MTLNOVEL Chapter 1002
Chapter 1002: New Duel Rules: The Cemetery (15.5k)
Before today, although every Duelist was a Magus, not all Magi were Duelists.
But from this day on, Magi and Duelists would likely be completely synonymous!
To witness the moment of change in an era was extremely fortunate for those like the [Twin Sacred Knights] who happened to be present at this place.
Yet those still trapped within the flesh tunnel, contemplating whether to return, felt very regretful.
Such is fate.
Every person’s destiny is different; it’s impossible to see all the fireworks.
Hermes, indeed, is one of the last remaining gods among the Twelve Celestial Beings. His control over authority surpasses that of most gods, even those native to the Underworld, with only a few able to match his authority over the Underworld.
He completed all the ritual adjustments just before the pollutants began to reascend to the top of the [Endymion Tower].
The entire ceremony was finally about to complete its final part.
In a calm tone, Hermes said, “To incorporate the cemetery into the duel rules, I had to expend a great deal. After completing this ritual, I will temporarily fall into a deep sleep. However, this will not affect the true ceremony. I have already opened the corresponding permissions through a contract with Altair. If the plan progresses smoothly, I should wake up sooner. I hope our future paths will align.”
Principal Altair blinked slightly, feeling unexpectedly surprised.
She and Hermes had been here in the [Heavenly Court] for so long, and she had never seen him speak so tenderly.
This ancient god, who had lived for countless years, seemed to her somewhat twisted in personality.
But now he could say such words… there must be sincerity in them.
Unlike others,
Principal Altair had a clearer understanding of Hermes’ contributions to this plan.
Opening a new divine path seemed filled with passion, as if one would willingly offer everything to achieve it.
But in reality, it was far from it.
Especially for a god who, to avoid the [Ragnarok], survived in the form of a consciousness body for thousands of years in this desolate place, it was unimaginable.
Hermes ultimately took this path out of necessity. For him, the essence of this ritual plan was akin to feeding birds with his own flesh, a sacrifice.
The twelve consciousness bodies of the Pelopos Celestial Beings would transform into the soil of the new divine path after the ritual began, paving a muddy road for the Magi to move forward.
Without their sacrifice, Magi wanting to break through their limits and ascend to divinity would have to find another way instead of truly achieving divinity through magic.
Someone always has to lay the foundation for a path.
If everyone refuses to become soil, then no one can move.
Therefore, Principal Altair softly bid him farewell in the end.
The others also raised their hands to say goodbye.
—Though because of Hermes, two people were still lying there unconscious.
Dark held Shemmi in his arms, with the Imp Beast perched on his shoulder, while Deoxys stood by his feet, and behind him stood the Magical Beasts: the Destroyer God and the Goddess of Heartful Eyes, all watching Hermes.
The Demon King Eldridge had already been returned to his Magic Card. During his time in the [Heavenly Court], the Demon King Eldridge had provided significant assistance.
But a Demon King remains a Demon King; he wouldn’t treat him as a kitten just because he became one.
Now that the Demon King Eldridge was useless, the cold-hearted Dark Demon Mont收回了它到魔法卡中。
“Hmm?”
As Dark’s attention wavered, he suddenly noticed Hermes still standing motionless.
He suddenly realized that the final step of the preliminary ritual needed to trigger the world-level ceremony required him to complete it!
Masking his inner embarrassment with a smile, Dark took out twelve gold coins and placed each of them one by one in front of the statues of the twelve celestial beings.
During this process, Hermes’ consciousness body silently vanished, presumably entering his own statue like the other celestial beings.
A moment later, Dark finished placing all the gold coins and stepped back. Frankly speaking, he didn’t feel like he had done anything remarkable.
This ritual gave him no feedback.
But soon after he stepped away, lights of different colors appeared on the statues of the twelve celestial beings.
And above the [Endymion Tower], the massive halo formed by twelve beams of light slowly began to rotate.
An immensely vast divine power began to surge from the [Endymion Tower]!
“Rumble!”
Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound came from inside the [Endymion Tower], causing the entire tower to shake.
