abnabooks Chapter 283, Section 282: Ancient Magic and Giants
Chapter 283, Section 282: Ancient Magic and Giants
Chapter 283, Section 282: Ancient Magic and Giants
The pungent smell of earth mingled with the acrid odor of burnt metal. Ian stood above the city streets suspended in the sky, surrounded by collapsed stone pillars and buildings he had crashed into.
Say something.
Despite the city's unfriendly nature to Ian, he couldn't deny that it looked truly magical, with many plants and fruit trees growing lushly within its walls.
The level of greenery far exceeds that of most cities Ian is aware of. In particular, the highly artistic layout style truly evokes the beauty of a mythical abode of the gods.
of course.
Now, because Ian has destroyed many places, it has gained a certain beauty in its imperfection. However, since everyone has fled, the city looks rather desolate.
Especially due to the strange phenomenon caused by Ian's transformation into a raven.
This made the atmosphere even more oppressive.
The sky remained shrouded in an eerie, billowing black mist, as if imbued with some ancient power. In the distance, the faint screams of wizards and the howling of the wind could be heard.
Hehehe~
The baby smiled in the trembling woman's arms, seemingly oblivious to the fear her mother felt. Sunlight seemed to gather on her outstretched hand to Ian.
Regardless of the breath.
It is still a form of energy.
They all felt so familiar to the little wizard.
That's why Ian was stunned, because he recognized the baby.
"She is the daughter of the sun god?" Ian's Adam's apple bobbed as he felt an invisible hand of fate guiding him to meet the person he was destined to meet.
"The childhood of the 'Ruthless Goddess'?"
Ian, filled with astonishment and uncertainty, examined the child closely. The faint crescent-shaped mark of power on the child's forehead gave Ian certainty—it was the mark symbolized by the Goddess of Brute.
He had seen this mark on the priest of the brute goddess not long ago. Clearly, for deities, the innate mark of power is very likely their unique symbol.
"So, what kind of arrangement is this?"
Ian muttered to himself.
The baby's tender face was reflected in his pupils.
The baby girl's eyes, however, held a familiar gleam, as if one day in the future she would grow into that seemingly mindless god who only knew how to fight against heaven and earth.
to be frank.
This inability to discern the situation is probably a "flaw" that has existed since childhood. Even though his own mother was terrified, the childish, boorish goddess kept smiling at Ian.
"Once you become a skeleton, you won't be able to laugh anymore... Love can give birth to flesh and blood, so should I take her mother back? Then she can receive plenty of maternal love?"
This was, of course, just a sudden whim of Ian's.
I didn't think doing it would actually work.
He slowly approached.
The woman immediately retreated.
A low whimper escaped her throat, like some kind of warning. Her fingers gripped the baby tightly, as if she would fight to the death if Ian came any closer.
"I won't hurt you," Ian said, trying to reassure her. However, the woman clearly didn't understand his language; her eyes widened in terror, her lips trembled, and she uttered a few incoherent syllables. She clutched the baby tighter, her withered fingers digging deeply into the child's delicate swaddling clothes.
obviously.
Language differences.
This made it impossible for Ian to communicate with the woman, and the woman thought that Ian was going to take her child away. So, no matter how scared she was, she still braced herself and confronted Ian.
Leaving aside species devoid of maternal love and humanity, let's focus solely on loving men and women. Fatherly love is great, but motherly love is the most selfless and courageous force in the world. Countless true stories prove that when faced with danger, even when filled with fear, mothers can unleash astonishing courage to protect their children.
Life is like that most of the time.
Animals are the same; mothers aren't born brave. They too fear the dark, pain, and unknown dangers. But when a mother sees her child threatened, fear ceases to be an obstacle and transforms into another form of alertness. Her heart races, not in retreat, but in preparation for battle.
Her hands trembled, not out of weakness, but as she gathered strength.
At this moment.
The woman in the black robe was in this situation; a pattern symbolizing power lit up on her forehead, as if she were ready to fight Ian to the death anytime, anywhere, even if it was futile.
"Forehead……"
to be frank.
Seeing this scene.
