Chapter 273 - Episode Twenty - The Second Trial (2)
The head of the statue of Kudor, which was exploded by the Abel ball, pops off, and the body and main part of the statue turn white.
The human part of the statue, which was missing its head, quietly turned its arms toward me.
It then fell limp and bent forward as if it was running out of energy.
The countless tentacles extending from the statue of Kudor also stopped moving.
The tips of the whitened tentacles broke off and fell to the floor, shattering.
The large, eyeball-like crystal in the center of the tentacles, which looked like the body of the statue, lost its light and faded away.
I felt the magic that I had felt from the statue of Kudor fading away.
The Abel ball that I had fired at the first statue of Kudor could have caused the temple to collapse, so this time I tried to reduce its power considerably.
It was released in a small, incomplete state with only increased stability.
As a result, I succeeded in blowing off the head of the statue of Kudor.
“As expected, it seems that it was trying to head ahead. After all, it seems that they were testing the advance team.”
The two men who had defeated Peter seemed to have gotten much closer.
The ordeal is not without its challenges, but these two people must also be watched out for.
It is said that they are part of an organization outside of the Dinrat Kingdom that wants to take advantage of the power of god Kudor.
They are not ordinary people.
Peter and Myunhi were standing in front of a statue of Kudor with a melted head.
Peter’s face was obscured by the mask, but Munch was whispering something to each other as he stared with dead eyes at the headless figure of Coudre.
“Peter-sama …… isn’t better if we go home now? I don’t think we’ll have a chance to stick our necks out beyond this very ……”
“…… What are you talking about, Myunhi. This is more of an opportunity, or perhaps a blessing in disguise. If you think about it, I’m rather lucky. If there is a will in the world, it seems to me that it is showing me the path I should take.”
“Is that so?”
“Originally, this ordeal was beyond my control, even when I was fully prepared for it. It was also impossible to deal with the “Balancer of the Scale of Time”. Breaking through the two major difficulties was just his action roulette, as he didn’t know what to expect. The “Balancer of the Scale of Time” is as good as over with the ordeal. As long as I’m in a good mood, I’m guaranteed to be safe on the road, so I have a much better chance. I can see Rupel’s grief-stricken face on the back of my eyelids.”
“……Maybe so, but …… are we okay with that?”
It didn’t sound very good, but it seemed that they were discussing the future.
The first ordeal was easy to get through, but the first ordeal would be a sort of test.
The last two are usually the real test.
In addition to that, the obstacles of the preceding group are expected to join in.
The level of difficulty will increase dramatically.
There’s something that’s bothering me about the two people in the lead group.
Passing by the collapsed statue of Kudor, the four of us (Me, Mea, Peter and Myunhi) proceeded onward.
“Peter-san, can you tell me more about the two who have gone on ahead?”
They are strong enemies that we will be fighting in the future.
We should get as much information as we can from Peter, who has directly confronted them.
“…… What?”
Peter gave a questioned look and looked at Myunhi.
Myunhi also looked puzzled.
“No, I’ve only heard briefly about the two who preceded us, but …… “
I’ve heard of a couple of sorcerers from a self-proclaimed sorcery cult whose doctrine is world domination and who are after the “Wand of Destruction”, the Delicate man and Iron Mask.
However, I had not been told how to fight or what kind of magic they used.
Peter looked at Myunhi for a moment, then slowly turned his attention to me.
“Do you need it ……?”
Peter said, his mouth twisted.
“What ……? What are you talking about, it’s the opponent we’re about to fight, right!?”
I wonder if this guy is okay.
I thought he might be a great guy because he seemed like a big deal, but I think he’s a little off.
“Abel, Mea thinks it’s probably not what he’s talking about …… I mean, if it was Abel, wouldn’t you be able to crush him, regardless of his magic or whatever?”
Mea whispers to me.
“No, he’s a top-tier sorcerer. It’s best to have some prior information ……”
It is true that I am confident in my magic skills.
But this time, the opponent is not an ordinary sorcerer like Icarus.
If you’re in a situation where you’re going to be able to use a different kind of magic, the value of the information is significant.
It could be the difference between victory and defeat.
“And, there’s something that’s bothering me. I think I may have overlooked something in this whole ordeal. My actions were a little shallow. I don’t know for sure yet, but it doesn’t feel right to me either. I’m sure the person who was ahead of us would have noticed what it was.”
I said to Mea, but Peter reacted first.
“Overlooked something in the trials ……? Are you saying that the “Balancer of the Scale of TIme” noticed something that Abel-chan didn’t?”
“…… I’m not sure yet. It’s just that it doesn’t feel right.”
I’m sure the two guys ahead of me noticed something I overlooked.
This may come into play later on in the ordeal. Perhaps there is a hidden rule to the trials that I was unaware of.
Perhaps there was a trick or suggestion in the words of the vision of Priest Yohanan speaking in the ancient spirit language.
If that’s the case, then the two of them are one step ahead of me.
And we may be disadvantaged in some way in the second and third trials.
“W-What’s that ……?”
“Don’t you realize? There’s something wrong with the situation you just described.”
“The situation ……?”
Peter ruminated on my words.
I nodded loudly.
“If the second statue of Kudor was in front of them, it means that the two men ahead of them went to the trouble of leaving the obstructing statue of Kudor behind them without doing anything about it.”
Even if there was no way to destroy it, they could have put up a ward or built a wall or whatever they wanted to do.
But they left them.
I didn’t want to psychologically leave the huge statue that was chasing after me, but I dared to do so.
Whether the statue will be needed in the coming trials or whether there will be some kind of penalty for interfering unnecessarily remains to be seen.
If it’s the former, the result will be that you’ve been able to pull the other guy’s leg …… From the way Peter-san spoke, I’m sure he doesn’t want us to fall together.
Peter’s mouth was twisted and he did not speak.
A moment of silence followed.
“Isn’t that because you didn’t have time to do anything else because of the Spirit Beast earlier ……?”
It was Mea who broke the silence.
“No, I don’t think that’s true. It was sturdy, but it didn’t have any unusual properties except for the tongue extension. ……”
“Ehhhh, no, but ……”
While I was explaining this to Mea, Myunhi, with tearful, anxious eyes, grabbed Peter’s hem and pulled, as if to say something.
Peter squeezed his mouth to tighten his expression, and slapped the back of Myunhi’s hand, and made her lower her hand.
“P-Peter-sama ……”
“You’re right. There may have been a motive for leaving the statue of Kudor behind. I’m familiar with the myths of the Kudor Church, so I may know something about it. There are a few things that I can remember. I’ll try to figure it out, but for now, Abel-chan, you should concentrate on the next trial.”
Peter said without hesitation.
He had always seemed somewhat anxious, but now he seemed to have gotten rid of his doubts.
“Thank you very much. I’ll be counting on you on that, Peter-san.”
I’m not familiar with religious studies.
if Peter is knowledgeable in that field, it would be best if we could work together to make up for it.
Mea was looking around at Peter, Me, and Myunhi with her mouth open and a stunned look on her face.
Myunhi looks away when she meets with Mea’s eye.