394 - The Crystal Angel

One mantis lunged at Baroness Artheim. Its jade blade whistled through the air.

"Not a chance!" Bell roared. The heavy mystic guardian stepped in front of the baroness. Slamming his right hand to round shield on his left hand.

A golden, dome-like barrier erupted. The mantis's blade struck the barrier with a deafening metallic clang. Sending sparks flying but failing to scratch it.

Bell didn't waste the opportunity. He cast [Blazing Fireball] over his shield. Making it into a flaming shield. And then, he charged forward. Using his fire shield to bash the first mantis.

"My turn!" Moby joined in. The mountain archdruid's huge body was covered in intricate, glowing tattoos. Each was representing various spells he had learned.

He slammed his fists onto the stone floor. The earth rumbled. And, two massive stone pillars shot up from the ground. Clamping around the second mantis and pinning its arms to its sides.

Moby then cast the [Stone Armor]. But, it didn't cover his whole body. Only his right fist. He swung that giant fist of compressed stone. Crushing the pinned mantis's head with a sickening crunch.

Both beasts were dead quickly.

Autumn, the lightspeed surgeon, moved in. Her hands became a blur as she dissected the carcasses.

"The jade blades are intact." She commented. "They can be used to forge high-grade scalpel. And the blood... Sis! Look!"

Serene quickly came and carefully collected the beast's greenish blood into sterile glass vials.

"This blood has potent paralyzing properties." She said. "We can refine it into a powerful anesthetic or an antidote."

Once they finished harvesting useful parts of the monsters, they continued their exploration.

They entered a massive dome-shaped chamber. A place where the ceiling had collapsed. Exposing the dark night sky full of stars. Although, according to their watch, it should still be morning.

Jack looked at the sky. This had confirmed it. The massive stone temple they were exploring was in a different realm. The gate had sent them to a different realm. They were no longer in Bigbanyan Island.

Suddenly, a piercing screech echoed from above.

A shadow fell over the group. A gigantic Silver Vulture, with a wingspan of twelve meters and feathers that gleamed like polished silver steel.

It dived down at incredible speed. The air pressure from its dive was strong enough to knock a normal human off their feet.

"Let me handle this one." Barnaby laughed.

He gripped his lute. His fingers danced across the strings in a heavy, dark melody. Purgatory fire erupted around his body. Forming a massive, swirling vortex of red and black flames. One that shot straight into the sky toward the diving bird.

The vulture screeched in alarm and tried to veer away. But... BANG! BANG! Aella released two accurate shots from his voidfire handgun, Starlight. Striking the bird's wings and halting its ability to evade. Forcing it directly into the path of Barnaby's flames.

The intense vortex of purgatory heat burned the bird's silver feathers into char. The giant bird crashed to the stone floor. Dead.

"Damned it!" Leon swore. "Many useful parts of this bird was burnt. Barnie! Stop using such large scaled spell next time. Just focus your fire to burn the head or something..."

Barnaby grinned sheepishly. But he didn't really mind it. He was not that experienced in using offensive magic so he might be overdoing it a little. He used to be a support class after all.

...

Finally, they reached the entrance of what seemed to be the inner sanctuary. Standing guard before the massive, golden-trimmed marble doors was... a monstrous Golden Beetle.

It was as large as a steam locomotive. Its entire body was covered in a thick, shimmering golden shell.

It hissed. Spitting globes of highly corrosive green acid that melted the stone floor on impact.

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Leon Drake stepped forward. "I'll take the lead on this one."

He activated the innate sorcery power of his Dragonheart Champion class. His body was enveloped in a flash of blinding light. And when it faded, he had transformed into his armored form, with lightning sparks crackling across his plate armor.

"I'll join in for this one." Reina said. Drawing her twin handguns, Comet and Meteor.

She used [Absolute Blink]. Disappearing from her spot and reappearing directly behind the giant beetle.

BANG! BANG! She fired a rapid succession of mana-infused armor-piercing bullets. Targeting a single joint of the beetle's hind leg. Cracking the gold plates that protected it. Reducing its already slow mobility even further.

Leon charged forward like a runaway steam train. His whole body was enveloped in concentrated lightning from his [Lightning Armor] spell.

He slammed his lightning coated fist into the beetle's cracked face. The impact was like a thunderclap. The golden shell shattered under the immense physical and electrical force.

The beetle screeched in agony. Its massive body was shaking. Leon jumped onto its back, grabbed its front horn, and pulled it back. Exposing its soft, fleshy throat.

Reina blinked back to the beast's front side and raised her handguns. With perfect aim, she fired multiple, high-potency shots toward the revealed weakness. The bullet pierced the soft flesh of the throat and exploded inside the beetle's head.

