Chapter 1445

The black mud swallowed them both, while the Guardian, having self-detonated in place, reformed within the mud, its body reshaped and once again covered in filth.

Relying on this "self-detonate and reform" mechanism, it not only cleared the "Balance" effect Iluna had applied but also purged the body that had just been purified.

However, the crazed Guardian did not attack the two lying in the black mud, nor did it even look at them. With all the eyes on its body, including the two on its head, closed, the Guardian slowly lifted its feet from the ground and, maintaining a posture with its hands clasped together, flew toward the space above the magma lake:

"It is time."

Accompanying its ascent, the black sludge that had been flowing toward the magma also flew upward in specks toward the top of this subterranean space.

Finally, the Guardian's body, along with most of the black sludge, entered the rock strata and headed toward the surface. Only then did Xia De and Iluna, who had just faced the self-detonation of the spirit, struggle to crawl out of the black sludge.

"Cough, cough. In the Heart of the Earth, even if Iluna and I combined could beat him, we wouldn't be able to subdue him."

Xia De coughed while clutching his chest and stood up, leaning on the ground. He had been entangled with the Guardian, so his reaction was half a beat slower than Iluna's, and he had faced the full force of the spirit's self-detonation. Fortunately, the opponent's self-detonation wasn't particularly powerful—it was merely a means of escape, or perhaps the Guardian simply didn't intend to kill them—so Xia De was not severely injured.

As for the black mud on the ground, thanks to the 【Night Watcher】's effect of isolating evil and filth, it didn't actually stick to him much.

Looking at Iluna, the brown-haired girl was also struggling to stand up in the sludge, but her movements were extremely stiff. When Xia De stepped through the hot mud to support her, she hadn't even finished the motion of rising.

Looking closely, Xia De observed that large patches of petrification had appeared on Iluna's body, almost completely enveloping her.

"Oh, this is terrible."

The seventeen-year-old girl said weakly. Even though she still held the ancient fragment of the Heart of the Earth, having faced the filth at the very root of the earth during the crazed Guardian's self-detonation, her body had inevitably been contaminated by the earth's distortion.

They hadn't lost to the Guardian; they had lost to this piece of twisted earth.

"It's okay, I have the Holy Grail with me!"

Xia De rummaged through his pockets in a panic for the Holy Grails that had been turned into toys by his massive Qi. Since he had given two to Miss Sylvia half an hour ago, he only had three left, but fortunately, that was enough, and he had always carried the materials for concocting the spirit potion.

He hurriedly tried to prepare it, but was stopped by Iluna's trembling hand.

Xia De sat on the hot ground, holding Iluna, who was covered in black mud, in his arms. The seventeen-year-old girl said weakly:

"Don't bother. I heard from the old priest at the church that the pollution near the Heart of the Earth is the most fundamental... and your Holy Grail, after all, is not the Holy Grail that sacrificed to the ancient gods in the primordial era."

Xia De himself had a high resistance to petrification from absorbing the 【Weeping Angel】, and had developed a resistance to such filth through repeated contact, but Iluna was completely helpless:

"Don't worry about me. With my Chosen One talent, I'll be fine for a while." She looked at Xia De, her voice growing weaker:

"Go chase the Guardian. He has left the Heart of the Earth now. According to the church's estimates, he must be acting as an agent of the Crazed Earth to pollute more land. Go stop him; I'll be fine."

"Don't talk nonsense."

Xia De reached out to brush the brown hair covering her eyebrows, then took the ancient fragment of the Heart of the Earth from her hand:

"Even if the spirit potion doesn't work, we still have this."

"No. If you consume this stone now, how will you purify the Guardian? Do you really want to watch Siris Lassus sacrifice herself?"

Iluna's eyes grew weary, but she still looked at Xia De firmly:

"Xia De Hamilton, you know what you have to do."

"I'm not used to you calling me by my full name."

Xia De frowned slightly, put down his long sword, and showed her another item:

"How do you think I stepped into the Heart of the Earth?"

The silver cube reflecting the firelight finally displayed the sixth story after Xia De entered the Heart of the Earth, which was also the deepest secret of Randall Valley:

【Guardian of the Earth—

In the early Sixth Era, the Earth Spirit of Randall Valley, in order to cope with the coming crisis, chose a noble soul to guard the earth. From then on, this responsibility was passed down among mortals, with generations of sacrifices carrying on the great duty. Deep underground, near the Heart of the Earth, the Guardian maintains the stability of the Heart of the Earth. But when the Heart of the Earth becomes completely twisted and polluted, the Guardians will also descend into madness. The two coexist and perish together; noble souls will also fall into despair, a tragedy that cannot be reversed.】

The Forgotten Church, the Saint-Péri cemetery, the secret chamber of the Stonemason Association, the Randall Valley gold mine, the 1695 Randall Valley earthquake, the Guardian of the Earth. When Xia De traversed the earth of Randall Valley, learned of those long-circulated stories and legends, and finally arrived at the Heart of the Earth, he had finally completed the mission he had been in contact with since he first arrived in this city.

