The City of Alchemy was steeped in an impending sense of an oncoming storm, and Naomi Watts could not understand why her kin insisted on staying here.
She had been in the wrong before. She had fallen for some supposed prophecy and ventured into the City of Alchemy's sewers on her own, nearly getting her clan killed down there as a result.
Naomi still didn't understand why that prophecy had held such an irresistible allure, driving her to charge in heedless of the danger.
Though she had made a mistake, she had also risked life and limb to save them.
Even if punishment was due, Naomi would have accepted it. But why did every single one of them seem to have suddenly changed?
Her druidic clan had once made Naomi feel so warm. Although she was an orphan, the druids who had taken her in had always treated her with boundless care and affection.
Yet now... Naomi glanced around. Inside this cavernous inn lobby, there were only druids from their clan, and the kin around her seemed to be watching her, intently if covertly.
The moment Naomi stood up from her chair, every gaze snapped toward her, and someone even barked out asking what she was doing. Naomi could only offer an offhand excuse that she was going to pour a cup of water, but her heart was already beginning to flutter in panic.
The suffocating sense of surveillance made her feel needles at her back, fueling an urge to flee this place immediately.
Naomi felt certain something was wrong with her kin. It was very likely they were still under the lingering effects of the hag's illusions from before.
Yet what could she possibly do?
In this City of Alchemy, she didn't know a single person. If she wanted to seek help, she wouldn't even know whom to turn to.
For some reason, Anbaixiu's visage surfaced in Naomi's mind. Though that lich was terrifying, he somehow seemed quite reliable. Back then, he clearly could have slaughtered all the druids and snatched the idol from her hands, yet in the end, he had honored his word, escorting every druid out of the sewers without taking that precious divine statue.
Naomi couldn't help wondering: if she gave him another commission, might he be able to uncover the reason behind her kin's bizarre behavior?
The thought instantly tempted her.
She had never been one to stay meek and obedient; otherwise, she wouldn't have slipped into the sewers alone on an adventure in the first place.
Now harboring the urge to slip away, she began scanning her surroundings for an escape route.
*There's a window over there. If I turn into a cat, I can squeeze through the crack. Outside is an alley entrance—once I sprint out and turn the corner, I can hide!*
The plan seemed to have a high chance of success, so Naomi took advantage of pouring water to inch closer.
Just as she was about to reach the window, a sharp roar barked from behind her: "Naomi, what are you doing?!"
Startled, Naomi dropped the cup in her hands.
The oak cup hit the floorboards with a dull thud, striking Naomi's senses like a heavy hammer.
Naomi turned around to face the grim-faced Van Jones. This esteemed druid elder was usually quite gentle, so why had he suddenly turned so fierce? The look in his eyes seemed almost murderous.
Naomi stammered timidly, "Uncle Jones, what's wrong? I didn't do anything!"
Van Jones strode over and clamped a hand around her wrist. In a chilling tone, he said, "I already sensed the shift of magic within you. You want to wild shape and flee—did you think I wouldn't notice?"
Pain flared in Naomi's wrist. They truly were monitoring her, down to the slightest detail.
Tearing her hand free from Van Jones's grip, Naomi said agitatedly, "I was about to ask what *you* are doing! Why are you watching me like I'm a criminal? If you think I was wrong last time, you can just say so! I'm willing to accept whatever punishment you give, so what is this?!"
Her words brought odd expressions to many of the druids' faces. Met with the girl's pure, earnest eyes, some even looked away, unable to meet her gaze.
Yet Van Jones didn't show the slightest shame, nor did he intend to explain. He merely warned Naomi, "Don't even think of running. Wait here obediently, and in due time, you will understand everything."
Though thoroughly disgruntled, Van Jones was an elder who had watched her grow up. Seeing his grave demeanor, Naomi swallowed her grievance, pouted, and sat back in her seat, muttering under her breath, "I wasn't trying to run anyway! Once we get back, I'm telling the Great Elder! If you don't sincerely apologize to me, I'll never forgive you!"
Hearing the girl's words, someone finally couldn't hold back. Stepping over to Van Jones, he whispered, "Is what we're doing really right? We watched Naomi grow up too... She's a druid as well."
Van Jones replied resolutely, "She is not. From the very beginning, she was nothing more than a transaction. Didn't you all know that perfectly well? Could it be that over all these years, you've forgotten?"
The druid's complexion dimmed, yet he still protested, "But Naomi is innocent! She knows nothing about it!"
Enraged, Van Jones struck his companion with a punch, knocking him to the floor, and declared loudly: "Balance is an illusion; wherever mortals tread, nature suffers! Unity is a lie; mortals only wish to tame beasts and burn the wilderness! We are the thunder, we are the storm, here to purge those ignorant and reckless mortals and make way for pure heavens and earth for new life! Do you intend to break this oath?!"
