"Thank you for your trouble, Sister. Although that pit wasn't deep, I could have gotten out even if I'd fallen."
"It was nothing."
Haida nodded slightly, accepting his thanks.
As the team ventured further into the ruins, this sanctuary site buried in the dust of history revealed more collapsed structures. Most were entwined with the banyan's root systems, achieving a strange stability between them.
Albert approached the ruins of a bell tower, raised his hand, and pressed it against the gnarled aerial roots. Immediately, these roots began to writhe, pushing aside fragments of metal and stone slabs on the ground to reveal a descending staircase.
"This leads down to the central library."
"So it was buried beneath the bell tower. No wonder it wasn't found during the previous exploration."
Looking at the wide staircase, a look of understanding appeared on Terence's face.
Just as he was about to lead the team forward, a swaying figure caught everyone's attention.
This thing appeared at the far end of the staircase, its steps slow and faltering, its limb movements soft and bizarre, as if its joints didn't exist.
"A corpse? An Ancient Banyan secret art?"
Terence's gaze sharpened, his brow deeply furrowed.
In fact, almost every secret cult had applications for corpses.
The Withered Crown's lytic bacteria could animate corpses, the Secrets-Hunters skillfully used the grey matter of the deceased, the Red Cup's Cistanche could parasitize the human body, placing it between life and death. The Children of the Whiskered Tree likely had similar arts.
"That thing... I'm afraid it's not a corpse."
After a moment's thought, Albert spoke up somewhat uncertainly.
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be a 'Banyan Root Mimicry,' a product of secret arts from the Order of Dust era."
Under the illumination of the lantern light, the "person" at the staircase's end became clearer. Its body was entirely woven from banyan roots, its wooden face twisted and grotesque, like a flawed, poorly-made doll.
Haida had already taken the power sword "Nirvana" from her back, and Child also raised his sniper rifle, aiming at this uninvited guest steadily approaching.
Once it closed to a certain distance, this humanoid form made entirely of banyan roots suddenly charged, only to be cleaved in two at the waist by Haida's sword. Yet even with such damage, it continued to writhe and crawl.
"Haa..."
No one knew where the vocal organs of this root-made monster were, but its cry truly reached everyone's ears.
"...Time... is His... deception..."
Its rasp was blurred and hoarse, like something only heard in a nightmare.
Fran was very interested in the content of this creature's whispers. However, after uttering that sentence, it lost what remained of its linguistic ability, becoming hysterical, left with only the instinct to attack everything around it.
Haida also noticed this. Out of caution, she drove her sword straight through the chest of this Banyan Root Mimicry.
Under the spirit-absorbing property of the power sword "Nirvana," the previously near-frenzied creature quickly stopped moving, and the plant branches composing its body promptly withered.
Seeing it completely lose signs of life, Terence's tightly furrowed brow relaxed somewhat.
This mimicry was just creepy-looking, not difficult to deal with... but who knew how many there were? If they were everywhere, things could become troublesome.
"Are there many of these things in the library?"
"Normally, Banyan Root Mimicries do not attack others. It must be that after such a long time, the spirit within it has undergone some kind of aberration."
After pondering for a moment, Albert continued sharing his opinion.
"The creation method for these mimicries is difficult; they were generally used as librarians. There shouldn't be more than ten in the entire library."
"That's acceptable."
Terence nodded, then looked at Elsa beside him.
"Elsa, other Error-Purgers will be here shortly to escort you. The dangers ahead are unpredictable; you should stay here."
"Um..." Elsa bit her lip, seeming somewhat conflicted.
Under normal circumstances, she would gladly agree with Terence. This was agreed upon before departure, after all... But after learning that the scholar from Gormouth was actually Flamel, she now felt uneasy leaving.
Who knew what purpose that lady had in disguising herself and joining the exploration team...
"Perhaps Miss Elsa should come with us. The ruin area isn't necessarily safe either... and the escorting Error-Purgers will take some time to arrive, right?"
