As everyone approached the fourth narrow passage, the pale blue flames in the wall sconces suddenly surged as if doused with scalding lamp oil.
In just an instant, the flames soared to a height of two or three meters, then, like a painter’s sketch, the outlines of two human-like creatures were delineated by the pale blue flames.
"Such strong malice..." Angel murmured.
"If the undead didn’t have such strong malice, they wouldn’t be undead," Dox responded.
"No, this kind of malice feels different, this aura..." Angel spoke halfway and didn’t continue, instead narrowing his eyes and staring intently at the two human-like silhouettes, secretly guessing their identities.
Undoubtedly undead. That was the consensus among all the Official Wizards present.
When these two were still mimicking fire, they had already felt the heavy presence of death. The fire in the sconces was clearly undead fire mimicked by the undead.
However, Angel had seen many undead and was familiar with their aura. It was a kind of pure and direct malice, whereas the malice in front of them felt mixed with a different kind of aura.
This aura seemed familiar to Angel.
While Angel was pondering, the left undead’s half body already started emerging from the mimicry fire, seemingly eager to attack them.
Yet everyone was stunned as they looked at this half-emerged undead.
They had originally thought it was a human undead, but unexpectedly, it was the undead of a fallen human-like creature.
This undead had two huge fan-like ears, and its nose resembled a sliced onion with two black dots on it. Simply put, it was... a pig’s nose.
As for the other parts, they appeared similar to humans, but felt somewhat different, although even Dox couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the difference lay at the moment.
Dox shifted his gaze to the slate in Vay’s hand, hesitating whether to inquire about the Black Earl.
However, before Dox could speak, Angel’s voice had already reached everyone’s ears.
"Demon souls..."
Everyone was stunned, especially Dox, who pointed at the pig-headed creature clawing its way out on the other side and said, "You mean this pig-headed thing was a demon when alive?"
"Yes, to be precise, a Half-Blood Demon." Angel paused, "If you think the one here doesn’t resemble it, you can look at the one on the right."
Dox followed Angel’s finger pointing to the right sconce. The one on the left was eager to emerge, but due to struggling, only revealed half its body; the one on the right was not in haste and gracefully stepped out from the pale blue flames, its movements leisurely and elegant.
Soon, the undead on the right emerged first. Its appearance still resembled a human, but its pupils and eye whites were inverted, and behind its ears grew conspicuous curled horns.
Moreover, a black demon tail hung behind it.
"This is..." Dox had been to the Abyss but hadn’t had much contact with demons. First, the overall power of demons was too strong; second, Dox mainly visited surface Stronghold Cities, where mostly Little Demons resided nearby.
So, even though the one on the right showed demon traits, he still couldn’t identify what kind of demon it was.
"A hybrid of a curled-horn demon and Abyssal Natives," Angel said softly.
Dox recalled the demon anthology and indeed, the horns on this seemingly elegant undead matched those of a curled-horn demon.
Dox then pointed at the one on the left and asked, "And what kind of demon hybrid is this pig-headed one?"
"Pig Demon People," Angel said confidently.
"Pig Demon People, just by the name it sounds weak, probably similar to the Barbarian pig-headed ones, thriving through prolific reproduction?" Dox muttered.
"I seem to recall hearing an adult mention Pig Demon People some years ago." Suddenly, Vay spoke up, "It was said they fought Monty in a battle?"
Pig Demon People able to battle Monty? The disdain everyone initially felt for Pig Demon People vanished in an instant.
Who was Monty? A Third Level True Knowledge wizard, the strongest in the Southern Domain. If able to battle Monty, Pig Demon People must be high-order demons, surely?
"If you cannot remember what I said, you might as well shut your mouth." The Black Earl’s voice sounded from the slate.
"L-Lord, did I say something wrong again?" Vay stammered, unsure.
The Black Earl snorted, unwilling to respond.
At this point, Angel chimed in, "What the Black Earl mentioned probably refers to Morheim."
Upon hearing the name Morheim, Vay and Kaier showed no particular reaction, but Dox appeared solemn.
The name Morheim was renowned throughout the Wizards’ Realm, a name so intimidating it invoked fear upon mention.
The reason for its famed reputation was because it had been involved in an epic and documented battle with Monty, acknowledged as the Southern Domain’s strongest.
That battle ended with Monty victorious and Morheim fleeing, albeit sacrificing an eye.
Due to that battle, Morheim became famous throughout the Wizards’ Realm, known as an untouchable figure with a slender, pale appearance and a curly tail behind.
"Yes, I only casually mentioned that some suspect Morheim to be a Pig Demon People, not that Pig Demon People battled Monty." The Black Earl said, glaring with flared nostrils at Vay.
Embarrassed, Vay scratched his head, "It seems that’s right, I-I remembered wrong."
If Vay had been correct, everyone would have taken Pig Demon hybrids more seriously. Now, knowing the truth, they sighed in relief.
However, at this point, Angel spoke up in support of Vay, "Actually, Vay wasn’t wrong either."
Surprised by being named, Vay gazed at Angel in disbelief; Angel looked at the Black Earl. "Morheim is indeed a Pig Demon People."
"How can you be so sure? Even Monty, who obtained Morheim’s left eye, couldn’t confirm its identity." The Black Earl seemed puzzled as to why Angel was so certain.
"I saw Morheim once in the Abyss," Angel said. "I’m sure it’s a Pig Demon People."
As for how he confirmed it, Angel didn’t elaborate, as it would involve talking about his store in Lassudral and Fafnir the Abyssal Dragon, making the explanation tedious.
"You saw Morheim and survived?" Dox asked in amazement.