Chapter 1491
Just as the Blood Lich was feeling a bit dazed, Marianne's nose began twitching rapidly. Suddenly, she took a sharp breath and sneezed.
The Blood Lich noticed Marianne was about to sneeze, but didn't pay this little orc any mind. Such a small orc, even with the Curse of Misfortune at full strength, couldn't possibly pose a threat to him.
But in the instant he turned his head, he saw something utterly different—a gray, breathless force erupted from Marianne's sneeze, moving at a terrifying speed and striking the Blood Lich head-on.
The moment he felt this power, two words surfaced in the Blood Lich's mind.
Elder God-Demon...
And then—there was nothing after that...
The Blood Lich was blasted by chaotic power, his body instantly shredded to dust—even the death energy was destroyed. Everything in the path of Marianne's sneeze was utterly annihilated...
Elder God-Demon power—no one could've imagined the Blood Lich would be killed like this, nor that Marianne was the vessel of an Elder God-Demon, with a fragment of that power still lingering within her...
Normally, after an Elder God-Demon reincarnates, only the soul remains; all power is lost, and the body becomes just like any other of the new race. If reborn as a human, they'd truly be an ordinary infant, needing to regain their strength from scratch—though for an Elder God-Demon, regaining power is just recovering what was lost, and the process is incredibly fast...
But never before has an Elder God-Demon, after reincarnation, retained any of their former power. This has simply never happened.
Only Marianne—the Seventy-Third Deity—retained a fragment of the Elder God-Demon soul. In the underworld, it was for resurrection, not reincarnation; resurrection naturally comes with god-demon power. After resurrection, her strength might be less than her peak, but she was still an Elder God-Demon, needing only to recover.
Forced into reincarnation, Marianne still kept some Elder God-Demon power. Right after rebirth, she was at her strongest, but as time passed, that power gradually faded—like a reserve, used bit by bit until it was gone.
Yet this gave Marianne a unique ability that no other reincarnated Elder God-Demon possessed: even after reincarnation, her body and soul could still resonate with god-demon power. At least she wouldn't be destroyed by it, unlike others who would be obliterated upon contact with such power after reincarnation.
So even those reincarnated Elder Gods and Demons, no matter how strong, never regained true god-demon power...
But Marianne has that potential—the potential to reclaim Elder God-Demon power.
Anyway, the Blood Lich brought this on himself. He thought Marianne was the weakest, wanted someone easy to threaten, and ended up killed by a single sneeze.
Everyone had witnessed the true power of the Curse of Misfortune. Leon was the first to run, precisely because he understood what it could do.
Who knew if, thanks to the Curse of Misfortune, Marianne's unleashed god-demon power might spread to others...
That was genuinely possible—and highly likely. Even a tiny bit of contact meant huge trouble. If you added in the curse, you could really die...
The poor Blood Lich was finished—utterly erased by Elder God-Demon power, more thoroughly than any spell could ever burn someone to nothingness.
With the Blood Lich dead, Leon immediately felt as if his soul was clearer, the world itself sharper than ever before.
Countless indescribable sensations surged up—Leon knew the Curse of Misfortune was gone. He'd been right: destroy the Blood Lich's body, and the curse would vanish. And really, what could wipe out the Blood Lich more completely than Elder God-Demon power? Nothing.
With the Blood Lich gone, the three level forty-seven Bone Champions burst from the frost mist. Without their master, they charged at the group, aiming to kill everyone and become the last survivors of the Field of Bones.
But really, with things at this point, the Field of Bones was already finished. As soon as someone claimed it, the place would vanish completely.
Never before, in all the times the Field of Bones was opened, had this happened—the master of the Field was the first to be killed.
Usually, when the Field of Bones opens, either the master starts slaughtering weaker undead to devour their soulflame, or the low-level undead can't resist the lure of high-level soulflame and rush in to kill each other.
Or, sometimes, two powerful undead enter to fight for lordship or other reasons. They duel in the Field of Bones, and whoever wins and devours the other's soulflame emerges as an even stronger being.
