Chapter 185: Exploration (4)

'Wait... They're supposed to be illusions...'

Angele was startled at that moment. He was certain that all the wizards' figures were staring at him, and it seemed like they had noticed his presence a long time ago.

Angele stood in the hallway. It was deadly silent, and he could not sense any movement inside the meeting hall.

He quietened his footsteps and created a thick layer of metal on his skin for defense. His whole body was covered in a silver glow. He took out a black heart bomb with his right hand. This one was made with the heart of corrosion, and it was one of the two bombs that contained 70 degrees of power.

Angele approached the wooden door again, hesitated for a second, but still decided to peek through the hole.

The meeting hall was brightened by the blue glow. The wizards he'd seen had already disappeared and the room was completely empty. Angele shook his head. He knew it must have been an illusion. He could see the dust floating in the air under the light.

Suddenly, a man's eye appeared on the other side of the hole, and he was peeking through it just like what Angele was doing.

The man was staring at Angele with his bloodshot eyes.

Angele was startled again and backed off right away.

He calmed down and looked at the hole again, but the man was no longer there, and he could only see the blue light from inside the room.

"Are you looking for me?" a cold voice suddenly came from behind.

*CHI*

Angele turned around and a silver arc flashed in the air.

He created a scimitar in his left hand and slashed forward hard. Angele heard the blade soaring through the air, but it felt like the strike landed on nothing.

Angele quickly glanced around and tried to find who was behind him.

"God damn it!"

He was not sure what he should do. He double-checked the surroundings, but still did not see anyone around.

Angele held his breath as he sensed someone walking toward him from behind. He assumed it was one of those 'ghosts' that were in the meeting hall. The ghost was getting closer and closer, and goose bumps rose on Angele's neck.

He knew he had to make the decision. He raised the heart bomb and threw it behind himself.

*BOOM*

Angele detonated the bomb, getting caught in the explosion as well. The impact blew him more than ten meters away. He rolled on the ground, finally stopping after he reached the other side of the hallway.

Black-purple sticky liquid covered the whole cloister, and the door of the meeting hall was broken into pieces, so the bright blue light shined upon the hallway. The dust in the air blurred Angele's sight.

White steam rose from the areas that were covered by the liquid. Angele saw that the walls and the ground were being corroded; it was the effect of the heart bomb.

The ghost disappeared after Angele detonated the bomb. He coughed several times as the dust went into his nose.

Angele stood up and covered his nose with hands to prevent more dust from going into his nose.

He gained experience of dealing with mysterious events after the encounter in Moon Gin Garden, and he was more prepared when it happened this time.

However, he decided not to enter the meeting hall in front of him. There was no point for him to take more risks. The ghost could still appear at any moment. Those illusions of wizards were unusual, they did not act like the ones the books had mentioned.

There were several times that Angele had almost lost his life during the missions because he was too greedy. He calmed down and made up his mind.

Angele had a last glance at the corroded cloister, turned around, and left through the entrance.

It only took him several minutes to return to the crossroad.

Angele took a deep breath and started heading back. He had the map stored in the chip, so it was easy for him.

Suddenly, he heard people whispering in the tunnel ahead.

"Glen, go collect the items, we need to move. Aria, help the wounded members, Avria is still waiting for us there, we must hurry."

The voice of the man was familiar. Angele raised his head slightly and looked ahead.

A man wearing a white robe was advancing in the darkness, and Angele recognized him immediately.

"Hey, Ainphent!" Angele shouted out. He needed someone that was familiar with the situation, and he wanted to check if they had already collected the bearing shafts.

Ainphent was slightly injured. He turned around and looked at Angele.

"Oh hey, Green! I really need your help right now!"

Ainphent's voice was shaky. He quickly walked toward Angele.

Angele realized something was wrong as Ainphent got closer. He quickly used the fireball to brighten up the area.

Ainphent's eyes were replaced by two deep, bloody holes. The dark red liquid left two trails on his cheeks and slowly dripped down the chin.

Behind Ainphent, there was a blue hollow shadow, but it seemed like he did not notice the shadow's presence. Ainphent looked excited and happy after seeing Angele, and the shadow followed right after him.

"Hey, Glen! I told you already, move!" Ainphent turned around and shouted at a wall. He was seeing illusions, Angele assumed. "Are you even listening?!"

Angele's skull numbed. He slowly took two steps back, turned around, and ran away.

He was not sure how he could help Ainphent escape the illusions.

