Chapter 1080: Bound Together
In the distant past, when Dendar Saratoga had led a group of settlers to a land that would one day beco Ravenfell, he carried with him a vision… a dream of founding an arcane institution that would guide young minds along their arcane path.
And thus, he established Saratoga Castle. However, that wasn’t the only fortress he had built. He had built another, an exact replica of Saratoga Castle, hidden away in the depths of Marian Lake, shrouded beneath its cold, mystical waters.
He entrusted the reins of the castle above ground to like-minded Magi who had inherited his will, while the castle underwater was gifted to a dear friend of his. It was a powerful, magical beast who went by the na of Ink.
The two castles didn’t rely share the sa appearance, they were connected on a far deeper level. They were bound together by magic. More precisely… space magic!
Compared to magical beasts, humans were fleeting creatures. So when the ti had co for Dendar Saratoga to pass into the afterlife, he entrusted the safety of his legacy to his dearest friend, Ink, one who would outlive him by countless ages.
Ink accepted the role of the hidden guardian without hesitation, for his bond with Dendar ran deep. And so, for countless years, he dwelled silently in the depths of Marian Lake, ever watchful over the legacy left behind by his dear friend.
And now, with Saratoga Castle under siege by the vile cultists and their wicked machinations, the ti had co for Ink to act.
From the lightless depths of Marian Lake, the great kraken had finally stirred.
Ink had awakened!
***
The stone knights weren’t the only silent guardians that the ancient castle had. These were silent, stoic killers who would protect without uttering a word.
But the sa couldn’t be said for the dwellers of the depths.
The rfolk of Marian Lake erged from the walls of the castle, their eyes glistening with savage, murderous intentions. They wielded their sharp weapons and lunged at the cultists and their undead hordes.
All kinds of rfolk followed the call of Ink and waged war on these vile cultists and their pawns. These creatures, who exclusively stayed underwater, were now able to breathe perfectly fine above the surface because of the magic cast by the kraken.
The enormous creature’s magic spanned the entire Saratoga Castle. Everywhere the rfolk went, a trail of corpses and a river of blood followed. In places where Mana Vortex Magi of the Cult ran rampant, thick tendrils would erge from the walls, silent and deadly, and coil around these enemies, instantly turning them to at paste.
It was easy for Ink to take care of re Mana Vortex-level cultists. He was a creature of the Mana Core Rank, after all!
However, these cultists were not his true goal. His main target was the Mana Core-level cultist who had led these outsiders and dared to intrude upon the hallowed ground founded by Dendar Saratoga.
In one of the outer sections of this ancient castle, Ink’s target was currently being bombarded by the stone knights that were unleashed upon him by a furious Mathilda.
The always kind and gentle Professor Whitaker had now turned into a vengeful wraith. She was full of murderous fury and directed all those emotions at wildeing the black staff. Her face had grown pale, and her nose, too, had started to bleed. It was clear that wielding such a powerful artifact was taking a drastic toll on her.
Yet, she was able to achieve what she had wanted to. She had successfully managed to hold down Daggett of the Cult of Bones until help from the depths of Marian Lake arrived. It ca at a great sacrifice, but she had managed to prevent the Mana Core Magus from slaughtering the children in the castle.
With a simple tap of her staff, an army of stone knights surged forth, clashing head-on with Daggett’s army of undead creatures. The corridor had long since been destroyed by the clash of stone and undeath.
However, with yet another tap of the staff, Mathilda had expanded the floor beneath them, ensuring Daggett didn’t set foot out of the castle. With the staff in hand, she controlled every stone inside Saratoga Castle. By now, their battlefield had long since turned into a vast arena filled with stones, corpses, and debris.
“Damn you!!” Daggett roared as he surrounded himself with his two Rank 4 undead creatures. These two undead soldiers were currently taking the brunt of the attacks dealt to them directly by the castle itself.
Sotis the ceiling would turn into a sharp spear and fly at them, other tis the ground would cave in and try to bury them whole. The castle that they had tried to invade had now beco a big, deathly trap.
Daggett had to be constantly aware of not only the stone knights but also every inch of this castle. And to make matters worse, he was currently inside a potent illusion. At so point in their battle, the portraits hanging from the walls had shattered, releasing magical paint that coloured his perception.
Now, inside that illusion, he was battling the spectral remnants of the very people whose portraits once adorned the wall!
Further still, the sound of the sirens constantly assaulted his ears, making his thoughts turn sluggish. It would appear that most of the effects of the bewitching lody were being targeted directly at him.
The leader of the invaders was already having such a bad ti trying to keep himself alive. So, one could imagine how the rest of the cultists were faring.
However, Daggett was still a Mana Core Magus, after all. He was not so easily killed.
With a burst of mana, he shattered the illusions that constantly haunted him. His eyes were bloodshot from fury as he gazed at the pale figure of Professor Whitaker standing all the way on the other side.
“Let’s see which one of us dies first, Magus!” He spat, his tone laced with venom and indignation.
To be honest, he felt rather insulted at being restrained by a Mana Vortex Magus, especially soone as old as Mathilda Whitaker. Moreover, he hadn’t been able to inflict any damage upon her until now.
At first, he had looked down upon her, but now… he couldn’t help but co to admire, if only a little, even though she remained an enemy.
Mathilda coldly gazed at the cultist. She was about to speak when suddenly she coughed out a mouthful of blood—an action that elicited a mocking grin from Daggett.
“You’re feeling it now, aren’t you?” he said. “That staff… it’s not ant to be wielded by the likes of you!”
The elderly woman wiped the blood from her sleeves and muttered weakly, “So what?”
She used the staff to support herself, then added in a hoarse voice, “This is my duty.”
Daggett deeply looked at her, his dark, lifeless eyes flickering with conflicting emotions. “You fool,” he said, at last.
As his undead army took care of the stone knights, he hovered mid-air as he weaved a complex set of hand seals.
“Very well, Magus,” he said, his voice solemn. “I will give you a glorious death.”
Mathilda’s lips curled into a light smirk.
“…We’ll see about that.”
And in that very instant, just as Daggett was about to complete the physical component of his Rank 4 Spell, the walls, the ceiling, and the floor rippled. And then…
Several massive tentacles burst forth from the cold depths of Marian Lake.
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