Ian was also somewhat apprehensive.
of course.
This wasn't because the other party possessed magic comparable to his, but rather because, despite his ability to transform into a raven form and become immune to magic, he still felt a certain awe for the dominant forces of this world.
The story of Harry Potter is a story of maternal love. Mothers demonstrate through their actions that love is not only gentle care, but also selfless courage in the face of danger. No force can compare to maternal love; once it erupts, it creates miracles of love—this is the most magical power in the world of Harry Potter.
Voldemort fell victim to such power.
And at this very moment.
How could it not be a "misunderstanding" version of that scenario? Even though Ian knows he's not an evil person, he doesn't want to be cursed with "love" because of it.
Tom is gone.
Am I supposed to become Voldemort?
Stop joking!
Ian sighed, feeling a pang of sympathy. "She and I are friends—that will be in the future." His voice was extremely slow, filled with an unprecedented tenderness and caution.
Perhaps there's still a bit of trepidation?
Ian felt he had been friendly enough and tried his best to make the other person feel his goodwill, but all he got in response was the woman's chattering teeth.
"Snap!"
This made Ian slap his forehead. He wondered who said that even if you don't speak the same language, you can convey emotions just by your tone of voice. Did this look like the emotions were being conveyed?
"I'm really not some monster, I'm the victim, I'm the one you're attacking, okay?" To be honest, Ian was also genuinely aggrieved.
It's very unfair.
But that statement was still meaningless. Ian tried to establish a mental connection, but found that he couldn't connect successfully, perhaps because his mind was out of sync with the ancient wizards of this era.
"Blah blah blah, blah blah blah."
The woman looked up at Ian, shielding her child with even greater force, as if using her own body as a shield. Her cloudy eyes reflected the figure of this strange intruder.
He uttered a series of rapid syllables, the last syllable of which had a tearful, trembling quality.
"I don't understand! Can you let me cast a spell on you so we can exchange languages? Or can we establish a mental link so we can truly communicate?"
Ian raised his wand, but this gesture filled the witch's eyes with fear and wariness. She shielded her child even more tightly, as if using her own body as a shield to block any possible threat. Her lips trembled slightly, uttering a series of rapid, indistinct sounds, clearly pleading with Ian to spare them.
"Language! All I need is language!"
Ian touched his mouth and gestured, but unfortunately, it was unclear whether his statement was too abstract or the woman in front of him simply had limited comprehension.
The woman stared intently at him. Suddenly, as if she had made up her mind, she slowly lowered her head, cradling the baby in her chest, and then raised her face to reveal her neck.
"Is this... trading his own life for his daughter's?"
Ian was startled.
"I'm really not some monster or murderer. You should ask Dumbledore. He looked like an ogre when he was young..." He shook his head helplessly and sighed as if trying to compose himself.
Ian knew he had to clear up the misunderstanding as soon as possible. He slowly extended his wand.
The witch clearly hadn't understood Ian's earlier complaints. Her eyes remained resolute, as if she had made up her mind to give her own life for her daughter's safety.
and so.
He knelt directly in front of Ian.
"..."
Ian was speechless. He was moved by the power of this motherly love, and he realized that gestures and tone of voice alone could not resolve the misunderstanding.
He had no choice but to act decisively.
The latest novel is first published here!
"Capture the spirit, grasp the mind!"
A silvery-white halo emanated from the tip of Ian's wand. When casting spells against wizards of the same level, the wand was still needed to assist. The magic seeped into the woman's temples like a thin stream.
however.
When his magic touched the woman's brain, a strong sense of rejection washed over him. Only now did Ian fully realize why the mental connection had failed earlier. Ian frowned—the brain structure of these ancient humans was completely different from that of modern humans, even possessing some kind of innate mental barrier.
It cannot be easily spied on.
Even when the mind-grabbing magic was at work, it encountered an invisible barrier when it reached the surface of consciousness; the brains of these ancient wizards seemed to be protected by some kind of force.
Magic law?
Ian could only sense some undecipherable runes; those mental barriers, shimmering with runic light, were like steel cages, tightly sealing off the woman's memories.
