Chapter 307 - Zodiac Sphere
The stone platform broke in half and a black light seeped through the cracks. It was a terrifying sight for everyone, even the Adventurers in the top ranks.
The king stood and raised his hand, "Sound the horns! The start of the Twilight War has come!"
A sudden buzzing sound echoed the ears of the civilians in the bleachers, before feeling an intense pulling of their bodies. It was like they were being pulled in different directions. With a blink of an eye, they were sent outside the city.
The streets, the houses, the establishments inside Solaguer was void of humans. Everyone was confused, everyone wanted to run but they didn't know where.
"What in the hell is happening?" Elliot yelled.
"The day we spent for us to rest…" Aquarius trailed off. "That was a part of the days for the Twilight Bless to unlock."
An island floated in the air, making everyone snap their heads there. Instead of the hosts, it was Polschk who was riding the island. He was wearing a long white robe with a golden fur in the edges, making him look like a church leader without a hat.
"Good morning everyone," Polschk greeted. He raised his hands and to his side, showing the symbols in his robe. "Today marks the date that the ancients want us to unlock the Twilight Bless. In less than half an hour, I will open the bless and let the Arch Mage open the seal."
As Polschk continued with his speech, Elliot heard a familiar voice in his head.
'Finish your quest.'
Hearing Irus's voice, he gulped and pulled out his Inventory. He took the map out, gasping after seeing red and green marks in the map of the stadium. The map showed where he was located, displaying the three hundred meter range around him. The range showed everything inside the stadium, meaning that the Arch Mage was with them this whole time.
Elliot took a step back and knew that he was the green mark, and that the red mark was the arch mage. He looked around to find who it was, but he was still too far.
With a deep breath, Elliot ran out of their guild's balcony and got closer to the red mark. His friends were calling out his name, but he just raised his thumb as a sign that he's okay.
The red mark wasn't far, the person was still inside the stadium. If the red mark doesn't move, Elliot would catch up to them in no time. Without glancing out of the map, Elliot had reached in front of his target.
Looking up from the parchment, he saw the person he was looking for. In front of him was Alice herself, the person being pointed by the map.
'Quest [ The Arch Mage ] completed.'
'The reward is now in your Inventory.'
"Elliot?" Alice asked. "What are you doing here? Do you know what's happening?"
"No," Elliot breathed out. "I-I… You need to stay here and listen to Polschk. I need to get somewhere."
He needed to get out of the stadium and go to his room. If he knew that the Twilight War would begin today, he would've taken the cocoon with him.
But then again, it was like there was a big blurred out information that was hidden from them. Polschk and the judges weren't telling them everything that they know, Elliot had realized that.
"I need to get out," Elliot said. "Irus, will you help me?"
'No,' the voice replied. 'You're on your own for now. Only my voice can pass through the Manual's block.'
With a disappointed sigh, Elliot looked around the stadium for any opening. He saw that the guards weren't stationed in the gates anymore, so he took the chance to get past one.
"Elliot!" Connor yelled from the stone platform. "What are you doing?"
"I'll come back!" Elliot yelled back, running out of the stadium and leaping from the floating island that it sat on."Why in the hell did I jump?!"
Elliot grunted and brandished his sword. He used his magic to shoot out a large amount of mana using his Enhanced Lotus Blast, slashing the eight petals and the lotus in a matter of a second. He knew that the people of the city was teleported outside after seeing the empty streets, so he was confident that he wasn't going to hurt anyone.
"I'm sorry, house," Elliot pursed his lips. His attacks were hitting the house below him, using it as a target so he could minimize the impact of his fall.
When he got closer to the ground, Elliot leaped to the side and landed on a three storey building. With a thoud and a clank from the ceramic ceiling, Elliot grunted, "This landing was hard."
He looked around first, navigating where the inn was located. When he saw the Strike Bell tower, he went south. It was where their inn was, south of the bell tower.
