Chapter 452: Chapter 451 - What.....are you?
The crystal shattered with a sound that did not merely echo through the sanctuary, but seemed to reverberate directly through their bones, through their mana, through the very ancient foundations buried beneath the ruins themselves.
For one terrible instant afterward, everything became unnaturally still, as though the entire world had paused in anticipation of something ancient awakening from a sleep that should never have been broken.
Then the corrupted mana exploded.
An enormous pillar of black energy erupted upward from beneath the sanctuary floor with catastrophic force, swallowing the chamber in darkness as ancient stone walls cracked violently under the pressure. Pillars that had endured for centuries collapsed like fragile twigs while the floor beneath their feet split apart in jagged fractures, massive sections of the sanctuary crumbling into the abyss now opening below them.
The air became suffocating.
Not simply because of the density of the corrupted mana flooding the chamber, but because the atmosphere itself had changed into something fundamentally wrong. It no longer felt like they were standing inside forgotten ruins from the Hero Era.
It felt as though they had accidentally opened the mouth of something buried beneath history itself.
Luca instantly leapt backward as the ground shattered beneath where he had been standing moments earlier, his twin sabers carving through several incoming tendrils of corrupted darkness while debris and black smoke spiraled violently around the collapsing sanctuary.
"Everyone move back!" Adrian’s voice thundered across the battlefield, sharper and more commanding than Luca had heard before.
Gravity mana exploded outward from Adrian’s body in violent waves as the ground around him cracked beneath the sheer pressure. The air distorted heavily while invisible gravitational force seized several collapsing stone pillars mid-fall, halting them entirely before hurling them away from the retreating students.
At the same time, Adrian thrust one hand outward, and an overwhelming downward force crushed a wave of corrupted tendrils into the shattered floor hard enough to pulverize ancient stone itself.
Several members of the Hero Research Club could barely remain standing.
One senior had collapsed to a knee entirely, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth while he struggled desperately to circulate mana properly beneath the overwhelming corruption flooding the sanctuary.
Even John, who until now had treated nearly everything with manic excitement, stood pale-faced and trembling as he stared toward the darkness below.
And then—
The remnant screamed.
The malformed creature suspended above the shattered mural suddenly convulsed violently, its countless distorted eyes widening in terror as the darkness beneath the sanctuary surged upward like living hands.
The enormous corrupted entity that moments ago had overwhelmed all of them now looked utterly helpless.
Its tendrils twisted desperately.
Its body writhed.
And before anyone could even comprehend what was happening, the remnant was dragged downward into the abyss with horrifying force.
The creature’s shrieks echoed throughout the sanctuary as its massive body disappeared into the darkness below, swallowed completely by something none of them could properly see.
Silence followed.
Not ordinary silence.
The kind of silence that exists moments before disaster fully reveals itself.
Luca’s chest tightened painfully as he stared toward the abyss beneath the shattered sanctuary floor, every instinct inside him screaming that they should run immediately. Yet his body remained frozen in place, unable to look away from the darkness below.
Because something was there.
Something ancient.
Something watching them.
The corrupted mana spiraling upward from the abyss gradually slowed, condensing instead around a single point beneath the ruins. Then, very slowly, a hand emerged from the darkness and gripped the fractured edge of the sanctuary floor.
The sight alone made Luca’s blood run cold.
The hand looked almost human at first glance, yet its skin was blackened with ancient corruption, cracks running across it like shattered obsidian while countless faint red lines pulsed beneath the surface like veins carrying liquid darkness instead of blood.
Wrapped tightly around the arm were chains.
Ancient sealing chains covered in faded golden inscriptions that still glowed weakly despite being drowned in corruption.
Another hand appeared beside it.
Then slowly—
The figure began pulling itself upward from the abyss.
Every movement felt wrong.
Heavy.
Ancient.
The sanctuary trembled beneath its mere presence while the surrounding corrupted mana bent unnaturally toward it like servants gathering before a king. More eyes began opening throughout the darkness around the figure, countless crimson pupils blinking awake one after another within the black smoke swirling through the chamber.
Luca’s breathing slowed involuntarily.
His mind screamed at him to remember.
And then—
He understood why the ruins had felt familiar.
This was not merely one of the failed sealing sanctuaries mentioned within hidden lore.
This place—
Was one of the prisons created directly by the Seven Heroes themselves during the final stages of the ancient war.
A prison not meant for ordinary corrupted remnants.
But for something born directly from the Devil Emperor’s flesh.
The realization struck Luca so violently that his hands tightened around his sabers instinctively.
No...
This thing should never have awakened.
Not this early.
Not now.
The figure continued climbing upward until its upper body finally emerged fully into the dim light of the collapsing sanctuary. Long black hair hung messily around its face while broken sealing chains dragged behind its movements with heavy metallic sounds against the stone.