"With a Secrets-Hunter Director present, secret art creations below the second echelon aren't particularly dangerous."
The person who spoke up to help her out of this predicament this time was still Fran.
Although a sliver of gratitude arose in Elsa's heart, she also felt something was odd.
Why did it feel like her request to proceed deeper actually aligned with Flamel's own wishes?
Although Fran only offered a suggestion and didn't explicitly state her view, her insistence also conveyed her stance.
After much deliberation, Terence finally agreed to let Elsa enter the library ruins.
Given the current team's composition, taking one more person wasn't much of a burden. His initial objection to her delving deeper was primarily for her safety.
Since Dr. Fran supported Elsa continuing, and it was also the girl's own wish... he saw no need to continue opposing it.
Moreover, Sister Haida was currently responsible for the team's overall security. This Burial Court Director's strength was evident for all to see, not inferior even to seasoned directors.
Even if unexpected danger truly arose, Terence had prepared corresponding emergency measures in advance.
After confirming no personnel changes were needed, the entire exploration team began to rest.
After all, they had driven a long distance and then trekked through the woods for nearly an hour; they needed some time to recuperate.
While Terence and the two Children of the Whiskered Tree discussed the plan for navigating the central library, Fran meticulously examined the Banyan Root Mimicry that Haida had dismantled on the ground.
Although, strictly speaking, as a secret art creation, this thing wasn't technically a corpse, that didn't stop her from performing the duties of a coroner...
"The banyan roots in the head possess the highest vitality and contain the most concentrated spirit. To some extent, this part is the 'secret art furnace core' that drives its body's movements."
Fran deftly used her index finger to part the plant roots in the mimicry's head, then began to examine its internal structure closely.
Elsa crouched beside Fran, joining her in examining this secret art creation.
"No wonder this mimicry could still move after its body was destroyed, only stopping completely after its head shattered, showing signs of vitality depletion..."
"Mr. Albert, its earlier whisper seemed to want to convey something. Do you know the specific meaning of those words?"
When it came to demonstrating knowledge, Albert didn't decline, succinctly sharing what he knew.
"I only heard two words in ancient Loredon language. 'Time' and 'deception.'"
"The Ancient Banyan holds the secret authority over time; it might be related to that. As for deception..."
He paused slightly here, seeming to ponder the possible meaning of this word himself.
"This word actually appears in many ancient texts. Many mid-to-high-ranking cult disciples or occult scholars, in moments of despair, often believe they have been deceived by something."
"But the specific meaning... I don't know either."
"The spirit within this Banyan Root Mimicry has been damaged and aberrant over the long passage of time. What it said was likely fragmented, pieced-together ravings."
Albert's explanation had some basis in reality.
For example, the author of Carnivore's Hymn, the Grand Magus Gloria, is recorded in surviving texts as one of the individuals closest to the secret deities during the Lost Age.
Yet such a person, in his final work The Book of the Unreal, repeatedly and hysterically mentioned lies and deception. Even though Albert had only seen fragmented chapters, he could sense a deep, intense despair between the lines.
"Hmm... It seems like something is moving inside this thing's banyan roots."
Fran's amber gaze focused on a specific part of the mimicry, catching a subtle, dense wriggling.
She raised an eyebrow with interest, then looked somewhat apologetically at Elsa beside her.
"Miss Elsa, you should have some tools in your collection kit for gathering samples, right? Could you lend me one?"
"Of course, let me find it..."
Fran's sudden address made Elsa feel somewhat flustered.
Although she had resolved to find an opportunity to ask Miss Flamel alone about her purpose here, she hadn't fully prepared her mental defenses yet.
The mere thought that this seemingly shy student was actually the mysterious and powerful Lamp Cult High Priest still made her involuntarily nervous...
After fumbling through her bag for a moment, she took out a pair of shears for cutting plant roots and a scalpel, handing them to Fran.
