Chapter 423: Different from What I Remember

Adrian just dropped a bombshell on the others and his best friend could only sigh. Levin Cloud thought that Adrian's honesty may be too much, but he also knows that information is crucial right now. The opponent they are fighting is a named NPC that is above level 200.

Even Levin Cloud thinks that their chances are slim. The opponent is an NPC that has experience the second stat awakening. Cristobal may be a mage type opponent, but his health should be that of a warrior below level 200. 

In simple terms, he hits like a truck and he has a high health pool. He is basically like the Arch Lich Malus minus the unlimited mana and life drain. Cristobal is a warlock, but Adrian did not know what type of warlock. It is impossible for a named NPC to have a generic job class.

In the forums, Adrian found out that warlocks are mages that mainly uses rituals, but he noticed that Cristobal is not like that. Then again, he only had a glimpse of Cristobal's power. Adrian knows that Cristobal can pollute or corrupt the souls of his targets.

He has seen it with Asterion's soul. He even managed to corrupt an Elemental King albeit not fully as Lauma still had some control of her mind. Adrian could only give a salute to Lauma for enduring torture for hundreds of years.

"Equinox is different now. I can no longer get a read on him. It is as if something is blocking him." Cersei stated as her contracted devil god, Vepar, could no longer get a read on Adrian's power.

"What could that mean then?" Mariposa curiously asked.

"Vepar told me that he might be a champion or the god that possessed him put up a barrier. The god must be protecting him from detection of other gods." Cersei answered.

"Then all the more reason for them having a good relationship with us. He is already doing us a favor by having us join him. He will even give us a reward just for helping him which is why I enlisted our A team for this mission." Anastacia stated.

"We have been traversing this labyrinth for quite some time but all we are encountering are low level mobs." Alder grumbled.

"We are going around in circles. He is manipulating the labyrinth so that we will not reach our intended destination. To be exact, he is manipulating the walls ever so slightly so that we will always go in circles. He is not manipulating the space in labyrinth but the labyrinth itself." Adrian answered.

A roar suddenly erupted that traveled all the way to their current location. The roar sounded like a mix of a human and a large cat. Adrian could recognize this roar as it was the same as that of the sphinx when it transformed.

"My sibling is under immense stress. We have to find my sibling immediately or time in this place will be in more chaos that it is. You can barely touch upon the time element here because of it being muddled up in this are." The sphinx stated in a worried tone which made Adrian uneasy.

"Sirius, find the source of that voice." Adrian commanded.

Siriu immediately jumped out of Adrian's shadow and dashed to the direction of the roar. Adrian immediately followed Sirius. The others also followed him as he put on a serious face. They followed without saying anything.

The path that Sirius took is path without any enemies present and they did not look like they were going in circles. The muscle walls now look different despite them not being able to see much of a difference. 

Sirius finally stopped at the location, but it was a dead end. For the normal eye, it was a dead end but for Adrian's eyes it was not. He can see that an unusual number of souls is barricading the wall in front of them.

"The source of the roar is on the other side." Adrian stated.

"I cannot see anything?" Alder commented and the others were thankful that he did because they do not want to be made a fool.

"An unusual number of spirits are bunded up over there." Creepysoo commented.

"I can vouch for that as I can see it too." Levin Cloud commented.

"Any idea on how to create a path for us?" Peridot asked as she is already building up mana in case an enemy arises.

"Nether Soul Strike!" Adrian stated and the Cube of Paradox flew towards the wall.

The Cube of Paradox is coated with a flame of three colors. It smashed onto the fake wall and a reaction happened. The wall created numerous grotesque faces and started to wail as if they are hurt.

"My attack is not enough. Do you have any attack that are good against spiritual type of beings?" Adrian stated as he retrieved the Cube of Paradox.

Levin Cloud, Anastacia, and Levin Cloud all presented themselves. They started to chant the spells that could work on the clustered souls. The first one to finish chanting was Creepysoo.

As Creepysoo chanted, small, cute ghosts started to gather towards him. Each ghost carried something like a small lamp. The small lamps that the ghost carried contained a pale gray fire. Each small ghost then launched the small fires towards the wall.

"Requiem for the Lost!" Creepysoo stated.

With each strike of the pale gray fire, the wall wailed once more but this time it is getting louder. It seems that the wall made of bundled up souls did not like what they were getting hit by. Creepysoo managed to lessen the wall but it was still not enough.

"ROAAR!"

A beastly roar with a mix of a large cat and man is once again heard. Since they were close to the source, they felt the intensity and rumble as the roar made the ground shake. They were blown away a few meters.

They were not blown away by the roar itself but something else. Adrian saw that the time in their location is suddenly blown away. It was a phenomenon called a Time Flux Explosion. He was told that it rarely happens because time and space is maintained with utmost priority by the gods.

With just a simple Time Flux Explosion that only measured about a meter in diameter, they received 10% reduction in health. In the raid team interface, they got a 10% reduction health. Thankfully, it seems that the reduction did not vary but fixed.

"What just happened?" Kabrakan asked.

"A Time Flux Explosion. A rare phenomenon where time is stretched and compressed in a small amount of time. If that happens, an invisible explosion will ensue in an area where time is unstable. We need to get on the other side of the wall fast." Adrian replied.

"Soothing Life Hymn!" Anastacia stated as her skill finally took effect. She was blown away but thankfully an item that made her continue the chant activated. Levin Cloud chanted once more as he was the one whose skill got cancelled.

A soothing song that purified the air is heard in their area. The wailing wall's faces became at peace due to the skill effect. Adrian could see that the souls clustered are releasing their grip from this plane and moving onto the next.

Her skill did wonders as the wall looked thinner, but it was still not enough. Thankfully, Levin Cloud managed to finish chanting as well. He placed his hands on the ground as it glowed in a green light.

"Meadow of Peace!" Levin Cloud stated.

When he touched the ground, flowers started to sprout all over. The flowers soon reached the wailing wall and propagated to each of the faces. Each face created a flower. Each flower became a beautiful sight so breathtaking.

This was the special skill that Levin Cloud was given so that he could let souls of the dead rest. Since he is destined to be the Envoy of the Twin Gods, he must be well-versed in the magic of life and death. Each flower that fully bloomed soon scattered their petals and each flower that scatters its petals would mean a soul that has reached eternal rest.

When the flowers are no longer blocking the way, they saw something that should not be seen. It was far to monstrous to call it a sphinx because it no longer had the dignity of one. Even the sphinx that is accompanying Adrian became enraged.

"You dare! Human scum!" The sphinx' voice shouted as it suddenly returned to its gigantic form.

The sphinx rushed to its sibling but the floor it ran suddenly burst out with flesh tentacles that bound it. The figure of a hooded person soon emerged from behind the abomination that looked like a sphinx.

"Kekeke. It is nice to welcome the guests, but my experiment has yet to be perfected. I always wondered why I failed in converting a relic. The relic I held seemed to be only half of the whole. Keep them company my children." Cristobal stated as he got absorbed by the ground with the sphinx and the sphinx abomination.