1580 The Gathering of Maniacal Monoliths. I

"Whether they did this to humiliate us or for some other reason, it doesn't matter." Lady Sphinx mentioned calmly, "All we can do is not give them the satisfaction of seeing us affected."

The tenants nodded with cold looks, understanding that the worst thing one could do to a spectator was make the show boring.

The only way to do this was to remain unaffected mentally by anything related to them.

"Unfortunately, those are the only two elemental techniques I managed to decipher. I am still struggling with many portions of different sentences and without any assisting data, it's extremely challenging." Lord Marduk shared with a deep sigh as he glanced at the massive monolith.

"May I ask how is it even possible for you to decipher it?" Felix inquired with a curious tone.

He had tried many methods of deciphering his own inscriptions, but none had succeded.

He even asked Asna and she told him that she never learned the three celestial languages as she was imprisoned too young.

This had happened when he got poison inscriptions and at that time, he merely cursed her out for being useless like always and ignored it.

But, when he became somewhat of a 'pal' to Lord Hades, he requested his help too.

Unfortunately...

***

Sometime Ago...

In the dimly lit throne chamber of Lord Hades, a place where ancient wisdom and the secrets of the ages converge, Felix stood before a massive holographic screen. The screen, glowing with a faint, ethereal light, displayed the mysterious inscriptions that adorned his body.

Each set of inscriptions corresponds to a different element, intricately patterned and pulsing with an enigmatic energy.

"So?" Felix asked with a hopeful one.

Lord Hades' eyes scanned the glowing runes.

After a moment of intense scrutiny, Hades shook his head, his gaze turning back to Felix.

"A seal has been placed upon them, a powerful one. It distorts the meaning, rendering them unreadable. As I attempt to decipher the sentences, they break apart, turning into a chaotic dance of random letters."

"A seal?"

Felix watched as the inscriptions on the screen remained frozen in place. If Asna said it, he might take it as a joke, but when it came to Lord Hades, he couldn't call him out for it.

"The seal is more than a mere lock," Hades continued, his voice low. "The fact that you can see them just fine signifies that the seal was put in place by the rulers to keep unigins from interfering in their little game."

"I see..." Felix sighed in disappointment.

Then, he lifted his head and gave Lord Hades a puppy look, "Is it possible to teach me the language then?"

"It can't be taught to anyone outside of the eternal kingdom." Lord Hades replied calmly, "The rulers forbid it."

"Aren't you going against them too, what's the worst thing they can do to you?" Felix raised an eyebrow in surprise.

In his eyes, Lord Hades shouldn't care about their rules any longer after they participated in the invasion.

"You will understand why when the time comes." Lord Hades merely showed him a faint bitter smile before returning to his usual indifference.

Before Felix could dive deeper into this subject, Lord Hades suggested, "You should try that traitor. He has activated a divine array and it requires an extensive understanding of the three celestial languages. Unless the seal targets everyone in the eternal kingdom, he should decode them easily."

Felix understood that it was his cue to get lost and not bother him anymore with this.

"I see...Will do, much appreciated for the time."

Sometime later...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I SWEAR TO GOD I AM NOT LYING!! I CAN'T READ THEM!! I CAN'T READ THEM!!" Duke Humphrey screamed with tears and snot covering his face while burning in celestial black flames.

In front of him were the holographic inscriptions and they appeared jumbled and chaotic in his eyes.

"I will reduce your sentence if you decipher just one sentence." Felix pressed with an irritated tone.

"I CAN'T!! Sob, sob...I REALLY CAN'T!!"

"Then, teach me the language." Felix changed his order.

"Free me from this agony and I will!"

Duke Humphrey swiftly accepted. Yet, Felix wasn't pleased at all...He could see that the duke was lying to him to get freed.n..OIn

Since he couldn't use celestial flames any longer, the punishment would never be as sweet as him burning in those flames...So, he declined to make a leap of faith in his honesty.

"Why are you lying to me? Is it forbidden to teach it like Lord Hades?" Felix asked coldly, "Tell me why."

"Kill me! Just kill me!! KILL ME!! KILLLL MEEEEE! KILLE MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Duke Humphrey ignored his question completely and started screaming at the top of his lungs for a merciful death, but no one was there to fulfill his wish.

When Felix noticed his reaction, he understood that he wasn't going to tell him, no, he couldn't tell him, and he had accepted this fact, which made him scream for his death.

'The three celestial languages...Why are they making it impossible for us to learn the language and decipher our inscriptions? Is it some sort of a trial? A joke? How can we even decipher them without proper tools?'

Too many questions roamed Felix's mind and no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand it.

Yet, what he couldn't understand the most was how was Lord Marduk able to decipher a sentence of it without receiving any help.

'I should ask him if I ever meet him.' He thought as he left on top of the fallen monolith, not bothered by Duke Humphrey's heartwrenching screams and curses at him...

***

Back to the present...

"May I ask how is it even possible for you to decipher it?"

"With those."

Lord Marduk beamed a couple of dozen rough-looking stones with some engraved wordings on them.

"Maniacal Monoliths." Felix raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Just them?"

He was already informed that the first technique was deciphered through the use of the Maniacal Monoliths, but he didn't think that it would be the sole secret of Lord Marduk's translation results.

After all, every primogenitor possessed a copy of the entire transcription written on those separated monoliths.

"I wish there were more options, but nothing besides those stones can give me some useful data." Lord Marduk shook his head, "The results are those three methods after more than a billion years of nonstop studying."

Felix couldn't help but show some respect for Lord Marduk's resilience and intelligence.

The fact that he relied only on his intelligence and the pieces of information available to succeed in deciphering three methods was an achievement no one could take from him.

'No wonder he doesn't want to share his elemental techniques.' Candace uttered, 'I would be selfish too if I am the only one slaving my time on deciphering the impossible just to hand them down to others with cold shoulders.'

In her eyes, the fact that he had already shared an elemental technique with them was more than generous.

"Lord Marduk, are you interested in an experiment I have been seeking for a long while?" Lady Sphinx suddenly interfered, "Though, I don't know if it will have any outcome or benefit."

"You want my monoliths?" Lord Marduk chuckled.

He figured out immediately that she desired to merge their collections.

"Yes, all the monoliths have never been in one place and I think it's worth finding out the outcome."

"I don't really mind, but how many have you got?" Lord Marduk replied casually, "I have close to a thirty. I don't think we have eno..."

"I have one hundred and thirty." Lady Sphinx interrupted with a hint of crazed fire in her eyes.

"That many?!!! How the hell did you gather them!!"

Lord Marduk was left completely shocked, having no clue that Lady Sphinx had been winning them in risky gambles in the games through Felix.

"It doesn't matter, I believe we have them all." Lady Sphinx said with a hint of eagerness as she beamed her enormous collection in the open.

She didn't think that Lord Marduk would have that many monoliths collected and assumed that she would merely get his collection and continue her search for more.

But now? The number was one hundred and sixty, which represented all the pieces needed to make one single enormous monolith!

"Wait, are you telling me we will be merging the monoliths right now? I have not prepared myself mentally for this." Thor expressed in agitation and a bit of excitement.

"None of us are." Jörmungandr added with a solemn tone.