SAINTESS [Chapter 46: Aesphyra makes great achievements]

“I know I can never fully understand a civilization,” Isatia said. “Not even the most brilliant ruler in that civilization's history could completely and completely understand their own nation. So all I can do is try to understand it as much as possible, the closer to complete understanding, the better.”

“So that's why you're here? To build a civilization within your [Divine Blessing], and thereby heal your illness?” Winnie asked.

At first, Winnie thought Isatia had come seeking the divine authorities of [Continuance] and [Eternity] to find a cure for her strange illness. But now, he suspects it wasn't that simple, Isatia's investigation into the mysteries of the Mars civilization was due to the uniqueness of her [Divine Blessing]. She intended to build the Mars civilization within her own [Divine Blessing].

As for why she would do such a thing, Winnie could only guess, perhaps it would allow her [Divine Blessing] to evolve into something stronger, or maybe it could cure her exhaustion.

“No,” Isatia answered bluntly, without hesitation.

“Then… Why did you come here?” Winnie asked, confused.

“But it can slow it down,” Isatia continued. “The Lanteville family's [Divine Blessing] is quite complicated to explain.”

“Alright, so that's it? You're saying the guarantee that we'll make it out alive is your [Divine Blessing]?” Winnie asked. “Then why don't you use it right now?”

“Because I can't use it right now,” Isatia replied. “The Mars civilization hasn't yet been constructed within my [Divine Blessing], so I can't activate it here.”

Is that what it meant?

Was that Isatia's plan?

Winnie understood. He had learned what he needed to know. He didn't want to pry any deeper.

As they spoke, the two had already passed several intersections along the right side of the palace. Winnie didn't know which way to go, so he just followed his instincts, one left, one right, one left, one right, and at the final door, repeating the previous direction.

As they walked, Isatia observed the various artworks displayed along the palace corridors, as well as the texture and material of the palace walls.

“You've got a decent memory. You're learning quickly,” Isatia suddenly said, coldly. After praising him, she added, “If you put this much effort into studying, your progress will be explosive.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Winnie asked, puzzled.

“You haven't forgotten the path through the Mars temple,” Isatia said softly.

“Well, I was just following my instincts. Since you didn't say anything, I kept going with my gut. Besides, we were in the temple before, this is the palace. It's different, right?” Winnie asked. “Surely the Mars palace isn't full of traps?”

“It's hard to say for sure,” Isatia replied, not confirming nor denying.

The dimly lit corridor reached its end, and the two arrived at a grand hall. This golden chamber enshrined one of the twin Mars deities, the [Continuance] god. The massive statue nearly filled half the hall. Unlike the one in the temple, this statue seemed crafted to emphasize royal status, made entirely of solid gold, surrounded by numerous offering tablets and sacrificial items arranged into a ceremonial altar.

“The Mars people really love gold, huh? Their armor is golden, the palace is golden, the city is full of gilded technology, now even the god statues are made of pure gold,” Winnie couldn't help but complain.

This wasn't just a casual fondness, it was a near-pathological obsession with gold.

Winnie carefully stepped forward to examine the statue closely. Finding nothing unusual, he continued onward. Just then, two fully armed guards appeared ahead, walking toward them.

Winnie wasn't particularly worried, until he heard Isatia's voice from behind.

“Winnie, the potion's effect is wearing off.”

“What?” Winnie froze, glancing at himself. As Isatia said, the transparency on their bodies had faded significantly, almost completely gone.

The approaching Mars guards seemed to notice something too. They stared ahead intently and stopped in their tracks.

Damn it! Did time pass that quickly? Was time already over?

They must've spent too long walking through the palace.

Winnie realized.

He quickly pulled out the last invisibility potion given by Aesphyra and drank it.

Once again, concealment shrouded the two of them. The two Mars guards rubbed their eyes, saw nothing ahead, and resumed their patrol. Only then did Winnie let out a sigh of relief.

Time really flew. He'd moved as fast as possible while conserving energy, yet he still barely made it this far.

Winnie shivered, tightened his grip on Isatia's legs, steadied her on his back, and pressed forward.

The invisibility potions were now all gone. If time runs out again, they'd be helpless.

‘We'll deal with that when it comes. For now, I need to help Isatia deepen her understanding of the Mars palace structure.’

“Winnie, follow the same path as before,” Isatia said when they reached another intersection.

“I understand,” Winnie nodded.

Time passed quickly in silence. The two arrived at another hall, this one enshrining the [Eternity] demon god, a serpent with many limbs connected in a loop.

“At this pace, we won't have time to explore any of these side paths or the left wing of the palace,” Winnie said.

“We don't need to. I already have a general idea of what the left side looks like,” Isatia replied.

“What? How do you know?”

“The Mars people value contracts and symmetry. If the right side is like this, I can estimate the left side's layout,” Isatia said calmly.

“That's right, if that's the case, our search efficiency just increased dramatically,” Winnie realized.

“The left side should be a mirror image, where the [Eternity] statue was on the right, the [Continuance] statue will be on the left, and vice versa. They correspond to each other in position, both flanking the central royal path,” Isatia explained her reasoning.

