The sounds of slaughter and despair echoed within the spiral tower.
Thick dark energy erupted from the tower's frame; the massive tremors triggered by this sacrificial ritual even spread across the wasteland, causing the ground several kilometers away to tremble slightly.
Meanwhile, on a hillside far from the abandoned village, a completely different, incredibly relaxed scene unfolded.
The campfire crackled, and the aroma of roasted meat drifted with the wind. Ansu was leisurely flipping meat on the rack, grease dripping into the fire with a sizzle.
Ansu’s group had a rare moment to relax and recuperate, eating and drinking to replenish the strength they had exhausted along the way.
"Roast meat again..." Celia pouted with dissatisfaction.
On this trip, all they had eaten was roast meat or flatbread. Even she, who didn't care much for food, was about to reach her limit.
"The food on this journey has been a bit dry..." Ansu said helplessly. "But there's no choice. We've been in the wilderness all day. Being able to eat fresh meat is already pretty good, right?"
"I know..." Celia sighed. She felt her waterskin, only to find it was empty.
"Ansu, I'm thirsty."
Celia closed her eyes lazily.
"Oh..." Ansu placed the roast meat on the rack and began rummaging through his pack.
With a surge of cool magic, Ansu smiled and held a box of dessert flecked with ice crystals to Celia's lips. "Try this?"
Celia opened her eyes and saw a cold dessert that looked somewhat like an ice cream cone. She looked at Ansu in surprise.
"Ansu... what is this?"
"Haven't you been craving something cold lately?" Ansu blinked. "Look! I made it happen for you."
Delighted, Celia picked up a spoon, scooped a bit, and eagerly put it in her mouth.
The sweet taste of milk blended with fruit, combined with the icy texture, made her close her eyes in pleasure and satisfaction.
"It's delicious! Mmm~ so good!"
Ansu watched the Witch's adorable, blissful expression and laughed along with her.
After taking a few more bites, Celia suddenly remembered something and stared at Ansu with a curious look.
"Did you really make this? But I don't remember... you knowing any ice magic?"
"Just because I didn't before doesn't mean I don't now!" Ansu explained with a smile. "While I was researching magic, I suddenly remembered you kept mentioning this, so I took some time to learn it."
Celia stared blankly at Ansu’s soft smile, her heart filled with both touched and helpless.
"Was it over the last couple of days...? But you were so exhausted preparing that sacrificial magic, yet you still did this for me..."
"It wasn't that hard!" Ansu said with a hint of boasting. "It's just a 1st Circle magic, Ice Touch. For a magic genius like me, isn't it something I can learn instantly?"
Though he said that, even a common 1st Circle spell required 100 proficiency, which had taken up a bit of his study time.
Of course, there was no need to let Celia know that; otherwise, she would definitely be angry.
Celia was, in fact, already angry.
"Ansu, why do you never take my words to heart?"
She gazed at the man before her. "You were so tired these past few days that you couldn't even rest. If you had collapsed from learning this magic, then I would..."
"Huh? How did I not take your words to heart?" Ansu resorted to his usual tricks again. He quietly snatched the box from the Witch's hand and interrupted with a laugh, "If you're not eating it, then I'll eat it all!"
Celia’s expression changed. "I am eating it! Give it back!"
Ansu chuckled and didn't return it.
Celia huffed. Suddenly, she raised her hand, and an invisible force of mana swept by, snatching the dessert box back from Ansu’s hand in the blink of an eye.
Placing the cold dessert in her mouth again, Celia narrowed her eyes in enjoyment.
"Ansu... I have to say, you really do have a talent for researching food~"
Her eyes curved as she smiled like a clever little fox. "As punishment for being disobedient, I sentence you... to be my personal chef for life! You'll have to find every way possible to satisfy my appetite for the rest of your life~"
Ansu feigned hesitation. "Hmm... well..."
"You're not willing?" Celia glanced at him.
"How would I dare...?" Ansu shook his head with a laugh. "Fine... I suppose I'll reluctantly obey the Witch's decree—it would be my absolute pleasure."
Celia gave a bright smile and reached out, offering the spoon.
"You eat some too!"
"Okay."
While the two were feeding each other, Professor Duncan, sitting across from them, stared directly at them, dissatisfaction practically written on his face.
Since that gloomy gaze was impossible to ignore, Ansu looked at him with some confusion.
"Professor... is something wrong?"
Professor Duncan hadn't liked being a third wheel the whole way; what was it now?
"Is something wrong? How can nothing be wrong!" Professor Duncan had been holding it in for a long time. Seeing Ansu finally acknowledge him, he hurriedly asked, "Ansu, what exactly did you do just now? Such a massive spectacle... You didn't tear down the temple, did you?"
Professor Duncan was still thinking about the secrets within those underground ruins. "I'm counting on studying those lost magic runes in the ruins to complete my life's greatest academic dream! If you destroyed those ruins, what am I supposed to do? Won't this whole trip have been for nothing?"
"So that's what it is..." Ansu couldn't help but laugh, quickly reassuring the agitated dwarven scholar.
"Don't worry, Professor. I only activated the altar in the temple. Although the number of people sacrificed this time... was a bit much, it was almost common practice for the demon empire a thousand years ago. Once those sacrifices are completely consumed, the tremors will stop."
As he explained, the tremors coming from the abandoned village had already subsided considerably.
The group quickly stood up and looked into the distance.
Through his binoculars, Professor Duncan saw that the abandoned village had become a 'ruined village' in the truest sense. Now, only a pile of collapsed rubble remained, with dust continuously billowing.
"That powerful dark energy has dissipated." Celia withdrew her gaze and looked at Ansu. "It seems the sacrificial ritual has ended."
"I thought it would take much longer..." Ansu sneered. "Over three hundred people, including more than ten elders of the cult and the shadow phantoms under Barcas, and they lasted less than twenty minutes."
In the simulation, he had lasted a full hour, fighting until he was almost at his wit's end.
Of course, the main damage had been dealt by the Witch. If there were a dungeon results screen, her DPS would definitely be maxed out...
"Actually, that's already quite long..." Celia shook her head. She had seen the final scene before being teleported out of the altar clearly. Those endless, immortal demon undead were truly more than any transcendent powerhouse of the living world could bear.
"If it were us, it wouldn't be like that," Ansu said with a smile.
"Oh?" Celia looked at Ansu. "In that dream, did we...?"
"Don't underestimate your own potential..." Ansu silently thought of the scene where Celia had completely blackened after his 'death.' The Black Flame that Burns the World was no joke.
Seeing the tremors of the earth finally settle, Professor Duncan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good, good..."
"I hope the mechanical structures and magic runes underground haven't been destroyed..."
Professor Duncan looked at Ansu impatiently. "Now that it's over, let's head back quickly!"
Ansu nodded with a smile. "Yes, let's go back."
Rate on N.U.
