Based on Hao Yun's strength, he could barely handle a four-star level of necromantic energy. Therefore, with his state only partially recovered, facing an attack of four and a half stars, he could only use his dagger to block the demonic sword initially and then rely on the system's defensive shield to withstand the continuous assault.
"Damn it! How is she so strong?" Hao Yun tried to push the demonic sword pressing against his protective shield away from his chest with his dagger. However, due to the sword's overwhelming power, he could only maintain a defensive stance and could not perform any additional actions.
"Eliena! How dare you desecrate the divine protection granted to you by the Spirit Realm and openly ally with necromantic energy to oppose a high priest! You have committed an unforgivable sin!" Dao Lao shouted angrily while fending off the demonic sword's attacks. It was clear that with his current state only partially restored, he could barely hold his ground against a demonic sword created by four and a half stars of necromantic energy.
"Heh, what can you do if I desecrate it? What can you do if I don't? If you don't want to forgive me, you must first survive my demonic sword!" Eliena responded disdainfully, while accelerating the speed of her spellcasting.
"Eliena, don't you know the consequences of a high priest recklessly using necromantic energy? Aren't you afraid of losing control, being unable to withstand the repulsive forces between divine power and necromantic energy, and being blown to smithereens?" Dao Lao questioned sternly.
"Afraid? Of course I'm afraid! That's why I must reclaim the core power of necromantic energy from the remnants of Anselin. This way, the necromantic energy within me will be complete and stable. Coupled with my unique constitution that naturally masters both black and white magic, I can make the divine power and necromantic energy coexist within me, serving my purposes!" Eliena declared confidently, clearly believing in the feasibility of her plan.
Upon hearing this, Dao Lao seemed to realize something. He quickly glanced towards the door while dodging another strike from the demonic sword, feeling a sense of dread. Ser Wunf, who had been guarding the door, was nowhere to be seen.
"Dao Lao! Over there! Stop him!" Hao Yun shouted desperately through the system, indicating with his head towards the stone coffin.
Dao Lao took advantage of the moment to deflect the returning demonic sword and looked towards the stone coffin. He saw Ser Wunf kneeling on one knee on the other side, chanting incantations over the symbols on the stone coffin. Dao Lao knew that Ser Wunf was attempting to break the seal on the coffin and release Anselin's power.
"Ser Wunf! Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" Dao Lao shouted, swinging his glowing spear with increased force, pushing through the demonic sword to charge at Ser Wunf.
Eliena wasn't about to let Dao Lao succeed. Ignoring the immense drain of controlling two demonic swords, she cast another spell, creating a dark energy field around Ser Wunf just before Dao Lao's spear could strike him.
Turning her attention back to Hao Yun, who was still being pinned down by the other demonic sword, Eliena smiled cruelly and pressed down on her wrist, adding more power to the sword. Hao Yun, unable to resist, started to be pushed back by the sword's force. He noticed a faint crack appearing on his protective shield, a sign that the sword's tip had penetrated the outer layer.
This situation arose from the vast difference in strength between Hao Yun and Eliena, and his weakened state couldn't sustain the shield's integrity. Gritting his teeth, Hao Yun tried to hold up the shield and urged, "Dao Lao! If you have a way to stop them, do it now! I can't hold on much longer!"
Dao Lao, struggling against the demonic sword and trying to break the energy field around Ser Wunf, realized Hao Yun was in grave danger. Cursing, he abandoned his attack on Ser Wunf and dashed to Hao Yun's side, smashing his long staff into the demonic sword pinning Hao Yun.
With a shattering sound like broken glass, the demonic sword pressing against Hao Yun was split in two by Dao Lao's staff and dissolved back into dark energy, returning to Eliena's body. But this move allowed Eliena to cast another spell, creating a magical barrier that trapped Hao Yun and Dao Lao in a corner of the room.
"Eliena! I command you to revoke this spell immediately! You cannot merge with necromantic energy! It's incredibly dangerous! The necromantic energy is using you! Once you fall for its trap, there's no turning back!" Dao Lao warned loudly, striking the barrier with his staff, now transformed into a heavy chain hammer, trying to break free.
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Seeing that Hao Yun and Dao Lao were temporarily trapped, Eliena breathed a sigh of relief. Panting, she asked Ser Wunf, "How much longer, Ser Wunf? This barrier won't hold them for long!"
Ser Wunf did not respond but chanted louder. Finally, with a near-scream, he recited another long incantation, causing the symbols on the floor and ceiling to ignite in green flames.
