Chapter 186: Escape (1)

The sky above the island was covered by dark clouds; the weather was changing.

On the cliff of a high mountain.

On the gray sundial, there were three translucent entrances that could disappear anytime.

*PA*

Suddenly, a hand grabbed the edge of one of the entrances.

Two people jumped out of the tunnel together.

The one standing in the front was a young man with brown hair. That hair was wet from sweat and stuck to his forehead. The young man had a pair of sharp blue eye and a gray robe that looked a bit too large for his size.

A lady wearing a white robe followed after the young man. Her long black hair trailed down to her shoulders, and there were several scars on her pretty face.

Angele and Isabel finally left the tunnel after running like crazy for several minutes.

"Don't stop! Our boat should be safe, I left several people there guarding it. We need to leave the island!" Isabell yelled. She looked anxious as she rushed to the stairs that led to the foot of the mountain.

Angele nodded but did not say anything. He took one final glance at the tunnel and followed after Isabel.

The three entrances slowly disappeared from the sundial and everything returned to normal.

The gnomon of the sundial turned white after several seconds.

*CHI*

A ray of white light shot from the tip of the gnomon and streaked into the sky.

The white string connected the cliff and the sky.

Angele noticed what happened to the sundial and hastened his steps.

The two kept running down the hill. They turned several times on the way to take short-cuts.

Ten minutes later they returned to the beach that the boat was secured in.

"Impossible! Where's the boat?"

Isabel stared at the empty shore, looking surprised.

It was as if the boat had taken the team and completely disappeared, leaving no trace on the surface of the sea.

Blue waves were hitting the yellow beach from time to time, but besides them, the place was deadly silent.

The water from the sea was circling between the gaps of the reefs.

"Where's the boat?!"

Isabel started panicking, she ran into the sea and circled around the area where the boat was anchored, but found nothing.

"Damn."

Angele's expression turned serious.

They guessed that the missing boat was part of the series of mysterious happenings in the ruin. If the blue wizard illusions destroyed the boat, it would be a huge problem.

Angele stopped by the edge of the beach and started checking the surroundings.

"Is there a way that you can get in contact with the people on the ship?" he asked, turning his head toward her.

Isabel took a deep breath and calmed down. She looked different, her face was no longer emotionless. She quickly took out a small golden ball from the pouch after Angele's words.

*Clank*

Several black needles rose from the surface of the ball.

Isabel picked one of the needles and twisted it.

*CHI*

The golden ball disappeared from her palm, drew a golden line in the air, and flew into the air.

The needles soared through the air and flew in different directions, then all disappeared after several seconds.

"Har-rim-las!" Isabel chanted the incantation in a loud voice. The word she said meant 'the mother of light' in Anmag.

They waited for a while until they saw a golden line coming from the left; it connected itself to the ball in the air.

"That direction!" Isabel yelled and started running.

Angele nodded and followed after her.

The two ran along the coastline and found their boat under a stone cliff after about ten minutes.

The small black boat was stuck between reefs, and there was a golden string on the sail.

The wind and the waves were getting stronger and stronger.

The clouds in the sky were getting darker, completely blocking the sunlight. It was noon but it looked like evening.

Angele and Isabel stepped into the water and ran to the boat.

Isabel rubbed on the white ring she had and a white magic circle appeared under her feet. The magic circle slowly lifted her up and she easily jumped onto the deck after several seconds.

Angele pointed at the boat and a long silver metal string left the tip of his finger, embedding itself into the railing. He pulled the string, jumped to the railing, and climbed onto the deck as well.

The boat was deadly silent. He could not see anyone around.

Isabel went straight to the cabin after stepping on to the deck.

After several minutes, she dragged two men outside.

The two were wearing dark red leather armor and both were unconscious. Angele saw the weapons in their hands, blood dripping down the blades.

"One of them was Ainphent's follower, and they were both assailed by the illusions. The illusion made them think that the two of them were enemies. The curse is way too strong, we must go," Isabel said calmly. She took a deep breath again and tried to figure out a plan of what to do next.

"Don't worry too much about it. The curse only affects the targeted population I believe. Also, I have a special way to deal with it."

Angele pursed his lips to a smile. He had already tested the power of the signet several times and was certain that he could help the people around him.

"Well, I know you probably lifted the curse for me temporarily, but the thing is more complicated than you think," Isabel said, her voice low.

"Look at this."

She turned her head to the left and pulled the collar to the right, revealing her clean, white shoulder.

Angele saw a sundial-shaped black pattern on Isabel's shoulder which looked like a tattoo.

"This pattern means that the curse is not completely lifted and this is just one of the many patterns that appeared on my body." Isabel shook her head. "We need to drive the boat to the original location and wait for Melissa's group. If they don't come back in half an hour, we'll have to leave."

Angele was a bit surprised after seeing the pattern. He slightly rubbed his left hand—it seemed like the signet could only completely lift the curse for its owner.

The blood from ancient harpies worked. They were the masters of controlling the illusions, and they could resist most of the illusion spells.

Angele heard someone screaming when he was about to talk.

"It's Melissa!" Isabel shouted. She raised her head and looked at the sky. "Oh! God!"

She covered her mouth with the right hand. It seemed like she could not believe what was happening.

Angele heard Isabel's word and quickly raised his head to check the situation.

Above the dark mountain, there was an enormous translucent silver plate rotating slowly, and a blurred white shadow floated in the middle of the plate. It was Melissa, her arms wide open and countless white roots growing from her back. Those roots climbed to the edge of the white plate and white energy particles were being injected into the plate.

"That's... the Final Purge..." Isabel muttered. "It's the strongest purifying spell master Melissa knows and it's also... her last spell to use..."

Angele scrunched his eyebrows. He could sense the presence of countless energy particles. They were howling like the wind that was about to brush the negative energy particles off his body.

The silver plate was slowly rotating and more than ten thousand different white runes were flashing upon it.

"I shall cleanse this island with the purest power," Melissa's voice echoed in the sky. It was loud and deep.

The bright light from the plate shined upon the whole island. That light was gentle and clean, even the dark clouds now looked white. Distorted waves spread through the air and changed the air flow around the island.

The wind brought by the plate sent warmth to every corner of the island. Angele felt relaxed and his mind became peaceful.

It was a large-scale spell, and spells like this were usually casted during wars. Their single-target damage was usually low, but their range was incredible.

*Roar*

Suddenly, a huge mouth appeared and bit the plate. The creature swung its head and swallowed the whole thing.

The noise it made while swallowing sounded like thunder striking the ground.

Melissa was swallowed together with the plate before she could react.

A glowing blue sea serpent had appeared from nowhere. Its ears looked like bat wings, and there were two rays of light coming out of its eyes. It almost looked like the eyeballs were replaced by burning flames.

Angele and Isabel could not understand what had just happened.

After several seconds, Angele shouted.

"Run!"

Isabel was woken up by Angele's voice and they quickly released the sails.

Angele went to control the helm as Isabel took out a yellow pouch and poured something into the air. Green dust spread onto the main sail and turned into a small tornado.

The boat shook several times and moved through the reefs. It started advancing to the opposite side of the island quickly.

*CHI*

A circle of green light appeared above the boat and quickly spread onto its body.

The speed of the boat was greatly increased. It was moving away from the island like an arrow leaving a bowstring.

The serpent was more than 1000 meters long. It slowly twisted around the island and raised its head. The strong sound coming from its mouth sounded like a beast roaring.

*Rumble*

The lightning flashed upon the island and the dark clouds blocked the last ray of light. The whole area sank into darkness.

The blue serpent's glowing body was the last visible thing above the sea.