“Where is Gajeel?” another Saint-tier mentor, Camilo, suddenly asked.
Only then did everyone realize that Gajeel was the only one who had not arrived.
Leona quietly glanced at Zhang Ye, only to find that he was also looking at her.
It was as if they shared a tacit understanding.
Leona blinked.
Zhang Ye quietly shook his head.
Surprise flickered in Leona's eyes, but she hid it well. Instead, she addressed the group, “Stay here. I'll go look for him.”
“Camilo, look after their safety.”
Camilo nodded. “Understood. Leave it to me.”
Leona then leaped up, fully expanding her perception to search the ruins.
Before long, Leona's voice echoed from a distance, “Everyone, come here.”
The group immediately rushed toward her direction.
When they reached Leona, they found her expression extremely solemn.
“What happened?” Mentor Camilo asked.
Leona didn't say a word. She simply gestured for everyone to follow her as she walked into the pyramid.
When they saw the mangled skeletal remains belonging to Gajeel, everyone's face paled.
“Is this... Gajeel?!” Lina's face turned slightly pale, the sight making her feel uneasy.
It was her first time seeing such a gruesome death, but with her previous experience, she was still able to bear it.
The others were equally pale. Only Nan remained expressionless, though he still cast a glance at Zhang Ye, his eyes filled with shock.
It was hard to imagine that Gajeel, who had been traveling with them just moments ago, was now nothing more than a pile of bones in a pool of blood.
Mentor Camilo stepped forward with a grim face to examine the remains.
While everyone's attention was focused on the bones, Leona looked at Zhang Ye, who shook his head and sent a voice transmission, “It wasn't me.”
Leona's furrowed brow relaxed, and she seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
Nan, who had been keeping his eyes on Zhang Ye, saw him shake his head. The shock in Nan's eyes vanished, and he also seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, Gajeel's death was far too gruesome. If Zhang Ye had done this, how cruel would he have to be?
Fortunately, Zhang Ye was not that kind of person.
Zhang Ye said, “The little ones ate him.”
“You mean... your Dark Demon Bugs?” Leona asked in confusion.
Zhang Ye nodded slightly. “Yes, but I didn't order it. It's as if... another entity controlled them. And not just them, but Gajeel as well.”
“That entity controlled Gajeel, leaving him unable to move or resist, forcing him to be eaten alive by the little ones.”
“But aren't your little ones only controlled by you?” Leona asked. “Besides, Gajeel had his family's protective power inside him...”
“That's exactly what I find most bizarre and unsettling,” Zhang Ye said in a deep voice.
The protective power hadn't been triggered? This defied common sense.
And if it had been triggered, the little ones should have definitely died. Yet they hadn't, and there weren't even any signs of a struggle at the scene...
Right then, Mentor Camilo stood up and said, “These are gnawing marks. Something gnawed him into this state while he was still alive...”
His words sent a shiver down the spines of the unsuspecting crowd.
Eaten alive?
Just how much pain must Gajeel have been in before he died?
“And there are traces left behind... of a demon's aura!” Camilo analyzed carefully. “So Gajeel... must have encountered a creature of the Demon Realm, and an extremely powerful one at that.”
“It left him with no ability to resist, giving him no time to even react. Even the protective power inside his body couldn't stop it from killing and devouring him!”
“Because there are absolutely no signs of a struggle or a fight in the vicinity!”
Everyone couldn't help but nod. At this point, this was the only explanation that made sense.
In their minds, creatures of the Demon Realm had always been notorious for their cruelty and brutality, so they were indeed capable of doing such a thing.
They would just never have guessed that the ones who devoured Gajeel were merely Tier Three Dark Demon Bugs.
Well... those few little ones that had devoured Gajeel would soon evolve into higher-tier Dark Demon Bugs.
In short, with this sequence of events, those who didn't know the truth never associated it with Zhang Ye, even if he and Gajeel didn't get along.
The lingering trace of Demon Realm aura was simply too prominent.
Even Nan believed that Zhang Ye hadn't done it.
In fact, it really wasn't.
It was true that Zhang Ye had wanted to kill Gajeel, but he would absolutely never torture him or kill him in such a brutal manner.
Gajeel had not yet reached a level of hatred that would warrant that from Zhang Ye.
Thus, Zhang Ye was completely cleared of suspicion.
But Zhang Ye couldn't bring himself to be happy.
What kind of entity could silently bypass his perception, take control of the little ones, and also control Gajeel?
He didn't know, but it was definitely someone extremely powerful and exceptionally cruel!
