Chapter 656: I shouldn't have come here...
Nine slumped onto a boulder with an exhausted expression. The others around him looked pretty ticked off.
"Alec... are you positive it's a spirit? Why does it vanish every time we get near it?"
Alec sighed and rubbed his forehead. They had been chasing the spirit for so long, but it always vanished to another spot the moment they got close.
"I'm sure it can somehow sense us, and it's not like the spirit would stick around in one place for us to catch it... It's fortunate I can accurately track its location; otherwise, we wouldn't even know it's on the move."
He sat down next to Nine and gave the man's back a comforting pat. Asher glanced at the group around him.
"We concealed our aura, but the spirit can still detect us. I'm sure it's pretty powerful."
Sinon flopped onto the ground too. He looked toward a far-off location.
"If only we were as knowledgeable about symbols and arrays as Kyle, we could have set up a presence concealing array and an area sealing array to capture the spirit..."
Immediately, everyone silently cursed the individual who introduced arrays to Kyle. The silver-haired man had turned a basic skill into something dangerous.
Elijah silently observed the group as they strategized their next move. Suddenly, Alec furrowed his brows and stood up.
"We can't just keep wasting time. How about this: we use our most powerful skills in the vicinity where the spirit is concealed to force it out? Once it's above ground, Mia can create a substantial shield around the spirit to prevent it from escaping."
Jian gave him a surprised look.
"You do realize that using our most powerful skills can result in a large area of this tomb being destroyed? What if we accidentally hurt anyone nearby."
Alec glanced at him.
"It's because we don't have any other options. But we are all strong, especially Asher, who is at the supreme rank. We can rely on our senses to spot anyone nearby and drive them away from the area."
After a while, everyone agreed with Alec's plan and swiftly followed the blue-haired man as he traced the new location where the Celestial spirit had paused through the map the system generated.
They reached the location, but this time they didn't go underground. Instead, they started driving everyone in the area away. It didn't take them long to clear the area.
Mia, who was assigned to create a powerful shield around the spirit, ascended into the sky, while the rest surrounded the area from various directions.
After everyone encased themselves in a protective barrier and were prepared, Alec let out a loud shout.
"Now!"
Right away, they unleashed their most powerful skills towards the area ahead.
The air froze for a moment, saturated with overwhelming destructive power, then split with a thunderous boom.
In an instant, a big explosion rippled throughout the entire lost treasure tomb, shaking its very foundations. Alec, just like the others, clasped his ears in response to the deafening noise.
The protective barriers encasing their bodies fractured, yet they swiftly erected new shields as the explosion's aftermath rippled outward in every direction. The people wandering around the area cried out in shock as they watched a massive cloud rising into the air, and the land beneath their feet cracked with countless fissures.
Amidst the chaos, a beautiful, calming voice echoed in every direction, capturing the attention of all who could hear it.
Above the area where the explosion occurred, Mia's eyes widened when she saw the massive creature that burst out from the ground after the land disintegrated due to the immense power.
"The Celestial spirit..."
She whispered and used her skill to completely envelop the shapeless ethereal being in a powerful shield.
The air surrounding the Celestial spirit became stargely tranquil as it let out a cry filled with anguish and a touch of fury.
Alec and the rest swiftly used their wind skills to sweep the area clean of dust, only to behold a radiant light ahead of them that gleamed brightly, casting illumination on everything around
it.
The Celestial spirit's form emitted a soft, mystical glow. Its presence embodied pure spiritual energy, with shimmering wings adorning its ethereal figure.
The clear sky above which had darkened due to the explosion once again began to clear up due to the spirit
After the shield Mia created enveloped the spirit massive body completely, it emitted a loud shriek that echoed through the air.
In that moment, all of a sudden, Bia, Nox, and a few others' eyes were captivated by the scene, becoming momentarily dazed.
- "What a beautiful creature..."
Bia whispered, but before the phoenix, who was in her massive form, could approach the
spirit, Nine grabbed one of her legs.
"What are you doing? Snap out of it!"
Yue also grabbed the lynx, and Nox snapped out of his daze. The lynx's eyes flashed with a touch of shock.
"The spirit has the power of manipulation! It just tried to control me! Don't look at it!"
Nox shouted, and Bia agreed with him. Upon hearing the lynx's voice, everyone else who was entranced by the spirit's presence snapped out of their daze and immediately became alert.
Mia furrowed her brows as she shook her head to refocus, sealing off every possible escape route for the spirit. A sense of relief washed over her as the massive entity within the shield ceased its struggles.
Their optimism was short-lived as Alec's eyes widened when he suddenly received a notification from the dormant system.
'Mission; XX'
Leave the 'Lost treasure Tomb'.
Reward:
None.
Penalty:
Death.
Time remaining:
7 days
-Error!
Trying to find the cause! Loading....
-Error!
5 days
-Error!
"What's happening? Soul? Are you awake?"
In an instant, the system's mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
What the hell did you do?
It was the first time Alec sensed a hint of anger and frustration in Soul's voice. His heartbeat raced as he watched the system interference with wide eyes. The time left for the Lost Treasure Tomb to explode was decreasing with each passing second.
"What's going on, tell me! Soul!"
He shouted loudly with a panicked expression. His voice startled everyone, and they quickly
shouted at him to know what happened. After getting no response, they began moving toward
him.
Alec's eyes were fixed on the dwindling countdown displayed in front of him.
-Error!
Trying to find the cause! Loading....
-Error!
10 hours
The continuous notifications buzzing in his ears finally stopped, showing a time that left him
too shocked to even respond to those shouting around him.
Time remaining:
20 minutes.
"Alec...!?"
Alec blinked when Asher shook his shoulder to snap him out of his daze. The half-dragon was
alarmed immediately when he saw the sweaty forehead of the human standing in front of him. Nine and the rest also arrived beside the blue-haired man as Asher asked with a solemn
expression.
"What happened?"
Alec closed his eyes for a second to calm his nerves and then opened his mouth.
"The tomb is going to explode..."
Jian furrowed his brows at his words.
"We know that! Currently, Mia is using all her power to stop the spirit from escaping. We need
to help her before she loses all her divine and spiritual energy! I am sure with the spirit in our
hands we can stop Kyle from destroying the tomb-!"
He couldn't say more as Alec suddenly interrupted with solemn eyes.
"No! No! The tomb is going to explode within twenty minutes." Everyone's eyes widened at his words, and they shouted collectively.
"What!?"
Asher grabbed Alec's shoulder.
"Do you even know what you're saying? I thought we still had a week or so left!"
Alec glanced at the spirit that had stopped struggling for some strange reason.
"I don't know! The remaining time suddenly plummeted after we captured the spirit-!"
His words were abruptly cut short as he caught sight of a familiar figure hovering in the air,
directly above the spirit.
"Kyle...?"
Right away, everyone turned to look where he was staring and saw the silver-haired man
floating in the air with a dark face.
Kyle shifted his furious gaze downward, locking eyes with Alec and the rest. He cursed loudly
under his breath.
"Damn it! We are all dead!"
A hint of frustration tinged his voice. He had completed the array that would send everyone
out of this ancient timb and had even placed treasures in two different spots. However, he still
needed to find the third perfect spot for the treasures! Only then would the array be triggered!
Kyle was actually searching for the third and final good spot for the treasures when he heard
the massive explosion, causing him to halt in his tracks.
"I shouldn't have come here..."
He whispered because the moment he arrived in this place to check why the explosion
occurred, the spirit noticed him and became eerily still.
"Now that Azazeal knows I found the spirit, he is going to come here!"