep going, and it might even get worse than before. So yeah, I hope you guys are ready for that."
Although the Imaginary version of Via Shilheim possessed a considerable interference effect, it also lost its original defensive isolation function.
While this made the magic more difficult to dispel, the barrier’s original function was gone, and it naturally could not block attacks passing between the inside and outside of the barrier. Under such circumstances, whether it was the green flesh or someone else, they could freely move in and out of the barrier.
Hence, if the green flesh launched another invasion toward the surface, the barrier would not be able to stop them.
However, in order to extract magical energy more quickly and offset the interference, they would probably enter a frenzied state. At that time, if the Ganesha Familia wanted to stop them, it would truly take considerable effort.
"I understand..." Shakti’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she did not say much and simply nodded. "I’ll have my familia members be more careful."
"Good," Riezel said with a slight smile. "Alright then, I’ll get going. If anything happens and you need me to step in, just send someone over to Twilight Manor to find me."
After leaving these words behind, with a ’swish’ sound, Riezel suddenly disappeared as abruptly as when he had appeared. Of course, this time, he had not flown away while invisible but had directly used teleportation magic to leave.
Shakti and the others could only stare blankly at the scene, looking at each other for quite a while.
"Uhh, so that’s the Liberator?"
"Man, he’s so damn strong! He froze all that green flesh in like a second!"
"Isn’t he supposed to be a magic swordsman? From what I’m seeing, that magic’s already kinda on the level of a pure attack mage, right?"
"Well yeah, that’s ’cause you ain’t ever seen him use a sword. I’m telling ya, dude’s insane."
"You’ve actually seen Liberator fight with a sword?"
"Yeah, back during the last Monster Feria. I was patrolling East Main Street and saw him taking down those Violas."
"He was Level 5 back then, right? And now he’s already Level 6... way stronger than before."
"What a freak. Dude hit Level 6 just a few months after debuting. Our familia’s got so many First-Class Adventurers, and we still don’t even have a single Level 6..."
"Now he’s basically Orario’s top magic swordsman for real. I heard the Freya Familia’s Dainsleif and Hildrsleif got kinda fired up ’cause of it and just went on a dungeon expedition."
"Freya Familia... they can’t really stack up against the Loki Familia anymore, right?"
"Yeah, no way. I mean, the Loki Familia’s got three Level 7s now. They’re straight-up the strongest."
"Eh, not so fast. Doesn’t the Freya Familia still have King?"
"Yeah, but King hit Level 7 years ago. Someone who just leveled up ain’t on his level."
"Oh yeah, did any of you guys see how Liberator just popped in and then dipped outta nowhere just now?"
"Nah..."
All the members of the Ganesha Familia began chattering noisily, enthusiastically discussing Riezel’s situation and even drifting into discussions about the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia.
Shakti also looked deeply in the direction where Riezel had disappeared, and after a while, she finally turned around and faced everyone.
"Alright, stop chatting. Save it for when you’re changing shifts. For now, stay focused and be ready in case that green flesh invades again."
Shakti’s words immediately silenced the members of the Ganesha Familia.
*Ka-cha—*
Only after a long time did cracks begin to appear in the frozen ice sealing the massive hole, signaling that the second wave of the green flesh’s invasion was about to arrive.
===
At the home of the Loki Familia, Twilight Manor, after returning, the first thing Riezel saw was Ais practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard.
*Swish!* *Whoosh!* *Swish!*
Ais seemed extremely focused and serious as she continuously swung Desperate, causing streaks of silver slashes to flash through the air, cold and sharp.
As if an invisible enemy were standing before her, Ais stared ahead while the speed of her slashing grew faster and faster, but the way she looked, as though possessed by some obsession, made Riezel’s brows slowly furrow.
After thinking for a moment, Riezel suddenly stepped forward and walked behind Ais.
*Tap—*
Only when Riezel had reached behind Ais did a faint sound of footsteps quietly ring out, as if deliberately made.
"!!!"
Ais, who was in intense focus, was startled and suddenly spun around, reflexively slashing her sword toward her back.
*DING!*
With a crisp sound, Riezel suddenly extended two fingers and caught the incoming silver sword, stopping the sharp slash of the blade.
"Ri-Riezel?"
Only then did Ais react and hurriedly withdraw her sword.
