Chapter 1624: Wait

The black mist and tendrils surrounding the city became even more violent. The unsettling disturbance grew more chaotic as the dark currents twisted through the streets with greater force.

The tendrils writhed across the ground and walls, sometimes rising into the air before violently slamming against structures.

The protective barriers surrounding the houses continued holding, but the black mist struck them repeatedly, it made their surfaces ripple.

The monsters attacking from different directions also began appearing in greater numbers. Some emerged from the mist, some crawled out from between the buildings.

Their bloodshot eyes glowed through the darkness as they rushed toward anyone.

Then, a series of prolonged screams and furious growls echoed from the district where the most severely mutated inhabitants had been confined.

The sounds were loud enough to reach even the distant parts of the city. They came from different directions and overlapped with one another, creating an increasingly disturbing chorus.

Something was happening to the creatures inside that district. Whatever influence had been affecting them seemed to have intensified, driving them into a state of uncontrollable madness.

Erebus looked around with growing alarm.

He knew those sounds. He had heard them countless times throughout the years whenever the mutated inhabitants lost control of themselves.

However, the intensity of their cries was far greater than anything he had witnessed before.

’No... This is bad.’

The curse was making his people lose control.

Until now, they had managed to restrain most of the mutated inhabitants without killing them. However, if their condition continued deteriorating, that might no longer be possible. Some of them could become so thoroughly consumed by the curse that even restraining them would be difficult.

And if that happened, he might have no choice but to kill them.

Erebus clenched his fists.

He did not want that. He had spent so many years trying to protect these people, and the thought of having to kill them with his own hands was something he could not bear.

He turned toward Erend with an increasingly desperate expression. "We need to get inside that building!" he shouted. "Whatever is happening, we need to destroy it and end this curse immediately!"

Erend glanced toward him. He understood Erebus’s desperation, but he also knew that rushing into an unfamiliar structure without understanding what awaited them could create an even greater problem.

"We can’t rush into it just yet. Let the Archmages examine things first. We need to make sure we understand what we’re dealing with before entering."

"How much longer are we supposed to wait?" Erebus snapped. His voice carried more anger than he intended. "If we waste more time, the people of this city might become completely mutated beyond saving! Do you understand what that means? We might have to kill them!"

Erend fell silent.

He looked toward the distant district where the screams continued echoing through the air.

He could understand why Erebus was becoming restless. If the curse was indeed accelerating the mutation process every passing moment could make things worse for the inhabitants.

Erend briefly considered their options before turning back toward Erebus.

"I’ll talk to Adrius. I’ll ask him if we can enter the structure now and deal with whatever is inside. Don’t worry. It won’t take long."

Erebus gritted his teeth. He clearly wanted to insist that they move immediately, but he also understood that Erend was trying to find a way forward without acting recklessly.

After a moment, he finally nodded.

Erend returned the nod before spreading his wings and taking off.

He flew across the city toward Adrius’s position, passing over several buildings with protective barriers continued resisting the violent black mist.

The Archmage remained at his assigned location, concentrating on the metal plate beneath his hands while maintaining the formula.

Several golden threads extended from his body and restrained the monsters that had approached him, preventing them from interfering with his work.

Erend descended and landed a short distance in front of him.

Adrius immediately noticed his arrival and glanced up without interrupting the flow of Magic energy into the plate. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"We need to enter that structure."

Adrius’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He continued channeling his energy for a moment before looking directly at Erend. "Have you seen something there?"

"Not exactly. Erebus is becoming restless. The monsters are appearing in greater numbers, and the inhabitants in the heavily mutated district seem to be losing control. He’s worried that if this continues, they might become impossible to save."

Adrius’s expression grew more serious. "I see..." Adrius fell silent for a moment as he considered their options.

He had also been thinking about entering the structure. Its sudden appearance was undoubtedly connected to the curse, and he was convinced that whatever lay inside would be important to their investigation.

However, they still didn’t know anything about it.

Entering without proper consideration could trigger another reaction from the curse.

"I still don’t know what’s inside that structure," Adrius finally said. "But I’m certain it holds something important. Otherwise, the curse wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to conceal it. The problem is that we don’t know what might happen if we enter. There could be another mechanism or something protecting whatever lies within."

Erend nodded. He had expected that answer. "But we can’t ignore what’s happening outside either."

Adrius lowered his gaze toward the metal plate. His fingers moved slightly as he adjusted the flow of Magic energy, his expression contemplative.

It was indeed a difficult situation.

After considering the matter for a while, Adrius finally made his decision.

"Tell Erebus to wait for another five minutes."

"Five minutes?"

"Yes. I want to maintain the formula a little longer and observe if anything else changes. If the structure continues revealing itself or the curse produces another reaction, I want to know before we enter. After that, you can go inside."

"Alright. I’ll tell him."

"Make sure he understands that we won’t delay any further after those five minutes. I know he’s worried about his people, and I don’t intend to keep him waiting unnecessarily."

"I’ll let him know."

Erend spread his wings and took off again, leaving Adrius to continue maintaining the formula.

It did not take long for Erend to return to Erebus.

He was clearly waiting for an answer. His expression remained tense as another series of distant screams echoed through the city.

"Well?" Erebus asked.

"Adrius said we need to wait another five minutes. He wants to maintain the formula a little longer and observe if anything else happens. After that, we’ll enter the structure."

Erebus released a heavy sigh.

Five minutes might not have seemed like much, but under the current circumstances even a short delay felt unbearable.

Nevertheless, he understood that the Archmage needed to make sure they were not walking blindly into another danger.

"Alright. Five minutes," he finally said. He looked toward the enormous structure hanging above the city before turning his attention to the surrounding darkness.

His expression made it clear that he had little patience left.