Chapter 585: Blood Moons
At that moment, he saw two people entering the graveyard and walking toward the coffin area.
One was a middle-aged man with short brown hair, and the other was a young woman with long brown hair.
"Demigod Rafael and the Secret Witch are here!" John muttered from his side in a solemn tone.
Like the last time, Sylvia and Rafael arrived closer to the golden coffin and joined the funeral ceremony.
On the other hand, the black-robed mages continued to do the ceremony ritual chanting for the next few minutes and finally stopped it after opening the golden coffin. They then poured cups of nether sake, dropped white clothes, and placed most of Elder Seer's daily belongings like a watch, eyeglasses, bracelet, chain, and even his artifacts.
After that, a black-robed mage with straight blonde hair stepped forward and looked at the mourners. He appeared to be around radiant golden eyes and a square face and looked around 60 to 70 years old.
He was none other than Joshua, one of the peak-level powerhouses in the Destiny Conquerors.
After a quick look, he focused on Otis for a second and then announced.
"Anyone who walk to take a last look at Elder Seer, do it now."
As he spoke, many mourners, including Sylvia, moved towards the golden coffin and watched Elder Seer's face for the one last time.
Once that was done, Joshua moved towards the left side wooden table, took the nether sake bottle, and started pouring the sake into multiple small cups.
After that, he distributed one cup to Rafael, one to Sylvia, and the other cups to Elder Seer's distant relatives.
Then, he bowed his head towards Demigod Rafael and added.
"Please give your final speech, Lord Rafael."
Meanwhile, Demigod Rafael drank the sake with a single gulp, took a deep breath, and started giving the funeral speech.
"I stand here today to pay tribute to a kind soul, an indulgent heart, an endless visionary, and a disciplined mind- the precious person in my life: Albert Zander..."
As he started talking, Otis heard a telepathic voice in his head.
'He will stutter in the middle of speaking, that's the signal.'
It was Professor's voice.
'Okay!' Otis muttered inwardly and waited.
As Professor had predicted, Demigod Rafael suddenly stopped talking and started to cough like he was choking.
"You are not here, Albert. But your presence... li-ng-er.. sh..ad..oww! Cough... Cough...!"
'This is the signal!' Otis instantly took the crystal from his coat pocket and crushed it.
At the same time, he stealthily took out an eerie black scroll from his space ring and recited a word in a strange language.
A moment later, the scroll turned illusionary and disappeared from his hand.
On the other hand, Demigod Rafael showed a tense face and slowly turned his gaze toward Joshua.
"W-What did you do?" He asked stiffly.
At that moment, Sylvia looked panicked and tried to help Rafael but suddenly froze.
No, her whole body got frozen stiff like a statue.
In that instant, the eerie blackish scroll appeared before Demigod Rafael's face and hovered independently.
But something happened out of the ordinary when it was about to be torn.
At that moment, a ray of black lightning descended from the defensive mechanism array and landed directly on Otis's head.
Before he could understand, he was utterly disintegrated into ashes.
Upon seeing this, Demigod Rafael curled his lips upward and showed a smile.
At the same time, he took out a potion bottle from his space ring and drank it in one gulp.
"What did you guys put in this sake? It made my thinking processing a lot slower." He muttered casually and moved towards Sylvia.
But before he could even take out another potion bottle and give it to her, Joshua snapped out of shock and leaped forward.
This time, his target was not Demigod Rafael but Sylvia!
The main reason was that he knew a secret even his leader wasn't aware of.
The Secret Witch of the Miracle City was Rafael's child!
"Who gave you the permission to move?" A sudden cold voice echoed.
Simultaneously, a mysterious force encircled the surroundings and influenced everyone's thoughts.
Not only that, this mysterious force even stopped everyone's movement.
Within a second, the ordinary mourners, legendary mages, and even Sylvia felt that her mind had been cleared up and returned to a calm state.
At that moment, the young man named Alex suddenly took out a bluish crystal from his pocket and broke it.
A second later, a mysterious wave came out of nowhere and spread in all directions like wildfire.
