join the Church of MissRaven and become a Sequence 9: Reader p atreon.com/KeyofStars for more chapters
Hobert breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing the Solomon family's "Frenzied Mage" demigod form. When those curly, black, mystical fog-like wisps first appeared, they did somewhat resemble a curly-haired baboon.
He had been worried about that. Even if he could completely control the mythical creature's state in the future, he would absolutely, positively never use it if it turned out to be a curly-haired baboon!
But the fog quickly coalesced into a suit of black, ancient armor, resembling a tall and imposing ancient knight.
This included a faceplate, which was utterly expressionless. Just one glance at it made one feel as though life held no more hope.
This reminded Hobert that the "Black Emperor's" image was armor plus a cloak, and this form might very well be the final state of this pathway's mythical creature.
In that case, the demigod state was just the armor. Regardless of whether there was a curly-haired baboon inside, the image was still acceptable.
At the same time, the "Frenzied Mage" exuded an overwhelming majesty that made people dare not question him or offer any resistance. Even a demigod like Hobert felt the urge to rush forward and pledge allegiance.
Meanwhile, in the center of the street, Mr. A, who had previously devoured the mushroom, had grown into a giant mushroom. The top of this mushroom was crimson, interspersed with white patterns, and its body was composed of small mushrooms.
Those white patterns depicted a face on the mushroom's midsection—Mr. A's face.
Originally, "Mr. A" had begun devouring the mushrooms on the street, making himself bigger and bigger, but suddenly, awed by the majesty emanating from the demigod, this giant mushroom actually collapsed to the ground.
The face depicted by the patterns briefly showed pain before becoming wooden.
Beyonders below the demigod level would immediately lose control and suffer severe mental trauma if they directly gazed upon a demigod.
"Mr. A's" condition was now almost as bad as losing control. His expression had become stiff, indicating that his spirit body had died due to the enormous shock it had suffered in a short period.
On the other battlefield, the Black Hound Spirit Beast held up thin swords, exuding a terrifying majesty. The aura it released similarly deterred Hobert from approaching.
Hobert remained at the edge of the battlefield, not daring to look directly into the eyes of the Black Hound Spirit Beast, nor daring to look directly at the "Frenzied Mage's" facial expression. He could only judge the battle's progress by their forms.
The battle had been going on for more than ten seconds, and they seemed not to have moved at all, but Hobert knew that their Beyonder power combat had never stopped.
The Black Hound Spirit Beast was still attacking the "Frenzied Mage's" spirit body, while the area around the "Frenzied Mage" remained in a state of madness, resisting the attacks of the Black Hound Spirit Beast.
This could be seen from the fate of the "mushrooms" on the street. The mushrooms desperately fled the vicinity of the Black Hound Spirit Beast. Those who were a little slow were covered in a layer of pale white light and quickly began to wither.
They emitted infant-like cries, crawling with all their might, but ultimately could not escape their fate, turning into rotten mushrooms, often dragging a long, black trail behind them.
On the "Frenzied Mage's" side, everything around him was "distorted." Mushrooms that had been prostrate on the ground, wanting to submit, suddenly appeared on the roof, inside houses, constantly changing positions.
The "mushrooms" themselves would sometimes prostrate themselves, sometimes stand up and try to absorb the surrounding spirituality to grow as quickly as possible, and sometimes bounce around like they had taken stimulants.
The "mushrooms" further away were roaring with their mouths open, launching charges towards the Black Hound Spirit Beast. They were like fearless warriors, ultimately covered in pale white light and falling on the path of their charge.
Their lives did not end there. A smaller mushroom emerged from their mouths, continuing to shout and frantically launch charges, but soon it withered again, and an even smaller mushroom would appear, continuing the mission of charging.
Under the influence of the "Frenzied Mage," the mushrooms, having lost their rationality, eventually bit the Black Hound Spirit Beast!
Their sharp teeth could secrete some black liquid. Even a single drop of this black liquid would rapidly cause mutation if it touched the skin of a Saint.
However, the Black Hound Spirit Beast's skin was as hard as iron, and these sharp teeth could not harm it at all.
More importantly, the black liquid did not provoke any reaction from the Black Hound Spirit Beast. Not to mention mutation, it didn't even raise goosebumps.
