The Devil's Cursed Witch

When Thala reached outside, she saw two youths staring at her--a young elf and an even younger shapeshifter.

Erlos and Aureus were shocked to see the high-ranking witch, but before they could say a word, the witch disappeared from the mouth of the cave without even trying to stop these two, as if she didn't care what happened next.

The elf had no strong reaction to Thala--he was merely curious as to why that person was in this mountain instead of the Netherfields, but the eagle beside him knew more about the secret currents behind the day of mourning.

Seeing the witch in this place, of all places, Aureus could not help but get a bad feeling.

"I think we should check the cave," Aureus said. "It's the most suspicious."

Erlos nodded, and after glancing suspiciously around them, whispered, "That old woman who left, have you met her before? She's Thala Grimsbane, one of the oldest witches in Agartha. She's a recluse--"

Aureus wanted to tell him Morpheus brought him to the Spirit Circle before, but in the end, he didn't. Admitting that would mean he had to also tell the elf that his uncle seemed to be scheming something detestable.

'What if I'm misunderstanding?'

Aureus didn't want to do that, especially since he had no evidence that Morpheus was indeed planning to harm others. He simply listened to Erlos speak.

Though he kept his voice down, the elf continued to talk as they walked towards the cave. When they reached the entrance, they were stopped by the barrier placed at the entrance. Both could not cross it despite covering their bodies with Erlos' magic.

"It's a strong repelling spell, difficult to break in," Erlos muttered as he studied it. He was not proficient in runes, but he had basic knowledge about formations.

"What's inside to have this kind of spell casted? Thala Grimsbane's workroom? A secret treasure vault of the witches?"

"Maybe your king," Aureus replied.

He recalled his uncle went to Thala often and he was sure they were planning something related to this day. Since Draven went missing earlier, the possibility of him being in this cave was quite high.

"Sire?" Erlos asked in shock.

"I think so," Aureus said. The elf was about to ask another question, but Aureus beat him to it.  "Stay back, Erlos, I will try to break this barrier."

"What! Why would you do that and destroy other people's barriers?"

"I told you something bad is going to happen and we need to stop it."

Though he had no understanding of the situation, Erlos stepped aside.  Aureus covered his fist with divine power before using it to deliver a punch and break that barrier. His strike didn't work, but he realized that a resonance existed between him and the barrier.

'My blood...my blood was used as a medium for this spell.'

Seeing his punch did not work, Erlos stepped forward. "Let's try it together."

Erlos and Aureus tried attacking it together, but the energy barrier was  too strong for them to break. It did not even show a single fluctuation. They tried again and again, using various means, but there was no use.

Aureus felt guilty about giving his blood so thoughtlessly to that witch.

"Are you sure Sire is in this cave? If that old witch finds out we destroyed her barrier, she might complain and her entire coven might blame us for trespassing on another person's property."

"The likelihood is high that King Draven is inside."

"So you are not sure but we need to break in?"

"Yes."

Erlos walked closer to the barrier and tried to peek past it. "Sire, are you there? If you are there, please say something or show some signs."

There was no reply from inside.

"I feel he is there but he is not in a situation to reply to us," Aureus said and tried to use his power on that barrier again, but the barrier remained unaffected.

"I'm doing this because I trust you," Erlos said. Still, their actions bore no fruit. "Since you say something bad is going to happen, shall we ask for help? The more people dealing with future trouble, the faster it will be resolved."

"I don't have anyone else who will believe me," Aureus replied.

"I'll help. I have a pretty good reputation. Since  it's a spell casted by a high-ranking witch, only those from the Spirit Circle or Lady Cornelia can have the ability to deduce this kind of formation."

"You go get help, I will wait here,"  Aureus said, but just as the elf was about to leave, they sensed movement from the inside of the cave.

Erlos perked up. "Sire? Is that you?"

Seconds later, there was still no response from within the cave. The two could only wait, since the sound was approaching the entrance of the cave anyway.

Between the two youths, the elf had more sensitive hearing. He frowned when he realized something was amiss.

'This sound... a body being dragged...labored breaths? But there's no footsteps.'

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally saw the source of that dragging from where they were standing outside the barrier.

A body of a man clad in all black, paralyzed and barely able to crawl on the ground.

As he struggled to move towards them, his body left a trail of blood on the snow-covered ground.

"S-Sire?!" Erlos exclaimed in shock as he could not believe his eyes.

Draven continued to drag himself, as if he had not heard Erlos.

Erlos began attacking the barrier again with more desperation this time. "Sire? Sire, can you hear me? Sire, what happened--wait, we will get help! Aureus, you go and call your uncle--"

"M-Morph..." they heard Draven's weak  voice amidst his struggle. "Wait."

The two obediently waited outside the barrier; however, their expressions were both terrible. The closer Draven got to the entrance of the cave, the worse they realized his condition was.

What happened to the King of Agartha, the proud Black Dragon, for him to be reduced to this pathetic state?