The small mithril cube emitted light, and the inscriptions of the six ancient stories engraved on its six sides resonated with golden miraculous spirit light. After a moment, a stone the size of a palm floated out from the golden light. Iluna, who had become familiar with the power of the earth, knew at a glance what it was:

"A fragment of the Heart of the Earth?"

The volume of this fragment was far larger than the two stones Xia De and Iluna held, but slightly smaller than the gift Fiona Drago left for Xia De in the Fifth Era.

Xia De put away the mithril cube and reached out to grasp the stone:

"So everything is explained. Why the 1695 earthquake was caused by this mithril cube, and why the Guardians seemed completely unprepared for their own madness."

"Because they knew long ago what was inside the cube?" Iluna said weakly. Xia De nodded:

"To be precise, it was only after Mr. Thomas Granger discovered it in the old family cemetery that the Guardians realized its existence and guessed that it might be useful after they themselves went mad. This cube was a collection discovered by the Granger who triggered the earthquake in his family; it was a preparation left by an unknown ancestor for future generations."

He looked at the two stones in his hand and finally pressed the larger one against the clothes on Iluna's petrified chest:

"Feel the power of the earth, Iluna."

Xia De said:

"Try to absorb the power of this Heart of the Earth fragment. Theoretically, anyone can absorb the power of the Heart of the Earth fragment, because we are all nurtured and grown by the earth."

He held the seventeen-year-old girl in his arms, letting her lean against his chest. Iluna was almost unable to speak now; she gave a weak "Hmm," her weary eyes closing, but she struggled to keep them open to look at Xia De:

"You know how precious this thing is. Are you sure you want to..."

"Iluna, do you really want to talk about this now? By absorbing the power of this stone, you won't be afraid of the earth's filth at all. We have many more battles to fight, and this power is very important to you."

So Iluna stopped talking and closed her eyes, leaning in Xia De's arms. But Xia De knew she hadn't lost consciousness, because the black stone he held against Iluna's chest was slowly releasing golden light.

The miraculous spirit light drifted toward the petrified skin, then seemed to light Iluna up directly. As Xia De felt the stone in his hand turn into dust bit by bit, Iluna, who seemed to be asleep, had the dim dark-gold scales behind her shine again, which then transformed into a destiny ring floating behind them both.

The miraculous element seemed to want to engrave a new spirit rune, but in the end, it failed to achieve its goal. And Iluna, who had fallen into a semi-comatose state, had the petrification marks on her body gradually fade. Xia De was also very happy to feel her heart beating powerfully.

【Think carefully, what do you feel.】

"She" whispered in Xia De's ear. Xia De was startled, and his face flushed as he was about to withdraw his hand. Unexpectedly, Iluna, who had opened her eyes, grabbed his wrist, letting him keep the last remnants of the stone pressed against her chest.

The fragment of the Heart of the Earth disappeared bit by bit until its power was completely absorbed. Even as the Chosen One of Balance, she couldn't fully digest this ancient and vast power all at once. Although Xia De had never tried to absorb it, according to "She"'s description and his own perception, he knew what that stone represented.

【Do you regret it? Giving the power to her.】

"She" whispered in Xia De's ear. Xia De glanced at his right hand and asked very "softly" in his heart: "Doesn't Iluna's power mean my power?"

"She" smiled gently.

At this moment, Xia De could very clearly perceive that Iluna's heart was beating with unusual force—"force" not referring to the sound.

The heartbeat of an ordinary person vibrates their own body, which in turn vibrates the air, while Iluna's heartbeat at this moment directly vibrates her soul, thereby triggering the vibration of the spirit and the earth.

This meant that Iluna had not fully digested these powers, and the power of the Heart of the Earth was temporarily entrenched in her heart. Once Iluna could fully digest these powers, she would probably be able to obtain that miraculous spirit rune.

【Not only that, her heart has also been strengthened.】 "She" added softly.

"Stone Heart..."

Iluna whispered. This phrase really frightened Xia De. But immediately, he understood that Iluna's Stone Heart was not the same situation as Hela Ausonfert's. The latter was a true stone heart, while Iluna's heart just had the power of stone and earth.

"How do you feel now?"