"If that's true, shouldn't we have gone to search behind the throne? That's probably the king's residence. That's where we'd find more clues," Winnie asked.

“In theory, yes. But we can't go back now,” Isatia said, glancing behind at the endless maze of intersections. “It took us nearly fifty minutes to get here. We wouldn't make it back in time.”

“No choice then,” Winnie said, continuing forward with labored breath. “Looks like we'll just have to keep going straight.”

Yes, carrying Isatia this long, even if she was light, had exhausted Winnie. He wasn't a machine or some overpowered character. He could only grit his teeth and endure. He knew this was a critical moment, failing now meant complete failure.

Come to think of it, how was Vanessa's anemia? Has it gotten better?

Her condition should've improved significantly compared to before, right?

Winnie couldn't help but think, even in this oppressive and desperate situation.

But that was a last resort, a desperate measure only to be used when life was in danger. Otherwise, he'd never expose such a fatal secret in front of anyone.

Winnie continued forward using the same method. Soon, he could hear his own heavy breathing more clearly. He realized the invisibility potion's effect was fading again.

Winnie quickly scanned the surroundings. Seeing no patrolling guards nearby, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

An hour had passed. The invisibility potion was gone, yet they hadn't even reached the end of a single corridor in the palace.

“There's another hall ahead, isn't there?” Winnie pursed his lips. Hearing no approaching from the front, he boldly moved forward.

Another hall enshrining the [Continuance] god statue.

Winnie was about to proceed when Isatia suddenly stopped him.

“This sanctum… something's off.”

“Huh? Off? What's off?” Winnie couldn't tell. He'd been focused entirely on navigating, and with his energy nearly exhausted, he had no mental capacity to notice any abnormalities in the sanctum.

“This sanctum is different from the previous [Continuance] sanctum,” Isatia said.

“Different how?” Winnie asked, confused.

“The celestial map on the mural behind the statue, specifically, the star used for linking with the deity, the most important part, it has an extra corner,” Isatia stated firmly.

“What?!” Winnie was stunned. “Isatia, you observed that closely?”

He knew Isatia had a perfect memory, but he never expected her to remember such a tiny detail, the shape of a single star on a mural she'd seen briefly.

“Isn't it possible that the craftsmen just made a small mistake?”

“Impossible. The Mars people deeply revere their deities and hold the divine authorities of [Continuance] and [Eternity] in the highest regard. A craftsman who made such an error might lose not just himself, but his entire family. They wouldn't make such a mistake.”

“I've observed many celestial maps along the way, on stone tablets, altars, in temples, and even the aerial map of the capital city. Not a single star had this strange extra corner,” Isatia said with certainty, her voice filled with confidence in her judgment.

Hearing this, Winnie sighed inwardly and accepted Isatia's assessment. He circled around the statue and approached the mural behind it to examine the unusual star.

“This one?” Winnie reached out and touched it. Suddenly, his eyebrows rose. He gently tapped the nearby wall, then tapped the star itself, both produced the same sound.

“This spot… doesn't seem hollow,” Winnie murmured.

“It doesn't have to be hollow, Winnie. Do you have any alchemical potions for revealing magic?” Isatia asked.

“This? No,” Winnie replied. Aesphyra might have some. He recalled the last time they dealt with the serpent infestation, she had poured alchemical potions everywhere like they were free.

Given Aesphyra's cautious nature, she'd definitely bring every potion and magic scroll she might possibly need before stepping out.

Wait, was there anything like that among the potions Aesphyra gave him earlier?

Winnie suddenly remembered. He lowered one of Isatia's legs with one hand and pulled out the three remaining alchemical potions from his chest.

“Do any of these work?” Winnie asked.

“That one, the colorless, bubbling potion. Pour it on the star,” Isatia exclaimed.

She actually had it?

Winnie did as told, bit off the cap, and splashed the colorless liquid onto the star.

Honestly, Winnie didn't know whether to praise Aesphyra for her calm, rational, and foresighted nature, or for her thorough preparation, or if it was just divine luck, she had managed to give him exactly the potions he might need in a moment when most people wouldn't even think straight.

“Winnie, your preparations are quite thorough.”

“Ah, ahaha,” Winnie awkwardly shook. These weren't his preparations at all, he couldn't even afford such potions, let alone prepare them himself.

“Psssh!” The potion on the star emitted wisps of white smoke. Under the gaze of Isatia and Winnie, the color of the star began to change.

Its golden hue was covered by a flowing layer of gray, gradually being consumed by it.

Looking at the mural now, Winnie couldn't help but feel a sense of dissonance.

It was as if the eye of a dragon had been covered. Although just a small part, the most crucial element had changed, making the entire celestial map feel distorted. That dimmed star stood out so jarringly.

“Click, click!” Then, under their eyes, the mural emitted a faint sound. Several magical runes appeared before them.

“What is this?” Winnie froze, bewildered.

“Winnie, drag the character that looks like an upside-down person and place it at the front. Then place the star-like character right behind it. Then…”

“Got it,” Winnie followed Isatia's instructions, manually dragging and arranging the magical runes into the correct positions.

I see. This is like a magical cipher lock?’
‘
How intricate.

Did such magic exist in ancient times?

(Just a few more chapters until the climax~ 0.0)