The Grand Duke's Son Is A Heretic-Chapter 146:Time For Main Event[II]

Near the outskirts of the mine, snow blew wildly under the pale sky.

The icy winds screamed through the frozen plains, brushing against the towering walls of jagged ice that formed the outer boundary of the Ice Wall Mines. The land was white and dead, only broken by the dark gathering of cloaked figures standing in eerie silence.

At the front of the group, an old man stepped forward. His spine was bent, and his steps slow, but there was something strange in how steady he moved. He held a long staff. A serpent curled around it, carved from black bone. His hollow eyes glowed faintly, and a dark tattoo of a serpent coiled up his neck. He looked over the crowd, face pale and sharp.

"Dear Devotees," he said, voice soft but carried by the wind. "The time we had been waiting for has come."

The cloaked men bowed their heads.

He continued, raising his staff high. "The time since the beginning of the Fifth Era, for which we have waited, for clocks to turn and dust to rise, has descended."

He slammed his staff into the ground. A sharp, twisted aura exploded from him. The snow shivered. The sky itself seemed to pull back. A crawling illusion crept through the land. Shapes slithered in the wind like snakes made of shadows.

He let out a guttural cry. "The day when the python will swallow the dragons is here! KIRBHHHH!"

The ground shook. In the distance, the beasts and monsters howled in pain and madness. The cloaked men fell to their knees. Some cried. Some smiled like lunatics. But all of them shouted.

"Hail the Lord of the Eternal Abyss!" "Hail the One Who Slithers Through Time!" "Praise the Endless Coil!" "Glory to the Scaled Prophet!" "All kneel before the One Who Consumes Stars!"

The sky grew darker..

The old man grinned as he looked around. His name was Bishop Polly.

He was in charge of the whole project here.

"Now," he said, turning toward the ice mine. "Let us go inside the mine and begin the ritual. Let us bring an end to this farce."

He began walking. The rest followed.

"Remember," Polly said as he walked, voice calm now. "This might be a small step in the grand plan. But for the Serpent Fang, this is the start of a golden age."

He smiled again, teeth yellow.

"Let’s go."

The group marched toward the mine. Behind them, the wind howled louder. Snow swept across the land, and the towering entrance of the Ice Wall Mine stood like a beast’s open mouth.

Deep in the group, hidden beneath his cloak, Kael grunted. His eyes twitched. His mouth curled into a crooked smile.

"What the hell is this?" he muttered. "Every one of these bastards says the same thing in different languages. Different Gods .But Same damn way of worship."

He rushed here on getting the signal to gather only to know that the main event was starting today.

Lyria walked beside him. She was quiet. Her cloak didn’t move even in the wind. Her voice came cold and without any hint of emotion. frёewebnoѵēl.com

"Yes, Master. I do find it weird. It seems they lack civic sense."

Kael almost laughed but it came out as a dry cough. "You’re a psycho, Lyria. That’s why I like you."

Ahead of them, Handel kept his eyes low. But his mind was racing.

He leaned closer and whispered, "My Lord, this might be dangerous. I feel this has gone beyond our hands."

Kael scoffed and pushed back his hood slightly. His eyes were wild and his grin widened.

"Since when the fuck was it in our hands?"

He chuckled to himself, sharp and loud, like a blade scraping bone.

The march continued. The snowstorm wrapped around them. The sky above was a thick grey. Somewhere deeper in the mines, something was waiting.

Something old. Something cold.

And the Dear Devotees, with Bishop Polly at the front, were walking straight into it with faith in their god.

The Serpent God of the Eternal Abyss.

....

As Kael, Lyria, and Handel stood near the edges, whispering under their breath, another cloaked figure turned sharply toward them.

"What are you whispering over there?" the man asked, voice rough and full of suspicion. "Why aren’t you moving ahead with the others?"

Kael slowly raised his head and flashed a crooked smile. His voice was calm, even playful.

"Oh! Sorry," Kael said, bowing slightly. "We were just marvelling at the Lord’s grace. It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?"

The man blinked, taken aback by Kael’s reverent tone and smile. His mood softened.

"What a good fellow," the man said with a grin. "The Lord smiles on ones like you."

Kael gave a small nod and gestured to Lyria and Handel to move.

The three of them joined the procession of cloaked figures. Together, they walked through the biting cold toward the entrance of the Ice Crystal Mana Mines. The ground crunched beneath their boots as the snow thickened with each step. The walls of ice on either side of the path reflected their dark silhouettes as if spirits watched them from the frost.

The mouth of the mine looked like the rib cage of some great beast, carved into the side of a glacier. Jagged ice teeth lined the entrance, and blue mist leaked from inside. The devotees marched in, one by one, torches flickering against the frozen walls.

Inside, the mine opened up to a huge cavern. The ceiling was lost in darkness, and the walls were thick with shimmering veins of glowing crystals. Pale blue and violet light pulsed through them like a heartbeat. The deeper they walked, the colder it became. Ice formed on their cloaks and lashes. Some of the weaker devotees began to cough from the cold.

They walked for nearly a kilometer. Nothing but snow, ice, and silence filled their way. The occasional grunt or shuffle of feet echoed across the cavern.

Suddenly, the path widened.

Kael stepped forward and paused. His eyes lit up.

Before them stood a massive chamber—dozens of meters high and at least a hundred wide. The walls glowed from massive clusters of mana crystals. They jutted out like fangs from the ground and ceiling. Some were taller than men, and others were as thin as spears. The light they gave off wasn’t warm. It crawled under the skin, unnatural and sharp.

Kael’s pupils shrink as he took in the sight. His breath caught for a second. Then slowly, a wicked grin spread across his face.

"This..." Kael whispered, "...this is a fucking feast."

His voice trembled with twisted joy.

Handel’s eyes narrowed. A shiver went down his back as he took a step back unconsciously. Lyria’s eyes met Kael’s for a second. Her face was as blank as always, but her hand had gone to her dagger.

It wasn’t just them.

The surrounding cloaked figures all felt it too. A cold that wasn’t from the snow. It was the kind that made their bones rattle. The kind that made their instincts scream.

Kael licked his lips again.

"I like this place," he muttered, causing others to shiver.

Kael, noticing what he did, shook a bit.

"Uh....Sorry, I was just a bit too excited."