What should she do?
What could she possibly do?
Olivia's expression was tense, her mind racing.
This was a crisis unlike any she had ever faced, more dangerous even than the incident at the orphanage.
'The key is the Seed of Awakening. If I can find and destroy it, all these problems will vanish. But where is it?'
Olivia’s gaze swept rapidly across her surroundings, searching for anything that might be the Seed of Awakening.
The exhibition hall of the statue gallery was spacious, with few obstacles to block her vision and no cluttered equipment; everything was visible at a glance.
Yet, she couldn't see the Seed of Awakening anywhere!
Before Olivia could conduct a more detailed search, the two statues in front of her began to move.
The statue holding the spear lunged forward, closing the distance instantly. It thrust the spear with lethal precision.
As the tip of the spear expanded in her pupils, Olivia felt a chill run through her brain.
Clang!
As she dodged to the side, she swung Cross Grace, striking the side of the incoming spear and sending a shower of sparks flying.
Missing its mark, the statue retracted the spear and thrust again. Though it was merely an animated sculpture, it fought like a veteran of a hundred battles. The spear thrust bloomed like a flower, and in an instant, over a dozen shadows of the spear tip appeared before Olivia's eyes!
Of course, Olivia did not squander the passive abilities of her Combat Expert rank.
Clang!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
She moved with lightning speed, engaging the statue in a fierce exchange. Their weapons collided repeatedly, the piercing sounds echoing through the exhibition hall.
The statue’s fighting style was that of a battlefield—wide, sweeping strikes, violent and direct. Every attack covered a massive area, possessing the momentum of a warrior holding a pass against ten thousand.
Olivia maneuvered around the massive frame of the statue, forced to expand the size of Cross Grace to withstand the onslaught.
Not long into the exchange, Olivia felt a sharp pain in her head. It was her spirituality warning her, a premonition that a fatal danger was approaching.
It was the other statue, the one with the sword and shield!
Unnoticed, it had circled behind her. It swung its sword in a thrust aimed directly at the back of her heart, carrying a chilling murderous intent!
Olivia instinctively prepared to leap aside, but as she exerted force through her feet, the ground beneath her suddenly changed.
The floorboards split open like the maw of a predatory beast. One of her feet sank into the gap and was bitten hard!
In a split second, Olivia was pinned. Statues were closing in from both front and back with lethal strikes, yet she was unable to dodge. It seemed she would meet her end in the very next moment.
'Is this how Deacon Ronan was defeated—by such unpredictable attacks? And am I next?'
The thought flashed through Olivia's mind.
Strangely, the more critical the moment, the calmer she became. Her thinking speed accelerated, and every ability and tool at her disposal flashed through her mind in an instant.
A heartbeat later, she focused her control on her trapped left foot. Using the Ascetic's ability to manipulate her own body, she forcibly shrunk the circumference of her calf and ankle.
Almost simultaneously with the contraction, she yanked her foot upward, pulling it out of her flax-colored leather boot.
She immediately threw herself into a side roll, escaping her previous position and narrowly avoiding the pincer attack of the two statues.
The moment she landed, she sensed another anomaly from the floor. Without thinking, she shifted laterally, dodging the floorboards as they split open once more.
At this moment, she pushed her body control ability to its limit, using her physical senses to detect changes in any location with acute sensitivity.
She sensed the floor becoming 'alive,' ready to crack open at any moment to seize her.
She sensed cracks appearing in the high, vaulted ceiling, as if stones were about to fall and crush her.
She saw the surrounding doors and windows slam shut automatically, creating an absolute lockdown to prevent her escape.
Inside the massive statue gallery, darkness reigned, and danger lurked in every corner!
This was a terrifying peril unlike any she had known.
'Magic mirror, magic mirror, how should I deal with the Seed of Awakening? Is there a way?'
Olivia still had one final trump card: the nearly omniscient magic mirror.
Any information that existed within the monastery or the Daylight Cathedral was effectively information held by the magic mirror.
【There is a theoretical method for dealing with the Seed of Awakening, but it has never been put into practice, and its effectiveness is uncertain. This theoretical method comes from Julia Elliott, a nun who studied various forbidden artifacts twenty years ago. After researching the data on the Seed of Awakening and corresponding incidents, she composed a poem based primarily on Sylvan Runes. Theoretically, it should be able to weaken the influence of the Seed of Awakening.】
A poem?
Olivia was stunned.
At the same time, information about Julia Elliott surfaced in her mind. She was a famous nun often mentioned in the monastery's curriculum.
This nun possessed extraordinary mastery of Sylvan Runes and had researched numerous forbidden artifacts. She had developed countermeasures for many items that could not be sealed, which led to her rising status within the church. She was now a high-ranking figure.
The monastery still held the research materials left behind by this nun? And they contained theoretical knowledge on how to deal with the Seed of Awakening?
Because the Seed of Awakening had been destroyed a hundred years ago and had not appeared since, even with theoretical knowledge, there had been no way to test it.
But... she had no other choice.
'Magic mirror, magic mirror, tell me the contents of that poem.'
【The contents are as follows...】
The answer provided by the magic mirror quickly manifested in Olivia's mind.
Throughout this process, she continued to weave through the exhibition hall, dodging the attacks of the two statues while remaining vigilant against the ubiquitous hazards. Her situation was extremely precarious.
Any other Pilgrim would likely have succumbed by now. It was only because Olivia followed the Path of Asceticism, which granted a massive boost to her combat abilities, that she was able to hold out for so long.
But a long defense eventually fails. She had to break the deadlock, and the poem provided by the magic mirror was her current hope.
As the poem, composed in Sylvan Runes, appeared in her mind, Olivia suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air.
She had discovered a terrible problem...
She didn't recognize half the words!
Rate on N.U.
