Ark Undead

This warrior's signature martial arts skills were completely rendered useless after losing an arm.

Melantha's blade easily sliced ​​through his armor, tearing his flesh apart bit by bit.

Finally, the blade pierced through the sturdy helmet, penetrating the back of the head and the bridge of the nose.

In the silence, the warrior's body turned to ashes and sparks, staining the blade that had pierced him and gradually transferring the stain to Melantha's body.

Melantha felt a strange heat flow flow back into her body along the blade.

Unlike the last time I fought the experts, the burning sensation in my body did not reappear; instead, it felt as comfortable as soaking in a hot spring.

The sparks left marks on Melantha's body, leaving her clothes and weapons with a flowing, lava-like appearance.

Melantha felt as if the stamina she had expended in the battle had instantly returned to her body.

Not only that, but just by opening my arms, I felt more powerful, and when I looked into the darkness beside me, everything became clearer.

It took Melantha some time to adjust to this strange sense of power growth.

The end of the battle allowed Melantha to relax a little.

After looking around, she finally found a huge iron gate in the opposite direction from where she came from.

There were no handles or any mechanisms on the iron gate.

Melantha sheathed her straight sword at her waist, walked to the iron gate, and tried to place her hands on the gate, applying gentle pressure.

Melantha was surprised to find that she was actually able to push the door open.

With a rough, hoarse creaking sound, the iron gate was slowly pushed open.

What appeared before Melantha was still darkness, countless tombstones, and withered corpses leaning against the tombstones.

In this eerie and strange environment, a dry voice slowly rang out from beside Melantha.

"Will the ashes awaken at this time?"

The voice was serious and earnest, with a hint of regret.

"Unfortunately, the flames have already gone out, and you're late."

Melantha instinctively reached for her sword. But the voice sounded vaguely familiar to her.

She must have heard of it, and it must have been not long ago.

"You are..."

Melantha turned her head and saw a figure leaning against the rock.

He had an extremely long katana tied to his waist, so long that it was doubtful whether he could even draw the blade from its sheath.

Melantha immediately recognized his attire as the figure she remembered.

His tattered clothes only covered his vital parts, but there wasn't a single scratch on his skin.

"An expert?!"

That's right, the person waiting here is the expert who appeared in the previous Undying Arena.

"?" The expert glanced at Melanza, seemingly surprised that it was Melanza.

"She looks familiar... young lady?"

He was stunned for a while, and then looked Melantha up and down again before he realized that she was the girl he was fighting.

"You... ah, were you drawn here by the last flame?"

The expert sensed the familiar power of the flames and nodded slightly as he watched the lava surging around Melantha.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Although slightly puzzled by the expert's claim of "long time no see," Melanie continued to communicate with the expert, trying to understand her current situation.

After Melantha finished explaining her situation, the expert still managed to extract some key points from the pile of things he hadn't quite understood.

"The Undying Arena... You arrived here shortly after that battle... As expected, time had already begun to become disordered. I should have known."

The expert rubbed his head and shook his head. He seemed troubled by something as well.

After Melanie explained her situation, she remained silent, making no attempt to interrupt the expert's thinking.

After thinking for a while, the expert spoke to Melanie in front of him.

"It's quite a surprise that you're here. You shouldn't have any contact with us... Well, after all, you're his disciple, so it's only natural that you found this place."

The expert, who was originally cold and ruthless, softened his attitude towards the girl in front of him after exchanging swords with Melantha.

This is a privilege reserved for warriors.

"When I first met you, I wondered if there was a possibility. Now that you've made it here safely, it means that our goal has indeed been achieved."

Although Melanie wasn't the person the expert was waiting for, seeing her here offered him some solace.

"Hmm... If I were to force an explanation, it might be a bit troublesome, and you wouldn't understand anyway. Let me take you to the sacrificial site to rest for a while."

He pointed to the road ahead.

Melantha could only see tiny sparks in her vision; thick fog and darkness shrouded everything.

From the location of the sparks, one could vaguely discern that it should be a huge building.

“There is a respected lady inside who should be able to answer your question.”

Following the experts along the muddy path, the broken paving stones on the road gradually sank into the soil under Melansha's feet.

After walking for several minutes, Melanie finally arrived in front of the enormous building.

Beside the overgrown gate, many unclaimed weapons leaned against the wall.

Some soldiers rested silently against the high wall.

Upon seeing the experts arrive, some of them nodded to them in respect, and then turned their curious gazes toward Melanie.

"Go in."

Guided by the experts, she entered through the gate, and Melanie's figure slowly disappeared into the dim firelight.

As Melantha walked into the sacrificial site, the warriors who had been sitting by the high walls all looked at the expert.

"It seems that it's not just me, you can all smell her scent, right?"

The expert suppressed his excitement; he hadn't felt this emotional in a long time.

"Perhaps the future she spoke of really exists."

...

As soon as Melantha entered the sacrificial site, the first thing she saw was five balls of fire slowly appearing before her.

The firelight seemed to be shrouded in a dome, with only a faint glimmer penetrating through it, appearing and disappearing in Melantha's eyes.

As Melantha drew closer, she realized that these were actually five enormous thrones.

And it is located underground, between the five thrones and the Melantha Terrace.

A round royal artifact sat there, with something resembling a piece of charcoal fire flickering with crimson light.

Before Melantha could even get closer to take a look, she heard a voice.

The voice was gentle and serene, like a mother's embrace, captivating the listener.

Melantha, too, had heard this voice countless times in her dreams.

"This is a sacrificial site where the flames have long been extinguished. What do you seek from here?"

Melantha turned around instinctively, and for the first time, she saw the woman clearly.

She wore a robe similar to that of the Minoan priests, and her long, white hair cascaded down her shoulders, appearing almost golden and pure in the dim firelight.

And when she sits gracefully on the steps surrounding the royal artifacts, just one glance is enough to relax one from tension.

Melanie asked somewhat uncertainly.

"Miss?"

The woman sitting on the steps had her mouth slightly open.

After a brief moment of surprise, she closed her lips and gave a gentle smile.

"It seems you recognize me, child. We've met before, haven't we?"

374. Gifts for Good Children

"We've met...I think so."

Melanie nodded somewhat uncertainly.

In such a dream, even though her senses were very clear, she would still retain a strong sense of awareness after waking up.

But she couldn't say for sure whether the dream was real or not.

However, the fact that I was able to meet this lady here shows that such a dream was definitely not something Melanie could have had on her own.

The clarity of those scenes, those unfamiliar moments, flashed through my mind one by one.

It wasn't until she saw the woman in front of her that she realized that those dreams were actually real.

"There is no doubt that you would never speak to me like this if we had not met before."

She smiled, and the smile on her lips gradually dispelled Melantha's wariness.

"Come sit here."

The woman gently patted the steps beside her, leaving dust marks on her hands. Even Melanie couldn't help but sigh with regret at the sight.

It seemed that even a speck of dust on her would tarnish her purity.

"I..."

Melanie hesitated for a moment, and the woman seemed to notice her hesitation.

She faced Melantha and spoke with her mouth slightly open.

"Speaking of which, he used to sit here too. Don't you want to experience what it feels like?"

Although she didn't say who the "he" she was referring to was, Melantha, through her keen intuition, understood the existence of this being.