At the same time, his face also changed into an oval-faced one, and soon he turned into an appearance of a blonde-haired young woman.
She was none other than Slyvia.
The one who stood next to Demigod Rafael was her Clone! After she left the main group, she stealthily infiltrated John's security force and learned a few things about their motive.
At the same time, she also met with her clones and perfected this whole plot. Simultaneously, she informed Rafael about this assassination plot and warned him to be more careful during the funeral ceremony.
Her simple action made the whole situation flip upside down.
On the other hand, Joshua felt death was looming over his head and hurriedly tried to back away.
Alas, the strange, mysterious force was too strong for him to break it.
In the meantime, Demigod Rafael calmly raised his hand and pointed his finger at his forehead.
"Insightful Vision." He muttered calmly and soon entered a strange enlightened state for a mere second.
A moment later, he turned his gaze toward the sky and frowned.
"Why are you hiding like a rat? Show yourself." He spoke in a cold tone.
A moment later, the whole sky darkened. No, the scattered clouds and the sky started to appear more in deep crimson color.
Simultaneously, three red moons appeared in the sky, sending an eerie chill to the city.
Drops of blood also descended from the sky and started raining. The strange thing was that even Demigod Rafael's mysterious psychic power couldn't stop this rain from dropping!
Following that, the whole surroundings started to change. Trees and plants started to rot incredibly, while many skeletons emerged from the graveyard. Unlike normal skeletons, these skeletons appeared completely bloodied and emitted a foul smell all over.
But what shocked everyone was that all those skeletons crawled towards the area where Otis stood before and started to tangle with one another.
Before long, a bloody throne made of bones appeared before everyone's eyes.
Even Demigod Rafael was baffled by this sudden appearance of three blood moons, blood rain, and this blood throne and turned grim.
On the other hand, a strange whisper of a woman suddenly echoed in everyone's mind.
As seconds passed, the woman's whispers turned into a beautiful song.
"The lion, broad-shouldered, sharp-nailed,
Prowls at night, seeking whom he may rend.
His blood-dyed mouth shows plain where he has been.
So my love, since thou went to leave me lonely,
Is marked with many a stain where heart's-blood flowed."
(A/N: Aingurunooru, one of the ancient poems of my local language.)
As the song ended, a long red-haired woman in her thirties suddenly appeared on the bloody throne and sat like an overlord.
Then, she gracefully stood up and started walking towards Demigod Rafael like nothing was affecting her.
As the long red-haired woman approached Demigod Rafael, the crowd around them fell silent, watching with curiosity and fear. She was dressed in a flowing gown of deep blue embroidered with shimmering silver thread and carried a small leather pouch at her waist. Her hair, which reached down to her waist, was a brilliant shade of red, and her eyes glowed with a faint green light.
Despite her stunning appearance, something was unsettling about the woman's features. Her jaw was lined with sharp teeth, as a predator's, and her webbed fingers twitched nervously at her sides. As she reached Rafael, she gave a smile that almost looked eerie and asked in an ancient unknown language.
"Do you still remember me, the Last Elven Emperor?"
Meanwhile, Rafael widened his eyes briefly and soon returned to his calm state.
A silence appeared in the graveyard, followed by a deep sigh.
"I don't understand what you are saying, Miss. But I advise you to not cause any trouble in my city." He said calmly.
On the other hand, Asher wore a grim look and shook her head.
"Of course, you wouldn't talk. How can you talk after breaking our promise and even making an alliance with the invaders? Not only did you forget to protect my kin but you even ended up losing yours too! Those mother*ckers killed my kins and hunted us for more than two millennia. The reason? It's because we worshiped the Blood Goddess. But why did they kill all the wood elves? Those poor souls only worshiped nature, right? And, where the hell was you when they needed you the most? After all that, why didn't you die?!!! Why are you hiding in this sky city like a pathetic loser?" Her words reached every part of the city like a thunderstorm.
Although no one understood what she was saying, everyone realized it appeared more like a personal quarrel!
