色戒无删除版

Like the manor, the cemetery was protected by a thin layer of barrier that wavered when they passed through it. Cygnus let the illuminating crystal on his hand float above them and with a snap, it also illuminated the cemetery. It also showed several black wisps floating around.

With so many evil spirits in that place, the evil energy was being divided which couldn't sustain the necessary amount that could transform any of them into a malevolent spirit. Galahad looked behind him and signaled for his men to destroy the spirits. Cygnus was happy to stand on the side and be a spectator because he was curious to know how the sentinels would deal with those evil spirits.

The sentinels unsheathed their swords and used it to destroy the evil spirits. Their swords would glow white whenever it touched any of the black smoke that was floating in the place. His right palm went up to cover the grin on his face at seeing how they deal with those things. It was crude but effective and it was understandable because they couldn't use magic.

"Did you make those swords?" He asked the duke while he was still focused on the scene in front of him.

"No. Those swords were forged by our blacksmith but the imbued magic on it was from Archmage Sigma," the duke answered. He gave the young man a side glance but he couldn't see his reaction at all. "Is there a problem with them?"

Cygnus shook his head. He removed the hand that was covering his face as his expression turned to its usually perfunctory one. "They are actually good," was his only answer.

He didn't speak further and waited for the sentinels to finish. Once in a while, he would deal with the ones who appeared beside them. They managed to destroy most of the evil spirits but there were still a few that were left. Their method was exhausting and laborious, if the duke wanted to visit the other two sites he mentioned, they needed to deal with the spirits as fast as possible.

Since he was getting bored, Cygnus took it upon himself to finish the job and move on to the next site. He lifted his right hand followed by the formation of a white magic circle. Something identical appeared above the whole cemetery and stacked above it were magic circles of different sizes.

On top of the stack was a golden magic circle that produced a light that was similar to that of the sun. It was only a small amount but once it passed through the different magic circles, it intensified. The bright light fell through the whole cemetery and wiped out the wisps of evil spirit that were roaming around. It even reduced the amount of evil energy in the place.

Slowly the light disappeared and only the light from the illuminating crystal remained. All eyes were now focused on Cygnus who just used a large amount of mana to create that magic. He shrugged his shoulders and called back the orb to place it in his palms once again.

"Let's move," Galahad ordered. He did not expect what Rigel did but it saved them time and energy.

They rode to the next location. It took them an hour to reach one of the three locations mentioned by the duke. This time they came to an abandoned building which looked more like a shrine with all the unrecognizable statues placed on either side of the walkway leading to the main building. Cygnus was not sure if these were statues of gods and goddesses or it was of something else.

Just like the cemetery, a spell was placed on the place to prevent anything from inside to escape. This time the whole place was silent and there were no evil spirits roaming around but there was definitely an evil energy in that building. Cygnus could also feel that there was something sleeping inside the building.

Galahad alighted from his horse and made his way towards the building. The door creaked as the duke pushed open the door. Dust rose to the air once the doors were fully opened. He paused for a moment before the duke finally entered the building.

Cygnus alighted from his horse and followed behind the duke. He looked from left and right after stepping in when the place suddenly lit up. There on the walls of the empty space were lamps that automatically lit up when there were people inside. Now that he could freely observe the place, he noted that it was somewhere he wouldn't want to stay.

The place was just an empty space and was dusty. The only thing that stood out was the huge painting at the wall that was facing the entrance. It was a picture of a black serpent curled up around a large tree with its red eyes staring out of the painting. It was so vivid which made the painting like it was alive.

The duke stood a few feet away from the large painting that almost covered the wall from top to bottom. He had a serious look on his face as he stared at that eerie picture for five minutes straight. Cygnus on the other hand waited with a bored expression on his face. He thought that something interesting would happen but he was wrong.

"Let's go." Galahad turned around as his cape billowed a little bit because of the action.

"That's it?" Cygnus frowned because he didn't believe that the duke would only come and stare at the painting.

"Everything in here is normal. I felt no disturbance nor any anomaly in the place besides that, the serpent wouldn't let anyone disturb it," the duke answered. They both left the place and the duke dutifully pulled the doors to close the place. The lights inside the room also dimmed and died.

"What's that serpent anyway?" Cygnus couldn't help his curiosity. He already knew the basics and situation of Blackwell but its history, he didn't bother to learn it since it felt like it would only bore him.

"It is something like a guardian to the Blackwell family." He simply answered as he jumped back onto his horse. "It is only a legend but our ancestors believed that it was only sleeping."

"If that's the case, how did you know that there was nothing wrong with the place when all you did was stand in front of that ridiculously large painting?" Cygnus asked after he settled back on his horse.