Tom cursed as he saw the meteorite on the ground. Every time he screamed, the scales on his skin shook. His scales were red from fury.
âThese rat-like bitches dare!â
He had barely recovered from the fear of the hallucinations and the chimeras in the Ghost World Formation, but witches had suddenly appeared from the sky. They were just trash that wouldnât have been difficult to deal with, but they were blocking the Red Dragon from the safety of the sky on their broomsticks.
The problem was that he couldnât touch them.
This was all because of the first witch Margaret, who wasnât coming down from the sky.
She was wrapped in purple light, pouring out all kinds of magic. She stopped the Red Dragon from moving by controlling gravity and covered the witches around her with barriers to defend them. Also, meteorites were falling from the sky like rain, and the ground was doing impossible things like enlarging and shrinking.
Was that witchâs magic power limitless? Even if she had a lot, she shouldâve dried out by now from using magic like that.
But Margaret didnât even seem tired.
Rather, the longer she went on, the more rosy her cheeks became, and the level of the magic was also becoming stronger.
Hwak!
Just then, a purple light shined around Margaret again. It was an ominous and creepy light. At first, it had been subtly shining like a star, but it was now as bright as a full moon.
Mere witches couldnât continue doing these miraculous things. Then that only left one possibility.
âThe Philosopherâs Stone. Thatâs what that bitch is using!â
And it was a Philosopherâs Stone that was assimilated to her body. It was similar to the aura of the Summer Queen. It was definite proof that this case was related to the Walpurgisnacht.
The medicine to heal the Summer Queen was right in front of him, but he felt like he was going to go crazy not being able to approach the witches.
âBeginning. Danghee has died. Thereâs no way this can go on.â
Troy approached him with a crumpled face.
Danghee. She was one of the 81 Eyes who moved with Tom and Troy. She was the weakest of them, but a high ranker was still a high ranker. That was how bad the situation was.
Tom grit his teeth. If only they could get that bitch, the path would clear up!
But no matter how many times he activated his signature skill, it didnât affect Margaret.
When Margaret flipped her hand over earlier, she lifted the ground. Thanks to that, the Red Dragon had to suffer the humiliation of losing â of their forces.
They couldnât retreat now that they were here either.
The Summer Queen was dying at a rapid pace. They had to find the Philosopherâs Stone as soon as possible. Retreating in this kind of urgent situation? No way. They didnât have any second chances.
He was also uneasy because the Elohim had moved before them. If they got the real tablet, everything would go down the drain. They were short on time.
Anxiety and time were pressing at him. All kinds of factors were stressing him out. They wouldnât come out successful at this rate.
Tom eventually decided to ask for more help. Currently, only a part of their forces were in the Endless World of Night. It was because they needed to stop the attack from others. It was also to quickly react when other information was found out.
But since it was confirmed that the Philosopherâs Stone was here, he didnât have to worry about that.
âIâll have to see those bastards.â
He didnât want to see his brothersâ faces, but he didnât have anywhere else to turn to.
He was about to contact them butâ
Kwang!
He heard something explode in the sky. It was enough to shake the ground as well as the Outer Space.
Tom and Troyâs gazes were naturally drawn up. The other players of the Red Dragon looked who had been dealing with the meteorites looked up as well.
A fire was spreading where the witches were gathered.
It was a pitch black fire.
Tom, who had seen his mother control several fires, had never seen this color before.
It was dark as the night, and the blackish-fire emanated a heat that was hotter than most fires. It was probably the fire that one would experience in hell.
The explosion that had begun from Margaret instantly spread to the other witches and soared up even higher in the sky. The atmosphere boiled, and the aftereffects quickly came down.
Plop plop plop!
From the pieces that were falling like hail, Margaretâs head was included. But even that was burned black before it arrived at the ground.
âWhatâŠ..is this?â
Tom was flustered at the sight that he never wouldâve imagined.
Why had there suddenly been an explosion, and why was Margaret dead? Did the Philosopherâs Stone explode because she hadnât used her magic properly?