But when Dark and the others thought something had gone wrong, they saw the twelve statues rising into the air and flying upward.
The top of the tower disappeared under the glow.
Twelve beams of light shot up from where the statues were originally located, connecting with the massive halo in the sky.
The statues ascended along the light beams.
Dark and the others exchanged glances and immediately headed outside. Professor Shylph waved her hand, and wind elements gathered, making everyone walk on the air as if on solid ground.
The Magical Beast: Bunny drove the [Chariot of the Moon Goddess] behind them. The two still unconscious were lying in the chariot. They left the top floor of the [Endymion Tower], standing high in the sky, looking up at the massive halo above.
Beneath their feet, various creatures roared continuously, with even terrifying dragon roars faintly mixed in.
Creatures living in the black fog around the [Endymion Tower] were first startled.
But the divine might emanating from the sky was too terrifying, and no creature dared to fly upward.
The [Endymion Tower] then began to violently shake.
The entire tower emitted a terrifying sound, as if it might collapse at any moment.
But it did not fall.
Not even the pollutants within the tower leaked out. The pollutants that were about to reach the top floor actually started to recede. No, they really started to recede!
If one could see through the walls of the [Endymion Tower], they would see the pollutants rapidly retreating inside, much like a tide going out.
Pollutants clinging to the walls of the [Endymion Tower] retreated through special floors’ windows.
Even the floating black fog was affected, being sucked into the [Endymion Tower].
Dark couldn’t help but look down and suddenly noticed the creatures below without the black fog.
These creatures, stripped of their coverings, panicked and scattered in all directions.
From the retreat of the black fog and wall pollutants, one could roughly discern the progress of the pollutant retreat inside the [Endymion Tower].
It was astonishingly fast.
It was only due to the immense height of the [Endymion Tower] that it took some time.
Looking up again, the twelve celestial beings’ statues had ascended to the massive halo.
Standing on the halo, they exuded powerful divine energy.
Murmurs began to echo faintly.
Listening closely, it sounded like someone was chanting a spell or singing. In the air, Dark and the others felt an unusual emotion well up from within.
Suddenly.
In the twelve cities with beams of light, something seemed to shatter, emitting a loud noise.
An unprecedentedly huge angelic apparition rose from the twelve cities.
Behind those angelic apparitions were ten wings each, clearly belonging to the [Ten-Winged Angels], second only to the Twelve Celestial Beings.
However, these [Ten-Winged Angels] were obviously not real, and even differed from the [Six-Winged Angels] that Dak and company had encountered before.
They did not possess any great power; they were merely a symbol, part of the entire ritual’s components.
When Dak was atop the top floor of the [Endymion Tower], he thought that the preliminary ritual wasn’t significant.
But now, he suddenly realized that the arrangements on the top floor were just the tip of the iceberg of the entire ritual.
That was the core, not the entirety.
The true ritual enveloped the entire district within the [Heavenly Court]. When all the pollutants within the [Endymion Tower] retreated underground,
the ritual array beneath finally triggered. The ground of the central city began to violently shake. City roads suddenly split apart.
The creatures lurking within the city frenziedly fled. The pressure of the deities crushed down.
Twelve colors of light suddenly shot out from underground, forming twelve radiant pathways leading to the twelve outer cities.
An unprecedentedly massive ritual array finally took shape. The enormous halo in the sky abruptly stopped rotating.
The murmuring voices that had been echoing in their ears vanished the moment it stopped.
Immediately afterward, the twelve statues standing atop the halo all faced the center of the halo.
The statues gradually dissolved in the radiance, revealing the divine consciousness within them.
These were more realistic forms than the statues.
Dak looked up, imprinting the true appearances of all twelve celestial beings into his eyes and memory.
Without any surprise, he saw a figure extremely similar to Eralganie among the twelve celestial beings.
Clearly, it was the [God of War and Wisdom] Athena! “It’s a pity that Eralganie isn’t here.”
Suddenly, Dak’s heart once again felt the same thought he had before.
