The cave was dead silent.

Though the other mages did not personally feel it, no one questioned it.

Because they all knew that Dilin's Sensing Technique was not something an ordinary mage could reach.

It was by virtue of this innate Sensing Technique that he was able to climb to the rank of Grand Mage before the age of thirty.

Flora frowned deeply.

Though she was also a Grand Mage, she wasn't adept at Sensing Technique.

After Dilin's backlash, she also attempted to focus her perception on the hidden evil at the canyon's depths.

She could only vaguely sense that somewhere in the canyon, malice was surging like a festering tumor growing from the depths of flesh.

Each time she touched it with her mind, it felt like a dull knife slicing through the edge of consciousness, sending a chill back.

"...That's not a power that the Snow Swearers can manipulate." She said softly, looking at the array at the bottom of the canyon.

The others turned to look at her.

"No matter how brutal they are, they're just mortals. Even if their numbers are vast and their organization complete, they can't lead such a ritual." Flora analyzed emotionlessly.

"Therefore, those truly presiding over this ceremony are the magic manipulators hidden behind them."

As her voice fell, an indescribable chill instantly permeated the entire cave.

But it wasn't coming from the depths of the canyon.

It was from behind.

"Don't move." Dilin bit out softly, almost instinctively raising his magic staff, but his fingers trembled.

There were no footsteps, nor any signs of magic energy fluctuations.

It was as if they had emerged from silence itself.

Three figures had silently appeared at the entrance of the cave.

They stood in a line, blocking all retreat routes.

Each of them was cloaked in gray-black, their hoods hiding their faces, but they couldn't conceal the nauseating aura emanating from them.

"How is that possible?!" a young mage gasped under his breath.

They had clearly set up five layers of Stealth Techniques and even used a Silence Barrier, making the entire cave seem erased from the world!

Yet the opponents had quietly circled behind them, not just one person!

These people, no... once were human, but now are no longer.

They stood there, not intimidating by aura, but by that feeling of "existence itself shouldn't be", a bizarre sense.

It instinctively repelled, trembled, and shuddered the human spirit.

"...Is this, the worm corpse?" Young mage Aaron's voice was dry, his throat nearly clenched.

"How could they be... completely different from the reports?"

"I can't move..."

They had come to investigate the worm corpses, mentally prepared, yet facing these three "living" worm corpses, the battle-scarred mages shuddered uncontrollably.

The one on the far left wore an old knight armor.

The silver breastplate was rusted, the cloak tattered, but he still bore the appearance of a nobility knight.

On the right stood a Snow Swearer warrior, tall, still draped in ice beast fur.

The tattoos on his body seemed corroded by a black substance, transforming into twisted, writhing vein patterns, crawling up to his neck, finally invading his eye socket.

And the elderly man standing in the center,

Wore a ragged blue-gray robe, its edges tattered yet stained with patches of blood, swaying fabric revealing former decorations still clear.

With just a glance, it was known this person was once extraordinary.

Flora was stunned, feeling as if thrown into an ice cave.

"...Lake... uncle?"

She murmured, voice trembling, almost greeting him as though in mourning.

The young members of the Mage Corps looked up, speechless and astonished.

"Lake? That Lake? You mean..."

"Jurgen Locke's chief attendant?!"

"Wait... wasn't he a big figure from a century ago? Is he still alive?"

"No, he's not 'alive'." Dilin's voice was as cold as an undercurrent beneath icing, "He's already a worm corpse—one that retains its consciousness."

A young red-haired female mage turned pale, as if her last layer of security was being torn away, "We... we've been investigating to find clues about Jurgen Locke?!"

"What about him... Lord Loken?!"

Dilin closed his eyes.

No one dared to answer that question, but the answer was already obvious.

Since Lake had become a worm corpse, then the master he served all his life... likely wasn't faring any better.

Flora gritted her teeth and stepped forward, attempting a last plea, "Grand Mage Lake, if you can still hear me, I'm Flora, a mage from the Mage Forest, we've met..."

Lake did not respond, nor did he hesitate.

The human visage was covered by a translucent film extending from chin to cheekbone, eyes a deathly gray glow.

He raised his right hand.

With just a motion, the balance of the entire canyon shattered instantly.

"Gravity Collapse Field!"

The space felt as if seized and twisted by an invisible claw, a vast gray-white vortex emerged in midair, collapsing fiercely towards the cave where the Mage Corps were!

The air exploded with a series of "crack, crack" sounds, the Defense Barrier was collapsing.

"I— I can't hear the magic's echo anymore?!"

"Sensing Technique is... completely severed!"

"My Magic Field has collapsed!!"

Several young mages screamed, horrified to find they couldn't invoke any magic!

Even the most basic Shield Technique and Sound Transmission Technique felt as if their circuits had been severed, spells froze in their throats, magic energy dead in their palms.

They were as if suddenly thrown into a vacuum, not only losing breathing space but losing all perceptions as "mages".

"Damn... This is a High Tier Spatial Gravity Spell! Comparable to a Forbidden Technique level!"

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