'What happened to Melissa then..?' Angele wondered as he heard Ainphent screaming. The wings on his left palm started swinging again.

"Green... Come back... Green... Please..."

Ainphent's voice changed, he was horrified and anxious. The man's long shaky scream echoed through the tunnel.

The diamond-shaped accessory on the back of Angele's hand was heating up again.

The accessory heated up when he was at the watch tower and had encountered the strange girl on the bridge. His curse was lifted already, but he decided to keep the accessory and use it to detect the 'ghosts' or 'souls'. Although Angele had not yet collected accurate data on how those ghosts existed, it seemed like their presences were quite common in this world, and most of them were related to curses.

Angele decided to start researching on the spirits after surviving this mission.

He returned to the previous tunnel, and it seemed like the strange force field was no longer there. Angele quickly ran back to the room with three stone gates.

The right gate was crushed by someone as well. Inside the gate, it was a dark tunnel, and there was a rotten body sitting by the entrance with its back leaning against the wall.

Angele double-checked the surroundings and made sure it was safe before entering the gate on the right.

He crouched and checked the body. The body had two heads above its shoulders, but there was barely any flesh left on the faces and hands. The place also smelled awful.

Angele's brow furrowed. As blue light dots flashed in front of his eyes, he asked Zero to check if there was poison in the air. After making sure that there was no trap around the body, he started examining it closely.

The body was covered in a white robe with a black edge, and it was female. Both of her heads were missing eyes. Angele could only see four bloody holes. One of the heads was leaning against the wall and the other one was almost cut off.

'One of theirs... Two Head Sect...' Angele guessed. He raised his right hand and aimed at the body's heads.

"En... Dira..." he chanted the incantation. It meant 'rebuild' in Anmag.

*CHI*

The noise sounded like gas being released from a container.

Intense green glow covered his right palm and casted its reflection upon the dead body's face.

After ten seconds, the rotten muscles on the woman's face started recovering, and the area under the green light returned to its original shape. It almost looked like the wound was fresh. However, some deep holes were still left on her pale skin.

Angele stood up, the green slow on his palm weakened and disappeared.

"She was killed about two months ago, but the temperature here is low, and it slowed down the body from decaying."

Angele was a disciple of master Liliana and knew several tricks that could help in studying dead bodies.

"So, all of the Two Head Sect's members died inside the ruin a long time ago." Angele shook his head. "I should've kept Kuirman's body in one piece, but he was way too strong... What should I do to acquire more information..?"

*BOOM*

Suddenly, something exploded inside the dark tunnel.

A man's voice echoed in the air, sounding nervous. "Master Isabel! Run!"

"Retreat! Everyone!" It was Isabel. "I have this item that can protect us temporarily... Ah!"

She screamed, and Angele heard something crash.

"Just run!"

"No!"

People were shouting and screaming.

Angele's expression changed, and he was not sure if he should go check what was happening.

The intense footsteps approached, a ray of white light shot through the dark tunnel, and a female wizard wearing a white robe appeared, holding a glowing stone in her hands. She was running to the gate while checking the situation behind her.

Isabel's black hair was messy. She was wounded, and Angele saw the blood dripping down her robe. She turned her head around and shouted, but there was no one behind her. It seemed like she was also trapped in the illusion.

Angele stepped back and Isabel realized who was in front of her.

"Green!" she yelled out. "Run!"

Angele pursed his lips. "Master Isabel, calm down!"

He raised his left hand and waved it several times. The signet was heated up, trying to eliminate the force field that brought the illusions.

The wings on Angele's palm were swinging quickly, and it worked just as he had expected.

Isabel went down on her knees in front of Angele as he lowered his hand.

Angele helped her to get up quickly.

"Isabel, there's nothing chasing you. Are you alright?" he asked calmly.

Isabel's soul had not yet been swallowed by the illusions, but tears were running down her cheeks. The lady looked helpless and terrified.

"I'm back! I'm back..."

She quickly glanced around while trembling. A smile appeared on her face as she cried.

Angele knew something was not right, and he was in a dire need of information.

"Isabel, listen to me, are you alright?" he asked again in a light tone.

Isabel raised her head and looked at Angele. She then quickly wiped the tears off her face and straightened her back.

"We need to leave. The curse of the Axis of Time has been released and low-rank wizards like us will stand no chance against it!" she sputtered. "Let's leave this area first, I'll explain everything to you later."

Her face was still shaky.

"Got it."

Angele nodded.