Suddenly, a sound akin to shattering glass rang in Nathan's ears!
With this crisp sound, he heard the cry of the tiger-striped lion cat.
The scene before his eyes shattered like glass.
Everything in the courtyard had transformed.
The small table turned into a tree stump, with countless tiny insects crawling over it.
The wicker chairs became a pile of unidentifiable bones.
The food on the table had changed into stones and insect corpses.
But what shocked him most was the figure sitting opposite him; Lia had turned into a wizard wearing a black robe, his face withered.
The old wizard's murky eyes were now fixed on the cup in his hand, his wrinkled face showing excitement.
In the next moment, the big cat appeared behind the old wizard and swung a transparent claw.
The claw kept expanding, forming four ripples of air, attacking the robed old wizard.
The old wizard turned around with difficulty, and upon seeing the tiger-striped lion cat, he let out a harsh, screeching sound.
That noise seemed filled with fear and pain.
"No!" The old wizard's body was sliced by the transparent ripples, instantly torn apart.
But strangely, no blood spilled.
The pieces of the corpse fell to the ground and then, like disintegrating in the wind, turned into wisps of yellow smoke.
They swirled together and quickly fled towards the wall of the courtyard.
However, before the yellow smoke could cross the wall, the big cat, as if spotting a mouse, leaped swiftly, pouncing directly into the center of the yellow smoke.
It bit down on one particular spot.
A painful screech filled the air.
The big cat bit firmly, shaking its head back and forth.
The yellow smoke, like a thin veil, was pulled and tugged by the big cat.
Finally, as if unable to endure any longer, the yellow smoke exploded with a bang, turning into a cloud of powder that fluttered down from the sky.
Then, a thin film formed on the ground, from which a human shape emerged, reconstituting the figure of the old wizard in his black robe.
"Lord Demonspirit!"
The appearance of the old wizard was terrifying, with half of his face revealing bone, as he knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing.
"Meow~" The big cat let out a majestic cry.
Swinging its paw, it sent four claw shadows hurtling towards the old wizard.
The old wizard let out a piercing scream, his form exploding just before the claws reached him, and in the next instant, he burrowed into the ground and disappeared without a trace.
The big cat, like a victorious general, strutted around the tree stump, inspecting its surroundings before leaping onto Nathan's shoulder with a bound.
Following another cat's cry from the big cat, Nathan's stomach churned uncontrollably, forcing him to vomit.
A stream of transparent liquid sprayed from his mouth, splattering on the ground.
Instantly, it transformed into countless semi-transparent little insects that struggled to burrow into the soil.
Only then did Nathan regain control over his body.
"Big cat!" Nathan exclaimed in surprise, still shaken.
The tiger-striped lion cat affectionately burrowed into his embrace.
Nathan looked around and found himself on another floating island, though he did not recognize the place.
This floating island was small, its ground a cleared forest terrain.
Nathan easily found the teleportation array and teleported back to his residence in middle-26.
The courtyard was still as he had left it, serene, with food on the table.
The grease trail dragged by the insects was still visibly etched along the edge of the plate.
Only Lia was nowhere to be seen.
Nathan rushed into the residence but didn't find Lia.
After a while, Lia returned from outside, looking surprised.
"I thought something had happened to you, so I went out to look for you," Lia hurried over.
"You didn't respond to the magic paper crane I sent you. You scared me to death!"
Nathan embraced Lia.
For some reason, he felt an unfamiliar sensation towards Lia.
He was still haunted by the eerie smile he thought he had seen on Lia's face.
But he knew that wasn't Lia.
Another space bridge! They went to the courtyard's gate and noticed that the soil underneath seemed to have been disturbed.
Regarding the previous incident, he had also asked Eris and learned that they were transported to another space by a large magic equipment known as a space bridge.
This time, it was a suddenly appearing insect that caused Nathan to walk out of the courtyard once, and upon re-entering, he found himself in a different space.
