Last time at Watson Manor, the demon did not use all its strength because it still counted on Shade to complete its commission. This time, Shade had to deal with the perfect stone mirror demon - Goethe.
"The Witcher's Ring"
Rather than the potion, which has a time limit on its effectiveness, it cares more about the ring on Shade's finger:
"I really miss it. The time of the Third Age seems like yesterday. I miss those demon hunters very much. Although most of them are just ordinary mortals, there are a few of them who left a deep impression on me.
Now in the Sixth Era, I am really happy to be able to see this ring again. I just don’t know if you understand what kind of power the humans living in the ancient era have."
"Is the witcher you miss the one who sealed you after the fall of the Kingdom of Stonewell in the Sixth Era?"
Shade asked. In just a few seconds, without any movement, the efficacy of the golden potion had been maximized.
"It's no use trying to anger a demon."
The devil reminded, and Shade raised his sword in the snow:
"Then are you ready? This time, I must seal you."
After saying that, his whole figure seemed to turn into a stream of light, and he rushed towards the devil with his sword. The latter watched Shade getting closer and closer. But after Shade took a certain step, his figure suddenly disappeared.
In the snow, he then appeared closer to the gate of the manor. After the figure appeared, it was very silky and turned into a swarm of red butterflies and flew directly outside.
"Run away? This will make me look down on you."
So Goethe turned into black smoke and chased after him.
The effect of "golden potion" is not limited to increasing the lethality against demons, but its enhancement to the ring warlock itself is also considerable.
Shade, who transformed into a swarm of red butterflies, even pulled out a golden stream of light during the flight. And as if the devil was playing tricks on him, the black smoke followed him and flew with him into the burning building outside the manor.
Chaotic Forest:
"I thought you had enough courage. Why did you run away?"
The devil's whisper was directly transmitted to the ears of Shade, who was in the form of a swarm of butterflies. Fortunately, he was unable to speak in this state, so he did not have to answer.
There was smoke everywhere in the burning cedar forest. Shade chose his own flight path in the thick fog and hot fire. He knew where he wanted to go.
"You don't think you can escape by yourself, do you?"
The sound of laughter intertwined with the rumbling of the ground and the burning sound of beeps, trying to disturb Shade's thoughts. But Shade had been preparing for this night for so long, and his plan had gone quite smoothly so far.
"Your fate will be as tragic as Oxenfurt's. Your family, your lover, and everything you have will eventually fall into my control."
If he hadn't encountered different demons one after another last year, Shade might really be affected by the demon's whispers at this time.
He could not maintain the red butterfly form for too long. After returning to his own body, he continued to run forward without saying a word.
The flames were blocked in front of him under the control of the devil, showing different illusions. Shade hugged a woman and cried, Shade shouted outside the burning house, Shade knelt in front of the grave and covered his face and cried bitterly.
But Shade paid no attention to these. He ran in the flames as if through a maze, ignoring the inducing sounds in his ears and various strange sights. The black mist transformed by the devil followed behind him and did not attack his vital points.
, but continued to create various wounds on the surface of his body.
And Shade would only turn around and point the [Profane Cross] behind him when he was in danger, forcing the black mist to retreat a little, and then run forward again.
All he wants now is to reach his destination.
Finally, Shade, covered with wounds, rushed out of the burning forest and arrived at the Elrond River outside Oxenfurt Manor.
Oxenfurt Manor is actually close to the Elrond River. There is a small wharf outside the manor that is convenient for smuggling, and Shade and Oxenfurt also passed the bridge here last time they raced.
Shade rushed out of the fire scene and felt the power of the golden potion weakening. At the same time, he also felt an obvious spatial barrier on the other side of the ice-covered Elrond River.
He rushed in the direction of the river, but was forced by the devil to stop at the river beach. At this time, the blood on Shade's forehead slid down his cheek, and a tear was opened in the clothes on his back, revealing some bloody flesh.
But it was all worth it. Although he definitely couldn't defeat the devil in a head-on battle, he won in the end.
The devil's figure appeared in the black smoke at the edge of the burning forest, with his back to the manor and the burning jungle behind him. Further away were the noisy mountains in the heavy snow, and the indistinguishable monsters flying in the night sky:
"Superstitious belief is that demons and vampires cannot cross rivers because the water is clean. If you are walking towards the river in such a hurry, you are not a magician who also believes in this superstition, right?"
Shade shook his head. The firelight reflected the ice a hundred meters behind him red. He stood up hard, but still did not choose to call the doctor:
"Do you really know who I am?"
