281 THE VAULT OF TREASURES OR BODIES
Shapes emerged from the haze—hulking beasts with human torsos grafted onto animal frames, their faces warped with horns and fangs. The demon host surged forward, an avalanche of nightmares.
"What can we do now?" Moosebey asked, his voice hollow.
Eoshomon's eyes never left the advancing tide. He repeated the question, tasting despair in the words. Finally, he whispered, "We fall back. Only the walls and wards of Debauchery City may hold them… for a time."
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[In the magic portal at the fountain of the Temple of Hera]
"Did the fake token work?" Sujira asked, wide-eyed.
Leo shook his head. "I'm not sure. The portal gate might only need to recognize the signature of a token to activate. I copied the real token's signature onto the fake one, so it should've worked."
"What is this place?" Petunia asked, her voice laced with unease.
"This," Sujira said grimly, "is Godmother's secret vault."
They stepped into a vast, dimly lit chamber enclosed by a metallic dome. Massive metal poles lined the area, each draped with heavy chains. Chained to the poles were figures—haggard, starved, and barely conscious.
"This isn't a vault," Petunia muttered, her face pale. "It's a bloody dungeon."
"Godmother's secret prison is more like it?" Leo asked, glancing around.
"I wouldn't know," Sujira replied. "Nobody's ever comes back from here to tell the tale. I could only assume…"
As they moved further into the chamber, the prisoners' emaciated forms grew more haunting. Their hollow eyes followed the trio as if begging for salvation.
"Who are these people?" Petunia whispered.
"Enemies of the Emperor, maybe," Sujira answered. "Anyone who dared oppose him in Debauchery city usually disappeared. Looks like this is where they ended up."
At the center of the dome stood a massive cage. Inside, instead of prisoners, lay a cluster of large, ancient stone tablets.
"What are these?" Sujira asked, narrowing her eyes.
Leo froze, recognition sparking in his expression. "The Giga Codex," he breathed. "There are two of them here."
"We found the Giga Codex?" Petunia exclaimed, skeptical. "That's... too easy."
Without hesitation, Sujira broke the cage's lock, and they entered. The trio approached the stones, examining their intricate carvings and faintly glowing inscriptions.
Petunia frowned, touching one of the tablets. "There is no reaction. Is it fake?"
"Same here," Sujira said, frustrated. "Nothing's happening. This wasn't what happened last time I touched the stone."
"Are the stone inactive?" Petunia asked.
The Giga Codex had to be activated by a key before its secret could be accessed. The most plausible reason for the unreactive stone was due to that.
Leo studied the tablets, his brow furrowed. He opened his control panel and studied the magic codes of the Giga Codex.
"Wait. These bloody stones aren't inactive—they've already been activated using their magic keys," he said.
"But they're useless to us as they are," Sujira replied.
Leo's mind raced before the answer clicked. "Of course. These are lower-tier tablets. We have already accessed tier 2 Codex. Only higher-tier Codices we haven't used before will resonate with us."
"So, we need a tier 3 Codex to have any effects on us?" Petunia asked.
Accessing his control panel again, Leo analyzed the flow of magic within the tablets. His eyes lit up suddenly. "We're lucky. Two of these Codices have opposite magic polarities. We can combine them into an upgraded version."
With precision, Leo aligned the two Codices, merging their energies into a single, glowing tablet.
Sujira and Petunia touched the upgraded Codex, but still, nothing happened.
"It's still useless," Petunia grumbled.
"Naturally," Leo said, shrugging. "This is an improved tier-two Codex. You've already interacted with tier twos, like the one in the Palace of Willows. To upgrade it to a tier-three, we need to merge it with our existing Giga Codex back at the throne."
"Krang…"
Suddenly, the metal door of the cage slammed shut, and a powerful force field enveloped the room.
"Dammit, we're trapped!" Sujira growled, drawing her weapon.
A voice echoed from the shadows, dripping with malice. "Petty thieves! Did you really think it would be so easy to enter my dungeon to steal from me?"
Laughter boomed through the chamber as a figure stepped forward.
"It's a trap," the voice continued. "I let you in, knowing you'd never leave."
"Fucking Dassa," Leo muttered, his eyes narrowing towards the voice.
Lady Dassa or Godmother of the Temple of Hera was here and she wasn't alone. A regal man in a dark, flowing robe stood beside her, his presence commanding.
"What now?" Petunia asked, panicked.
Leo acted swiftly, storing the upgraded Giga Codex into his magic storage space. "We take the fucking stones first."
"Trying to hide my precious stones in a magic storage, are you?" the man sneered before adding an insult, "It's futile. We'll extract it out from you soon enough."
"And who the hell are you?" Petunia snapped.
The man's lips curled into a smirk. "I am Ramses, Emperor of the Koresh Empire."
"How do we break this bloody shield?" Petunia demanded, panic creeping into her voice.
"We have to try," Sujira said resolutely.
She swung her blade at the metal bars with all her strength, but the cage remained unyielding.
"It's impossible to break this magic shield," Lady Dassa sneered, her voice dripping with superiority. "It's designed to contain even Man-tier mages. It's impossible for you to escape from it. There is no need to struggle."
Leo's gaze sharpened. "There's no such thing as 'impossible' in my vocabulary," he shot back.
Opening his control panel, Leo began analyzing the shield's magic codes.
"Can you break it?" Petunia asked, hopefully.
"No," Leo replied bluntly.
Dassa's mocking laughter echoed through the chamber. "I told you—it's futile!"
Leo glanced up, his expression calm but confident. "But I can restore the metal cage to its previous codes … state."
Before anyone could react, the cage's door creaked open. "Go. Now! We don't have much time," Leo ordered.
The magical codes of the cage were restored to the condition before their activation- unlocked.
Without hesitation, the trio rushed out of the cage, their movements swift and precise.