The Lia in that space had been an illusion created by the old wizard in a black robe.
Such imperceptible methods were truly terrifying!
Moreover, Nathan suddenly thought, in both instances, the opponent had transported him from the original space to another before taking action.
Did this imply that the opponent was preventing something, or perhaps afraid of something?
Nathan was still somewhat confused.
However, another urgent matter pressed on him, and Nathan decided not to hide it any longer.
He pulled Lia over, his expression serious.
"Lia, the reason I asked you here was actually to inquire if you have ever taken a resonance pill."
Lia froze.
She took out a paper box-packaged magic potion from her storage space and opened it for Nathan to see.
"This was given to me by Professor Palin, but I never had the heart to use it. I thought about selling it for credits. What's wrong?"
Nathan opened the package and showed the pill to Lia, revealing it to be filled with eggs.
Nathan said in a grave tone, "I suspect this thing can control a person's mind, and might even turn someone into an insect."
Lia's complexion instantly turned ghastly.
Realizing they were targeting him, Nathan quickly told Lia to go back, while a strong sense of anger surged within him!
Frank! I'll kill you!
Nathan had never wanted to kill someone as much as he did now.
After sending Lia away, Nathan returned to his residence.
Big cat jumped onto him.
Nathan paced back and forth inside, non-stop.
With big cat here, the rest should be easy.
Nathan immediately contacted Eris.
Fifteen minutes later, Nathan and Eris set foot on the floating island where Sky Sanctuary was located...
On the desert floating island, the robed old wizard appeared in the underground space.
Anthony sat up from the ground, suddenly noticing the old wizard was severely injured!
"Why are you like this?"
"Where did you go?"
The old wizard didn't answer but hastily took out a bottle of medicinal powder, quickly applying it to his face and wounds.
Then, he took out four magic crystals and set them up around the cramped tomb.
Minutes later, a mirror appeared on the wall.
After a few flashes of magical light, Anthony could clearly see the image in the mirror.
Frank's face appeared in the mirror.
"Frank, I couldn't control the kid, guess what I saw?" the old wizard's voice, filled with suppressed fear, said.
"I saw Lord Demonspirit."
"I was bitten by him, and, Frank, you're not safe either. Lord Demonspirit could come for you at any moment," the old wizard spoke hurriedly.
"Frank, when can Lord Stellarspeaker come? I need him."
Frank's face twisted slightly, "Rhode, can't you be more stable? It's always you who mess things up."
The old wizard pursed his lips.
"You always have all sorts of excuses," Frank said with dissatisfaction.
"Just wait a bit longer, Stellarspeaker will find you tonight."
Anthony's face moved closer to the magic mirror, asking, "Frank, when can I return?"
His words carried a tone of humility, "You said, after the storm passes, you'd let me go back.
This time I promise to keep a low profile." Frank glared, "Anthony, it's not time yet, the spread of dark magic still needs time.
I've already told you the consequences of failure, but you insisted on sparing the little princess, so this is the only way now."
The next moment, Anthony pleaded painfully, "Frank, no matter what, if you can't send me back, then let me return to my family."
"Fool! I can guarantee, the moment you leave Nebula Academy, you'll become Milo's captive, so stop talking such nonsense," Frank seemed infuriated, the magic mirror vibrating intensely.
Anthony fell silent.
"Frank, I feel like I'm being targeted by Lord Demonspirit," the old wizard continued.
Frank's voice was elusive, "Rhode, if you fall into Milo's hands, it only means you've lived these years in vain."
"My lord, I never thought of escaping, especially after Milo became legendary," the old wizard paused, then added, "I'm worried about your nephew."
"He knows too much and is young and impulsive," he added.
Frank fell into thought, "Then let him swear a dark oath. If he doesn't want to become a spirit insect forever, then he'll keep the Dark family's secrets."
Frank revealed a cruel expression, "If he can't withstand it and spills the secrets, it doesn't matter.
No one will believe the words of a bunch of insects."