"Don't come any closer!" Only two prisoners remained, injured by the aftershocks of the battle, lying in a corner, witnessing their comrade being slaughtered like a chopping fruit.
They watched as the Black Robed Woman, like the embodiment of Death, approached step by step, and they lost even the courage to raise their wands.
There's no escaping it—there's really no escaping it.
The Black Robed Woman raised his wand, aiming it at the two trembling survivors, their eyes lifeless. His mission was not yet complete.
Saruman's command still echoed in their ears, "Not a single one can escape."
A green light appeared.
People who are missing limbs also die.
In fact, the Black Robed Woman had been more or less affected mentally.
Extremism is the most typical initial symptom.
"A criminal is always a criminal!"
"Once a criminal, always a criminal, even if you want to harm this world unintentionally!" The Black Robed Woman stood in the center of the inter-border hall, where corpses littered the ground.
Like a silhouette cast by Death.
The tip of his simple wand still lingered with a faint, lingering green glow of the Killing Curse. His gaze—through his pair of vertical, inhuman pupils—slowly swept across the entire hall, finally settling on the shadowy side corridor deeper within the hall, half-collapsed due to the fierce battle that had just taken place.
There are still people hiding there.
A palpable sense of fear, despair, and a desperate, mad malice emanated from the shadows, like a tangible filth, far more pungent than the scent of the dead bodies on the ground.
"Come out yourself, or should I make the move?" The Black Robed Woman did not act immediately, but simply "watched" the shadowy area. An invisible pressure surged towards it like a tide.
Finally, the shadow began to move.
One, two, three—finally, about thirty figures emerged, extremely slowly and reluctantly, from behind the ruins and magically constructed shelters.
These people were completely different from the rabble before them. They exuded a refined murderous aura, and their eyes, besides fear, contained a ferocity and brutality rooted in their very bones.
They were the lowest-ranking "residents" of this underground prison of the African Ministry of Magic, truly the most vicious and ruthless, sentenced to life imprisonment or even silently awaiting death.
Among them were the heads of dark Wizard families, madmen who had committed massacres, and fanatics who researched forbidden magic, causing the entire Village to change drastically.
Each of their names was once so powerful that they could stop children from crying at night. Those who were just killed were either their henchmen or people they had bribed.
As for the purpose...
Of course, hiding and letting those people distract the guards would greatly increase the chances of them escaping. It must be said that these clever Wizard had a good idea.
However.
They underestimated the extent of the blockade around this place, and even more so, they underestimated the terrifying strength of the Black Robed Woman, and the power to unleash his full force, leaving them no chance to escape.
"Who, who are you?!" At this moment, this group of fierce-looking people were so intimidated by the silent man in the Black Robed Woman in front of them that they dared not make a move.
"We can give you money, power, women, everything you want!"
Someone attempted to bribe the Black Robed Woman.
There was nothing they could do; they had witnessed firsthand how easily their comrades were slaughtered. The absolute difference in strength was like a cold abyss lying before them.
I just want you to stay.
1
The Black Robed Woman finally spoke.
His voice was flat and emotionless, yet carried a judgmental certainty. "You cannot leave. The outside world cannot bear the harm you bring."
These words acted like a fuse, instantly igniting the suppressed rage of a certain thug.
A sorcerer with a twisted centipede tattooed on his face and missing an ear suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and roared hoarsely, "Harm?! You say we harm the world?! Hah—what a ridiculous joke! You butcher! You monster who treats human life like dirt!"
You've killed so many people, your methods more brutal than even our most vicious Dark Magic! Aren't you more evil than us?! What gives you the right to stand on your moral high ground and accuse us?!
He had clearly misunderstood the reason for the danger the Black Robed Woman had mentioned. The man's words resonated with the other prisoners, and a suppressed commotion and low murmurs of agreement rose from the crowd.
Yes, that guy in black robes kills without batting an eye, and the magic he uses is incredibly sinister. What right does he have to say they're a threat to the world?
A group of people were chattering away.
The Black Robed Woman fell silent. His expression was hidden by the shadow of the hood, but his vertical pupils seemed to flicker slightly.
He neither refuted nor admitted it.
