The next day, hundreds of Dark Magic Apprentices, including Sain, gathered in front of the flowerbed in the center of the Academy's main teaching building, as the clock chimed "dong dong" in the background.
Accompanying the apprentices were more than twenty owl Overseers from Cat-Eyed Academy, dispersed and stationed around them.
Sain could only see six official Dark Magicians standing in front of the teaching building with his naked eyes, but it was clear that there were more than six of them on their way to Shadow Valley.
In the sky above the Academy, there were some mist and black crows that were obviously the work of those official Dark Magicians.
There was no mobilization, no explanation.
Vice-Dean Dadalon stood in front of the other five Dark Magicians, speaking in a cold and heavy tone, "Let's go!"
Under the intimidation of the official Dark Magicians, hundreds of apprentices left the Academy quietly when it was time to depart.
At this moment, Sain and Lena were walking together, and they only noticed that the whole Mosobla City had changed when they left the Dark Magic Academy.
The entire city had become extremely quiet.
Two days ago, the Dark Magicians had ordered all the residents of the city to stay indoors and strictly enforced a curfew.
Even the Subterranean Humanoids who came and went from Mosobla City were thoroughly driven out by the Dark Magicians.
As for when Mosobla City would reopen, the aloof Dark Magicians did not give an accurate answer.
Shadow Valley was far from Mosobla City, and at least Sain had never been there, he had only heard about it vaguely.
It was obvious that walking was not the way to get there, as the Dark Magicians had no interest in wasting time on the journey.
For a few people who were in the know, including the Dean, time was of the essence.
A huge flying airship was parked outside the city, and Sain was no stranger to this thing.
He had taken it to come to the underground world years ago.
Sain learned from his mentor, Mosido, that the name of the vessel they would be taking was "Airship."
Given its size, accommodating hundreds of Dark Magic Apprentices was no problem, but Sain was surprised to see nearly a hundred Minotaurs and dozens of other dark creatures on board as well.
On the deck, Vice Dean Dadalon seemed to be arguing with one of the dark creatures.
Due to the soundproofing shield, Sain couldn't hear anything.
He and Lena went to the cabin and were assigned a large room on the second level.
According to what Zoro, the Senior Brother, had told him earlier, even with the airship, it would take them at least a week to get to Shadow Valley.
Sain wondered if Zoro had been to Shadow Valley before and wanted to ask for more information, but the Senior Brother told him that he would know more once they arrived, and he needed to prepare for the upcoming Space-Time Rift exploration.
On the deck, all the Dark Magic Apprentices had already entered the cabin.
Vice Dean Dadalon, with an unpleasant tone, asked a black spider with sixteen pairs of legs in front of him, "Why did only one-third of your people come? What about the other dark creatures?"
The spider, unfazed by Vice Dean Dadalon's tone, answered in a human voice, "You violated the agreement by attacking seven years early and didn't give us early notice."
"We Black Spiders have the right to choose whether to join you or continue to watch," the spider replied.
At this point, Vice Dean Dadalon narrowed his eyes.
The overpowering element pressure of a second-level Dark Magician instantly immobilized the black spider on the airship deck.
It was surprising that this black spider had the strength to rival that of a formal Dark Magician, but it was still one level behind Vice Dean Dadalon's second-level power, which meant it would be crushed.
The black spider, pinned under the deck, let out a groan as a putrid, yellow-green liquid oozed from its abdomen.
At Dark Magic Academy, there were three vice deans: Martin, who was the strongest, followed by Dadalon and Joni, respectively.
Chosen as assistants by the powerful and mysterious city lord who also served as the dean, these Dark Magicians were definitely not average, and were among the best in their class.
Despite being oppressed by the vice deans, the black spider remained defiant.
With its five pitch-black eyes fixed on Dadalon, the spider declared, "Are you sure you want to mess with our Black Spider Clan? The dark creatures of Mosobla City are all our vassals, including our young clan leader, whom Vice Dean Martin personally invited."
"We have a presence in both the Western Islands and the vast majority of the underground world in the Wizarding World. Under the protection of the goddess, our Black Spider Clan fears no threat or challenge, not even from the Magicians of the Wizarding World!"
Screeched the spider, whose power level was only one.
Dadalon sneered at the spider's screech.
Three of its five eyes, which exuded cold and cruelty, burst in an instant.
The difference in power between two beings with a difference of only one level of life was vast.
Instead of killing the spider, Vice Dean Dadalon disabled three of its eyes and then turned and left with a swish of his magic robe.
"What a bunch of foolish believers. I wonder why Vice Dean Martin invited them from the Western Islands," he thought to himself.
As truth-seekers, Magicians in the Wizarding World never believed that there were gods in this world.
If there were indeed divine beings, the ancient and terrifying entities hidden in the Holy Tower and even the depths of the True Spirit Tower would rush out to imprison and lock them up on the dissecting table, eager to study and dissect them.
After generations of research and investigation by Magicians in the Wizarding World, the so-called "deities" were nothing more than individuals with higher levels of life, who proclaimed themselves as gods out of boredom.
Their "divine" status was merely a result of the common ignorance of lower life forms and the fascination with unexplainable phenomena.
The goddess worshipped by the Black Spider Clan was an anomaly within the entire Wizarding World and the countless planes under Wizard civilization's control.
Even the most powerful and revered divine beings from other foreign worlds, known as "gods," dare not provoke or interfere with the Wizarding World, let alone preach and propagate their faith.
Yet, this goddess could develop and thrive secretly within the Wizarding World, gaining great prestige among the many underground dark creatures. The reasons behind this are unknown and shrouded in mystery.