329 Familiar

The sudden changes following Kieran’s arrival shocked everyone in the grand hall, including Kieran himself.

He tilted his head down at the feather mantle that had turned gold and touched it with his finger. It felt just like the [Black Crow Feather] he remembered. It still belonged to him.

The faint projection of the crown above his head was weightless.

"A mirage?" Kieran speculated silently.

As he looked at the golden fruitless flower above him, he recalled Nikorei’s prophecy. He was 70% sure that everything had been set up by Nikorei beforehand.

As far as he knew, the shaman world included a lot of strange mystical individuals, some of whom were outrageously powerful. However, it seemed like only Nikorei possessed that particular clairvoyant ability.

"Did she watch this particular scene before making that prophecy?" Kieran wondered.

He even pictured Nikorei’s naughty smirk in his mind. He knew that she would have definitely pulled such a prank on him.

"Bloody magic tricks!"

Barry let out a cold grunt after he regained his senses and raised his hand in a wave. A sudden black stream of energy was fired at the ceiling above Kieran’s head.

The chilly black stream was fast enough to produce an irritating whistle.

The sharpness that sliced the air caused everyone around to stagger backwards, unsettled by the eerie energy.

They all raised their heads and looked at the place where Barry had launched the energy, expecting Barry to help them escape from Kieran. The mystics from the West Coast even started praying.

When they saw the golden glow and the crown projection appear, their legs started shaking. Everyone thought of the prophecy made by the God of Earth, the prophecy about the king. None of them wanted to believe it, but if the prophecy came true, what would happen to them if they kept standing in the king’s way?

They would die!

They had been so expectant because they had wanted to live, but their anticipation had gone to waste.

Suddenly, the black stream of energy split into pieces.

Before it could even hit the mirror on the ceiling, the slight contact with the golden glow caused it to burst apart as a suppressing power rebounded back toward Barry’s body.

Barry spit out a mouthful of blood. He looked like a man being hit by a truck, flying backwards towards the East Coast mystics and toppling the crowd. The East Coast mystics were in disorder after that little incident. They were holding up their leader, staring at Kieran in fear.

What kind of power was that?

Every single one of them tried to guess.

The moment Kieran had walked into the grand hall, Philly, who had been crying as if his parents had died, suddenly seemed to regain his radiance. He was looking at Kieran brightly.

"JACKPOT!" Philly shouted internally in delight.

Kieran, on the other hand, was staring at the golden glow showering him in confusion.

"So it was not just the looks? Rei left a part of her power here? Is this the key point of this dungeon?"

Kieran tried his best to guess, but he was uncertain. The incomparable gap of strength between him and the God of Earth could only allow him to theorize, even though he had seen it with his own eyes.

"You are the East Coast mystics, right? I’ve said this before. I will govern at Nikorei’s will, but the [Fantos Manuscript] will remain in my hands. If you want to die, then come and get it. If you are all here, does this mean that you have decided to die?" Kieran said casually, looking calm.

He had prepared beforehand, but now that he had been bestowed with a part of Nikorei’s power, his confidence had been boosted up to the next level.

His voice was louder than ever, sounding powerful and suppressing as it echoed in everyone’s ears.

The West Coast mystics, who had already been terrified, started to shiver uncontrollably.

The East Coast mystics were infuriated at first, but when they saw their leader struggling to get up, their rage was replaced by fear.

What would happen to them if the Spirit of Evil had been beaten just like that?

The only ones who remained calm were the Shepherds.

Considering how powerful the God of Earth was, the Shepherds would never dare underestimate her assistant. Rainer led his robed subordinates over to Kieran.

When they were five meters away from the golden glow, they stopped.

"We are very happy that you were able to attend this humble meeting as promised. I am the leader of the Shepherd of Death, Rainer! I am at your service! I hope that you will not let us down…" Rainer slowly introduced himself, spinning that black wooden staff of his as he spoke.

Everyone around noticed that the wooden staff was actually a crystal skull emitting a grayish-blue glow.

It was the aura of death! A very immense aura of death!

The aura, which smelled like thousands of rotting corpses, instantly filled the whole hall. Everyone covered their noses and mouths, but even so, they still started coughing one after the other as blood started flowing from their mouths.

The harder they coughed, the more blood oozed out of their mouths. Soon, they started vomiting up big chunks of their organs.

Everyone was in shock as they looked at the bloody pieces in their hands. Their eyes went wide as they fell down and died.

The fallen started to rot at a ridiculous speed, as if they had been splashed with pure acid. The vile stench around them was heavier than ever.

"Believe me, Bird of Death, this is just the beginning..." Rainer said deliberately slow, his words sounding happy to everyone.

His subordinates behind him completed his simple incantation softly.

The 20-meter wide, 50-meter tall wall of the hall lit up along with columns of runes and rows of connecting veins, forming a huge magic circle.

The grand hall started to tremble once more, but this was different from the upbeat trembling it had experienced earlier. The whole hall was wailing as if it was on the brink of collapsing. The dust in every corner of the hall was trickling down swiftly.

Even the golden glow seemed to dim during that violent tremble.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Chains sprung out of the wall and extended towards the throne, binding Kieran tightly.

There was a total of 13 chains of different sizes, radiating a red glare from time to time.

Kieran’s face was struck by panic for an instant. The way the chains had tied him down seemed all too familiar to him.