Chapter 1614: Change In Expression

Days passed as Adrius, Lysander, and Sylmira immersed themselves in heated discussions about the curse that plagued that city and the people.

Their debates sometimes grew tense when their opinions clashed and their own academic curiosity and ego drove them to challenge one another’s conclusions.

Each of them wanted to find the correct answer, but the more they examined the evidence they collected themselves, more possibilities emerged.

They considered if the curse actually came from the decaying remains of an enormously powerful being that their lingering presence continued to corrupt the city.

They questioned the possibility if the caster who was responsible for the curse might still be alive somewhere within the cursed district.

They suggested that it was not a curse at all but a natural phenomenon unique to that world, one they could not fully understand because they knew so little about the world beyond the city itself.

Perhaps the inhabitants had mistaken an unfamiliar force of nature for a curse simply because it appeared in a form they could neither explain nor control.

Their discussions occasionally descended into minor arguments as each Archmage defended their theories and challenged the reasoning behind the others’ conclusions.

However, their disagreements never turned into genuine hostility. They respected one another’s knowledge and recognized that questioning an idea was necessary if they wanted to uncover the truth.

Even when their debates became frustrating, none of them allowed their differences to interfere with their work.

After days of examining their findings and reconsidering their assumptions, they finally reached a tentative conclusion: the evidence suggested that a powerful being - either dead or alive - still remained within the cursed city and continued to spread its influence throughout the city.

Rather than treating the curse as an independent Magic phenomenon, they needed to search for the source of that being’s presence and determine how it had embedded itself within the environment.

Only by identifying and eliminating the source could they eradicate the curse.

When Erend finally arrived at Adrius’s chamber, he found the three Archmages gathered around their notes and records.

They looked as though they had spent the past several days doing nothing else but arguing over the same collection of evidence. But their expressions suggested that their discussions finally produced something useful.

Adrius was the first to explain their conclusion, outlining their suspicions about the powerful being and the possibility that the curse was just an extension of its presence.

Lysander added a few details about the strange lights and the unusual behavior of the corrupted energy. Sylmira explained why they believed the source itself needed to be found before they could attempt to cleanse the city.

"So after days of arguing, you’ve finally agreed that something powerful is responsible for the curse, still inside the city, and that we need to find it," Erend said after listening to their explanation. He glanced between the three Archmages with a serious expression.

"We were examining several possibilities so we argued a little. Rushing to a conclusion would be bad," Adrius said.

Erend nodded.

"It was a productive discussion," Lysander replied with a sigh and a small smile. "Although I admit that we might have spent longer than necessary debating certain details."

"Certain details?" Sylmira repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You spent nearly an entire afternoon insisting that the lights in the sky might be unrelated to the curse."

"Because we had no conclusive evidence connecting them," Adrius answered. "Which was precisely why we needed to discuss it."

Erend looked at them for a moment before letting out a quiet breath. "Alright alright. As long as the discussion is over and we know what to do next, I don’t care how many hours you spent arguing about it."

He could tell that their discussions didn’t always go smoothly, but that was not surprising when three intelligent people with different perspectives tried to solve a problem that had happened for decades.

Each of them has enough knowledge and experience to recognize flaws in another person’s reasoning, but sometimes it makes it difficult for them to accept each other’s different explanations.

Erend understood the value of their thoroughness, even if he had little patience for the process itself.

To him, the important thing was that they had finally settled on a direction and could begin making actual progress.

The people trapped inside the cursed city had already suffered for long enough, he wanted to see the situation resolved before it grew any worse.

"If you’ve found the answer, then let’s go there now and deal with it," Erend said.

The three Archmages agreed. They gathered their notes and prepared what they needed for the next stage of the investigation.

A moment later, Erend opened a portal and led them back to the cursed city.

—

Erebus was already waiting when the portal opened, having sensed the disturbance in space before anyone emerged.

Erend had deliberately avoided making their arrival too sudden, allowing several minutes to pass after the portal emerged so Erebus would not feel startled or caught off guard.

When Erend and the three Archmages finally stepped through, Erebus stood before them with his usual cold and even expression, his eyes moving across the group as he waited for them to explain their findings.

"It’s been a long time," Erebus said without wasting a moment on pleasantries. "I don’t intend to rush you, but we need results."

"Right." Adrius nodded before explaining their conclusion. "We’ve made some progress. We believe the curse might have been caused by a powerful being that still remains here. Its presence is responsible for spreading the curse throughout the city. The being might be in such a weakened condition that it can no longer do anything except remain where it is, but even that seems to be enough to sustain the curse."

For the first time since Erend had met him, Erebus’s expression changed.

His eyes widened slightly and the corner of his mouth twitched as though Adrius’s words had struck a nerve.

Erend noticed the reaction immediately, recognizing that the explanation had touched upon something Erebus already knew.

"She’s still here..." Erebus muttered.

His voice was quiet, but Erend heard every word. The way Erebus spoke suggested that something had happened in the past, something that connected Erebus and his people to the source of the curse.

"You need to tell us about this being," Erend said.

Erebus turned toward him, his expression growing solemn as his jaw tightened.

For a moment, he remained silent, seemingly weighing how much he should reveal.

Then he finally spoke, his voice carrying a heaviness that had not been there before.

"Once, there was a great monster that threatened this entire world. My people and I fought against her and eventually managed to kill her. But after her death, the curse descended upon this city."

—