Wizard: Stronger through Marriage

Chapter 1197: Chapter 554: Extraction Technique to Delay Fate

Ares furrowed his brows deeply, casting his gaze toward the dazzling array of Magical Artifacts laid out on the platform.

”It seems our time is running short,” he said. ”The enemy’s conspiracy has sunk deeper into our very bones than we imagined. We must convene the full council of clan Elders at once and discuss our countermeasures!”

Dusk thickened; under the torchlight in the great hall, numerous Elders of the Star Pupil Race gathered together. Each wore a somber expression—some bowed their heads with a sigh, some glared at one another in anger. A solemn, oppressive atmosphere filled the entire space.

An old man with snow‑white hair but eyes still sharp as a hawk’s rose to his feet, his posture upright. He was Sir Hilder, the chief councillor of the Star Pupil Council.

Hilder spoke in a resonant voice: ”Fellow kin, the time has come to tear away the darkest corner buried beneath the dust of history! The Observers have been monstrous in their cruelty toward us. They did not hesitate to Sacrifice the lives of our ancestors, molding them into living anchoring devices! This sin has not only defiled our bloodline, it threatens the safety of the entire world!”

A quiet murmur rose in the hall; someone choked back a sob, someone slammed the table and roared in fury: ”Why did no one expose this back then? Why did we allow all of this to happen?”

Hilder swept his palm to quell the clamor, then continued to recount that hidden past on his own: ”In those years, to fend off invasions from outside Demons, our forebears had no choice but to accept the ’Fusion Plan’ offered by the Observers. This plan was meant to harness the union of technology and Magic to create a constant spatial positioning system. Yet what we did not foresee was that this system would become a shackle, chaining us forever to a warped chain of fate...”

His voice gradually broke. At this point the hall sank into dead silence. Everyone felt as if a great stone had been pressed upon their chest; that desolate righteousness of being unable to break free from a predestined arrangement left the entire assembly mute, the only sound the crackling of Flames, echoing and stirring the deepest ripples of emotion within their hearts.

The air inside was thick with a chill, tense aura, as though every breath congealed into frost.

Reina sat alone at the long analysis table. Crystalline samples and complex data terminal screens were scattered across its surface, blue light reflecting on her austere, focused face.

Her hands gently caressed the latest batch of gene chain samples extracted from Warriors of the Star Pupil Race. Within those seemingly harmless, faintly glowing data fragments was hidden a burden the entire clan could not bear.

The code on the screen surged like a tide, racing through her mind. She knit her brows tightly, constantly comparing and dissecting every symbol and sequence.

”Parasitic code...”

Reina murmured to herself. Her voice was soft, yet carried an unmistakable tremor of shock and fear. ”This is no ordinary mutation; this was implanted with intent. It is the mortal countdown the Observers left us... It will activate a century from now and cast our entire race into the Abyss.”

She looked around. Only a few dim lamps held up a shadowy corner of the laboratory in the winter night.

Outside the window, the North Star shone like an icy blue Gem, but compared to the oppressive mood within, that tranquility felt especially ironic and distant.

Reina slowly rose to her feet and paced to a small table in the corner, piled high with ancient tomes and Magic Scrolls. She opened a thick, yellowed volume, in which were recorded the lost Secret Techniques of the early sages of the Star Pupil Race concerning ”mental control” and ”Soul unbinding.”

This was precisely the crucial clue she hoped would crack the activation mechanism of the parasitic code.

At that moment, Amy, who had been silently standing by, stepped closer and tapped lightly on the data terminal with her finger. ”Reina, we’ve confirmed that these parasitic codes are deeply embedded within the gene chains, linked to fragments of Chaos Runes. They are not purely material in nature; they fuse a Magic Array with a Soul resonance mechanism.”

Amy’s expression was grave; she frowned slightly. ”If we don’t cut them off in time, this will trigger Soul collapse and even Otherworld incursion. We must develop corresponding techniques as soon as possible to contain it.”

Reina nodded her assent. ”I’ve already begun building a preliminary model based on the ’Neural Pulse Stripping Technique.’

This Magic can, by modulating neural signal frequencies, peel the parasitic code away from the level of consciousness and delay its activation.”

At this, a trace of bitterness flickered at the corner of her lips, yet it was filled with steely resolve. ”But this is only a temporary postponement, not a permanent solution. We can only race against time and win more of it for the future.”

In the laboratory, all sorts of complex instruments emitted a low hum. A massive psionic scanner projected a gorgeous, flowing net of light, forming an enormous three‑dimensional double‑helix DNA model in midair.

The model spun and shifted, being continuously subdivided into countless data points. Each data point mapped to a tiny Rune fragment, like the brightest yet most eerily unfathomable new stars in a stellar system.

David stood before the console, eyes fixed on the progress bar on the screen as it crept toward completion.

A rare tension surfaced on his face—an anxious emotion, restless and uneasy, in which fear and hope for the unknown future were tightly entwined.

”We must give Reina our full support,” he said in a low voice. ”This is not just science; it is our mission—to save all humans and kin afflicted by this Curse.”

Amy walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder, offering encouragement with her warm gaze. ”David, remember this: no matter how hard it gets, we are not fighting alone.

With us standing guard together, you will never be swallowed by Dark Devouring.”

Night deepened, shrouding the Earth in thick darkness. Gust after gust of howling wind and snow battered against the outer walls of the encampment, yet inside was a scene of intense activity—

Zelros was meticulously inspecting the circle of Barrier Runes arranged around the tent. His brows were tightly drawn; with each line he traced, he carefully adjusted the calibrations and Energy intensity.