Chapter 1277: Section 1278: Sealing Circle
A streak of red light swept through the sky.
Amidst the whistling wind and rising snow, a shrill and sinister laugh pierced the quiet night sky, reaching everyone’s ears.
Accompanied by the laughter was a shadowy figure of indistinct appearance, landing atop a tall tree within the manor, dozens of meters away.
On the snow-covered tree, bathed in moonlight, one could see that the figure was wearing a gorgeous gown speckled with blood-red spots, like splattered fresh blood.
Although her face was not clear, the red light that had flashed earlier had come from her eyes, glaringly conspicuous in the dark, snowy night.
“It’s her, without a doubt! She is Lady Eulica!” Goldie said with a tremble in her voice, filled with fright, “Just as Viscount had said, danger appears at night!”
...
Goldie, terrified, wanted to call Angel back, but when she raised her head to look, she saw Angel and Sanders quietly discussing something, apparently unafraid.
Goldie opened her mouth to say something, but upon seeing Sanders’ calm and unruffled expression, she ended up holding her words back.
On the other hand, the odd individual in a White Bear costume whom Goldie had been ignoring suddenly asked her, “The Lady Eulica you speak of, is she ‘Tainted Blood Shadow Stab’ Eulica?”
Goldie turned to look at White Bear, noticing an odd look in his eyes as if he was suppressing some emotion.
Goldie shook her head, “I don’t know who ‘Tainted Blood Shadow Stab’ is that you’re referring to.”
White Bear seemed to want to ask more, but a sudden shout came from afar.
“Is that Angel? Has Angel returned? Darn, don’t come in, hurry back to Gru Town, don’t step into the sealing circle!”
Following that voice, everyone looked over and saw a figure in armor walking out from the room behind the lookout tower near the manor, yelling towards Angel.
Seeing the familiar voice, a look of joy flashed across Angel’s eyes.
The person was holding a torch, with the flames vividly highlighting his distinct facial features.
“It’s Lyon,” Angel said joyfully, “It’s my brother, Lyon.”
“Viscount!” Goldie and Parsha also shouted upon seeing the figure on the lookout tower.
Angel looked carefully at his brother Lyon, and under the moonlight, aided by the torchlight, he could see every expressive detail of Lyon’s face, lively and vivid.
At least for now, brother Lyon seemed to be unharmed.
Angel couldn’t help but want to step forward, but at that moment, Lyon on the lookout tower, with an even more urgent expression, said, “Step back, Angel, hurry back! Don’t enter the sealing circle, it’s dangerous here!”
Sealing circle? Angel paused, not quite understanding at first, until Lyon kept gesturing, and then Angel realized that what Lyon was referring to was the layer of red light enveloping the manor.
Angel remembered Sanders previously mentioning that this red light was peculiar, resembling the projection of a seal.
Could it be that the red light was this so-called sealing circle?
“It seems that this red light truly is some sort of seal, restricting Eulica’s range of movement,” Sanders confirmed Angel’s guess, revealing the truth with a single sentence.
Goldie and Parsha couldn’t see the red light and were still looking confused. Angel, looking at them, started to understand why Eulica had gone mad while Gru Town remained unscathed – it must have been the red light that had blocked Eulica, securing safety for Gru Town.
But, this safety was actually a safe haven within a dark restricted zone.
The safe haven was surrounded by the dangerous prohibited area, and though it seemed secure for now, if the sharp fangs within the darkness broke through that fragile protection, the safe haven would become an isle of death.
Unless, the danger lurking in the darkness was resolved.
“Terrible! Viscount, watch out!”
As Angel pondered, Goldie suddenly pointed in a direction and shouted. Angel turned around sharply, only to see Eulica, who had been atop the tree, watching them with a sinister gaze from beyond the blood-red light. But now, her gaze had shifted towards Lyon on the lookout tower.
Clearly, Lyon’s earlier shouting had caught her attention.
Lyon also noticed Eulica’s gaze. As he looked into her glowing red eyes, fear surged in his heart. The recent tragedy in the manor seemed to replay in front of his eyes through those terrifying pupils, every detail vivid and clear.
Lyon’s expression was filled with dread, but his lips kept unconsciously muttering, “Don’t come in, don’t come in.”
Lyon began to retreat step by step, attempting to fall back within the defensive circle of the lookout tower. But at that moment, Eulica suddenly burst out into a high-pitched maniacal laugh, filled with mad delight!
