As Shade stepped into the clearing amid a sky full of red butterflies and falling snow, firelight exploded in the air behind him. Then dozens of High-Ring Arcanists rose into the air at once, led by the Thirteenth Ring Warlocks, and launched an attack on the protected clearing.
Black mud rose from the ground like long dragons. Giant mud avatars silently charged at the living people of flesh and blood, while the fossilized creatures hidden nearby finally revealed themselves amid firelight and shadows.
The Divine Ritual prepared in advance used ancient runes symbolizing the authority of five gods to evaporate the black mud gurgling across the ground. Ring Arcanists wielding all manner of relics closed in on the clearing from the distant forest.
That was not all. At the same time, louder roars sounded in the distance. Sister Devlin, soaring through the air; Miss Danist, riding a pure white Unicorn; and another female Thirteenth Ring Warlock Shade did not know, with a Thirteenth Ring of Fate appearing behind her, pursued Hermons the Weeper of Blood and an elderly-looking stone statue toward them.
"The Church really did gather other Thirteenth Ring Warlocks!"
Multicolored spiritual light illuminated Shade's back and the back of his head, but he ignored the chaotic situation outside the clearing. Surrounded by butterflies, he continued walking toward the table.
The Guardian ignored him and kept both palms aimed at the filthy black mud Holy Grail on the table. The Holy Grail had nearly taken shape, its surface bursting with bubble after bubble. Each explosion brought filth flowing from deeper within the earth into the world above.
It was not that the Guardian did not want to stop Shade. He simply could not move at the moment. Maintaining the filthy Holy Grail required his attention, and facing the Church's