Chapter 324 - Twilight Bless
As the curtains of the Realm Domination slowly fall apart, Lance and the others watched the Twilight Wings form into spheres that grew larger in size.
From the size of a fist, the sphere pulsated and enlarged, becoming the size of a basketball. Another pulse and the sphere had become the size of a large vase.
Even the Adventurers around them who were fighting the Son of Heaven followers had to pause and watch what was causing the light. It was blinding everyone.
If the Twilight Bless wasn't inside the stadium, it would light up the skies like a second sun, reaching all across Avancia and the kingdoms next to it.
"What is this light?" Connor yelled. "I can't even seem to open my eyes right. What is this?"
Polschk was laughing as they all witnessed the unlocking of the Twilight Bless. "Finally! I can taste the power!"
Seeing the boys that binded him let their guards down, Polschk conjured vines from the ground. It was too late for the four boys to react from the attack. The vines had already swirled around their bodies, completely holding them.
"Polschk!" Lance yelled. "Let us out! You said you needed us for the Twilight Bless."
He was moving around to loosen himself from the vines, only to fail every time. The vines had small fiber within them that holds each other together and toughens the integrity of the vine.
"You are all so gullible to think that I'd let you receive such power," Polschk chuckled and shook his head. "But no. I am the one who will absorb all of the Twilight Bless."
Connor scoffed, "So, you lied to us?"
"Yes, and I also told you that I'm on your side," Polschk chuckled. "You haven't realized how blind you were. You're always being betrayed."
Lance stopped forcing his way out of the vines and stared at Polschk, "What do you mean?"
"Ward Lancelot Alorde." The old man raised his hand. From the back of his palm grew a small brown plant that had a large bud on the tip. The bud opened, revealing an eye that looked around before settling its gaze on Lance.
"I have been spying on you since you decided to become an Adventurer, Mr. Lance," Polschk grinned menacingly. "Your decision intrigued me to the point that I almost wanted you to become part of my new world. I was only looking, seeing everything that you did ever since you were sixteen. I saw… everything."
"You mean you also saw his thing?" Ed asked with a grimace. "That sounds weird."
"For the sake of science and progress," Polschk said. He shook his head and walked closer to the altar. From the hole he dug so he could access the chamber of the keys, Polschk grew a bridge made of plants and wood.
He walked past the bridge and extended his hands on both sides, raising his head up to the skies. "I can feel its power. All the power of the Twilight Bless, they are slowly emerging."
The final key was hovering on the side. It was floating all alone since they didn't have the seventh Twilight Wing for it to merge with.
"I will find your use, little one," Polschk whispered to the key. "I will just awaken your siblings and I'll find your other half. Then we can be a happy family."
"The power is overwhelming," Ed grunted. "This is too much power concentrated into one area. I don't think this place will last."
Connor contorted his face in confusion. "But why does it seem odd?"
"This has to stop!" Hope suddenly yelled. He grunted and used all his strength to break out of the vines that binded him. Hope ran towards Polschk, screaming for the man to stop.
"He's planning to absorb the Bless alone!" Lance yelled. "Polschk, don't you dare do it."
"Oh, I will dare," the old man chuckled. "This power will make me the most powerful being in any realm. I can even make Malice kneel after I give her a taste of my power."
"Polshk, it will destroy your body," Lance said. "Listen to me Polshk. It will kill you. You said it yourself. It killed people before just my taking a whiff of its strength."
"I have created large empty mana pools inside my body for this moment. And if the mana pools doesn't work, I have her," Polschk pointed at the judges' balcony. He softened his gaze and smiled, "My dear Locraine."
"You promised to spare my clan," Madam Locraine yelled from the roof of the balcony. "I will see this happen Polschk, right?"
"What is the meaning of this?!" Lance yelled. "Madam Locraine, we trusted you! Elliot– The boy's dead and he trusted you!"
"I don't need to have any personal attachments when the sake of my clan hangs in the balance," Madam Locraine said. "I'm sorry."
