Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 642 - 595: Holy Light Meme

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The coronation ceremony was divided into two stages. The first stage was the resurrection of the Giant Dragon. Even though the Giant Dragon was exceedingly close to a real dragon, its essence still lay in the form of a bone dragon cloaked in flesh. Bringing the dead back to life was the first step of the ceremony. This process appeared difficult, but under the combined guidance of the power of the Evil God and the Dragon Priests’ tribe, it held potential.

The light of the Lich Crown had burst forth to its limit, and a Mana Tidal Wave converged around Lyle. With Morocoy’s silent consent, Lyle drew all surrounding mana into himself, becoming an artificial mana node.

Wrapped in mana silk thread that turned from black to blue and white, Lyle began his ritual.

"Bones, the bedrock marked by death."

"Flesh, the ladder to climb life," Nia’s body wriggled out from behind Lyle, her movements synchronizing with his. Tentacles connected their arms together as they reached out towards the Giant Dragon.

["Soul, the eternal marker to remember."] Ominous signs grew from the shadows, the sinister ritual of the Evil God corroding the Dragon Priests’ altar, those twisted shadows invading the cracks of reality.

"Plague Messenger."

"Flesh Riot."

"Heretical Growth."

With each power invoked, the corresponding part of flesh and bone on the Giant Dragon began to twist. Its form slightly melted into a distorted monster with the consistency of a candle, and agonizing howls echoed through the heavens and earth.

"..." Even bound by the Lich Crown’s mana silk thread, Lyle still did not recite the final phrase—his power was not enough.

"But Nia can!"

["But we can."]

The human exterior mixed with flesh began to contort, a towering avatar leaving stains upon the sacred ground. The harbinger giant extended its arms, plunging the flesh before it into a frenzy.

["Four Locks, Mental Liberation."]

Using the power of the Evil God to borrow even higher-tier powers.

The white bones, flesh, and soul of the Giant Dragon activated fully, merging into one within the Evil God’s realm, where no barrier existed between life and death.

"Now is the time!!!"

Five Dragon Priests struck the altar with staffs that reaped the power of their tribe, and the runes burst into even more dazzling light. Those tribes once sheltered by the Giant Dragon sang the praises of its brilliance, extolled their towering figures, worshiped their strength, and were grateful for their patronage.

The power of the tribe poured into the body of the Giant Dragon, transforming him back into that majestic dragon.

The Gemstone Dragon Crown bridged the golden soul of the dragon, as a dragon cry that reverberated through heaven and earth was issued in the age of Holy Light.

Feeling the connection break at his fingertips, Lyle, restored to human form, breathed a sigh of relief.

The connection of the necromantic ceremony was severed, meaning that the creature before them was no longer favored by the power of death. In any case, he could no longer be dead.

The resurrected Giant Dragon opened its eyes, those serpentine pupils filled with more vivid emotion, the dragon released its breath.

"I, am alive."

Lyle let out a sigh of relief, everything had gone smoothly...

"Something’s not right!" Sylvette’s call grasped the nerves of everyone; she supported the reborn Giant Dragon, whose body was trembling at an unnatural frequency.

"I haven’t...!!!" Before the syllables could leave the throat, blood sprayed out into the air, and the Giant Dragon’s body cracked, with blinding golden light bursting from the fissures.

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Flesh scattered, light radiated in all directions.

The giant dragon exploded into a ball of firelight.

Lyle and the Dragon Priest used all their might to resurrect the giant dragon, which lived for twenty-seven seconds before dying.

Its flesh torn and shattered, the ashes burnt to slag, the dragon’s white and robust bones stood up again. The soul flames burned in the eye sockets of Mr. Giant Dragon as it looked around.

"I’m fine, though I’m not really sure this situation counts as ’fine.’"

The resurrection ritual had failed; there were no casualties, Lyle was drained and needed to recover, and the strength of the Dragon Follower’s tribe had been partly used up.

