No, not just the wine!
Lucien looked at Camil. As a level-eight radiant knight whose responsibility was to protect Natasha, she wouldn't drink or eat anything on such occasions. Still, her face was dark, and her body was quivering uncontrollably. She intended to turn into 'Tide', but the blue ripples disappeared immediately after they surfaced. It was obvious that she had been poisoned and cursed!
Where was the source of the poisons and curses?
Lucien suddenly smelled vague but sweet fragrance of flowers, like that outside, except that it was more sweet and intoxicating.
Something was wrong with the fragrance!
There must be a spy, or something who was manipulated, that brought the item which emitted such fragrance in. When it was mixed with the wines that had also been played tricks on, the wine and the air became unimaginable poisons and curses. No wonder he did not detect anything during the examination!
But it was not the time to look for the spy or the accomplice. Lucien wobbled to Natasha, with everything fuzzy and shaking before him.
Thankfully, Lucien had the Congus Ring which dissolved the poison. He was unlike Camil, James or the rest of them, who were not only dizzy but also weak, even unable to stand on their feet.
Count Henson, who did not activate the strength of a knight, collapsed and fell into 'hangover'.
Lucien's body still had strength. He gradually approached Natasha like a drunk man. If his heavy head and soul still remembered things correctly, 'Sword of Truth', the ultimate bloodline that could cut everything, was immune to curses. Therefore, Natasha should be only poisoned, with strength fading from her body, but her head should still be clear. As long as she put on 'Health Belt' and activated it, the poison in her should be relieved in no time.
The level-eight magic item was also immune to the poisons below legendary!
As for the Congus Ring, even if Lucien wanted to give it to Natasha, she couldn't use it.
Count David, the second weakest of all, collapsed like Count Henson, but he hadn't completely entered 'unconscious' yet, but moved his eyes anxiously.
Power from the curses spread out from his lungs and his stomach and extended upwards, affecting Lucien's brain and soul. It made his head swollen and his heart race. He was unable to cast a single spell or activate any item.
After he staggered to Natasha, Lucien took off the belt and put it on her.
Natasha said in a low voice, as if talking was difficult for her. "I cannot concentrate my will… I can't use any magic item. Go… go now. Their target… should be me…"
As if not hearing anything, Lucien b.u.t.toned the Health Belt on the back of her waist, before he said with a numb tongue, "Try to… control yourself… The poison… hasn't been completely activated yet… There should be a chance… to use magic items."
Natasha did not waste time or give up. She tried to get her body under control, while she urged again, "Hurry and leave… You still have strength… Ask for the reinforcement… of the n.o.bles outside…"
At least, Lucien would not die with her.
Then, she would be able to seek the slim chance of survival without concerns.
Applause echoed from the gate. "What a touching couple. I hope that you will stay together after you die."
Lucien raised his head, only to discover a weird, green-haired man at the gate. There were no pupils in his eyes but only the devastating whiteness. His clothes were quite eccentric, too, because he was wearing a black cloak that covered his entire body even though it was a hot day.
The weird man who appeared to be in his thirties bowed and said, "Your Majesty, allow me to introduce myself. I am Primous, 'Poisonous Devil' of the Dark Congress."
'Poisonous Devil' Primous was the expert who ranked 62nd on the Cleansing List, a level-nine dark night, and a descendant of the Demon Lord. He was best known for poisons and curses. While he ranked lower than Lucien, he was definitely stronger than Lucien.
Natasha did not respond to him but tried to focus her attention, and Lucien resisted the power of curses with his spiritual power, too.
Primous, however, did not attack immediately, but chattered on, "You don't know me? That's alright. All you need to know is that I'm here to kill you. It's been a while since the Congress waited for the South Church to declare war on the Congress of Magic. After learning that Your Majesty also chooses balance, the old men sent me here."
He seemed to be affected by his bloodline, or maybe he was confident of his victory, so he appeared rather hysterical.
"As long as I kill Your Majesty, Mr. Lucien Evans, Duke James and the rest of them and pretend that it was done by radical night watchers, the Church and the Congress of Magic will definitely burst into war. Right, I'm good at simulation. I think I'm capable of making the legendary sorcerers and saint cardinals believe that 'Cursed Angel' Grunwell of the night watchers did all this."
Hearing his neurological chatter, both Lucien and Natasha tried to dissolve the power of either the curse or poison in their body, but it seemed that they were stronger and stronger as time went by. Neither of them could stand on their feet anymore.
