Chapter 250 - The Dry Soul Curse
Today, Dawn Cathedral was unusually bustling with activities. When Lin Li went over, he could see at least 10 coaches parked outside the door. Lin Li could not help but feel a little curious. Although he was mostly staying in the Guild of Magic, he would pass by the cathedral when he had errands to run, but Lin Li had never seen Dawn Cathedral so crowded before.
Felan was the Kingdom of Magic. In this land, all children knew being a mage would make one the most successful in his life. They believed in the power of elements and were curious about the mysterious knowledge of magic. Adults were telling them repeatedly ever since they were born to put in hard work to study magic and become a true mage when they grew up.
The Brilliance Shrine had been planning to spread Dawn’s teachings over this kingdom. Yet, what awaited them was not the blessing of Dawn, but a vigorous rejection they’d never faced before. From royalty to random peasants, none subscribed to Dawn. Their hearts were wholly filled with the pursuit of Magic, and could not make any space for Dawn.
An inn owner once said, if a mage and a priest visited his inn at the same time, the mage would get the best service, while the priest could only crouch in a corner to chew on burnt bread. This was the awkward position Dawn Cathedral faced in the Felan Kingdom.
Dawn’s efforts over few hundred years did not see any rewards. Finally, even the pope burst out in rage, exclaiming, “Damn those heathens! Go to hell with your damn magic!”
In the recent one hundred years, no priest was willing to visit the Felan Kingdom. They were all clear that there was no meaning in preaching for Dawn there. Even the most religious believer could not help but admit how everyone had magic in their blood—even the miracles that happened to him could not reform them.
Dawn Cathedral was one of the few cathedrals in the Felan Kingdom. The unlucky Archbishop who was in charge of preaching for the cathedral was a middle-aged fatso named Raleigh.
“Are you stopping him?” Sendros glared at the young priests. His palish face had no expression, but there was a hint of bloodlust in his eyes.
“Master Sendros, w-we… we really did not know this mage is acquainted with you…” the young priests muttered while they trembled. They could not believe that the seemingly status-less mage would know Sendros.
It was as if they had seen a ghost…
Who was Sendros? He was the man who controlled the whole Undead Army which had millions of members. To him, lives were mere consumables for his army. In the documentation of the Brilliance Shrine, Sendros had long been recorded as a bloodthirsty devil. He launched more than 10 massacres, which led to at least thousands of casualties each time.
Who wouldn’t be scared of such a person? Although the young priests were sincere followers, none of them were fanatics. They were also fearful of Sendros. They feared that the semi-undead monster would kill them and turn them into undead using evil spells.
Furthermore, he was a friend of Archbishop Englos.
That was right, they were friends.
People who were not aware of insider information would never understand how a priest who believed in the Holy Light and a mage who controlled the undead became acquainted. It was obvious that they were best friends, and everyone knew that the evil undead mage, Sendros, could to a large extent influence the decisions of Englos.
He didn’t even have to kill these young priests directly. With just a line from him, they would be doomed.
The young priests’ faces paled. Their gazes towards Lin Li betrayed their plea to be spared.
They knew that the only one they could depend on was the mage. If he would help to speak a few good words, they would be able to live on. They did not dare to stop Lin Li anymore. As long as their lives were intact, what else mattered even if they let another person in?
“It’s only a small misunderstanding. All will be good after some explanation.” Lin Li laughed it off. He was definitely not as petty as the young priests. “Oh, yes! Are you going to meet Archbishop Englos? Can I go with you?”
“Sure.”
How would Sendros not understand Lin Li intended to forgive the young priests? Hence, Sendros nodded and walked into Dawn Cathedral.
“Englos, look who is with me!”
“Sendros, why are you here?”
“Haha, I’m not here just to see you. I’ve brought you a noble guest too!” After seeing his old friend, it was as though a sense of humanity could be seen from the semi-undead monster. His palish face twitched and squeezed out a smile.
Englos lifted his head suspiciously before grinning in surprise. “Master Felic, I didn’t expect that you would visit Dawn Cathedral. I still went to the Guild of Magic to look for you twice; unfortunately, you had not came back…”
“Hehe, Archbishop Englos, you are too courteous. I’m not fit to own the title “Master” in front of both of you. You should just call me Felic.”
“No, no, no…” Englos said as he invited the two men into the guest room to have a seat. He explained seriously, “What you solved was a difficult task that no pharmacist in Felan could solve. Just this is enough for you to bear that title. Oh, yes. Master Felic, why are you free to visit me today?”
“Erm…” Lin Li scratched his head, and said honestly, “One of my friends was cursed. I’m here to find Archbishop Englos to help. I wonder if you have the time to do so?”
“I don’t mind helping. But, to be honest, I’m not really skilled in curses. Why don’t you find Hoffman for help? He is a true Master of Curse.”
