Fran seemed to know she would ask this and quickly provided an explanation.
At the same time, she lightly raised an index finger, pointing towards the multiple collapsed floors layered above them.
"We are temporarily separated from the others. I had Munin circle the area, but I didn't find the people from the White Cup Cult or those two Children of the Whiskered Tree. They probably fell onto other levels, not directly to the bottom."
"Hmm..."
Upon hearing this, Haida frowned slightly, her gray-chestnut eyes flashing with a trace of gravity.
Munin?
There was no one by that name in the exploration team.
Some ruins' spiritual essence and ancient rituals could subtly alter intruders' memories and minds, but Dr. Fran shouldn't be the type to be affected... Thinking this, she tentatively asked the question.
"Who is Munin?"
"That little one Vivian carries with her. Also, that name is what it told me itself."
As she spoke, Fran lightly raised an index finger, and a small crow landed precisely on it.
It gently flapped its dark, glossy wings, raised its head, and quite humanely showed a hint of pride.
"So it's that one."
Haida nodded with understanding, then approached Fran to inquire about her companions.
"How are Vivian and the others? Any injuries?"
"Yes."
Fran looked at the still-unconscious Vivian, then pointed to an impact mark on her arm.
"Her hand was dislocated from an impact during the fall; I just reset it. Elsa has several bruises from being pressed by building debris, nothing serious. However... before worrying about others, Haida, you should first pay attention to your own condition."
"Given your abilities, you should have been able to maintain your balance even while carrying two people. The reason your physical coordination suddenly weakened..."
"Is because of the wounds left from contact with the Banyan Root Mimicries."
Haida's coat and nun's habit had already been removed by Fran during the injury check. Now she only wore a black undershirt.
On her classically beautiful body lines, a few minor puncture wounds were faintly visible, mostly distributed around the shoulder blade area. Blocking that magnitude of Banyan Root Mimicries single-handedly, even she found it difficult to remain unscathed.
Those secret art creations, although humanoid in appearance, didn't have joint limitations, so their movements didn't need to follow human logic at all. Very troublesome...
"Those mimicries carried contamination?"
Upon hearing this, Haida flexed her fingers a few times, indeed feeling a slight decline in her control over her limbs.
"Correct."
Fran examined these small wounds, noticing that the skin around the nun's injuries had already begun to show signs of lignification.
She gently clasped her hands. The clear, faint light of [Drive Away Dust and Filth] lit up, filtering away the dust and floating debris surrounding the two. Then she pressed her lips to the wound, sucking out the blood tainted with aberrant spiritual essence.
In the vast majority of venomous bite cases, sucking out the poison with the mouth is not a very wise approach. However, Fran hadn't brought a negative-pressure suction device for fluid extraction on this trip, and this type of aberrant spiritual essence was being rejected by Haida's own spiritual essence, making it difficult to spread...
In the current situation, this rather classical emergency method worked quite well.
The nun clearly felt the soft sensation on the skin of her shoulder and couldn't help but slightly lower her eyes, quietly waiting for the other to complete the treatment.
Fran spat out a few strands of tainted blood plasma. Then she took out the Wraithbone Lancet and excised the flesh around the wound that was contaminated with the toxin.
After covering the wound with a layer of gauze, Fran completed the debridement, as the portion needing removal wasn't large.
"Do you feel better?"
She took out a handkerchief to wipe the fine sweat that had beaded on Haida's forehead from the pain, then inquired about the nun's condition.
"Hmm... The sluggishness in my body has indeed lessened."
Haida let out a soft breath, and her senses seemed to have become much sharper as a result.
"By the way, only the Banyan Root Mimicries that 'bled' carried contamination."
As she spoke, Fran picked up a mimicry that had died during the fall from the ground, showing its body structure to Haida.
"The mimicry we encountered initially, although frenzied, was purely a secret art creation. Therefore, its interior was hollow."
"But this one..."
