Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Hill initially didn’t pay much attention to the matter, naturally because Glaysia, being the Succubus Queen, inherently possessed such abilities.

Although she herself preferred and better understood the so-called ’love desire,’ her understanding of other desires wasn’t deeply profound... at a demonic level, but swaying mortals with her baton wasn’t something she couldn’t do.

Yet even he, as an outsider, noticed something amiss, so naturally, the mage relatives of the ordinary people in Sia Town wouldn’t miss it.

When the Mages of Sia Tower still aimed to preserve their somewhat human image, they wouldn’t do anything overly terrifying.

Moreover, while external mages aren’t numerous, they aren’t entirely absent.

And every mage coming to Sia Tower must first pass through Sia Town.

For many mages with some integrity, if the prosperous environment of Sia Town is exchanged for family souls, they would rather die.

After all, children with mage aptitude sense no cruelty or coldness from the bottommost layer.

Even if their aptitude isn’t high, they can still bring their families enough sustenance to survive.

Even in the resource-scarce Dark Enigma Town, mage apprentices live somewhat difficultly, but not to the point where survival is impossible.

The highest death rate, ironically, is among the middle-tiered apprentices... they have many entanglements behind them, be it family or an unwillingness to be like those low-rank apprentices who couldn’t struggle, having only the difference of being able to eat and dress warmly compared to mortals.

There are always those willing to sacrifice everything to climb upwards.

Without familial support behind them, what they could sacrifice naturally would be their lives.

Regardless, mages are the ones most likely to survive to the end in this world... and as long as they have some strength left, their families can always survive too.

Moreover, as long as the mage towers still possess power, they will not easily abandon mortals, who are the foundation of mages.

Besides, what mage qualified to witness Sia Town can’t even support their family?

So, unless the world truly falls into complete apocalypse, with no hope of survival outside of Sia Town, what mage would send their family to be trampled on by others?

This is precisely why Hill found Sia Town peculiar but didn’t investigate too deeply.

He was well aware that Sia Town became this way probably because the mages and Glaysia had some pact: accepting her periodic emotional renderings in exchange for a prosperous life for their families.

It might even be something those ordinary people willingly exchanged themselves for.

Surely, there would be those unwilling to accept such uncontrollable situations, so inevitably, at some time, a certain area in Sia Tower wouldn’t have those who hadn’t accepted this pact.

And the day they entered Sia Tower, such obvious scenes that even low-rank mages could see something amiss might have been a probe to see if anyone in the Tower of Dark Enigma was a ’brave.’”

Devils love nothing more than making those willing to risk their lives for others, roaring champions, eventually fall directly in endless setbacks.

In Sia Tower itself, surely such people wouldn’t exist.

In contrast, it’s the Tower of Dark Enigma, particularly among the students well-protected by Ruth, where one might find those with a purer, more naive disposition.

Unfortunately, they were mistaken.

Any mage who endured under Aislin’s guidance was most annoyed by naivety.

Mages wouldn’t throw themselves against the formidable Sia Tower for someone else’s life and death; that’s wishful thinking.

To even think of informing Ruth could be considered having quite a high bottom line, especially since their families weren’t present.

Once the group led by Great Magician Nicholson settled comfortably in Sia Town, the issue would concern no one further.

Despite the cold relationship between Ruth and Nicholson, they wouldn’t ignore something this significant without notifying him.

Since Nicholson decided to bring them over, it implies that while the issue is annoying, it’s not disgusting.

Mages from the Tower of Dark Enigma understood that, even though Nicholson’s character was terrible, and his personality a mess, he wasn’t entirely devoid of a bottom line.

Hill thought this too, so if not for surveillance over the fellow connected to Delphus, he would have long discarded that little town.

Enabling these small insects to reach every corner of the town had already cost Hill considerable spirit, making it impossible to retract them mid-way.

He had long prepared for those bugs to self-destruct once the energy drained.

Thus, the unusual scenery in the town must eventually fall into his sight... his ability to confirm the scene upon entering Sia Tower was deliberately enticing action was due to this — those neatly dressed, rosy-cheeked ordinary folks, their exaggerated behavior.

Gathered in a circle, laughing and clamoring, hand in hand, dancing in unison, but with a noticeably subpar dance... anyone who couldn’t see something amiss here probably meant no living person was left in Sia Tower.

Even those aware this place was a lair wouldn’t harbor such naive thoughts.

And anyone with some sense wouldn’t consider such actions as harming others; as for disgust... if exchanged for a good life, mages respected the choices of mortals.

At most, they’d think the Tower Master of Sia Tower had peculiar tastes.

Of course, having seen it, being slightly wickedly amused, Hill felt intrigued to observe their graceful dance movements... like crab dances that, although not personally experiencing, entertained onlookers.

Indeed, the Desire Magic Array from Glaysia wasn’t terribly harmful but allowed these constantly singing and dancing people to form into a full moon during their spins.

Of course, not everyone could notice this.

Compared to the moon sacrifice dance revered by mortals for the Moon Goddess, what they formed here more resembled a dance ritual by beastified people, praying for Celene’s protection, enabling them to retain their self amidst constant beastification.

Beastified people’s inclination is cold and merciless; they wouldn’t offer themselves up to any entity.

Thus, their sincerity is channeled into shouting, ’I’m pitiful, please help me!’

This resulted in no deities, except Celene, accepting such a perfunctory and ineffective belief.

Indeed, that perhaps was the oversight by the devils, failing to note that Sia Town’s dance was actually the Moon Prayer Dance?

Considering their imagination for the Celene Temple’s sacrificial rituals, it’s either ethereal and beautiful, or luxurious and elegant; the basic requirement involves some milk and gemstones at least, right?

Such circle dances that only implore aid without intending to reciprocate, who would be foolish enough to accept?

They knew some beastified folks obtained Celene’s pity, but legends claimed a certain beastified child finally received the kind Goddess of the Silvermoon’s glance during a last-ditch desperate call.

Even devils wouldn’t mock a deity saving children.

Thus, they couldn’t fathom how Celene could offer those guys some Silvermoon glow due to hearing a pitiful cry.

Though her responses were few, it proved she would respond, and this lunar sacrifice method reached her ears.

Hill never expected Glaysia knew of this and unhesitatingly used it for herself.

Originally puzzled over how only relying on Aislin, the medium allowing resonance with Silvermoon, Glaysia could succeed, speculating perhaps somewhere a group of prayers was hidden.

But he then considered that if Glaysia went so far, Fengo wouldn’t remain oblivious to her meddling with the remains of the Goddess of the Silvermoon.

Ah, so that’s how it is.

The saying that the most dangerous place is the safest often allows different kinds of people to innovate endlessly.

This Princess, indeed, has some keen mind.