Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 273

[Vol. 5] Chapter 273: The Guardian in the Mist

She had guessed correctly!

Ayla’s heart surged with excitement as she quickly shook her hand, allowing the invisibility potion, which had been partially wiped off, to cover her fingertips once more. Seizing the brief moment, she decisively leapt down.

A far more expansive space unfolded before her eyes.

In the vast, empty underground chamber, an enormous magical formation lay etched across the floor, its intricate patterns densely covering every corner within her line of sight. As she landed, Ayla widened her eyes in awe, quickly comparing the physical formation with the one depicted on the blueprint in her memory.

It’s so similar! Although there were some minor discrepancies in the details, likely due to adjustments made by later users, the overall structure remained unchanged!

There was no mistake. This was the [Blood of the Cross], an ancient and mysterious formation designed to create [Divinity], gathering the power of countless faiths to seize the very essence of the world!

Now, there was undeniable proof!

While she hadn’t yet fully understood the function of the strange instruments above, she was certain this place was the [Transfer Station] she had hypothesized where the spiritual energy of the [Void], condensed into faith energy, was converted into [Matter] light elemental energy!

In other words, this was the base station that powered the magic of the faith system!

No wonder when Miss Dawn and the others accidentally stumbled upon and destroyed this altar, the place around [Holy Spirit Trail] experienced a temporary loss of faith-based magic, and no wonder Rudolph Lombard had personally come to supervise the reconstruction work here…

With this realization, Ayla began to understand many deeper aspects of the situation.

Such underground sacrificial sites, the Holy Empire… no, there should be many similar places hidden throughout the world. They’re like anchor points, connected to each other, forming a vast network that spans most of the known world.

Using the [Blood of the Cross] to absorb faith, part of it was claimed for personal use, while the rest was converted into pure light elemental energy through the instruments. This energy was then returned to the objects of faith in a special way, thereby creating the so-called [Faith-based Magic].

This must be the truth behind the “Goddess’s Blessing.”

Ayla let out a long sigh, feeling refreshed, as though her whole body was about to float.

Once this research is published, it’s likely that the entire Holy Empire, no, the whole world will experience a massive upheaval.

However… this matter is far too significant, and Ayla felt she hadn’t fully analyzed the detailed process of energy conversion, nor figured out the function of each instrument in the room above. It would be wise to proceed slowly, retreat for now, and wait for Miss Dawn to return to the Angel City to discuss it with her…

“Hehe… there really is a little mouse sneaking in~”

Suddenly, a soft, ethereal voice, tinged with a sense of helplessness, appeared in Ayla’s ears, almost like mist or an illusion.

“What…!!!”

The excitement and satisfaction in her heart immediately plummeted, and like a frightened cat, Ayla’s hairs stood on end, her instincts driving her to look around!

She hadn’t sensed any presence of life at all!

But the golden light burst from her chest, moving faster than she could react, colliding violently with a hand that had somehow extended toward her throat, sending a loud crash echoing through the air!

The other person knew where she was!?

Saved at the last moment by the light elemental spirit, Ayla quickly jumped backward, instinctively planning to escape this underground space through the entrance.

No matter who the other person was or what their intentions were, from the silent, near-shocking method just now, it was clear their strength far surpassed that of any mere scholar.

Moreover, this is the Goddess Church’s stronghold, along with that group of mysterious mannequins. Whether she can defeat the attacker or not, if the enemy discovers the commotion and blocks the exit, Ayla believed her chances of escaping would be close to zero.

But just as she made this decision in the blink of an eye and was about to implement her escape plan…

“The entrance… has disappeared?”

A surprised exclamation escaped the lips of the Lightborn tribe girl, whose form had vaguely appeared during the intense confrontation earlier.

No, wait.

This isn’t the underground altar from before!

Ayla suddenly realized this fact.

