“Right, leave this to me!”
Guardian immediately understood the situation.
Cecil was a decisive person; she didn't waste a single word.
She nodded and quickly departed with a dozen elite investigators from the second team.
Soon, only Guardian and the elites of the first team remained in the vast space.
A deathly silence hung over the surroundings.
Guardian slowly walked toward the long table.
Cecil’s illusory Mage's Hand had already dissipated into thin air.
He personally turned over the parchment on the table.
The handwriting was as messy as a frantic doodle, ancient and weathered.
Between the lines were a multitude of obscure alchemical symbols and twisted Ancient Runic.
Even a brief glance made one's eyes ache.
He narrowed his lone eye and quickly captured several vital keywords within the seemingly chaotic symbols.
“Grey Hills.”
“Mist City.”
“Fifth Element.”
Guardian’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
Where were the Grey Hills?
And what the hell of a place was Mist City?
These were not common place names marked on any current maps.
It seemed that once this mission was over, he would need to report this immediately.
Then he'd have to head to the archives to dig through old maps of Moon Bay to see where exactly on this land was called “Grey Hills” centuries ago.
Just as his mind was racing with thoughts.
Thick blood began to gush in large quantities from the cracks in the ancient stone slabs around the bleachers of the funnel-shaped arena.
The pungent, metallic scent of rust filled the massive space.
Guardian’s powerful Scale Five supernatural strength erupted in that instant.
He pulled back like an arrow released from a bow, landing steadily beside the defensive line of the investigators.
“Careful!”
He growled in a low voice.
His palm was already pressed against the sidearm at his waist.
The investigators raised their weapons in unison, and the glow of spells lit up one after another in the darkness.
But only two seconds later.
Guardian’s tensed muscles relaxed slightly.
He realized it wasn't a trap.
Because the moment he took the roll of parchment, the structure of the entire Temple of Slaughter had changed.
With the wooden table as the center, the entire platform began to vibrate violently, then slowly descended.
Rings of stone steps, like the esophagus of some giant creature, were revealed in the very center of the arena.
Cold wind blew up from below.
It was an underground passage.
“Great, an underground passage inside another underground passage...”
Standing to the side, Blaine couldn't help but click his tongue, unable to resist making a quip.
He leaned over to look at the bottomless steps.
“But Boss, there aren't any traps up here.”
“Though down there, that might not be the case.”
Blaine shook the device in his hand.
“Even though the detection shows only a very weak spiritual reaction below.”
“The problem is, that guy just now didn't specify what his ‘great gift’ actually was.”
“What if we just stupidly go down and end up getting wiped out?”
“We still have to go down!”
Guardian’s voice was as hard as steel, resolute and decisive.
He turned his head, his remaining eye coldly scanning the crowd.
“What that guy just revealed concerns the safety of all of Velen.”
“We don't even know his true identity.”
“All we know is that he's connected to the Mist Veil Society.”
Guardian took a deep breath, his tone heavy.
“This is terrifying.”
“If this involves an ancient organization that isn't even in the Agency's records...”
“Then from now on, everyone’s peace and quiet is completely gone.”
In the darkness, the investigators' breathing became strained.
Guardian paused, then threw out a term that made everyone’s skin crawl.
“Don't forget.”
“It's only been thirty years since the Red Terror.”
As soon as those words were spoken.
The faces of several veteran investigators in the team turned pale instantly.
Guardian looked back at Blaine, his brow slightly furrowed.
“And Blaine, what's wrong with you today?”
“This doesn't fit your usual character.”
Upon hearing this, Blaine immediately cried out in protest.
“No! Boss!”
He waved his hands exaggeratedly.
“I mean, in case we really do go down and get wiped out...”
He lowered his voice and rubbed his fingers together.
“Could the Agency increase the pension payout a bit?”
The air suddenly went still.
“My son was just born, and formula is quite expensive...”
“...”
Guardian froze in place.
His weathered old face was filled with speechlessness.