And then—
It lifted its head.
A pair of crimson eyes slowly locked onto Luca.
The moment their gazes met, Luca felt something cold crawl through his chest, as though the creature had looked beyond his body and directly into the secrets buried inside him.
Then—
The figure smiled.
The smile spreading across the chained figure’s face did not resemble anything human.
It was slow.
Deliberate.
Ancient.
The kind of smile that carried neither warmth nor madness, but something infinitely worse—recognition.
The moment those crimson eyes locked onto Luca completely, the corrupted mana flooding the sanctuary began reacting violently, spiraling around the figure like a storm answering the call of its master. The darkness thickened throughout the chamber until even breathing felt difficult, while the remnants of the ancient sealing formations embedded within the walls flickered desperately like dying stars moments before extinction.
A low metallic sound echoed through the ruins.
Clang.
Clang.
The broken chains wrapped around the figure’s arms dragged slowly against the stone floor as it continued pulling itself upward from the abyss beneath the sanctuary.
And with every movement—
The pressure increased.
One of the senior members suddenly collapsed to both knees, blood spraying from his mouth as his mana circulation destabilized beneath the overwhelming corruption flooding the chamber.
"Agh—!"
"Senior!" Eric immediately grabbed him before he could fall completely.
Nearby, Lilliane’s face had gone pale, her small hands trembling faintly as she tried to maintain the mana barrier surrounding herself and Sylthara. Even though she remained standing, the sheer pressure radiating from the chained being clearly terrified her.
"T-this mana..." she whispered shakily. "I can barely breathe..."
Sylthara immediately stepped closer beside her.
Silver mana flowed softly around the dark elf’s body as she raised one hand protectively in front of Lilliane, her usually calm golden eyes now carrying unmistakable tension while strands of her silver ponytail fluttered wildly within the corrupted storm surrounding them.
"Do not let your focus break," Sylthara said quietly, though even her voice sounded strained beneath the pressure. "The corruption is trying to invade our mana circuits."
Lilliane nodded weakly while tightening her grip on her staff.
Meanwhile, several meters ahead—
Luca remained frozen.
Not because he could not move.
But because every instinct inside him was screaming.
Run.
The existence before them was wrong on a level beyond anything they had encountered until now. Even the corrupted remnant they had fought earlier now felt insignificant compared to the thing slowly climbing from the abyss beneath the sanctuary.
And worst of all—
It kept staring only at him.
Luca could physically feel those crimson eyes pressing against him, as though the being standing before them could somehow see far deeper than his body or mana.
Far deeper than it should have been possible.
What... are you?
The thought barely formed inside Luca’s mind before the figure tilted its head slightly.
As though it had heard him.
A faint chill crawled down Luca’s spine.
Then—
The figure spoke.
"You..."
The voice sounded calm.
Soft even.
Yet beneath that calmness lingered countless overlapping whispers, like thousands of broken souls speaking together beneath a single mouth. The sound echoed unnaturally throughout the sanctuary, vibrating through the walls and shattered floor alike.
"You should not exist here."
Luca’s eyes widened violently.
The world around him seemed to freeze for an instant.
Adrian reacted immediately.
The fourth-year senior stepped forward without hesitation, gravitational mana erupting outward around his body with terrifying force. The ground beneath his feet cracked violently while broken rocks and debris began floating upward into the air, caught within distorted gravitational fields twisting around him.
Lightning exploded across his arms.
His golden eyes sharpened completely.
"Everyone," Adrian said slowly, his voice colder and more serious than ever before, "retreat from the sanctuary immediately."
Nobody argued.
Not even John.
The manic excitement that had driven the vice president throughout the expedition had vanished entirely, replaced by pale-faced horror as he stared toward the chained existence emerging from the abyss.
"T-this..." John muttered weakly. "What the hell did we awaken...?"
The figure ignored everyone else completely.
Its gaze never left Luca.
Then slowly—
Its smile deepened.
"You carry it," the being whispered softly.
The corrupted mana throughout the sanctuary surged violently.
Luca’s heartbeat stopped for a moment.
Carry... what?
Before he could even think further—
The figure suddenly took a single step forward.
And the sanctuary screamed.
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!
The entire ruin collapsed at once.
Massive fractures exploded across the walls while ancient pillars shattered beneath overwhelming pressure. The ground beneath everyone’s feet gave way instantly as corrupted mana erupted upward from the abyss like a volcanic explosion from hell itself.
"MOVE!" Adrian roared.
Gravity exploded outward from his body with monstrous force, forcibly hurling nearby club members backward away from the collapsing center of the sanctuary while lightning crashed wildly through the chamber.
Luca immediately grabbed Lilliane’s arm before she could lose balance entirely while Sylthara leapt beside them, silver mana cutting through falling debris overhead.
Around them—
The ancient sanctuary began falling into darkness.