Elliot didn't have the time to get any slower. He was spamming his Hasty Aspire skill to get to the inn as quickly as he could. Oracion Alma and the Fallen Angels will attack any second. If they shut the stadium out with Jameson's gems with Elliot still outside, his efforts will all be in vain.
Not long after, Elliot got to their inn. He slammed the door open and went inside his room, running to the corner and pulling the curtain out of the way.
"This is the last one," Elliot whispered. "Please open right away."
Elliot placed the brew closer to the cocoon. He heard the beating of his heart in his ears in a terrifying anticipation. What will this bring him? Will the cocoon hatch right away?
What will he do if it does?
Defeated, Elliot could only scream and let the cocoon absorb the brew. The familiar light blinded him, covering the entire room in a burst if white light before vanishing not a second later.
[ Twilight Brew to hatch 10/10 ]
[ Twilight Cocoon will hatch in 10:00 ]
Thinking it was 10 hours, Elliot gulped. When he saw the timer move immediately, his shoulders dropped to his side. He has ten minutes before the cocoon hatches.
But he doesn't have ten minutes. He has to go back to the stadium right away. If he gets locked out, it will be the end of the road for him.
"What are you doing here?"
It was like there was a fresh cold water splashed all over his head after he heard Jameson's voice behind him. He turned around and saw the prince standing in his doorway, "Elliot, let's go! We don't have much time."
"What are you still doing here?" Elliot asked. He took the cocoon and placed it in his Inventory. He decided to let it hatch inside the stadium, letting the ten minutes pass there.
"I came back because I forgot my pendant," Jameson said. "Let's go!"
Elliot nodded and followed the boy. They ran outside and leaped to the roof to get there faster. Surprisingly, Jameson could keep up with Elliot's speed. He was expecting the other boy to be frail and fragile when it comes to physical activities, but he was fast enough to run with Elliot.
"Don't look at me like that," Jameson said. "I have the class of Rogue, so don't give me that look."
"Right," Elliot refocused his gaze to the roof they were passing over. It made sense for Jameson to choose the Stealth Knight class and upgrade to Rogue because of the nature of his ability.
He can pass through objects, making him a formidable foe to be up against. But what confused Elliot was the lack of energy the prince showed them these couple of days. He was literally sleeping most of the time, being seen stuck on walls in any hour of the day.
"I have a question," Elliot found himself asking. "Why did you look so weak the days before? To keep our guards down."
"I'm doing preparations at night, so I sleep in the day," Jameson said, looking at the still confused Elliot with a smirk. "You'll see."
Not long after their conversation, they have reached the stairs to one of the gates of the stadium. Elliot could see from the ground below the golden carriage that Madam Locraine came out of. She nodded at Elliot and proceeded to ran up the long stairs.
"Come on, Elliot," Jameson ushered. "They're coming!"
Feeling the intense aura coming from the corners of the city, Elliot gulped and ran even faster.
The four entrances of Solaguer were replaced with four large black pillars. Each pillar had a purplish black symbol in them, the symbols glowing with a dark purple flame.
"It's the Oracion Alma!" Madam Locraine yelled from the other set of stairs. "Everyone, come inside!"
Without another hint of hesitation, they got inside the stadium a moment later. Jameson leaped to the bleachers and into the judges' balcony, talking to them for a moment. Elliot watched from the ground as the prince leap up to the roof of the highest balcony and raise both his hands over his head.
"By the power blessed in me by the Constellations!" Jameson yelled. "It is my will to give this stadium the strongest protection all the stars could provide!"
In different parts outside of the stadium were gems placed in random locations. The gems lit up with a bluish white light before they removed themselves out of their positions and hovered into the air.
The gems were now all over the stadium, covering it like a sphere before it fired multicolored beams that connected all of them, containing the stadium inside the beams.
Jameson grunted, feeling the toll of his cast, "Zodiac Sphere!"