She used Elsa's scalpel to slice open the mimicry's abdomen from top to bottom. Beneath the epidermis composed of banyan roots was a set of highly lignified internal organs.
"...is a normal human who was contaminated."
Looking at this twisted, ferocious mimicry, Haida's expression grew solemn.
"The true situation of the library ruins is more complicated than imagined."
"It's possible some aberration occurred during the millennia it was sealed... or perhaps... the Children of the Whiskered Tree lied."
"Exactly..."
Fran was about to say more when she saw Elsa and Vivian successively utter a few murmurs, showing signs of waking. She gently released her hand, letting Munin return to Vivian's side.
Elsa rubbed her still-throbbing forehead, then saw Fran standing before her with her hands behind her back. This doctor carried an indescribable sense of tranquility, causing her tense nerves to relax slightly.
Vivian's first action upon opening her eyes was to feel for the pocket on her chest. After confirming the crow wasn't lost, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Miss Flamel, where are we now?"
Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, Elsa asked somewhat confused.
"Deep within the library, the true 'Old Sanctuary.'"
Fran deftly snapped her fingers, expanding the range of [Drive Away Dust and Filth] a bit more. The surrounding scenery also became visible under the clear, faint light.
Stained glass mosaics forming murals, wooden altars for offerings, and standing among them, a massive Banyan Root statue.
---
The moment he began falling, Terence took the relic [S-0910. Banquet-Attending Hand] from the pouch at his waist and put on this gold-crafted hand ornament at the fastest speed possible.
The Banquet-Attending Hand resembled a gauntlet in form, with a hollow gold-linked chain in the middle, and ends like sharp claws. Once it came into contact with a human body, it began to emit a disturbing spiritual aura, and the dusty air filled with a sweet, bloody scent.
"[Blood-Wielding]."
Deep red blood plasma surged from the blood bag he carried, then swirled around him, forming a cocoon-like structure resembling silk cells.
The blood cocoon enveloped him and Child beside him, then crashed heavily to the ground, splattering a chaotic mess of blood plasma.
The swirling, crimson blood lingered around him, soon shattering and dissipating.
"Whew..." Terence exhaled somewhat rapidly, then half-crouched on the ground.
"Teacher, how are you feeling?"
Child helped him up and found a relatively flat place for him to sit.
"Please reduce your use of this relic; it will deepen the mark on your hand..."
Faced with his teacher using Red Cup secret arts, he didn't show any surprise.
After all, he was also present during that exploration when the Banquet-Attending Hand was discovered... and witnessed the relic choosing Terence, leaving a brand in the flesh of his hand.
With Terence's spirit at the second echelon, using the Banquet-Attending Hand to wield second-category secret arts wouldn't cause severe weakness. His sudden discomfort was more due to the low-oxygen environment here.
Disregarding the lingering discomfort in his body, he went straight to the edge of the pit and looked down.
Below the deep pit, as far as the eye could see, there were only layered towers and a lightless gloom.
"Sister Haida and the others fell deeper into the collapse..."
Even for extraordinary beings with cult ranks, high-altitude falls were very dangerous. Terence couldn't help but feel somewhat concerned.
"But Dr. Fran fell with them... If it's just ordinary injuries, it shouldn't be a major problem."
He just hoped the injuries weren't too severe. After all, high-altitude falls usually involved severe fractures and internal bleeding. If it were too serious, even that doctor might find it difficult to heal in a short time...
Setting aside his worries about Elsa's safety, he turned to inquire about other situations.
"What about those two Children of the Whiskered Tree?"
Child was a mechanical automaton from the Lost Age, unaffected by low-oxygen environments and acute altitude sickness. His observational skills also surpassed ordinary people, so he should have a better understanding of the earlier situation.
"I didn't see them. The stone slabs on the ground cracked in a triangular pattern; we fell in three different directions."
As he spoke, he scanned the surroundings, but this level only contained bookshelves covered in dust.
