Chapter 737: The Second Level of the Ruins

When the statue is fully restored, the Lady of Calamity stands several meters above the floor.

The idol's interlaced fingers form a platform beneath her, as though it is cradling her in both hands.

Directly below, a passage opens in the floor before the idol's feet.

The Lady of Calamity floats down from the statue and bows to the idol of the Lord of Calamity.

She then raises the staff, and a gentle light shines from its tip.

The light is not dazzling, yet it illuminates an area more than twenty meters across.

Nearby, Steve kneels before the idol, Fate Rail in hand, and murmurs something under his breath.

After a while, the two metal rails at the front of Fate Rail also begin to glow, illuminating a sizable area.

Meanwhile, Henwell has already made three attempts.

At last, he successfully activates the Illumination Spell and applies it to his palm.

The spell glows no brighter than an ordinary oil lamp. Everyone looks at it, but no one comments.

A little embarrassed, Henwell says, "This place suppresses extraordinary properties. Otherwise, I could summon a huge ball of light."

The Lady of Calamity politely lets the excuse pass. Alex, however, narrows her eyes into crescents like a little fox stifling a laugh.

With a sour look, Henwell walks toward the passage, grips the sword's blade, and pulls sharply.

Metal shrieks against his palm as the loose rust peels away, leaving the longsword smooth and clean.

Alex takes a step back and moves in front of her husband.

Only she understands what that casual action means. She never imagined Henwell's physique could be so formidable.

As their strongest close-range fighter, Henwell takes the lead.

Miller and the others follow. The Lady of Calamity walks beside Daisy, with Steve guarding them one pace behind.

Twin hammers in hand, Alex brings up the rear.

The broad passage slopes downward for a long distance and is more than five meters in both width and height.

Air circulates normally. There is only a faint, acrid smell, and the air itself is not poisonous.

The environment is dry, and both the steps and walls are covered in dust.

Unlike the level above, there are no piles of bones here.

Yet scars across the walls and steps tell Henwell that a brutal battle once raged through this passage.

They move slowly because they must remain vigilant and inspect the traces around them.

It takes them two or three minutes to reach the bottom. Henwell estimates a vertical drop of more than fifty meters from the previous level.

The place they emerge into is another enormous church complex, though this one has no murals or other decoration.

There is no seal inside either, only a heap of collapsed stones that likely once formed another statue of the Lord of Calamity.

Henwell asks the Lady of Calamity beside him, "What now? Can you restore the idol without a seal?"

"The passage downward is locked. If the idol isn't restored, we'll have to find another route to the next level."

This time, the Lady of Calamity gives him a straight answer. Pointing outside, she says, "Let's go out first. There is a special being on this level."

"It carries the idol's core. We must take it before we can restore the idol here."

Henwell shrugs. "I doubt it intends to hand the core over willingly."

The Lady of Calamity says, "Prepare for battle. I do not know what it is, only that it is very powerful. You need to be careful."

The group then leaves the church complex.

Henwell flings a bottle of lamp oil high into the air, then sends a burning arrow after it.

The arrow strikes, and the bottle bursts into a ball of fire.

The brief illumination allows everyone to see their surroundings.

This level is thirty meters high, with a flat expanse of mountain rock serving as the ceiling.

From that, Henwell estimates that the ceiling is nearly twenty meters thick.

Now this is a fortress.

The surrounding structures follow the same military-depot layout as the uppermost level, though this floor contains several additional facilities.

There are no bones on the ground, and the entire level appears empty.

Beyond the area lit by their lights lies only endless, silent darkness.

A nameless pressure settles over the group.

This level is slightly larger than the one above, but not by much.

Henwell and the others carefully search the surrounding buildings.

Some resemble warehouses or supply distribution centers.

Many others look like workshops, most likely temporary fabrication and repair workshops.

More than two hours of searching turns up plenty of objects, but not the slightest trace of a living creature.

"You don't know where it is? Could it be hiding, or has it simply not woken up yet?"

In response to Henwell's question, the Lady of Calamity shakes her head. "I don't know. I only know that it is here and will not leave."

"I don't know where it is, what form it takes, or what condition must be met to trigger it."

"That is why we must explore slowly and hope we can find it as soon as possible."

Henwell draws a tremendous breath. Even the air around him shifts.

"Wake up!"

His thunderous shout reverberates throughout the entire level.

The sudden shout startles even the Lady of Calamity. Daisy nearly fires Death's Roar by accident.

The Lady of Calamity frowns. "What are you doing?"

Henwell replies, "You said before that I should do things my way. I think that thing must still be asleep."

"Instead of searching aimlessly, we might as well make it come to us."

"We only have enough supplies to survive for five days."

"Even after the supplies run out, the four of us can manage for a while, but my subordinates cannot."

Alex says, "It is probably some kind of special guardian."

"Most likely, a specific condition must be met to activate it. Shouting like that cannot possibly work..."

Before she can finish, a chilling roar rolls out of the darkness.

Henwell rests his longsword across his shoulder. "See? It worked just fine."

Then he shouts again, "I'm over here! At the church!"

Henwell's voice echoes across the level, and the distant howl grows angrier.

After a while, everyone feels a faint tremor beneath their feet.

Then comes a rumbling crash, as though something has collapsed.

Everyone watches the passages to either side of the church complex and prepares for battle.

But as the rumbling draws closer, Henwell suddenly flashes to the Lady of Calamity's side.

He catches her by the shoulder and hurls her behind him.

An unseen blow hurls Henwell backward into the church wall, spreading web-like cracks through the solid stone.

Henwell braces against the wall and kicks off with both feet, shooting like a cannonball toward the source of the attack.

After a tremendous collision, Henwell skids back more than ten meters, and his opponent finally reveals itself.

It is a five-meter-tall giant, holding a warhammer in one hand and a spiked club in the other.

It has two heads, stone armor covering its body, and a stone sarcophagus strapped to its back.