"Pseudonym is John Watson, but you have an inexplicable and mysterious connection with the Godcaller. In the important events in the Randall Valley in recent months, you have been vaguely involved. But who you are does not matter.
It’s not very important. What’s important is that you made the wrong choice.”
The demon on the shore looked at Shade, and the fire on the shore illuminated Shade's face. Shade held a silver cross in his left hand, sliding from the upper right to the lower left, and held a long sword in his right hand, sliding from the upper left to the lower right.
Two dazzling moonlights intertwined into a huge silver cross in front of me. The light at that moment was even more dazzling than the burning forest in the distance:
"Moonlight - slash!"
Bumping forward sideways, the big silver cross containing golden power hit the demon on the shore. This time, even this ancient evil spirit did not dare to be disrespectful. It took a step back lightly, trying to enter the demon that suddenly appeared behind it.
In the mirror.
But Shade's voice has already appeared behind it:
"Don't even think about leaving!"
He kicked the devil, trying to push it towards the Moonlight Cross that was about to arrive. But with a snap of his fingers, time was stopped, the fluttering gray snowflakes stood still in the air, and the Moonlight Cross stood still.
in the air.
The demon turned around, grabbed Shade's ankle, and slammed him toward the ground. Shade supported the ground with one hand, used his strength to break free from the devil's hand, and then turned around and struck out with a sword.
Click!
The long sword was caught in the devil's hand and then broke abruptly:
"I told you, this thing is useless!"
But then, it had to avoid Shade's left hand wearing the [Demon Hunting Seal].
The black light from the demon's left hand shot towards Shade's left chest, but was immediately blocked by the silver [blasphemous cross]. The silver moonlight sword pierced the demon's throat, but was easily blocked by the demon.
While the demon stretched out his hand to block the moonlight sword, Shade clenched his left hand with the ring and struck the enemy in front of him with his fist. The demon did not dodge this time and responded with the same punch.
After a loud bang, Shade flew far away, landed on the ice and rolled several times before stopping.
"If your golden potion could last longer, maybe you might actually have the upper hand."
The demon looked at his hand that showed serious signs of corrosion due to contact with the [Demon Hunting Seal]:
"You don't think that just because you wear that ring, you can really hunt demons. What are you doing?"
It saw Shade cracking the ice with his fist, and then throwing something in.
Shade, panting heavily, stood up on the ice. Even though the effect of the potion had dissipated, his eyes still seemed to be glowing:
"You don't want to play games with me, do you? I once thought about what would happen if someone stronger than you took away Oxenfurt's soul in advance."
With a smile on his face, he slowly retreated on the ice away from the devil and away from the hole he made on the ice:
"I don't know many evil gods, but I know other things. It's just that my nun friend gave up my idea. Because she thought that Oxenfurt was just an ordinary person, like most people in this world. I think
After thinking about it, I thought what she said made sense. His desire was no stronger than the other strange guys I met, so I gave up the idea of letting other beings take away his soul. Stone Oxenfurt,
He is just a very vulgar person.”
A huge black shadow slid under the ice between Shade and the demon on the shore. Even the fire in the forest on the shore could not illuminate the shadow.
The stone mirror demon - Goethe, instinctively felt the danger.
It squinted its eyes and looked at Shade:
"What do you want to say?"
"Do you know why I chose the last reward just now?"
Shade stopped retreating and took out the rolled up note:
"Because I want to confirm again what your attitude is towards her."
At this moment, Shade even felt that his own heartbeat was louder than the roar of the giant beast in the distance. The night was already very deep, and the first thing of the night was about to end:
"Then I got a very clear answer, you are not as good as her."
"You can't be-"
For the first time since Shade knew this demon, the face belonging to Oxenfurt showed an expression of astonishment:
"You madman, you actually called."
Click!
In the clear cracking sound, the first clear crack appeared on the ice between Shade and the devil. The crack protruded upward, as if something under the water was trying to break through the ice.
And at the next moment, a strong earthquake caused a roar in the entire Randall Valley area. In the loud noise, in the firelight, in the flying gray snowflakes, under the gaze of Shade and the devil
, nearly a kilometer of ice in the lower reaches of the Ellon River exploded, and a beautiful and noble figure that could not be illuminated by any light, that huge figure that resembled a mermaid, jumped up from the ice and danced with the snowflakes in the air,
Then with an elegant gesture, he fell into the ice floe on the other side.