Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 185 - 176 Unlucky You

Evil God, a deity of wickedness.

When Heinz uttered this word, it was as if he had spoken a taboo.

Fannila bit her lip softly, Karen’s face wore an expression of solemnity and unease, William was deep in thought, Kevin showed no change, and Eliane... you couldn’t see Eliane.

As for Lyle, unbelievably, he only felt it was ridiculous. The term "Evil God" might have been mentioned too many times by Nia at his side, saying that she would grow up to be an Evil God. Therefore, whenever Lyle heard the word, he could only think of Nia and the Light Bat lying in a pile of cheese.

"Is this Evil God... very frightening?" Kevin looked around at everyone and posed his question.

Everyone displayed a conflicted look, for the Evil God was only mentioned in passing in the hidden corners of ancient books. What they knew was tied only to various ominous phrases.

Kevin turned to Heinz, the most learned among them, but he remained silent.

"You don’t need to know."

"Nia knows, Nia will tell you! Nia is the Evil God! Rawr--woo!" Nia poked her head out from atop Lyle, making a threatening gesture at Kevin. Her eyeballs bulged, and her tentacles trembled in the air like seaweed.

"Are all Evil Gods immature kids?" Nia’s antics relieved the tense atmosphere among the group, and Kevin fended off those trembling tentacles that almost reached his face, "I can’t feel nervous at all now."

"The Evil God predates the history of your race, but there’s no need to worry too much, for the Duke of Hamlet could only have obtained some Evil God-related things at most, and besides, they won’t be too powerful."

"Otherwise, we wouldn’t all be alive and well right now."

The broken spot left by Lola Shaffer appeared behind the enormous portrait of the duke, a secret passage emerged as the portrait shattered, from which flowed a dense and dark energy, reaching into the depths.

"While his clan is completely devastated, now is the time he is most vulnerable. We should eliminate him immediately." Heinz walked straight ahead, and the others also set in motion.

"Miss Eliane... I have something I’d like to talk to you about," Lyle stopped Eliane, who was about to stand up.

Karen grabbed Eliane’s arm, "Be careful, Sister Eliane, he is a necromancer, and he has a batch of evil tentacles."

Karen, you used to call him His Holiness the Purifier every chance you got, such a shallow fool.

Eliane patted Karen’s head, "It’s okay, Karen, trust me, you go down first."

Karen reluctantly nodded and entered the secret passage.

"Plague doctor?" Kevin said, looking at Lyle with William.

"You two go on ahead. I want to have a word in private with Miss Eliane."

"Then be careful yourself."

Once Kevin’s footsteps were no longer audible, Lyle looked at the silent White Knight.

"Miss Eliane, are you also... are you also a Lich like Alianna?"

Eliane did not reply; she took a step toward the darkness, and just as her silhouette was about to vanish from Lyle’s sight, only a gentle voice came from the darkness.

"Lyle, as I’ve said before, Andrey is not right for you. However, as a nun, I will listen to your troubles. This duty applies only to you."

———————

Following the secret corridor to the massive stone chamber at the lowest level, perhaps due to the altitude, or maybe because it was near the sea, the air was damp and chilly, the walls were stained with watermarks, soaked through by moisture.

The thick stone door led to a room that was incredibly large, resembling a small stadium. In the center of the low, dripping ceiling hung a massive, vibrant red meat mass.

The surface of the meat mass was covered in spikes like a hedgehog, and red blood-flesh chains tugged at it, making noise as it expanded and contracted.

It was like a gigantic heart.

In this enclosed space, only the heart-like throbbing echoed, akin to the sound of a bell. They unconsciously lowered their voices as if trying not to awaken it.

William lowered his voice and looked at Heinz, "What do we do?"

"I’ll attack first. Once I have him under control, William, you use your most powerful magic, with the Wind Element—it will restrain him. Then, the Power of Holy Light. If all goes well, these attacks should be enough to kill him."

"Got it." "Received."

Ten seconds later.

"Attack!"

Spinal Spikes! Whirlwind Razor Eye! Hammer of Wrath!

The impeccably timed attacks struck the massive meat mass. The spikes on its surface did nothing to defend as they shattered. The meat mass split open, its gelatinous red contents spilling out, and the heart-like throb halted.

"Is it over?" William asked Heinz, his face a mixture of hope and disbelief.

Heinz frowned slightly, blew on the white flame in the lantern, and the dancing flames, light as dandelion fluff, floated onto the meat mass, setting it ablaze.

Heinz watched the roaring flames and let out a sigh of relief, "Yes, we’ve succeeded. The Duke has been defeated."

Karen appeared to be uneasy, "Wasn’t that too easy? An old and cunning beast like that taken down by us just like this?"

"Of course, schemes never stand up to daylight. Haven’t you seen how well we prepared? Besides, he’s the type of monster who has reproduced his whole tribe alone. It makes sense for a breeding unit to lack combat capabilities, doesn’t it?"

"Right, Lyle?"

Upon hearing William’s question, Lyle began to ponder. Logically, there were no issues, but he felt a strong sense of dissonance. Things shouldn’t have gone this smoothly.

Was he overthinking it?

"This is an illusion."

An ethereal voice echoed in Lyle’s mind, like a pebble tossed into a lake. The scene before Lyle’s eyes wavered.

He opened his eyes once again and found himself sprawled on the ground. Karen’s Hammer of Holy Light whizzed past his scalp, the searing heat nearly setting his clothes alight.

Reality was a different scene altogether.

Fannila was continuously shooting arrows into her uncle Heinz’s wooden armor, while Heinz, in bear form, roared fiercely, his massive paws batting at the nimble Fannila as she dodged in the air. Kevin lay on the ground, his fate unknown. William was using his magic to attack Eliane, who had assumed a shadow form, and her shadow claws were tearing and damaging Heinz’s armor. Karen was about to turn Lyle’s head into a pancake with her hammer.

The massive meat mass had indeed been shattered, but that was part of Duke of Hamlet’s plan. The moment everyone felt that their plan had gone smoothly, they hadn’t realized they were trapped in an illusion.

"It’s unexpected that you managed to break free from the illusion, Mr. Lyle Butler, unfortunately, you’ve chosen the most brutal way to die," a slender figure walked out from behind the remains of the meat mass.

"I had planned to let you wallow in your dreams, but now I must take matters into my own hands."

"Tough luck, Mr. Lyle."