Chapter 31: Paintings Inside A Gate? Never Seen Situation

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Gate, Serina led the group deeper inside.

The pathway stretched endlessly before them, dark and winding.

As they continued forward, a group of goblins suddenly rushed out from the shadows.

Serina raised her hand without hesitation.

"Move."

A burst of fire erupted from her hand, engulfing several goblins in an instant. She then manipulated the wind around her, sending a powerful gust toward another group.

The creatures were thrown backward, their bodies crashing against the stone walls.

Lucas and Jasmine rushed forward simultaneously, their bodies surrounded by yellow lightning as they moved between the goblins at incredible speed.

Lightning erupted from their hands, striking several enemies at once. The creatures barely had time to react before collapsing onto the ground.

Richard also joined the battle, creating a sword made of condensed light before swinging it toward an approaching goblin.

The blade cut straight through its chest.

When another goblin tried attacking him, Richard immediately formed a shield of light, blocking its claws without difficulty.

He then reshaped the shield into a short wall, trapping several goblins against the stone before finishing them off.

Meanwhile, Damian stepped forward.

"Projection."

A translucent physical figure appeared several meters away, perfectly mimicking his movements from a different position.

Damian threw a punch toward one of the goblins, while his projection simultaneously struck another from behind.

Both enemies were caught off guard and killed almost immediately.

Lyris, who had been observing the battlefield, suddenly noticed a goblin slipping past the others.

Before anyone could react, the creature managed to scratch Jasmine’s arm.

"It’s nothing," Jasmine said, examining the injury.

However, Lyris immediately raised her hand and activated her second Talent, Lifeweaver.

The damaged cells around Jasmine’s injury began regenerating rapidly, and within seconds, the small cut had completely disappeared.

Jasmine examined her arm in surprise before smiling.

"You’re pretty good, Lyris. I take it this is your new Dual Talent?"

Lyris nodded.

"It’s not much right now. From what I’ve learned, if I train it enough, I should eventually be able to regenerate entire limbs."

She continued, "For now, though, I can only treat minor injuries."

After explaining, Lyris turned her attention toward the remaining goblins.

"Gravitas."

The surrounding gravity suddenly changed, causing several goblins to collapse onto the ground as their bodies became much heavier.

The others struggled to move under the increased gravitational force, allowing the group to finish them off without much difficulty.

Once the battle ended, Jasmine turned toward the pathway ahead.

"Is it just me, or does this Gate feel wrong?"

Her words caused everyone to become more serious.

"I’ve never seen a layout like this before," Jasmine continued. "There’s something strange about this place."

The pathway ahead continued descending, and the further they traveled, the steeper it became.

They had already been walking downward for quite some time, and eventually, a ceiling appeared above them.

What had originally been an open pathway had gradually transformed into a narrow underground passage.

Lyris examined their surroundings.

"Yeah, I feel the same way."

Richard turned toward the path ahead.

"Don’t worry. The best course of action is to keep moving forward smoothly."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the group continued descending until they eventually encountered a massive door.

It was ancient and weathered, seemingly carved from dark stone.

Richard examined it for a moment.

"Looks like this is the only path forward."

With that, the group entered.

However, the moment they stepped through the doorway, everyone fell silent.

The walls were covered in paintings.

Angels.

Rows upon rows of strange angelic figures covered the narrow passageway, their wings stretching across the stone walls.

Their faces appeared serene, almost otherworldly.

Damian examined the paintings with disbelief.

"Angels? Do they even exist?"

Lyris approached one of the murals and examined it more closely.

"Who put these paintings here?"

She then turned toward the others.

"Since when did Gates have paintings?"

Even Richard’s expression became serious as he examined the surrounding walls.

Something about this place was clearly different from an ordinary Gate.

Nevertheless, the group continued walking through the narrow corridor, surrounded by countless murals depicting strange angelic scenes.

Eventually, they encountered another series of paintings.

One of them depicted a planet floating in space, with an enormous angel standing above it.

The angel was impossibly large, its size completely dwarfing the planet beneath it.

A feather could be seen slowly descending from the angel toward the world below.

The moment the feather reached the planet, a golden dome formed around the entire world, completely surrounding it.

Another mural depicted a human-like figure standing beneath the dome, holding a strange glowing light between its hands.

The group examined the paintings, but none of them could understand what they represented.

"What do you think they mean?" Jasmine asked.

"No idea," Richard replied.

With no answers to their questions, they continued forward until the narrow passage eventually opened into a much larger chamber.

The ceiling stretched far above them, disappearing into the darkness.

However, what immediately caught everyone’s attention was the enormous upside-down statue standing at the center of the chamber.

Everyone became alert upon seeing it.

The statue had a humanoid appearance, but its features were completely unnatural. Its limbs bent at impossible angles, while its face was smooth and entirely featureless.

"Just what the hell is this?" Damian asked.

"How can constructs like this even exist inside a Gate?" Lucas wondered aloud.

Damian shook his head.

"This shouldn’t be possible."

Serina remained silent as she carefully examined the chamber, her expression unusually serious.

Something about this place was wrong.

The Gate wasn’t behaving like an ordinary Gate at all.

The angelic murals, the strange paintings, the enormous statue, and even the architecture were completely different from anything they had expected to encounter.

It was becoming increasingly obvious that they had stumbled upon something far beyond their expectations.

However, before anyone could figure out what was happening, footsteps suddenly echoed from behind them.

Everyone immediately froze.

Their expressions became tense as they instinctively prepared for combat, some reaching for their weapons while others activated their Talents.

Then, they slowly turned around.

Something was approaching from the darkness.