Chapter 166 - 166: The Hunt Complete

What followed was a barrage of Avada Kedavra. Having taken the first one head-on, Botis was instantly overwhelmed by a wave of weakness. The shock jarred his mind back to clarity—his body quickly turned incorporeal, teleporting out of the way. Even the Fiendfyre that followed couldn't catch up. No wonder they said that once someone reached the demigod level, they could no longer be considered human. His throat had been slashed, he'd taken an amplified Avada Kedavra head-on—and he still survived! At that moment, Edward once again opened Leymano's Travels notebook, his finger landing on the page that recorded the Spear of Longinus. Botis's heart clenched violently. His agitated spirituality screamed at him with one warning after another: Danger! Danger! Danger! Without hesitation, he crossed his arms before him, forming the "Embrace the Sun" gesture—Light of Holiness! BOOM! A searing beam of light rained down from the sky, engulfing the area. Edward had no choice but to abandon the release. He used Apparition to retreat, then once more tried to steal from Botis—this time, however, he failed repeatedly. Botis rose into the air. Now that his speech had returned, the first thing out of his mouth was: "Invisibility is forbidden here. Teleportation is forbidden here." Edward's form immediately became visible again. He held Leymano's Travels, the open page displaying a bloodstained spear! "!!!" Botis's pupils constricted. No wonder he had felt such intense danger earlier—the notebook clearly recorded that deadly spear used by the Queen Mystic! In other words, if it were successfully released, he'd once again be hunted relentlessly. At that moment, Edward's finger was already sliding across the page. "Sigh…" A weary sigh sounded by his ear. A masked figure flickered into view for a split second—and then Edward's movements froze. At the same time, a strange clarity dawned on Edward. Just a moment ago, he had intended to release Dazzling Hex and Stupefy while hidden, then immediately follow up with the Spear of Longinus. But now, that plan had vanished from his mind, and he found himself hurling spell after spell instead. So it had been a demigod spectator, quietly influencing him from the shadows. It seemed the spectator hadn't intended to act directly—yet hadn't expected that a mere mid-sequence Beyonder like Edward could push Botis into such a precarious position. Now, Edward was like a walking corpse, his eyes hollow and devoid of light, moving straight toward Botis. Though his mind was fully aware, he had lost control over his body. Botis once again took out the Box of the Great Old Ones. At this point, he couldn't tell what other hidden abilities Edward might have—or if another demigod might suddenly jump in. Better to seal him in the box first. "Skree!" The messenger bird that had been hiding nearby let out a piercing shriek. Edward's steps faltered. His glazed-over eyes lit up again. Quickly, he retreated while frantically using [Theft] on both demigods—and once more slid his finger toward the Spear of Longinus. Only, this time…instead of activating it, he snapped Leymano's Travels shut—then hurled it straight at the masked man. "Damn!" Smack! The notebook landed in a hand—but not the masked man's. It was Reinette Tinekerr, arriving fashionably late. She casually tossed Lemano's Travel Notes back to Edward and opened her mouth wide to unleash a piercing shriek: "AAAAHHHHH!!!" The masked man's pupils instantly turned gold. Golden scales quietly crept across his skin. A deep draconic roar rumbled from his throat, transforming into a visible storm of wind and power that exploded outward. Even before the storm reached him, Edward was already hit by a wave of dizziness. He quickly cast a Rennervate on himself and tried to run—but the storm caught up to him in an instant. At the same moment, Botis opened the Box of the Great Old Ones. Reinette's figure flashed and appeared in front of Edward, now holding an intricate little cube that looked like a tricoloured magic box. She casually tossed it behind her. The cube expanded rapidly in midair and snapped shut over Edward. BOOM!! At that instant, the full force of the psychic storm erupted—but sealed inside the cube, Edward was completely unharmed. He was just starting to feel relief…when a loud "bang" sounded—a tremendous noise like the sealing of a lid—coming from above. He had still been taken into the Box of the Great Old Ones! Only, the presence of the "magic cube" had greatly delayed the onset of the box's puppetification effect. But it was only a delay—his muscles, bones, and movements were already stiffening at a speed he could clearly feel. Apparition? No use. Door Opening? No use. He picked up Leymano's Travels again and flipped to the entry for The Mermaid, sliding his finger across the page. In the blink of an eye, his body turned into seafoam and vanished—yet mere seconds later, he reformed into human shape, still trapped inside the cube. Leymano's Travels could only record three demigod-level powers, and the only one left now was the Spear of Longinus. He tried to target Botis with it—but failed. He then turned the target to the Box of the Great Old Ones. This time it worked—but then he hesitated. He remembered even Bernadette had stopped short when facing the Box of the Great Old Ones. If someone like her had paused, should he really go ahead? Edward recalled that on the third level of the box, there was said to be contamination from the stars. "Huh?" He suddenly froze. "Wait a minute…I don't think I'm afraid of corruption." —— Outside the Box of the Old Ones. Reinette Tinekerr had transformed into a colossal doll, as large as a castle, clad in a black gothic gown entwined