"The radiative influence of a high-level
Leylin stood alone in the vast, desolate corridor, slowly closing his eyes.
Traces of energy utterly different from those of the
"The power of
Excitement flickered in Leylin's eyes as he surged forward in a specific direction. On this trail, he could see the clues to a Law Wizard's inheritance!
This kind of tremendous treasure was well worth a certain degree of risk.
"The ancient Shadow of Distortion — its path of laws should lie in space and distortion, no wonder it could achieve so many spatial overlaps…"
As he ran, Leylin instantly recalled the spatial folding technique they had encountered earlier.
"And according to legend, this Shadow of Distortion was at minimum an eighth-rank Grand Wizard! Possibly even an existence at the absolute pinnacle of the eighth rank who had fully perfected its own path!!!"
Bang!
Acting on his instincts, he flung open the door to a laboratory, and a blast of fierce wind surged toward his face.
—[Arcane Missile]!
Leylin's finger flicked, and an attack far more terrifying than a magic missile shrieked forth. The arcane-energy-laden missile shattered several metal gear fragments carried within the blast, then carved a deep crater into the floor.
"This place…"
Leylin surveyed his surroundings. The room resembled a massive workshop, with numerous metal lathes and mechanical arms arranged in orderly rows. Some of the bases already bore a layer of dark green corrosion.
"Is this some kind of golem fabrication workshop?"
Leylin followed his instincts, searching for that faint trace of distortion.
"Mr. Leylin! Save me!"
And just then,
«Helen?» he shouted, several layers of protective light flaring up around his body.
«Ugh… help me…» Only whimpering sobs answered him.
Gritting his teeth, Leylin walked towards the source of the crying.
After turning a tall fireplace, Leylin saw a shadow resembling Helen sitting in the darkness, weeping. «I… I can’t get up…»
«Huh?»
Only then did Leylin realize that the floor, which had been smooth as a mirror, had inexplicably turned soft here. Several large black hands had emerged from it, firmly gripping Helen’s ankles.
«Get lost! You malicious things!» A dark gleam expanded in Leylin’s eyes. He shouted the command in ancient Byronic.
«Ssss…»
The essence of his soul transformed into the phantom of a Targaryen wyvern, roaring violently.
Puff! Puff! Where the soundwave passed, those black hands violently expanded, fleshy tumors rolling up beneath the skin. The tumors grew larger and larger, until the blue veins on them became visible, and finally, they suddenly exploded.
«Aah!» Helen screamed. Although the black hands had dissipated, a layer of skin on her ankles had also instantly vanished, leaving behind horrifying corrosion wounds.
The black pus seemed to possess powerful corrosive properties, instantly melting away more than half of Helen’s clothing.
Sizzle! Sizzle!!! Numerous black droplets splattered onto the nearby metal tabletop, corroding countless spots.
—[Healing Medium Wounds]!
Leylin immediately shot a healing spell, then rushed to Helen’s side. «Are you okay?»
«I… I’m fine…»
Helen slowly turned her head, causing Leylin’s pupils to contract instantly.
What appeared before Leylin was a bizarre, twisted face. Her features were completely displaced, covered in distorted veins and scars, more terrifying than the most repulsive specter!
«Who exactly are you?»
Leylin rapidly retreated, eyeing the monster warily. It radiated the same soul fluctuations as Helen.
"My Lord Leylin! I… I'm Helen…"
The monster let out a panicked voice, yet its twisted face was contorted with a hideous expression. A massive mouth protruding from its forehead gaped open, revealing yellow, jagged teeth and a green tongue bristling with barbs.
"It seems… the Shadow of Distortion never intended to leave behind a genuine inheritance. Perhaps… it merely visited this place and left behind a sliver of its malevolent will as a parasite… and now, with the entire demiplane on the verge of collapse, that sliver has awakened on its own…"
Leylin's heart jolted as a terrifying possibility crossed his mind.
A mere wisp of malevolent will left behind by an ancient eighth-tier Grand Wizard was enough to plunge him into a life-or-death crisis!
—[Scorching Fireball!][Scorching Fireball!][Scorching Fireball!]
—[Searing Ray!][Searing Ray!][Searing Ray!]
At the brink of death, Leylin unleashed his trump card once more. Countless second-tier and third-tier fire-attribute spells materialized in an instant, like a sky blanketed with stars.
"Spell Torrent!!!"
A roaring surge of flames instantly engulfed the spot where the monster had stood. The sheer volume of low-tier spells piled together had actually attained a hint of the power of a[Legendary Spell]!
BOOM! The scorching flames melted a great deal of the surrounding lathes and mechanical arms, forming dark red molten metal that slowly flowed across the floor.
