The air in the temple gradually became heavier, and a faint murderous intent slowly emanated from the golden-haired youth, suffocating the atmosphere.
The moment the elderly man uttered the words "descendant of the gods," Noel's blue-colored eyes abruptly contracted into a sharp point, his intense gaze fixed on the elder, and his expression became increasingly cold.
Laxus, standing beside him, glanced at Noel in slight surprise, then remained silent.
The elder seemed completely unaware of the oppressive aura Noel was emitting.
He maintained a calm expression and spoke softly, "Please do not be wary of me. I only sensed a bloodline similar to ours."
"What do you mean?" Noel furrowed his brow slightly.
The elder did not answer immediately.
Instead, he slowly walked to the statue of Alva, placed his hands together in front of him, and assumed a praying posture.
"Actually, we, the people of Anphel City, are the same as you. We are also descendants of the gods."
Noel paused for a moment. "You...?"
The elder did not turn around but instead sighed gently and continued, "We, the Anphel people, are descendants of the Lord of Thunder from the Light faction. However, though we say that, in reality, after many generations, our bloodline has become extremely thin. The only remaining connection we have to the Lord of Thunder is perhaps the fact that nearly our entire tribe uses lightning-based magic. Most of the current tribe members are even unaware of their true divine heritage..."
The tone of Anqiro was calm and devoid of fluctuation, without any sorrow or anger, but rather a subtle sense of nostalgia and melancholy.
It was as if the snowflakes falling from the moon—crystal clear yet filled with an inexplicable sadness.
As if suddenly recalling something, Anqiro gave a soft chuckle.
"Getting old, I tend to reminisce about the past. Now, let us get to the main topic. I believe you two magicians are shrouded in mystery when it comes to Anphel."
"Yes, there are many aspects in the mission that warrant further clarification. We would appreciate it if Elder Anqiro could explain," Noel nodded.
Anqiro hesitated for a moment, seemingly contemplating how to begin.
Neither Noel nor Laxus interrupted.
After a minute or two, Anqiro finally spoke slowly.
"Let me start from the beginning... Anphel City is an ancient city that has continued since the times of the ancients. During that ancient era, the city once faced a near-destruction crisis. The specific events have long faded from history, but fragments of words still reveal what happened. Back then, during the age when the dragons ruled the continent, the once peaceful Anphel City was suddenly attacked by an unknown giant beast and the dark beasts it led. When you arrived, you must have seen the marks left on the city walls—those were mostly left from the fierce battles of that time... The situation was dire, and fortunately, at that time, our Anphel tribe produced a great hero."
"Alva?" Noel asked.
"Yes," Anphiel nodded.
"That would be Alva Anphel. He rose like a meteor, and with strength comparable to that of the dragons, he led the Anphel tribe to repel the giant beast and its followers. However, the crisis was not over. The giant beast, whose true form was unknown, was far too powerful. Even with Alva's strength, he could not inflict significant damage, only temporarily driving it back. The beast did not give up and continued to lurk near Anphel City, waiting to invade. In order to defeat this giant beast, Alva, along with the elder at the time, Sarich, and other powerful magicians from the tribe, spent three years of effort and finally created the supreme and ultimate magic—'Sanctum Barrier.'"
"What is the ability of this 'Sanctum Barrier'?" Laxus, without any preamble, directly asked.
"'Sanctum Barrier'... If we compare it to the current level of magic, it would be considered a forbidden super-magic, likely on par with the magical power that the Magic Council prides itself on, such as the Etherion level. Its function is quite complex, but the most important parts are a few key aspects."
"Firstly, defense. 'Sanctum Barrier' is a magic with an extremely powerful protective ability. Its magical energy comes entirely from the depths of the earth, and its defense is said to be so strong that even a dragon would need to continuously attack for half a month to break through."
"Secondly, purification. It has the ability to purify evil and darkness. This is one of the reasons why the dark beasts have never been able to cross the barrier and fully occupy Anphel City."
"Third, destruction. Its offensive power is a lightning-based super-magic, and at full power, its destructive capability can rival even Etherion.
Fourth, magic control. It can freely manipulate all magical elements in its range..."
Anqiro's words were plain, yet they stirred immense waves in both Noel and Laxus's hearts.
Such a powerful ancient magic, being compared to Etherion, was no exaggeration, and perhaps even somewhat humble.
Just the ability to control all the magic elements within its range was enough to instill fear.
This meant that with 'Sanctum Barrier', during battle, the opposing mages would essentially be at the mercy of the user.
Even the legendary dark mage, Zeref, would be the same.
Because even Zeref could not ignore the external magical elements and use magic freely.
Without the ability to manipulate magical elements, no matter how strong your magical power, you would still be unable to cast spells.
Anqiro did not seem to notice their strange expressions, and continued, "To successfully create 'Sanctum Barrier,' many of our ancestors gave their lives, turning their bodies into part of the 'Sanctum Barrier.' Only then was 'Sanctum Barrier' successfully constructed. And Alva, using the power of 'Sanctum Barrier,' perished together with the giant beast, saving Anphel City from falling. However, 'Sanctum Barrier' is a fixed-area magic, relying on Anphel City to exist, and cannot be moved. So, the two-thirds of Anphel City that had been occupied could never be reclaimed. We were forced to allow the dark beasts to occupy it... Originally, this wasn't a big deal, because those dark beasts couldn't encroach on our territory. But the situation has changed over the past ten years."
"'Sanctum Barrier' has malfunctioned?" Noel frowned.
Although it was phrased as a question, his tone was firm and certain.
Anqiro nodded, a trace of worry surfacing on his aged face.
"Yes, 'Sanctum Barrier' has encountered a problem. I don't know the exact details either, because over ten years ago, the dark beasts suddenly launched a high-intensity assault. Caught off guard, they managed to seize part of the area we once lived in. But 'Sanctum Barrier' didn't react at all. We tried to reach its core to investigate, but the part the dark beasts occupied happens to be the central control area of 'Sanctum Barrier.' Though we're not worried they'll be able to seize it, I fear that someone is manipulating all of this from the shadows. No… I'm certain someone is. Their goal might very well be to use 'Sanctum Barrier' for some other purpose. That's why we have no choice but to ask powerful mages for help—to enter the central control of 'Sanctum Barrier' and help us reestablish contact with it."
"Contact?"
"Yes," Anqiro said.
"I hope you can take this crystal orb, infiltrate the domain of the dark beasts, and once you reach the core of 'Sanctum Barrier,' I'll use the orb to try and communicate with it."
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