CHAPTER 740: THE GIRL IN ICE BLUE

"Master! Look over there!"

As Liz pointed excitedly toward the front of the path, uttering such words, Reiger had already detected the glimmer of light ahead of her.

At the end of the corridor, the monotonous side passages no longer appeared; instead, they were replaced by an illuminated exit.

Guided Figures like the small fairy and the Three-legged Crow had been lingering at the exit, fluttering back and forth before vanishing into thin air after a while, signifying that their task was accomplished.

Without a doubt, this was proof that they had finally reached the maze’s exit.

"Have we finally made it?"

Reiger felt relieved.

It had been almost fourteen hours since they entered the ruins. If they did not find their way out of this maze soon, Reiger and Liz might have to spend the night within its confines.

The creatures within the maze were peculiar, so Reiger was not keen on spending the night in such a place. Now that the exit was in sight, it couldn’t be better.

"I’ll go scout ahead! Master!"

Liz was clearly eager to leave the stifling heat of the labyrinth. Seeing the exit, she immediately felt the urge to dash towards it.

But Reiger timely extended a hand, catching the impulsive princess and pulling her back.

"Master?"

Liz looked at Reiger with a mixture of surprise and confusion.

Reiger made a shushing gesture, slowly taking Liz’s hand, reducing his pace, and even concealing his presence.

Seeing this, Liz’s heart grew tense. She silently gripped Reiger’s hand in return and together they tread lightly, inching towards the maze’s exit.

Before long, the two of them reached the exit and saw the scene outside.

The first thing that struck both of their eyes was an extremely vast and spacious stone hall.

The hall was much like a cavern, without many embellishments—squarish and resembling a large secret chamber.

Inside the hall stood two rows of pillars on either side, with a stone statue at the very back. The walls and ceiling were covered in countless patterns and drawings.

Looking at those drawings, Reiger and Liz exchanged glances, both feeling as though they were back inside the central temple of the Ancient City located within the belly of the magical beast Yarakulon.

The temple’s walls were also covered in murals, and there seemed to be a striking similarity between here and there.

Especially the stone statue at the deepest part of the hall—it was unmistakably shaped like the cubic magical object they had seen in the temple.

Of course, what truly caught Reiger and Liz’s attention were not the hall’s murals nor the statue, but the figures wandering around inside it.

They were figures in black, draped in dark robes, wielding strange weapons.

Upon seeing those odd weapons, Reiger’s eyes instantly turned cold.

It wasn’t just Reiger; Liz too widened her eyes, pulling at Reiger’s sleeve and whispering.

"Master, aren’t those the magic dolls that attacked us before?"

Yes.

The figures wandering inside the hall were indeed the magic dolls that had attacked Liz in the land of Meploros, striking Reiger in the innards of the magical beast Yarakulon with their bizarre abilities, heartless and moving like specters in silence.

The strange weapons they held were what they referred to as sacred artifacts.

"Why?" Liz could not hide her trembling voice, "Why are these magic dolls here?"

Reiger had an answer to that question.

"...Remember the footprints we saw before entering the ruins?"

Reiger offered Liz a hint.

Suddenly, Liz was struck, quickly grasping the implication.

"The people who entered this ruin before us, are they these magic dolls?"

Liz showed a look of realization.

"More precisely," Reiger narrowed his eyes, "it should be someone who brought these magic dolls in here. I doubt a bunch of magic dolls that can only follow others’ commands would partake in the delicate task of ruin exploration."

"Master," Liz blinked, "what are you suggesting...?"

"My meaning is simple." Reiger suddenly smiled, but his voice was devoid of any mirth, "This time, we might coincidentally come face-to-face with those who control these magic dolls from behind the scenes."

As he spoke, Reiger activated his magic.

"Time Stop."

In a flash, the entire world came to a standstill.

The magic dolls wandering the hall became like statues, motionless.

Liz, who stood at Reiger’s side, also kept her form, frozen in place.

Reiger stepped out of the maze, approached one of the magic dolls in the hall, and placed a hand upon it.

"Magic Power Amplification: Delayed Effect - Energy Absorption."

With a single touch, Reiger moved on to another magic doll, extending a harmful hand to each of them, unleashing the same magic.

