Chapter 2904 Warp Home (Part 2)

Chapter 2904 Warp Home (Part 2)

"I can't believe that not long ago I was considering doing stuff like this." He sighed in disgust after pointing various strings of runes at Kamila.

Forbidden magic wasn't much different from regular magic unless one knew where to look. Then, it turned out to be a deadly trap whose cost and consequences were unknown until the spell was cast.

What doomed most mages who dabbled in forbidden magic was the fact that the runes of such spells could produce any kind of effect as long as the sacrificed life force and mana were enough but no way to know how much "enough" actually was.

Regular magic succeeded or failed based on the amount of mana stored in the mage's core. No matter how quick and skillful at chanting a yellow-cored mage was, he could never cast a tier four spell.

Every attempt would leave him exhausted and inflict upon him the effects of mana abuse but that was it.

Forbidden magic, instead, was devised to take the energy required from any external source available. If the sacrifices' mana wasn't enough, the spell would take it from anyone in the vicinities. If the mana wasn't enough, life force would do.

If not even the life force sufficed and the mage had failed to take proper precautions, the spell would spread outside their lab and reap victims until it reached completion.

A mage attempting a spell out of his league ended up exhausted. A mage attempting a forbidden spell out of his league ended up destroying everything he was trying to protect.

Even worse, the mana and life force channeled inside the forbidden spell would become part of the enchantments it conjured, damning those who had been sacrificed to fuel its effects to an eternity of suffering.

Their essence would constantly be burned by the magic and then replaced by the world energy in a cycle that could be broken only with the destruction of the cursed object.

"I can't believe it either but I can't say I'm surprised." Kamila shuddered and then kissed him on the cheek. "You have come a long way from the man you were on Earth. I can see Derek McCoy doing something like that out of spite for his enemies.

"Lith Verhen, however, is better than that. I'm proud of you. Never forget that." She embraced him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks." Lith wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace.

The holes in the beak from which Marth breathed were pulsing with darkness magic that acted as a filter, killing microorganisms and breaking down complex and potentially complex gases into inert substances.

The Life Ward, instead, was comprised of a hard-light magic layer that covered him from head to toe. It worked as well as a hazmat suit but it was much more comfortable to wear.

"Stay still. This will just take a minute." Marth cast a diagnostic spell on each one of them to make sure they weren't suffering from an asymptomatic illness.

The light of the spell seeped inside their bodies and outlined their organs and blood vessels. In case of infection or disease, the affected area would have been greyed out but the five of them shone like lightbulbs.

"Is this normal?" Kamila asked, a bit worried from seeing her own insides like she had been turned into an anatomy model.

"Actually, no." Marth replied. "Normal people are supposed to shine much less and have some grey spots even when healthy. Age and work are supposed to leave permanent damage over time which is not your case.

"I envy you Awakened so much." He took the plague mask off and welcomed them back home with a handshake. "Now follow me. Before going back home, the Royals would like to have a word with you, Lith."

"What's this about?" He asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Are you really asking me such a stupid question?" Marth was even more puzzled. "The Queen asked you to help the Kingdom with their diplomatic efforts in Jiera by talking down a lost city and you went out of your way, getting also rid of a monster tide.

"The Royals want to offer you their thanks for ensuring the safety of the expedition and hastening the colonization."

***

Griffon Kingdom, Tyris' lair, at the same time.

The moment Lith returned to Garlen, the Father of All Dragons was with them, just cloaked in order to be invisible. It was his turn to look after Elysia and since he was already inside the Royal Palace, he called a meeting with the other Guardians of Garlen.

Tyris was already there and Salaark was glad to welcome back her beloved Featherlings in person. She brought Shargein along, leaving him to play with the children while the grown-ups talked.

The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.