Chapter 258: Church of the Preserver [2]

Chapter 257

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Episode 65 - Church of the Preserver [2]

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"A-ah...!!"

I gasped as I fell into a sitting position, blood trickling down my entire body.

Within seconds, a small pool of blood had formed on the ground.

Blood poured from my nose and from the deep, extensive wounds covering my skin, caused directly by my own broken bones, which had pierced through my flesh from the inside.

At that moment, the lifeless body of the Class 8 villain lay sprawled across the ground, while an enormous pool of black blood stained the area around him.

’Are you okay, disciple?’

My master’s concerned voice echoed in my mind.

In response to his question, I replied:

’Not exactly, if I’m being honest. My body has multiple fractures, and several bones are completely shattered and sticking out of my flesh...’

Blood continued to pour from my wounds.

I had to use what little Mana I had left to prevent myself from losing too much blood.

Finally, I circulated my Dark Mana, and by taking advantage of the regenerative properties of the Divine Body, my wounds began to heal. However...

Crack!

I set each of my bones back into its original position and used Mana to hold them in place.

Finally, I took a deep breath.

’Well, I’m feeling a little better now.’

A sigh echoed in my mind before my master’s voice sounded again.

’If the Fourth Stance of the Imperfect Heavens Art hadn’t been truly powerful, you would have had to use the Eyes of the End.’

I nodded inwardly, agreeing with his words.

’However, the Fourth Stance really turned out to be stronger than I expected.’

The Fourth Stance was inspired by the Third Form of Inverted Heaven, and following my master’s explanations, I also drew inspiration from what I imagined the Sixth Form would be like.

So far, I have only trained up to the Third Form of Inverted Heaven.

First Form: Space.

Second Form: Time.

Third Form: Intent.

As for the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Forms, my master has only explained them to me theoretically, based on concepts and images that I am still incapable of experiencing for myself.

In any case, that was how I managed to create the Fourth Stance of my Martial Art, drawing inspiration from the characteristics and capabilities of the Third and Sixth Forms.

On the other hand, I drew inspiration from the Fourth Form of Inverted Heaven to create the Third Stance.

"Aah."

I let out a long sigh.

My body was regenerating rapidly, and although it would still take a few minutes to return to its normal state...

...I got up from the ground and walked toward the duo who continued screaming in agony.

"Well, I’ll kill the two of you once I’m satisfied."

There was no reason to kill them immediately.

Especially Amanda.

***

"Aah, alright. With this disguise, no one should recognize me... Right?"

Clana murmured softly as she walked through the streets of the Imperial Capital, following someone.

Her hair was brown, and her hazel-like eyes had a soft, beautiful hue.

She was also wearing casual clothes, although they were the sort of attire commonly worn by the Empire’s upper-middle class.

Her gaze shifted toward the man walking ahead of her.

’For a follower, this guy is exceptionally strong.’

He was a Five-Star Awakened.

Although Clana was also a Peak-Stage Five-Star Awakened, there was no doubt that she could perceive the true strength of the man walking ahead of her much more clearly.

’Aah, as long as he doesn’t cause any trouble, there’s nothing to worry about. Besides...’

She remembered the words of that man, the Prophet.

’If he really will protect me when I’m in danger, then I shouldn’t have to worry.’

Even so, Clana preferred to protect herself with her own strength.

It was truly frustrating, but at the same time, it reminded her that she was still weak in the face of the world.

"This way, Lady."

The man opened the door to what appeared to be a tavern.

Clana stepped through the door, and the man entered behind her.

Then, Clana turned toward him and asked:

"Can we get to the Church of the Preserver from here?"

The man nodded slightly.

"Yes, my Lady. We have a Spatial Circle."

’A Spatial Circle... Not a Teleportation Circle.’

Although there were multiple ways to travel across extremely long distances, when it came to simply traveling to a distant, independent location without having to worry too much about the safety of the other side, a Teleportation Circle was normally used, as its operation was fairly simple.

However, when it came to a Spatial Circle, things were quite different.

A Spatial Circle not only required a ’Key’ that could neither be stolen nor cloned, but it also only allowed travel if the person had already been registered beforehand.

In other words, it was such an effective security measure that, unless you were a Spatial Mage, no one could infiltrate institutions that used a Spatial Circle.

