CH 393

The atmosphere had become considerably more dreary. This was not only because I had gathered my wings and tails back, but also because Orca had appeared and extended its tentacles immediately. To be exact, they were aimed precisely at the survivors’ foreheads. The hissing sound of the air being pierced was sharp and swift.

“Do not kill them.”

I said that and glanced toward the back of Orca. Basman was in a panic, running away. One of the tentacles that had flown as if to pierce the survivors changed direction towards Basman’s back.

“But, a warning is necessary for the fugitives.”

I said to Orca, but I was looking at the Supreme Priest.

At that moment, Basman’s scream echoed from behind.

“Argh-!”

Basman’s face flashed into my view and disappeared.

Thud!

His body fell from the sky. I could tell a tentacle had pierced one of his shoulders, and in that brief moment, small tentacles were created on his body. The Maruka Contamination had begun.

Basman was frightened, but he couldn’t even think of tearing the tentacles off him. The Supreme Priest, who was a high-ranked wizard, and other survivors, including Einhell, couldn’t afford to pay attention to Basman as they were all in the same situation.

Right in front of their eyes, Orca’s tentacles shot towards them in warning. Then, they came to a stop right in the middle of the survivors’ foreheads, causing their eyes to fixate on the tips of the tentacles in a cross-eyed manner. Their breathless nostrils flared.

I announced, “Everyone’s lives are in your hands, Priest. Aside from that, you owe me a great debt.”

Orca made eye contact with me, then removed the tentacle that had been targeted at the Supreme Priest.

The Supreme Priest started fumbling her lips, but not a sound came out. She only looked around at the survivors with a heavy breath and slow movements. Her distorted face resembled that of a child about to cry, straining with anger.

It didn’t take long for tears to flow from there. She began to nod.

***

The exploration team originally had over five hundred people, but now had been reduced to fewer than twenty. Most of the victims had been submerged in highly acidic poison. The stench was horrendous and the leftover gruesome scene was quite shocking, so the survivors occasionally stopped walking due to those two issues.

“Ralph!”

When one person started vomiting, the symptoms spread to the person next to them. I thought that the disgusting noise would stop once we left the area where the Grafs had appeared, but that wasn’t the case. I continued to hear people retching, and they seemed to have difficulty dealing with the tension.

A long time passed and the landscape changed before the sounds of vomiting finally stopped. The sun continued to hang in the sky, while the moon displayed its shape, and the immense presence of the blue planet filled the emptiness of the sky.

The remnants of the exploration party now reassembled slaves who were marching in unison, even though they were not physically restrained. Their slumped footsteps were heavy.

Soon, we arrived at a highland where we could see far into the distance. Small rocky hills sprouted up like mushrooms, spreading out below the highland. Each rocky hill resembled a tomb of a giant. It was obvious that there was an entrance to the ruins somewhere among those countless hills.

However, I didn’t feel anything special until then. The Supreme Priest, who was leading the group ahead, stopped as it was painful for her to guide me to the relics of the saint. The entire group naturally halted as well.

Orca struck the ground right beside her with its tentacles.

Snap!

The procession started again.

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***

A narrow crevice appeared between rocks. If this was the actual entrance to the ruins, then I had a hunch that it would be impossible to find without the intuition of skilled explorers.

One ordinary team member approached it. I pushed him to the side and looked closely into it. Even with Night Eyes activated, I couldn't see anything. I could only confirm that the rocks were making contact with each other in the distance.

At that moment, I felt a weird sensation for the first time. Only after I focused on the maximum Sensation that I realized the flow of Mana was not normal, even if it was very subtle.

This was a cover… Someone had artificially created this area to prevent something from being discovered. The object was only discernible with the naked eye at a close distance, which was why I couldn’t find it no matter how many times I tried!

A tingling sensation traveled up my spine. This was a presence that aws much more powerful than me. Other than beings like Jayden or Doom Entegasto, who else could pull off such a camouflage? This was definitely the entrance to the ruins, and the scene visible through the gap was a captivating illusion.

When I put my arm in, the illusion remained the same, and the sensation of my skin burning intensified. I had felt this phenomenon before, and the Mana of outer space was highly concentrated beyond the gap between rocks.

The descendants of Saint Dragorin would feel immediate tranquility, but this did not apply to me. It was nothing but poison to me, with the hostility of the Old One rampant within it. That was why it felt like my skin was burning to the extent that it would directly impact my whole body…

I pulled my arm out and tore the rocks apart. I cleared away the rocks above that were supported by them and others that fell. After that, there was nothing left in front of me. Although the boundary wasn’t in a form that could be visibly confirmed, it was definitely right there. I decided to let the survivors who had come this far to go in first.

I ordered tersely, “Get in, Priest.”

The Supreme Priest and others didn’t understand me as they had never seen such a highly disguised form of relics before. They were confused because, despite clearing what they believed to be the entrance to the ruins, there was nothing left.

I pulled the priest’s arm and hurled her through the veil of disguise. Once her stumbling body passed through the veil, she vanished completely. I nodded towards Orca, and it proceeded to grab each person and toss them through the veil one by one, understanding my intent.