Once the spell torrent subsided, a bare, cleared corridor lay before Leylin. The monster was nowhere to be seen—it seemed to have been utterly annihilated.
Amid the glowing molten metal, a dark object stood out starkly, having resisted the heat entirely. Instead of melting, it bobbed up and down in the liquid.
"That's… the beast hide scroll Helen was holding!"
Leylin started in surprise, then a gray, stony claw reached out and fished the scroll from the molten stream.
The black beast hide was still stained with blood, yet it too had not dissolved in the molten metal. A peculiar expression flickered across Leylin's face.
"Leylin! Save me…"
Along with the voice, a hand burst through Leylin's magical defenses in an instant. Gripped by a force of distortion, it clamped down hard on Leylin's shoulder.
CRACK! Whether it was his mage robes, his leather armor, or even Leylin's personal barriers—before this hand, they were as fragile as paper and were torn apart in an instant.
A searing, violent pain shot through Leylin's left shoulder, accompanied by a malicious intrusion.
"Damn it!!!"
Leylin's face twisted into a savage snarl in an instant. "Get off me!!!"
The Taerion Wyrm seemed to sense the danger as well—its spectral vertical pupils narrowed sharply, and a terrifying devouring force spread outward in all directions.
——[Blink!]
Leylin's figure flickered, and he instantly materialized outside the workshop. Without a single glance back at the monster within, he broke into a desperate sprint.
——[Haste!]
Several Haste spells lit up across Leylin's body in succession, and he immediately bolted toward the entrance at full speed.
For Leylin, while he was willing to risk his life for the legacy of an eighth-level existence, he would not throw it away! Now that he had realized the danger here far outweighed any potential reward, he made his decision without hesitation—leave.
Chirrrp!!! Scraaawk!!!
Behind him, distorted laughter echoed ceaselessly, accompanied by a terrifying pursuing force. The entire corridor warped layer by layer, crumpling like a piece of shredded cloth.
——[Freeze]!
A torrent of spells surged forth once more. Numerous Freeze spells combined with Create Water, instantly forming a massive iceberg behind Leylin.
The colossal iceberg sealed the entire corridor shut, cutting off the pursuit of the horrifying creature behind him. However, cracks continued to appear across its surface, spreading layer by layer.
Seizing the opportunity, Leylin lunged toward the exit and threw himself outward.
In the very instant of his escape, a pair of twisted claws covered in green fur groped furiously after him from behind—only to catch a few scraps of his robe in vain.
BOOM!
Leylin vaulted out of the secret passage, and behind him, the interior was engulfed by a silver spatial storm—a dimensional catastrophe triggered by the demi-plane's collapse.
"Young Master!"
Tiffa rushed over, her face etched with worry.
"I'm fine, I just ran into a spatial storm. Luckily, my luck held out!" Leylin smiled, a faint glow of healing magic already spreading across his shoulder.
"Leylin?!"
Another woman's voice rang out from beside him, making his body stiffen.
He turned his head with some difficulty, and his gaze fell upon Helen—a living, breathing Helen standing right there, a look of concern still lingering on her face.
"What's going on? Weren't you still inside?"
Leylin's pupils contracted sharply.
"Helen?!" The surprise on her face deepened. "After we left the core control room, you told me to head back first, saying you wanted to explore on your own..."
"I did see Miss Helen come out first!" Tiffa chimed in from the other side, corroborating her account.
"Then the 'Helen' I saw before... which one was she? And who tampered with my senses..."
"Then what about this—do you recognize it?"
Leylin flipped his palm, and the black, bloodstained beast-hide scroll he had obtained earlier materialized above his hand.
He had already verified through multiple methods that the Helen standing before him was a genuine, flesh-and-blood living being. Her soul fluctuations matched what he remembered as well—this was no disguise conjured by some malevolent will.
"My scroll..."
Helen gasped, her hand flying to the dimensional pouch at her waist. Her face slowly drained of color. "It's... it's gone! I always kept it inside my dimensional pouch..."
"So that's how it is... truly worthy of the Shadow of Distortion!"
Leylin let out a long breath, sighing. "It has completely mastered the concept of 'distortion'—to the point where time, space, and even my own senses were entirely warped?"
"Young Master! Is there an enemy?!"
Tiffa had also noticed something was wrong by now. She stood guard at Leylin's side, her eyes locked on Helen, ready to strike down the woman at the slightest sign of hostile movement.
"It's nothing... just a misunderstanding!"
Leylin waved his hand dismissively. In the world of Wizards, he had encountered far stranger things than this—naturally, he had developed a certain resistance to such disturbances.