"Thank you very much."
Fran took the tools, then carefully cut the slightly trembling banyan root. Her expression was quite serious, yet her movements carried a natural clumsiness, as if she were doing this for the first time.
No sap flowed from the cut root; instead, several luminous green aphids crawled out. These insects were much larger than usual individuals, densely wriggling, quite unsettling.
"Aphids are indeed a common pest for banyans. I didn't expect them on a secret art creation."
Elsa leaned closer, her eyes glinting slightly, clearly very interested in these obviously enlarged aphids. After all, the traditional skill of natural history was collecting undiscovered, novel plants and animals.
For safety's sake, she asked the Child of the Whiskered Tree beside her again.
"Mr. Albert, are there any precautions for sampling this type of insect? Could contact be dangerous?"
Looking at the dense cluster of luminous green aphids in the banyan root, Albert's eye twitched almost imperceptibly, an expression of disgust he couldn't suppress appearing in his eyes.
"Just ordinary aphids imbued with spiritual essence. Strictly herbivorous, won't harm people."
"But they aren't clean and could spread disease. If you want them as biological samples, it's best to seal them carefully."
"I understand."
After learning the situation, Elsa began sampling, only stopping her actions quite satisfied after filling a small quartz vial with dozens of them.
The crow on Vivian's shoulder flapped its wings excitedly, then was glared at by Vivian.
She pouted slightly, tapping the crow's head with her index finger as if scolding a disappointing child.
"Don't think about eating everything... Insects tainted with aberrant spiritual essence can easily upset your stomach."
After thoroughly confirming that this Banyan Root Mimicry had lost all research value, Haida took out her wooden-handled folding knife and carved a ritual array for [Dissolving the Blasphemous] on the ground.
Soon, the secret art creation placed at the center of the ritual turned to ash under a cerulean-blue scorching flame.
The Secrets-Hunters were always highly experienced in the harmless disposal of such entities.
The rest period ended quickly. Albert then led the team slowly down the staircase, entering the library ruins.
The Old Sanctuary's library was vast and deep. The lantern light could only illuminate a small area around the few of them; further ahead remained a lightless abyss. The feeling was unsettling and oppressive, as if swallowed by a giant monster named darkness.
Albert approached a collapsed bookshelf, reaching out to pick up a book scattered on the floor. But even the slightest touch of his fingertip caused the book to crumble into several pieces of floating dust.
"The [Preservation] ritual within the library has failed. The documents here... should all be ruined."
As he said this, a trace of regret flashed in his eyes.
These were all texts from the Order of Dust era. If they could have been recovered, they might have dispelled some of the fog shrouding that blank period of history... No occultist wouldn't covet the secrets within.
Even if they contained indescribable dangers, they still couldn't help but be drawn to them. Like moths drawn to flame, only turning to ash would stop that obsessive fascination...
"The documents being ruined... was somewhat expected, after all."
Terence didn't show much emotion about this.
As a history professor, he had handled the exploration of dozens of ruins, including several from the Order of Dust era. The characteristic of such ruins was severe damage; often, nothing was left but a handful of ash.
That said, the group still maintained a simple search as they progressed. Some special texts themselves contained mystical properties, no different from "relics," and might have survived the millennia of sealing.
Throughout the process, Haida held the power sword "Nirvana" the entire time, guarding against any potential dangers.
Since entering the central library, she had felt a vague unease. Her spiritual essence was agitated, almost restless, as if issuing a warning.
Rustle—rustle—
Listening carefully for a moment, Haida finally determined that the faint, rustling noise wasn't a ringing in her ears from the silence, but the slight sound of something moving in the distance.
"Be alert, something is approaching."
Before her words fully faded, several twisted humanoid figures rose from the network of banyan roots on the ground, approaching the group with faltering steps.
Banyan Root Mimicries.
"Nine of them."
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T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL