06: The Basement

The barrier was pulsating with energy as the six guardians channeled their cosmic powers directly toward Elara's ethereal core, which was now shimmering with radiant energy.

With time, the translucent barrier's appearance began to change, becoming more glassy. It seemed to have the ability to reflect any attack fired at it, deflecting it away. However, it still retained a hazy translucence that enabled the guardians to see the silhouette of the approaching darkness.

"We shouldn't expend all of our energy on this barrier. Since it will definitely be consumed by the Shadow Plague. Let's go get the uninfested villagers and activate the Dome Array." The High Priest, who was channeling his energy through a staff pointed at the core, said. The other five stopped the process as beads of sweat had formed on their foreheads.

After resting for a few minutes, the High Priest vanished before them using teleportation. The three elemental cosmic mages crackled with lightning before bolting away toward Etheloria. Apphira and Doger slowly made their way to help evacuate the villagers as well.

However, they weren't zooming off like the others, probably because they wanted to inspect most of the infested along the way.

***

Back to when Alvan, Emelda, and Kael arrived at the location where the villagers were already evacuating. They were guided by a rope and accompanied by Templar guards.

However, upon arrival, the sight that awaited them was terrifying. Almost one-third of the villagers had been infested, and some had already turned. But, that wasn't the surprising thing here...

It seemed that the Templar guards here haven't quite grasped the concept that the shadow undead can infest others through mere physical contact.

Therefore, the rate of infestation here was particularly high, especially since the villagers were all being guided by the rope. The infestation rate began to spread linearly along the ropes.

A particular scene, the very scenario that Alvan had avoided when he refused the sack and rope from the Templar guards, occurred before them.

One of the guards, who was leading a group of villagers holding onto his rope, began twitching abruptly. He seemed to have lost control as he began frantically swinging his sword around. The villagers, being led by him, didn't know what was happening because their heads were covered with thick sacks.

As he swung his sword, rotating around, his eyes slowly changed from black to purplish hues. His sword almost chopped off the head of a female villager who was directly holding the rope closest to him. If it weren't for a whip sword that extended and blocked the attack. Then, a vine wrapped around him, demobilizing him.

The retractable whip sword came from a man among the evacuating villagers. He had tousled black hair, mischievous brown eyes, and a confident grin. He appeared to be in his late twenties. However, it seemed that he had just arrived when he blocked the guard's sword. And following behind him was a girl with brown hair.

Kael pulled up his blindfold slightly and approached the group of villagers led by the infested guard. He took the rope and became their new guide.

"Listen, everyone... We need to get to the basement immediately. Some of the villagers are transforming into these shadowy things and if they touch you, you will also become infested." Kael, clad in dark-red armor, announced himself as a prominent member of the Templar guards.

He wasn't actually a Templar guard, but rather a Templar knight, as his armor and attire were completely distinct from the other guards. In Etheloria, the Ethelorians in armor uniform can be classified as a Templar paladin, Templar guard, Templar knight, or Templar warrior. Paladins are easily recognized by their black armor attire, guards are clad in dark blue armor attire, knights are clad in dark red armor attire, and warriors are known for their silver armor attire.

"It is really getting interesting. Lyra, don't you think so?" The new guy with the whip sword turned his head towards the girl who had arrived with him.

As you can already guess, he kept his eyes fixed on the ground, not daring to look up. Earlier, he only saw the guard swinging his sword because he had lifted his head from the ground to observe the group they had encountered. However, Lyra remained silent.

The group all left together, heading towards the elevated plateau. While Alvan, Emelda, the new guy who happened to be called Thorne, and the girl Lyra were the vanguards at the rear. Four of them were Aetherians, so they could somehow help keep infested and turned villagers away from the villagers being evacuated, except for the guards leading the villagers.

Alvan wasn't much help now; his powers had abandoned him. He can no longer harness ethereal energy.

However, he was still a great help to the group in the rear. With his heightened senses and telescope, he constantly warned the others about the direction from which the shadow minions or shadow undead were approaching.

Emelda, using her tough vines and tendrils, was restraining the turned shadow undead, while Thorne took over Alvan's task of enclosing the bound shadow undead in a protective barrier. Meanwhile, Lyra, an enchantment mage, used her enchanted abilities to fend off the shadow minions to the best of her abilities.

