Chapter 1555: Chapter 1549: Form of Water
"..."
"The original tome of space abilities."
Ronald remarked thoughtfully.
He pondered for a moment but did not delay for too long.
The enemy has successfully escaped, which is an undeniable fact; blaming fate changes nothing. Moreover, there is a matter that urgently requires Ronald’s verification.
With a wave of his hand, he sheathed Saint Catherine’s sword.
Ronald turned his head and walked toward the small chapel of the Hermitage Abbey.
——
The temple trial had ended, and now no spell guards this simple and serene building.
Ronald approached, reached out, and easily pushed open the chapel door.
The scene before his eyes.
Was exactly the same as what he saw in the temple trial.
The almost unchanged interior made him feel as if he was still in the temple trial, as if nothing had changed.
Without hesitation, Ronald walked straight to the end of the small chapel.
The gray figure in the temple trial provided a hint, which surely indicated something significant here.
Walking along, the two rows of seats in the chapel were spotless; it wasn’t until the second row from the front that Ronald noticed a book lying on the armrest.
He picked it up and glanced at it.
It was a "Light Gathering Book," with no spell remaining on its pages, just an ordinary book.
The casually placed angle...
It might have been left here by a priest hastily evacuating the Holy Capital at the time of impending destruction.
Ronald casually tucked the artifact into his coat and continued walking to the pulpit where priests once guided morning prayers.
From here onward, there was no path to take.
Only a cross symbolizing faith stood close to the wall.
Ronald’s gaze swept the surroundings.
Between the pulpit and the cross statue at the back, there was a small altar. It’s usually where divine artifacts or holy water would be placed for rituals.
Indeed, something should be placed here.
However, there was a crack on the side of the altar.
What should have been placed atop it had disappeared.
"..."
Ronald frowned.
His intuition told him that the gray figure from the temple trial indicated that the clue should be here, but the altar before him was empty...
"Wait."
Ronald’s eyes changed.
He recalled the eldest of the Lenny brothers, who had just been saved by the "Nine Rings Covenant."
Analyzing the state he saw in the opponent.
This guy undoubtedly left the temple trial before Ronald.
Other than him, Ronald could hardly find anyone who could have entered the chapel before him and taken the item away.
"..."
"The sage’s figure in the temple trial had no reason to deceive me in such an environment and at such a moment."
Ronald pondered for a moment and did not rush to leave.
Staring at the empty altar, he activated the "Divine Comedy" spell, trying to investigate any clues.
The result was somewhat disappointing.
Ronald found nothing on the altar; the Original Sin Spell instead told him that the damage level of the "Seven-string Seal" had increased from 1/7 to 2/7.
What was the situation when the first seal broke?
Ronas remembered clearly; it was when the "Nine Rings Covenant’s" casters broke the barrier of the Holy Alan Cathedral, destroyed the building, and Ronald took away the artificial deity hidden there.
Now, despite not hearing the sound of a string snapping, the seal broke again...
This can only happen during the time Ronald was in the temple trial when this place was damaged.
All the information pointed to a fact.
The enemy who escaped the temple trial first likely emerged at the location in the small chapel and took away what should have been stored on the altar.
"Ah—"
Ronald sighed.
He was powerless to correct the consequences caused by the time difference.
Even using "Epoch Disparity" to fully rewind the altar, he couldn’t ignore the rules to forcibly retrieve the item placed on it.
It seems that the hint left by the sage’s figure in the temple trial.
Already had one piece that was about to become invalid...
As Ronald confirmed the situation and prepared to leave to continue pursuing the "Nine Rings Covenant" caster, he was halted.
Because, on the crack of the altar, there suddenly appeared a slight water stain.
With Ronald’s perception, he couldn’t possibly have ignored such a phenomenon earlier.
This was a new change!
"How is this possible?"
Ronald marveled, unable to sense any magical flux on the altar, only by activating the "Capitalism" spell could he detect a hint of value change on it.
Not just the miracle like artificial deities or "Seven-string Seal" spells.
Even these things, detached from the magic system, were progressing in the past church.
While marveling, the water stains emerging from the altar continued to change.
They seemed manipulated, flowing and forming a special script.
— Ronald had just seen it.
— In the world constructed by the temple trial, this was the theological script once used by the church!
With the aid of the "Cushing Stone Tablet," Ronald easily comprehended the content on it.
[The Sacred Blood Vial has been taken.]
The brief text emerged and quickly blurred, transforming into another passage.
[No need to worry, it can only be used by the devout.]
[If handed to the newly appointed priest of Holy See, leveraging the power of faith, the Sacred Blood Vial will heal all wounds.]
After simply explaining the situation, the text vanished again, eventually changing into a final message.
[Good luck, friend from the future.]
"..."
Ronald was stunned.
He was neither amazed by the healing effects of the Sacred Blood Vial nor enraged that the enemy of the "Nine Rings Covenant" had taken it prematurely.
Rather, the scene before him made him realize a deeper concept.
The tone of these words was unmistakably a message from the sage’s figure of the Holy Grace Cathedral!
This phenomenon could only result in two scenarios.
First, the ancient sages of Holy Grace Cathedral still exist in this world in fragments of thought. After initiating the temple trial, they interacted with the outside world, leaving such hints.
The second possibility is that the technology constructing the temple trial has reached its pinnacle. So even after Ronald exited the temple trial, some spell structures could actively affect and interfere with the outside world.
If the truth is the second, merely the spell’s reaction, then so be it.
But if it’s the first...
Ronald slowly lifted his gaze, peering through the walls of the Hermitage Abbey chapel, towards the center of the Holy Capital where Holy Grace Cathedral stood.
He felt both amused.
And a schadenfreude towards the "Nine Rings Covenant" caster’s predicament.
Ultimately.
The thousands of thoughts in his mind condensed into a single conclusion:
"If this is truly the case."
"The trial earlier was indeed a grand jest upon them!"