"Tsk." Terence clicked his tongue, holding his forehead.
"We let our guard down. Didn't expect such a variable..."
He sat on the ground, calming his breathing to alleviate the discomfort from the low-oxygen environment. As a professor in the History Department, Terence had years of experience exploring ruins; his physique was much better than that of his middle-aged peers, so the aftereffects weren't severe.
Child beside him also frowned deeply, a trace of unease appearing in his blue eyes.
"Were the Children of the Whiskered Tree deliberately creating chaos? Did they... betray the covenant they signed?"
Out of respect for ancient cults, the White Cup and the two Children of the Whiskered Tree had only signed a basic exploration agreement: no mutual harm, no deception, and distribution of spoils according to the specific agreement terms.
Regarding this point, Terence was actually somewhat hesitant.
"That point still needs deliberation."
At the moment the dark stone slabs crumbled and collapsed, he saw the look of surprise and disbelief on Albert's face.
If this was a deliberate act by the Children of the Whiskered Tree, he shouldn't have shown a surprised expression at that moment. Since the goal was already achieved, putting on an act then would be meaningless.
But the distribution agreement was already written; the ownership of the sacred artifact in the library ruins belonged to the two Children of the Whiskered Tree. There shouldn't be a reason for them to interfere with the exploration.
Or perhaps, their goal wasn't the "sacred artifact" but something else...
Of course, it could also have been a pure accident. But once suspicion arises, it cannot be dispelled, so it can only be listed as one possibility.
...The chaotic situation made Terence feel a twinge of irritation.
He waved his hand, then stood up with Child to observe the details of their location.
This was also a library. Wooden shelves held numerous ancient texts of unknown titles. Although the degree of damage was slightly less than the upper levels, they were still dry and brittle, crumbling into pieces with the slightest touch.
"Such an astonishing number of books. If they could be recovered... perhaps we could reshape the glory of the old era."
He looked somewhat dazedly at the page dust in his hand, then shook his head with a wry smile.
"...Or perhaps, being sealed here is their best fate."
Regarding secret history, the White Cup's cult disciples often had conflicting feelings.
They craved enlightenment, wanting to see the truth beneath the dust of history. But at the same time, they had to carefully consider this unknown knowledge to avoid bringing about irreversible destruction like the White Cup ancestors of the past.
"Mr. Terence, there's a mural here."
Child's voice came from a distance. Following the lantern light, Terence also saw the massive picture etched into the wall. Even covered in dust with peeling plaster, this stone-engraved panel could still be considered clear.
During the Order of Dust era, humanity's research into intangible arts and secret deities had reached a true peak; they had once come infinitely close to the truth.
But now, apart from ashes, what remained... were only pictures carved on stone slabs. Just like the ancient ancestors of the primitive era.
"This is..."
A flash of astonishment passed through Terence's deep eyes, and his calloused fingers actually began to tremble slightly.
This mural had two "layers."
The lower layer depicted the deity worshiped by the Children of the Whiskered Tree: that majestic Ancient Banyan with lush branches and leaves, its foliage enough to obscure the sky. The painting technique used was extremely sophisticated; even though the traces had faded, one could still vaguely see its exquisite contours.
The "upper layer" covering the original painting consisted of countless dense, chaotic dots.
It was less a painting and more like depressions later hammered out with a mallet, more akin to a product of venting emotions.
Terence gently traced these irregular, chaotic depressions. Even after over ten millennia, one could still glimpse the deep, intense emotion of the one who made them.
"What exactly happened in this Old Sanctuary?... And what did the Children of the Whiskered Tree who were once here experience?"
He stood before this mural for a long time, then took out a sketchpad to record its specific appearance.
---
Outside the central library, a few Error-Purgers who had come to provide escort were whispering somewhat confusedly.
"Didn't Professor Terence say Miss Elsa would turn back midway? Why don't we see her? She didn't go in with them, did she..."
+++
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