Though he had prepared extensively for this trip to the [Heavenly Court], the two most crucial deities were unable to enter the [Heavenly Court].
Eralganie did not get to see the statue and consciousness of the [God of War and Wisdom] Athena.
Nyx did not get to see the polluted ruins of the city. And all of this would be completely resolved after the ritual concluded, ushering in an unforeseen new future.
This [Heavenly Court] would also be sealed forever with the complete slumber of the twelve celestial beings.
The next time it opens would be when Hermes awakens… or perhaps another celestial being wakes up first.
Hermes originally planned to personally monitor the duelists using the contract, but now he must fall into a deep sleep.
Of course, this was also to create the [Graveyard], a result guided by Dak.
He hadn’t anticipated this either.
Fortunately, the grading and credit system for duelists had already been integrated with rules, even the approval authority temporarily handed over to Principal Altair.
With this dual security measure, the initial stages of the ritual should not bring about excessive chaos.
Dak watched the divine consciousness of the twelve celestial beings in the sky, yet his thoughts drifted away.
He couldn’t help but imagine the scenes after the ritual started and how it would be promoted.
Furthermore, with the addition of the [Graveyard], what would duels involving duelists taking the field look like?
He was genuinely curious!
Although the method was his idea, the duel rules of this world were fundamentally different from those of the Yu-Gi-Oh! duels, even with the addition of the [Graveyard].
And in Yu-Gi-Oh! duels, duelists do not personally participate in the battles.
Oh no.
He got excited!
Dak’s eyes widened as the enormous halo in the sky finally produced new changes.
The divine consciousness of the twelve celestial beings actually merged into the enormous halo along with the dissolution of the statues.
And after the divine consciousness of the celestial beings sank into the halo, light suddenly burst forth from twelve directions, converging at the center of the huge halo.
Those twelve beams of light converged at one point, creating a wave-like shape.
At that point, a multicolored core gradually formed.
That core began to extend upward and downward, gradually stretching into an ellipsoid.
Then, at a certain moment, in an instant, that ellipsoid of light suddenly elongated into an extremely long line!
That line almost aligned with the [Endymion Tower].
But it penetrated through the entire [Endymion Tower], turning what should have been a solid structure into a transparent glowing entity. The upward part of the light directly pierced through the entire night sky—even the [Heavenly Court]!
This line, which truly spanned heaven and earth, began to extend outward afterward, as if attempting to devour the entire sky.
“It’s time to go,” Dak heard Principal Altair’s voice. The principal’s silhouette remained unchanged, evoking a sense of nostalgia.
She softly said, “The final step of the ritual will sweep through the entire [Heavenly Court]; we can only observe this far.”
Afterward, she extended her delicate fingers, drawing a palm-sized circle in the air.
That circle rapidly expanded, soon reaching a diameter of three to four meters.
On the opposite side of the circle, what appeared was not the blood channel, but the peak of the highest mountain on the [Mountain of Gods].
“Do not miss anything. This door can only be opened once,” Principal Altair said.
Dak and the others’ hearts skipped a beat as they hurried toward the door.
However, they still occasionally glanced back at the increasingly wide beam of light.
Just before leaving, Dak closed the always-open [Mana Book].
He recorded the entire ritual scene using the [Mana Book].
When he returned, he could even use the drawings to make animations. In short, when he closed the [Mana Book], his heart felt relieved.
Stepping through the door, he felt a renewed sense of joy.
He yearned for the academy so much that he just wanted to return to his room in the tower and sleep.
As for the ritual and the duels, he decided to put them out of his mind!
Only after the last [Chariot of the Moon Goddess] passed through the door did Principal Altair take one last look at the [Heavenly Court] and retreat into the light circle.
Once there were no outsiders left in the [Heavenly Court], the light circle instantly dissipated.
The light beam that spanned heaven and earth swallowed the entire world.
