Ark Undead

Melanza froze on the spot.

Skadi nodded and echoed her words.

"Moreover, you weren't with us when we entered the gate of the sacred site, so we have no recollection of it at all."

Seeing Melantha's somewhat puzzled look, everyone else also felt strange.

It's not that they don't trust Melanie.

The heroes present all know Melantha's character.

Given her personality, there was absolutely no need for her to do such a thing, and she would not disregard the rules and sneak into the temple.

Moreover, the high priests in the temple are all powerful individuals, so it's impossible that they wouldn't sense a girl who hasn't learned much about infiltration techniques.

Moreover, judging from Melantha's appearance, her own memories and those of the other Heroic Spirits do not seem to be equal.

"Little Melansha, tell me carefully, what did you do after the competition, and what do you remember?"

Bloodthorn seemed to have discovered the key to the matter, and he quickly told Melantha to calm down and recall the events.

Melantha was initially flustered, but after hearing Bloodthorn's words, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

“I remember… I followed Instructor Nightblade and Instructor Dobermann toward the hotel. We planned to go back, get some rest, and then leave Minos tomorrow.”

Melantha's thoughts gradually became clearer.

"Then, we went back to the hotel... I went to my teacher's to get my bag and ran into Miss Maria. We went to the storeroom together to organize our things and check if we had forgotten anything..."

Melanie tried to awaken and piece together those memories hidden deep in her mind.

But the timeline stopped the moment he and Maria walked into the warehouse.

Regardless, all I can recall is the last flash of light I saw before my eyes.

“Wait… Firelight, Miss Maria.”

Melanie paused for a moment, then immediately asked.

"Where is Miss Maria? Did she come out with you?"

"Maria?"

Skadi was about to ask what this had to do with Maria.

Then, a figure emerged from the fog gate behind Melantha and slowly collapsed.

"careful!"

Melantha instinctively turned around and caught the person's body faster than anyone else.

Although the steel armor was a bit heavy, Melantha still caught her steadily.

Upon closer inspection, everyone recognized her as Maria.

But Maria seemed to be unconscious, and was muttering something.

Melantha immediately became anxious. If anything happened to Miss Maria, the teacher would be heartbroken.

However, it was at this moment that Maria's murmurs gradually grew louder.

"No...no...Mr. Jack...I can't drink anymore...Waaah, Mr. Yom, your cup...is too big, I...can't drink anymore..."

Upon hearing this voice, several question marks seemed to appear out of nowhere above everyone's heads.

What exactly did this child encounter in the sacred relic realm? Why does he look so drunk?

Moreover, upon closer inspection, the child's shield was hanging behind him, and the straight sword at his waist was intact.

But only the jewel on the hilt of the sword disappeared.

Melantha remembers that when she was chatting with Maria, Maria happily told Melantha that it was a gift from her teacher.

She also wanted to see what nice things the teacher had given Melanie.

"Um... let me confirm first, what did you all encounter when you were paying homage to the sacred relic?"

Bloodthorn frowned and spoke first.

"I encountered some very strange monsters. They had no fixed shape, but they were all very viscous and heavy. They didn't even have blood in their bodies, and their structure was not that of a normal human or other creature."

Morton then nodded.

“I was just like you, fighting on a path with no end in sight, trying to kill them with all my might. I couldn’t see the shapes of those monsters or make out their appearance, but just seeing them made me feel nauseous.”

Skadi was immediately relieved upon hearing their answers.

"Me too, monsters, endless monsters. Slay them, and then when I'm out of strength, or in the most dangerous situation, I wake up and leave the fog gate."

In other words, none of the three saw any living beings. The claim of an audience with the emperor is also completely unfounded.

Realizing this, all three turned to look at Melantha.

"And you, Melansha?"

Bloodthorn asked.

Upon hearing their answers, Melanie immediately realized that only her experience differed from theirs.

Perhaps we should also include Maria?

"No, I'm just like you. Although we're somewhat similar, the enemies I encounter all have human-like shapes. They're just a little different in size."

Melanie said uncertainly.

"I can confirm that they are human. Although they cannot communicate, their reactions and actions are still human."

Of course, she didn't tell anyone about her sister, the Fire-Binding Girl.

It's obvious that the Fire Girl has a strong connection to the teacher. Furthermore, she herself entered this place through illegitimate means.

If we rashly hand over all the information, it might affect our comrades on Rhodes Island.

But after hearing the news, the three of them couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Morton was the first to snap out of his reverie.

"In short, Miss Melantha's presence here is definitely not with the permission of the temple's priests. If it was through irregular channels, then this is a bit troublesome."

Morton glanced back at the basement door.

"The priests at the gate are definitely still waiting. We need to find a way to get her and Miss Maria out safely..."

However, just as Morton finished speaking, a voice rang out from the basement doorway.

"Don't worry, everyone, Miss Melantha and Miss Maria the Sun Knight are perfectly fine."

A priestess dressed in a grey, gilded robe entered the basement and removed her hood.

"This is the choice of the sacred objects, and moreover, they have an intricate relationship with that warrior knight."

Melantha recognized her immediately.

Isn't this Miss Pallas, the high priestess of Akroti village?

"Miss Pallas, do you know what happened?"

Melantha had some doubts. If she really got in through irregular channels, judging from her tone, could it be that Miss Pallas brought them in?

Pallas shook his head.

"It was all the choice of the sacred object; I merely listened to the divine decree. Miss Melantha, there's no need to worry. The fact that you and Miss Maria were able to safely exit the fog gate means that your mission has been accomplished."

The four sober individuals fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

Only Melantha spoke after a brief silence.

"What about the teacher?"

"He hasn't come out yet."

Skadi said.

"That's why we find it strange. Your teacher didn't come out, but you and Miss Maria appeared from here."

In other words, while everyone else came out, only the Undead was still inside and hadn't appeared, while his two disciples walked out of the fog gate.

But Melantha's intuition told her that this was not surprising.

Moreover, she wasn't worried at all.

Melantha patted her cheeks and realized that her condition was somewhat abnormal.

It's as if...this was supposed to happen.

“Honorable Priest Pallas, I have a question.”

Morton bowed respectfully to Pallas.

Pallas nodded.

"Morton, the hero who defeated the spirits, please ask me, and I will answer all your questions to the best of my ability."

"What exactly is this sacred relic?"

Morton made his question very clear.

"Why is this the procedure for seeing the sacred relic? But in reality, we didn't see the sacred relic after we went in; instead, it was still fighting, endless fighting."

Everyone focused their attention on the priest Pallas in front of them.

This was something they all found puzzling. According to the so-called procedure, they should have seen the sacred object and received the related opportunity.

But now, not even a trace of the sacred object has been seen.

"We don't want any so-called reward. To be honest, the reward for defeating the Heroic Spirit is enough."

Bloodthorn's gaze toward Pallas gradually turned cold.

“But our friend is still inside, and his two disciples have also inexplicably appeared here. Moreover, you seem to know some inside information.”

Bloodthorn's words were absolutely heartfelt.

Even Skadi's gaze towards Pallas gradually became more wary.

Morton frowned slightly; he disliked being kept in the dark. Moreover, the one who hadn't yet appeared was also a warrior he admired.

"Please be patient, everyone."