Super Righteous Player
Chapter 116 - 114: The Disappearing Statue (3rd update, please subscribe~)_1

Chapter 116: Chapter 114: The Disappearing Statue (3rd update, please subscribe~)_1

"It’s a curse from the Rotting Husband, isn’t it?"

Annan asked softly.

At the same time, this was also a way of probing.

However, since they had just signed an alliance agreement, Maria didn’t have much guard up against Annan for the time being... Moreover, with Annan currently being officially wanted by the Kingdom of Noah and the other three present being from Winter.

Her face clouded as she nodded in acknowledgment of Annan’s guess, "Yes, it’s indeed a targeted curse from the Rotting Husband."

"Didn’t you have a substitute prepared?"

Annan was somewhat surprised.

"Of course we had, but for some reason, the curse bypassed it. I am fine, but the curse struck father, my elder brother, and Annan simultaneously.

"And my elder brother can forcibly absorb others’ curses. He absorbed the curses of all three onto himself immediately..."

As she spoke, Maria’s tone became somewhat vague, "In the end, my elder brother permanently lost his fertility, and I don’t want to inherit the Archduke position... Moreover, I’m not suitable for it. This can only depend on Annan now.

"He is much kinder in nature than me. Winter needs an Archduke who is kind-hearted and averse to conflict now..."

"Your Highness,"

Annan coughed lightly, reminding her, "You’ve said quite a bit."

If he’d heard so many secrets outside the copy, he’d suspect that he might need to be silenced.

Even within the nightmare where he couldn’t die, he strictly adhered to the character of "Gerald"—cautious, timid, composed—and interrupted Maria.

——Of course, the main reason was that the information he had gained from her words was already plenty.

"To put it simply, you can’t die here to protect your brother, can you..."

Annan nodded.

He spoke calmly and slowly, "I understand."

"Does our familial relationship... appear overly naive and weak to the people of Noah?"

Maria asked with self-mockery, "It’s not at all like a noble family, right?"

That was only to be expected.

After all, among the Winter families, too few children who are born with the curse manage to live to adulthood...

Those heirs who survive the curse and grow up healthy, nearly all have spirits tempered to be incredibly resilient.

But Annan shook his head.

He said earnestly, "I believe that this is a sign of a good, healthy family relationship."

His words were not an act.

They came from the heart.

Seemingly feeling the sincerity in Annan’s words, Maria fell silent.

But Annan immediately realized that Maria’s opinion of him had changed once again.

She’s still just a child after all.

He sighed to himself.

At this point, Maria was about twelve or thirteen years old. Even though her spirit had been prematurely strengthened by a painful refinement, and even though her face was filled with gloom and her speech was calm, mature, and coherent due to wisdom and education, she was still a child... easily trusting others.

You shouldn’t so easily trust a stranger whose origins are dubious and dangerous... Maria.

Annan sighed silently.

Just then, they heard the sound of the tea room opening.

Clare came out of the tea room with Eugene, looking somewhat wary and distant as she glanced at the four people gathered together.

They didn’t go over to talk, instead taking a detour to leave.

Clearly.

Clare and Eugene had also realized the issue.

——From the beginning, what Giralda saw was not a matter of "whether the three of them would fight", but how to survive until the end.

The answer was simple.

It was to go out and form an alliance by oneself when the remaining three people couldn’t extricate themselves.

Prophet Wizards are always the most cunning of people.

They see a lot.

But there’s very little they are willing to share with others.

Because the more people know of the outcomes they predict, the more "variables" are introduced, making the outcome increasingly inaccurate.

Many believe that Prophet Wizards are the most selfish of wizards.

Their power is the most suited to aiding others. Yet, almost no prophet is willing to share their prophecies.

They all like to use the power to see the future for themselves.

But that wasn’t entirely correct. Because their predictions could only approach a 100% accuracy rate when they concerned themselves... They reveled in the power to discern the future and had developed the habit of maintaining the accuracy of their predictions.

Just a habit.

—A habit that, once formed, was hard to change.

They waited for a while longer, but Benjamin still hadn’t come out of the tea room.

So they stopped waiting.

Instead, they left the way they had come—

Because Giralda claimed to know the location of another tea room. There would be some food and water there... but it was quite a bit out of the way.

The entire Wizard’s Tower was structured with a grand hall at its absolute center, extending symmetrically to both sides. Whatever was on the left, was also on the right.

But when they returned to the hall.

Annan suddenly narrowed his eyes.

The other three almost simultaneously noticed something amiss:

"Do you feel... that there are fewer statues?"

Among the various statues arrayed like stars in the sky following some pattern...

There were some missing.

The giant’s statue. The centaur’s statue.

The old man’s statue. The child’s statue.

The warrior’s statue. The young girl’s statue.

The serpent’s statue. The fairy’s statue.

—Yes.

All the statues of angels had vanished.

"By angels, you mean... Eugene Melvin?"

Annan immediately realized something.

Melvin was a Wizard of the Idol School.

The so-called idols originally referred to human figures made of wood or clay. The process of worshipping and offering sacrifices to these sculptures was to first imbue the idols with a substantial meaning, and then believe in and choose to emulate them.

The Idol School got its name based on this principle.

The Idol School was proficient in creating clay figures and golems, as well as abilities like "substitutes", "projecting", and "rituals". In general, it had the capability to attach, pull, and bestow various curses on others.

Annan had read in books that a long time ago, Wizards of the Idol School were referred to as "those close to God" or "demigods on earth".

Because they too could listen to their followers’ prayers from afar, they too could bestow special curses on someone. Such as long-distance damaging, defense, healing, or blessing abilities; to those ordinary people who were not Transcendents, the boundary between Wizards of the Idol School and divine beings was blurred.

—Angels.

No better moniker could have been chosen to describe them.

Annan frowned slightly, pondering in silence.

If...

These nine types of statues really did disappear one by one as they died.

Then which statue represented Gerald?

Or rather, which one did they all correspond to?

Suddenly, a flash of insight crossed Annan’s mind.

"If the future is uncertain, does that which has already occurred necessarily exist?"

He recalled Master Michelangelo’s last message in his mind.

A question posed to them.

—If the event "Michelangelo will die" exists in an uncertain future.

What, in contrast to this event, is the "necessarily existing" thing that has already happened?

[Avoid engaging in combat with anyone]

[Know everyone’s true name]

[Survive until at least four remain]

"I... I think I understand."

Annan murmured.

Confidence shimmered in his eyes.

Perhaps within these three hours, he would successfully clear the challenge.

He had fully grasped the mechanics of the nightmare. Its principle wasn’t complex; it was just that the most crucial person was a bit hard to find...

...But who could that be?