But what's happening now? This has truly never happened. The undead hierarchy is strict, and the gap between levels is terrifying—especially above level forty.
But now, with the Curse of Misfortune gone, those three level forty-seven Bone Champions were nothing but bugs, easy to crush.
Alonzo was the first to act. Before the three Bone Champions could even charge forward, a massive, eerily sinister hand appeared out of nowhere—over a hundred meters long. It grabbed all three Bone Champions at once and, with a gentle squeeze, a deep, crunching sound echoed. When the hand opened again, the Bone Champions were nothing but bone ashes, with only three soulflames left behind.
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Alonzo casually tossed the three soulflames to Leon, then landed on the ground. With a twisted grin, he sidled up to Leon, eyes blazing as he stared hard at Marianne.
"Merlin, where did you find this little orc?"
Normally, Marianne would be bold enough to sass Leon and never learn her lesson even after getting scolded. But now, she seemed genuinely frightened, her face pale as she quietly edged behind Leon.
Leon felt a sudden jolt in his chest, remembering Alonzo's reputation and personality. Instantly, his heart started pounding.
This old guy's temper is absolutely bizarre. Right now, he likes me, sure—but to him, I'm me and Marianne is Marianne, two totally different things...
Damn, there's no way this old man hasn't figured out Marianne is an Elder God-Demon reincarnation, and with a bit of god-demon power left, too. That look in his eyes—he's probably itching to dissect her.
A whole string of thoughts flashed through Leon's mind, startling even himself. Someone like Alonzo could fit right in with those mad scientists in the mage world, a total scientific lunatic.
With that in mind, Leon didn't dare let Alonzo finish his next sentence...
"Master Uncle, this is my goddaughter—Hubert's daughter, by blood, and a vessel for Elder God-Demon reincarnation. She's just a bit shy..."
Alonzo heard this and immediately looked at Marianne with regret. Whatever he'd been about to say, he couldn't; no matter how eccentric, he wouldn't ask Leon to let his own daughter be an experiment. And seeing how terrified Marianne looked, Alonzo felt a bit embarrassed himself.
Then, with Agalon approaching—his face twisted in disdain and cold amusement—Alonzo was even less able to speak.
For Alonzo, no matter if he never ignites his divine spark, he can't let Agalon look down on him. That would be the worst thing.
With a cold snort at Agalon, Alonzo casually produced three magical relics, fiddled with them, then tossed them to Marianne.
The three Essence Relics seemed almost sentient. One hung around Marianne's neck—a necklace. The other two were bracelets. All three were silver, with natural, dazzling patterns, and looked stunningly beautiful.
Even with the set of Essence Relics, which together could unleash mythic-level powers, Marianne was still pale with fear—half convinced Alonzo was going to snatch her away...
Alonzo had just casually gifted a set of Essence Relics. Leon glanced at them, eyes lighting up, then gave Marianne a meaningful look.
"Marianne, hurry and thank Grandpa Alonzo—this is a set of Essence Relics. The necklace supplies mana, the bracelets form an automatic shield, and together they create a perpetual balance. As long as your mana doesn't run dry, not even an Elder God-Demon could break your defense. It's a shield on par with mythic artifacts, so thank him quickly..."
Marianne, quick on the uptake, stepped out from behind Leon and thanked Alonzo respectfully—regardless of what the relics actually did.
Alonzo beamed with pride, shooting Agalon a triumphant look.
"Old man, what kind of look is that? I just find this kid likable, that's all. I was thinking of what to give her as a present—not what you think. The older you get, the pettier your mind..."
Alonzo rattled off a string of sarcastic remarks at Agalon, feeling quite pleased. Most importantly, Leon knew quality—he'd instantly spotted the relics' strengths and unique features.
Leon actually recognized this set of relics. The way they were made looked like ordinary protective artifacts, but in truth, they belonged to the mysterious class of magical relics.
Typical shield spells depend on two things—the strength of the attack and the instant burst of power.
Even a mage's fused shield works like this: for example, if a shield can withstand ten thousand attack power, it only breaks when that limit is exceeded.