[Vol. 7] Chapter 93: The Shadow Realm and the Power Granted
"You knew what was happening here. You knew the villagers were acting more and more strangely. And yet, you turned a blind eye and kept putting on that same act whenever adventurers stumbled into this place. Is that really what a village guard captain should be doing?"
"The moment I realized that, I was almost certain, you’re most likely the eyes and overseer that the mastermind left behind to manage this place. Your job is to keep things running smoothly and, more importantly, to make sure no one uncovers the truth or spreads any information beyond these walls."
"But you were too confident. Or rather, you put too much trust in the power that built this space. It never even crossed your mind that we’d break through its constraints and return with our memories intact. That is what truly gave you away~"
Enrique and the others exchanged bewildered glances. They had never expected that, behind her usual carefree and innocent demeanor, this priestess had been quietly piecing everything together. She had noticed details so subtle they barely even qualified as clues, and yet, she had managed to pinpoint the biggest suspect.
The village guards, on the other hand, looked even more confused. Even after hearing everything, they struggled to grasp the full picture. Especially since they weren’t even aware that they were, in truth, missing persons.
The only one who remained unfazed was Marcelo, the man now standing at the center of suspicion. He narrowed his eyes, his expression turning grim.
"That's all? This so-called reasoning isn't even proper deduction. It's just baseless speculation. You think you can accuse me based on that? Little girl, aren't you jumping to conclusions? Do you even have proof?"
"Proof? What a joke. Of course not."
"That's right! The boss would never, wait, huh?"
Miss Le Qiaoqiao, who had been just about to shout in Violet’s defense, froze mid-sentence, staring in shock. The black-haired girl, still smiling, wagged a slender finger at the captain.
"You're getting it all wrong, old man. I'm not accusing you, nor do I need evidence to prove your crimes. All I need is to confirm my target. After that, the rest is easy."
"Hmph. So you plan to fight, then?" Marcelo scoffed, his tone carrying a hint of amusement. "Little girl, you seem awfully sure of yourself. Now I'm curious, where does all that confidence come from?"
The priestess kept her smile unchanged.
"Didn't that guy, Ryan, just explain everything to you? With your knowledge and experience, it shouldn’t be hard to figure out what an adventurer's badge engraved with a special emblem represents, right?"
The moment she finished speaking, a sharp gleam flashed through the half-bear man's single eye.
"I see… A legendary adventurer team, huh? Looks like we’ve drawn the attention of some big names. I didn’t expect even you to get involved."
Hearing this, Enrique immediately picked up on the hidden meaning behind Marcelo’s words, his brows furrowing slightly.
"So it is you behind all this? Marcelo, as the captain of the village guard, why would you conspire with criminals to do something like this?"
But the half-bear man simply reached his mechanical-armored right hand toward the massive blade on his back, slowly drawing it from its sheath.
"Adventurers… you’re meddling in things far beyond your understanding."
"Hah? You’re the one making a last stand! There’s so many of us against just, whoa!"
BOOM!!!
In an instant, the atmosphere around them shifted violently!
Like a wild beast shedding its disguise, the once-stable magical energy in the air spiraled into chaos. The entire world seemed to twist and distort in an indescribable way, revealing a reality far more unnatural than they had ever imagined!
This… this was the true nature of the world they were standing in!
Le Qiaoqiao had just been dismissively snapping back at Marcelo when, out of nowhere, a spear came hurtling toward her from behind like lightning! She barely managed to dodge it with a desperate roll, narrowly avoiding a fatal strike.
"What the hell?! Are you guys stupid? This guy is clearly up to no good, and you're actually—"
She stopped mid-rant, eyes widening as she took in the scene.
"Uh… wait. Are you guys okay? Hellooo? Can you even hear me?!"
Having just scrambled back to her feet, dirt-covered and ready to start cursing, the rogue suddenly realized, something was very wrong.
