After descending underground, a secret chamber came into view, filled with over a hundred Egyptian-style pharaoh statues, the central one standing over a hundred meters tall.
Lucy hugged Irene's arm, unable to stop herself from trembling. "These statues are so scary."
Acnologia speculated, "The statues might be coffins with dead people inside. There's no need to be afraid."
Happy covered his eyes in terror. "It's getting scarier the more you talk!"
Natsu stared at a yellow statue, feeling annoyed, and blasted its head off with a punch.
Lucy was startled. "What are you doing?"
Natsu laughed and said, "This guy looks too much like Gray. I couldn't help myself."
Rumble!
Just then, the entire chamber shook, making everyone's hearts skip a beat.
"What is this? An earthquake?"
"Is the passage to the next level about to open?"
Then, a huge stone ball rolled out from the passage they had come down from, crushing everything in its path with a rumble.
Natsu was shocked, but then showed confidence. "Brilliant Flame of the Fire Dragon!"
The terrifyingly hot flames instantly enveloped the stone ball, but were snuffed out in the next moment. The stone ball remained completely undamaged.
"It's ineffective!"
Seeing the stone ball rumbling toward them, Lucy screamed in terror, "Hurry up and run!"
"Get back, all of you!"
Acnologia stepped forward, clenched his fist, and struck the stone ball.
With a loud boom and a violent explosion, the entire stone ball was blasted into a shower of rubble that scattered everywhere.
Irene activated a defensive barrier just in time to block the rubble. The surrounding statues were not so lucky, being smashed to pieces by the flying debris.
"We're saved!"
Lucy wiped away cold sweat, her voice full of lingering fear. Seeing Natsu's excited face, she got angry and sent him flying with a punch.
"Be more mature, will you!"
Natsu clutched his face and limped back. "Ouch..."
"Stop acting pitiful!"
Lucy snorted; she hadn't even used much force.
Walking at the front, Acnologia beckoned them. "Stop flirting and catch up."
Lucy's face turned red, and she hurriedly retorted, "We're not! Don't talk nonsense!"
After traveling and overcoming one obstacle after another, the group finally reached a wide area.
There were abandoned castles, skulls, and freshly lit candles.
Irene felt slightly annoyed. "Where is the part? The air here is so foul; it must have been abandoned for over a hundred years!"
"Let's try another way!"
Lacking a clear direction, Acnologia spread his magic power out like tentacles, searching in all directions.
Natsu asked in surprise, "What are you doing?"
Irene explained, "This is a simple application of magic power. By covering everything with magic, you naturally know what's ahead."
Lucy was shocked. "Is this simple?"
Then why couldn't she do it?
Irene rolled her eyes at her. "That's because you don't study the fine control of magic. You only know how to release it all at once during a fight. For Acnologia and me, every bit of magic in our bodies is under complete control, like an extension of our limbs."
Lucy and Natsu were shaken. So magic could be used like this? They might finally understand where the real gap lay.
Soon, Acnologia found the location and led everyone forward, eventually reaching a brightly lit church.
"Is it here?" Natsu wondered.
"It should be right!"
Acnologia reached out and blasted a hole in the wall with magic, revealing a part of the infinite clock inside—a huge mechanical plate.
Natsu was shocked. "It's so big. Do we just carry it away?"
Irene smiled slightly. "More importantly, the Oración Seis have arrived."
As soon as she spoke, six figures appeared ahead, each releasing terrifying magic power.
Lucy looked on warily. "Racer, Midnight, Cobra, Angel, and two others I've never seen before!"
Things didn't look good. Although they had defeated the Oración Seis before, that pressure was still terrifying.
When the Oración Seis saw Acnologia and Irene, they also became extremely cautious. They hadn't expected to encounter these two here.
Back then, Acnologia had defeated them all by himself, with only Guild Master Brain escaping. Meeting him now, did they really have a chance of winning?
Osta and Solence also looked serious. They knew exactly who these two were: the world-ending dragon king and the scarlet despair.
At this moment, the thought of fleeing crossed their minds. Acnologia alone was enough to leave them helpless, and they might even be wiped out here.
But the last part of the infinite clock was right before them, and they really didn't want to let it go.
Irene narrowed her eyes and looked at the two bald men. "Who are you?"
She felt a strong aura from them, not even weaker than her own. Could beings comparable to a King of Dragons exist in this era?
Acnologia also frowned. He found it hard to believe there were humans stronger than Irene. If there were, they were most likely the King of Red Dragons in disguise.
But the magic power of these two bald men was completely different from the King of Red Dragons, Osta.
Had they changed their aura, or were they truly hidden powerhouses of the world?
"You don't need to know!"
The hesitation in Osta's eyes turned to determination. At this point, they had to take a gamble.
As long as he and Solence could hold off Acnologia and Irene, the remaining members of the Oración Seis could definitely get the last part.
If the infinite clock really could control time, he would no longer fear anyone.
Midnight said solemnly, "Guild Master, you need to hold back that blue-haired man and the red-haired woman. They are incredibly strong!"
Osta nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Caesar, you hold back that woman later!"
Solence nodded slightly. To be honest, he was a bit afraid. These two had ended an era; he had no confidence at all.
Natsu stepped forward confidently, his body erupting in boiling flames. He held out a hand to stop Acnologia and the others. "We agreed before. Leave the Oración Seis to me!"
Lucy was horrified. "Don't be impulsive! They're incredibly strong!"
Even she could feel the pressure from the opponents, yet Natsu still wanted to take them on alone.
Happy also advised, "Natsu, be careful!"
Acnologia shook his head slightly. "Though I'd like to leave it to you, those two bald men are rare powerhouses in this world. You can't beat them for now."
He was worried that the opponents wouldn't give Natsu a chance and would use killing moves right from the start.
Natsu was a bit surprised. This was the first time he had heard Acnologia say an opponent was strong. Were these two bald men even stronger than Hades?
He asked, "Then you and Irene deal with the baldies, and I'll take care of the others."
Acnologia shook his head. "Irene, you go get the infinite clock part. I'll deal with these two mysterious guys."
Irene nodded. "Alright!"
------------------------
There are already 70+ chapters available on my Patreon!
The story will continue to update 1 chapter per day on Webnovel,
while early access chapters are posted on Patreon.
Maybe it's not worth it today but it could be later
[email protected]/Kazenova223
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"