The flames quickly consumed the symbols, and as they burned, the hourglass-shaped energy shield around the stone coffin began to collapse from both ends. When the energies met in the middle, they formed a pale green line, which then condensed into a single point of green light.
The green light, once formed, quickly merged with the elven statue carved on the front of the stone coffin. Then, the entire coffin began to tremble, and with a series of heavy cracking sounds, a uniform circle of cracks formed along its sides. The seal on the coffin was finally broken.
Although the lid of the stone coffin did not fully open, the crack between the lid and the coffin body was enough for dense purple-black demonic energy to seep out, accompanied by whispering chants like those of demons. Once this purple-black energy emerged, it twisted into a braided black mist and shot towards Eliena, who was looking at it with astonishment.
The demonic energy rushing towards Eliena was the powerful remnant of Anselin's power. The core of this power was naturally the necromantic energy they had detected earlier. Watching the system's readings of this energy spike, Hao Yun and Dao Lao were deeply concerned.
What worried Hao Yun and Dao Lao even more was that as the necromantic energy infused Eliena, her power visibly increased. Moreover, she did not become unstable due to the influx of necromantic energy; on the contrary, her body became more solid.
Eliena, still possessing her divine physique, was transforming. She looked less like a pure divine spirit and more like a hybrid being with both divine and demonic traits. Watching Eliena's stabilizing form, Hao Yun and Dao Lao could only marvel at her exceptional dual-magic constitution, while worrying about the threat her newfound power would pose to the Spirit Realm.
"Heh heh heh. I bet you didn't expect this. Part of the necromantic energy had been separated and hidden within the territory of the Wright Elves. After you left Misty Town, I, having reached the necessary level of dark magic, merged with it. Thus, I learned that the core power of this necromantic energy, along with Anselin's power, was sealed in Blackstone Castle," Eliena explained, reveling in the feeling of the energy merging into her body.
"If that's the case, why didn't you come sooner to claim this power?" Dao Lao asked while still trying to break the magical barrier separating them.
"Exactly as you feared, Dao Lao. If I hadn't reached the required standard to control this necromantic energy, I would have ended up like Anselin, obliterated. Such a fate would not only destroy me but also damage the necromantic energy. That's not the outcome we desire. Therefore, the best approach was to quietly reach the point where I could merge with this energy."
"Thankfully, with my divine constitution and mastery of both light and dark magic, I could accelerate my dark magic studies using the divine power still within me. Eventually, I achieved the power necessary to merge with this necromantic energy within the given time."
Eliena even nodded slightly to Hao Yun and Dao Lao as she said, "Of course, I must thank you both. Without your help, I wouldn't have acquired this power so smoothly."
"Thank us?" Dao Lao asked, puzzled.
"Yes! I have to thank you both!" Eliena responded, exhaling dark energy.
"You see, to open the stone door to this archive room, a significant amount of power was required. This is why part of the necromantic energy was hidden in the Wright Elves' territory. I needed that power and my divine energy to break the defensive array on the door. But doing so would consume a lot of my energy, especially the divine power still within me."
"Since the Spirit Realm had temporarily withdrawn its protection, the remaining divine power in me was the last I could draw from the Spirit Realm. I didn't want to waste it needlessly."
"That's where you two came in! Heh heh heh. I knew that after the Liu Erwa incident, the higher-ups would send necromantic energy hunting priests to investigate. All I had to do was stay here, and you would use me as a lead to uncover other sources of necromantic energy on Elven Star. Naturally, I made good use of you priests, ensuring you didn't interrupt my dark magic studies while guiding you to the necromantic energy."
"In this way, you would eventually find traces of the necromantic energy and break through the defensive array that Anselin set up using its power before her death. I just needed to reach the standard for merging with the necromantic energy before you completed these tasks to hitch a ride on your efforts! I admit, my plan involved a lot of gambling. But luckily, I won in the end."
With that, Eliena once again nodded slightly to express her gratitude to Hao Yun and Dao Lao, while the two felt deeply frustrated that their efforts to break the array had only ended up helping Eliena.
"Crack, crack!" Under Serwin's forceful prying, the lid of the stone coffin had already opened to a gap of about twelve degrees, significantly increasing the volume and speed of the demonic energy pouring out.
"Serwin! Stop! Don't make things worse! Close the coffin immediately! If all this energy is released, it will bring catastrophic disaster to this world!" Dao Lao urgently shouted again.
"Stop? Heh! I, Serwin, have lived in hiding within the Wright Elves' territory for many years for this very moment! My mission is to unconditionally assist the one who can control Anselin's power to acquire it! Cough cough!" Serwin said, his voice sounding much older.