The black liquid just flowed down and onto the ground.
This was also Ryan's most helpless point. The Black Hound Spirit Beast had received the blessing of the Ancient Death, and ordinary Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts could not change this blessed state.
The "Frenzied Mage" seemed to be gradually adapting to the demigod state. The expression on his faceplate suddenly turned into a smile, and all the mushrooms on the street were attracted by the faceplate's expression, willing to fight for the "Frenzied Mage."
Even Hobert felt his emotions being forcibly "distorted." The hand gripping the talisman became relaxed, and it seemed very difficult to make the decision to attack the "Frenzied Mage."
Taking a deep breath, Hobert "bestowed" his current negative state to a mushroom on the street, and only then did he regain his fighting spirit.
The thin sword in the Black Hound Spirit Beast's hand stabbed forward, and the pale white light formed a phantom bird shape. This white bird was very blurry, but one could roughly make out that it was a phoenix that had become extinct on the North and South Continents.
The appearance of the phantom phoenix seemed to make the area within a certain range deathly still. Hobert and the mushrooms no longer wanted to say a word, make a move, or even feel any emotional fluctuations!
The "Frenzied Mage's" faceplate changed its form again. It was a somewhat rigid, arrogant expression!
The phantom phoenix seemed to have suffered some heavy blow, becoming even more illusory and gradually losing its form.
Hobert also jumped out of the corner, feeling at this moment that he also had the strength to participate in this war.
But the moment he jumped out, the "Frenzied Mage" waved at him, and the air in front of Hobert seemed to explode, erupting with tremendous energy and blasting him away.
However, at the moment of being blasted away, the air in the direction he was flying suddenly became condensed, as hard as an iron plate.
Hobert was thus slammed hard onto the air. Even with a demigod's physique, he felt as if his whole body was falling apart.
Fortunately, the Black Hound Spirit Beast' new offensive attracted the "Frenzied Mage's" attention, and Hobert was spared further attacks.
Hobert knelt on the ground, taking advantage of the intense pain to keep his mind clear, and threw the "Deprivation Charm" in his hand towards the "Frenzied Mage," reciting the ancient Hermes language incantation: "Steal!"
This talisman "deprived" the "Frenzied Mage" of his abilities of "Distortion," "Arrogance," and "Charm," respectively.
Hobert breathed a sigh of relief, quickly rolled back into the corner to catch his breath, and continued to watch the battle.
Without the ability of "Distortion," the "Frenzied Mage" had lost a huge boost. And the theft of "Arrogance" and "Charm" caused the "Frenzied Mage" to lose some of his spiritual attack abilities.
At this time, the battle became more and more intense. While they were continuously bombarding each other with Beyonder abilities, the Black Hound Spirit Beast once again raised their thin swords high, brewing a new attack.
Hobert seized the opportunity, took out the "Deception Talisman," and once again recited the common incantation of this batch of talismans in ancient Hermes: "Steal!"
The "Frenzied Mage" completely ignored the thin sword raised by the Black Hound Spirit Beast at this moment.
Two seconds later, the thin sword burst out with light again.
The "Frenzied Mage," caught off guard, had a white flame ignite on his shoulder, which quickly spread to his whole body.
"Ah ~"
The flames caused the "Frenzied Mage" to roar in pain. His spirit body was being burned by the flames!
The white flame was the "Ferryman's Lamp Fire," a flame ignited with the spirit body as fuel!
The "Frenzied Mage" immediately "bestowed" the "Lamp Fire" to the mushrooms on the street, and half the street was ablaze with raging white flames.
The mushrooms fell in batches amidst screams.
Fortunately, Hobert immediately hid back in the corner after throwing the talisman, otherwise his spirit body would have suffered some damage as well.
These flames in front of him had no temperature at all. On the contrary, Hobert felt cold all over and broke out in a cold sweat.
After all the spirit bodies within the burning range were burned away, the white flame automatically extinguished.
On the other battlefield, the "Frenzied Mage" had been severely injured, and his spirit body was very weak at this time, already at a disadvantage in the battle.
While passively defending, he looked towards the place where Hobert was hiding.
