When Emery heard Meave's words, his attention immediately shifted to the new arrival. He exhaled a deep sigh, as he knew the other party was who he expected.
The figure approaching so fast before stopping and standing on top of the north hill was a wolf-like creature just like the two of them.
It had similar black-colored fur and spikes on its four limbs. However, Emery could clearly smell and sense the familiarity to the beast. He hated to admit it and wished it wasn't true, but the reality said otherwise: she stood before his eyes.
Morgana slowly started to walk down the hill, gaze fixed at Emery. He could feel the sheer emotion behind her raging gaze, and he was bewildered. He was not sure why Morgana would be willing to listen to the witch, nor how she ended up being the way she was right now. But, he knew killing the witch could absolve the situation.
Hence, without the slightest ounce of hesitation, Emery swiftly cast [Enfeeble Blade] in rapid succession and sent them over to the root of menace. The blades flew through the air, heading toward the witch lying on the ground with different trajectories. This was to make sure there was no escape for the latter.
At the corner of his eyes, he could see Morgana tried to run down the hill as fast as she could, but he knew she would not make it in time. But then, something shocking happened.
Before the dozen shadow blades hit and ended the witch's life, suddenly all of them broke apart and dissipated. Emery knew for sure the attack didn't come from the witch or Morgana.
Therefore, he quickly poured his concentration in hus [Spirit Reading] and noticed a weird shadow on the ground, near where the witch was lying.
"Who are you?!" He shouted, "Reveal yourself!!"
As if to answer Emery's prompt, the shadow on the ground quickly expanded. Then, it stood up and gradually formed into a figure of a man. When it revealed its appearance, Emery saw the figure of the northern shaman, the one with mask and stag horns.
However, this time Emery felt something odd. He could clearly see the person standing in front of him, but was unable to feel the other party's spirit force. Not even an inkling.
'Who the hell are you?!'
While Emery was wondering who this unknown party was, he saw the witch weakly stretch her shaking arm toward the man and said, "I will… do anything… for another chance… Help me."
And the next thing the man said shocked Emery
"Hahaha, As much as I'd like to join… I am not allowed to be involved in your fight." The masked shaman drawled, as he looked toward Emery. He then continued, "But this has turned even more interesting with each passing second."
Emery quickly tightened his grasp on the enchanted dagger. He had a slight notion about the identity of the other party. If his guess was right, it meant the situation had escalated into another level altogether.
"You... are you a Nephilim?!"
Instead of answering his question, the masked man slowly brought his finger to his face and gave a gesture of one finger covering where his lips were supposed to be. He clearly advised Emery to be quiet.
Even though the masked man didn't directly affirm it, the gesture he gave basically served as an affirmation. With this, Emery knew the fight had reached a level that was out of his capabilities. If the man really was a Nephilim, then he most probably a magus. A figure that he couldn't fight at the moment.
With his vigilance raised to the maximum, Emery warily asked, "What do you want?"
The man nonchalantly folded his arms over his chest and said, "I'm just enjoying a show here… You don't have to be bothered with me at all."
"Please continue," he added with a playful smirk on his face.
Emery didn't believe the man's words, not even for a second. He could only hope the man truly had many restrictions imposed upon him, for being involved in this.
Either way, whether the man's words of enjoying the show were true or not, Morgana had arrived in her new wolf transformation. She now stood next to the dying Meave.
The wolf form of Morgana appeared to be extremely hostile toward Emery, as she glared fiercely at him. Still, Emery needed to make sure she didn't do something that she would come to regret later.
"Morgana!" Emery shouted, attracting her already fierce attention to him even more. "Hate me if you must, but don't you listen to that witch! She will use you and hurt you!"
Alas, his words seemed ineffective, as there was no reply nor sign of Morgana listening to them.
At this point, the witch had got to her feet and stood next to the wolf form Morgana. The former leaned her head to the latter's ears, stroked her black fur and whispered, "Do not listen to that liar, my dear morgana... Follow me, and you shall have your freedom."
Not planning on letting the witch continue to poison Morgana's mind, Emery was further determined to just kill the witch right away. With her current condition, one stab to any part of her body would certainly spell her doom and send her on the way.
Making up his mind, he immediately cast [Blink].
But, to his complete shock, there was a distortion in space that failed the spell. As a result, Emery fell out of his spell halfway between. The shock he felt currently was clearly displayed on his face, as he really didn't know what just happened.
"What is going on?!!"
Emery quickly tried to stand up, only to feel as if his body weight had increased tenfold. It took him a lot of energy and effort to just stand up.he he knew his current condition wasn't optimal for fighting.
The spell he was currently affected by reminded Emery of the gravity spell used by that madman, Lodos. It didn't even take seconds for him to know the source of the problem. This was surely a deed done by the masked Nephilim.
"I thought you cannot get involved!"
Facing Emery's angry remark, the man once again casually answered. "I guess this much interference is okay. It doesn't matter really, as long as I don't personally kill you…"
Emery was annoyed by the man's answer, by the man's attitude, by the man's existence. To put it simply, everything about the masked man was annoying. It was undeniable this Nephilim had some screw loose in his head.
Meave, however, seemed a little surprised by the masked man's capability. But she quickly recovered, as she turned to smile and said to Morgana.
"This is your opportunity, child... Kill that man and be free from him once and for all!"
Emery could see Morgana wolf-form was glaring at him in unbridled rage. His mind even pictured every sequence of her attacking him. He couldn't believe it and was confused, as to why she hated him to this degree. "Morgana! Don't do it!"
The wolf girl took a step forward, her demeanor told him she was ready to kill. Then suddenly, four figures in wolf form came and stood next to Emery.
It was the Fey sisters. Their arrival surprisingly made Morgana take a step back, which was good news. It seemed the four sisters could communicate with Morgana through their minds, it appeared to be affecting her to some degree.
But, the witch suddenly said, "You are my pack!! You will follow my order!!"
Morgana's body twitched furiously, as if she was possessed. She would take a step forward, then a step backward, and so on, seemingly uncertain on what action to take. The expression on her face was extremely disturbed, Emery was about to call her again when she suddenly howled and eventually forced her body not to do anything.
Meave was surprised as she looked at Morgana whose body was still twitching frantically. "Such a strong will..." She then sighed, "What a shame!"
She suddenly transformed her arm into her wolf claw and stabbed Morgana on her back.
"You cannot resist me, child!" she crazily said, "Now give your strength to your alpha, to me! Yes!! Yes!!"
Seeing what was happening in front of their eyes, the Fey sisters quickly dashed forward to stop the witch. Unfortunately, the same thing that happened to Emery happened to them as well. They quickly found themselves banned from moving by the masked man's magic.
On the other hand, Emery couldn't stand seeing the girl being weakened by the witch anymore. It seemed there was no other way than to transform into his second stage. Even though the risk of him losing himself was still there, he really couldn't afford to mind about it right now.
But before he managed to transform, something happened.
Morgana let out a loud scream and suddenly her head turned toward the witch and bit a chunk of the latter's chest. Along with it was the black crystal, which was all eaten by Morgana.
The witch didn't even have the chance to utter her death cry. She instantly fell to her knees, her chest was bursting with blood before she suddenly stopped and lay still.
The witch Meave died with a shock on her face, unable to accept such an end.
Meanwhile, the masked man who watched the event all this time was shocked to see such an unexpected development.
--------
Author end of Month Note
Once again I would like to say my deepest appreciation for supporting the novel. I apologize I couldn't do more chapters because of the road trip. but I promise I will once again do 12-14 chapters a week for next month.. Hope for your continuous support and thank you.