459 Dark Decay

\"Why am I so lucky…?\" Lin Li's face turned green the minute darkness exploded. This damned luck, I could strike lottery with it. How is it that these Rainbow Manticore Kings are all well-versed in Necromagic and it has to be level-20 Dark Decay too…?

Necromagic had always been viewed as magic of the fallen in Anril as mages thought that only those who were evil at heart would pursue something like that. The number of mages studying Necromagic started declining 1,300 years after the Dark Age, and Necromagic became more and more mysterious in the eyes of the people…

So much so that the words Dark Decay had become unfamiliar to most mages, and they had even forgotten about the very existence of Necromagic.

Only someone like Sendros who was incredibly well-versed in Necromagic and had spent a lot of time researching about Necromancers would know something about Dark Decay.

Or perhaps someone like Apophis, a freak who had lived for over 1,300 years and had experienced the war in the ending years of the Dark Age. Someone who had personally seen the damage that the Dark Decay could do on the battlefield…

Lin Li was probably the only one besides them who knew about the Dark Decay…

This was because Lin Li had seen what the Dark Decay was capable of for himself.

Lin Li was still a hunter who used a bow then. He had been carefully treading at the edge of the Well of the Sun, trying to look for a way into it. Lin Li came across the soul of a High Elf then—he had already forgotten the name of the High Elf, and the only thing he remembered was that the soul of the High Elf was capable of incredibly powerful Necromagic, including the Dark Decay…

The soul of the High Elf had used the Dark Decay to wipe out the whole of Lin Li's team, and that was a team of 80 high-ranking people. They were so powerful in combat that they would have been capable of taking down a small city.

Lin Li could still remember that the whole world seemed to have fallen into darkness when the soul of the High Elf used the Dark Decay. The howls and cries of spirits filled the darkness, while toxic fumes permeated the air and Bone Spears flew from every direction. In the dark, his team members seemed to have lost every ounce of their combat abilities: the mages were unable to chant, the warriors could not hold their weapons in their hands, the priests seemed to lose faith in their prayers, and the hunters could not hit their targets at all…

The Dark Decay was like a vicious spiral, pulling the whole team into the abyss of despair.

It was hardly even a fight as Lin Li's team was unable to retaliate at all. The team that was capable of taking down a small city was wiped out in merely 20 minutes; hence, for a very long period of time, nobody dared to go near the Well of the Sun. Even Lin Li himself only dared to challenge it again after he spent two months gathering all the information he could about Necromagic and found a way to curb the effect of the Dark Decay.

While the Dark Decay was not as infamous as the Tide of Death or the Plague of the Undead amongst level-20 Necromagic spells, it was no easier to deal with than either of these in Lin Li's opinion.

The Dark Decay already had some features of a Magical Domain on some levels. For example, it consisted of many other spells. Lin Li knew from personal experience that once someone fell into the Dark Decay, they'd be tormented by countless Vengeful Spirits that were hard to deal with. Besides theurgy and magic, the only thing that could do any damage to them was a magical weapon. Moreover, there were also flying Bone Spears and toxic fumes in the Dark Decay, making it a place worse than hell.

To make things worse, the Dark Decay also greatly reduced one's combat abilities, and if one did not have mental strength that was strong enough, it became incredibly difficult to cast spells and use theurgy under the influence of the Death Energy. Mages at lower levels might even find that they'd take 10 times longer to cast the same spell. Besides that, the Dark Decay also weakened the mind and the body; hence, Warriors and Bandits would find it nearly impossible to move an inch when they were caught in the Dark Decay. If they were not careful enough, they might even become possessed by the Vengeful Spirits and turn on their own teammates.

Damn it, what the hell's wrong with these Rainbow Manticore Kings? Lin Li could not comprehend why these Rainbow Manticore Kings which were supposedly gifted with Elemental magic were suddenly using such ghastly Necromagic.

Could it be the incarnation of the Dragon of Destruction messing with me? Lin Li's eyes lit up when he thought of that. That's right, that must be it! No matter the fact that these Rainbow Manticore Kings are mutants or share the same soul, there's no way that they would be able to go against the rule of innate magic inheritance and suddenly become capable of using the Dark Decay.