Seeing the Black Robed Woman remain silent, the one-eared sorcerer thought he had touched a nerve, or perhaps he knew he had no chance of survival today, and a desperate, reckless urge surged up within him.
He abruptly turned to the other prisoners, his voice shrill and Transfiguration with agitation.
"Everyone! You've all seen it! This monster won't spare any of us! We're all going to die anyway, are we just going to sit here like livestock waiting to be slaughtered?!" He waved his arms, acting like a madman. "Why don't we join forces! Use that forbidden technique! Sacrifice our lives, our souls, everything we have!"
"Summon the power of the abyss and perish together with this damned monster!!" Clearly, some Dark Magic that many people have learned is prevalent in this region.
"Total destruction!" These four words were like a curse, instantly igniting the last vestige of ferocity in this group of desperados. Despair at its extreme led to a frenzied counterattack. They were lawless beings who disregarded all rules, and after confirming that survival was hopeless, dragging such a powerful scapegoat down with them seemed to be the final "victory" in their twisted logic.
Their own lives are also disregarded.
All I can say is...
A desperado truly lives up to his name.
"Yes! Let's fight him!"
"Damn it, I'll bite off a piece of his flesh even if it kills me!"
"Serves you right for being so arrogant! Let's go to hell together!"
Amidst shouts and roars, the remaining thirty or so vicious thugs reached an unprecedented consensus. They quickly spread out in a strange formation, surrounding the Black Robed Woman, and simultaneously raised their wands or began scratching their own skin with their fingernails.
Twisted symbols were drawn on the ground with blood.
The Black Robed Woman did not stop them.
An ancient, obscure, and blasphemous chanting arose simultaneously from thirty throats, the sounds varying in pitch, yet eerily merging into a chilling chorus.
The temperature in the entire underground space suddenly dropped.
Black, viscous, shadowy substance began to seep from the walls and floor, and the air was filled with a strong stench of sulfur and decay, as well as some indescribable aura belonging to the ancient abyss.
Composite Dark Magic I [Abyssal Pact - Withering of All Things]! This is a forbidden spell that requires a large number of casters to sacrifice their lives and souls to activate. Its power is enough to annihilate a small town and drag all matter and energy within its range into an eternal abyss of shadow.
A terrifying magical aura shone on these prisoners.
That was the most dazzling light emitted in the final moments of life. Black energy spread out from beneath their feet like a tide, turning the ground into scorched earth and rocks Silencio dust in its wake. Even the magical elements floating in the air were completely swallowed up and annihilated.
The entire underground prison seemed to have been plunged into an inkwell; the light rapidly dimmed, leaving only the burning flames of life on the prisoners' bodies and the surging, all-consuming darkness beneath their feet.
"He was terrified! He couldn't move!"
"Hahaha! Monster! Regret it now! Too late!"
Feel the embrace of the abyss! Fall into darkness with us forever!
Seeing the Black Robed Woman still standing there silently, making no move to stop or evade him, the prisoners erupted in hysterical mockery and laughter. They assumed the Black Robed Woman was intimidated by the power of the combined forbidden technique, that victory was in sight, and that even if he died, he would have no regrets.
However, just as the raging tide of shadows, powerful enough to wither everything, carrying the destructive energy gained from the sacrifice of thirty powerful black Wizard, was about to engulf the Black Robed Woman —a sudden change occurred!
That all-consuming darkness.
That shadow seemed to annihilate even light and space.
When it was still an inch away from the hem of the Black Robed Woman's robe, it froze as if a living creature had encountered its natural enemy, and then—shrank back in fear!
It was as if an invisible, absolute domain existed around the man in the Black Robed Woman, so that even the forbidden power originating from the abyss dared not, would not, and could not even touch him in the slightest!
The surging tide of dark energy futilely washed over the invisible boundary, yet it could not cross the line, only forming a strange vacuum around the Black Robed Woman.
The laughter and jeers stopped abruptly.
The madness and smugness on the faces of all the prisoners froze instantly, replaced by utter astonishment, bewilderment, and disbelief.
"How... how is this possible?!"
"The power of the abyss—is it repelling him?"
"No! It's—it's because I'm afraid of him?!"
"Were our sacrifices—our lives—in vain?!"
Someone screamed in despair.
