Chapter 304: Disguise Compromised

"You brat, what are you doing!?"

Killian shouted, his brows furrowed from extreme frustration.

However, despite his words, Zild still kept pushing through as he exerted more strength in his sword.

"God damn, snap out of it!"

Killian could no longer hold back his anger as he let out a furious bellow.

He suddenly gave way to Zild’s sword, stepping back before using the momentum to twist his body and drive a kick straight into the latter’s face.

THWACK!

Although Killian did not use any aura arts, his kick was still enhanced by aura, in addition to his top-tier physical strength.

Swoosh—

Zild’s body flew out like a broken kite before crashing onto the ground a few moments after.

Killian turned his gaze towards the direction from which the strange crimson-eyed elf escaped and let out a furious scoff.

He then glanced towards the unconscious Zild in the distance before turning around and checking on the others.

"How’s Pandora and the others?" His voice radiated worry as he knelt beside his unconscious comrades.

Marzana looked at him and shook her head, "I don’t know what kind of strange ingredients they mixed into the food, nor what kind of strange spell they used..."

"They should be alright, though..." Patti chimed in from the side.

Killian looked at him, hope apparent in his eyes, "Really?"

"Yes."

Patti nodded before continuing as he touched the wrists of their unconscious comrades, "Their pulse remains steady. Their breathing is normal, too. I don’t know why, but they seemed not to have included any lethal poison in the food..."

"Though, I have to say, even when I cleansed my stomach with aura, I still feel like my head’s about to explode... It’s amazing how you can even use an aura art despite you eating and drinking the most out of us."

Seeing Patti look at him with such admiration, Killian could not help but scratch the back of his head. ’I’m just lucky, that’s all. After all, my lightning is quite effective at purifying things—’

Before he could finish bragging, his body suddenly slumped to the ground as his swords slipped from his grasp, a splitting pain wreaking havoc inside his head.

"Killian!" Marzana cried out in shock at the sudden turn of events.

Fortunately, Patti was able to hurriedly support him before he collapsed onto the ground. "How are you feeling?"

"I’m good... I just didn’t want to show any weakness since that monster might come back anytime..."

Hearing Killian’s words, the others could not help but feel goosebumps all over their bodies.

After all, Merriam’s presence was still engraved in their minds.

The dreadful pressure that a direct worshipper of a demon lord was not something they could easily shake off.

On the outside, Killian acted as if nothing was weighing him down in order not to show any weakness to their opponent.

After all, had he not done so, Merriam might have stayed instead of escaping, which would pose a greater threat to them.

Deep inside, however, he could not help but heave a sigh of relief.

’I don’t know how I’ll face Regis if any of us died...’

Killian could still feel his heart shaking.

Out of the remaining twenty of them— Regis excluded— only nine were able to stay conscious.

They were none other than Killian from the main squad.

Vanessa from the Vanta Squad;

Marzana and Raxon from the Equilla Squad;

Zild and Hans from the Exemplar Squad;

Sera and Morgana from the Gotun Squad;

And lastly, Patti Midas.

However, out of the nine people who were able to stay conscious, only three were able to fight.

Killian, who was able to have an advantage due to the natural properties of his lightning element, Zild, who was able to endure due to his aether, and Marzana, whose constitution was impervious to anything containing magic.

Especially Marzana, who only felt some tummy ache from the food she ate.

Earlier, despite the short time they had, the remaining conscious people were still able to move effectively.

Their plan was quite simple; those who were able to stay conscious would gather all their unconscious companions while Killian tried to fight Merriam.

Then, after making sure everyone was safe, Zild would back Killian up while Marzana stayed behind to protect the others.

Everything went well, except for Zild’s sudden attack on Killian, which enabled Merriam to escape.

Although the others were not able to help in the fight, they still did their best to remain alert in case some shadowy figures target their unconscious companions.

Killian clutched his head and spoke, "Just what the hell happened to Zild back then..."

Frustration was apparent in his voice, but the others were not sure what to say.

At this moment, Hans dragged the unconscious Zild toward their group, stopping when there was about three meters of distance between them.

He then laid Zild down on the ground before approaching the group with slow, uneven steps, as if he were drunk.

A few moments of silence passed.

Killian suddenly stood up and spoke, "Are you guys feeling a bit better now? We don’t know whether those strange elves will come back, but it’s better safe than sorry..."

Under his command, the remaining conscious members carried the unconscious ones as they left the area.

***

In the darkest part of the Forest of Eternity...

A crimson-eyed elven woman gasped for breath as she sat upon a massive root of one of the ancient trees.

The woman was none other than Merriam, her face now drained of all color.

Black cracks spread across her once-beautiful pale skin, while a dark miasma could also be seen seeping from them.

Merriam tried her best to meditate as tainted mana surged from her heart, which poured onto the black cracks before they healed and closed up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

’Those fucking brats made me use my power! Tsk, this can’t be. Before the Night of the Great Purification, I must refrain from using the power bestowed by Lady Aziza...’

In the next second, however, her crazed expression turned calm.

"To think there is indeed a force that has already accepted that Pontifex’s summons, and that it isn’t one of those run-of-the-mill groups chasing glory, but a truly capable one... This makes things a little complicated."

Remembering the young man with piercing blue eyes and crackling yellow lightning coursing over his body, Merriam’s delicate brows furrowed.

"Is that young man their leader? If so, they should not pose much of a threat, considering they have already ingested the mental poison mixed into their food, as well as been exposed to the illusory musical spells..."

"I must gather more information first... A force this strong should not be unknown, yet I have no records or knowledge of them. Ugh, I dislike leaving room for error. I must get to the bottom of this as soon as possible!"

After all the black cracks on her body closed up, Merriam stood up gracefully as she left the area.