with sinister vines and inscribed with countless mysterious symbols. Her eyes were a vivid blood red. She swept her gaze over the masked man. Her tightly shut lips parted—but no sound came out. It was a transfiguration curse. The masked man immediately felt a powerful surge of danger. Without hesitation, he activated the incomplete Mythical Creature form—a colossal Mind Dragon, then turned and fled at once. This woman was clearly not an ordinary demigod. If not for her unstable condition, he might've already fallen right here! Seeing the masked man flee, Botis didn't hesitate either. His body blurred, turning transparent as he prepared to enter the spirit world. But just then, a headless figure appeared in his pupils—carrying four severed heads. Reinette had taken possession of him in her Wraith form. She manipulated Botis to throw the Box of the Old Ones away. But before she could take any further action, she was expelled from his body—having just used her massive transformation, Reinette Tinekerr had fallen into a brief state of weakness! Botis seized the moment, flashing forward repeatedly and reaching out to snatch the Box of the Old Ones. At that very moment, the box, which had been rolling on the ground, popped open—its first layer facing directly toward the approaching Botis. The next second, Botis felt his movements stiffen. He immediately recognised this as the onset of puppetification. But his first reaction was not fear—it was disbelief. He had specifically blessed good fortune from the Angel of Fate to use the box. How could this be happening now?! There was no time to think. Fighting against the stiffness, he stretched out his hand to try and close the box. Reinette appeared once again in his pupils. Although the possession lasted even shorter this time, it was enough. Just before his consciousness froze, Botis clearly felt himself turn into a puppet, the surrounding area with him turning into toy-like scenery, sealed into the first layer of the box. Almost simultaneously, the Box of the Old Ones vomited—spitting out Edward along with the magic cube—right before he could activate the Spear of Longinus. It was afraid! It feared this lunatic who was utterly unbothered by pollution from the stars! Even Edward himself was caught off guard by the outcome. In the original canon, he didn't recall any signs of the Box of the Old Ones having sentience. But this was no time to dwell on that. He hurried forward and picked up the box, only to be troubled over what to do next. The artifact inflicted severe side effects on its holder. Without the good fortune granted by Ouroboros, even Botis wouldn't have dared use it. Sealing it away supposedly required placing it in the spirit world, then filling it with water and leaving it to "play" with the local microorganisms. Alternatively, maybe he should leave it with Reinette for safekeeping or consult Bernadette. At that moment, Reinette stepped forward, her four heads speaking in turn: "…Apologies." "I was…" "...Late." "The Rose School…" "…Stopped me…" "I couldn't…" "…reach you in time." Edward smiled. "You've already helped me a great deal." Reinette gave a slight nod. "Lady Reinette Tinekerr, please take me to a safe place. We still need to deal with Botis completely." "…Can…" "…Do…" "…That…" The final two heads opened their mouths but had nothing left to say. With that, she dragged Edward with her, slashing through the air into the spirit world. The enlarged messenger bird followed close behind. They traversed the overlapping blocks of colour within the dense spirit world for over ten seconds. When they emerged, they had arrived on the outskirts of Backlund. "This…" "Place…" "…Is safe." This time, Reinette's last head beat the third to the punch and completed the sentence. "Thank you." Edward immediately took out the necessary materials and performed two consecutive rituals, summoning the messengers of Azik and Bernadette to report the situation. Before long, replies arrived from both. Their own battles had concluded as well. Edward let out a long sigh of relief. At last, this hunt had come to an end. "Lady Reinette." He took out a prepared pouch and handed it over. "Here are ten thousand gold pounds. Consider it the payment for Sharron and the others' commission—it's settled." She nodded in silence and stepped back, preparing to reenter the spirit world. Edward summoned the messenger bird again. "Help me inform Mr. Azik that our side has finished. As agreed, the Creeping Hunger now belongs to him." The messenger bird gave a nod and flew into the spirit world. Edward exhaled deeply. "Whew…Next up is to return and find Bernadette—to completely deal with Botis!" —— A moment later, Bernadette arrived. Edward handed over the Box of the Old Ones. "Botis is sealed inside. In 24 hours, he'll be completely turned into a toy." And turning into a toy meant death. Bernadette accepted the box and said seriously, "This sealed artifact…is very dangerous. If we allow Botis to be transformed inside it, his precipitated Beyonder characteristics might be contaminated, making them unusable for potion-making." Was this…a warning? "You're suggesting we release him and finish him off again? But demigods of the Apprentice pathway are notoriously hard to catch. If he hadn't come specifically to kill me, he would've run the moment he saw you." ——— [Note]: We failed to meet our powerstone goal (even tho I was a bit late). So, no Extra Chapter. If you guys want one tomorrow, we'd need to hit 510 Powestones. Go, VOTE! And if you are like me and want to read 40 Chapters in advance of the current story right now, you can support me on my Patreon. Thank me later~ Link - (P)atre(o)n.c(o)m/ Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]