Then, Eulica took flight, turning into a streak of red light that seemed to dye the night sky. Like a piercing arrow, she aimed directly at Lyon on the lookout tower!
Lyon’s heart sank as he realized something was amiss.
He immediately dropped his torch and turned to run. However, after taking only a few steps, he heard a whooshing sound of wind from behind.
“It’s over!” Lyon felt a wave of despair.
But just then, an intense blast of shockwave surged from behind, and before Lyon could react, he was sent flying. Tumbling over several times, Lyon crashed heavily against the wall.
A crack appeared on the wall and Lyon slumped beneath it, gasping for breath.
“Are you okay?” An anxious voice reached his ears. Lyon seemed to recall something; he looked up to see Angel standing not far in front of him, while Eulica, who had originally been rushing toward him, was now inexplicably dozens of meters away.
“I’m fine.” Lyon didn’t lie. To become a Transcendent, he had acquired the “Will Tempering Method” from Suise. The pain he endured then to forge his body was far less than the impact he had just suffered. So, despite the spiderweb cracks on the wall behind him, his body had not sustained much damage, especially with the protection of his armor.
After answering, Lyon looked anxiously at Angel and said, “How did you get in here? Didn’t I tell you not to come? It’s easy to enter the barrier, but leaving is very troublesome!”
Angel had also learned from Sanders that the barrier seemed to be one-way, meaning it restricted exit from the inside, not entrance from the outside. Moreover, it appeared to activate at night.
Because of this, Uncle George and the Kumiho tribal chief warned the townspeople never to go out at night.
Angel turned to console Lyon, assuring him there was no need to worry. With Sanders there, nothing would go wrong.
However, before he could speak, Angel saw a look of panic on Lyon’s face as his eyes reflected an increasingly intense red light. Sensing something was amiss, Angel immediately spun around and dodged; the spot where he stood a second before now had a huge gaping hole.
Above the hole hovered Eulica!
With a sharp cackle, Angel finally got a clear look at Eulica’s face from up close. Her features, once enchantingly beautiful, were now almost twisted and looked extraordinarily frightening!
Eulica didn’t give Angel much time. She ignored Lyon completely and, laughing loudly, charged straight at Angel.
“Angel, watch out!” Lyon shouted.
But Angel stood his ground without any intention to dodge, his expression dark as he extended his hand and stopped retreating.
Lyon’s pupil contracted. As Angel’s older brother, how could he not understand his every move? Was Angel now planning to… confront Eulica head-on?
While Lyon was still pondering, Angel, instead of retreating, advanced, colliding directly with Eulica.
Light sparkled as their figures interwove. A terrifying wave of energy erupted at the point of collision, spreading out in ripples instantaneously to dozens of meters away!
Even Lyon’s location was affected!
Were it not for the several meters thick wall he was leaning against, Lyon would have been thrown again.
Lyon also came to a realization about what had caused the shockwave from behind earlier.
Looking at the two vague figures interweaving in the distance, where one couldn’t even make out the movements, confusion flashed across Lyon’s eyes. Was it his illusion? Why did it seem that his brother, Angel, was evenly matched with Eulica?
Outside the blood glow, Gold, watching the sudden battle unfolding inside, was anxious. She looked at Sanders ahead of her and softly pleaded for his help.
After hearing her, Sanders reassured Gold, “Don’t worry, Angel will be fine.”
White Bear, standing behind Sanders, wore a face filled with astonishment and doubt. Setting aside whether Eulica was the person he had been searching for years, what truly baffled him was Angel. His experience and knowledge far surpassed Lyon’s. Despite Angel appearing to match Eulica in the fight, in reality, he was still at a disadvantage.
But much of this disadvantage was self-created by Angel. His combat skills were not as strong, whereas Eulica, though driven to madness, retained her bodily memory and battle experience, far surpassing Angel.
Yet, in terms of sheer strength, Angel did not seem to be falling behind.
In other words, Angel’s physical strength had almost reached parity with Eulica. If Angel could calm down and take several years or even a decade to train his fighting skills, then Eulica might be the one in danger.
While White Bear still privately believed that Eulica would be the victor, he was greatly surprised by Angel’s strength.
Years ago, White Bear had seen Angel fight Black Jack in the Sky Tower. At that time, Angel almost relied on Toby’s overwhelming strength. Without Toby’s help, White Bear even felt he could defeat Angel.
But now, the difference was like heaven and earth.
Angel had achieved an almost meteoric rise, while White Bear himself had remained stagnant for years.
With this realization, White Bear felt a surge of melancholy.