The massive beast collapsed. Kicking its legs a few times before going still.

"Nice job, you two." Baroness Artheim praised. "It's pretty quick to solve."

Barnaby ran to the corpse. His eyes were gleaming. "This golden shell looks extremely precious. Is it really made of gold? Can it be melted down to coat our ship's hull so that it didn't look so eerie?"

"And look at this core!" He exclaimed as he carved out a huge gold-colored monster core. "This must be even more precious."

The crew quickly harvested the corpse of the Golden Beetle. Putting the materials directly inside Jack's Mirror Mansion afterward...

With the guardian beetle defeated, the path to the core chamber was clear.

Leon Drake checked the massive double doors of white marble and gold filigree. "No trap. No lock. No strange mechanism. It's just a... heavy door."

Jack stepped forward and pushed the doors open. They swung inward with a heavy, grinding sound.

The core chamber was breathtaking. It was a massive, circular hall with a high dome made of stained glass. The starlight filtered through the glass and seemed to be intensified a million times. Casting a bright and beautiful patterns of green, gold, and blue light across the room.

In the very center of the chamber stood a raised marble pedestal. Hovering three feet above it was a statue-like figure made of solid, translucent crystal.

It was shaped like an angel with six elegant wings. In its right hand, it held a sword. Also made of the same crystal.

The moment they crossed the threshold of the room, the air grew extremely heavy.

A suffocating pressure descended upon them. It felt as if a physical weight had been placed on their shoulders.

Bell sank into a defensive stance, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his round shield tightly. Sparkle whimpered and hid behind Chloe's legs. Even Leon, in his armored form, gritted his teeth against the aura.

Jack, however, stood tall. His maxed out [Essence] and [Passion] easily resisted the pressure. Beside him, Reina adjusted her grip on her handguns. Her eyes were narrowed but her posture steady.

Rune began to glow with a frantic, pulsating dark crimson and bright green light. A clear indication of extreme danger and great opportunity appearing at the same time.

Jack focused his gaze on the floating crystal angel. His [Eyes of Judgement] were instantly activated.

His vision shifted. And, a detailed information screen appeared before his eyes:

[Name: Malecath Guardian]

[Race: Angelic Construct]

[Karma: -]

[Power Level: Extremely High]

[Power Traits: Indestructible Body, Angelic Power, Inheritance Guardian]

[Current Status: Perfect]

[Description: A high-level divine construct created by Malecath, a deity from Ancient Myraded civilization, before his departure to a higher realm. It is designed to test the worthiness of those who seek his divine legacy. Only those who pass one of the three trials may claim the inheritance. Malecath is known as the God of the Wild, the Overlord of Dawn, and the Sovereign of Healing. His inheritance will be related to wilderness, dawn, and healing.]

Jack's expression turned serious. "It's not a monster." He announced to the group. "It's a guardian of a deity's divine inheritance."

He took a short breath and continued. "The deity is Malecath. He holds three titles: the God of the Wild, the Overlord of Dawn, and the Sovereign of Healing. We have walked right into a god's trial..."

Before anyone could fully process his words, the crystal angel's eyes flared with a blinding, golden light.

The six crystal wings unfurled. Expanding and filling the entire chamber with a soft, prismatic glow.

A booming, echoing voice... neither male nor female... resounded directly in their minds. Vibrating through their souls.

"Seekers of the path... You have entered the sacred domain of Malecath. To inherit the power of the wild, the dawn, and the cure, you must prove your worth."

The voice continued. "Those of flesh and spirit shall be measured. The weak shall be disqualified, and the worthy shall rise."

The crystal angel raised its crystal sword. A massive wave of rainbow-colored light erupted from the pedestal. Expanding outward in a rapid, unstoppable ring.

"Brace yourselves!" Jack shouted, turning to grab Reina's hand. "Don't resist!"

But before their fingers could touch, the light engulfed them completely.

The physical world dissolved into a blur of colors. Jack felt a violent, pulling sensation as space itself was warped and folded. Tearing the group apart and scattering them through the dimensional void.

This was a high-level spatial displacement magic. Far beyond normal teleportation.

When the blinding light finally faded, Jack opened his eyes.

The clean marble floor of the core chamber was gone. Instead, he was standing on damp, muddy earth. Surrounded by colossal trees with gigantic leaves. Ones that stretched hundreds of meters into the air.

Everything all around him were so big that it looked like he was shrunk into the size of an ant. The air in that place was hot and humid. Filled with the wild, earthy scent of a primeval forest.