The scholar and the Black Dragon Priest wore solemn expressions as they knelt on the ground, watching the smoldering golden blood vomited by the dragon. It wasn’t just normal blood showcasing the nobility of a magical species.

"Contained within the dragon blood... burns the holy light... the curse of the holy light, hidden within the lineage of the giant dragon..."

The Blue Dragon Priest removed his mask, his soul flames fixated on the golden blood. Long after the blood was scorched dry, the sanctified light lingered. "This effect cannot be wrought by a curse; the blood of the dragon does not descend from any father of dragons. This is not a curse; it’s a meme, a power for slaying dragons that is passed down through the bloodstream."

"We need an expert in this field."

...

A blue portal opened at the edge of the neatly cleared ossuary, and two liches walked out from the other side. There was Nameless, dressed casually like a wanderer, and Bold, wearing proper standard attire. Both were members of the Advanced Magic Research Society from Andrey, and Bold’s mentor was Mr. Fear, an expert in the study of memes. Because of Mr. Scholar’s awkward situation, Lyle had invited members of the Advanced Magic Research Society to help with the research through Nameless’s connections; thus, Nameless came along as well.

"It’s been a while; I’ve missed you, Plague Messenger. By the way, this place isn’t bad, all of your fates are now intertwined." Lyle hurried forward to cover Nameless’s mouth, fearing this expert in fate would predict his time of death.

On the other hand, Mr. Bold did not act like an apprentice at all, already sitting beside the pool of blood, striking up conversations with the giant dragon, the scholar, and the Black Dragon Priest. Contrary to other disciplines in the Advanced Magic Research Society, the roles of Mr. Fear, the professor of meme studies, and Mr. Bold seemed reversed, with the apprentice dealing with all external matters.

Mr. Scholar, who had previous contact, voiced his concerns.

"Bold, leaving Mr. Fear alone without supervision, won’t cause any problems, will it?"

Mr. Fear is a very special professor in the Advanced Magic Research Society whose powers had gone out of control. The memes transmitted through his words would unknowingly contaminate everything around him. Typically, his bones are broken, and he’s confined in a suitcase, carried by Bold, his apprentice. Otherwise, wherever Mr. Fear stayed would become a land bereft of life.

"Mr. Scholar, the destruction suppression of Mr. Fear is not absolute. The fundamental reason for the production of memes is because the teacher feels his ’friends’ have come for him. To escape these ’friends,’ one could use ’me,’ who possesses the same abilities, or allow the teacher to maintain a ’traveling’ state, eluding his friends’ search. Recently, I’ve found a new solution!"

"What is the method?"

"Well, that’s thanks to the new product from the Necromancer Figure Club and Mr. Lyle’s flesh disguise."

Lyle, hearing his own name, turned around in surprise.

He saw Mr. Bold tilting his head with a smile and saying, "Thanks to the flesh disguise, Mr. Fear becomes more susceptible to mental suggestion. I used hypnosis to blur his perception, placing the suitcase that confined him on a running flesh-slimming treadmill. In his hazy memory, he is continuously in the jostling process of ’being moved.’ In his self-awareness, those friends wouldn’t be able to find him. Mr. Lyle, you’ve indeed invented quite a convenient tool!"

Lyle, seeing Mr. Bold dare to treat his mentor this way, gave up the notion of correcting the treadmill’s intended use.

"Ah, regarding this holy light, Mr. Scholar, your deduction is not bad. Without much consideration, I even know that this is a very strong meme, and the one who applied it seems to want to make its message clear to us."

"This meme contains a will that is stubborn to the point of terror. Not to mention me, even Mr. Fear wouldn’t be able to eliminate it."

"I can help you interpret it."

After Mr. Bold’s fingers touched the Holy Light Dragon Blood, which had been burnt to ash, everyone finally understood the message within the holy light meme.

[May eternal vengeance be inflicted upon our enemies for all the suffering kinsfolk.]