Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

530  New Vessel

Eleiney gasped for air, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. She was thunderstruck when the town's streets lit up in a blinding crimson light.

For a moment, she even felt that she was about to die. Luckily, when the light receded, she found that nothing happened to her. Except for her mental state which was in turmoil, she seemed to be doing fine.

But she knew that something had changed.

"The air feels different," she softly muttered under her breath as she looked around the town.

BOOM!!

A loud, resounding sound echoed from the direction of the town square. She hurriedly turned her head in that direction, fear and nervousness gripping her heart.

Dust and debris were flying all around near the town square, and a terrifyingly oppressive aura was emanating from there.

"Oh no!" She blurted out in horror. "That's where Professor is!"

She wanted to help her mentor out, but she knew she would only prove to be a hindrance. Instead, she decided to carry out the mission that Adam had given her.

Eleiney turned back around and dashed toward the nearest house, hoping to find residents and feed them the antidote.

I hope I'm not late, she thought.

As soon as she stepped foot inside the house, through the spell, Adam's Mana Sense, she could perceive the presence of three people in the underground bunker.

Her eyes lit up and she hurriedly made her way down.

Finally, I found another family! But… something feels odd.

A foreboding feeling consumed her being as she approached the bunker. She found herself subconsciously slowing down.

Right at that moment, the steel doors to the bunker opened.

CREAK!

"H-Hello?" She called out nervously.

However, she received no response. But the following moment, three people—two adults and one child—stepped through the door.

Eleiney's eyes widened in absolute shock. She retreated in fear, her body trembling. "Y-You…" Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The people that had stepped out were no longer humans.

They weren't beasts either.

Their bodies were grotesque, covered in tufts of dark fur. Some areas were deformed, filled with large pustules overflowing with pus. While other areas had bones jutting out from their skin.

Because of the dilution of the venom in their bloodstreams, these people weren't able to fully transform into werewolves. They could only be considered as deformed, failed experiments.

The child stepped forward, wobbling. He reached out with his trembling hand, looking at Eleiney with pleading eyes. "Save… save me…"

Eleiney's eyes involuntarily teared up as she saw the state that the child was reduced to. Adam had warned them that this would be the consequence if the townsfolk didn't consume the antidote.

Only now was she beginning to realize the darkness and the horror of the predicament she found herself in.

"It… hurts…" said the child as he continued to approach her.

Eleiney was rooted on the spot, frozen in shock and terror. Her heart ached to see the pitiful state of the family.

The child took another step, his crimson eyes flashing with bloodlust. He bared his maw and pounced on Eleiney.

ROAR!

…

In the secluded alleyway, blood flowed through the narrow cobblestone streets.

Kenley and Wagner lay on the ground, their bodies riddled with claw marks. They had lost a lot of blood and were in a very terrible state.

"Do you… regret it?" Wagner asked weakly.

Kenley's breathing was labored, but he managed to reply, "Yeah…" He glanced at the blood moons, mumbling under his breath, "I hope… Rayna is safe…"

The only reason they had managed to make it out alive was because of the fact that the five Magi, who had transformed into werewolves, seemed to be in a hurry.

If not, they would have died gruesome deaths.

Suddenly, a bright green light emerged from the darkness and hovered above the two Acolytes. The light receded, the figure within revealing her appearance.

"Tsk, tsk, five Rank 1 werewolves are enough to take down a Rank 2 Magus," said Yavia in a displeased manner.

"You idiots should have killed them while they were still human! Hpmh, this is what you get!"

Kenley smiled bitterly. "Lady Yavia… I didn't have it in me to kill them… Now, I must face... the consequences of my actions…"

"It is understandable, I suppose. If I were told to murder my clansmen, I probably wouldn't have been able to do it too…:

The following moment, she raised her hands and bathed the two men in a verdant, green glow. All the injuries on their bodies healed rapidly under this warm light.

After healing them, she instructed, "Go to the southern gate. That brat, Art, must be there. I'll go check up on Eleiney and Aiden."

With that said, she turned around and flew away.

"Healing injuries through spells," said Wagner in disbelief. "I'd never thought I'd witness something so… magical!"

Kenley got to his feet and said solemnly, "We'll proceed with the next step of the plan."

Wagner nodded. "Yeah, we can't afford to fail anymore."

He then looked in the direction of the town square where the loud explosion had gone off. "Those five werewolves headed in that direction…"

"Yes." Kenley nodded nervously. "Lord Constantine is there as well."

They knew that their failure to kill the Magi would now pose an even greater danger to Adam. But they couldn't do anything about it except cursing and blaming themselves.

"Let's go!" They looked in that direction one last time before making their way to the southern gate.

…

"Ughh!" Adam groaned in pain as he struggled to get to his feet.

His ears were ringing and his chest area was seething in pain. That explosion earlier was so powerful that it swept him off of his feat and hurled him into the distance.

"Kuackk!" The youth coughed out a mouthful of blood. "Damn it! That divination spell from earlier really did a number on me… I still haven't recovered from that."

He looked ahead, in the direction of the town square. The entire place had caved in and a crater had formed. At the center of the crater was a giant hole that led to the ancient underground chamber.

"What is he up to now?" Adam slowly made his way toward the crater.

But he soon froze in his footsteps.

A black miasma emerged from the hole in the center of the crater. It radiated an extremely evil and terrifying aura, causing Adam to turn breathless.

"Stratford!" He blurted out.

Before Adam could speak another word, five Rank 1 werewolves ran toward the black miasma at great speeds.

With each step they took, their bodies disintegrated into flesh and blood before finally being absorbed by the black miasma.

"Is he… constructing a new vessel?!" Adam muttered in shock.

Suddenly, he sensed about a dozen more people hastily running toward the miasma.

"The mortal residents of the town… and it seems they didn't get the antidote on time," the youth muttered in a grave tone.

The next moment, his eyes turned cold and a ruthless light flashed in them.

He moved to intercept the the mortals.

"KILL!!"