Reincarnated As A Plant Life - Chapter 239: My Children Have Worked In The Shadows

“Shadow beam,” Lucius whispered finally, right as the creature coming from the pentagram was about to be fully released.

Using the same template as [moon beam], [shadow beam] took a large chunk of the energy he had, and set it loose upon the pentagram and its monstrosity.

An almost solid pillar of shadows erupted from the cacoon and rammed against the pentagram.

It didn’t seem to cause any visible damage to the creature that was about to be unleashed, but it managed to completely destroy the pentagram from which it was coming.

At that moment, the hands under Lucius’s control got a hold of the sceptre and pried it from the hands of the corpse.

Lucius’s body was now visible, the shadow cacoon that had been covering him, completely sacrificed to cast [shadow beam]. However, there would be no need for it now.

The sceptre was in his possession, and the summoning spell that the corpses had attempted to cast had completely destroyed their mana cores, leaving them lifeless ragdolls on the floor.

The once pristine marble room was completely covered in blood and the scent of decaying flesh. There was now a massive hole in the ceiling where he had cast [shadow beam], going all the way up to the surface.

And Lucius could sense his emperor’s mantle slowly slipping away from him. There was no doubt in his mind that the energy withdrawal would leave him unconscious, and a sitting duck for whoever came to find out what had happened here.

So, holding the sceptre in his hand, he limped towards the chair that Eiknyr had been sitting on, before taking a seat.

The fawn had apparently died sometime during the fight, though he was certain it was a better fate than staying alive.

For a moment, he stared at the sceptre, its crimson gemstone still emitting faint amounts of power.

After taking a deep breath, he smashed it on the floor, sending sparkles of red energy all over the room.

He could’ve sworn he saw something lift off into the sky after he did that, however, he was too tired to pay it any mind.

[System event… [Rise of the Belladonna] complete!]

[+ 6000 exp!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[New item unlocked!]

[New skill unlocked!]

[Title ‘Belladonna’ has been acquired!]

It was over, he had gotten revenge.

Though still… it didn’t feel like it.

Just then he heard footsteps approaching, and even in his state, he tried to stand up to respond. However, all the fatigue from earlier had caught up to him, and although the emperor’s mantle had been healing him since earlier, it could not replace the energy it expanded without his shadows. .

“Succum to your fears,” he tried to chant, though sadly [Kumulipo] wouldn’t even come out.

He stared at the entrance to the chamber, waiting to see who his opponents would be.

“Master Eiknyr…” a voice called out, as a group of figures entered the chamber.

It was the workers.

For a moment they looked shocked, staring at the remains of Eiknyr’s corpse, and that of all the guards. It was a bloodbath, and amongst them, only a single figure remained alive.

Sitting on the throne at the centre of the room, with light piercing from the ceiling, and shining down upon him.

“It’s him,” some of the workers whispered, their shocked expressions turning to one of realization.

“Solar bea…” Lucius was about to attempt once again, however, his vision went dark for a moment.

He fought against his consciousness, coming back only a few moments later.

When he opened his eyes, the workers were dragging him somewhere.

He instinctually shrugged them off and tried to attack them, however, his limbs felt like sandbags.

The workers opened their mouths to say something to him, however, he could not hear a thing.

Though the fact that they had not attempted to kill him whilst he was out, gave him some hope that they were not enemies.

“T-The chair on… the first floor,” Lucius strained to say, “Bring it,” he continued. And a few of the workers rushed off to do his bidding.

“Out-outside. A red flower in the shrubs… bring it,” he added. Every time he spoke, it felt like sandpaper was rubbing against his throat, however, he could not leave without at least those two prizes.

As the next set of workers left to do that, his vision dimmed once more.

The next time he opened his eyes, he was being led through another set of tunnels. He tried to shrug the workers away so that he could walk on his own, but he faltered on his own weight. And they had to pick him up once more.

“Where…?” was all he could ask now, still extremely drowsy.

“The Lord’s First Son,” the workers replied in a serious tone. Lucius wanted to ask more, however, his consciousness failed him once more.

*

When Lucius awoke, even before he opened his eyes, he sensed several beings of significant power surrounding him.

Without much thought, he swung his tail all around him as he opened his eyes, before lining up a list of spells he would use depending on the enemies.

“The Lighted One has returned,” a voice called out, from below.

Lucius was currently standing atop a risen slab of earth, much like an altar. And all around him were familiar, faces, amongst them were a few new ones as well.

“Pagan,” Lucius whispered, a complex rush of emotions taking over him.

For a moment he wondered whether it was a dream, as a figure appeared seemingly out of the shadows to hug him.

“Ghost,” he whispered, his stoic expression threatening to break down.

“We felt the surge of energy and knew it was you,” a voice called out from somewhere at the back of the crowd.

“Hannibal…” he said finally.

If this was a dream, then he was content with staying here.

“How?” That was all Lucius could ask.

It seemed they were underground, with multiple runes acting as light sources. Although they were in a relatively simple room, he could see multiple tunnels leading into this section, which made him wonder how his children had managed to accomplish all this.

“Your new followers, Lighted One. They have understood the truth of this world,” Pagan replied, gesturing towards several dozen mole people, who were currently bowed down.