It was unclear whether it was because he had misunderstood the boy or if he was completely silenced by Blaine's incredibly pragmatic reasoning.
It took a long while before Guardian squeezed out a sentence.
“We'll talk about that when we get back!”
Several young investigators in the back widened their eyes.
Wow.
A pension?
Why do you think it's called a pension?
This little interlude was quickly smoothed over by Guardian’s mobilization.
He began to assign tasks in an orderly manner.
Half the investigators would stay above to keep watch.
They were to maintain radio contact with the third team in the rear at all times.
The other half of the combat force would push downward with Guardian.
If they didn't return within the specified time.
The remaining people would evacuate immediately.
They were to contact the branch manager stationed at the Agency and immediately report upward at the highest level.
After the arrangements were made.
Every investigator about to descend silently took out the soul orb they carried with them.
They began recording their final wills.
Low whispers rose and fell in the darkness.
It brought a hint of human warmth to this massive, bloody altar.
Yet, a desolate atmosphere also began to spread.
Once the recording was finished.
The elites of the first squad followed Guardian to the lower levels of the temple altar.
The steps were very long.
The further down they went, the colder and more sinister the air became.
Beneath the altar was a spacious stone room.
The intense light from the spells tore through the darkness.
Inside the room, a tall stone statue stood prominently.
This statue was exactly the same as the divine statues outside the temple.
However, there were differences.
Because in this statue's hand was a dagger carved from pure ruby.
Under the refraction of the light, it shimmered with a blood-like luster.
From the graceful curves of the statue, it was clear that it was a woman.
Some of her ornaments were even embellished and inlaid with gold and rubies.
In this decaying place, it looked particularly eye-catching.
The statue's identity was obvious—
The Goddess of Slaughter.
This magnificent yet cold statue of the Goddess of Slaughter was facing a primitive-looking door.
The door was made of a material that was entirely pitch-black.
All spiritual detection spells dissipated the moment they touched it, unable to pass through from this side.
The group had no choice but to find a way to open the door using an expensive method.
An Arcane Lock scroll.
The moment the spell touched the door, runes seemed to flash across the pitch-black surface.
A precise, ancient mechanism was opened in response.
The moment the door opened.
A stale, musty air rushed out like a tsunami.
In the center of the vast space.
Red light spilled down from above.
A massive stone sarcophagus was placed there vertically.
It looked like a standing wardrobe.
The woman inside was quiet and slumbering, facing the direction of the door.
Guardian’s lone eye constricted sharply.
He didn't hesitate to activate the detection spell, 【Fair Perception】.
Feedback was instantly sent back to his brain.
There was only one point of discord in the surroundings.
But before he had time to check it.
“Urgh—”
Beside him, Blaine suddenly doubled over, vomiting stomach acid without warning.
Immediately following.
Several investigators around them simultaneously experienced severe vomiting and fainting.
Someone’s knees buckled, and they collapsed directly to the ground.
Someone clutched their head, clawing at their scalp in agony.
Despair.
Madness.
Guardian’s heart twitched violently.
He gritted his teeth and recklessly activated his Spirit Vision.
His gaze pierced through the void.
He looked straight at the stone sarcophagus in the center of the space.
At the very moment their gazes met.
A sky-high, extremely violent spiritual storm swept over his brain with brute force.
Before this power.
The rational barriers that humans took pride in were as fragile as a piece of rotten paper.
Even with his deep Scale Four foundation.
He was no exception and lost control over his body.
With a “thud.”
He knelt heavily on the cold stone floor.
His chest heaved violently.
“Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep—Bang!”
The spirit-measuring devices carried by the unconscious investigators let out ear-piercing alarms that exceeded their measurement limits.
Then, they exploded into a series of sparks.
Guardian used the last of his strength to stare fixedly in the direction of the stone sarcophagus.
It was as if the thing in the center of the room wasn't a person.
But...
An Incomplete God.
Rate on N.U.
