Fran walked slowly through the grand, spacious sanctuary ruins, her steps light and leisurely, as if taking a pleasant post-meal stroll.
A long-coveting Abyssal Sea spawn extended a tentacle from the shadows behind her, instantly aiming to wrap around her ankle.
It couldn't wait to tear this fresh flesh with its mouthparts.
Due to the spiritual essence saturation, its body was much larger, nearly bloated, compared to its kin seen outside. But its speed was still considerable. Its scale-covered capture tentacle had already closed around Fran's ankle in the blink of an eye, ready to drag her away the next moment.
Before the Abyssal Sea abomination could put its hunting plan into practice, the power sword in Haida's hand had already pierced its skull.
Although its size was larger and its vitality more tenacious, it was now pinned to the ground from top to bottom by the power sword "Nirvana," unable to move.
"My new socks..."
Fran sighed softly with a slight squint, then lifted her heel and touched her ankle.
The black cotton winter socks were now stained with the mucus and blood plasma from the spawn's tentacle, still dripping incessantly. Although the mucus of the Abyssal Sea abomination had a paralyzing toxin, it wouldn't take effect unless it contacted wounds or mucous membranes.
After roughly wiping the mucus away with a few sterile wipes, Fran turned her gaze to this fresh spawn corpse.
"Abyssal Sea spawn inside the sanctuary too... quite an unexpected harvest. The situation here isn't as pressing as in the central library; we can dissect it in detail..."
As she spoke, she licked the corner of her lip with slight excitement, taking out the Wraithbone Lancet from her medical kit to begin an impromptu autopsy.
The Sun-Forging inscription on the Wraithbone Lancet glimmered faintly, the mirror-like blade then glowing with high-heat incandescence. Fran quickly cut through the scales covering its body, revealing the bloody interior.
"Twelve pairs of ribs. One stomach sac, a pair of lungs... Clearly human characteristics."
The Abyssal Sea abomination's appearance resembled a cephalopod mollusk and should not have skeletal structures like bones or lungs. But the current situation was... it had all the organs a human should have.
Fran even dug out a shattered, blood-soaked skull from the center of its head.
"Without a doubt, this Abyssal Sea abomination was once human. Just like those extra Banyan Root Mimicries outside."
She deftly twirled the lancet on her fingertip, seeming somewhat unsatisfied.
Looking at this spawn corpse that had already yielded a complete human skeleton, Haida couldn't help but ponder some previously unclear circumstances.
Both the mimicries and the spawn were partially transformed from humans. But earlier in the central library, not every one of those massive numbers of Banyan Root Mimicries bled; a large portion of them were hollow.
Even excluding the mimicries transformed from humans, their numbers far exceeded ten. Which meant...
Albert's initial statement that "the mimicries wouldn't exceed ten" was a complete lie.
At that moment, Vivian, who had been silent for a long while, spoke up.
"Miss Flamel, there's a library tower ahead that is well-preserved. And... it's the tallest structure in this underground ruin."
She now had one hand shielding her eyes, sharing the vision of the [Calling Bird] patrolling the sky.
In Munin's eyes, a tall, still-intact spire could be seen standing in the center of the ruins. So conspicuous, like a candle flame in the night, impossible to ignore.
Hearing this, a meaningful smile slowly curved Fran's lips.
"Good... It seems we'll be the first to reach the destination."
---
The central tower of the Old Sanctuary stood at the very heart of the entire ruin. Its form was strange and bizarre, like a wedge inserted into an originally harmonious and orderly structure, extremely conspicuous.
Suddenly, the sound of shoes stepping on dust and debris echoed.
The two Children of the Whiskered Tree moved forward along the ruined, crumbling street with faltering steps. Albert's thick coat was now full of tears, and his breathing carried a ragged urgency.
He had been seriously injured in the initial fall, but fortunately, Neville had used Banyan Root secret arts to create several buffer nets, averting mortal danger.
"Albert, endure a little longer, we're almost there. The Old Sanctuary's tower is not far ahead."
Neville walked steadily beside him, his gaze alertly scanning the surroundings to guard against any dangerous sudden developments.