At some point, perhaps when that calm, gentle male voice had spoken, or maybe even earlier… while she had been deeply focused on comparing the etched markings and thinking through the aspects of “faith-based magic,” the mist had quietly spread from all directions, enveloping the entire underground space.

This must be… some kind of special barrier magic. At least now, Ayla felt she could no longer discern the directions clearly. Forget about finding an exit, even with the enhanced abilities of the Lightborn tribe, had been reduced to barely half a meter.

The increasingly dense fog made it hard to breathe and filled her with a sense of suffocating fear.

But Ayla remained calm, her mind racing to analyze the situation and find a way to escape.

At that moment, a vague shadow appeared right in front of her.

Shrouded by the white mist, she couldn’t make out their face, but from the faint outline, she could roughly tell that it was an individual of about two meters tall, with a build resembling that of a humanoid or human-like male.

It was probably this person who had spoken and attacked her earlier.

Is this… the guardian of this underground altar?

She had acted impulsively… but Ayla did not regret it. Danger always comes with opportunity. If she couldn’t even take this small risk, how could she ever hope to uncover the Goddess Church’s deepest secrets hidden beneath the earth?

Before lifting the partition, she had already guessed that something similar might be hidden below, so she specifically checked the attachment of the invisibility potion. After descending, she only stood still and observed, not doing anything unnecessary.

But the other party still noticed her. Regardless of the method used, this unidentified guardian was certainly more terrifying than those mannequins outside.

This is trouble…

As she was pondering, a palm-sized golden orb floated out from the girl’s chest and hovered lightly in front of Ayla. The isolation membrane attached to Ayla’s body naturally dissipated as the light elemental spirit left.

Now that she was clearly exposed, there was no longer any meaning or need to waste energy on hiding.

“Oh? A light element spirit, is it? It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen such a special creature. This light element spirit so pure and powerful, even I’ve never encountered one before. No wonder you dared to sneak into a place like this alone…”

From the midst of the mist, the vague figure spoke with a tone of contemplation.

Then, his voice seemed to carry more than a hint of helplessness.

“But little girl, didn’t the being who gave you this spirit remind you of the saying ‘there’s always someone stronger’? A seventh-tier light element spirit is rare and powerful, but it’s not invincible…”

“Heh~”

“…Who are you? The mastermind behind those mannequins?”

Noticing the other party’s unusually confident tone, Ayla had intended to extract as much information as possible, but the person she was talking to seemed to have caught on to her intentions. He didn’t reveal a single crack, only letting out a barely perceptible sigh, and then…

A cold, sharp ray of light pierced through the air!

“!!!”

The chilling aura of death swept through the mist from all directions, and Ayla tried to defend herself, but was horrified to realize that the light sword in her hand couldn’t even keep up with a single strike from her opponent!

The dense mist concealed any traces, and when the coldness approached, she was already too late to react!

It was too fast! Even without the mist blocking her view, the difference in strength between her and her opponent was too far!

“Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!!!”

At the critical moment, the light element spirit protecting her surged with golden light once again, and with countless light shields, more than Ayla had ever seen. It blocked the flurry of strikes, preventing her from taking any damage.

However, Ayla’s heart sank.

Because every strike from the opponent was powerful enough to overwhelm the light element spirit’s shields, requiring at least two layers of shields stacked together to nullify the attack. And due to the mist that clearly had special effects, the spirit couldn’t defend precisely. It was only able to constantly deploy large-scale shields to protect her…

This method of defense was draining energy at a rate at least ten times faster than her opponent’s, and it was clear that the spirit’s raw strength was inferior to the enemy’s.

Without Ayla, the spirit might have been able to fight back or escape, but with her, completely unable to participate in this high-level battle, she had become a fatal hindrance.

Could such a terrifyingly powerful foe really exist in the Holy Empire? Perhaps even the mysterious and elusive Miss Dawn might not be able to defeat this opponent with certainty… This is truly…

The Lightborn girl, wracking her brain for a solution but unable to come up with any way to break the stalemate, couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.

“This is a huge problem…”