Knocked to the ground, the druid heard the ferocious oath and finally bowed his head, not daring to speak another word.
Only Naomi watched the scene unfold in utter bewilderment.
"Uncle Jones, are you insane?! What are you doing?" The girl hurried to the fallen druid's side, helping him up as she asked with concern, "Are you all right? Let me heal you."
Yet, far from appreciating it, the druid shoved her violently to the ground.
He snarled at her, "I don't need your concern! Stay away from me!"
Shock painted the young girl's face as she looked at her kin. The surrounding druids merely stood by, watching coldly; not a single person stepped forward to offer a word of comfort.
Naomi's eyes immediately welled with red. She genuinely could not fathom what was happening. Why had everyone suddenly come to hate her?
Tears slipped down the corners of her eyes, and Naomi choked out, "I... I know I ran off recklessly before and put everyone in danger. I know I was wrong. I'm sorry. Please forgive me... I really didn't mean to."
No matter how she apologized, her former family remained unmoved, merely watching her with icy glares as if terrified she might slip away.
Helpless, Naomi sat on the floor, not knowing what had happened or what she should do.
Was this truly the lingering effect of the hag's illusions, or had they never accepted her to begin with? And trapped here, what was she even waiting for?
Just as Naomi sank into despair, the inn's front door was suddenly pushed open, and a man and a woman walked in side by side.
Naomi recognized the young man at once and cried out in excitement, "It's you! Mr. Lich!"
Anbaixiu smiled at the little girl and said, "We meet again. Why the tears? Did you guess that you'll have to pay me again soon?"
"Huh? What did you say?" Anbaixiu's remark caught her so off guard that her tears choked right back into her throat.
Without offering further explanation, Anbaixiu turned his gaze toward the strangely expressive druids and remarked, "After I saved you last time, you should have left. Since you insisted on staying behind to collude with those madmen, you have only yourselves to blame for walking to your own deaths."
Van Jones wasted no breath. With a ferocious roar, his body swelled, transforming into a grizzly bear.
The other druids followed suit, some shapeshifting, others casting spells.
In the blink of an eye, several magical vines lashed toward Anbaixiu, with two ravens and three wolves lunging right behind them.
Yet such a fierce assault failed to inflict the slightest harm on Anbaixiu, for the Undead Queen standing beside him had already acted.
Dark green energy flared across her fingertips, rippling outward like ripples across water. Wherever it passed, life withered in its wake.
This was the most rudimentary necromantic spell, Chill Touch, dealing necrotic damage to living targets.
In the hands of any other necromancer, it was at best a mere cantrip. But when the Rose of Decay cast this basic spell, it was as if she were unleashing high-tier necromancy—not only expanding a single-target cantrip into an area-of-effect wave, but magnifying its potency countless times over.
The magical vines crumbled to ash the instant they touched the necrotic energy. Bathed in the dark green glow, the druids transformed into beasts howled in agony. In nearly the blink of an eye, their shapeshifted forms were broken, reverting them to human shape before rapidly shriveling into desiccated corpses.
Van Jones never imagined his brethren would fall so effortlessly. In a panic, he reached to pull out the Statue of Silvanus, hoping to invoke divine power against this terrifying necromancy.
Yet the moment the thought crossed his mind, he felt his body stiffen.
The grizzly collapsed with a crash, the mana within him spiraling entirely out of control and forcing him back into human form.
Yet that was only the beginning.
Van Jones discovered that his skin was turning gray at a pace visible to the naked eye. There was no pain, only numbness—as if the very cells of his body were constantly dying off, and he was powerless to halt it.
A faint stench of rot wafted from his body, drifting straight into his own nostrils.
Only then did Van Jones realize that he was being transformed into an undead.
He had never heard of a spell that could turn a living person directly into an undead. Was this lich truly so monstrous?
Paralyzed with terror, Van Jones stared at Anbaixiu, his mouth parting to speak, but not a single sound could escape. Most of his body had already undergone undeath; his lifeless lungs could expel no breath, and his stiffened throat could not vibrate his vocal cords. He could only hold his mouth open as his entire being drained into a lifeless ashen gray.
Naomi watched the scene unfold in horror. Her kin had all died horrific deaths in an instant; she hadn't even had time to process it. Fear and confusion robbed her of the strength even to stand.
Stepping up to Naomi's side, Anbaixiu told her, "The truth is cruel. You'd better sleep for a while."
With a flick of his finger, Anbaixiu released a ray of magical light that settled upon Naomi, lulling the poor druid girl into a deep slumber.
Only after doing this did Anbaixiu turn to the Rose of Decay and say, "All right. Now the initiative is in our hands. It's time to have a word with those alchemists."
Chapter 79