Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Mana Obstrusion
Siderius left Caterina at her house and went away. She was unstable and leading her out to the world would pose threats to everyone else and herself.
The hunter truly wondered how the Black Witch was able to survive on herself for all those years. According to what Joyce had informed him, the Black Witch must have separated from Jude for quite awhile.
On his way out, Siderius stopped at the two cairns standing on either side of the doorway. He squatted down to examine them more carefully. For some reason, he got the utmost wary feeling that something was going to happen to Caterina.
This was superstitious, but coming from something more primal. Sideriusk knew better than letting your hunch go and not listening to it. Most often than not, it was fate playing with you and warning you of what was about to happen.
Siderius was favored by Fate. It was helping him.
Siderius took a handful of salt and drew a circle around the two rock piles. He soaked his hand with water and salt then used his fingers to paint a symbol onto the top rocks of the cairns.
Then the sign sequence solidified the seal.
A gentle gust of wind blew over the area. The current barrier was strengthened with Siderius’ Alchemy. Now, whoever was going to invade this place would have to face the magic circle of the witch and also his Alchemical Seal, two barriers stacked on top of each other.
His gut feelings also made him wonder. Who would want to harm Caterina? Is is Jude, her former husband and Baron of Scalize? Is it the Nightmare Phantom?
So many questions that Siderius didn’t know the answers for. Jude shouldn’t have any reason to harm Caterina. If he did, she would have died a long time ago. Jude didn’t seem to be that kind of man either. He purposefully gave up most of his magic to retain his sanity. That kind of man wouldn’t just kill his ex-wife without a good reason.
"Why do I feel like there is a third player hidden in the shadow?" Siderius mumbled.
He left the area. Because of this Alchemical Seal, Siderius didn’t need to use Sulfur Separation to split a pathway to leave. The Seal automatically forced open a path for him.
Siderius returned to Scalize by mid day and approached the Baron’s estate again.
In front of the estate, Jeffrey, the butler of Jude, was already standing there and looking around. When he spotted Siderius, the butler lightened up immediately and approached him.
"Master Siderius. Your requested ingredients are here."
Siderius nodded. "Bring the ingredients to my room."
"Right away, high lord!"
The butler quickly ordered the men to bring two jugs into Siderius’ room. His eyes were filled with curiosity, even a little bit of concern toward Siderius.
"I don’t want to intrude, my lord. But what exactly do you need the period blood of a virgin woman and the urine of a virgin man for?"
Siderius smirked slightly, which caused Jeffrey to shrink back into his clothes.
"I’m sorry, my lord. I shouldn’t have asked."
"It’s alright, Jeffrey. You can leave now."
"Of course, my lord!"
Jeffrey quickly left the room and carefully closed the door.
Siderius rubbed his chin, his thoughts stray away while he’s looking out the window. The soldiers and guards were still doing their daily biddings but they couldn’t help but to share a glance toward Siderius from time to time. He really had become famous in Scalize. This attention proved inconvenient to him.
Siderius’ salt reserve was replenished thanks to the Baron. After the Psycho Apokion seal, Siderius took a lot of salt and put it into his material pouch. He was no longer in need to gather more salt.
With the salt, Siderius drew another seal inside the room. Previously, he didn’t create any barrier because it was not necessary. But now, he wouldn’t like people to peek into what he was doing.
Alchemy was a rather unique power in this new world. Siderius could say that it was magic but revealing too much would make people suspect. There was even a powerful witchling right next to him, Jude Fisher. It was better to be a little extra careful.
This seal was similar to the seal he had used while in the monastery, the Necron Proto-Apulsion seal. However, instead of focusing on repulsing the energy of death, it blocked magic instead.
This seal was called Mana Obstrusion. It would keep the Dark Aether of the witch from being leaked inside the room, as a result, no one would be able to take a peek or eavesdrop on him.
The seal could still be broken with sheer brute force but Siderius wasn’t worried that it was going to happen. The purpose of the seal was to keep hidden eyes away. If they attack the seal, they would be exposed.
The sign sequence of this seal was much less than Necron Proto-Apulsion, consisting of only five signs.
First sign, Mana Entopiosis.
Second sign, Mana Kalypiosis.
Third sign, Spirit Entopiosis.
Fourth sign, Spirit Kalypiosis.
Fifth sign, Mana Obstrulysis.
As the signs weaved together and created a reaction, a blue dome was formed from the salt line running across the room. Salt reached up and floated slightly around the semi-transparent barrier.
At this time, the Baron and Jeffrey were in another room inside the estate. Jeffrey was standing beside Jude, ready to assist him in whatever his master desired. Jude was smoking his pipe with puffs of white smoke leaving his mouth.
Suddenly, the Baron stood up. He liked to use penetration spells on his eyes to take a look at what other people were doing. Siderius, as a person of interest, was one of the targets that Jude prioritized to monitor.
But just a moment ago, his room was suddenly filled with a black ball of darkness that Jude couldn’t penetrate. He couldn’t even hear what was going on inside.
"You sly bastard." The Baron mumbled. He sat down on the pipe again to enjoy his pipe.
"Is there something wrong, my lord? Do you need me to do something?" Jeffrey was quick to come for Baron’s aid, fulfilling his role as the butler.
Jude shook his head. "There isn’t anything wrong. Remember to tell the servants to keep a close eye on our guest."
Jeffrey widened his eyes. "But isn’t he our guest, my lord? Why do we need to keep an eye out for him?"
Jude bit into his pipe. "He is our guest, sure. But he is dangerous, Jeffrey. Can you really trust someone that is dangerous in your house? But he is helping me to deal with the phantom so I let him be. Once he finishes, I will kick him out immediately.
He smells like trouble."
Jeffrey was bobbing his head to Jude’s words. He didn’t seem to understand much but he would do as his master said.