Chương 119: The Altar of the Last Saintess

Philon slowly regained consciousness under Zain's treatment.

After opening her eyes, the little girl frowned and hissed.

She was pulled through the long tunnel by the spider silk, leaving her with many abrasions on her body.

Fortunately, he was alright. The fainting spell was just from being poisoned by spider venom, which has a paralyzing effect. Because the poisoning was short-lived, Zain's detoxification ability dealt with it quickly.

The two little kids next to them were a bit tricky.

Zain sighed, "His body is too weak, and he has been poisoned for too long. It will take some time for him to wake up."

Frillie nodded.

After getting up, she saw that Xia En was staring at the huge stone pillar in the cave with a serious expression.

Following Xia En's gaze.

At the top of the stone pillar was a carved magical incantation, complex and obscure, faintly revealing an ominous aura.

It made her feel very bad.

With that thought in mind, she aimed her staff directly at the stone pillar.

Anything related to monsters or demons, where the nature of the danger cannot be determined, is generally classified as dangerous.

This is her experience.

Magical sparks gathered at the tip of the staff.

Unexpectedly, Xia En raised his hand at that moment and stopped her.

"Frilian, this stone pillar—do not move it."

"?"

Xia En concentrated his mental energy, staring at the huge stone pillar in front of him, where the text information was displayed.

The Altar of the Last Saintess Status: In good condition. Entry: 【Cursed Altar (???)】: A special magical spell that can temporarily fix a "curse" inside a stone pillar, connecting the caster to the stone pillar and amplifying the range of the curse's effect.

【Delayed Activation (Blue Excellent)】: Twisted magic formula, allowing the target spell to take effect delayed when "a certain condition" is met, according to the caster's instructions.

Review: Perfect setup. Guess when it will start?

Of the two entries, one is of blue grade and the other is of unknown grade.

The "unknown grade" label immediately reminded Shane of when they first met Frilian and explored the mine ruins together. On the second level of the ruins, there was an automatically sensing crystal ball on the wall, also labeled "[Unknown Grade]".

Previously, he had always thought that his mental strength was too weak to distinguish it.

Now, he had an even bolder guess: Could these [unknown grade] entries be [entries] originating from the demon race that were [not included in the sage's knowledge system]?

Thinking of this, he sighed silently.

He currently knows too little about the history of the [Sage], and relies almost entirely on guesswork.

I wonder what happened to the matter of asking Ellu's grandfather to investigate the history of the "Sages"— Shane took a piece of paper out of his pocket.

Use the [Image Capture Magic] to capture the information you see onto paper.

Then, he handed the paper to Frillie.

Frillie took it.

After seeing the contents of the paper, his originally expressionless face slowly turned serious.

Ever since they learned about the world-ending curse of the "Lady of the End" Todd from the "Corrupted Sage Guvar", they have been searching everywhere for information related to it.

They traveled north to recruit teammates in order to find out if the "world-ending curse" truly existed.

Now there is finally a clue that the world-ending curse does indeed exist.

Moreover, judging from the term "delayed effect," it is very likely that, as Guval said, it will take effect in 20 years.

The demon race's ambition to exterminate humanity has never changed.

The paper was passed around among the others, and everyone wore a solemn expression.

Zan frowned.

"According to the intelligence you received, the curse will eventually cover the entire world. So—could there be other [cursed altars] hidden elsewhere? Have these terrifying things already spread all over the world?"

Frilian nodded.

"That's roughly how it is, according to Guval."

Zain looked at the two unconscious children and gripped the Bible tightly in his hand.

"In that case, we must send messages to the Holy City of Shutral and the magical city of Oisaster, requesting the assistance of the Church and the Continental Magic Society to find out as soon as possible whether any cursed altars have appeared in various places, so as to discuss countermeasures —" Philon raised a question upon hearing this.

"Wouldn't doing this alert the demons? What if they launch their world-destroying plan ahead of schedule?"

Shutark, standing beside him, nodded.

"That's right, we can't alert them."

Zain opened his mouth, as if to say something, but ultimately couldn't utter a word— He knew that this might alert the demons, but if the demons were allowed to act freely, such incidents of harm would become increasingly common.

As a monk, this was something he could not tolerate.

Frilian noticed Zain's worry and turned to look at Shane.

She didn't know when it started, but she had gotten into the habit of listening to Xia En's opinion before making any plans.

Shane and Frilian exchanged a glance, and without hesitation, they stuck to their previous stance.

"No matter how severe the curse has become, we must first capture the leader."

Moreover, he felt that the incident involving the Swamp Spider Mother might not have been caused by the Cursed Altar.

"Zain, you mentioned before that there has never been a swamp in the forest before, this is the first time. In addition, I have never heard of any adventurers discovering any demon altars before, so I think this is most likely a coincidence."

As he spoke, he looked at the paper in his hand.

"According to the entry, the altar is currently in an unused stage and does not pose a threat to humans. Therefore, instead of following the demons and passively responding to their attacks, it is better to directly find the culprit and solve the problem at its source."

Zain looked at Shaen with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He was touched by Shaen's ability to make a decision without hesitation.

Indeed, eliminating the source of the curse is the most effective way to resolve a widespread curse.

For some inexplicable reason, the figure of my playmate, the gorilla, reappeared.

Compared to my own indecisiveness, people like "Gorilla" and Shane, who make me feel radiant, always make decisions decisively and without hesitation.

Decisive, resolute, and unwavering.

This is what an adventurer should be like; he admired it and longed for it.

"In that case, let's proceed as planned and head to the Northern Plateau and the Demon King's Castle to find that Demon Saintess as soon as possible." Frilian said, turning her gaze to Zain.

"So, Zain, will you join us now?"

Zain looked at Frilian, then at Shane, Philon, and Shutark.

Everyone looked at him with anticipation.

Zain was in a daze.

At that moment, he felt as if he had returned to ten years ago, to the moment when his playmates invited him to embark on a journey together.

He looked at the traces of the battle he had just fought alongside his companions, at the Bible in his hand, and at the two children he had saved—this time, he made no excuses and chose to follow his heart.

"it is good."

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