Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy

Chapter 1121: Chadʼs Mission

In the meantime, while Vale was enjoying his meal with Constance, sharing warm dishes and quiet laughter at the table, one of their oldest companions remained absent.

Chad, the half-dragon Immortal, had not been seen since the Chaos Immortal Invasion.

He hadnʼt participated in the defensive mission at all.

Even after Valeʼs return, days had passed, and there was still no word from him.

Of course, he wasnʼt with the beastkin who had been hidden within the Shadow Domain for many reasons, nor was he seen near any of the Arcane Towers.

It was as if he had vanished entirely.

But in truth, Chad had been sent away, dispatched to a distant land under Avatar Valeʼs quiet orders during the height of the invasion.

He was currently in the holy land of the Beast Arts Faction, deep within the Pallham Empire, the largest empire on the continent.

The empire had vast plains, towering mountains, and ancient cities that had survived the Abyss Invasion, even the Chaos Immortalsʼ invasion, far better than most. After all, the invaders had to pass through the Shadow Domain first… and Valeʼs team had made sure they paid dearly for every step.

The Pallham Empire had suffered less, but it had not gone untouched.

And now, Chad walked among its sacred grounds.

In his complete human form, Chad moved through the Beast Arts Sanctuary unimpeded. He wore a long, dark coat lined with beast-hide runes, gifted by the elders here…

He wasnʼt here to train or anything like that. Instead, he was here to hunt.

The Order of Fatality, a mysterious cult that had long eluded the Shadow Domainʼs grasp, had been traced to this region.

Apparently, they had numerous forbidden rituals recently. More and more Evil Entities were being summoned on the outskirts of the empire, and it had reached their ears through the help of the Arcane Bureau.

And Chad, with his unique bloodline and resistance to corruption, had been the perfect candidate to investigate and assist their ally, the Beast Arts Faction.

Of course, they had welcomed him without hesitation.

After all, the Shadow Domain and the Beast Arts Faction had become unexpectedly close allies in recent years. It was all thanks to the Beast Arts Tower, one of the sixteen Arcane Towers that Vale had recovered and restored.

That tower alone had changed everything.

Within it were ancient bestiaries, forgotten totemic scripts, and even some remnants of extinct beasts. For Beast Arts Practitioners, it was a sacred site.

A place where they could undergo the Beast Totem Ritual and awaken powers beyond the traditional 48 known beast types.

Normally, a practitionerʼs strength was limited by their affinity, spiritual power, and physical resilience. Most could only accommodate a few beast totems or marks, or tattoos on their bodies. The strongest might reach twelve.

But with the Beast Arts Tower, even those with average talent could awaken rare or unknown beast powers, some of which had never been recorded in the Beast Art Factionʼs history.

Because of this, the Beast Arts Faction had pledged its support to the Shadow Domain. They had sent envoys, shared resources, and even offered to train some of Valeʼs people in their sacred arts.

And now, Chad was walking their sacred halls as an honored guest.

He had already met with several elders, including Grandmaster Varn, the current head of the Beast Totem Council. They had granted him access to their inner temple and even allowed him to observe a few of their advanced rituals.

But Chad wasnʼt here for diplomacy since he was tracking something for several days already.

The Order of Fatality had left traces… Some corrupted entities, summoning circles, and strange disappearances near the outer villages.

Some Evil Entities would even cause some huge problems, and without him, they wouldʼve surely succeeded in destroying six or seven cities…

Although the cult had been quiet when he had arrived, now that the world was stabilizing, they started moving again for some reason…

And Chad intended to stop this all at once before he returned to the Shadow Domain.

***

Inside the inner temple of the Beast Arts Sanctuary, Chad stood before a wide stone table covered in scrolls, maps, and beast totem fragments.

At this time, several elders surrounded him, their robes marked with intricate beast tattoos that showed their status as elders.

Grandmaster Varn spoke first… ”Six cities nearly fell. If you hadnʼt arrived when you did, the summoned Evil Entities wouldʼve completed. We wouldʼve lost the entire western corridor.”

Chad nodded... ”Theyʼre not summoning Immortal-level entities. Not yet… But they might be able to if we donʼt find their sources.”

Elder Rasha, a woman with twelve beast totems on her body, frowned. ”Weʼve never seen this kind of corruption before. The summoning circles have improved a lot. Theyʼre using hybrid rituals.”

”Do you think the Chaos Immortals are helping these people from the cult?” Chad whispered.

He just couldnʼt find a reason why the Chaos immortals would even bother helping the cult…

”Anyway… I found traces near the ruins of Kharim Village. Theyʼre blending corruption energy with Evil Spirit... Itʼs unstable, but potent. Itʼs helping the Evil Entity theyʼre summoning…”

Varn sighed as he heard this… ”Wherever they got that Corruption Energy, we have to stop it.”

”Theyʼre not doing it alone,” Chad replied. ”Someoneʼs supplying them with the knowledge. Maybe even the materials.”

Elder Rasha stepped closer. ”Then what do we do? Keep chasing the entities? Theyʼre spreading too fast.”

”No,” Chad said firmly. ”The entities are just symptoms. We need to find the summoners. Cut off the source.”

Varn tapped the map. ”Weʼve marked three possible locations… All of them show signs of recent activity. If theyʼre preparing a large-scale ritual, I believe itʼll be one of these.”

Chad studied the map for a moment, then pointed to one of them…

”Letʼs start with the nearest one… Iʼll deal with the Evil Entities, but you have to take care of the Cult Members.”

Chad said, obviously worried about bad karma if he killed mortals. If it were only the Evil Entities, however, he wouldnʼt have any issues at all.

ʼI really want to return now and get Valeʼs gift… I have to hurry.ʼ