The two had already encountered several Abyssal Sea abominations on their way. No one knew why these clearly non-native entities appeared in a distant foreign land.
But thankfully, they had been dormant in the ruins for so long that they didn't have a habit of gathering in groups.
If they came one by one, the threat of such spawn was within a controllable range.
"Hmm. Don't worry about me." Albert raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, his eyes revealing a hint of determination.
This originally young, fair-skinned Child of the Whiskered Tree now had a face smeared with grime. His wounds had only received simple bandaging. But he seemed unbothered; on the contrary, the light in his eyes was intense and excited.
"I can already hear the whispers of the ancient sacred artifact lingering in my ears."
Albert slowly exhaled.
His psychic sense was currently in a highly active state, nearly merging with this vast sanctuary. The second-category secret art [Wood-Wielding], which originally required reciting prayers, could now be driven with simple natural language, even a mere thought.
They had encountered several Abyssal Sea abominations on their journey, but now they all lay as broken corpses entwined with banyan roots.
"There are footsteps other than ours... There are others nearby."
Thanks to the highly expanded psychic sense, Albert's observational abilities had also received a near-tangible boost.
He abruptly looked towards the shadows at the end of the path, a flicker of fluorescent green spiritual light appearing in his eyes.
Two people were slowly advancing there. Judging by their height and build, they should be the two Error-Purgers from the White Cup Cult.
"Didn't expect to meet here, Children of the Whiskered Tree."
Terence rubbed the ancient gold-thread ornament on his glove, his expression detached, his tone also flat and cool, making it difficult to guess his true state of mind.
"I thought you'd keep hiding until we found the sacred artifact before intercepting the results... Hah, aren't you going to offer some explanation? Why did that door-opening prayer cause the ground to collapse?"
"And that abnormally high number of mimicries in the library earlier... Before we entered, you guaranteed they wouldn't exceed ten."
Faced with his questioning, Albert lowered his head slightly, appearing somewhat remorseful.
"My apologies, Professor Terence."
"My knowledge of the library's situation mostly comes from documents within our sect and may differ from the actual circumstances."
He spread his hands slightly, indicating he meant no harm, then began to explain further.
"The ritual array for opening the door was inscribed on the floor. Perhaps too much time had passed, and some error occurred upon activation... That's what caused the collapse."
"As for those Banyan Root Mimicries..."
At this point, Albert's expression also showed some confusion.
The scene of those humanoid mimicry things gushing blood when torn apart by Haida's sword flashed quickly through his mind again.
"Among those creatures, some weren't Banyan Root Mimicries, but 'spawn.' True mimicries have no blood or flesh; those that bled... were transformed from humans. Perhaps survivors of the Old Sanctuary, or maybe historians who came exploring later."
"Hmm..."
Terence narrowed his eyes, momentarily silent.
He had to admit that Albert's words were indeed logically sound. If everything was truly as the other said, then the Children of the Whiskered Tree shouldn't bear responsibility for the earlier incidents...
After all, everyone was a victim of unforeseen events.
"Very well, I accept your account."
After much deliberation, Terence didn't press further.
The mutual non-aggression pact between both parties was still valid, and moreover, no ironclad evidence necessitating a falling-out had been found.
"However... Mr. Albert, your current condition is far from ideal. Unrestrained expansion of psychic sense can easily lead to loss of mental control. If you don't want to end up like those things outside, you'd better exercise some restraint."
Clearly, he had noticed the visible glow of spiritual essence emanating from this Child of the Whiskered Tree.
"That is the Ancient Banyan's summons to me, not a malicious mental intrusion."
Albert's expression carried excitement, but it soon returned to normal under the suppression of reason.
"...No need to worry. My psychic sense is still within control."
"Best if it is so."
Terence narrowed his eyes, carefully checking his condition. Only after confirming he showed no clear signs of losing control did he nod slightly.
That said, he still had the Children of the Whiskered Tree walk at the front of the group. If these two made any unusual moves, he could react immediately.
