<h4>Chapter 212 Virus </h4>


    ?A week had passed. Adam sat in his office, his condition somewhatplex – he breathed heavily, his face pale, and the magical energy within him bubbled as if it had been heated to incredible temperatures. Signs of magical fever were evident, a result of frequent and extremely careless use of magical energy, leading to fatigue and eventually illness.


    "I feel awful. It''s like I drank spoiled milk and then ate all of it with rotten fish," hemented, describing his feelings with an irritated sigh. He surveyed the room and noticed there were still matters that demanded his attention. "Over a hundred reports and another hundred papers that need a thorough examination. Do they hate me so much that they want to work me to death?"


    My apologies for beingte with the chapter. Faced some issues. Enjoy the read, friends!


    ====


    In one week, the world hadn''t changed much, but most had started to adapt to the attacks. The resistance from the inhabitants had be more effective. Hence, Adam could take a break from battles and delegate responsibility to his knights, but...


    "The wound still asionally bleeds... could my current state be because of it? I don''t understand," mumbled Adam, sighing with profound fatigue.


    The girls continued their work; most were assigned to oversee thepany, while ra, Elyra, and Nyx were responsible for the city. Fortunately, they excelled at their tasks, allowing Adam more freedom to focus on managing the city and its security.


    "Amarantha..."


    There was no news from her. No word of victory or defeat. Adam, unfortunately, remained oblivious to her condition—whether she was alive or dead. This troubled him and plunged him into depression, causing him repeated anguish. Essentially, Amarantha was the person closest to him, almost like the other half of his brain. Therefore, her absence brought numerous obstacles and trials to Adam.


    "Gods... darn it!" he grumbled, grinding his teeth in hatred. He couldn''t forget the moment when the Goddess of Light took notice of him. Her presence alone instilled fear in him as if he would die in that very second. A feeling of weakness and impending death.


    It angered him, but what could he do? Even Veronica would struggle if she opposed the Gods, and considering their unknown true identities, except for the Goddess of Light, the trial would be severe. However, it''s not to say that Adam had no countermeasures. Over the course of time, he had contemted many times the idea of...


    ...finding an ally in the form of another goddess.


    "My efforts were supposed to bring some benefit, and considering the buzz mypany created, many people in the world learned about Veridia... and I''m not talking about thepany''s name, but the Goddess herself."


    Veridia. Goddess of Truth and Justice. In ancient times, she was extremely well-known, almost surpassing the poprity of the Goddess of Light, making her followers proud and unquestionably obedient to hermands. Every day felt like happiness, but it didn''tst long. Suddenly, one day, the statue representing the Goddess exploded, injuring the monks and believers who were praying at that moment.


    If it were an ordinary time, people would have thought it was either an attack or a coincidence, but in ancient times, it was considered a bad omen, and at most, a sign that the god had died. This led to a sharp decline in the Church of Truth and Justice, which was gaining poprity, while the Church of Light, barely known at that time, suddenly became much more popr. The concept of monotheism emerged. Other gods were forgotten, and those who still worshipped the old gods were persecuted and considered heretics. In general, it was a horrifying picture.


    "I bet on the fact that the Goddess Veridia would be displeased with the Goddess of Light," thought Adam as he stood up from his seat, a challenging task. However, he managed to stand and began walking towards the cabs. Pressing a button hidden on the top shelf of the bookcase, he opened a secret door.


    Creak... a sound echoed as arge shelf shifted, revealing a secret passage. Knowledge from books and movies had indeed helped him build a decent defense. Nodding satisfactorily, Adam began to descend, snapping his fingers in advance. Torches on the walls immediately lit up, providing decent illumination.


    "That''s better... having the ability to see in the dark is pleasant, but undoubtedly, illumination is much better," he thought and started descending further.


    The steps seemed endless, and he descended and descended. It couldn''t be ignored that the underground space he was descending into was buried much deeper into the ground. It was done for safety reasons because the ritual he nned to perform deep below was meant to summon the consciousness of the goddess, which could harm everything around.


    And he was no less prepared for this. He wore special armor crafted by Amarantha, designed to protect Adam from the influence of light magic, which greatly aided him. And now, despite a slight uncertainty, he sighed, looking at the door.