Hobert certainly felt the other party's gaze, but with the Black Hound Spirit Beast blocking him, he was not afraid.
Because the Black Hound Spirit Beast had gained the advantage, Hobert seized the opportunity to attack again, throwing out another "Deprivation Charm," and once again "depriving" the "Frenzied Mage" of his abilities of "Frenzy," "Magnification," and "Bestowal."
With the main abilities stolen and the spirit body severely injured, the "Frenzied Mage" was soon completely defeated.
The Black Hound Spirit Beast once again pressed closer step by step. Each step forward caused the "Frenzied Mage's" life force to drain away, and the black armor to shrink.
When the Black Hound Spirit Beast were a few steps away from the "Frenzied Mage," the "Frenzied Mage" had become too weak to support the demigod state and quickly returned to his original appearance.
Four steps away, the "Frenzied Mage's" muscles stiffened.
Three steps away, the "Frenzied Mage's" heart stopped beating.
Two steps away, the "Frenzied Mage's" already very weak spirit body began to dissipate.
Standing in front of him, the "Frenzied Mage's" body lost all vitality.
Hobert breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought the "Frenzied Mage" might lose control at the last moment, but fortunately, the Black Hound Spirit Beast completely suppressed him, giving his body no chance to go berserk.
Just then, the bracelet on the "Frenzied Mage's" wrist suddenly emitted a bright green light. His previously scattered pupils suddenly regained life, rolling rapidly, dodging the Black Hound Spirit Beast's thrusting rapier, and charging swiftly towards Hobert.
At this moment, the "Frenzied Mage's" eyes were still full of madness. He still had only one thought in his mind: to fight! To defeat all the enemies in front of him!
Hobert quickly began to "distort" the distance, preparing to circle around and hide behind the Black Hound Spirit Beast again.
Suddenly, black, viscous liquid appeared on the ground. The "mushrooms" on the street cried out in pain again, the parts that touched the black liquid turning a rust-like color.
This was "Depravity," one of the few abilities the "Frenzied Mage" could still use.
As the "Earl of the Fallen," Hobert was not harmed by "Depravity," but he felt his power and spirituality weaken significantly, and he was quickly caught up by the "Frenzied Mage," who was moving so fast he left afterimages!
"Weaken!" Hobert immediately put the "Frenzied Mage" into a "Weakened" state. Seeing that the opponent's speed was still extremely fast, he poured his spirituality into "1-109": "Slaughter!"
Hobert chose to counterattack at this time, firstly because continuing to run would be more passive, and secondly because he could feel that the "Frenzied Mage" was not as powerful as when they first met. The opponent's rapid speed was likely due to the ability of that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact.
"Slaughter" staggered the "Frenzied Mage," and the Black Hound Spirit Beast caught up, piercing the "Frenzied Mage's" chest with its sword.
The "Frenzied Mage's" body rapidly grew larger, as he prepared to enter a Demigod state again!
At the same time, he completely ignored the Black Hound Spirit Beast's attack and raised a hand towards Hobert.
Hobert felt an unbearable stinging pain immediately appear in all the muscles of his body. He gritted his teeth: "Exploit!"
He prematurely ended the "Frenzied Mage's" spiritual output, because Hobert's "Exploit" had little effect on Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts, and it was difficult to prematurely terminate the abilities cast by Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts, so Hobert could only target the "Frenzied Mage."
Although the "Frenzied Mage's" attack stopped immediately, it still caused some mutations in Hobert's body.
Fortunately, "1-109" had the ability to control flesh and blood. He temporarily suppressed this mutation within his body and "Bestowed" it to the mushrooms on the street through two successive "Bestowals."
Thus, two more mushrooms as tall as towering trees appeared on the street.
Fortunately, under the control of the Black Hound Spirit Beast, the rapier rapidly withered the "Frenzied Mage's" life force, causing the "Frenzied Mage's" spirit to become sluggish again, leaving him no time to continue attacking Hobert.
Finally, the "Frenzied Mage" lost his life again and fell onto the layer of mushrooms on the ground.
The Black Hound Spirit Beast pulled out its sword and chopped off the "Frenzied Mage's" head, and at Hobert's command, it also chopped off the arm wearing the bracelet.