Once he had touched each and every magic doll, Reiger walked towards the statue at the front, turned his back to the magic dolls, and snapped his fingers.

Then time resumed its flow.

"————!"

At that moment, all the magic dolls in the hall shuddered to life.

They saw Reiger, the youth who had suddenly appeared before them.

The sudden intrusion startled even these heartless magic dolls.

By the time they recovered, they each raised their weapons, readying to charge toward Reiger.

But before they could rush out, the magic Reiger had delayed finally took effect belatedly.

With the loss of energy, the magic automatons were horrified to discover that their power was plummeting at an alarming rate.

Conversely, the power emanating from Reiger was soaring at a visibly rapid pace.

Then, Reiger turned around, transforming into a bolt of lightning.

"Boom!"

The sound of thunder suddenly filled the stone hall, as the lightning bolt surged out, charging toward the magic automatons.

"Thunderclap Flash!"

A slash of lightning tore through the air, instantly targeting one automaton after another with each strike, the lightning zipping towards the next target.

"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"......

It wasn’t long before the sounds of flesh being cleaved followed one after another.

"Ugh..."

"Ah..."

The magic automatons simultaneously fell to the ground, their weapons clattering to the floor, unable to resist any longer.

"Click..."

Reiger then appeared from the lightning, sheathing his sword slowly, and turned to face the magic automatons again.

"Master!"

Liz was stunned by the scene before her.

The little princess had no idea what had happened; she only knew that a second ago, her master had been by her side, talking to her, and the next, he had vanished, charging into the stone hall.

By the time the little princess caught on, everything had already ended.

Reiger had successfully brought down all the magic automatons, prompting Liz, who had come to her senses, to quickly run out of the passage and toward Reiger.

Meanwhile, Reiger picked a magic automaton that was closest to him and extended a hand to press on its head.

"Memory Manipulation."

Without any hesitation, Reiger activated the magic to browse memories.

For these magic automatons, Reiger naturally didn’t consider being gentle; he barged into their memory domain in the most violent and barbaric way, flipping through their memories.

"Aaaaaaaaah...!"

The automaton whose head Reiger was pressing suddenly screamed, its eyes bulging as if they would pop out, which made Liz’s heart skip a beat.

Reiger, however, successfully found a sequence of memories.

It was a memory of something that had happened not long ago.

Like the automatons before it, this one followed remote instructions to complete its tasks.

It had been carrying out another task when it suddenly received instructions to cancel that mission and head to a location to cooperate with a higher-up on an exploration of the Ancient Ruins.

When this automaton arrived at the designated place, it found many of its kind already there.

All of them had come to assist the higher-up with the ruins’ exploration, and their new task was to obey that person’s every command until the exploration was complete.

Just as the number of magic automatons present became considerable, even somewhat excessive, that higher-up arrived.

Through the automaton’s memories, Reiger saw what this so-called higher-up looked like.

It was a girl with an icy demeanor.

The girl had ice-blue hair that reached her waist, her pupils were also ice-blue, and she wore a court dress with white and blue patterns, with a noticeably distinctive weapon hanging at her waist. Her whole presence exuded a cold, indifferent aura, a true block of ice.

If Morgan’s indifference reminded one of a cold winter, then the girl’s chilly air was akin to a blizzard.

The former was a coldness from inside out, while the latter’s was from outside in; in summary, they seemed devoid of humanity, displaying just personality.

"Who is she?"

Reiger naturally harbored such doubts.

But soon, Reiger’s attention was drawn to a person accompanying the icy girl.

He had a fierce look, a sullen face, and an amber blade hung at his waist. His entire being radiated a terrifying aura, much like a ferocious beast on the prowl, extremely intimidating.

This man, Reiger recognized.

"Sgranot Bayard..."

Reiger was stunned.

Why him?

Why was it him?

Why was he there?

Was he in league with those behind these magic automatons?

With that thought, Reiger’s expression sank.

There was nothing more to say.

At the icy girl’s command, the magic automatons marched into the Ancient City.

They split into several groups, each searching for an exit, until they finally reached this place.

Then, the icy girl and Sgranot, along with a group of magic automatons, continued onwards, leaving the rest behind.

After that, Reiger and Liz arrived.