The wings on Calhemus's back flapped as he rushed for the exit with the raging waves.
Finally, finally, finally! I'm leaving this damned place.
At this moment, Calhemus was indescribably excited.
He was thrilled to find this place, but the following scene caused his expression to change abruptly.
It was because after passing through the suspected exit, he realized that the world beyond it was completely different from what he had imagined.
It was a dark cave.
However, the darkness did not affect Calhemus's perception.
Even in the dark, he could see everything clearly.
Where is this place?
What happened?
Why am I here?
Doubts surfaced in Calhemus's mind one after another.
What puzzled him the most was why he was still unable to sense Bernal.
Did Bernal abandon me?
No way. No way.
Just as the thought surfaced in his mind, Calhemus shook his head instantly, trying to forget about it.
Don't think about it. If my father wanted to abandon me, he didn't have to say anything to me.
Plus, I was the one who decided to come out to play this time.
No, he won't. My father won't leave me alone.
Sometimes, the more you want to forget, the more it would appear in your mind.
Calhemus began to panic.
He rushed into the depths of the cave madly, bringing his waves with him. He wanted to do the same thing as he did in the forest.
He would flood this place and then find the exit.
He wanted to return to Bernal's side.
…
Deep inside the cave, Bernal would have recognized this place if he were here.
It was the place where he met Rogeria.
It was the large ritual venue to summon the evil god.
There was supposed to be no one at the ceremony venue, but two people stood at the center of the stage.
A dragon-shaped creature was resting with its eyes closed beside the two.
There was a cage on the back of this dragon-shaped creature. Three similar-looking beastfolks were chained inside.
The three beastfolks hugged each other tightly and trembled as they looked at the two people discussing not far away.
"Have you looked for it?"
One of the men with blond hair and cracked lips asked.
The other scratched his arm and replied to his companion, "Yes, I've searched through them all. I failed as I had expected."
"Yes, I've searched through them all. Nothing turned up, just as expected."
From this simple conversation, it was obvious that the two of them did not barge in by accident.
They had come here for a specific reason.
The blond man with the cracked lips looked around. He spread his arms and took a deep breath.
As some black mist breathed out of his nose, he sighed regretfully.
"But the aura is so great. I thought I had succeeded."
His companion looked around regretfully as well. He touched the smooth and clean ground that did not have a summoning array anymore.
"The summoning should have been successful, but we were late."
The blond man looked helpless.
"We're already going at full speed. If not for the fact that we couldn't use teleportation, we would have succeeded long ago."
Splash!
The blond man turned around and looked at the cave entrance with a puzzled expression.
"Did you hear something?"
"Huh?"
The other man first removed his hood to reveal his blue hair. He listened carefully before looking at his companion.
"I think it's the sound of water flowing. Before we came, we set up a magic formation in the vicinity. No one should be coming here."
However, right after the blue-haired man said this, the dragon-shaped creature that had been quiet all along suddenly stood up.
Growl!
The voice carried some impatience and uneasiness, causing the two likely cultists to frown.
The blond man walked to the side of the dragon-shaped creature and stroked its body.
Wisps of magic power surged, and gentle light sparkled.
Under the comfort of this light, the dragon-shaped creature gradually calmed down.
However, the dragon-shaped creature did not lie down to rest again. Its gaze remained fixated on the cave entrance.
The blond man looked at the entrance of the cave in confusion.
/Is there anything there?
"Liveras, have you sensed something?"
Growl!
Upon hearing its master's question, the dragon-shaped creature named Liveras called out to it and looked at it confidently.
"Bona, Liveras felt something. Let's be careful."
The blue-haired man, Bona, scratched his head. He looked around curiously.
"There shouldn't be anything in this cave. What is going on?"
"How would I know if you ask me!"
The blond man glanced at the cave entrance. There was still no movement over there, and he could not find anything.
However, he trusted his magic pet.
Since his beloved pet had warned him, it was safer to be careful.
"Anyways, it's better to be careful."
"Okay." Bona had the same thought. He pulled out his staff, a staff made from the bones of someone's arm.
Then, a white, cold halo spread out. Countless painful faces could be faintly seen in the halo.
"I've set up a barrier, so it shouldn't be a problem with those spirits around."
The blond man was confident in Bona's methods, so he did not say anything.
Looking around, he found it a pity to look at the ritual venue that was the most completed in history.
Looking at the three beastfolks behind Liveras, the blond man could not help but sigh.
"It's a pity that I've found such excellent offerings for this ritual."
At this point, the blond man seemed to have remembered something and could not help but grit his teeth.
"Can't the lunatics of the ritual group wait? I heard that they even attacked Liveras before the sacrifice."
Bona looked annoyed as well.
"Yeah, we were just a little late, and they stirred up such a huge mess."
It would have been fine if they were not discovered. If it did, the church would be in deep trouble.
Although they were not afraid of the Liluca Kingdom, it was better to avoid trouble if possible.
"Forget it. It was our fault in the first place. The sacrifices prepared in advance were not in place. How could those lunatics miss the best opportunity to activate the ritual just to wait for us?
"However, the ritual group got wiped out this time, and we returned empty-handed. I wonder what the church will think?"
"I guess they'll reform the ritual group and try again."