She pointed her palms at Polschk, a rustic cold charge of power appearing in front of her. On the balcony below Locraine were antique items that glowed with the same rustic gold color. The glow floated towards the top where Madam Locraine was.
"While she's charging herself," Polschk turned around to face the boys. "You can enjoy this spare key."
He turned to the side where the seventh key was, but his eyes could only widen after seeing that it wasn't there anymore. "The seventh key. Where is it?"
Polschk looked around for the key. He was starting to panic as to how he lost such an important item. It was also concerning how it was gone in an instant when it was just here not a few moments earlier.
The key Polschk was looking for was in the hands of a slender female figure than ran through the dark hallways of the stadium. The figure continued running until she reached a door, stopping and looking around before entering it.
"Good work," Jameson said after Katarina opened the door. "I knew Elliot wasn't a complete idiot."
Behind Jameson, on the cold stone floors, Elliot's body was laid down. He was now significantly more pale and the blood from his wounds had already dried up. Anyone who could see him would pity the boy because of the fate he got.
"His orders were to not engage before the keys would be revealed. It was my own free will to take his body with me," Katarina replied. "I couldn't bear to see him laying there, dead as a hunted deer."
"That's one of the worst analogies I've ever heard, but okay," Jameson shook his head. He took the key from Katarina and let the woman close the door.
After Isabelle and Kian left him, Jameson saw Katarina watching the fight. He asked Katarina for her intentions and found out she was working for Elliot.
Jameson felt the key in his hand twitch. He opened his hand and the key instantly leaped from his palm, dangling in the air and meeting with the awaiting butterfly on the other side of the room.
When the two objects met each other, they formed a red sphere that glowed brightly. Katarina and Jameson looked at each other after seeing a red sphere instead of white. The other six Twilight Wings formed white spheres, but the seventh one was red.
"What is happening?" Jameson gasped. "I don't think we did the right thing. Did we do the right thing?"
"I was only following instructions," Katarina said. "Don't you know a thing or two about the Twilight Bless?"
"I am doubting everything that Polschk told me," Jameson said. "He even said that I was one of the most handsome boy in the Spice Islands, even that I am doubting."
The two gulped and had no choice but to watch the sphere pulsate and grow exponentially. Jameson had shaky hands that Katarina didn't know why she held it. "Don't worry. I only see you as a younger brother."
"Good," Jameson sighed in relief. "Because I'm too handsome for you."
"Pathetic," Katarina scoffed. Both their eyes squinted when the sphere glowed even brighter, bursting brightly and swallowed the entire room with its light.
–
"Finally!" Polshk yelled. He kneeled and watched as the spheres stopped growing. They were now with the same size as a large two storey house. "I will start the absorption. Locraine, hit me up!"
The woman from the balcony nodded. She was about to fire her beam when a small dot of black tint grew from the bottom of the spheres. The dot grew and covered the entire pearl-like surface of the sphere.
The white spheres were now black, making Poslchk confused. "What is happening?"
He was now in complete utter shock when there was cracking sounds coming from the spheres. A large crack was formed at the top, the crack slowly traveling down to the bottom of the spheres.
"Those oddly reminds me of my boiled eggs," Ed gulped. "What in the hell?"
Polschk could only gasp when a large claw burst out of one of the spheres. The claw was pitch black, its nails were long and sharp while its hand and arm was scaled but hairy.
The Man appeared above the stadium. He hovered over the stadium while crossing his arms. "Congratulations, Terrans. You have walked right into the pits of Abyss itself."
"What do you mean?" Polschk gulped. "The Twilight Bless… it says that there's going to be power inside the Twilight Wings."
"And there's also a lot of things in there," the Man chuckled. "You're so pathetic, Terran."
"What is the meaning of this?" Polschk yelled. "What is this?!"
"The Twilight Bless…" the Man trailed off.. "Also known as the Seal of the Seven Deathly Sins."