But what Hobert did not expect was that the "Frenzied Mage's" body turned into a series of closely arranged mushrooms.
One of the two mushrooms that had grown tall earlier due to Hobert's "Bestowed" mutation suddenly swayed.
Two hands reached out from the mushroom and tore open the mushroom's skin. The "Frenzied Mage" crawled out of the mushroom, except that his two ears had turned into two bright red mushrooms.
Hobert immediately realized that this was not rebirth, but a new life force that the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact had granted to the "Frenzied Mage."
As long as those creatures "created" by the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact were still there, the "Frenzied Mage" could not die.
However, if this method was used too many times, the "Frenzied Mage" would inevitably mutate, just like his two ears that had turned into mushrooms.
He believed that after a few more times, he would also become a monster and be completely controlled by the Sealed Artifact.
Hobert retreated, leaving the battlefield to the Black Hound Spirit Beast, while considering how to completely kill the "Frenzied Mage."
The only two methods he could think of at the moment were to burn all the creatures created by the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact in Foggy Town.
Or to snatch the bracelet from the "Frenzied Mage" and seal it with an "Order Crystal."
He could wait a little longer to see if the situation would improve after the source of these mushrooms disappeared.
These mushrooms were the dried mushrooms in Klein's hands, combined with the fish meat summoned from the Historical Void. After a while, the fish meat would disappear, and in theory, the mushrooms that Mr. A had transformed into would lose their source of power.
However, the mushrooms on the street were constantly multiplying. For example, those mushrooms that had been deprived of all life by the Black Hound Spirit Beast grew new mushrooms on their rotten "corpses" after the Black Hound Spirit Beast left that position.
Moreover, it wasn't just growing mushrooms. At the two ends of the street, where the mushrooms hadn't been hit much, the mushrooms had grown as lush as bushes, and strange-shaped insects had already appeared.
Hobert shook his head, feeling that the mushrooms on the street, which had a surging vitality, might not disappear with the disappearance of the fish meat, or that it was, after all, something "created" by a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, and could not be limited by a lump of fish meat.
Thinking of this, Hobert poured his spirituality into "1-107": "The proliferation of mushrooms is prohibited here!"
The mushrooms on the ground swayed, and new mushrooms still grew, but the speed was much slower and the size was smaller.
While the Black Hound Spirit Beast entangled the "Frenzied Mage," Hobert injected his spirituality into "1-109": "Fire Crow Spell!"
Dozens of fire crows created a fire on the street, but after the fire, the mushrooms continued to grow, and the fire was even squeezed out and extinguished.
Then there was only one way left. Hobert said to the Black Hound Spirit Beast: "Take his bracelet!"
The Black Hound Spirit Beast looked at the bracelet, but retracted its hand as soon as it reached out, as if the bracelet would burn it.
Hobert suddenly understood. Although the bracelet's ability had no effect on the Black Hound Spirit Beast, if it held the bracelet in its hand, it should affect the balance of its physical state.
Hobert was about to order the Black Hound Spirit Beast to capture the "Frenzied Mage," but he felt that this order would be difficult to achieve. At this time, the "Frenzied Mage" lacked sufficient rationality and his power had been weakened a lot, so the Black Hound Spirit Beast had a considerable advantage in the current battle.
But it was almost impossible to capture the opponent, after all, their levels were similar, and it was difficult to complete overly complex operations.
He could try to "kill" the "Frenzied Mage" again and snatch the bracelet the moment he gained new life.
So Hobert approached the battlefield little by little, finding the right opportunity: "Disorder!"
Taking advantage of the brief opportunity when the opponent fell into "Disorder," the Black Hound Spirit Beast pierced the "Frenzied Mage" with its sword again.
The "Frenzied Mage's" life force withered rapidly, and he fell to the ground as if all his strength had been drained.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Hobert quickly stepped forward. Just as he was about to take off the bracelet, he saw the "Frenzied Mage's" seemingly weak hand suddenly clench into a fist.
Hobert's eyes narrowed, but it was too late to dodge.
The "Frenzied Mage" threw a punch: "Exploit!"
He "Exploited" the law of the concentration and diffusion of power, concentrating the power of his punch first, and then quickly diffusing it.