Whatever the reason was, one thing was clear.
This was their chance.
âNow! Run! We have to arrive before the Elohim!â
With Tom and Troy at the lead, the hundreds of players from the Red Dragon began to run.
Beyond the twisted canyons, they could see a sharp mountain that looked like it was poking the sky.
* * *
This strange sight wasnât just happening in front of Red Dragon.
âHuh?â
âWhy so suddenly?â
Mysterious explosions occurred all over.
The first witches that had miraculously pushed the intruders into a corner suddenly burned to death without even being able to scream.
Thanks to that, the players who had been caught up in the Ghost World Formation were freed.
âThese witch bitches definitely have something.â
âLetâs take it. Finders keepers!â
The rate at which they progressed increased.
* * *
âThe enemies are near! We have to stop them!â
âEveryone, be prepared for death!â
âGreat Mother is with us. Even if we die, we can live forever in her arms, so donât spare your lives!â
The Brocken Castle was at the tip of the sharp mountain beyond the maze-like canyons.
It was surrounded with firm walls, and it was where most of the witchesâ powers were amplified because it was closest to the moon.
The witches gave off an ominous aura flying down on their broomsticks with their pointed hats.
From the first witches who were birthed from the âGreat Mother,â young witches that had just begun to learn the laws of witches, to the witches who had never left the castle before, all the witches in the Tower moved busily.
A few years ago, Heaven Wing Cha Jeong-woo had attacked the castle, but it hadnât been this bad.
The level of danger was completely different.
It was something that could determine whether a clan would survive or not. The Large Clans and high rankers were backing the witches into a corner.
They were even using the power of the Great Mother, but the canyons would crumble at this rate.
âJust now, the Monster World Formation was bypassedâŠ..!â
âThe Disaster World Formation and Underworld Formation have both been activated!â
There were five World Formations that defended themâGhost World Formation, Monster World Formation, Disaster World Formation, Underworld Formation, and Calamity World Formation.
It wasnât just the Emerald Tablet that they found in the Faust dungeon.
The magic knowledge they found was enough to create an entire archive, and the Walpurgisnacht used what they needed to protect themselves.
That was also why the accomplishments of the witches had recently improved.
But no matter how outstanding a barrier it was, with the attack from the most skilled in the Tower, the castle seemed like a sandcastle.
âOr is it that weâve been able to get this far because of the 5 barriers?â
Dâarc clenched her teeth. As a first witch birthed by the Great Mother, this danger seemed especially out of the blue.
âIf onlyâŠ..if only this happened a little laterâŠ..!â
Just where had things gone wrong? From when Ananta stole test subject BX_71? Or when the Emerald Tablet was stolen from Leonte? Or from when the Great Mother had gone silent?
No. Even with all the variables, they had done what they needed to do. And they were on the brink of having the Great Mother descend.
It was probably when the tablet was put to bid at Kelat Auction House. The Walpurgisnacht realized that something was wrong, and they would be blamed.
The problem was, they didnât have a clue who the real culprit was.
It would definitely be a well-known player if they were powerful enough to move the Red Dragon and shake the Tower up. But they couldnât close in on anyone.
âBrahm? He mightâve done this to rescue AnantaâŠ..no. Itâs not him. Itâs true the Exile is smart, but many are needed to plot this. People who are clever. But heâs not. Just who is it?â
Dâarcâs head was dizzy. But she couldnât find the answer.
âI need to focus on stopping them first. Itâs not too late to find the culprit after that.â
Normally, the Walpurgisnacht wouldnât have been able to stop all the intruders with what they had, but Dâarc was confident.
They had a secret weapon other than the magic and barriers from the Faust dungeon.
âThe Philosopherâs Stone.â
It was a weak prototype that couldnât even be called the Philosopherâs Stone, but it was effective enough.
It was incomparable to the tablet on the Kelat Auction House. It was the âpureâ Philosopherâs Stone that was made with the actual Emerald Tablet.
The first witches had Philosopherâs Stones like these. If these were used, and the young witches went to the forefront and fought using guerilla warfare, they would be able to stop the invaders.
