Chapter 714: The High Tower
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 714: The High Tower
"I’m so amazing!"
Having finished her work, Ariel clapped her hands triumphantly. She was just about to subtly and nonchalantly show off her excellence to Miss An... but when she turned her head, she found An was currently driving a thirty-seventh steel bar into another Skinner.
After the thirty-eighth bar was hammered in, the demon—whose physical body was clearly exceptionally powerful—had lost a staggering amount of blood. He finally drew his last breath, though his face remained frozen in a mask of vivid terror, his eyes refusing to close even in death.
The very first steel bar had pierced his throat, so he hadn't been able to let out a single scream until the very end.
Gulp...
Ariel couldn't help but swallow hard.
Even though they both wielded the power of Divine Blessing, why did it feel like Miss An’s power was so much more oppressive?
Was it just because steel looked scarier?
"That’s... really impressive..."
"You flatter me. It’s not as impressive as you think. It’s only because the Demon Race is so poor; even this guy was only wearing ordinary armor. That’s the only reason I could control it so easily," An replied coldly.
"It’s still amazing. I feel like this power would be practically invincible on a battlefield!" Ariel praised.
Metal manipulation.
Just imagining a scene where countless weapons on a battlefield fell under Miss An’s control, instantly turning into blades that harvested lives... That would be a true meat grinder. Killing people would be as simple as mincing meat.
Granted, weapons and armor infused with mana and fighting spirit wouldn't be that easy to control, but the vast majority of those currently on the Abyss frontlines were just low-level demons with low intelligence who relied on brute force.
Therefore, if An were on that battlefield, the number of demons she could kill would likely depend entirely on her physical stamina.
If no powerhouse stepped in to stop her, she could probably tear through a demon army formation all by herself without much trouble.
"I won't be going to the battlefield," An said, beckoning with her hand to retract the liquefied metal.
"Why not?"
"Because if I go to the battlefield, it will only help them achieve their goal faster."
"Achieve... their goal? What goal?"
"You’ll find out later."
An stopped conversing with Ariel and pushed open the massive gate that Govelt had just exited through.
The heavy gate felt weightless in An’s hands, moving silently. It was a stark contrast to the sensation of the entire ground shaking when Govelt and his companion had come out.
"As I thought..."
An lightly brushed the patterns on the gate. "Too much time has passed. The original magic arrays on this have been completely abandoned."
"Magic arrays?"
Ariel leaned in curiously. "Since they’re abandoned, why not perform some maintenance?"
Ariel quickly understood why they hadn't been maintained.
With a slight sensory probe, she discovered that these two thick, grayish-black gates were inscribed with incredibly complex arrays.
Although over ninety percent of them were in a damaged state, Ariel could still feel the grandeur and power they would have possessed in their complete form. They were like countless overlapping spiderwebs—dense, but not redundant. Every single line of mana had a purpose, and they were all connected with exquisite precision.
It was magic conduction technology that even Ariel couldn't help but admire.
"These arrays were inscribed by at least a Truth-Tier Grand Magister!" In Ariel’s mind, her teacher’s voice sounded somewhat surprised.
This shocked Ariel even more. Arrays inscribed by a dignified Truth-Tier Grand Magister were being used just to guard a door?
And weren't demons supposed to be completely inept at magic, nothing but muscle-brained brutes? What was going on here?
Ariel looked at An in confusion, but An merely shook her head again.
"Let’s go."
She stepped forward, heading past the gate.
Behind the gate was a winding staircase leading upward.
An walked in front. Ariel flicked her finger, and a flame floated up, illuminating the surroundings.
"These walls are also quite extraordinary."
On either side of the stairs were ancient, dilapidated walls. The traces of brickwork were clearly visible, covered in mottled textures.
Yet within those textures, an untold number of magic stones were embedded, stretching all the way to the end of the wall.
Although these magic stones were like the arrays on the gate—long since drained of mana or even completely shattered—one could imagine the spectacular scene when this place was once fully lit, just from these discarded stones.
And this was merely a staircase corridor leading upward.
"What the hell? Did the ancestors of the Demon Race really used to be that loaded? This is terrifying."
As Ariel looked at those magic stones, she marveled at them while simultaneously feeling a pang of heartache.
Magic stones! Even if they were just ordinary magic stones used for lighting, with this many of them, how much money could she make if she pried them all off and sold them?
How many chicken legs could that buy? How many extra meals? How many times would it save her from eating black bread?
Unfortunately, not a single one was intact.
Lamenting as she went, she followed An upward.
The staircase was even longer than Ariel had imagined.
"How much further is it?"
"The linear distance is only about a thousand meters, but since it’s a spiral staircase, it seems longer."
"A thousand meters is plenty far. And you’re talking about height, right?"
A thousand meters in height... what kind of building in Gutons Fortress needed to be a thousand meters tall?
Could it be...
Ariel recalled the scenes she had caught glimpses of while being held captive in the carriage.
"Is it those high towers?"
"Yes," An answered. "This is the tallest among them, and it is the core of the entire Gutons Fortress. The Ancient Artifact that maintains the fortress’s operation is, naturally, at the top."