Magical beasts inherited magic through a brand in their soul, and this rule was one that was set in stone. Even the High Elves who proclaimed themselves to be deities could not change this fact, so the only way this nearly miraculous feat could be possible was if it was done by the Dragon of Destruction.

Lin Li suddenly smiled when he thought of this…

It was not common to see Rainbow Manticore Kings sharing the same soul, and while these two Rainbow Manticore Kings were only around level-18, their magical crystal was definitely well above level-18 due to the fact that they were sharing the same soul. According to Lin Li's guess, it might even be a Legendary magical crystal, and a special one at that.

The mana in the magical crystal was not so important to Lin Li; what he cared about more was whether there was a trace of the Dragon of Destruction's power in it. While it might not be much, Lin Li might be able to use this trace of power to decipher the properties of both Darkness and Evilness after he combined both mana and Rule Power. Of course, this would be after he reached the Legendary-realm. In the future, he might even be able to incorporate these two Rule Powers into his own Magical Domain.

This Dragon of Destruction is a pretty loyal fellow, already dead for so long, yet he still left his old friends such a huge gift… Lin Li could not help but smile at the thought of what he could do with the Magical crystal.

As for how he was going to get the magical crystal, Lin Li was not worried about it at all.

The Dark Decay was really nothing much to Lin Li who had spent two months studying it…

Of course, this was only Lin Li's opinion, and not quite what Stephen and Hutton thought. While these two young Archmages were not familiar with the Dark Decay, they could still feel the strong Death Energy that felt like a downward spiral…

They both knew that this matter concerned more than just two[1] level-18 magical beasts. The torrential Death Energy felt as though it might devour the world any second, and even though they were both rare talents in magic and most prominent Archmages in the whole of Breezy Plains, they still felt somewhat helpless before this Death Energy that seemed to drag them in. At that moment, they felt as though they were flames flickering in a storm, as though they might be extinguished by a gust of wind any moment.

They held up a Flame Shield almost simultaneously…

Then, the place was suddenly enveloped by darkness as the Abyss Arena was plunged into pitch-black darkness in a split second. Painful howls and cries filled their ears, while sharp Bone Spears sliced through the air, the sounds ringing in their ears. Toxic fumes started spreading everywhere, and their inky-green hue made them resemble poisonous snakes. In the overwhelming presence of the Dark Decay, even the two high-ranking Archmages could not help losing their cool for a moment.

\"Bloody hell…\" Hutton kept chanting as he used Arcane Missile to shoot at Vengeful Spirits that were near him, but the Dark Decay was a level-20 Necromagic spell, and could create thousands and thousands of Vengeful Spirits. No matter how fast he could conjure up Arcane Missiles, there was no way he would be able to wipe them out all at once.

Furthermore, the gargantuan strength of the Dark Decay never ceased to erode Hutton's mental strength, which made chanting more and more difficult as though he was trying to walk through a swamp. Each Arcane Missile took more effort to conjure, and the Flame Shield on his body became weaker and weaker…

Stephen was in no better state at the moment. The Flame Shield was of no use against the piercing Bone Spears at all, and Stephen had no choice but to force the time it took to replenish his mana to a minimum so as to keep up with the speed it took to replenish his Flame Shield. However, everyone including him knew that this was not sustainable for long, as it caused great damage to his mental strength every time he did that, and might even cause him to drop by one level.

\"Hutton, think of something, we have to leave this place!\" Stephen's voice was filled with panic; the Death Energy of the Dark Decay basically forced one into hopelessness. Stephen had never felt so afraid before in his life—it was like he had stepped into quicksand, and the more he struggled and cried for help, the deeper he sank…

\"It's no use, Stephen, we can't run…\" Hutton gave a forced smile. He was much calmer compared to the panicking Stephen. This whirlpool-like darkness had sealed the Abyss Arena; it was hard to even move, much less escape.

\"Then… Then what do we do?\"

\"Wait for Mage Felic to do something.\"

\"Bloody hell, what kind of situation are we in? Yet you still…\" Stephen was so agitated that he almost could not catch his breath as he struggled to keep up the Flame Shield while angrily pointing at the center of the Abyss Arena. \"Look for yourself, that guy can barely defend himself! How do you expect him to save us?\"

Stephen was pointing at the only bright spot in the center of the Abyss Arena. The mage Hutton regarded as their savior was standing there unmoving and trying all he could to maintain the Illuminating Spell…

\"Ridiculous…\" Stephen laughed in anger, for he could not comprehend what this was about at all. After all, they could not even withstand the Death Energy with Flame Shields; what made this fellow think that he would be fine with an Illuminating Spell? Was he crazy or just stupid?