The last glow of the [Heavenly Court] faded with the dissipation of the light circle. The oppressive aura随之消失。
隐藏在周围的【雾兽】几乎立刻汹涌而来。“进入【通道】吧。”
希尔芙教授召唤出飓风，吹走了汹涌而来的雾兽。达克的目光却是落在了地面之上。
那里，有一根看着“普普通通”的食人花正扎根在地面，却正是被留在这山峰之顶的【食人花巨兽】!
再抬头往上看，是熟悉的雷云，以及跳跃其间的雷电
“轰隆隆!”
雷声滚滚，乌云密布。
一处漆黑的旋涡安静的隐藏在乌云之中。
那是通往【天庭】的通道，只可惜已经是一条被人为封堵了的通道。
从那处旋涡之中依然散发出恐惧的气息，但在场之人都不会受其影响。
“先进马车吧。”达克说道。
周围众人微微点头，便都快速进入了【月神之车】【月神之车】的车厢没有米蒂亚教授的南瓜马车那么宽敞，但也勉强能将所有人容纳。
她们或站或坐，倒也安适。
希尔芙教授并没有进入马车，她站在车板上，取出魔导卡，召唤结界，将马车保护起来。
然后，【月神之车】才在【魔幻兽:小兔子】的驾驶下冲向了那四周遍布雷霆的漆黑旋涡之中。
“轰隆!”
天空之中忽然响起一道震耳雷鸣。
粗如儿臂的雷柱便是狠狠的轰在了【月神之车】外的结界之
Above.
Yet, that barrier merely rippled slightly and deflected the lightning. More thunderous pillars continued to strike down, but none could damage the barrier. The [Chariot of the Moon Goddess] swiftly pierced through the black vortex and entered the [Flesh Passage].
Professor Shylph withdrew the barrier and said to everyone in the carriage, “Wait here for a moment. I’ll go fetch them back.”
They were not afraid of the [Fog Beasts] outside, nor did they wish to re-enter the [Heavenly Court].
They simply wanted to go inside and bring back Professor Kazel and the others. The current Heavenly Court was no longer suitable for entry.
After a while, once the ceremony was completely finished, the Heavenly Court would enter a fully sealed state. Even using those “keys,” it would be impossible to trigger the mechanism for entry.
What Professor Shylph was more concerned about was whether Professor Kazel would come up with some method to enter the Heavenly Court again before the ceremony was completed.
After all, Eralganie was still around, and if they truly wanted to forcefully break in, there would always be a way.
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not occur.
When Professor Shylph transformed into a gale and arrived at the end of the Flesh Passage, all the expected people were present.
However, when Professor Kazel and the others saw that Professor Shylph had appeared from behind, they all showed surprised expressions.
Once Professor Shylph revealed herself, Professor Kazel quickly asked, “How is it? Is Dark safe? How did you come from there? If it weren’t for Lily… I should have already gone in.”
Seeing his distressed face, Professor Shylph couldn’t help but say helplessly, “We’re out. Everyone is at the entrance of the passage.”
“Everyone is out?” Gavin North rushed over, his face full of anxiety as he asked, “Professor Shylph, have you seen Fred and Quintina? Are they okay?”
Professor Shylph looked at Gavin North and fell silent for a moment. Gavin North immediately panicked.
Professor Shylph then said, “Fred is fine.”
Gavin North’s eyes lit up instantly, showing a look of surprise, but that look quickly turned to one of shock.
“What about Quintina? Quintina?” He clearly realized why Professor Shylph paused.
Professor Shylph paused again before saying, “There’s a small issue, but it may not be bad.”
Gavin North looked unconvinced, panicking like an old father—though he indeed was an old father.
Professor Shylph explained, “The injury is relatively severe for the elemental Noma Rogier, but she is not in mortal danger. You can rest assured.”
As soon as her words fell, those who had been watching this situation all breathed a sigh of relief.
Professor Shylph continued, “As for what exactly happened in the Heavenly Court, once we meet up with Bellamy and Sabrina, you can ask them. I won’t elaborate here. For now, let’s head back.”
With that, she walked to Professor Kazel’s side and together they headed towards the Pumpkin Carriage.
After a while, the Pumpkin Carriage set off again, racing toward the entrance of the Flesh Passage at top speed.
