Divine Mask: I Have Numerous God Clones

The elders of the Necrovauld Academy continued their discussion, the topic shifting naturally back to their ambitions. With the results of the Abyss Hole soon to come, and the power of the newly strengthened Malachor Clan, Elder Feris spoke again, his voice filled with determination.

"With what we gain from the Abyss Hole and the support of the Malachor Clan, we should consider launching an attack on Celestial Academy. They've become complacent. If we strike with the right force, we could assert our dominance once and for all."

The other elders murmured in agreement, their minds clearly on the same path. However, the conversation quickly shifted as Elder Feris added, "Speaking of the Malachor Clan… does anyone know what has become of Elder Thalnor? It's troubling that we've had no word from him."

A heavy silence blanketed the room. The elders exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions shifting from mild concern to growing discomfort.

One by one, they looked to each other, hoping someone would offer an explanation. But no one spoke. The tension in the air thickened, the room growing colder with each passing second.

Elder Mirra finally broke the silence, her voice soft but tinged with concern. "It's… strange. Thalnor wouldn't just vanish without word. Especially not with the Abyss Hole event looming. He knows how important this is."

Elder Kaelor leaned forward, his tone more gruff. "If the Malachor Clan has risen so rapidly because of him, surely they'd know where he is. Someone must."

The elders nodded in agreement, but the unease lingered. Just as the tension was about to peak, the heavy wooden door creaked open, and Elder Vorn strode in, his presence immediately commanding attention. The other elders turned toward him, their eyes narrowing with a mix of curiosity and concern.

Vorn, a formidable figure draped in dark robes, cultivated the rare and powerful Corpse Sovereign technique. His expression was hard, his gaze sharp, and his aura radiated with an unshakable confidence.

Unlike those who practiced the Nether Puppet technique, which focused on creating a single powerful puppet, Vorn's mastery allowed him to cultivate ten corpse puppets, each stronger than the average but still slightly below the level of a fully realized Nether Puppet.

He wasted no time, his voice deep and steady as he addressed the room. "I have news regarding Elder Thalnor."

All eyes locked onto him, the tension in the room shifting from uncertainty to palpable anticipation. Vorn stepped forward, his face unreadable, and continued, "One of my corpse puppets discovered something… disturbing."

Elder Sylra's brow furrowed as she asked, "Disturbing how? What did you find?"

Vorn's voice lowered, his tone grim. "It's connected to Thalnor. I found blood—and next to it, this."

From within his robe, Vorn slowly pulled out a small, tarnished emblem. The elders leaned forward as he held it up, the light glinting off the metal. It was unmistakably marked with the Necrovauld Academy's insignia, and etched clearly into its surface was Elder Thalnor's name.

The room fell deathly silent. Elder Feris's eyes darkened as he stared at the emblem, his hand tightening into a fist at his side. "Thalnor's identity card," he muttered, his voice laced with dread. "This doesn't bode well."

Elder Kaelor, his face tense, spoke next, his voice a low growl. "Blood and his identity card… left behind? That's not just disturbing. That's a sign that something terrible has happened."

Elder Mirra, normally calm, now had a worried frown etched across her features. "Thalnor wouldn't leave something like that unless he was in grave danger. This isn't just a disappearance, is it?"

Elder Vorn nodded gravely, but there was a shadow in his eyes that hinted he wasn't finished. "There's more," he said, his voice dropping a notch, as if what came next carried even greater weight.

The room fell silent as Vorn reached into his robe once again and produced an old, worn manual. Its edges were frayed, the cover smeared with dust, indicating it had been buried for some time. He held it out in front of him, letting the gravity of the moment settle in.

"This," he said slowly, "was found buried near the location where we discovered the blood and the emblem."

He handed the manual to Elder Feris, who took it carefully, his eyes narrowing as he opened to the first page. The moment his gaze scanned the contents, his expression shifted from mere curiosity to shock. His fingers tightened around the edges of the manual.

"This… this is the Nether Puppet Cultivation Manual," Feris whispered, his voice tight with disbelief, as if the words themselves carried too much weight to fully process. "It's far stronger than the manual we've been using."

The room seemed to hold its breath as Feris continued, "No wonder the Malachor Clan has risen in power so quickly."

Elder Mirra's eyes widened, and she leaned forward, her voice barely above a murmur, yet tinged with awe. "So, this… this is how they did it? They've been using this manual to cultivate far more powerful Nether Puppets than we ever could have imagined. This explains everything."

She exchanged a glance with Elder Sylra, whose expression had grown darker by the second. Sylra's fists were clenched tightly at her sides, her knuckles white.

Her voice, when it came, was hard and filled with frustration. "But how did Thalnor come into possession of something like this? And more importantly—why was it left behind like that?"

Her mind was racing with possibilities, none of them comforting.

Elder Vorn's face remained impassive, but his tone was grim as he spoke again. "That's the part that worries me the most. The fact that his identity card and this manual were found together... suggests that Thalnor might have been involved in something far more dangerous than we ever anticipated."

The room grew cold, and the other elders leaned in, the atmosphere thick with dread.

Elder Kaelor finally broke the silence, his voice low and cautious. "You mean... you think he was targeted?"

Vorn gave a slow nod. "It's possible. Either that, or something much worse. The manual's strength and the circumstances under which we found it point to a plot we don't yet fully understand."

Elder Feris closed the manual and exhaled deeply, the weight of the situation settling heavily on his shoulders. "If Thalnor was targeted for this, we may be dealing with forces beyond our current comprehension."

Sylra's jaw tightened as her mind churned through the possibilities. "We need to know more about this manual. Where it came from. Who else knows about it. And most importantly—how much the Malachor Clan is truly involved."

Mirra nodded in agreement, her expression tense but resolute. "If the Malachor Clan has access to this level of cultivation, they may have already surpassed us in strength. We can't afford to underestimate them."

The room remained silent for a moment, the air thick with a mixture of dread and urgency. It was clear that Thalnor's disappearance wasn't just a simple case of a missing elder. Something deeper—and far darker—was at play.