"As expected, to become a sorcerer of the gods, one must be different from us." Ian discovered that these ancient humans, who were confirmed to be future gods, were indeed different from us.
They even differed from Ian's understanding in terms of the internal structure of their bodies, the operation of magic, and the way they existed; they even had innate barriers in their brains.
It cannot be captured by the mind of God.
"Fortunately, I have more than one trick up my sleeve." Ian took a deep breath, his magic flowed, and the light at the tip of his wand turned from blue to black, transforming into a deep shadow.
"Soul-stealing!"
This time.
His magic acted directly on the soul. The woman's pupils contracted sharply, her body trembled violently, but she did not resist. Ian's consciousness sank into the depths of her memories.
Countless images flooded in like a tide. The witch's memories began to flash before Ian's eyes—in an ancient forest, a group of wizards sat around a campfire, sharing their hunting experiences.
On the vast grasslands, they fought with wild beasts and felt the pulse of the earth. And there were those scenes of them resonating with nature, as if the whole world was under their control.
It seems so.
This ethnic group.
Everyone is a wizard.
There were no duds.
There were no mortals among them.
Despite the awe-inspiring sights, Ian didn't linger; he simply extracted what he needed most—the language of these ancient wizards.
As for their magic, Ian did not pry into it, because he knew that everyone had their own secrets, and he was not someone who would casually offend other people's secrets.
"I'm really not the new Dark Lord." Ian was terrified that he had been chosen by the will of the universe to become Voldemort's replacement, thus having Voldemort's fate decided upon in his own hands.
therefore.
Timely withdrawal was essential. However, in the process, he also discovered the secret of these wizards' magic; their magic was not something learned later in life.
Ancient wizards hunted in the wilderness.
Some have flames burning in their palms, some have the wind at their feet, and some can communicate with wild beasts. Wizards stand naked in thunderstorms, resonating with heaven and earth. Children are born with magical marks, as if these wizards are born with their own magic and can only use those magics that belong to them.
"Innate supernatural powers?"
Ian found a suitable adjective.
Well, how should I put it?
Such magic has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that everyone has access to magic, but the disadvantage is that, for the same reason, their magic will have different limitations.
There are no more infinite possibilities.
It was this innate ability that endowed these ancient humans with extraordinary power, but also limited their further development. Unlike later humans, they could not break through their own limits through continuous learning and exploration; they could only rely on the limited possibilities brought by their talents to develop.
And if this aspect is developed to its extreme—that is the birth of gods.
"So, this is why they opened the path to the gods, and also why their path has an end?" Ian seemed to understand why these wizards ultimately embarked on the path to the gods. As Ian pondered this, he quickly exited the woman's memory, not wanting to pry into her privacy any further.
to be frank.
Aside from this small amount of information about magic, Ian had only extracted the linguistic information. When he opened his eyes again, the woman was pale, but the fear in her eyes had lessened slightly.
They seemed to realize that Ian meant no harm.
Ian tried to speak in the ancient language he had just learned.
But at that moment...
boom!!!
Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently. The entire Sky City seemed to be torn apart by an invisible hand, with buildings swaying and dust flying everywhere.
Ian looked up and saw several enormous figures appearing in the center of the city in the distance, one after another flesh giants crawling out of the ground!
Their bodies were as large as mountains, their skin was a sickly grayish-white, their muscles were bulging but covered with cracks, and every inch of their skin was engraved with ancient runes.
These runes shimmered with intense light, as if foreshadowing the immense power contained within.
"Clang clang clang~ Clang clang clang~"
The giants slowly crawled out from the depths of the ground, each step accompanied by heavy footsteps and deafening roars, along with the unique sound of metal clashing.
They were not wearing armor.
Instead, the giants were still bound by broken black chains, and they looked as if they had just been freed from their restraints.
The giant roared to the sky, the sound waves causing the surrounding buildings to crumble and collapse. The woman clutched her baby in terror, collapsing to the ground, her eyes filled with despair.
"How could they release Titans?!"
at this time.
A woman's words.
Ian can understand now.
(End of this chapter)