Chapter 1623: Worthwhile

A massive structure had suddenly appeared in the air above the city. It was so large that no one could have overlooked it even if they didn’t pay attention to their surroundings.

The presence was impossible to ignore and the fact that none of them had noticed it before made one thing clear. The structure only just appeared after they activated the formula.

Lysander stared at it for several seconds before immediately establishing a telepathic connection with the other two Archmages.

"Master! Lady Sylmira! Can you see that?"

"See what?" Adrius asked.

"The structure in the air! There’s something enormous floating above the city!"

In their respective places, both Adrius and Sylmira instinctively raised their heads. They had been concentrating on maintaining their respective formations, but Lysander’s urgent message prompted them to look beyond their immediate surroundings.

The moment they did, they noticed the enormous structure hanging above the city.

Adrius’s eyes widened slightly. Sylmira also stopped moving for a brief moment as she examined the unfamiliar sight.

"So it finally appeared..." Adrius muttered.

"Was it there all along?" Sylmira asked. "I don’t remember seeing anything like that before."

"Neither do I," Adrius replied. His expression changed as he considered the circumstances. "It must have been concealed by the curse. Our formula has somehow disrupted whatever was hiding it."

Sylmira studied the structure from a distance. Even from where she stood, its enormous size and strange appearance were unmistakable. It seemed to possess an elaborate design, although the surrounding darkness made it difficult to distinguish its finer details.

"If that’s the case, then we’ve finally uncovered another layer of the curse," she said.

"Exactly. Whatever this structure is, it was hidden from us until now. The formula has exposed something that has probably been concealed for a very long time," Adrius said.

Adrius could not suppress the faint smile that appeared on his face. After all the days they had spent examining the curse and debating its nature, they finally found something substantial.

Their experiment not only provoked a reaction from the darkness but had also revealed something that was completely unnoticed until now. It was a significant breakthrough.

"We’ve made progress," he continued. "A genuine one this time!"

"Yes, we are," Sylmira replied calmly. There was a hint of satisfaction in her voice but she still maintained her composed tone. "We should keep the formula active. If this structure was hidden by the curse there may be more things waiting to be revealed."

"That’s what I’m thinking. We shouldn’t stop now."

Lysander, who had been listening to their exchange, grinned as he looked at the enormous structure again. "Our work is finally paying off. I knew we would find something soon."

"Don’t get too excited yet, kid" Adrius said, although his own expression was pleased. "We’ve only uncovered something. We still need to understand what it is and why the curse was hiding it. What is inside that building."

"Of course, Master. I understand."

Despite his master’s reminder, Lysander could hardly conceal his excitement. They finally discovered something that might bring them closer to solving a mystery that plagued Scadri for nearly a century.

That was more than enough to make the young Archmage feel satisfied.

Meanwhile, Erend, Erebus, and the council members had also noticed the enormous structure hanging above the city.

All of them looked toward it with visible surprise, their attention drawn away from the violent currents and their formation and the monsters they had restrained. Even while concentrating on maintaining the protective barriers, the council members could not help but stare at the unfamiliar sight.

They had never seen it before. They had lived in Scadri for so long and had spent countless years examining the cursed city, searching for anything that might explain its condition. Yet something of that size had apparently remained hidden from them all this time.

"Was that... always there?" Aldric muttered in astonishment.

The others, far away in their own formation throughout the city, ask themselves the same question.

If the structure had indeed been present above their city all along, then the implications were unsettling. It meant that something enormous had existed right above their heads without anyone ever noticing it. The curse must have concealed it so thoroughly that even their Magic and their senses had failed to detect its presence for this long.

The thought alone sent a chill through them.

Erebus continued staring at the structure. His expression was difficult to read, but beneath his usual stern appearance, a feeling of hope slowly began to emerge.

This is what they’ve uncovered.

He had spent so many years searching for a way to end the curse. He had questioned his own decisions, exhausted countless possibilities, and watched his people suffer without being able to offer them a real solution.

But now, after allowing the outsiders to investigate, something that had remained hidden for so long had finally revealed itself.

Perhaps everything he had done to bring them here would prove worthwhile after all.

Erend, meanwhile, examined the structure more carefully.

His eyes changed as he activated his Dragon Eyes, allowing him to perceive things that ordinary sight could not reveal.

Almost immediately, he noticed an unusual energy enveloping the entire structure. It was faintly visible beneath the surrounding darkness, spreading across its surface like an enormous layer of mist.

Erend narrowed his eyes.

He was familiar with the sensation of the curse’s energy by now. After everything he had witnessed in Scadri, he could recognize its presence even when it appeared in an unfamiliar shape.

There was no doubt in his mind.

The energy surrounding the structure came from the curse. But much stronger.

The curse was finally revealing its hidden layers.

Erend continued observing it, trying to understand what the structure might represent. He did not yet know its purpose or what they would find inside, but its sudden appearance meant that their investigation had reached a new stage.

If the curse was finally exposing the things it had concealed, then perhaps they no longer needed to spend so much time searching for its secrets.

’Well, that’s good enough. Now we can start smashing things.’ A faint smile appeared on Erend’s face.

Finding the source of the curse and uncovering its hidden nature had been the difficult part. Once they knew what they were dealing with, destroying it would be much easier.