Shade, standing amid the fire, had quietly taken a large gulp of essence. As he cleaved through the sea of flames, he used his newly restored spirit to unleash another Moonlight Slash. Yet the brilliant moonlight was blocked by the giant fiery hand, having no effect whatsoever on the diviner.
"Be careful!"
He called to the two brothers behind him, their Destiny Rings floating overhead. Firelight illuminated all three of their faces, and none showed any intention of retreating. The giant-like diviner swung his enormous hand at them. All three leaped backward together, while the Edwards Brothers clasped hands once more. With their combined spellcasting, a huge mirror appeared directly in the air.
The mirror reflected the Flame Giant's figure. Following the brothers' prompt, Shade threw a Thunder Spear that struck the mirror surface and shattered it. The flames seemed to dim for an instant, but then the ground shook again, and the diviner within the fire recovered.
He scattered another vast sheet of flames. Upon touching the ground, the fire swiftly turned into humanoid figures of all kinds. Every one of them possessed a soul. Some were obviously spirits of the dead, while a small number were souls of living people.
There was no need to guess that these were the original residents of Green Lake Town and their descendants. Shade did not want to attack them, as doing so would hasten the ritual's progress. But when those fiery humanoids crazily lunged at the three of them in an attempt to self-destruct, they had no choice but to fight back.
Even after the flames exploded, pitch-black blood still flowed out and stained the ground. Though Shade knew little about this ritual, he knew that this would only make matters worse.
"This won't work!"
Shade, whose entire body felt feverish