Chapter 40: The Fallen City and the Lurking Serpent

The green eye didn’t seem to have much power. Realizing this, Duquesne and Louise decisively opened the cell door. Silver mana transformed into a sword in Duquesne’s hand. Louise drew a soft sword from her hip. Skillfully, the two sliced the eye into thin pieces. Richter, seeing that there was no opportunity for him to intervene, leaned Selene against the wall and noticed that her eyes seemed unfocused, her pupils slightly dilated, looking upwards. His heart tightened, and a pale blue glow emanated from his hands.

These were the commonly used “Iron Will” and “Cold Thought” healing spells. They were highly effective variations of healing magic, able to forcibly lock the target’s thoughts within a normal range.

The spells were highly effective. Selene’s gaze quickly found a focal point in the real world—Richter’s face.

She was startled for a moment, then shifted her gaze and saw Louise and Duquesne, several meters away, elegantly slicing the scattered flesh and blood without getting any blood on their clothes.

This bizarre scene made her wonder who the real heretics were. After a moment, Selene spoke calmly,

“I’m a little dizzy… Let me rest for a bit…”

The moment she looked at that eye, not only had two completely opposite voices appeared in her head, but also a vast, magnificent scene—

It was a city floating in a sea of clouds, walking on the horizon, with seven towers, seven high walls, and seven main roads. It seemed to be moving, walking on a path. It seemed as if it could no longer bear the burden, and parts of it were falling off, into the sea of clouds… Then, in an instant, the entire city became a free-falling mass of architectural debris. There were still living humans within the architecture, and below them, in the sea of clouds, a lurking shadow opened its large mouth…

Her mind was reeling. Faint chants, prayers, and whispers emanated from the image, like background music.

Finally, Selene saw the true form of the giant shadow.

It was an enormous, pure white serpent, interwoven with golden threads. It released its endlessly growing, endlessly consumed tail and turned towards the falling architecture.

The city falling from the sky, the giant serpent devouring the city. It was a fantastical, epic scene.

But the most important thing wasn’t this strange image, but the two voices that had appeared in her mind… If the former was the eye, then what was the latter?

Selene rubbed her temples, trying to organize her thoughts, then began to talk to that sudden voice in her mind.

【Who are you? Why are you talking in my head? Using my voice?】

【What is Fallen VI? Are the Broken Seven Rings referring to the Scholar of Sin?】

But no matter how much she asked, the voice never appeared again, as if it were a system notification that would only appear under specific conditions.

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Selene thought for a moment, then said in her mind,

【System? Status screen?】

No one answered. There was no status screen listing her profession and attributes, no “ding” sound followed by a newbie gift pack, and no omniscient narrator.

Selene sighed, giving up on her unrealistic fantasies, and used her accumulated knowledge to make some guesses.

She’d been in this world for two years, but had never heard that voice. It only appeared after she faced that eye, after she heard the voice of the Scholar of Sin, or at least, some powerful being… It would only appear when she encountered similar beings?

She’d been to church. She’d met priests and clerics. She’d received healing magic and chanted the names of the gods, but she had never heard it… Was it because the responses to rituals and prayers, the divine spells, were just automatic responses, and the gods and envoys behind them weren’t actually paying attention to the world?

—Only after she encountered a Evil god, a deity, an envoy, or a similar being, would that voice appear?

What was it for? What if she encountered some god and her head exploded? Did she need it to warn her?

What was this “Fallen VI” and the “Broken Seven Rings”? A title for a Evil god? When that eye had said “The ritual of ascension has begun, mage…”, was it referring to her? Mage was easy to understand. She was a mage. But what did “ritual of ascension” mean?

If “ascension” referred to the advancement and transformation of a superhuman, then did “ritual of ascension” mean that she was just starting her journey as a superhuman?

Or was it related to her 《Ascension Tantra》? Was it referring to her profession, “Ritual Magician”?

Selene tapped her head, ending her pointless contemplation.

She saw that Louise and Duquesne had stopped and closed the cell door again, shoving the pile of mashed flesh, which could be thrown into a pot and eaten, back into the cell. Then, they looked at each other anxiously, finally turning their gazes to her.

Louise looked worried, and Duquesne seemed a little guilty, as if blaming himself for the incident.

“I’m fine,” Selene forced a smile, but it wasn’t very convincing.

Richter’s two spells had pulled her back to reality, but her head still throbbed, as if countless insects were wriggling and burrowing inside, occasionally causing a sharp, piercing pain.

“…This cell has an alarm system. Clerics from the Divine Glory Church and the Church of Bountiful will be here soon to perform an emergency purification and calming ritual,” Duquesne said after a moment of silence. “Sorry, I didn’t expect this to happen…”

A willing, superhuman, corrupted heretic sacrificing themselves could often summon high-level demons and evil spirits. The material world was suppressed by the God of Wisdom and the God of Order. Demons and evil spirits could only exist for a short time, and they could only use a third of their power. But even so, low-level superhumans had difficulty facing them.

In similar incidents, the first victim rarely escaped unscathed. They either died directly, or their mind was distorted, becoming mad, like the heretics.

“I’m really fine…”

Selene chuckled wryly, seeing Louise approach her with a sincere expression.

“Don’t worry. I’ll look after your money and your house…”

“Get out!”

“Just kidding,” Louise laughed, revealing her white teeth. “You’ll definitely be fine. After all… someone still owes you money.”

The heavy thud of footsteps came from afar, followed by the sound of the mithril door being thrown open, slamming against the wall.

A few seconds later, a tall, imposing figure in platinum armor, a large sword in hand, entered their field of vision. A female priest in a green and white pilgrim’s robe walked beside him. Her head only reached his shoulder. The difference in their heights made them look like a beauty and the beast.

They were from the Divine Glory Church and the Church of Bountiful.

Behind them, more than ten senior guards, carrying various weapons, followed closely.