After all that wandering, they still ended up back in Rome.
Noan felt a tinge of irritation, but he held himself back, determined to see how exactly Aldric would read the inscriptions on the stone pillar.
At this moment, Aldric was gazing at the pillar, then down at his compass.
The beam of light emitted from the compass pointed precisely at the stone pillar.
He frowned, holding the compass in one hand and his sword in the other, slowly approaching the pillar.
Each movement was full of caution, as though something terrifying might happen at any moment.
The space around them was shrouded in darkness and an eerie, suffocating silence.
The only source of light was the compass in Aldric's hand.
Yet his energy continued to radiate outward, blanketing a vast area.
Even if a single blade of grass swayed or the faintest breeze blew, he would know.
The closer Aldric drew to the pillar, the more dazzling the light from the compass became.
By the time he stood beside the pillar, the compass was glowing brilliantly, like a miniature sun.
Suddenly, the compass split apart into countless strange symbols, which merged with the characters on the stone pillar, gradually forming a new script.
Noan could only hold his forehead and sigh at this sight.
He had spent so much effort—Vylyss had even fallen victim to a curse just trying to read the inscriptions.
But Aldric? All he had to do was bring that strange compass close to the pillar and the writing was instantly decoded.
Noan even suspected Aldric could pinpoint the exact location of the Insect King and Queen.
"Wow! As expected of a Fate Holder. He can decipher the script on that pillar without even trying," Malrik marveled.
"That's right. Wait!" Noan suddenly realized something strange and immediately asked, "You know about the Fate Holders?"
"Of course. Kekekeke…" Malrik chuckled. "Master, did you think I was some country bumpkin? Huh! Back in the era I lived in, existences like 'Fate Holders' weren't rare at all."
"In fact, I've met plenty of Fate Holders before. In those times, there were a lot of people like them."
Hearing this, Noan was reminded of the era when the Fate Hunter clashed with the Fate Holders.
According to Carlotta's account, back in those days, there really were many Fate Holders created by the gods to fight against the Fate Hunter.
Could it be that Malrik once lived in that ancient era? Noan frowned inwardly.
"Hahaha… I once met and fought against quite a few Fate Holders," Malrik began, quickly losing control of his mouth.
"I remember back then, I was besieged by four Fate Holders at once. I led a legion of Skeletons and hid out in a crypt."
"The battle dragged on for months, but in the end, I outlasted them and made those Fate Holders retreat."
"And then there was this one time I—"
"That's enough! Enough!" Noan sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You don't need to keep going. I just don't understand… how did you know he was a Fate Holder?"
"Master, I have the ability to see souls. I can see… his soul is extremely unique, just like the Fate Holders I encountered in the past."
"Ah!" Noan nodded, not doubting Malrik's words in the least.
"And besides, I can also—"
"Could you defeat him?" Noan quickly interrupted, cutting Malrik off.
"Ack! About that… kekeke… in terms of strength or luck, I wouldn't be able to beat him." Malrik replied awkwardly.
Noan cast Malrik a look of undisguised disdain. "Ah! I see." Follow current novels on novｅlfire.net
"Oy! Master!" Malrik protested, raising his voice. "What's with that look? Are you looking down on me? Is that it?"
"Hahaha… you're overthinking. I know full well you can't win against Aldric," Noan shrugged. "He's a Fate Holder, already reached level 8. Even if the two of us fought together, we wouldn't be able to defeat him."
"Huh!" Malrik snorted dismissively, the soul-flames in his eyes flickering. "If I could get back to my former strength, even ten Fate Holders couldn't take me down!"
"Wow!" Noan replied flatly.
"Master, you have to trust me. I—"
"Ah! Alright, I trust you. Let's just watch what he's doing, alright?"
Malrik slumped sadly to the ground, clutching a handkerchief and biting it like a woman abandoned by her lover.
Suddenly, a series of mechanical sounds—like gears turning—rang out, immediately capturing Noan's attention.
He turned his head and immediately saw the stone pillar beginning to split into multiple segments, which then started rearranging themselves like pieces in a Lego set.
Aldric stepped back, the compass in his hand now completely vanished.
One hand gripping his sword, the other his spear, his eyes stayed fixed on the pillar.
Very quickly, the pieces assembled into an arched gate over three meters tall.
Atop the arch, countless strange magical runes shimmered with golden light, slithering and twisting like serpents.
The gate itself had no doors—instead, a curtain of light filled the archway, made up of countless hexagons interlocked like a honeycomb.
At the center of this shimmering curtain was a tiny black hole, as if it were the keyhole.
Aldric seemed to realize something, a smirk tugging at his lips. He thrust his spear into the hole.
Strangely enough… Aldric's spear fit perfectly, as if it had been made for this keyhole.
He gripped the spear tightly and twisted.
The sound of grinding gears echoed again, as though Aldric was unlocking something.
The curtain of light slowly faded away, revealing a swirling vortex of darkness behind it.
"Master! Let's hurry and follow him. Once he enters, the gate will immediately close!" Malrik urged urgently.
Noan heard this but didn't rush to act. Instead, he frowned, asking, "If we get too close, won't he detect us?"
"Master!" Malrik sighed. "You're being a little too careful. Right now, with the spatial gate open, the surrounding space is in total chaos—he won't be able to sense us."
"Hurry!" Malrik slapped Noan on the shoulder, anxious. "If we miss this chance, we might never get another!"
Noan snapped out of it, nodding resolutely. "Alright. Prepare yourself."
At that moment, just as Aldric was about to step through the vortex, he sensed something and turned to look behind him.
He frowned, as if aware that someone had been standing behind him only to vanish a moment later.
"How strange…" Aldric muttered, furrowing his brows. "Could it be that damned rat? No—he wouldn't have the guts to try something ."
"Besides, he wouldn't dare approach me anyway."
Aldric shook off his suspicions and stepped into the spatial vortex before him.
After Aldric vanished, the spatial vortex disappeared along with him.
The glowing runes atop the stone gate gradually dimmed, then faded away entirely.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The stone gate collapsed into countless fragments, becoming nothing more than a heap of rubble.
Once again, the place sank into silence and darkness.
Aldric slowly opened his eyes. What appeared before him was a rather bizarre scene.
He was no longer in a cavern, but instead stood inside a colossal castle.
What was even more remarkable was that the castle itself was floating in midair.
Aldric looked around—there was nothing in sight except for masses of black clouds.
Every so often, flashes of light danced between the clouds, the result of crackling bolts of lightning.
As Aldric peered into the distance—though most of his surroundings were shrouded in darkness—he could sense just how vast this floating castle truly was.
It seemed… this castle might even be larger than the capital city of the Carol Empire.
Aldric walked to the very edge of the pathway, where there were no railings—only swirling black clouds drifting past.
He swung his sword, sending a blinding arc of sword light slashing outward.
The air howled as the blade's arc sliced through the black clouds, shooting off into the distance.
However… after a while, that beam of light was quickly swallowed up by the ever-shifting clouds.
Aldric couldn't see anything through the opening he had just made—behind it was nothing but darkness.
The black clouds soon closed the wound, and everything fell silent, as if nothing had happened at all.
He took a deep breath, turning his attention toward the entrance of the castle.
The doorway was fashioned from the skull of a colossal dragon, its mouth agape, with two blue flames burning in its eye sockets.
"Looks like… Her Majesty was right," Aldric muttered to himself. "The King and Queen of Insect truly are connected to that legend."