The effect of this operation was amazing! When Hobert was first hit, he felt as if the power of this punch had penetrated his chest. Then, the power suddenly diffused, and a hole the size of an adult's palm burst out in Hobert's chest, as if it had been blown up like a balloon.
The hole was right in the position of his heart, and Hobert immediately felt as if all the blood in his body had lost all its momentum, and he could no longer feel the temperature and power of his heart.
The "Frenzied Mage," lying on the ground, had a grim smile on his face. He grabbed the rapier with his other hand and actually pulled it out of his body.
Although this process lost a lot of life force, he still didn't die.
It wasn't until he got up that Hobert discovered that the "Frenzied Mage's" back had grown the root hairs that mushrooms have, and the mushrooms on the entire street were withering.
It turned out that the "Frenzied Mage," who had already undergone some mutations, had created the illusion that he had become very weak.
In fact, he had been using the mutations in his body to absorb the life force of the mushrooms.
Madness is different from dementia. The former has a certain amount of intelligence, but the intelligence is generally used in unexpected ways.
The "Frenzied Mage" must have sensed Hobert's thoughts, so he simply attracted him to close range and then struck a blow that left Hobert's life hanging by a thread.
At this time, Hobert, whose chest was empty, saw the "Frenzied Mage's" second punch coming again. Because the distance was too close, the Black Hound Spirit Beast couldn't come to the rescue in time.
This punch was enough to kill Hobert.
Hobert's surprised expression suddenly changed, and he grinned in a slight smile, reciting in Ancient Hermes: "Theft!"
This time he used the "Fate Siphon Charm." At the same time, the black crystal charm he had just taken out of his pocket disappeared into the void.
In an instant, Hobert became the one throwing the punch, and a huge hole appeared in the "Frenzied Mage's" chest.
The smile climbed onto Hobert's face at this moment. The moment his punch hit the "Frenzied Mage," his other hand had already grabbed the bracelet on the opponent's wrist.
The "Frenzied Mage" was punched right in front of the Black Hound spirit beast, while his bracelet remained in Hobert's hand.
Hobert's hand, clutching the bracelet, trembled violently. His fingernails became sharp and long, his pores opened, and feathers sprouted.
His other hand quickly retrieved the "Order Crystal" from his person, which transformed into a small box. He swiftly placed the bracelet inside and closed the lid.
In a mere one or two seconds, the hand holding the bracelet transformed into a claw covered in bird feathers.
He quickly "bestowed" away most of the mutation he had received, and his hand gradually returned to its original appearance.
However, the accumulated mutation within Hobert's body was already substantial. He could only suppress it with the flesh magic of "1-109" and gradually transfer it out after leaving.
At this moment, the "Frenzied Mage," who had been cut into three pieces by the Black Hound spirit beast, suddenly spoke: "It's yours now."
Ryan's eyes regained their clarity: "My Beyonder characteristics are also yours now."
Hobert said, "Should I say thank you?"
Ryan ignored Hobert's words and asked, "That wooden stick with surging power of Order that I held earlier, is it yours?"
Hobert nodded: "Yes, why didn't I see you use it?"
"I tried to use it to escape from here long ago," Ryan said weakly, "But unfortunately, I failed."
He then asked, "Where did you get that wooden stick?"
Hobert looked into Ryan's eyes, knowing he was about to die, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "From the 'Creator'."
"'Creator'?" When Ryan came in, the 'Creator' was not very famous, but he didn't have time to explore this question now. Instead, he said, "Can I ask you a favor?"
Hobert said, "I may not have time to help you complete it."
"You can listen first," Ryan said. "Every year on December 1st, members of the Solomon family gather in the northeast of Midseashire County."
"The specific location is Pender Hill in the northern suburbs of Limon City. I have a stone key in my pocket that can enter the gathering place."
[T/N: scoured the wiki to find this city lol]
Ryan took a deep breath, as if using his last bit of strength, and said, "You go and raid the members of the Solomon family, obtain their Beyonder characteristics, and make some of them your prisoners, your servants! Ruthlessly exploit them!"
Hobert frowned: "This sounds like a trap!"
Ryan smiled helplessly: "The decision to go or not is up to you."
