As Elias approached the mining area, he witnessed a fierce clash between Drakas and an armored female warrior. Light and darkness violently collided with every strike exchanged, the air rippling from the force of their blows, generating shockwaves that resonated through the surroundings.
On Drakas's side, trees were uprooted and charred, and on the armored female warrior's side, trees were drained of vitality. This was the result of the two unleashing their deadly attacks and missing their targets.
The two combatants, moving with lethal precision, were locked in a brutal battle to the death, with neither gaining a decisive edge. Despite Drakas's numerical advantage in terms of the forces he commanded, he still couldn't overcome the female warrior and her mount in combat.
Looking at the two figures in the sky, Elias now understood the source of the deafening explosion he had heard earlier. It was from the female armored warrior's attacks.
As he suspected, Drakas had run into serious trouble. Judging by the intensity of their battle, it was clear that Drakas and the woman harbored deep, irreconcilable hatred, likely the catalyst for this confrontation.
Still, Elias remained detached. He couldn't care less about the current development. As long as the chaos could help him survive, he would gladly cheer them on in his heart.
The two combatants remained too focused on their deadly exchange. Neither Drakas nor the female warrior noticed Elias below, quietly maneuvering stealthily beneath them. They were too consumed with trying to kill each other. Suddenly, Drakas's boisterous laughter rang out from above, followed by his arrogant voice.
"Genevieve! This place will be your grave!"
He proclaimed, his voice dripping with confidence.
"This Dark Ruin is my domain, and I've laid traps across every inch of it. The proud Female General of the Manera Kingdom will meet her demise today. I pity you—almost feel reluctant to send you to hell."
"Dark Summoner Drakas. Do you really think you're that formidable?"
General Genevieve retorted with a scoff.
As she spoke, her flame sword surged in size, growing to match her height as she poured raw energy into it. Golden-crimson runic symbols manifested on the back of her right hand, brilliantly radiating intense power, indicative of the immense energy infused into her flame sword. The air crackled with the intensity of the destructive force her flame sword emitted, the resulting heat wave causing Drakas to retreat a few meters.
Seizing this moment, she looked to her right, finding her contracted beast engaged in battle with some of Drakas's minions. Facing Drakas and his army of dark creatures, her gaze became sharp and resolute. She retracted her gaze and pointed her flame sword at Drakas, addressing him.
"After half a year of hunting you, I finally get to deliver justice with my own hands, you traitor!"
"Traitor? Don't make me laugh."
Drakas sneered.
"Oh? Did I say anything false? If it weren't for you and the Devil Society aiding the enigma race, humans wouldn't have lost the upper hand in the recent wars, would we? Do you know how many people have died at your hands? And beyond that, how many people have died indirectly through the machinations of the Enigma race, borrowing your treacherous hands? You've slaughtered your kind and indirectly caused the death of countless lives. You deserve nothing but death!"
General Genevieve stated matter-of-factly.
"I'm not wasting time debating morals with someone blinded by their own agenda."
Drakas replied coldly, his voice unfeeling.
"Genevieve, I'll be honest and admit that I can't defeat you in a one-on-one fight. But so what? The moment you stepped into the Dark Ruin, your fate was sealed. Surrender now, and I might spare you, turn you into one of my lovely summons. Resist, and your soul will be sacrificed to the core of this Dark Ruin. Trust me, being my servant is a far better fate than being devoured by the Sacred Vine."
"In your dreams!"
General Genevieve readily rejected his proposal.
"Take this!"
BOOM!
General Genevieve slashed her flaming sword, sending a scorching wave of heat toward Drakas. In response, one of his summons, a skeletal minion wreathed in dark flames, let out a soul-piercing shriek inaudibly, countering the attack with a blast of dark energy. Its silent shriek could affect the soul of its target. However, they were ineffective against General Genevieve.
Creatures like the skeletal minion were born of despair and torment. They were once humans who succumbed to Drakas's torment, similar to the original Elias's circumstances. Their souls had been trapped within their remains and tortured until they transformed into an evil spirit.
Drakas would then conduct a Dark Ritual to turn them into his Dark Summons, joining the ranks of his many false abyssal creatures he had created during his time in the Dark Ruin.
Although Genevieve outmatched him in power stratum, Drakas remained confident. Over the years, he had amassed enough minions to wear down even a valiant warrior like Genevieve. Besides, he hadn't yet revealed his trump card. Once unleashed, he believed victory would be assured.
Meanwhile, Elias took advantage of their verbal sparring and slipped past the battlefield's perimeter. He circled the area to avoid attention, surreptitiously making his way toward Drakas's cabin. Someone of Drakas's caliber was bound to have valuable treasures or, at the very least, life-saving tools that he could use to ensure his safety. That was Elias's target.
But more than that, Elias was curious about what Drakas had been doing inside that small, inconspicuous cabin. What was Drakas hiding in that modest, weathered thatched cottage?
Carefully slipping across the threshold, Elias was surprised to find no traps or protective mechanisms guarding against intruders. Cautiously, he pressed onward into the empty room.
—There were still no traps.
Not dwelling on this unexpected fortune, Elias examined the room thoroughly and discovered a hidden trigger mechanism. When activated, it revealed a downward stairway descending into darkness. The passage below was pitch-black, concealing whatever secrets lay beneath.
…
Grabbing a glowing rod with a luminous stone from the corner of the room that functioned like a torch, Elias descended the stairway. The steps spiraled downward for several minutes until he finally reached solid ground.
As soon as his feet touched the floor, Elias was immediately drawn to a scattered pile of glowing, purple-colored crystals. From the original Elias's memories, he recognized them as Mystic Crystals, rare and potent energy sources in Mystral.
The next thing that drew Elias's attention in the hidden chamber was the acrid stench of blood mingled with herbs that immediately assaulted his nostrils, reminiscent of the corpse-preserving concoctions he had smelled earlier in the mortuary.
But what truly unsettled him was how the crystals were arranged.
Upon closer inspection, Elias noticed a corpse suspended on a wooden beam, arms outstretched in a crucified pose. Strange glyphs, pulsing with faint light, were etched all over the lifeless body, and Mystic Crystals had been meticulously placed in a circular formation around it.
Startled by this discovery, Elias glanced down at his feet and realized he was standing at the edge of an elaborate circular ritual diagram. The circular formation was inscribed with runic symbols drawn in what appeared to be dried blood, each socket in the diagram holding a certain amount of Mystic Crystals.
Observing closely, Elias made a shocking finding.
This entire hidden chamber is a ritual site. As for its purpose, I don't know.
Pondering for a bit, Elias concluded.
But knowing Drakas, it is definitely for a sinister purpose.