Mystical Fantasy : The Lazy Real Young Master [EN]

Chapter 50: Chapter 8.2 : Ritual in the Shadows

Two hours had passed. It was just after midnight. A new day had begun. Yet nothing had changed. Only the gentle ripple of seawater and faint spiritual signals drifting by like night mosquitoes—harmless.

”Boring,” Al whispered, taking a deep breath. ”I can’t keep this eye active for too long.”

He deactivated his Dimensional Eye. But then suddenly—his magical instincts flared. The vibration was subtle, yet rhythmic—enough to rattle his spiritual awareness. A group of people appeared at the edge of the beach. They wore black robes and carried various ritual items: incense, offerings, a carved dagger, black cloths, and glass bottles filled with cloudy red liquid.

Shamans, Al thought.

They’re doing a ritual here? An exorcism? Or maybe...

He observed from above. One of them radiated an aura that... felt familiar. Something that stirred his memory, though he couldn’t place it yet.

The ritual began. The head shaman stood in the center while three others formed a triangular formation around him. The shaman raised both clenched fists, then released a surge of energy—

Illusion Barrier: Activated

A magic barrier formed, creating an illusion dome about a hundred meters wide. A faint purplish light shimmered before vanishing from normal sight, leaving behind only a fog—seemingly concealing something massive within. From the outside, it looked like an empty beach.

But Al knew better. Unfortunately, he couldn’t activate his Dimensional Eye again just yet, so he had to get closer—inside the barrier.

He leapt down, touched the surface of the barrier, and smirked. Then he slipped inside with ease.

”No detection enchantments... just pure illusion to fool regular people’s eyes,” he said calmly as he walked in.

Inside, he saw four individuals seated in meditation, three of them forming a circle around the lead shaman. Magic aura flowed slowly but steadily, concentrating toward one point.

From the shore, the sea began to churn. A small whirlpool formed.

Once it stilled, a black rift tore open at the water’s surface—as if a dimensional crack had formed. From it emerged a humanoid being: a woman in traditional white garments, long hair, pale skin with patches of greenish tint. Her eyes were blank white, with no pupils—her expression vacant, but the energy she gave off was dense. A high-class spiritual being, or in this world’s terms—a Djinn, specifically a water-type Djinn.

The shaman solemnly offered her the ritual items: assorted fruits, a black-feathered chicken, and blood from a small bottle—origin unknown. The creature absorbed the offerings—inhaled them in an unnatural way—and discarded the vessels once drained.

Then, from her body emerged a grayish-green orb of energy, pulsing like a living heart. It appeared to be some kind of dimensional exchange.

After the exchange, the water Djinn prepared to reopen a dimensional rift—to return to her realm.

But—

BOOM!

Her body was slammed violently into the sandy ground. Dust exploded in all directions.

A calm, black-robed figure stood atop her—Al.

The four in the ritual formation were stunned, but three of them couldn’t move. They were still bound by the ritual. Breaking formation before completion could lead to soul damage or death. Only the head shaman in the center could move—but even he was restricted to a ten-meter radius from the ritual core.

”What are you doing?! Who are you?!” the shaman shouted in anger.

The spiritual creature tried to rise. Her fury ignited, and her body began to transform. Her face shifted: greenish-blue scales appeared, her eyes turned blood-red. Gills and fins formed. A hiss escaped her sharp-toothed mouth. Her true form had emerged—a humanoid, fish-featured water Djinn.

”What are you really doing here? Playing with things you shouldn’t be touching,” Al said flatly.

The shaman didn’t respond and tried to attack. He drew a keris—a ritual blade with a serpent-like zigzag shape. It was infused with Entra energy, cloaking it in a dark aura.

But with a single swift move, Al snapped the blade. The shaman’s body was flung through the air, crashing far beyond the ritual’s range. His weapon flew into the sea.

Meanwhile, the water Djinn lashed out viciously—striking with her slimy limbs and blade-sharp fins, trying to bite with venomous fangs. Al evaded all of it with ease, then counterattacked.

But...

Because the shaman had broken the ritual’s spatial limit, a burst of wild energy erupted. The ritual destabilized. Magical aura exploded chaotically like a thunderstorm.

”Hm... the ritual’s broken. The battlefield’s unstable,” Al muttered as he analyzed the situation.

Seeing the chaos escalate, he lunged toward the center of the ritual, seized the orb of energy, and delivered a brutal blow to the water Djinn, stunning her momentarily. Before she could recover, he grabbed her and leapt out of the ritual zone.

The creature thrashed, clawed, and screamed. But Al, calm and steady, slammed her into the ground again, completely subduing her—without killing.

”You must be frustrated not being able to use your full strength. Unfortunately, this isn’t your dimension—so accept your fate...” Al muttered as he lifted the now-unconscious creature. Then he carried her away.

---

A few hours later – Makazhar Central Forest

Al sat high on a tree branch, silent and watchful. Below him, the water Djinn lay unconscious. Her terrifying form had reverted to that of a white-robed woman, though some aquatic traits still lingered. Her clothes were torn, her body battered—but not completely destroyed.

In Al’s hand, the pulsating energy orb remained. It felt... wrong. Dark. Like the source of the negative aura that had been mysteriously spreading.

Electric sparks snapped through his fingers, burning patches of his skin.

”Pure Helos... What are they planning to do with this energy? Just touching it damages the human body—let alone using it. So what do they want?”

His mind flashed back to the Martial Arts competition during the School Festival, when Yolanda had used Helos. The pattern was similar. But Yolanda’s Helos wasn’t pure. Still, it had significantly boosted her destructive power.

Then a wild theory surged in Al’s mind—a theory he’d considered back during the Yolanda incident. But tonight added weight to it—enough to make his eyes widen.

”Could they have found a way to extract Helos into a usable form—without corrupting the soul first? Unlike shamans who must sacrifice their sanity to wield it?”

Without hesitation, Al crushed the orb in his hand.

CRACK.

The orb shattered. The dark energy lashed out—but he neutralized it easily. It dispersed without a trace. Nothing remained that could be reused.

”If that’s true... this could be very dangerous.”

After destroying the dark orb, he confirmed the spiritual creature was no longer alive. He incinerated her body with black fire—a unique flame that erased her without a trace.

Al prepared to return home.

But before he could take another step—his ears picked up a faint sound.

Footsteps.

The clink of metal. And soft, labored breaths... of people carrying something heavy.