    "When I enter, this could be the end for me, but undoubtedly, I need to pursue this goal. And so..."


    Adam pushed the door and entered, and as he crossed the threshold, the door automatically closed. Before him was arge sphere, infused with magical energy, its source being countless monster cores.


    "It''s time to begin the summoning."


    ***


    "Elyra, take a look at this document. It''s yesterday''s report about our knights'' venture beyond the city," suddenly said ra, handing the document to Elyra, who sat beside her.


    They were in the meeting room, which had temporarily turned into a workspace. Only these two were present, as Nyx had left to address more serious matters. And now...


    "Well, let''s see... hmm? Captain Richardson''s report... uh-huh... hmm..."


    The nymph began to read attentively, her eyshes trembling every time she moved to the next paragraph. After two or three minutes of reading, she raised her eyebrows, and her facial expression began to change. And in the end...


    "What is this?! Why did we receive this report only now?" she eximed in surprise and looked at ra, who shrugged. Elyra sighed, "ra, did you miss this task? You know it''s serious."


    "Yes, I know! And I didn''t ck off; I only found this report today. As for why I didn''t see it earlier... maybe a bit tired?" she mumbled and sighed, grabbing her head. "How irritating this situation is. Can''t we just somehow wipe out all the demons and be done with it?"


    "What nonsense are you talking about? Better send this report to Ekaterina; let her immediately dispatch a squad of doctors. Lock those people in a room and don''t let them out. They need to be cut off from contact with the outside world."


    ra and Elyra simultaneously sighed and ced the report on a round tform that glowed and absorbed the paper.


    ***


    At her workce as the head chambermaid, Ekaterina received a magical notification from one of the maids, informing her of the arrival of another report.


    "What? Strange... this is yesterday''s report, but I haven''t read it. Maybe Elyra and ra overlooked it in time?" Ekaterina mumbled as soon as she took the report in her hands.


    "I fear the problem is serious, Lady Ekaterina. Lord Adam had a simr issue, and we were bewildered, not understanding what this wound was. But now, as it has appeared in others..." Chloe began to speak but didn''t finish her thoughts, evidently anticipating something bad.


    "We can be convinced that it is likely a new type of curse-virus. We cannot let it spread; immediately quarantine all the infected. The same goes for those who interacted with them," Ekaterinamanded, setting the report aside.


    "Yes, ma''am."


    Order of Ekaterina was immediately ryed to all the infected, who initially were horrified and highly nervous. Some even directly insulted the maids for wanting to kill them. However, after persuasion and promises ofpensation, they reluctantly followed. The same applied to those who had interacted with the infected.


    Once everything was executed, Ekaterina knocked on Adam''s office door, requesting permission to enter. However, after waiting for five minutes without a response, she began to worry. Apologizing, she opened the door only to find an empty office.


    "Where is Lord?!" she eximed with horror, activating her magical abilities, temporarily unblocked. The entire estate was suddenly engulfed in intense pressure, and a small thread of magical energy emanated from her body, heading somewhere distant.


    ***


    A hundred meters away from the portal''s initial location, practitioners were positioned in a somewhat chaotic order, hesitant to make any unnecessary moves. Silence prevailed among them, each feeling disheartened. asionally, their gazes would shift toward three beings standing near the portal site.


    It was Veronica and those she referred to as Izo and Eina. Periodically, they activated spells, attempting to locate the portal, but encountered only severe trials. During one of these checks, Izo''s body suddenly lit up, and a white sphere appeared before her.


    "Hello, Goddess of Light!" greeted Izo the white sphere.


    "Hmm... it seems the portal closed. I searched for it in space and found approximate coordinates, but you''ll have to go even further from this ce. Moreover, we suffered considerable damage from an unknown malevolent energy flow, and it seems the Demon King is not pleased with your visit. This time, I order you to be extremely cautious and carry out your duties responsibly! End ofmunication."


    The white sphere vanished, leaving everyone without a chance for further conversation. Despite discontent among those around, Izo and Eina immediately ordered advancing.


    To be continued...