Seventh Chapter Seven Hundred and Seventy-Four "The Realm of Gods"

Roland carefully examined the moving high-ranking Taqila witches. The tentacles on their bodies had clear divisions of labor. The shorter ones, writhing like snakes, provided support and the power to move. The longer ones constantly inserted themselves into the soil above or below, used to correct their direction. Some of these tentacles were astonishingly long, probably exceeding a hundred meters based on the height of the hall's dome, and they could retract freely, like arms.

Supporting such long tentacles would be beyond the ability of even the most powerful muscles. He guessed that the magic power contained within the fleshy tumors gave them the power to move freely, just like the giant demonic beasts whose size clearly exceeded the limitations of gravity.

After bypassing two magic power cores and walking dozens of steps, Pasha stopped in front of a cube that looked like it was made of gemstones.

"That's a God's Punishment Stone. I can't get too close..." Nightingale reminded him in his ear.

Roland nodded without changing his expression and asked Pasha, "Is the relic stored in there?"

"Indeed, only this can limit its range of influence. If there were no God's Punishment Stones nearby, I'm afraid the residents of your city would be subtly affected by the relic," Pasha extended several tentacles, placing them on the Godstone box, but she didn't open it immediately. "Before touching it, I must explain a few things to prevent you from having an accident."

"Is this thing... dangerous?" Wendy stepped forward and subconsciously stood in front of Roland.

"Don't worry too much, as long as you don't stay alone with the relic," Celine interjected.

"What do you mean?" Roland raised his eyebrows.

"As I said before – when you open your heart to the relic, you can see some incredible scenes. Both witches and mortals can feel this calling," Pasha's tone became much more serious. "But please remember that the scenes you see are not entirely fictional. Unlike the illusion instrument, the things in the painting can affect reality. This is the first thing I want to say. Never accept the call of the gods alone."

The scenes in the painting can affect reality? Roland suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Isn't that the same as Sadako crawling out of the TV?

"Why isn't it dangerous with more people?"

"Because once trapped in the Realm of Gods, the body will show very obvious reactions, such as sluggishness, dullness, delirium, etc. At this time, you need the people around you to drag you out of the relic's range of influence," Pasha explained. "Historically, there have been many records of people contacting the relic alone, and their souls ultimately failed to return to their bodies. However, having two or three people take turns contacting it can effectively reduce this risk."

"I see," Roland glanced at the Taqila witches. "In other words, there are at least five people here, so there is almost no danger, right?"

"If that weren't the case, we wouldn't dare let you observe it at close range," Celine nodded.

"As for the second point, let me explain," Elxia's icy voice rang out. "You should know that the relic's large painting depicts an alien civilization. If you have the opportunity to see them, they may... no, they will definitely try to harm you. We can help you forcibly break free from the calling, but we can't help you resist fear." She paused, her tone tinged with sarcasm. "Don't say I didn't warn you if you lose your composure and get scared out of your wits."

"Is that so?" Roland said indifferently. "Anything else to say?"

"You..." Elxia was probably surprised that he was so unconcerned, and couldn't help but falter slightly.

"If not, then open it."

Roland sighed inwardly. For modern people who have been exposed to all kinds of monsters, aliens, thrillers, and horror movies, there is a world of difference in terms of acceptance compared to ancient people. If he were completely unprepared, he might be scared out of his wits, but Elxia's words were, in a sense, equivalent to a high-energy warning. As long as it didn't cause real harm, he didn't think he would give up exploring the mysteries of the gods because of this level of intimidation.

"I understand," Pasha retracted her tentacles, opened the door of the Godstone box, revealing a spindle-shaped red crystal inside.

After the relic left the container, it naturally floated up, like those magic power cores, quietly suspended in mid-air about one meter above the ground.

"It cannot leave the restrictive range of the Godstone, so you need to get close to it, then relax your mind, and you can go to the Realm of Gods."

"Your Majesty..." Wendy grabbed Roland's hand with some worry.

"Don't worry, with you guys watching, nothing will happen," he patted the red-haired witch's hand back as if to reassure her. "I know what I will face."

Not all of the information he obtained came from the Taqila witches. Both Isabella's memories and his investigation of the church's Sacred Hall in the Dream World could corroborate each other - there was indeed such a thing that could bring people into an incredible "Realm of Gods".

Roland walked to the relic, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes.

...

At the same time, Pasha also extended her tentacles and connected with two other companions.

Consciousness flowed rapidly between the three, projecting what they wanted to say into each other's minds.

"He's so arrogant. I really want to see him tremble with fear and piss his pants," Elxia said indignantly. "Otherwise, he won't realize what a terrible enemy he's about to face. When he's scared incontinent on the spot, let's see what he has to say."

"What good will that do us?" Celine glared at her angrily. "The mortal ruler cares a lot about dignity and prestige. If he loses face, he'll probably resent us as a result. If we lose his support, how are we going to explore the Snow Mountain and find the Chosen One? What's worse, if he becomes genuinely afraid of the demons, then this world is doomed!"

"Isn't he afraid of anything? Anyway, I warned him. You can't stop him, can you?"

"Bringing him to contact the relic was a mistake in itself," Celine muttered. "I didn't recommend doing this from the beginning - at least we should have waited until there was basic trust between us."

"Then hide it from him? Or prevent him from approaching the Divine Relic? That way, we'll never gain his trust," Pasha sighed softly. "Put yourself in his shoes. Would you trust an ally who wouldn't even let you touch the key to deciding the fate of humanity, no matter how nicely they put it? The other party wouldn't appreciate it. So some things must wait until he experiences them firsthand before he can understand our sincerity."

"But..."

"But don't worry too much, the demons and the giant eye won't appear every time," Pasha seemed to be comforting Celine, and also comforting herself. "And even if he gets scared and loses his composure, as long as we keep our mouths shut and make sure that this scene is never known to the world, he should be able to understand our difficulties."

"What about the two witches he brought? Will they keep this secret too?" Elxia asked maliciously. There was no doubt that, in her opinion, it was a very pleasant thing to make a mortal lose face in front of witches.

"That's not something we can control."

...

When Roland opened his eyes again, he found himself in an infinitely vast hall.