Of course, Spatial Mages had ceased to exist since the Three Dark Eras, and, above all, everything related to the manipulation of Space and Time had completely disappeared.

Unless, of course, you obtained a Trait related to Space or Time.

Clana was pleasantly surprised upon hearing the man’s words.

’Even the Imperial Family doesn’t possess a Grimoire that explains the Formula for Creating Space and Time Circles.’

In theory, perhaps the Ten-Star Awakened who had lived for several centuries, or even Director Bernice herself, who had survived the end of the Third Dark Era, knew how to create a Spatial Circle.

"This way, my Lady."

They descended a flight of stairs and passed through numerous security systems, all of them constructed using highly complex magic.

As she observed them, Clana couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked:

"Excuse me, but how do you have Magic that was lost during the Three Dark Eras?"

The entire security system was composed of Lost Magic.

Although Clana wasn’t a Mage, she had studied enough to recognize truly extraordinary Magic.

In response to her question, the man replied with evident excitement:

"Our Lord, the Prophet, gave us copies of Grimoires containing Lost Magic."

".....!"

Hearing his answer, Clana was even more surprised.

’How did he get those Grimoires?’

Unless one had access to an extremely reliable source of information regarding their exact locations, finding Grimoires or any objects related to the Three Dark Eras, or even earlier periods, was practically impossible.

For example, finding artifacts from the Mythical Era was so rare that many considered them nothing more than legends.

The Mythical Era was one of the most mysterious Eras in the world.

Of course, the most mysterious of them all was the Era of the Progenitors, as practically nothing was known about it.

Clank!

Shortly afterward, the man opened a door.

On the other side was a spacious chamber, its floor occupied by a circle drawn with some kind of unknown powdered material.

Clana directed her gaze toward the circle.

’Incredible... it’s really difficult to decipher.’

Even so, within a matter of seconds, whether due to her innate talent or because her brain functioned almost like a computer or an AI, Clana immediately understood the structure required to create and comprehend the Coordinate Knots and Coordinate Bridges of the Spatial Circle.

"Please stand in the center, my Lady."

"Ah, right."

Clana stepped into the center of the Spatial Circle and waited for a second.

Then...

".....?!"

The space around her twisted.

Countless golden threads appeared within her field of vision, crisscrossing through space as though they were opening a path toward some distant location.

And then, suddenly...

"....."

Clana appeared in a completely different place.

Sunlight radiated from every direction.

After blinking a few times to adjust to the intense light, she finally looked around.

She was inside what appeared to be a structure with an enormous glass dome for a ceiling.

The walls were decorated with various strange-looking drawings.

Clana turned her gaze toward the exit.

Beyond it stretched a stone pathway lined with arches covered in vegetation. Purple and dark-blue flowers adorned each one.

Fields filled with flowers of various colors stretched out on either side of the path, alongside enormous water fountains that reflected the sunlight and created countless rainbows.

Then, her gaze shifted toward an enormous structure that appeared to be at least 157 meters tall.

It was obsidian-colored, reflecting the sunlight, and adorned with tall windows.

A large plaza stretched out in front of the Church, and at its center stood a statue.

It was the statue of a woman holding a sword whose design looked strangely familiar to Clana.

There were also violet and crimson-colored trees.

’Crimson Trees and Soul Trees...’

Both types of trees were believed to no longer exist anywhere in the physical world.

Clana continued walking along the path until she reached the statue.

Then, she lowered her gaze toward the plaque bearing the figure’s name.

"Alice Von Everblack... W-wait, isn’t this person one of the Five Swords? Why is there a statue of her...?"

Although confusion seized her, she quickly remembered the real reason she had come.

’The Island seems truly enormous.’

Behind the Church were numerous houses with rather elegant designs, as if they were part of a residential district or something similar.

And, in addition...

’There are more Islands surrounding the Island where the Church is located.’

In total, there were four islands surrounding the central island.

Each one housed a gigantic structure. One had a tower that appeared to belong to a mage, while another contained a temple or palace of colossal proportions.

’Ugh, it might take me a few days to explore this entire place. Fortunately, I left the Academy for five days.’

In any case, Clana once again turned her gaze toward the Church standing majestically before her.

"Church of the Preserver... It’s even more impressive than the Four Churches."