“We have confirmed Gajeel's death. Collect his body and let's take it back. This is all we can do for him,” Leona said.
Camilo nodded and retrieved a coffin from his spatial ring.
Yes, a coffin. It had been prepared specifically for this trip.
Because there would always be people who couldn't make it out of the secret realm alive, the only thing the survivors could do was bring their bodies back to the original world as much as possible.
It was just that no one expected they would have to use it less than a day into the trip, and for Gajeel, who ranked fourth among the freshmen.
After putting away Gajeel's body, everyone's heart felt heavy.
Leona said, “This ruin is too bizarre. It's not safe to stay here. We are moving out immediately!”
Everyone immediately nodded.
Indeed, everything had seemed peaceful just a moment ago, yet Gajeel had died a gruesome death without a sound, and Katelansi had almost perished as well. It was clear that the dangers hidden within these ruins far exceeded what they could handle.
Without hesitation, Leona immediately led the group away from the ruins.
As they retreated, Zhang Ye cast a backward glance at the ruins.
It was still just as magnificent, still just as breathtaking, but at some point, it had been shrouded in a mysterious veil, making it appear hazy.
That entity... what exactly was it?
What was its connection to that statue?
Zhang Ye had a vague premonition in his heart—he would return here again.
Perhaps by then, everything would come to light.
After flying for five thousand kilometers, the sense of unease toward the unknown in their hearts finally began to fade.
“What is that?” Lina suddenly asked, gazing into the distance with confusion.
The others saw it too—they couldn't help but notice, as the object was simply too massive.
It looked like a mountain, yet also did not, because it wasn't a rolling range but rather a flat structure.
It was colossal. From the ground to its top, it was at least tens of thousands of meters high, its upper section piercing through the clouds—and that wasn't even counting the part buried underground.
It spanned the entire heaven and earth.
This reminded Zhang Ye of the Great Wall, but he felt that even the Great Wall was probably not as long as this massive "wall"!
Gazing at the massive wall, the group continued to draw closer, but it took them several thousand kilometers of flying before they finally reached it, their view of it growing clearer and clearer.
The surface of the massive wall was not straight but curved, though it was so gigantic that they hadn't noticed it at first.
Its exposed section on the surface likely had a semicircular cross-section.
And its surface had wave-like grooves, layer upon layer, which were absolutely massive.
Each groove pattern was a thousand meters in size, looking like giant diamond-shaped shields tightly pieced together.
The wall's surface was truly miraculous. Despite weathering untold ages, it remained smooth and flat, without a single speck of dust settling on it or any vegetation growing over it, appearing incredibly clean.
It was black, yet it did not reflect any light.
“This is the 【World Wall】. It was discovered during the very first entry into the secret realm because it's so massive, spanning untold tens of thousands of miles. It's said that no one has ever been able to see its end,” Leona said, gently stroking the wall's surface. “Of course, that might also just be because we haven't explored far enough.”
The others also voiced their awe.
Just what kind of entity, or what kind of civilization, could build such a colossal wall?
It was truly mind-boggling.
Zhang Ye also stepped closer out of curiosity, reaching out to touch the surface of the wall.
But the moment his fingertips touched that pitch-black surface, the world trembled!
As if hit by a magnitude ten earthquake, the entire world shook violently, making it difficult for everyone to stand. However, the tremor lasted for only a split second before stopping, as though it were a mere illusion.
Yet, when they cast their gazes into the distance, everyone was dumbfounded.
The ground collapsed, and mountains fractured!
Massive rifts tore through the earth, stretching to the very edge of the horizon and beyond.
The distant mountains shattered. Peaks that were at least ten thousand meters high actually split down the middle, revealing a rift so deep and dark that it looked like the gaping maw of an abyss!
Even the sky... had cracked open!
In the sky, a colossal, deep-blue crack spanned across the heavens, standing out in sharp contrast against the azure sky. One could even glimpse colorful vortexes drifting through the crack.
It was the void!
A Void Crack!
In this single instant, untold kingdoms in this world plummeted into the bottomless abyss, annihilated in a flash. Countless existences standing at the pinnacle of the world prostrated themselves on the ground, looking toward the direction of the 【World Wall】, their very souls praying.
Inconceivable! Unimaginable!
Everyone was in a state of shock, unable to recover their senses for a long time.
Yet Zhang Ye did not see the terrifying and shocking spectacle.
Because at this moment, his eyes were wide, staring blankly at the wall before him. His eyes were filled with a shock that resonated like a great bell of heaven and earth!
Because at this moment, he knew.
This wasn't some wall at all.
This... was alive!
...
...
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