Salvatore realized that the time has come.
After creating a sturdy steel staff for Lin Yiyi as fast as possible, he took out a brass syringe containing the Sage’s Stone from his clothes, put the tip on his shoulder, and pushed the plunger in slowly.
“Ugh…” The sharp pain of the needle penetrating the deltoid muscle made Salvatore’s face go pale instantly, and he couldn’t help but let out a low cry.
Rather than using a thin medical needle, the container used a flat-pointed embalming one instead. In typical standards, such a needle was only needed for powerful healing agents. Otherwise, it was forbidden to use these syringes to inject something into a living body directly.
The thickness of this needle couldn’t allow for intravenous injection. Instead, it was used for intramuscular injection or intracardiac injection during combat. Ordinary healthy people would go for the former option. The field physicians would utilize the latter option to inject potent healing potion as first aid for the dying and wounded.
At first, Salvatore wanted to inject Sage’s Stone directly into the heart. But, his cowardice made him inject the needle into his shoulder instead.
“Ugh…” Through Salvatore’s painful grimaces, the scarlet Sage’s Stone instantly poured into his body as if it had been given life. It dissolved and sank into the muscle as soon as it came in touch.
Salvatore immediately felt that his entire left arm was burning, and it soon became entirely numb.
This scorching sensation spread to his heart rapidly. His palpitation doubled and his blood vessels bulged with the same fiery heat that assaulted his body, which then pumped throughout his limbs in great speed.
Then, this fiery hot feeling suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a strong, refreshing, and cooling sensation.
It was like smearing the skin with alcohol and then letting the wind blow past it.
Salvatore felt his mind become remarkably clear in an instant.
All of his curses were activated autonomously. Black runes proliferated rapidly, spreading throughout the body in the blink of an eye with mystical patterns
Salvatore couldn’t help but close his eyes, and when he reopened them, his pupils were different.
His eyeballs were completely silver-gray with black circles spiraling down from the center. It faintly resembled a Black Tower.
But, Salvatore was a little flustered for a moment.
Because at the moment he opened his eyes, the shadow that constantly nagged him from the back of his mind became silent.
It was as if the shadow was dead or had completely left him..
What should I do now?
“Stop freezing up on the spot, Salvatore.”
Salvatore heard the voice of the shadow in his ear.
That didn’t come from my heart.
It came from my ears.
Salvatore suddenly realized something was different.
He immediately lowered his head and noticed there was no shadow under his feet.
Instead, a liquid-like shadow seeped out from the back of his shoulders, extending out like a living thing in the air and manifested into a fierce and sharp claw.
It seems to be a left hand.
The palm was pointed skyward, with a cyan flame flickering on top.
“The lion swallows the eagle, kills itself, and is then reborn—” A low and hoarse voice rang in Salvatore’s ears.
He turned around sharply.
Only then did he realize that the shadow also had a head – it appeared feminine and closely resembled a demon’s.
“What are you blanking out at, Sal!?”
(TN: From here onwards, the Author tends to refer to Salvatore as Sal and the shadow as Vatore.)
A stern, hoarse voice rang in Salvatore’s ears.
The demon’s head turned and shouted into his ears, “Recite with me, you idiot!”
Salvatore then finally understood the situation and what spell the shadow was using.
“Isn’t this a bit too much…” He timidly asked.
The shadow’s head continued chanting while a smaller head grew out of Salvatore’s other shoulder, roaring at him, “Chant your part!”
Meanwhile the other head was still chanting swiftly, “Sköll (the Sun eating wolf) was entwined with the Lily, The Lion comes from the tundra with a royal crown”
Salvatore pursed his lips, still not saying anything.
He reached out his right hand with the palm facing down. Another cyan flame appeared and the two flames intertwined together.
He skipped the last three lines and chanted from back to front in the opposite way in which the shadow chanted.
“Now, all the twelve keys are complete. Its color is like sulfur. Its shape is like grains of salt.”
As the pair’s long sermon ended simultaneously, the mist surrounding them quickly disappeared.
However, it wasn’t simply dispelled – the mist appeared as if it had evaporated.
Annan watched this entire process even without the Creator’s perspective.
Salvatore’s pupils gleamed with a pure white light and his skin became ivory white like a sculpture, yet it was also covered with dense black runes that emitted black smoke.
From his right shoulder extended a demon’s head, dripping a black, tar-like liquid. Its pupils absorbed all light; disregarding the skin and twisted horns, the visage resembles a headstrong and stubborn young girl..
A similar twisted, powerful left hand protruded out of his other shoulder too. They held together a cyan pillar of fire.
In the middle of the pillar, a golden sphere was emerging, surrounded by a sacred halo.
At this time, the Soul Eater had just blinked above Lin Yiyi and split her in half with its sharp tail!
It then noticed that the mist had faded and raised its head.
It opened its eyelids by two layers, looked around, and locked onto Salvatore.
Then, it immediately closed all three layers of its eyelids.
It approached Salvatore from behind silently. Then, it raised its claws and slashed at him!
But at this moment, behind Salvatore stretched out the right hand of a demon.
She pointed her sharp nails to the ground and lifted them upwards. Consequently, a solid steel wall nearly half a meter thick rose instantly from the ground.
It certainly couldn’t stop the Soul Eater’s cutting.
In the blink of an eye, the Soul Eater cut open the steel wall. A rough and jagged cut appeared on it. The shape matched the monster’s spiny, saw-like tail!
However, with the help of the steel wall, the [Red Crystal Shield] that emerged from the demonic right hand was enough to block the remaining power of the attack!
The red crystal then transformed into steel needles in the blink of an eye and quickly stabbed into the cut steel wall.
From the wall, multiple spouts of lance-shaped flames emerged, forcing the Soul Eater back.
The flames then crystallized in a flash and turned into steel, swiftly following the Soul Eater as it crawled away on the ground at high speeds.
Good job!
Salvatore secretly cheered the shadow on.
Salvatore knew that he was trash. His reaction speed was slow and he wasn’t adaptive enough. Thus, he simply closed his eyes and continued chanting.
As for my safety, I leave it to you all!
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Credit to MindMatrix for editing the chapter.
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Didn’t expect Salvatore’s shadow to be female. Anyone else reminded of Feiden from The Legendary Mechanic?
Also, doesn’t anyone else feel like this whole plan of MC’s to show up and interfere in this matter is a terrible idea? He “knows” Benjamin and Michaelangelo because he’s met them both in nightmares, but neither of them know him. He speculated that Ben had something to do with him waking up on the beach with no memories and maybe it even has something to do with the ressurection ritual – but it was just speculation – and even if it were true, doesn’t that just mean two bigshots have been plotting against him for some unknown purpose?
Especially since he personally experienced a nightmare and learned that one of the bigshots was desperately trying to find a Page of Truth (you know, the thing he happens to have on his person currently) but could only give up dejectedly in the end. Forcing him to initiate some big death-game ritual and gamble on resurrecting himself instead.
In short, there’s a very powerful wizard who desperately wants the treasure MC happens to have, so MC decided to go and place himself in close proximity to that wizard because… ???