Chapter 72: The Teleportation Circle, the Divine Strike Descends
Rhodes didn't believe the legend was false. The god-slaying sword, Org, was real, after all. So it was possible that the dwarves had indeed tried their hand at creating life. But why? He could only guess. Perhaps the dwarves were... lonely.
"But why would a legend like that even exist? Aren't dwarves famously inept at magic?"
"It is precisely because they cannot use magic that the legend exists. The dwarves wanted to create dwarves who could use magic."
The old Dwarven Kingdom had been a powerful and glorious nation. They had gathered the wealth of the entire continent, and their army was the strongest in the world. Even the Sky-Winged warriors had to give way before them. The dwarves of that era had a wealth of "black technology." The Sky-Winged's advantage of flight was completely negated; they became mere flying targets, shot down by the dwarves' anti-air weaponry. At their peak, the dwarves were on the verge of becoming the third-strongest race, right behind the gods and the dragons.
And that was why the legend existed. The dwarves, in their desire to become stronger, had reached for the power of the Goddess of Life herself, to create a new, magically-gifted dwarven race. But all of that had been lost in the disaster that followed. The dwarves were now a shadow of their former selves. They had even lost most of their forging techniques. It was a tragedy of epic proportions.
"I can't imagine it," Rhodes said. He couldn't wrap his head around how the dwarves would even begin to study life magic. And to try to learn the origins of life magic from a race that couldn't even use magic... that just seemed wrong.
Time passed. A week flew by in the blink of an eye. They had spent the entire time in the treasury. Though Serie's magic had allowed them to survive without food or water, being in such a confined space for so long was beginning to wear on their nerves.
They were now gathered around the stone pedestal in the center of the room. Eirik was toying with a gold coin. "These runes are impossible to read," he complained. "I say we just smash it to pieces and take it with us."
"And you can be the one to carry the pieces," Serie said, shooting him a cool glance. She, too, was growing frustrated with the ancient text. It was the original dwarven script, a language she had never seen before. She had no idea how to even begin to decipher it. And the stone was several tons; they couldn't possibly move it. That was why they had to find another way.
"How about a levitation spell?" Rhodes asked. He cast a spell, and the book in his hand began to float. It was a small improvement he had made to the spell, allowing him to use it on other objects. He still hadn't managed to achieve true flight, but he was working on it.
"No. The mana cost would be too high," Serie said, shaking her head.
"Can't we just use the holy relic to recharge?" Norne asked. He didn't understand why the slab they had been looking for had turned out to be such a massive stone, but he knew it contained an incredible amount of mana. Surely they could use it to recover their own.
"It's not that simple. To absorb mana, you need a kind of purification function." Not all mana was usable. Unless it was naturally recovered, any mana absorbed from an outside source would be tainted with impurities or corruption. You couldn't just take it in. The 'Light of Ersten' could be used as a power bank because Rhodes had filled it with his own mana. Even Serie could use it to recover. But the stone pedestal was different. It was a giant power bank, but they didn't have the right charging cable. All they could do was look. At most, they could use it to cast certain special spells, just like how the demons had used the original holy relic to open a massive teleportation circle.
"I see," Norne said with a wry smile.
"The real question," Rhodes said, deep in thought, "is why it's a massive stone pedestal. That's not what the legends say." If it wasn't so heavy, he would have just taken all the valuable things from the treasury and left long ago. He wouldn't have wasted so much time here. The quiet was nice, and there were no monsters to bother them—they had closed the entrance, so nothing could find them—but he still had a bad feeling. He'd had it ever since he had drawn the Divine Right Sword, Org.
"I also find it strange. Could the real stone slab be inside it?" Serie voiced her own suspicion. "Shall we try to break it open?"
"We can try," Rhodes agreed.
Seeing that they had made a decision, Somme eagerly stood up. "I think this is my cue." He took the battle-axe from his back. "A job that requires brawn should be left to a powerful dwarven warrior!"
"Not yet, Somme," Rhodes quickly stopped him. "Let Serie and I examine it one more time, just to be sure." They didn't know what would happen if they broke the stone. What if it was a trap, something that would explode? They would have nowhere to run. That was the real reason he hadn't touched it all week.
The group gathered around the stone slab.
"Well? Shall we try to scan its internal structure first?"
"It will be difficult. The mana inside is too chaotic. My detection spell..."
Before she could finish, the stone pedestal suddenly began to glow with a blinding light.
High above the dwarven ruins, a massive magic circle appeared.
Any of the survivors of the first Dwarven Kingdom would have recognized it instantly. It was the same super-large teleportation circle the demons had used all those centuries ago.
But this time, it was not an endless horde of demons and magical beasts that emerged from it, but a host of powerful Sky-Winged warriors.
Led by the thirteen members of the council, the Sky-Winged formed up in a battle formation, their white wings shining with a holy light in the sun. They held their longswords, their tips all pointed down at the ruins below.
"All units, prepare for the Divine Strike!" the lead council member commanded, her voice cold.
The entire Sky-Winged race had a talent for magic, and they also possessed formidable physical strength, making them the undisputed third-strongest race in the world. And when all their warriors unleashed their strongest attacks at once, the result was the Divine Strike, an attack that could destroy anything.
At the council member's command, the mana of all the Sky-Winged warriors began to gather, condensing into a dazzling pillar of light at the center of the magic circle. The light grew brighter and brighter, like a falling sun.
The Divine Strike was about to descend.
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