When everyone had vanished into the ruins, the spider revealed itself above the ground. Although it had only peeked its head out, as Doom Insectum had done in the ocean, it was so big that the surrounding red soil flowed down due to its movement. Also, I could feel the large spider hordes swarming beneath the ground that Xi Wangmu's Ten Thousand-Year-Old Spider had brought along. Orca and these were enough for our sentries.

I commanded Orca, “Watch carefully.”

I took my first step toward the relics.

Whoosh!

The sensation was similar to how it felt to cross the gate. A vast hall spread out before me. The expedition team members, who had been thrown by Orca, were on the cracked ground, lying down. Those who were sensitive to Mana were taken aback as they could sense that the area was saturated with it, while those who lacked such sensitivity widened their eyes in astonishment at the sudden transformation of their surroundings.

The first thing that caught my attention was the ancient writing that was inscribed everywhere. Even the floor I was standing on had it, and the letters were easily found on the massive pillars that were collapsed all around. They were only seen in Saint Cassian’s archives and no longer used in this alien world now.

Goosebumps arose on my arm as I stroked it and observed the surroundings. The ceiling was high, and there were no weapons like spears. Although there was no source of light, the inside was bright through a certain supernatural phenomenon. The walls, floors, and even the fallen pillars were so white that they reminded me of a psychiatric ward.

Out of nowhere, a powerful intuition swept over me, prompting me to apply pressure on the ground with my foot. The floor, which should have broken and sunk in, remained intact. No matter how much I increased my Strength, only my legs wobbled.

The floor looked to be made of stone, but now I knew it wasn’t. The realization struck me like a blow to the head.

A space that is made with materials that wouldn’t break even with the strength of an Awakened in the Ender section?

However, there were traces of battle as many pillars had collapsed and the floors were cracked. The fight between Doom Entegasto and Saint Jayden likely caused this. Then, I heard a groan similar to how the Supreme Priest moaned whenever she had sex with Basman.

“Ah…”

She was wandering around the area, and the fear that had filled her eyes had vanished already, along with her guilty conscience. She moved with a sluggish gait as if she was being dragged by an instinct, and her eyes appeared hazy, as if in pursuit of a mirage.

I shifted over to look toward the direction of where she was looking and noticed a huge inscription in the language of the priest association that worshiped Lacryma. The inscription was riddled with countless cracks, much like the ones on the floor, and as she looked at it, she quivered with intense emotions. Her half-open lips and unfocused gaze were the same expressions she had when she was lying in the bush with Basman.

The others were no different as they all seemed to have forgotten about me, filled with joy as if they had encountered a divine presence. Even Basman, who had been infected with tentacles due to Maruka Contamination, was staring blankly in happiness.

Only Einhell glanced at me, then approached the priest.

“Ms. Manolia. Ms. Manolia…”

After he whispered multiple times, the Supreme Priest finally made eye contact with me. Her trembling from the illusion stopped as if she remembered the reality she had momentarily forgotten.

However, that was it. None of them noticed what was greeting them. There was an arch-shaped tunnel that connected the hall to the corridor. As soon as I threw my body in that direction, I grabbed something and twisted it. It didn’t have a protective barrier.

Crack.

I heard the sound of bones breaking and felt warm blood flowing down my hand to my elbow. The dead body slowly revealed its true form from its hidden state.

As expected, it was a Graf. Despite being a bipedal creature, the monster belonged to the low-class category and wasn’t a particularly formidable original species. The corridor was swarming with these monsters. When I heightened my Sense, I could vaguely make out their shapes cluttered together.

All of them were in disguise. As anticipated, the relics were in possession of the Graf Clan.

[Devi’s Sword has been transformed into Shiva’s Sword.]

[You have used Devi’s Sword.]

A fist-sized fireball exploded in the midst of the Grafs, and their limbs flew around uncontrollably as they died and their disguises wore off. They exploded the moment Shiva’s Sword was unleashed, but the hallway remained untouched, without a single scratch. The only cracks present were those that had been there for a long time. Shiva’s Sword did not leave any damage to the surroundings.

I frowned and sped up. My stinging sensation was gradually turning into severe pain, so I was becoming more sensitive.

I personally took care of each one that had managed to evade the explosion by chance and destroyed them. The blood splattered on my face was disgusting, and it was annoying how low-class monsters were jumping into me without knowing their position.

I returned to the hall after removing everything in the corridor, then I saw the backs of Einhell and the others who had joined in on his escape plan.

You are trying to run away?

As soon as I sprinted to them, I grabbed the back of their heads, one in each hand. Then, I slammed them onto the floor.

Thump!

As I stood over the twitching faces of the dead, I couldn’t discern what kind of expression I had on my face. However, one thing was clear: the gazes that were directed at me were now filled with dread, with pale faces all around. Blood flowed profusely, creating pools on the floor. The sight of it caused my heart rate to accelerate, beating faster and faster.

Right then, I came to the realization that something was wrong as I was getting more agitated.

[*Storage box]

[Lunea’s Light has been removed.]

[Lunea’s Light (Item)

Item Class: S

Item Level: 482

Effect: The blessing ‘Lunea’s Light’ will be applied to the entire attack squad when used.

Physical Defense: 5000 / 5000

Magic Defense: 10000 / 10000

Cooldown Time: 1 day]

[You have used Lunea’s Light.]