The other three factions also followed closely after a brief preparation.
Some of them suspected the authenticity of Professor Shylph’s words, but ultimately no one stayed behind.
Inside the Pumpkin Carriage, Professor Shylph had to deal with the myriad questions from Professor Kazel and the others.
In fact, regarding what happened in the Heavenly Court, she was just a passerby, contributing only a little during the final discussion; otherwise, she mostly played a minor role.
Even though she enjoyed playing that role.
Chris and Trina confirmed Dark’s safety and then relaxed simultaneously.
Their nerves had been taut since Dark disappeared, and now they could finally relax.
Professor Metia was full of curiosity and wanted to ask about every detail, but since Professor Shylph herself didn’t know the specifics, she could only try to deflect the questions.
Professor Harvey, who had rushed alone to the peak of the mountain, braved the lightning and the black vortex, and finally met up with the team, sat with a look of bewilderment on his face, leaning against the sofa.
Nyx lay on Professor Shylph’s arm, asking about Aurora’s whereabouts.
Eralganie sat upright, asking briefly if anyone had seen the [Deity of War and Wisdom], Athena, after everyone else had finished questioning.
Professor Shylph instructed Professor Metia to reinforce the barrier before recounting everything she had seen and heard upon entering the Heavenly Court.
She didn’t need to hide anything from any member of the team.
However, the other three factions were different.
Whether it was Sabrina Melville, the protagonist from the Church of Saints, or Bellamy Artemis, the High Priestess of the Elementals, neither would be entirely transparent with their teams.
And regarding the Northlands and the old king, Gavin North might learn some information from Fred North, but Professor Shylph was sure he wouldn’t reveal everything to Count Stanley Longfellow.
Although collaborating with Hermes wasn’t something that couldn’t be disclosed, keeping such matters mysterious had its benefits.
Now that the ceremony was just completed, no one knew how subsequent changes would unfold.
To speak out too early would make them the target of everyone’s criticism.
If things went badly, the people suffering would direct all their resentment towards these humans, not considering that the ritual was arranged by the twelve gods.
In summary, although they had signed a cooperative contract with Hermes, the contract still had plenty of room for interpretation.
There were many ways to fulfill the contract, with no strict rules.
Therefore, they agreed from the start to proceed cautiously and carefully.
First and foremost, they needed to understand the new rules of dueling thoroughly! They could be said to have benefited all magi tutors, but personally, they still had their own interests.
Releasing information was acceptable.
But they would wait until they were familiar with the new dueling rules and had established a certain advantage before making it public!
According to the dueling rules ultimately established by Hermes, duelists must activate the dueling arena to trigger the rules.
To activate the dueling arena, one must know how to do so.
Though this method isn’t difficult and can be considered simple, akin to casting a typical summoning spell, knowledge is still required!
Coincidental luck is almost impossible. As for how to promote and publicize the new dueling rules after mastering them, they would discuss that later.
The identities of the signatories of the contract were not equal.
Principal Altair and the others could oversee any matter of Saint Maryann Academy.
Dark Demon basically had no issues.
Bellamy Artemis, the High Priestess of the Elementals, had a queen above her, but her status among the elementals was high, and even the queen couldn’t interfere much.
Moreover, Princess Lucía Artemis also signed the contract! The only problem lay with Bishop Sabrina Melville.
Though Sabrina Melville was just short of becoming an Archbishop, she remained a bishop. Even if she successfully became an Archbishop after this incident, she wouldn’t be able to decide all matters of the Church of Saints. She would have to renegotiate with Archbishop Caleb Norris and Pope His Saintness Cys.
Of course, she and the twin holy knights left a contingency clause in the contract. If they didn’t receive the Church’s permission, their agreement with Hermes would turn into a personal agreement, and they would participate in the matter solely in their personal capacity.
[Finally finished writing. I deleted about two thousand words last night, rewriting made my head spin… There should be double moon tickets at the end of December. Brothers, please save them for me, don’t let some wild women outside trick you away! This year, I aim for the top ten!]