"Towers... I remember there were a lot of towers like this."
"There are over a hundred high towers in this city."
"How strange. Are these towers also in the style of the Demon Race?"
Ariel fell into thought.
When it came to towers, the first thing that came to mind was a Mage's Tower.
On the continent, no one loved building towers more than those old fogies who did nothing all year round except study magic.
The largest mage organization on the continent was even called the Tower of Origins.
"Origins" referred to the highest peak of a mage's path, the ultimate summit where only one person in the entire continent currently stood.
As for the "Tower"... the Tower of Origins was, itself, a tower.
But in the entire Abyss, let alone a Grand Magister, Ariel hadn't even seen a single demon who could use a basic Illumination Spell.
Furthermore, as she recalled her travels in the Abyss during this time, she realized that aside from Gutons Fortress, she really hadn't seen any other demon tribes with a habit of building towers.
Was it because they were too poor to build them?
No.
Setting aside the height, the shape of these spires was too recognizable and stylistic. It was impossible to miss them just because the demons were impoverished.
The current common architectural style of the Demon Race was vastly different from these high towers.
"Or perhaps... the demons of the past deeply revered these towers?" Ariel hypothesized.
"..."
An’s footsteps suddenly paused.
"No, you’re wrong."
She turned back, staring intently at Ariel. "Quite the opposite. What the Demon Race loathes most are these towers."
"Loathes?" Ariel raised an eyebrow. This answer was completely unexpected.
"Yes, loathing. No one hated these sky-piercing towers more than the demons of old. They spent their entire lives wanting to topple them." An’s eyes flickered.
The firelight illuminated the mottled stone walls. Those ancient marks were like murals recording the passage of time.
But even a flame this bright couldn't illuminate the entire staircase.
Further up, in the distance, there was still only darkness.
"Then why are these towers still standing?"
Ariel tapped the stone wall.
Although this tower was magnificent, it had mostly rotted away in the river of time. For a building that was now little more than an empty shell, it wouldn't be hard for the current Demon Race to destroy it if they wanted to.
"This city is different. This tower is also different."
An continued walking forward. "There are always exceptions to every rule, aren't there? Besides, the demons of the past only hated the beings atop the towers, not the towers themselves. Now that these towers are empty, what would be the point of destroying them?"
"Moreover... the demons of today have likely long since forgotten."
A distant sigh echoed softly through the staircase corridor where the firelight flickered.
Ariel was slightly taken aback, as she hadn't expected the usually cold Miss An to let out such a complex sigh.
"The demons of today... I can't help but feel there's something weird about the way she says that."
Ariel scratched her head.
"Teacher, do you know anything about these towers?" Knowing that An wouldn't give her many answers, Ariel simply went back to pestering her own teacher.
"Towers... when it comes to a love for towers, I can only think of those mages."
"In your era, did mages like towers too?"
"It has nothing to do with the era. A high tower connects to the celestial phenomena above and the earth and water below. As long as you're studying magic, a high tower is definitely the best place. Otherwise, did you think those old geezers all burrowed into sunless basements? The only ones who bury themselves in the dirt every day are mummies and terminal shut-ins."
"Fair point... But mages... demons... The demons of today don't have mages. Could the ones they hated in the past have been the mages on the towers?"
Ariel made a series of wild guesses, even dazing herself. "The names are so similar, yet they hate each other?"
"The 'Demon' in Demon Race isn't the 'Magic' in magic power; it's the 'Demon' in Demon God." Ariel’s teacher’s tone was somewhat helpless, as if Ariel could practically see her rolling her eyes. "It’s said they were all once believers of the Demon God, and only after being corrupted by the Demon God did they... Wait, hold on."
"What is it?"
"Demon Race... Demon God... High towers... and this sense of familiarity that hasn't disappeared since the beginning... I feel like I'm about to catch a thread, like I'm remembering something." Ariel’s teacher’s tone turned solemn.
"Remembering what?" Ariel’s eyes lit up.
"I... I still need to think. Don't disturb me. Let me have some peace so I can think carefully..."
With that, Ariel’s teacher went completely silent.
"..."
Ariel was speechless for a moment, then couldn't help but grit her teeth.
Miss An is like this, and Teacher is like this too. Why does everyone love talking in half-sentences and playing the riddler?
Can't everyone just be a bit more honest? Whether in a physical or spiritual sense, isn't being open and honest with each other the best way for beautiful girls to get along?
Dammit!
If Muen were here right now, he would certainly emphasize with Ariel, as he—having been toyed with countless times by a certain old loli—similarly harbored a deep hatred for riddlers.
Unfortunately, Ariel didn't know that the person who could currently empathize with her was actually that dead blonde bastard she hated most. Otherwise, she would probably have announced on the spot that her favorite thing in the world was actually the feeling of solving riddles.
They continued in silence, winding their way upward.
Finally, they reached the end of the stairs.
"We’re here."
An paused briefly so that the fire Ariel had lit could illuminate the distance ahead of her.
"The location of the Ancient Artifact."