Primous seemed to be unaware of their efforts, and nor did he care that Duke James and the rest of them could not reply because of lack of strength. He continued on happily, "In order to kill you, I spent tremendous efforts on controlling the servants and gardeners to slightly change the vegetation in the garden. If you were truly a flower lover, Duke James, you would've realized it a long time ago. It's a shame that you are just a show-off. So, when you walked into this chamber with the fragrance of flowers, the previously harmless ingredients in the wine turned violent."
"In order to not alarm you, I did not adopt drastic and fatal poisons and curses but chose weakening and paralyzing ones. They look rather effective and gave me enough time to arrive from beyond the range of your consciousness, Duke James."
His words confirmed Lucien's speculation, and it seemed to have ruled out the possibility of a spy.
However, how could Lucien have trusted a lunatic like him?
"Haha. Do you think that I'm so stupid that I would give you enough time to lift the poisons and curses?" Primous suddenly smiled.
Shocked, Lucien thought of something, but the power of curses that flooded into his head slowed his thinking.
Primous grimaced, "My mix of poisons and curses are named 'Helpless Kiss'. The longer you delay, the less strength you will have. So, in order to be absolutely safe, I let you hear my chatter. I'm happy that you cooperated with me."
As he said, he clapped his hands, "Down! Down! Down!"
Duke Russell and Camil fell first, with desperation and regret in their eyes, followed by Duke James, whose feet could no longer support his body.
"Wow, as expected of the queen and Mr. Lucien Evans. You have lasted so long. Let me guess. The queen's bloodline can eliminate the power of curse, and Mr. Evans has equipment that provides immunity to the poisons." Primous warmed his wrist and seemed about to attack.
Lucien stepped forward. His head was more muddled than ever, and he had only one idea, which was to stand before Natasha. However, the rational, systematic thinking that he had formed still gave him a possibility to reverse the outcome. He could allure Primous to approach and attack with his left hand, hoping that the nullifying ability of the hand could dispel the supernatural powers of the level-nine dark knight and hurt him.
Primous chuckled, "It seems that I'll have a lot of trophies this time. Mr. Evans, you are rarely-seen moving treasury of magic items."
He took off his cloak and revealed a nightmarish body. That was a body full of ulcers, from which yellow or green mucus was bubbling and corrupting everything.
"So, would you please die?" Primous took action. Lucien could not capture him at all, much less attack him with the left hand.
He was not careless at all after the real attack began but regarded Lucien as an opponent on the same level as him. Therefore, while his melee abilities were not as good as a regular level-nine, it was still not something that Lucien could resist.
Bam. A yellow and green shadow blinked to Lucien's side and knocked his chest brutally.
The poison that seemed to be killing the air made Lucien's head even heavier. He raised his left hand but could not keep up with Primous' speed. His chest suffered excruciating pain.
Without a sound, Lucien disappeared and appeared in the shadow of the gate.
'Magic Trigger', the magic he prepared in advance, saved Lucien's life at the critical moment.
"I almost forgot that you are a sorcerer, Mr. Evans, but I don't think you can dodge again, can you?" Primous mocked Lucien and rushed at Lucien unbelievably fast.
Lucien managed to lift his left hand and blocked his chest, but Primous disappeared before him and blinked to his back, kicking him right on his back. The yellowish curses and the dark green poisons immediately surged forward.
With a dull noise, the three layers of grey skin that suddenly appeared on Lucien's body were shattered into pieces, and obvious gaps showed up on the robe of the Immortal Throne. Lucien was blown toward Natasha, vomiting blood, with his back almost broken.
If he hadn't learnt 'Magic Order' a few days ago and preset three 'Stone Skins', a four-circle magic, Lucien could've been killed directly!
"You're still alive? That's why I hate sorcerers most!" Primous grew agitated.
Duke James and the rest of them, while wondering how Lucien avoided Primous' second attack, tried to focus their will, only to little avail.
Primous suddenly turned into a dark green spear and pierced at Lucien who was still on the ground.
Hardly had Lucien turned his body around with his uncontrollably hands and feet when he saw that. He intended to resist the attack with magic, but he couldn't focus his spiritual power, which was still under the suppression of the curse.
Am I going to die here?
Suddenly, a shadow appeared before Lucien. A longsword was drawn, and the gaps of void appeared out of nowhere, blocking the spear.
However, the spear was so terrifying that it pierced through her body despite the longsword, sprinkling her hot blood on Lucien's abdomen, chest and face.
"Natasha…" Lucien said subconsciously.
Natasha's face was in abnormal red. The wound on her abdomen couldn't recover due to the poison. As she lost tremendous blood, her feet were obviously shaking, as if she could barely stand on her feet, but her voice was still as firm as before: "A knight should never stay behind."