“I have already sent people to invite Mr. Hoffman. However, my friend is in an extremely complicated state this time. He was not only put under a curse, but also badly injured. I fear he might not be able to endure the deep pain while we rid him of the curse. Hence, I hope that your theurgy could heal his body.”
“I can do that…” Englos agreed. As one of the four Archbishops of the Brilliance Shrine, his mastery in theurgy was naturally not something Raleigh could match. Even if he were to injure his arm badly, it could still be easily treated.
“That’s great!”
“Oh, yes. Master Felic, may I ask what curse your friend was put under?”
“I’m not too sure about that. I could only judge from his reactions. That curse, however, is very strange. It was like sizzling black smoke emitting from his wounds. I could also feel that my friend is gradually weakened by the curse. I’m afraid he does not have much time left…”
“I see…” Englos commented while he sank into deep thoughts.
Just when Englos was still at a loss of what to do, Sendros interrupted, “If I am not wrong, your friend is still in a coma, is he?
“How do you know?”
“Then that’s right…” Sendros did not answer Lin Li’s question, but continued, “I have seen this type of curse before. It is called the Curse of the Dry Soul, a secret spell that has existed since the Dark Age. I remember reading about it from the magic book for the undead. The book states: ‘A real devil can give you great powers if you know how to control it. However, if you don’t, the devil would swallow you immediately.’”
“Do you mean that this Dry Soul Curse is like a bite of mana—if it failed to injure the opponent, it would harm the caster?” Lin Li asked, frowning. Could it be that Orrin was not attacked by Gryffindor, but learned a forbidden spell instead?
“Yeah, that’s a possibility…” Sendros said as he shook his head. “Master Felic. Frankly speaking, this curse is the most troublesome of all. Because it has existed for so many years, it has been in the blood—even if I know the concept, I do not know how to cure it.”
“Sendros, please don’t say that. Hoffman might have a way out.” Englos shot a glare at his old friend. He knew how Sendros would always think of the worst case scenario. Although he might be right at times, it would not sound comforting to the others.
“I hope so…” Sendros nodded unwillingly.
“Archbishop Englos, do you have time now? If it is possible, can you go and take a look personally? I’m afraid my friend might not be able to wait any longer…” Lin Li asked impatiently.
“No problem,” agreed Englos without further ado.
“Can I go with you?” Sendros asked and stood up like Englos.
“Alright, both of you please follow me.”
The three men walked out of Dawn Cathedral and rushed to the Guild of Magic in a coach. They left the young priests and the bored passers-by guessing at the noble identity of the young mage who could get the help from the leaders of the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine. It was no joke. Englos was one of the Archbishops of Brilliance Shrine, while Sendros had the authority over the whole of the Darkness Shrine. Their status was so high that even His Majesty would not be able to enjoy the same treatment.
Those several young priests were especially scared, and broke out in sweat when they saw the leaving coach. If they had known the background of the young mage, they would not have dared to stop him.
The coach stopped outside the guild hall. The two old men saw a familiar figure the moment they came out of the coach.
“Hahaha! Hoffman, you’re here too?” Hoffman’s round figure was too obvious. Sendros recognized him among the crowd right away after alighting from the coach. “Why don’t you rush back to Breezy Plains to look after your daughter? Don’t regret if she were to elope with a random dude…”
“F*ck! Sendros, what a shameless set of old bones you are! I’m going to spike your food sooner or later…” Hoffman was halfway through scolding that Sendros when he realized that Sendros did not need to eat at all. Hence, he added another scornful line. “Nope… You do not even need to eat any food. Just scram back to your cemetery and gnaw on corpses! I feel so awkward standing with you…”
“…” Lin Li was speechless hearing how the two oldies bantered with each other. He decided to step in to mediate their dispute. “You two, you two, mind your image!”
“Yeah, Master Felic is right. I’m a successful man. I should not argue with a semi-undead monster…” Hoffman scoffed as he entered the guild hall.
“This fella…” Sendros and Englos mumbled as they shook their heads reluctantly and followed them in.
Lin Li led the way and brought the three men to the guild’s treatment room. He took some time to tell Hoffman about Orrin’s situation along the way.
“Damn. So it’s the Curse of the Dry Soul. This is bad…” Hoffman commented after hearing Lin Li describe the situation. He could not help but frown at the thought of it.
“What do you think, Master Hoffman? You, too, can’t deal with the Dry Soul Curse?” Lin Li asked after seeing Hoffman’s expression. Lin Li could not help but grow nervous. If this expert in curses could not deal with it, he knew Orrin would really be in grave danger.
“But, it does not mean we have no solution for him. It would just be more troublesome…” Hoffman said as he shook his head. He did not say that Orrin would surely die, but he could not relax his deep frown.
“You mean…?”
“I mean…” Hoffman paused in his words. “Forget it, let’s go look at your friend first. Maybe his situation is not that serious.”
“Yes.”