Chapter 522
Drawing a talisman, she pricked Francis's fingertip, letting a drop of blood fall onto its surface. The talisman glowed gold. Then, with a resounding boom, a beam of golden light shot out into the night.
"Come with me to watch a good show," Odalys said.
She waved her hand, and Percival hurriedly grabbed the car keys and followed her. Seeing this, Stellan also took out his car keys, and Freya and the others chased after them.
They drove away. The night outside was pitch black, as if it were going to swallow their vehicles.
The Bennett Villa
At night, the Bennett Villa was brightly lit, but the inside was eerily quiet. Edie sat on the sofa, looking at Oliver and Brandon with cold, contemptuous eyes. It was apparent she looked down on them.
"Get behind me," Oliver commanded.
Henry, Caspian, Atlas, Hannah, Windsor, and the others quickly moved behind Oliver. A brazier sat in the living room. Oliver took out a talisman and threw it into the brazier.
With a bang, the fire in the brazier blazed fiercely. The flames soared, as if trying to ignite the ceiling.
"Mom, are you sure Mr. Carline can handle this?" Atlas asked, a hint of panic in his voice.
Oliver had contacted Henry earlier that day, saying he could help the Bennett family survive this disaster. They rushed back to find Oliver already waiting outside. After Oliver arrived, Brandon came downstairs from Hannah's room.
After some discussion, they decided to use an illusion to trap Odalys, along with Francis's body, and then control Odalys within the illusion. After controlling her, they planned to use her energy to force the soul into Francis's body. Eventually, her body would die in the illusion, and the soul (from around the 1920s) would occupy his body and wake up. Then, they could control this body and attack the Stewart family.
"In all of Crownridge, who is more famous than Mr. Carline? I didn't think he had any real skills, but look! He healed my injuries," Hannah said.
Just by drinking the runes potion Oliver gave her, the broken bones in her body healed. Before, she needed help even walking; after breaking her waist, she'd had it fixed with a steel plate and couldn't sit for long. Now, she could move freely. At that moment, she began to believe Oliver was indeed capable.
Only Sophia, standing in the corner, remained silent. Her vicious eyes fixed on the brazier, and she instinctively stepped back. Her gaze toward Oliver showed evident distrust. It was clear she trusted no one, especially not the Bennetts. If she didn't need their help, she would have left long ago.
After meeting with Hannah, Edie returned to the Bennett Villa but remained uninvolved in family activities. Like Sophia, she watched coldly from the sidelines.
"That's right. He healed your injury with the runes potion. That's amazing," Atlas said admiringly.
Only Windsor stared at Oliver with narrowed, sinister eyes, deep in thought.
As they all harbored their thoughts, Oliver chanted words, and Brandon sat beside him. When Oliver said, "Break," the surroundings suddenly went pitch black.
A gust of cold wind swept in, terrifying the Bennetts. The flames in the brazier leaped wildly. Suddenly, there was a loud bang. Oliver stood there, holding his peachwood sword, feeling a tingling sensation in his wrist.
A powerful force struck him. The peachwood sword snapped with a crack; the upper half fell into the brazier with a crisp sound. The fire ignited the broken piece. Oliver stared at his broken sword.
"No way. How could my peachwood sword be broken?" Oliver's voice trembled.
His magic had never failed before. Now, his peachwood sword was broken. Thinking of this, he wanted to withdraw, but it was too late. A powerful force struck him fiercely.
"Ouch!" Oliver was sent flying, crashing into a cabinet before falling to the ground.
He collapsed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He felt as if all his internal organs had been shattered. The intense pain spread throughout his body. He struggled to get up and walked toward the brazier.
"The vast and boundless world… Pili!" He tried to recite the incantation, but only managed a few words before spitting out blood again. His blood splashed into the brazier, extinguishing the flames.
The stench of blood permeated the living room. A gust of cold wind blew through, and the lights flickered back on, illuminating the luxurious space like a cruel joke.
"Mr. Carline, what's going on?" Hannah exclaimed urgently. She had trusted Oliver, only to witness this gruesome scene. Even an untrained eye could tell his magic had failed.
"It's impossible. How could I fail?" Oliver murmured.
Brandon abruptly rose, his eyes wide with terror. He stared ahead and cried out, "Ancestor! Ancestor, are you alright?"
"Where's my ancestor?" Brandon frantically rushed forward, grabbed Oliver by the collar, and lifted him off the ground. "Where is my ancestor? Didn't you say you could get my ancestor into Francis's body and take it over? What happened to my ancestor?" Brandon roared.
Fear flickered in Oliver's eyes.
"He is dead. Your ancestor's soul was killed in the illusion, and his soul was scattered. He is gone," Oliver said in disbelief.
Hearing this, Brandon fell to the ground with a thud. He looked at Oliver in disbelief; the others were also terrified.
Oliver had summoned the soul of a man in 1920s clothing, who seemed to have died around that era. Upon seeing Oliver, Brandon had bowed directly to him. They had planned for this man to take over Francis's body; his soul would replace Francis's. Once he became Francis, he would help the Bennett family. This was why the Bennett family cooperated with Oliver. In addition to Hannah's healed injuries, they had hope. After all, Oliver was a master of the energy field in Crownridge, second to none.
But the ritual had failed.
"Dead! You killed my ancestor?" Brandon's voice was practically a hiss. He lunged forward, pressed down on Oliver, and punched him hard. Oliver was knocked to the ground. He was younger and stronger than Brandon; Brandon would never have been able to beat him normally, but he'd been backlashed during the ritual.