The Undead Scepter in Odys's hand felt colder than ice. His soul seemed to tremble before it, and only by struggling to control himself could he keep from bowing to Brad Rick on the altar.
Odys's face was pale, but he suddenly smiled. "Sorry. I've changed my mind!"
Katarina, the Demoness of Unaging, replied without expression, "You still don't understand? You no longer have that choice. Brad Rick will bend your soul to his will and make you use Mystical Reenactment."
Odys understood. "You never intended to let me leave alive, did you?"
"No. This is a necessary sacrifice," Katarina said earnestly.
Just then, the illusory Underworld shook visibly, and a Bronze Gate marking its entrance appeared.
Both Brad Rick on the altar and Katarina froze. Who had suddenly arrived?
Creak—
The intricately patterned Gate to the Underworld opened. A woman in riding clothes and a metallic mask stepped out.
It was Bernadette, Queen Mystic!
Katarina was baffled. How had she found them?
Before Arianna had given Odys the crystal, this had been his plan for meeting Bernadette.
Odys had known the Demoness Sect's scheme would involve the Underworld, so they had agreed that Bernadette would come through it to meet him.
After Odys's movement and Beyonder Abilities had been restricted, he had spoken a sentence even Katarina failed to understand. It was in the long-lost language of the Phoenixes.
Like Jotun and Dragonese, Phoenixese had two forms. One was used in daily life and later evolved into Dutanese, a language entirely unrelated to Ancient Feysac.
Most people on the Southern Continent still spoke Dutanese.
The other was a language capable of drawing on the forces of nature in mysticism.
The Phoenix Ancestor had created the Underworld, and in ancient times, Phoenixese was chiefly used to draw on its power.