181: Attack By Wizards

Attack By Wizards

The elf walked around it, but even with his sharp eyesight, the height of the statue prevented him from seeing its face properly.0

The next moment, their group felt a pulsation of an invisible force. Their heads snapped in the direction of the source, only to witness the sight of the elf floating in the air, his tall figure flying upwards towards the head of that giant god's statue. 

Oriana and Rafal were taken aback, especially Rafal, who had no idea that Yorian was a supernatural being. 

The elf had no care for anyone at this point. As he forced his magic to levitate his body, casting a rough spell that wasted much of his core's energy, Yorian finally reached the face of the giant statue.

It was indeed a familiar face. He could not believe his eyes. 

'Am I mistaken, or does this statue really look like him? This can't be. This…'

Yorian recalled that the man this statue resembled claimed to have no memory of his past.

'Could this be related to his unknown origin? A forgotten war god? Or did he somewhat help the human civilization in this part of the continent flourish in the past? 

'It's possible…humankind has a short memory, after all. Their legends, myths, even some religions are unreliable. Isn't the legend of the black dragon blessing Megaris also a misunderstanding due to him meddling in human affairs a few hundred years ago…?'

Once Yorian came down, Oriana pretended to be calm. A part of her mind wondered if she too would be capable of flight in the future. On the other hand, Rafal resumed admiring the statue. He was aware that Drayce was not ordinary. It was not that surprising to find out that the people around him were not ordinary as well.

Seren asked, "What happened, Mister Yorian?"

"It's nothing. I thought this god of war was similar to someone I know."

"May I know who?"

"A rather arrogant man," he replied vaguely, his grin showing amusement. "For now, I don't wish to draw any conclusions. Maybe, I will stay a bit longer in Nefer to research about it. It would be interesting if it's really him."

Seren didn't force him, but then Yorian's expression changed. His ears twitched and his brows furrowed as he looked in a certain direction. 

The elf raised his hand, and bow and arrows appeared out of nowhere. He looked at Slayer and Rafal. "We have guests."

Seren paled as she felt a sudden change in the air around them. It was the same energy from those who tried to abduct her in the past.

"Black magic."

Oriana, who was standing near her, didn't know what was going on, but she had a sharp intuition and realized everyone around her was on high alert. Upon hearing those two words from Seren, air was stuck in her chest, and she was only able to breathe when she realized those words were not directed at her.

What Oriana saw next was straight from a horror story. The huge and heavy double doors of the main temple slammed closed, and even the windows on shut, plunging them in darkness. Only the few gaps at the top of the temple allowed rays of sunlight to enter. 

"Rafal, stay by Her Majesty's side," Slayer instructed the knight who had already pulled out his sword the moment Yorian hinted something. 

Yorian loaded a magical arrow on his longbow and directed its tip towards a particular stone passage, from there five hooded figures stepped out. Though their appearances were covered with a hood, Seren could sense the stench of unnatural dark energy surrounding them. 

"They are wizards," Seren spoke out, the traumatic experience of her being almost abducted causing her to shiver. It was an unsavory memory, one where she and another person almost died.

Wizards were abominations, things that should not exist in the first place. 

Some supernatural beings practiced forbidden magic to enhance strength, turning them into black magic practitioners, like the Black Witches led by Zaria Lynx. However, wizards were different. They were originally humans who gave up their humanity. Humankind had no ability to use magic in the first place. The only way for them to wield magic was through black magic, sacrificial magic, meaning they had to consistently slaughter and harvest lives to gain power.

Yorian cursed in elvish language before answering, "And powerful at that. They must have killed in the hundreds to gain that kind of strength. They should specialize in curses. Be careful, Your Majesty."

The elf had enough combat prowess to fight the five enemies, but he by himself could not afford to protect those behind him.

"Your Majesty, please hide behind the statue," Slayer said.

"What do you want?" Yorian asked them.

As expected, they didn't answer. The next moment, the leader lifted his staff and threw an offensive spell towards Yorian. The elf hit the attack with his enchanted arrow, but when the wooden shaft exploded in midair, its broken fragments caused thin bloody scratches to appear on his fair skin. 

Those wood fragments themselves were negligible, but they became contaminated by black magic. Its destructive nature contradicts an elf's innate natural energy. Yorian was pushed back though he dealt with the attack with his powers. 

When two of the enemies jointly attacked, Slayer tried to block them with his sword, but Yorian was faster. He hit both attacks with his arrows, but like earlier, the attacks exploded in midair, causing the contaminated wood fragments of his destroyed arrows to rain down on them. 

"Get away, human!" Yorian shouted towards Slayer who was standing valiantly in front of the group.

The strong black magic spell hit Slayer but to everyone's shock, Slayer was not affected, as if the corrosion of black magic was nothing more than water droplets hitting his body. The knight remained standing, unharmed. 

Yorian seemed to have realized something.  "So, it's really true."

Slayer looked at him in confusion, only to hear the elf continue, "Your body is their nemesis. They can not harm you. Go ahead and attack. I will protect the Queen."

Slayer couldn't and as well as didn't want to understand what the elf meant as it was the time to fight. But he nodded and took on the role of offense, marching forward as he brandished his sword towards the black magic practitioners. 

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