Small villain's Viewpoint

Chapter 29

"We will stall them as long as we can, so please be careful, brother"

Julian looked at Julius anxiously. The monsters swarm was relentless, gnawing through their air tight defense. Fortunately, the knights were well trained for this type of combat, so no casualties were reported yet.

"I will, so be careful too", Julius nodded to his brother, patting the younger man's back. "Let's go", dragging Jade with him, the two sprinted towards the stone tablet, where the key in ending this trial lies.

"Haaa......I don't have the stamina for this......."

"I'll cast a barrier. Please be quick Julius, I can only keep it for a few minutes",Jade huffed as he tries to regain stability. Exorcist were magically gifted but physically weak. Just like how knights were physically strong, and yet can only cast low tier magic, it was a balance that people of this world grew up with. Raiders on the other hand can be well rounded, but that's all they can ever be, since their powers comes from training or from a different source; it will never be as strong as the divine blessings that devout followers of the goddesses received. Hence the only way for them to keep up was to use relics, which inevitably lead them to raiding towers.

Of course magical creatures who uses the power from nature are a separate case as well, but they were very rare so the humans had little knowledge about them. So humans who are gifted both physically and magically can only be considered as either a prodigy or a freak of nature.

"Jade, look out for skeletons who wears black robes, they can cast hypnosis even beyond the barrier",Julius warned Jade, before approaching the stone tablet. " I know, I'm an exorcist, in case you've forgotten",Jade grumbled, doubling the barrier around them. A bishop level exorcist can easily cover a small area, although what Jade casted was larger and stronger than what a normal exorcist of his level can cast.

This guy, he won't stop complaining but complies anyway. Julius' confusion for Jade's action grew, changing the cleric's opinion of him each time they interact. He is weak, yet he can keep such barrier longer than normal. He seems smart and foolish at the same time, he was full of contradiction.

Forget it. I should focus on healing Jeralt for now. Sighing, Julius observed the stone tablet. Surprisingly, it looked knew, without the wear and tear that an old stone tablet should have, just like the old and crumbling state of the temple.

[The dream must End]

Frowning, Julius could sense dreadful aura from the stone's ingraving. It was written in runic words, but he can somehow understand it, just like the runes written at the trial's passage
The words were similar, it was the same thing that the oracle told Michael's party. However, he still feels  apprehensive over it. The words maybe similar, but the meaning behind it; Julius wanted to ignore the strangeness that sends dreadful chills all over his being.

I shouldn't overthink it. Julian will not last long, I must end it immediately, he does not have the time to waste, everyone's lives depends on him. Prickling his index finger, droplets of blood drops over the runes, painting it red. Smearing his own blood, Julius watch as the runes change characters, turning into a picture of a maiden whose body was hidden in a thick ceremonial robes.

"Fallen priestess of the sun god, please heed my voice"

"Show me the secret temple"

The maiden moves, turning its head towards the bowing man, laughing. The priestess opens its eyes, two glowing crimson eyes stares at Julius. "I'll allow it", an eerie voice directly talks to Julius, it was a mixture of a woman's voice and something inhuman. The ritual was done hastily, thankfully the maiden accepted his offering, just like how she did with Alice's blood in the original. The blood priestess is a vicarious and a picky creature, that is why he brought Jade here in case the priestess rejected his blood. Opening its mouth, the maiden laughs joyously, relishing at the offering.

Red liquid pools over his feet, encircling the cleric. The maiden bowed at him, humming an incomprehensible tune. Politely, Julius returned the gesture, bowing his head; it was the start of the ritual.

[End my dream, human]

"Julius!!!!!"

Jade's screaming was the last thing he could hear as his consciousness slowly fades.
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Thanks for reading!!!

This is shorter than normal but I'll release two chapters. I was writing this at 3 am so I fell asleep mid way and forgot the flow that I was going with......