Chapter 490: 449 This, is our God_2
"What exactly is the origin of this priestess?" Nipede lowered his voice and asked Reiger, "I can feel that the magic power within her is not weak, perhaps even greater than mine, and her attitude towards us isn’t good—she seems to harbor a great hostility. Can we truly trust such a mysterious figure who has emerged from nowhere, and follow her into the temple?"
The others stood still, looking in this direction, waiting for Reiger to draw a conclusion.
What they didn’t know was that Reiger himself had no certainty about Maya’s attitude.
Because of past deceptions by outsiders, Maya had not wanted to let Reiger and the others enter the temple at any cost. Yet now, she was willing to take the initiative to lead the way, which was a transition too abrupt to ignore.
Reiger didn’t think it was because Maya felt the threat he posed and was therefore afraid.
When Reiger had tried to intimidate the priestess with the cannibal rat, she had been so frightened that her voice shook, yet she had no intention of compromising.
Her sudden change of mind, her willingness to lead Reiger and his party into the temple, must have an important reason behind it.
And that reason was mostly likely related to one person.
Reiger subtly glanced at Liz beside him.
The little princess seemed to be somewhat bewildered and uneasy. Although she stayed close to Reiger’s side, her hand had unconsciously grabbed the hem of Reiger’s clothes, looking to Reiger for support.
She clutched the sword of Moslo in her arms, the glittering sword now still, unlike what Liz had said, that it had earlier pulled her into it.
Watching Liz like this, Reiger spoke without a change in his demeanor.
"According to her, there is a very powerful grand magic hidden beneath this city, which once activated, would pose a significant threat to intruders like us," said Reiger, "Given her confidence in the so-called grand magic, she has no need to lure us into a trap inside the temple. If she wanted to deal with us, activating that grand magic would be much faster."
In other words, if this was a trap, it was unnecessarily circuitous.
Regardless, Reiger did not intend to shrink back here.
"If you’re worried, then stay here and wait for us," Reiger said indifferently, "It seems she has changed her attitude because of Liz, so just the two of us will go in."
Reiger then reached out and took Liz’s small hand.
Liz immediately held onto Reiger’s hand tightly, as if this could bring her more courage.
Reiger gave Liz a faint smile, took her by the hand, and together they walked into the temple.
The people of the Meipros family watched this scene but did not take immediate action.
Revin and Nipede exchanged glances but neither decided to follow.
"Father," Kazi said, somewhat impatiently, "what should we do?"
"Should we really wait here?" Axel added, "Otherwise, shall we send a few people to follow them and see?"
"Or, I could follow them," Diego even suggested such a plan, saying, "If I don’t come back after a long time, you all should retreat immediately."
At these words, Revin did not immediately agree with everyone, but instead closed his eyes and began to think.
"I’ll go," Nipede took out his staff, gripping it in his hand with two dragons by his side, and said, "After all, this is a remnant of an ancient magic civilization. If I go in, I should be able to gather more information."
"No, I’m going too," Revin opened his eyes and said, "While that priestess is suspicious, Thunder Light Sword Saint’s words are not wrong. This is their turf, and if they had some grand magic set up here, there was simply no need to trick us into another trap."
"Of course, your concerns are not unfounded."
"To be safe, it’s best not to have everyone go in together."
Saying this, Revin turned to the three Kazi brothers.
"You three stay here with half of the knights, and the rest will join Master Nipede and me," he said.
Upon hearing Revin’s orders, the Kazi brothers had some objections, but they could not argue against his unquestionable gaze and nodded in agreement.
"It’s settled then, Nipede, you’ll accompany me," Revin said, turning to Nipede.
"What’s that?" Nipede shook his head, chuckling, "My visit this time was to assist you. Although we didn’t encounter that mysterious disappearance incident, I have some leads on that matter. Now, to accompany you and witness this ancient relic that no one has ever seen before might not be such a bad thing."
"Not to mention, I’m quite interested in this affair as well."
"The underground monster Yarakulon is in such a state, and there’s an unknown ancient relic sitting here, with a guardian of mysterious origin. All this is stimulating my curiosity."
With a carefree smile, Nipede expressed his sentiment.
"Now that I have the chance to enter the heart of this ancient relic, naturally, I cannot miss it."
Nipede’s intentions were fully conveyed to Revin.
"I appreciate it," Revin said.
Revin smiled, a rare occurrence.
The two exchanged a smile and then, almost as if by agreement, took a step forward, entering the temple with half of the knights.
The remaining half, along with the three Kazi brothers, stood still, watching as the group departed, silent for a long time.
...
The inside of the temple wasn’t as grand as it appeared from the outside.
It was spacious and wide, but unlike the exterior, the interior wasn’t elaborately decorated or arranged, giving off a somewhat modest vibe.
Resembling the hall of a museum, the surrounding area was flanked by columns, which were engraved with murals rather than any other sculptures.
The walls, too, were adorned with murals that seemed like the casual graffiti of ancient people—simple lines, rough artistic style, with historical but likely little artistic value.
Under Maya’s lead, Reiger and Liz entered and were met with the seemingly omnipresent murals.
"Master..."
Liz couldn’t help but tug at Reiger’s clothing.
"I know,"
Reiger nodded at Liz.
He knew what Liz wanted to say.
The murals around them, whether looked at for their lines or overall atmosphere and feeling, resembled the style of the animal skin map that Liz had once carried with her.
Yuri had also shown Reiger a rubbings of the murals from the ruins excavated near Neutral City’s Sinjele, and these murals evoked a similar feel to those.
This confirmed that the city was indeed a remnant of an ancient magical civilization.
As Reiger and Liz acknowledged this fact, Maya suddenly spoke.
"The Divine Being we worship is a great existence that came to this world a very long time ago and brought us the future."
Maya began to recount in such a manner.
"It is said that a long, long time ago, before humans had learned magic or wielded supernatural powers, they lived a very difficult life on this continent."
"Monsters ravaged the lands, possessing incomparable strength and ferocity that humans could not match."
"Before these powerful monsters, humans were but defenseless prey, gnawed upon, devoured, toyed with, trampled, and slaughtered."
"Then, in front of these humans, the God descended from the heavens."
Maya’s voice started to take on a reverent tone.
"From God, we learned magic,"
"From God, we received strength."
"Thus, people believed in God, served God, worshipped God, and under God’s radiant light, they began their long struggle against the monsters."
"I do not know how much time has passed outside, but it seems you have forgotten our God; surely, the times now must be very different from mine?"
Maya then led Reiger and Liz to the deepest part of the temple.
"So, take a good look."
"Look at the form of the God humans once worshipped."
"This is our God,"
Maya knelt down and prayed before the statue of the God.
Reiger and Liz also looked up, and their pupils contracted at the same time.
"This, this isn’t...!?"
Liz looked at Reiger, utterly astonished.
Reiger too was staring intently at the statue before him, falling silent.
Before them stood a statue placed upon a pedestal.
It was a blocky, cubic statue.
A statue——of a Magic Cube.