"By the way, you two." Albert's gaze sharpened slightly, as if remembering something.
"Did you see Miss Flamel and the others on your way? They also fell into the sanctuary ruins, but we didn't encounter them along our path..."
Upon hearing this, Child shook his head, somewhat dejected.
"They fell directly to the bottom layer; we haven't found them here either. And there are no signs of battle or falls in this vicinity."
"Is that so..." Albert sighed, not delving deeper into the topic.
A moment later, Neville spoke up, breaking the heavy atmosphere.
"The Old Sanctuary's main tower is just ahead. If they survived the fall, they should also be heading there. That agent from the Confidential Division carries a [Calling Bird], very convenient for scouting the environment."
"We'll wait here for a while. If they don't arrive during that time... then we'll enter the main tower first, retrieve the sacred artifact, and then search carefully on our way back."
He didn't seem urgent, even picking up a few half-broken stone bricks to build a campfire.
"That seems the only way."
Terence nodded. The group then set up a simple resting camp by the Old Sanctuary's main tower.
During the two-hour rest period, nothing happened. Fran's group didn't appear, and neither Banyan Root Mimicries nor Abyssal Sea abominations were attracted by the firelight.
Such calm... calm to the point of being unsettling.
Terence stared intently in the direction they came from the entire time, but until the last moment, there was no sign of anyone appearing.
"We should depart."
He loaded copper-cased bullets into his revolver one by one, then put on the gold-linked [Banquet-Attending Hand], no longer intending to wait.
"Hmm."
Although feeling somewhat disappointed, Albert also nodded in agreement.
"Let's leave a few obvious markers here. If they follow later, they should see them."
As he spoke, he manipulated several nearby banyan branches into a simple signpost.
After final preparations, the group then walked through the shattered, decaying door of the sanctuary's main tower.
...
The interior of the Old Sanctuary's main tower was vast and dim. Only when Albert activated the surrounding ritual arrays with spiritual essence did the greenish fluorescent lights in the hanging lamp positions glow, barely dispersing some of the dense, impenetrable darkness.
Although the two Children of the Whiskered Tree also only knew the sanctuary's internal structure from documents within their sect, they navigated with a strange familiarity, as if divinely aided, skillfully avoiding all undamaged defensive ritual arrays.
"This ritual array is very similar to [Wooden Body], but the specific patterns differ a lot... seems more chaotic, more wild."
Terence examined an exposed ritual trap.
Albert clearly understood this ritual well and proceeded to explain it to him in detail. After all... not everyone gets the chance to show off their knowledge before a White Cup professor.
"This ritual is far more ancient; it's the [Arborization] from the Order of Dust era. Living organisms invaded by it will turn into a branch of the banyan within ten minutes... Though still alive, they lose all abilities, including thought."
"Because the ritual has been steeped in the Ancient Banyan's spiritual essence, it has been preserved until now."
"I see."
Terence's expression showed understanding.
Though he very much wanted to make a rubbing of this unfamiliar ritual array, the current situation clearly wasn't suitable. After a reluctant backward glance, he continued advancing inside the main tower.
The main tower's interior wasn't large, and most defensive mechanisms had long been damaged by the passage of time.
Therefore, under Albert's guidance, the group encountered few obstacles before reaching the deepest chamber where the sacred artifact was stored.
The creamy-white aerial roots of the Ancient Banyan formed layered, curtain-like tassels. Parting them revealed the ancient yet ornate decoration of the central chapel. Everything here was composed of gnarled, winding wooden branches.
Intact, pristine, spotless. As if time had left no trace.
On the central altar, adorned with numerous pale pink banyan blossoms, rested an exquisite secret casket.
Neville's eyes shone with an intoxicated light. Were it not for consideration of the White Cup Error-Purgers at his side, he might have immediately knelt in prayer.
"The miracle of nature and secret arts from the Order of Dust era, the exuviation of the Banyan of Prosperity and Chronos... To have the honor of witnessing it here with my own eyes is the greatest privilege..."
"Albert, go open it."
He looked gently at his colleague beside him.
"Alright."
+++
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL