Married To Darkness
Chapter 276: Staying Away From their Fight

Chapter 276: Staying Away From their Fight

Lucius, Emma, Jean, and Jaefel stood frozen as they reached the ritual ground, the scene before them one of pure chaos and horror.

The dozen girls and women scattered lifelessly around the site painted a grotesque tableau, their blood soaking the dirt and mingling with the acrid stench of burnt flesh and bile.

Fires blazed in unnatural hues, their crackling accompanied by low, guttural chants that made the hair on their necks stand.

The witches and wizards, six in total, moved erratically around the fire as if their bodies were being controlled by unseen forces.

Their eyes rolled back into their heads, their mouths foaming as they convulsed and muttered incantations.

The air was thick with the coppery tang of blood and the sickening smell of vomit, creating a nauseating atmosphere.

Lucius scanned the scene, his sharp eyes narrowing as he took in every detail. "This is worse than I thought," he muttered, his voice grim.

Emma’s hand flew to her mouth, her face pale as she fought the urge to retch. "This... this is madness. What have they done?"

Jaefel stepped closer, his face a mixture of horror and confusion. "These people—they’re no longer in control of themselves. Look at them!"

Lucius didn’t hesitate. In a flash, his supernatural strength propelled him toward the group of witches and wizards, leaving the others scrambling to follow.

He grabbed the one who appeared the strongest—a tall, skeletal man with deep, sunken eyes and a scarred face—and pinned him effortlessly against a nearby tree.

"What are you doing here? What is this ritual?" Lucius demanded, his voice sharp and commanding.

The man grinned, his lips curling unnaturally. "You’re too late, outsider," he hissed.

His voice was raspy, as though it came from somewhere deep within his chest. "The gateway is opening. There’s no stopping it now."

Lucius’s red eyes flared as he tightened his grip. "Gateway? What are you talking about? Who’s behind this?"

Before the man could answer, a loud, bone-chilling laugh erupted from the group of witches and wizards.

Their movements became more erratic, their chants reaching a fever pitch.

Suddenly, the flames in the center of their ritual surged higher, twisting and forming into a strange, swirling vortex—a hole in the fabric of reality itself.

A portal.

The sight froze everyone in place, the eerie light from the portal casting grotesque shadows across the ritual ground.

The witches and wizards laughed maniacally, their bodies trembling as if on the brink of collapse.

Jean cursed under his breath. "What the hell is that?"

Emma clutched Jaefel’s arm, her eyes wide with fear. "It’s not possible... is it?"

Jaefel shook his head, his voice barely above a whisper. "I’ve never seen anything like it. This isn’t normal magic."

Lucius turned back to the group, his jaw clenched. "This isn’t our fight," he said, his voice low but firm. "Not yet. Stay back."

"But—" Emma began, only to stop when Lucius raised a hand.

"Whatever’s coming through that portal, we need to see it first," Lucius said, his tone brooking no argument.

He released the witch, who crumpled to the ground, laughing weakly as blood dripped from his mouth.

The group retreated to a vantage point at the top of a small hill, their eyes glued to the ritual below.

Lucius’s instincts screamed at him to act, but he forced himself to wait, his sharp mind calculating the risk.

"What’s about to happen?" Jean asked, his voice tinged with dread.

Lucius didn’t answer immediately. His gaze was fixed on the portal, its swirling depths now beginning to take shape.

Shadows moved within, their forms indistinct but undeniably menacing.

Emma shuddered, clutching her cloak tightly around her. "I don’t think we’re ready for this."

"No one ever is," Lucius muttered, his voice grim. "But we’ll be ready enough when it comes."

The group watched in tense silence, the portal growing larger with each passing second.

Whatever lay beyond it, they knew their lives—and perhaps the world itself—would never be the same again.

From the depths of the swirling portal, two monstrous figures emerged, their grotesque forms twisting as they stepped into the mortal plane.

These beasts were unlike anything Lucius, Emma, Jean, or Jaefel had encountered, but they bore an unsettling resemblance to the creatures Alaric and Salviana had described.

Their bodies were slimy and elongated, with muscles rippling beneath their obsidian-black skin. Red eyes glowed like embers, burning with an unnatural rage.

Long claws, sharp enough to slice through steel, glinted in the light of the flames.

They were towering, their presence a combination of terrifying power and primal menace.

The first beast threw its head back and let out an ear-splitting roar that shook the ground, while the second crouched low, sniffing the air.

The witches and wizards froze in place, their chants dying on their lips as they realized their summoning had gone horribly wrong.

"What... what are those things?" Emma stammered, her voice barely audible over the chaos.

"They’re not for us," Lucius murmured, his sharp eyes narrowing. "They’re angry."

And angry they were.

Without warning, the first beast lunged, its massive claws slicing through the air and tearing into the nearest witch.

Blood sprayed across the ground as the witch’s body crumpled lifelessly, and the other summoners screamed in terror.

"They’re killing them!" Jean gasped, his voice a mixture of shock and disbelief.

The second beast roared again, the sound resonating deep in the bones of everyone present.

It moved with terrifying speed, pouncing on a wizard who tried to cast a spell.

The wizard’s trembling hands glowed faintly, but whatever magic he mustered fizzled out, his strength drained by whatever cursed concoction he had consumed during the ritual.

"It’s chaos," Jaefel said, his voice hushed. "They’re tearing them apart like they’re nothing."

The beasts moved with deadly efficiency, their claws slicing through flesh and bone.

The witches and wizards, already weakened and convulsing from their failed summoning, could do little but scream and run. But it was futile.

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