For Melusine, the Shantak bird could not have much of an impact on her. With her speed, she could completely avoid this strange flying bird and continue to launch a surprise attack on the old professor. It was just that when this white-haired girl was about to touch the old professor, that strange key once again emitted a light.
Melusine's fingertips felt as if they had touched a dreamlike bubble from another world. The old professor's body passed directly through her hand, like a dream, like colored glass—beautiful, yet faintly revealing a hint of strangeness.
It was really unknown whether this ability to turn the old professor into an illusion was the doing of this key, or an ability that the old professor had subconsciously used with the power brought by the key.
But no matter what, this sudden change had indeed disrupted Melusine's preparations. The next moment, a large number of Shantak birds rushed towards Melusine from all directions, looking as if they were preparing to completely envelop and tear her to shreds.
However, with a flash of a cold blade, the flock of Shantak birds that had gathered into a ball was directly cut in two. Melusine landed easily on the ground. It was just a pity that, taking this opportunity, the old professor had already disappeared into the forest, and it was unknown where he had run off to. After all, this old professor was now moving just like a monkey.
Melusine pursed her lips, looking at the Shantak bird rushing towards her. She leaped high with both feet and kicked hard on the head of this Shantak bird. She then stood steadily on the top of the tree canopy and began to search left and right for the old professor's traces.
And compared to the somewhat clueless Melusine, the old fellow who had mobilized the entire forest's flying insects seemed much more at ease. Even though his ability to control powerful insects was affected due to the war decades ago, he could still steadily control a large number of ordinary insects. This old man, also because of his own decline in strength, had made some other preparations for the upcoming Holy Grail War. For example, he had stored a large amount of magical energy in his specially cultivated insects. To achieve his own goals, he had spent a lot of effort on this kind of insect, and it was unknown how many young girls he had secretly tricked to complete this masterpiece.
A large number of insects began to gradually envelop the old professor's body in the very center. At the same time, the aura of the insects also began to completely cover the old professor's own aura. After all, with Melusine chasing so blatantly, some insects had also reported this matter to the old man. Covering the aura was also to prevent others from tracking them by scent.
At the same time, because the swarm of insects was always present, the old professor also had no way to remain in a completely incorporeal state. After all, this continuous incorporeality was consuming his life, and this was a great feat completed unconsciously. For an ordinary person to be able to achieve such a miracle could already be said to be a death with no regrets.
However, it was precisely because this was a power wielded under instinct that the desire to survive, also under instinct, would naturally turn off the key's ability when the life force was insufficient to continue maintaining it.
And when this key's ability was turned off, that would be the moment the swarm of insects would snatch this key from the old professor's hands.
The old professor's body, because his life force was being extracted, gradually became more and more aged. But even so, his body was still, as depicted, shuttling through the jungle like a monkey.
The first moment the old professor became tangible, the entire swarm of insects contracted at high speed. Many insects directly burrowed into the old professor's body. The old professor, who was originally wandering among the branches, fell directly from the canopy. The previous act of breaking through the limits of the human body, coupled with the loss of life force, this heavy fall was enough to take the old professor's life.
However, perhaps dying just like this was also a good ending for this old professor. After all, although it was not intentional, it was indeed the old professor who had awakened the ghouls sleeping underground. At the same time, these ghouls had also caused an impact on this city. Someone had to come out and take the blame. The old professor, who was holding the notebook and had summoned the ghouls, was the best choice for a scapegoat. Rather than having a moment of glory and then spending the rest of his life in resentment under the accusations of the public and the scapegoating of his superiors, to just return to the embrace of the Lord like this, not knowing anything about what happened after his death, was perhaps also a form of comfort.
It was also at this time that Melusine finally broke through the encirclement of the flock of Shantak birds and found the old professor's location. Looking at the dense swarm of insects, Melusine really wanted to turn into her original form and just blast them with a cannon. At the same time, Melusine once again firmed her idea of modifying her own dragon form, even if it was just to add a fire-breathing ability.
However, very quickly, Melusine discovered a blind spot that she had been ignoring all along. And that was, how did a large portion of the insects before her possess magical energy? Could it be that a portion of these insects belonged to a magus's familiars!
After noticing this point, Melusine no longer cared about this somewhat disgusting swarm of insects. She immediately extended her own hand towards the old professor's direction. It was just that the swarm's reaction was also very swift. It directly wrapped around the cross-shaped key and quickly burrowed into the mud underground.
Seeing this change, the sharp blade in Melusine's hand quickly slashed downwards. The powerful magical energy directly rolled up a large amount of mud, and even completely minced the old professor's already somewhat shriveled hand into meat paste. At the same time, a trench of mud was left on the ground. It was just a pity that these insects seemed to be doing their best to move underground. Even after opening up a trench, she still couldn't find a trace of that key.
Melusine's mouth opened slightly. Although she knew that Aslan would not blame her, she understood that the matter of the key being taken away by the swarm of insects was ultimately her fault.
However, as this key was taken away, the strange aura that had been permeating here also vanished without a trace. The corpses that had originally been slowly rising from the cemetery swayed and fell back into their graves. Only a few scattered Shantak birds and Elder Ghouls were still continuously attacking the humans.
However, as long as these existences did not continue to appear, it was not a difficult matter to clean them all up. At least, after discovering that these existences were no longer being born, Aslan put away his own weapon. The rest could just be handed over to his cheap apprentice, Caren. Compared to getting his own clothes and weapons dirty, it was enough for Caren to pierce these things with those disposable items or the fake spear.