\"Wait and see.\"

\"No, we can't afford to wait anymore…\" Stephen said with a panicked look as he retrieved a purple Crystal form his pocket.

Hutton used Arcane Missiles to shoot at the spirits while turning back to explain himself to Stephen. \"These two Rainbow Manticore Kings are very unusual. If I'm not wrong, they must be sharing a soul as in the legend. Magical beasts sharing the same soul are much more powerful than their birth level when they use their innate magic, and I reckon that they are already at Legendary-level. You and I are not enough to go against them, we can only wait for Mage Felic to do something…\"

Unfortunately, it was in vain…

This was because all of Stephen's attention was on the purple Crystal in his hand. He remembered clearly that the powerful Greater Demon once told him that when he was in danger, he could crush the Crystal, and the Greater Demon would help him once.

Stephen originally wanted to save this chance for the end…

He had been picturing a scene in his mind ever since he got hold of the crystal… Once the three of them found the throne in the Palace of Darkness, he would suddenly crush the purple crystal and summon the powerful Greater Demon. How exciting would it be to see the expression on Hutton's and Felic's face…?

A pity that he could not afford to wait any longer. The strange magic released by the two Rainbow Manticore Kings rendered him hopeless, and if he waited any longer, he might even lose the chance to crush the crystal. Was he going to wait for that Felic like Hutton, then?

\"Pfft…\" Stephen spat angrily. All he knew was to summon the Humerus Wyrm, but this fool did not know how to use it! Surely a powerful Greater Demon would be better than that? Wait and see, after the Greater Demon saves me from this damned Necromagic, I'll ask for his help once again to snatch the Humerus Wyrm from this fool…

Of course, it will be even better if the Greater Demon's willing to get rid of these two as well…

But even if the Greater Demon was not willing, Stephen had other ways to do it too. After all, the Darkness Prophecy Spell scrolls were still in his hands. Even if he had to use a scroll to get rid of them, he would. This concerned the relics left behind by Geresco, after all, so he could not afford any mistakes.

Unfortunately, just as he was silently plotting, the bit of light in the center of the Abyss Arena suddenly became brighter!

\"How… How is that possible?!\" Stephen thought he was seeing things. The Illuminating Spell had had only a faint light, so how could it become so bright suddenly?! This level of brightness was comparable to the sun's! How could it be from an Illuminating Spell!?

It seemed like the faint light had turned into the blinding sun in the blink of an eye, and this blindingly bright sun was even growing brighter still…

Stephen was frozen in his spot, and did not know what to do with the Crystal in his hands, either…

\"Mage Felic is finally doing something…\" Hutton mopped at the sweat on his forehead as he watched the light grow brighter, a relieved expression on his face.

But even though he had every confidence in Lin Li, he still could not understand how the light that seemed to come from the sun was conjured up…

This was against the rules of magic—how could an Illuminating Spell be so blinding? Not even a Legendary-mage would be able to use an Illuminating Spell in such a shocking manner. This was no longer a problem of mental strength, as there was no way one could distort the spell in such a way in the face of the rules of magic that were set in stone—not even if they had the strongest mental strength and the most abundant mana.

Moreover, this light was shining within a Legendary-level Necromagic, which was even scarier. Hutton was very sure that the Necromagic was of Legendary-level as only magic of such caliber would suppress Stephen and him, two high-ranking Archmages, so badly. Even mage apprentices would know that once Legendary-level Necromagic was used, it would not permit the existence of even the faintest trace of light, as the powerful Death Energy would instantly devour any trace of it, the sun included[2].

Hence, Hutton could not understand how this Mage Felic who stood on the back of the Humerus Wyrm at the moment was able to achieve this…

One could not blame Hutton for being so dumbfounded. After all, this was too unthinkable. Hutton aside, no other mage would be able to comprehend this, and the only ones who would were Lin Li's teammates who'd once charged into the Well of the Sun with him and Lin Li himself…

This was a loophole in the Dark Decay that Lin Li found after countless research and experiments over two months. No matter how much of a genius Hutton and Stephen were, there was no way they would be able to understand it immediately.

The Dark Decay was the closest to being a Magical Domain out of all level-20 Necromagic spells, or in other words… the Dark Decay was actually a Magical Domain that incorporated a few basic Rules.

Once a fight reached the level of a Magical Domain, mental strength and mana became secondary as the fight truly depended on one's understanding and grasp of Rules. While Lin Li might not exactly be waiting for death given his abilities if it were another Magical Domain, there was no way he would be able to gain an advantage, either. Well, even though Lin Li was the closest person to reaching the Legendary-realm, he was still beneath it, and there was definitely a gap between him and the Legendary powerhouses.

Luckily, the Dark Decay was only nearing a Magical Domain, and incorporated but a few basic Rules. When dealing with the soul of the High Elf back then, Lin Li had spent a million gold coins on an Eternal Light Spell scroll to destroy the Dark Decay. Now, although he did not have the Eternal Light Spell scroll, he had something that even the Eternal Light Spell scroll could not compare with: the Debris of the stars!

The Holy Light was incredibly powerful and direct. In a split second, it tore through the endless darkness and allowed a mere Illuminating Spell to light up the whole Abyss Arena.

Then, everything else was simple…

Back in Syer Town, when Ujfalusi's Magical Domain was broken, not only did the Humerus Wyrm start to melt, but Ujfalusi himself also fell from the Legendary-realm. From this, it was evident that the damage done to the creator of the domain was massive when the Magical Domain was destroyed.

Even though the Dark Decay was not a true Magical Domain, the damage done to the two Rainbow Manticore Kings was still severe when it was broken.

All they heard was a pathetic cry before the two Rainbow Manticore Kings fell to the floor. While sharing a soul gave them incredible strength, it also meant that they had to suffer together. The damage from the destruction of the Dark Decay was so severe that they lost their combat ability almost immediately as they lay helplessly on the floor, watching as the Humerus Wyrm walked towards them…

Then, a thunderous \"BOOM\" was heard.

The Humerus Wyrm's claws landed heavily, and the two Rainbow Manticore Kings were reduced to a puddle of flesh and blood before they could even utter a sound.

It is the aura of the Dragon of Destruction… The moment the black magical crystal landed in his hand, Lin Li knew he was right. It was the aura of the Dragon of Destruction coming from the magical crystal, an aura that Lin Li was incredibly familiar with. He had fought the Dragon of Destruction so many times back in the Endless World, so how could he not be familiar with this Dragon Aspect's aura? The second the magical crystal was in his hand, Lin Li knew that this trip to the Abyss of Tharlen was not in vain…

This was power left behind by the Dragon of Destruction, and once he entered the Legendary-realm, he would be able to use this power to master Evilness and Darkness Rules and incorporate them into his own Magical Domain.

After all, the strength of a Magical Domain lay in whichever Rules were incorporated into it. Just take the Dark Decay for example: it merely had a few basic rules in it, so how could it compare with Darkness and Evilness? Once he was able to incorporate these two Rules in his Magical Domain, it would be no less powerful than Sendros' Magical Domain…

Unfortunately, the self-proclaimed Soul Trader Connoris was too crafty, and would not let him in on too many secrets, or he would have been able to master the Soul Rule from him. Once he incorporated these three major Rules, he would easily surpass Sendros.

RIght, Soul Rule…

Lin Li suddenly remembered that Mephistos proclaimed himself to be the Lord of Souls. Who knew if this Legendary-level Spirit Walker held a part of the Soul Rule…?

Looks like it's a good time to talk to Stephen… The sudden thought reminded Lin Li of it.

It did not escape his notice that Stephen had sneakily retrieved a Purple Crystal from his pocket when Lin Li was destroying the Dark Decay using the Holy Light.

Perhaps others could not feel it, but Lin Li did—the aura coming from the purple Crystal was that of the Lord of Souls!

[1] It was three... Could be a typo before or author got confused and changed it. Or one is stronger and author is being vague by excluding it here.

[2] I think that only means sun's rays.