The militia member who had just attacked Le Qiaoqiao with a spear now had a faint, ash-like mist rising from his head. His eyes had turned dark and lifeless, and he was muttering something under his breath, whispering incomprehensible words. One look was enough to tell that his mental state was far from normal.
Shocked by the eerie sight, Le Qiaoqiao hurried back to regroup with her teammates.
"Boss… what’s happening to them?"
Without missing a beat, Violet knocked her on the head.
"You idiot. The villagers here disappeared two months ago. Do you really think they’d be perfectly fine after being trapped in this place for so long? Have you already forgotten what happened with that old lady, Charlene? If they can’t even recognize what’s happening to them, it’s obvious that their minds are broken."
"…A cult ritual."
As if realizing something, Enrique looked around at the eerie figures in the darkness of the twisted space. His brows furrowed.
"This must be some kind of sacrificial ritual. These villagers, along with all the other missing people, have been trapped in this unnatural space… turned into sacrifices."
[Tree Bow] pulled back his bowstring, his expression dark as he aimed directly at Marcelo.
"Speak. What exactly are you after? And who or what is behind all of this?"
The only response he got was a blade slicing through the air toward him.
BOOM!!!
A thunderous impact shook the battlefield. Without hesitation, Enrique abandoned any thought of counterattacking and instead leaped aside with Qionghua, the weakest in actual combat. The others each reacted in their own ways, either dodging or blocking the half-bear man’s massive slash. But as Marcelo fully revealed his true form, his unexpected power left them all stunned.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Arrows rained down from the watchtower above, but before they could strike, a wall of vines erupted to block them, grown by [Tree Bow] through some unknown ability. Meanwhile, still in the air, Le Qiaoqiao couldn’t hold back her shock.
"Wait, what?! This guy’s just a village militia captain, right?! How the hell is he this strong?!"
“…He’s been granted power.”
The priestess stood still, casually deflecting the shockwave of the attack. She raised an eyebrow slightly. She had expected Marcelo, as the overseer of this place, to receive some degree of environmental enhancement. But this level of power… was beyond what she had anticipated.
That slash just now, [Tree Bow], a Legendary-level adventurer, didn’t even dare to block it head-on. Instead, he chose to dodge immediately. The aftermath alone had carved a massive crater several meters deep into the ground. That level of strength… it was already close to true Legendary power.
Maybe this kind of strength couldn’t last long. Maybe it came at a huge price. Even so, Violet didn’t see Marcelo as an insurmountable enemy. But the real problem was, when they first encountered him, his aura only felt like a Level 20 Mithril-rank fighter at best. A jump in power this extreme… wasn’t something that just happened.
At some point, the half-bear man had already removed the cloth covering his injured eye. In the hollow socket, a gray mist surged like flames, spreading over his entire body. It was eerie and terrifying. Yet at the same time, it carried an indescribable sense of twisted divinity.
"I told you, you’re interfering too much. The power of mere adventurers is nothing against this tide of change. Even Legendary-rank means nothing in the face of it. If you had chosen to run when you used that strange power to escape the [Shadow Realm] earlier today… perhaps that would have been a little troublesome for me. But now…"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The gray aura around him exploded, engulfing his massive frame like raging flames. His mechanical arm whirred violently, pumping even greater power into his limbs. Raising his massive blade high above his head, Marcelo looked ready to unleash an earth-shattering attack.
"AAAHHH!! Why is he STILL getting STRONGER!? This is so UNFAIR!!"
WHOOSH!
A green signal flare shot into the sky, bursting like fireworks against the night.
Enrique pulled his bow to its limit, a green short arrow glowing with energy, seemingly ready to counter the opponent's slash with an attack at any moment.
"Everyone! I’ve sent a distress signal to Sophie and the others! Our team isn’t complete right now, so we should hold our ground until reinforcements—"
"Nah, no need to make this so complicated. He's just a minor character. I’ll handle him."