As they were getting closer to the Templar Academy, the rate of infestation drastically reduced. Also, they would meet up with other groups of villagers led by Templar guards at intervals, perhaps at a crossroads.

Suddenly, a myriad of neon energy materialized, spreading to surround them. It was first sighted by Alvan through his telescope. That was when he saw an old man hovering above them, holding a staff.

"It's me, Alvan," the old geezer said, noticing Alvan peering at him through the telescope. "I came to help you all safely evacuate the villagers."

"The High Priest?" Most of the villagers whispered in surprise, recognizing the voice that had just spoken to them a few minutes ago.

Just then, three more figures bolted through the bushes to where the group was, with currents of lightning discharging from their legs. It was the other three elemental guardians. However, one of these three, the Elder, had a look of surprise etched on his face.

"Lyra! What are you doing out here? I thought you were already in the basement?" Kamuth asked, looking intensely at Lyra.

'Seems like these old folks aren't affected by the shadow minions.' Alvan thought about how they weren't bothered by being infested by the shadow minions.

"I... I had already been evacuated to the basement... I sneaked out to assist some of the villagers in evacuating with their sanity." Lyra struggled to reply to the man's question as her face began to glisten with sweat. Kamuth was left speechless as he gazed at the young girl, who appeared to be around twenty-three years old.

"Alright, Elder Kamuth, Supreme Commander, and Azura... I will leave the three of you with evacuating the villagers back to the basement. I will meet up with Elder Doger and Apphira to assess the situation and determine our course of action against the shadow undead." The High Priest said before turning to face Alvan...

This time, Alvan and the other three "vanguards" were no longer looking at the ground. The golden energy that those three guardians released seemed to be repelling the shadow minions. So, Alvan was looking directly at the High Priest without having to worry about being infested.

"You and Emelda really did a great job with the shadow undead." The High Priest said, before vanishing from their sight.

"...you forgot about me, but it is not a problem." It was Thorne who muttered these words after the High Priest had teleported away.

The evacuation continued, and they were already a few meters away from the Templar Academy...

***

After a few hours of walking, with the guardians shielding them from the shadow minions, they finally ascended the plateau and arrived at the enormous dome-shaped Templar Academy.

However, they did not enter through the academy building; instead, they walked along the left side of the temple-like structure. The entrance to the basement was located behind the building.

Other groups of villagers, led by Templar guards, could be seen entering the basement. However, these groups were smaller in number compared to the sea of villagers led by the three guardians. Those other smaller groups were all led by Templar knights and warriors who are high-level Aetherian mages.

Just as they arrived in front of the enormous entrance to the basement, the villagers were instructed to remove their sacks. And they began pouring into the basement. The 'vanguards', the guards, and the guardians of Alvan's group all stood behind, allowing the villagers to enter the basement first.

Looking at the basement entrance, it resembled the gaping mouth of a cavern. One cannot help but be awestruck by the sight. Through the entrance, more than thirty villagers can enter at once without any discomfort.

This time, all uninfested villagers had arrived and went into the basement. After ensuring that all the villagers had been successfully evacuated. Alvan, Emelda, Kael, Thorne, Lyra, and the other guards, knights, and warriors also headed into the basement. Only the three guardians who had arrived with them stayed back, probably waiting for the other guardians to arrive so that the Dome Array could be activated.

When walking inside the passageway leading to the basement. It seemed like they were heading underground. The passage initially appeared to be a tunnel, but after walking a few distances, it started to resemble a cave. However, they haven't arrived yet. They walked ahead, and after a few more meters, they arrived at a very spacious dungeon-like basement.

Unlike the way down here, which was rugged with an uneven floor and roof. The basement appeared man-made, with smooth black floors and ceilings that resembled obsidian.

The space seemed to stretch out endlessly, making it impossible to see the end. Even though it was already filled with thousands of villagers, it still appeared capable of accommodating tens of thousands more people.

Just as Alvan stepped foot into the basement area where the other villagers were gathered, the kids whom he taught began yelling his name upon seeing their handsome and cheerful Master Alvan.

This caught the attention of most of the villagers, particularly the young girls who were mesmerized by his godly sculpted handsome face, a true embodiment of perfect masculinity. But when they saw a certain girl by his side, those girls gawking at him disappointedly averted their gazes.

However, something else was bugging him; on his wrist, the bracelet given to him by his mother began to vibrate violently, as if reacting to something in the basement…