A saintess? She's just a bad woman.

Page 163

Judging from its scarred but now fully healed body, it must have lived for a very long time. Perhaps longer than several hundred years, maybe even thousands of years.

"Roar!"

The moment its eyes locked onto Saint Karina, the monster's attack was likely a sonic wave or mental magic.

She felt her eardrums being impacted; although they didn't rupture, she couldn't hear the wind, the waves, or the whirlpools.

Compared to its grandeur, she is as insignificant as its toy.

Then, it stretched its neck, and that terrifying long neck lunged towards Saint Karina.

"Sizzle—" That was the sound of venom from the terrifying fangs turning into white smoke as it hit the sea.

"Holy Light protects you!"

Saint Karina didn't panic; with a wave of her hand, she erected a golden light shield.

The venomous fangs bit into the light shield, but failed to shatter it. The golden light merely flickered before returning to its original state.

Saint Karina's magical abilities were already outstanding, and even though this monster was much larger than Saint Karina, the difference in their class was still there.

"Frozen for thousands of miles!"

If the opponent cannot attack her side, Saint Karina will have to counterattack.

As the low temperature gathered, the magical energy froze the waves, and the ice source radiated outwards from Saint Karina's palm.

Like a plague, the area of ​​ice kept expanding, the ice layer thickened, and it began to engulf the vortex.

The monster's body was enormous, and it was in the sea. Its neck was also very long, two or three times longer than its body, making it look ferocious and incongruous, not at all like a natural creation, but a complete monster.

She planned to pull the monster directly out of the sea. As the sea surface covering the area of ​​the monster's body began to freeze, firmly freezing it, Saint Karina felt that the temperature around her had dropped to a terrifying level.

That wasn't just freezing point, but an even more terrifyingly low temperature.

Saint Karina felt her body temperature plummeting rapidly, even with the protection of magic and shields. Her cheeks felt like they had been slashed by a sharp knife; though no blood was left, it was very painful. Her breathing also became painful, another effect of the low temperature, creating an intense pressure on her respiratory tract, and her exhaled air turned into streaks of white frost.

Like the first frost, her face began to turn pale, and her lips turned bluish-purple from the cold.

it hurts.

Using such a massive amount of magic places a considerable strain on the body.

This was no easy magic, even for Saint Karina, who was already at the tenth rank. Her body hadn't used the terrifying magic of the tenth rank for a long time, making her body feel like a person recovering from a vegetative state during rehabilitation exercises—abnormally painful, with almost every cell feeling like it was on fire or being pricked by needles.

However, there was no other way. The ship was already very close to this side, and if it continued to be dragged over by the whirlpool, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Their ship was sturdy enough, but not indestructible.

To instantly kill an eighth-tier behemoth, one must use even more terrifying magic.

Moreover, Santa Karina could not afford to stop.

The monster's rash appearance and approach are a sign of its arrogance, as it wants to witness the destruction of human ships up close and then face its own demise in the whirlpool, rather than watching the ugly spectacle of its desperate struggle.

It has its own intelligence, and naturally, it also has a wicked sense of humor.

Living in such a harsh place for a long time, the monster's personality will only become worse and more vicious than the environment itself.

Saint Karina must freeze the whirlpool, freeze this area of ​​the sea. That way, the sea monster will be unable to break free, escape from the sea, or exert any further influence on the ships.

She only needs to immobilize the monster to succeed. Next comes the attack magic to kill it.

272. Dragon Island

If we don't beat the Ice Monster now, when will we?

Saint Karina flicked her finger, unleashing a bolt of lightning thicker than a building, which struck the monster directly, tearing its skin and turning the solid ice layer a deep crimson.

"Thunder!"

Boom! Boom!

Saint Karina didn't just use one spell; she used many spells in total.

The wounds continued relentlessly, leaving its body riddled with cuts and bruises, the blood almost carbonized, turning into black, charred flesh.

"Roar!"

Seemingly sensing that its life was threatened, the monster actually created a seawater area on the ice.

However, the thousands of ghost ships on board, shrouded in eerie black mist, all turned their bows toward Saint Karina.

Those were ships destroyed by this monster, and were resurrected by the Irazo Dragon in a state of resentment and entanglement with souls.

In a typical naval battle, it could indeed defeat the navy of any country by sheer numbers.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Countless cannons fired simultaneously, bombarding the direction of Saint Karina.

However, Saint Karina simply fanned herself with her hand.

"Expulsion!"

All the cannon ammunition ended up hitting the ships that had originally fired the shells, just like returning the same way they came.

She is simply too powerful; in the face of true power, numbers alone cannot defeat her.

"cut!"

There was no need to delay any longer. Saint Karina directly condensed powerful energy and pierced through the core of the sea monster, Irazo Dragon.

ended……

Saint Karina returned to the ship, which was sailing towards Dragon Island without any further problems.

In just over ten minutes, they finally arrived at the island.

The island wasn't large; you could see right to the end. The harsh environment meant there was no vegetation, no food, and no fresh water reserves, but this didn't affect them at all, because they had the necessary supplies on their own boats.

Santa Karina ignored the ship, simply leaving the Sirens on board and locking them in the barrels. She didn't leave any guards and took all three of them inside.

This is because they were concerned about whether terrible changes would occur in the sea area after the people went to the island, which would make it more dangerous for the people who stayed behind than for those who went to the island.

Ahead stood a magnificent, snow-white temple. Without hesitation, Saint Karina walked straight in.

She thought that perhaps the secret of the Demon Dragon's imprisonment was hidden in this temple.

After all, apart from this temple, there's nothing else particularly special on this island.