The reason why the Red Dragon and other intruders hadnât passed the Ghost World Formation was all thanks to this stone.
Dâarc was trying to stop the Sea of Time. They were almost matched with the Red Dragon in terms of power, but their numbers were relatively lower.
Jingâ
She heard the notifying magic that enemies were coming. Dâarc put the Philosopherâs Stone in her mouth.
âEveryone prepare forâŠ..!â
Hwaaa!
âThe smell of blood?â
Dâarc widened her eyes at the smell of blood that wafted from the canyons.
Just then, a dark shadow covered her head. Dâarc turned to look in that direction. Two will oâ the wisps were right in front of her.
âHup!â
Dâarc quickly turned to get off of her broom. But the sword already passed through her left shoulder. Her left arm was severed from her body and flew in the air.
âThe culpritâŠ!â
Dâarc was able to know as soon as she saw the masked player with wings of fire. She didnât know if it was the leader or an underling, but it was clear that it wasnât the Sea of Time.
âI have to tell VieiraâŠ..!â
The young witches with Dâarc were all dead to her now. The player was so quick that even she couldnât see him properly, so they wouldnât be able to avoid it. It was her fault for realizing too late.
She needed to fix her mistake. She had to tell Vieira that there was a dangerous person like this. And until she received an answer, she had to keep him busy.
Dâarc turned her magic power to the Philosopherâs Stone in her mouth. With this, all kinds of things were possible.
A miraculous stone. That was what the Philosopherâs Stone meant to the witches. She would be able to stop that player that was either brave or foolish for having come here.
However,
âWhatâŠ..?â
Dâarcâs eyes widened. The Philosopherâs Stone didnât move. It was just a stone. Like it was broken. She had checked that it worked properly before she left the Tower. Why was it suddenly broken?
Just then, the masked person lightly flipped his body and approached Dâarc. She shivered at the creepy will oâ the wisps beyond his mask.
But Dâarc soon blinked at what he said.
âIt wonât work. Probably.â
âWhatâŠ..?â
âBecause thatâs what happened for the rest of them.â
ââŠâŠ!â
He spoke like he had been responsible for that.
âWhat kind ofâŠ..!â
The moment Dâarcâs eyes widened, the masked player rushed at her to put his Magic Bayonet into her left chest.
Ting! The magic organ was completely cut off. Dâarcâs eyes became bloodshot.
Yeon-woo extended his hand to grab Dâarcâs head. He could see her eyes filled with terror through his hands.
The black fire from Yeon-wooâs fingertips covered Dâarcâs head. Eup! Eup! Dâarc shouted in fear, but she was soon burnt to a crisp.
â42.â
Yeon-woo counted the number of witches he had taken care of, tossing Dâarcâs corpse onto the ground. Her head broke apart, and a purple stone was left behind.
Chechecheâ
Just then, Yeon-wooâs shadow stretched out as Boo appeared to absorb the Philosopherâs Stone. Purple fire glimmered in the eye sockets of the skull.
âGood job.â
[Iâm honored. To obey. Your orders.]
Boo bowed. Controlling the Philosopherâs Stones of the witches was all thanks to him.
With the knowledge that he had learned researching the Philosopherâs Stone, Boo knew the sole weakness of the Philosopherâs Stone.
To be exact, it was a weakness that Yeon-woo, who succeeded didnât have, but the witches had.
Because the Philosopherâs Stone was perfect, it didnât need any interference with magic power from the outside after it was complete.
Boo had used this to block the flow of magic power to make the stones the witches had just normal stones.
With Yeon-wooâs quiet movements on top of that, the witches fell like autumn leaves.
It was important to save Ananta right away, but it wasnât good to let theWalpurgisnacht succeed in their defense.
Everyone had to keep on attacking each other and eating away at each otherâs forces.
[Itâs. Done.]
Yeon-woo coldly smiled seeing Boo done absorbing the Philosopherâs Stone. The person who had gained the most from the attack was probably Boo.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.