Chapter 11: Demon Flame

The two women soon left one after the other, and by the direction they were headed, it seemed they were off to the square at the center of the village where a celebration was taking place.

Hidden nearby, the Priestess had overheard their conversation and was lost in thought.

Putting aside their identities, the topics they had just mentioned, such as the extreme dark night of a millennium’s end and living sacrifices, were indeed information that Miss Vilyric was not familiar with.

Although Zeng Zhuang was the village chief of Zeng Family Village, ultimately, he was just an ordinary scholar. It appeared he had limited knowledge of these demons, strange tales, and bizarre happenings.

“Living sacrifices… sigh, how is it that the first village I encounter here is already riddled with such troubles? Do I have some sort of calamity constitution…?”

Shaking her head helplessly and letting out a sigh, since that noble woman had already taken some preventative measures that seemed reliable, Miss Vilyric decided not to meddle with the villagers tainted by evil. She turned to leave the room and headed back towards the celebration square.

The festive atmosphere at the center of the village was still lively as before. A lot of time had passed, and it seemed Zeng Zhuang had already concluded the formalities and was chatting and drinking with the villagers.

Miss Vilyric expanded her senses slightly and soon found the two mysterious women she had encountered earlier. They were now hiding at a corner of a house on the outskirts of the square, secretly observing the situation, seemingly in no rush to reveal themselves.

What could they possibly be waiting for?

While she couldn’t yet determine their identities, based on their previous conversations, it was clear that these two women were definitely on the side of protecting the villagers, and they had seen through the nature of the situation here at a glance.

Since these more experienced individuals weren’t taking action, Miss Vilyric naturally wasn’t in a hurry either. She found a spot nearby to sit down and patiently wait.

The celebratory atmosphere grew more intense, with the lively vibe and even displays of some firework-like objects reminding Miss Vilyric of the legends of the “Year Beast” from Blue Star.

Just as people on Blue Star love to use firecrackers to drive away the Year Beast during the New Year, the Spirit Kingdom, large cities, and small villages alike hold grand celebrations at the year’s end to perhaps dissipate the extreme dark energies accumulated to the limit over the year.

After all, it seemed this celebration needed to continue until midnight, until the arrival of the second New Year.

Though the Year Beast may just be a fictional tale, this world’s “evil demons” were certainly very real.

Time gradually slipped away amidst the noise and the villagers taking turns to showcase various rough yet heartfelt performances, drawing rounds of enthusiastic applause.

It should be about time.

According to the time displayed on the game panel and Bai’er’s prior description, the midnight of the last night of the 999th Year of the Four Saints was fast approaching.

The thick dark energy began swirling in the air. Although ordinary people might not notice, with her special perception, Miss Vilyric could vaguely see wisps of gray mist twisting and drifting under the moonless starry night.

If the dark energy was this potent, had it not been for the festival and the gathering of positive energy from the people, combined with the giant bonfire in the square dispersing most of the evil energy, ordinary folks might have already felt a chilling discomfort throughout their bodies.

That was what was referred to as the “night chill.”

Suddenly.

A strange aura that was hard to ignore, like a red-hot iron being plunged into cold water with an ear-piercing crack, erupted from the Priestess’s senses!

At that exact moment, the sword-wielding girl named Bai’er, who had been hiding in the corner, suddenly sprang into action like a bolt of lightning, unsheathing her sword!

However, her target wasn’t any villager in the square, but rather the enormous bonfire bursting into the sky, radiating a warm glow!

“Zheng!”

The long sword whipped up a powerful wave of air, transforming into a gust that propelled several spherical objects straight into the bonfire. The flames in the sky began to flicker violently under the gust!

This unexpected turn happened swiftly, catching even Zeng Zhuang and the other villagers off guard—the towering bonfire that had become the target displayed a particularly odd sight!

Like deep ink sinking into clear water, morphing into something incredibly different.

It transformed into a… terrifying ghostly green fire!

No longer warm and bright like before, the eerie green flames instantly spread a chilling, bone-tingling darkness and coldness. Though it was fire, it had lost all warmth, making the surrounding air grow noticeably frigid.

The strange green ghostly flames further expanded, morphing into some indistinct and horrific figure, akin to an open, bloody maw, disconnecting from its original fuel and lunging towards the sword-wielding girl!

“Woohoohohohohoho!!!!”

A haunting sound like a child’s wail accompanied the ghostly flames’ counterattack, sweeping wildly across the surroundings. At this moment, the panic caused by the unknown and terrifying sight erupted among the once-celebratory crowd.

“Goodness! A monster!!!”

“Run! Everyone, run!!!!”

“No, don’t panic! Don’t push!!!”

Amidst this horrific change, the celebration had instantly transformed into the heart of a disaster. The villagers screamed and fled, tripping over each other, children crying, women shrieking, desperately trying to escape the ghostly green fire that was almost engulfing the center of the square with coldness.

Though Zeng Zhuang also looked frightened, the sense of duty as the village chief compelled him to shout loudly to the crowd, trying to maintain order and prevent a stampede.

But perhaps the ghostly green flames were truly too horrifying, or maybe the dense evil aura in the air, thickening just before midnight, had created an environment that impacted ordinary people’s emotions to a large extent.

Add to that the chaos from the sudden change, how could the villagers, who had never witnessed such terrifying sights, possibly stay composed?

Amidst the chaos, Bai’er, the sword-wielding girl, had already charged towards the ghostly flames at the center of the square.

“Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom…!!!”

Before she even reached, the strong gusts of wind she unleashed, along with those spherical objects, exploded violently around the ghostly flames, releasing a powder-like yellow mist.

Then, unexpectedly, a golden-red flame burst forth from Bai’er’s sword!

Oh no, that’s not right; it wasn’t flames erupting from the sword itself. It turned out that at some point, a uniquely shaped white talisman had been affixed to the splendid-looking sword she held, unleashing the sun-like, expansive red flames.

The powerful flames created by the talisman seemed minuscule compared to the ghostly green fire several meters away, yet they acted as some sort of catalyst and fuse. When the two finally collided, as the sword blade touched the spreading yellow mist, the mist transformed into a blazing golden-red flame!

The stronger sunlight fire instantly engulfed the ghostly green flames!

   

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