Some collapsed to the ground, their Life Force rapidly draining and the magic backlash causing them to succumb. The one-eared sorcerer who had initiated the plan, his eyes bloodshot, stared at his rapidly withering arm and the retreating darkness, letting out a desperate roar, "No-!! Demons of Hell! You have broken your promise!! You accepted the sacrifices, why do you not fulfill your contract?!"
Unbeknownst to them, the "contamination" emanating from the Black Robed Woman originated from a source of a far higher level than any so-called "hellish demon" or "will of the abyss" they could comprehend or communicate with.
That was deep within R'lyeh, confronting the fundamental distortions of the Great Old Ones and even their very essence, tainted by the dark side of the universe. In comparison, the abyssal shadows they summoned through sacrifice were merely stagnant puddles on the edge of a pond; how dare they corrupt the being that connects to the endless ocean of darkness?
Even demons are afraid?
The Black Robed Woman was somewhat disappointed. In fact, the reason he had these people unleash their magic was because he hoped to see some power that could combat the pollution.
As it turns out...
Just like the god they used for experiments, even the evil god in hell, it was nothing more than a weakling who couldn't withstand Cthulhu's power.
This shattered the illusions in the Black Robed Woman.
He let out a long sigh.
"I don't believe it!!"
In his final moments, the other prisoner, burning with his last remaining Life Force, frantically unleashed a barrage of powerful Dark Magic Reductor Curse —shattering, Corrosion Curse, and Soul Rend Curse — at the Black Robed Woman in black robes. However, all the magical light vanished without a trace upon entering the invisible domain surrounding the Black Robed Woman.
They vanished without a sound, without even causing a ripple.
The Black Robed Woman did not move an inch from beginning to end. He simply stood there quietly, as if watching a farce that had nothing to do with him.
Finally, the power of the sacrifice began to backfire. The black Wizard, their Life Force exhausted, let out a series of shrill screams as their bodies withered and decomposed rapidly in the darkness, turning into ashes. Even the remnants of their souls were devoured by the abyssal shadows they themselves had summoned.
Just as the last person—the one-eared sorcerer—was about to completely dissipate, perhaps it was a final burst of energy before death, or perhaps it was a subtle fluctuation in the invisible force field around the black -the Black Robed Woman caused by the annihilation of a large amount of magic, he happened to see a faint gust of air lift a corner of the Black Robed Woman's hood.
He saw it—a distorted face hidden in the shadows, clearly not human, covered in gray-green scales and with vertical pupils!
"You—you're not even human!!"
With his last ounce of strength, the one-eared sorcerer let out a roar filled with extreme horror and resentment. Then, his body and voice were completely annihilated in the lingering darkness.
With the complete annihilation of the spellcaster.
The pervasive shadows of the abyss vanished swiftly like the receding tide, leaving behind only a devastated hall, as if gnawed by an invisible behemoth.
And the nauseating stench in the air, a mixture of sulfur, burnt matter, and the remnants of souls.
"That's right."
The Black Robed Woman slowly lowered his head, looking at his hands, also covered in tiny scales, hidden beneath his sleeves. The one-eared sorcerer's dying words, "You're not even human," pierced his already numb heart like a cold awl, stirring up a complex ripple of bitterness and self-mockery.
Are they no longer human?
He stood silently for a long time, until the last trace of magical disturbance in the air completely subsided.
"I was at least once human, and I still have a part of myself as human." The Black Robed Woman slowly raised his head. The slight ripple in his vertical pupils caused by the revelation of his "inhuman" nature quickly subsided, replaced by the cold will of an executor. The mission was not yet completely complete.
Saruman's order was "not a single one can escape," and "ensuring absolute safety" was an ironclad rule ingrained in his sense of duty; he had to fulfill his responsibilities as a human being.
That's why.
The Black Robed Woman could be so ruthless.
He turned away, ignoring the grotesque ground beneath his feet, ravaged by complex Dark Magic and resembling an abstract painting, and the lingering echoes of Soul Wail in the air.
"Da da da~"
The Black Robed Woman strode forward, his figure disappearing back into the shadows, beginning the final assault on the entire underground prison.
It was also the most thorough inspection to date.
after all.
The Black Robed Woman didn't want to make the same mistake a second time, and he also knew that this place was being used for the last time, as if today were his last day.