"S-Sorry... I..."
Ais apologized somewhat anxiously.
"Don’t be so tense. I’m fine," Riezel said, shaking his head with a small laugh, then looking Ais straight in the eyes. "What were you thinking about? You looked so serious."
Ais immediately fell silent.
"Still thinking about the Corrupted Spirit?"
Riezel pressed further with the question, causing Ais to lower her head.
However...
"Corrupted Spirit... I’m not that concerned about it anymore..."
Ais said these words quietly.
"Really?"
Riezel was somewhat surprised.
"Mm..." Ais slowly nodded and said softly, "Riveria also said that it doesn’t really have much to do with me."
Indeed, the Corrupted Spirit itself did not have much connection to Ais.
In the first place, the reason Ais had become involved with the Corrupted Spirit was simply that she had been singled out by it.
Originally, Ais had thought that the Corrupted Spirit or the Creatures might have some connection with her mother. Now she understood that, while the Corrupted Spirit’s true body might have known her mother, it had already fallen into a monster that wanted to devour her. Even if there had once been some relationship between the Corrupted Spirit and her mother before her corruption, that relationship had likely already disappeared.
Not only could the Corrupted Spirit no longer communicate with her in any meaningful way, but she was also nothing more than a monster—an enemy that had to be eliminated. Besides, the Corrupted Spirit might simply know of the existence of the Great Spirit Aria while having no real connection to her at all.
Even though Ais still could not completely ignore the existence of the Corrupted Spirit, she would no longer become as obsessed with it as she had been before.
"Alright then..."
Seeing that Ais did not seem to be lying, Riezel stopped talking about the Corrupted Spirit.
"So, what were you thinking about just now?"
At Riezel’s question, Ais fell silent again, and Riezel did not urge her, simply looking at her quietly.
Ais had never been good with words to begin with, and she carried too many things in her heart, so whether it was Riveria or the others, they all felt sorry for her and indulged her in certain ways.
If one had to choose the most doted-on member in the Loki Familia, that person would definitely be Ais. At most, Lefiya could slightly compete for that position, but no one else stood a chance.
Riezel himself was not much better, as he also tended to indulge Ais somewhat.
It could not be helped.
Aside from Lefiya, Ais was the person in the familia closest to him.
Back when he had still been Level 1, Ais had always looked after him—not only did she often spar with him, but she had even taught him swordsmanship and magic. Because of that, in his heart, she held a somewhat special position, almost comparable to Yuri and Lizbeth.
When facing Ais, Riezel always had a little more patience, a little more tolerance, and a little more indulgence.
If Ais was willing to talk about what was on her mind, Riezel certainly did not mind listening, but if she truly did not want to say it, he would not force her either.
Consequently, a quiet silence that was not uncomfortable gradually spread between them.
Only after a long while did the hesitant-looking Ais raise her head.
"Don’t you want to ask...?" Ais said, as if gathering her courage. "Ask me about Aria..."
Clearly, she had finally brought up the matter herself.
"So that’s what you were thinking about?"
Riezel couldn’t help but raise his brows.
"And... many other things..." Ais murmured again. "Tiona and Tione... The Man-Made Dungeon... The Gate of Heaven... A lot of things..."
In other words, her emotions were simply too complicated, which was understandable, considering the situation involved spirits and also the fate of Orario.
While the former concerned Ais’s past, the latter concerned her present, so it was only natural for her to feel uneasy, especially with the disappearance of Tiona and Tione—it weighed heavily on her mind.
Tiona and Tione were, after all, very close to Ais, and they could be said to be the friends she was closest to within the familia. Yet the two of them had been acting together with Ais before becoming separated from her right in front of her eyes, eventually disappearing.
Apparently, this made Ais feel somewhat guilty.
In short, Ais had not been thinking about just one thing, but had been thinking about many things at once. In the end, the thoughts had become so overwhelming that she came here to practice her sword, forcing herself to focus.
Finally understanding this, Riezel did not quite know how he should comfort her, so he could only say something that would at least make her feel better.
"Actually, I know a little about your background."
As soon as these words were spoken by Riezel, Ais suddenly lifted her head, and her slender body trembled slightly.
"You... know?"
Ais’s lips trembled, and for the first time, she showed a fragile expression.
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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