Hobert was silent for two seconds, then asked, "Why do you hate your clansmen so much?"
"They have become a bunch of cowards!" Ryan said with a painful expression. "I have been working hard for more than two hundred years to reunite the Solomon family! But it's useless! These bastards have forgotten the glory of being a Solomon! Our ancestors once ruled the entire Northern Continent!"
As he spoke, his tone became somewhat sorrowful: "This is the Beyonder world! They are now greedy for comfort, and there will definitely be a catastrophe in the future!
"And that idiot Nast has completely become Roselle's dog! Even though Roselle has been dead for more than a hundred years, he actually says that Roselle is the real emperor!
"If this continues, the Solomon family will be completely hopeless!"
Hobert nodded: "So you want to use hatred to arouse their fighting spirit?"
"It would be best...it would be best if..." Ryan's voice stopped abruptly, and his eyes gradually lost their luster. This time, without the bracelet to allow him to obtain vitality, he was completely dead.
Hobert said to Ryan, who died with his eyes wide open, "Regardless of whether it is a trap or not, I will go there. I can't guarantee whether I will accept the people of the Solomon family."
Perhaps the Solomon family will exist in the form of Beyonder characteristics, provided they really have such a gathering.
Then, Hobert recalled a case he took when he was still Sequence 9, the one where he obtained the "Teleportation Statue."
In the notes left by the Solomon family member who went by the name of Henry at the time, there was a record of a family member preparing to revive the family's glory.
Henry's elders did not respond to this call. Later, this "Frenzied Mage" probably found Henry's residence more than half a year ago, but by then Henry's family was already dead.
Hobert guessed that the ambitious Solomon member recorded in the notes might be this "Frenzied Mage" in front of him.
Perhaps he had long lost patience with the members of the Solomon family.
Hobert shook his head: "Two hundred years is enough to do many things. It can only be said that your method may be wrong."
He said this as if delivering a final verdict, then looked at the Black Hound spirit beast: "Give me the sword!"
The Black Hound spirit beast stretched out its hand holding the sword, then retracted it, actually resisting Hobert's command.
Hobert was slightly stunned: "If I still need you to fight for me, this sword will still be used by you."
The Black Hound spirit beast covered its chest with its other hand, bowed slightly to Hobert, and then handed over the sword.
This made Hobert realize that this thin sword might have restored a little of the Black Hound spirit beast's sanity.
But now is not the time to consider this. Klein, who had been hiding, saw that the battle was over and came over from another street.
He had not yet advanced to a demigod, so even if he was here just now, he would not have been able to help much.
Next, the two began to divide the spoils. The "Frenzied Mage" was killed by the Black Hound spirit beast and Hobert, so the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact bracelet and the "Frenzied Mage's" Beyonder characteristics naturally belonged to Hobert.
Mr. A died from seeing the state of a mythical creature and Klein's mushroom, but the mushroom mainly played a role, so the mutated "Creeping Hunger" still belonged to Klein.
Finally, there was the Beyonder characteristics of the "Demoness of Despair." She was mainly killed by Hobert, but the mushroom also played a significant role.
So Hobert suggested: "I can use the Beyonder characteristics. You can let me have it, and I'll give you 20,000 pounds in cash, how about that?"
The defection of Jonathan and others is basically ready, and now they are just waiting for an opportunity.
What Hobert didn't expect was that some Beyonders of the Witch pathway also defected with Jonathan.
After observing them for a period of time, if there are no problems, he can consider using these forces.
If there is a Beyonder characteristic of a "Demoness of Despair," it can greatly strengthen the "Creator's" position in their minds.
Klein's expression was a little complicated: "20,000 pounds?"
Hobert spread his hands: "I calculated it according to 60,000 pounds. If you go to sell this Beyonder characteristic, you may not be able to sell it for so much money, and it is very likely to cause some trouble for yourself."
"I know," Klein nodded: "I mean, deal!"
His reaction just now was that he didn't expect Hobert to give so much, not that he was dissatisfied with Hobert's price.
After dividing the spoils, they took the obsidian they found on the "Frenzied Mage" and entered the town's church again.
join the Church of MissRaven and become a Sequence 9: Reader p atreon.com/KeyofStars for more chapters