"Wow, this place is huge..."

As soon as she entered, the captain exclaimed.

Hero had seen many temples and such; many of her own merfolk were also there, and she had even seen many temple ruins that had sunk to the bottom of the sea.

Melissa rarely shows her emotions. In addition, she used to be a demon general in the Demon King's army and personally participated in several sacrificial rites.

Although the captain's daughter is a wealthy heiress with a lot of money, the temple standing in this dangerous place is like the ending of many fairy tales, where the protagonists are about to obtain a treasure—it's full of unknowns.

She was stunned and gasped.

The temple contained many strange murals and some ancient artifacts, but strangely, there were few treasures; instead, there were countless books. It was as if the temple housed, or rather imprisoned, countless books, like a vast, pristine library.

These books gave Saint Karina a very subtle feeling; the scene was contrary to common sense.

The only certainty is that this temple was definitely not built by humans.

This place was created by the gods.

Similar to the 100,000-volume Index of Magical Books, this library is constructed entirely of divine stones.

Even though no one cleans it, because Saint Karina cannot sense the presence of humans or other intelligent beings inside, it is spotless and gleaming. The white floor is like a mirror, and you can even see your own face when you walk on it.

The arched dome and the pointed tower stand tall. The air here is very cold. Even though you are wearing shoes and clothes, it feels like you are not wearing anything at all. You are shivering from the cold.

From the moment they entered, it felt as if the entrance was a barrier, and Saint Karina and the others had crossed it to enter a new, unknown region. This area was isolated from the outside natural environment; there were no birdsong, no fragrant flowers, and not even a trace of human presence.

"The books here give me a very bad feeling... Why are there so many books? Who owns them?"

Melissa asked this question. It seems that even in the place where the Demon Dragon is imprisoned, Melissa is a demon herself, and this place gives her the strongest sense of familiarity.

However, Saint Karina felt the same way. Ironically, it was the captain, being the weakest among them, who was the least likely to discover the problem with the books.

“There are indeed many books here, and they are very tall, almost above our heads.”

Santa Karina responded.

"As for who the owner of the books is, this temple was built by the gods, so these books must also belong to the gods. I've come across similar records before, but they were on very old papers."

It says that, according to legend, there is a temple of the gods, filled with forbidden books. These books are guarded and contain all the knowledge in the world. If a mortal touches these books, they will either be chosen by the books or devoured by them, gaining immense power in either case.

"You mean, if one's willpower is insufficient and the trial is failed, then the person who touched the book will be brainwashed by the book and go completely insane."

"That's how it is. But it's just a legend."

Saint Karina's reminder.

Her information wasn't 100% accurate; it was just a guess.

"This library of forbidden books is truly cruel."

Helom muttered something.

Mermaids are mostly kind, and she was wary of and resistant to such demonic things.

“Saint Karina, I don’t like it here… I really don’t like it here…”

She paused for a moment after saying that.

Hailuo looked around, seemingly considering whether to continue, then swallowed hard before continuing, "Actually... I feel like there are many eyes here, hiding behind the bookshelves, watching us... Or perhaps, the books here are... alive... actually, it's not that there are people hiding behind the bookshelves, but that these books are watching us."

She spoke haltingly, her nervous demeanor suggesting she was afraid of opening Pandora's box.

She feared that if she revealed the truth, she would break some unwritten rules, and they would be punished for breaking them.

273. Guide

It's so white here that there's no shadow at all.

"Perhaps it's invisible to the naked eye... Anyway, from the moment I stepped into this temple, I felt a chill run down my spine..."

“You’re right. If it’s something watching us, it’s only possible that it’s at a level too high for us to detect. Another possibility is that these books are the culprit.”

Melissa, unusually, expressed her agreement.

"No...don't joke around, how can a book have eyes..."

Lost in the discussion, even the usually thick-skinned captain panicked.

"Ordinary books might not, but these books are not normal, so it's hard to say. These are not ordinary books; it's not surprising that they can see us and eavesdrop on our conversations."

"Don't scare me! I'm just an ordinary human girl. What you're saying sounds more and more like a ghost story."

“We’re not trying to scare you; I’m speaking seriously in a discussion.”

Melissa frowned; she couldn't tolerate anyone, except her master, questioning her words.

"Alright, stop scaring yourself and panicking. Don't worry, even if danger arises or anything happens, I'll kill them just like I killed that sea monster."

Seeing that they were in a bad mood, Saint Karina quickly stepped forward to encourage them and stop them from letting their thoughts wander and gossiping.

In fact, when the topic of killing came up, Saint Karina suddenly felt a pang of fear.

Perhaps their guess was right; there really was some creature secretly observing them, eavesdropping on their every move.

"Actually, I'd rather face that monster again than go deeper into this place. I can't shake the feeling that we don't belong here."

"It's too late to back down now. Let's hurry up and find the books we need."

Saint Karina urged.

"While I agree with your idea, Master, how are we supposed to find it? These bookshelves have no labels, and the books aren't labeled either, only the color of the books. We could look at each one individually, but how long would that take? And how big is this place...?"

"I think the fortune teller's decision to bring me here wasn't to turn me away. Otherwise, all her efforts would have been in vain..."

As if in response to Saint Karina's words, a person suddenly appeared in front of them.

That was a girl...

She also has white hair and blue eyes, like a miniature version of Saint Karina. However, upon closer inspection of their features, it becomes clear that the two look quite different.

The girl wore a white dress with pink lace and bows. She knelt on the cold floor of the forbidden library, her dress spreading out like petals protecting the heart of a flower.