Chapter 266 The Legacy of Atlas Court!
The holy sword's radiance, like the first ray of light at the dawn of creation, instantly tore through this land of evil and forbidden.
Wherever the light touched, whether it was the eroded sphinxes or the roaring humanoid monsters, they all turned to dust in an instant, leaving no trace behind.
The entire process could not even be called a battle; it was more like an absolute purification.
Arthur sheathed his sword and looked at the dimensional rift that was slowly healing.
He raised his hand, and the starlight mark on his palm scattered soft light particles, precisely entering the center of the rift.
The space trembled for a moment, then completely settled, as if nothing unusual had ever happened.
As the rift disappeared, the mark on Arthur's palm also dimmed, eventually vanishing completely.
However, this was a necessary price.
When he reappeared outside the barrier, Ritsuka and Mash's tense nerves finally relaxed.
"Captain, are you alright?"
"Yes, it's resolved."
Arthur was concise.
Nitocris's gaze swept over the now calm Magus barrier, observing that no more evil was seeping out from within, and her eyes towards Arthur filled with even more awe.
The source of pollution that even Pharaoh Ozymandias was helpless against had been so easily eradicated by this man.
The group returned to the Great Temple, but this time, the figure on the throne did not grant an audience, instead sending an envoy to deliver a message to Nitocris.
"Lord Ozymandias has retired, and he acknowledges your merits."
"Lord Ozymandias commanded me to convey his thanks for your assistance and will dispatch Lord Nitocris to escort you out of the oasis."
This official rhetoric, while sounding like gratitude, was in fact an order for them to leave.
Ritsuka and the others had no objection to this; after all, judging by Arthur's appearance, the purpose of their trip had already been achieved.
Led by Nitocris, everyone once again boarded the sand boat and sailed away from this city of Miracles in the desert.
"That's great! With this, the problem of this Singularity is basically solved, right?"
Ritsuka stretched languidly, her tone relaxed.
"The Holy Grail has been recovered, and the rift the Captain mentioned has also been dealt with. Do we just need to return to the Lion King's side to fix this era?"
Mash cautiously glanced at the silent Arthur, asking in confusion.
"What's wrong, Big Brother? Are there other dimensional rifts?"
"Yes, there's one last one beneath the Holy City, but that idiot has temporarily blocked it with the Holy Lance."
Saying this, Arthur looked at Nitocris, who was traveling with them.
"You can drop us off here."
He pointed in a direction on the simple map.
"Next, we'll have to take a slightly longer route."
"That area is..."
Nitocris looked troubled, but seeing Arthur's calm eyes, she finally nodded.
"As you wish."
Once again passing through the sandstorm barrier, Arthur and his group re-embarked on their desert journey.
Before long, guided by Nitocris, the sand boat arrived at a forbidden area guarded by a Sphinx army.
When they sensed the presence of Arthur and his group, dangerous red lights glowed in their eyes.
However, in the next second, these divine beast armies saw Nitocris, and all the red lights extinguished, turning back into statues and clearing a path for them.
The group passed through the Sphinx army and arrived at an ancient ruin buried beneath the yellow sand.
The gate here was wide open, and the interior was not particularly dilapidated, but the ancient aura that assailed them seemed capable of dragging even their souls into the dust of history.
Traces of black marks from fire could be seen everywhere in the ruins, suggesting that it was not annihilated by time but destroyed by a sudden disaster.
Upon closer inspection, a black stone tablet stood beside the entrance of the ruin, with a few words carved on it—
Atlas Institute.
"Huh!?"
The moment Mash saw this name, she couldn't help but exclaim.
"This is the Atlas Institute!?"
Da Vinci also opened his eyes wide in surprise, his face full of excitement as if he had discovered a new continent.
Only Fujimaru Ritsuka, a complete outsider to the Magus world, showed her usual bewildered smile to everyone.
"Um... what is the Atlas Institute?"
Arthur surveyed the passages inside the ruins, which had already grown glowing vegetation and spores, and explained.
"Simply put, it's one of the three major departments of the Magus Association, a research organization gathered specifically for the development of alchemy."
"Oh!" Ritsuka immediately reacted, "Like the Clock Tower in London before?"
Arthur chuckled and nodded, "You can think of it that way. Let's go, let's take a look inside."
With that, he was the first to step into the ruins, and everyone, equally curious about the Atlas Institute, quickly followed.
During this time, many autonomous Golem guards activated, but they were all scrapped under the attacks of Mordred and Mash.
The group broke through layers of defense unharmed and reached the central part of the Atlas Institute.
Here was a space as vast and complex as a city, surrounded by sand, but facilities could vaguely be seen operating in the faint light.
And in the center of the space, three gigantic stone tablets, like pillars reaching to the sky, stood.
"Those are... the Atlas Institute's largest recording media, the Pseudo-Spiritron Computing Device—the Three-Pronged Hermes!"
After arriving here, the communication signal with Chaldea became clear, and Roman's voice was filled with surprise and doubt.
"This isn't the Atlas Institute of this era, but the one that was destroyed along with the outside world during the Incineration of Humanity?"
Da Vinci made a judgment after carefully observing the surroundings, then added.
"Which means, this place contains all the research results and highest crystallizations of the Atlas Institute from its establishment until the 21st century!"
"Exactly, this is simply a treasure trove that would drive any Magus mad!"
Roman said with such certainty, but his tone quickly filled with regret.
"Too bad, it's like looking at the finest dessert through a display window, it makes you drool, but you can't have a single bite."
Meeting Ritsuka's puzzled gaze, Roman continued to explain.
"The information in the Three-Pronged Hermes has different access permissions. No one but the director can view it."
This was undoubtedly a huge fortune capable of changing the world's pattern, yet it could only pass them by.
Just then, Arthur walked to the central control panel and extended his hand.
Everyone's gaze converged there, and Ritsuka asked curiously.
"Captain, do you have permission here?"
"No, but I have my own way."
Arthur calmly placed his hand, bearing the starlight mark, on the cold Three-Pronged Hermes.
"Alarm! Unknown access detected! Insufficient permission level! Deletion program in progress... Beep! Beep! Beep—"
Lines like electrical wiring flashed a dazzling red light frantically, on the verge of erupting.
Suddenly, all red lights stopped abruptly, turning completely green, signifying safety.
"Deletion program interrupted... Higher-level command detected... Permission re-evaluation in progress... Evaluation complete!"
"Login successful, welcome, highest authority holder!"
Roman: "..."
Da Vinci: "..."
Ritsuka and Mash both gaped, almost able to fit an egg in their mouths.
Arthur looked up at the surface of the three steles, countless characters jumping into view, flowing like a data waterfall at an astonishing speed.
"Alright, let me see what the greatest masterpieces of alchemy are!"