Our Family Has Fallen

So, this matter... Unless it’s the work of some lucky novice who accidentally obtained an Extraordinary item? Right, only a newcomer completely ignorant of the Supernormal Realm would commit such a foolish act. If it were that simple, the world would have descended into chaos long ago; the fact that it hasn’t naturally explains the issue.

Initially, I thought it was just about finding a person, but now it seems I’ve caught a big fish. Based on the situation, I can roughly guess it’s a piece of Extraordinary Equipment capable of moving objects. Most items involving spatial abilities are rare. Moreover, some Extraordinary items with complex origins have their own concealing abilities, making them undetectable by ordinary methods. Without clues, finding an Extraordinary item would be impossible. Isn’t this an opportunity falling right into my lap?

Equipment is crucial for Transcendents. Humans must rely on it to wield their abilities, as they can’t bear the restlessness of their Spiritual Essence. Those who can perform Casting Spells barehanded, without any medium, are truly formidable individuals. A Transcendent’s strength largely resides in their equipment—this is no joke. A good piece of Extraordinary Equipment can bolster one’s power immensely, surpassing ten years of arduous training.

With this thought, the Bald Sorcerer no longer hesitated. Instead, greed blossomed from deep within his heart. Now he was even more anxious than the chief, needing to find it before anyone else!

He couldn’t care less about anything else; it was time to show his true capabilities.

”Humph! Catherine, bring out the item.”

The woman seemed to sense the change in her master’s attitude. Without hesitation, she placed the bundle in her hands on the table and opened it. A strangely styled lantern was its most prominent content.

It was made entirely of sinister white bone, seemingly crafted from the skull of some Exotic beast. Atop the humanoid skull were two long horns. Its sharp fangs were also preserved, a testament to the creature’s formidable ferocity in life.

Now, however, the beast’s skull, including its neck, had been fashioned into a lantern. The chief, a native of Totnes and considered open-minded, still found these ”unique” aesthetic choices hard to accept.

But soon, his perception of that strange power would change.

The Bald Sorcerer wasted no words. He took out a light green powder and poured it into the lantern. What followed proved this was no lantern at all—the item immediately began emitting a light green mist.

Only then did the chief realize this was not a lantern, but a special censer.

This censer was also an Extraordinary item, and the powder was an Essence extracted from a readily available ”sacrifice.”

The Bald Sorcerer lifted the censer, murmuring incantations. With his other hand, he held the skull high. An orange-red flame appeared out of nowhere inside the skull, even seeping through the eye sockets, flickering with his movements, yet emitting no heat.

The light green steam billowed out and was inhaled by the Sorcerer through his mouth and nose. It energized him immensely, his eyes blazing as if they could pierce through the fog.

Yet, beside his ear, the chief heard only mournful, piercing wails growing clearer. They were the kind of chilling screams he had never heard, not even when convicts were tormented in prison, sending shivers down his spine.

As the mist spread, filling the hall, the chief instinctively recoiled, but he couldn’t see what was happening within the enveloping cloud.

Catherine remained unaffected by the mist. Her gaze drifted vaguely toward the back of her master’s neck, where a strangely shaped Dagger lay concealed beneath his wide sleeves.

Her grip on the Dagger tightened, but eventually, she relaxed it, her gaze retracting.

The Bald Sorcerer focused fully on the ritual. His consciousness roamed the Void, communicating with the Abyssal demon with whom he had a pact, seeking its power to trace that faint sign.

Getting closer... almost there... about to find it...

Ordinary people truly couldn’t handle this, but bolstered by his lavish equipment, he had finally tracked it down...

AH! An abrupt scream echoed.

The censer he was holding slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor. Simultaneously, the engulfing mist around him seemed stirred by something and rapidly dissipated.

PUH! The Sorcerer spat out fresh blood. Flames shot out from the eyes, nose, and mouth of the skull he held, which then exploded, scattering bone fragments across the ground.

This sudden turn of events left not just the chief but also Catherine, the Sorcerer’s assistant, stunned and frozen on the spot.

An old fox is still an old fox; he never lacked lifesaving measures. Something on the Sorcerer activated, emitting a piercing shriek. Although the situation didn’t worsen, the pained look on his face clearly showed he had lost a valuable life-saving item, not to mention the skull artifact.

But at this moment, he couldn’t afford to dwell on it. He took a Potion from his pocket and gulped it down. His grim expression eased somewhat, but he showed no intention of lingering.

”Quick, let’s go! Move!”

Catherine also knew something was amiss. She hurriedly packed their things and helped the Sorcerer leave, abandoning the chief amidst the chaos.

This isn’t right!

”Master, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

”Get lost!” At that moment, the Sorcerer was like a bird startled by a bowstring, in no mood to deal with the chief’s affairs.

Such methods definitely couldn’t belong to a novice. As for why they resorted to theft, he couldn’t care less now. The entity he had just sensed was outright annihilated! The aftershocks alone almost claimed his life, and he’d already expended three lifesaving measures just to barely survive.

The search was perilous even before finding anything; how many lives would he need to continue? He had provoked that unknown existence. If even the Void Evil Creature couldn’t withstand it, what would happen if that entity came knocking on his door?