Chapter 1005 – Welcome To The Isle Of Desolation
“Is everyone here?” Felix asked as he stood on the platform overlooking all the Demons that were lined up in front of him.
All in all, they had gathered over eight hundred users of Dark Magic, and had brought them all to the stronghold that was built at the outskirts of the Ancient Ruins.
More than half of them were the young geniuses and prodigies of the Demon Realm, while the remaining were the people who had taught them Dark Magic.
It was not only the members of the young generation that were drawn to the Ancient Ruins. Even those that had studied the Dark Arts for a very long time were being called by the Ancient Ruins, so that they could take a pilgrimage and visit the Holy Lands that were made for them.
Some of these geniuses and prodigies had Masters of their own, who had taken them to the ruins, to better understand the sensation that was urging them to head North.
Of course, there were exceptions to this rule like Adam.
Contrary to what people believed. Some wielders of Dark Magic weren’t taught by Masters of the Dark Arts. There were several individuals who were born with this attribute, and being able to wield this power was as simple as breathing to them.
Adam was one of these people, and this was why he believed that he was superior to the rest. Unlike those that were forced to learn it the hard way, he had been able to use Dark Magic ever since he was a child.
As luck would have it, his Grandfather was also a wielder of Dark Magic, so the latter took it upon himself to raise, and train, Adam until there was nothing more he could teach him.
This led Adam to believe that he was the lucky one. A person that was born to be great because life had been smooth sailing for him.
The only time where he felt a danger to his life was when he entered the Ancient Ruins using the backdoor and met the Dark Wraith. Since then, Adam had become more cautious and hadn’t gone into the Ancient Ruins again.
Instead, he had intensified his training, which made Prince Felix, as well as the other users of Dark Magic, admire him.
“Everyone is here, Your Highness,” one of Felix’s subordinates replied.
Felix nodded as he continued his speech. “I’m sure that you already know that none of the people that have been sent to explore the Ruins have returned. The Demon Lord and I both agree that they might have died inside while doing their duties.
“Because of this, we have no choice but to send teams in greater numbers to explore the Ruins. This way, you will be able to help each other if something unexpected happens. I believe that if all of us work together, we will be able to unravel the mystery of this Holy Land.”
Felix paused as he let his words sinked in for a minute before continuing his speech.
“All of you will be divided into twenty teams with around forty members each. The Masters will move alongside their disciples, so make sure that both of you are in the same team. In order to make things easier for you, the members of the young generation will count one to twenty.
Those of the same number will form a team together. The Masters will go with the team their disciples are in. Now, please start counting, so that we can start our exploration.”
Right after Felix finished his speech, the forming of groups began. An hour later, all twenty teams had been formed.
Felix made sure to choose the team Adam was in to enter the ruins. Adam felt both excited and afraid at the prospect of returning to the Ancient Ruins. Last time, he went alone with no one to help him.
However, this time, he wouldn’t be alone. There would be plenty of people that he could use as shields, and cannon fodder, if something that would endanger his life arose.
“To the teams that have been chosen to enter first, go to the warehouse and accept the rations that have been prepared for all of you,” Felix ordered. “To those that have not been chosen, all of you are on standby until I deem it appropriate to send you in. For the time being, you may return to the stronghold and do whatever you want.”
“Everyone, dismissed!” Felix added as he made a gesture for the teams that were not included in the selection to return inside the Fortress, where they would wait for his next orders.
A few minutes later, Felix found Adam and gave him a communication crystal.
“If something happens, tell me right away,” Felix said. “I will send someone to rescue you as soon as I can.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Adam replied as he took the communication crystal and placed it inside his pocket.
Felix smiled as he patted Adam’s shoulder. “I wish you the best of luck. May you have a fortuitous encounter inside the ruins.”
Adam nodded. This time, his words were sincere when he replied to Felix. “I wish for that as well.”
“Good. Keep me updated.” Felix winked before walking away. In his mind, Adam was one of his subordinates, so he needed to ensure that he would be safe during the exploration.
After the three teams had finished their preparations, they all moved to the main entrance of the Ancient Ruins, which could only be opened with Dark Magic.
Those who didn’t possess this affinity would immediately be sent flying away by the rune inscriptions at the entrance.
Felix had learned this the hard way, when he tried to send some of his elite warriors to explore the Ruins when they were first discovered.
After the last member of the three teams entered the Ruins, a black barrier covered it, in its entirety.
“What is going on?” Felix asked his subordinate who was looking at the Ruins with a surprised look on his face.
“I don’t know, Your Highness,” the subordinate replied. “This has never happened before.”
Felix knew that his subordinate was telling the truth because he had spent most of his time inside the stronghold since the ruins had been discovered. This was the first time he was seeing this phenomenon, and it made him feel restless because he didn’t know what was happening.
“I’m going to check the Ancient Scrolls that pertain to these ruins, and see if I can find the reason for this incident,” Felix declared. “If you see anything strange, you are to report to me at once. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Your Highness!” the subordinate replied.
Felix glanced at the dark dome that had encapsulated the Ancient Ruins, one last time before hurrying towards the stronghold. He hoped that after reading the Ancient Texts that had been taken from the Royal Library, he would understand why the dark dome had appeared.
Meanwhile, inside the Ancient Ruins, the three teams found themselves in a wide open plain that extended for miles. All of them had no idea what was happening, or if they were still inside the ruins.
Adam, who was scanning his surroundings, felt a chill run down his spine as he hurriedly looked to the East where the dreadful feeling was coming from.
He was not the only one that was looking towards the East. Those who had a very high affinity to Dark Magic also felt that something ominous was headed in their direction.
Adam narrowed his eyes, as he used the power of his Dark Magic to see farther than what was humanly possible. Soon, his gaze fell upon the Dark Wraith that he had met when he entered the Ancient Ruins for the first time.
As if sensing that someone was spying on him, the Dark Wraith shifted its head to look straight at Adam before laughing.
It had been hundreds of years since he had opened the Isle of Desolation to those who wielded the power of Darkness, and there was a menacing excitement that could be seen in its glowing green eyes that looked at Adam as if he was a delicious delicacy.
“Welcome… to the… Isle of Desolation… young man,” the Dark Wraith said in the same hoarse voice that made Adam’s skin crawl. “I hope… that this time around…, you will… enjoy your stay.”
Before Adam knew it, he was already running.
His instincts were telling him to run as far away from the Dark Wraith as possible. He had a feeling that if the Dark Wraith were to catch him a second time, something very bad was going to happen to him.
