Chapter 640 - 461: The Dead "Celestial Claw
Chapter 640: Chapter 461: The Dead "Celestial Claw
He landed on the flat ground paved with giant stones in front of the Magic Tower.
He did not immediately approach.
Instead, he patted the back of Lightning’s neck again and issued a command.
"Lightning, tell the master of this place that we’ve arrived."
"ROAR!"
Lightning let out a roar, understanding what Raylo meant.
The next second, a vast wave of Dragon Mighty erupted from its body!
Domain Level pressure!
Invisible waves of pressure rolled out, one after another, sweeping toward the silent black Magic Tower ahead.
On the tower’s surface, Magic Runes invisible to the naked eye activated, lighting up with a deep blue glow to form a massive hemispherical shield that enveloped the entire structure.
It was an announcement.
He walked to the front of the Magic Tower and waited quietly.
He was confident the tower’s master had received this greeting from the "uninvited guest."
Sure enough, after just a dozen breaths, the Magic Tower’s stone door—carved from a single block of Obsidian—let out a heavy, muffled CREAK as it slowly opened inward to reveal a narrow gap.
Raylo’s eyes narrowed slightly.
But what emerged from the gap was a petite figure.
Immediately after, the figure eagerly squeezed through the opening like a little bird freed from its cage, sprinting toward him with a peal of silvery laughter.
"Brother!"
A clear, joyous cry rang out across the open plaza.
The newcomer wore an exquisite, fiery-red Magic Robe. Her long, silky hair was draped casually down her back, flying up and down as she ran.
Her pretty little face was alight with excitement and joy.
It was his younger sister, Lillian.
Raylo opened his arms and caught Lillian as she flung herself into his embrace.
She smelled faintly of ink and Magic Potions.
Lillian clung to him, her slender arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her amber eyes crinkling into crescents as she smiled.
Raylo waved a hand, signaling for Lightning to rein in its aura.
Lightning obediently withdrew its Domain pressure, and the electricity crackling around its body gradually faded away.
Lillian slid off him but continued to link her arm affectionately with his.
"Brother, how did you find your way here? Did you come specially to see me?"
"I went to the Observatory first, but it was empty. I figured you all might be here."
"Are Mage Delin and Avril here, too?" Raylo asked.
"Yep!"
Lillian nodded vigorously, a mysterious smile on her face.
"They’re upstairs looking at something huge! It’s incredible!"
She pulled Raylo by the hand, heading into the Magic Tower.
"Come on, come on, I’ll take you upstairs! You’ll be blown away when you see it!"
’So they really are all here.’
The last of Raylo’s doubts vanished.
He let Lillian pull him along, stepping into the Magic Tower that belonged to Master Wendel, the Legendary Mage known as the "Melting Furnace."
The moment they stepped into the Magic Tower, the heavy stone door closed silently behind them, cutting off the light and sound of the outside world.
The tower’s interior wasn’t pitch-black.
Magic Crystal Stones on the walls emitted a soft glow, illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime.
"This way!"
Lillian pulled Raylo toward a spiral staircase on one side, moving with practiced ease.
"My teacher and the others are on the fifth floor."
The two ascended the staircase.
Each floor corresponded to a different area, with stone doors shut tight, requiring specific Magic to be opened.
The higher they went, the more active the fluctuations of the Elements in the air became.
When they stepped onto the last stair of the fifth floor, the space before them opened up dramatically.
Raylo paused for a moment.
Completely unlike the narrow tower interior he had imagined, this was an impossibly vast platform. The ceiling soared hundreds of meters high, and the floor was paved with a single, smooth slab of marble. A quick glance suggested its diameter was several kilometers.
Clearly, an extremely advanced Space Magic Array had been used to alter the interior space.
In the center of the platform lay a massive corpse.
It was a creature resembling a Giant Eagle, but far more savage and powerful than any bird of prey Raylo had ever seen.
Its body was nearly a kilometer long. Its wings were folded at its sides, yet one could still imagine the terrifying, sky-blotting silhouette they would form when unfurled.
Its feathers were like metallic plumes, each one shimmering with a cold, golden light. Its beak, curved like a hook, glinted with a deadly sharpness.
The most striking feature was its talons, each the size of a house. The tips were like the sharpest Refined Steel, still stained with long-dried blood.
A fierce, violent, and primal aura, originating from the Otherworld, washed over him, making his very soul tremble, even though the beast was long dead.
’Celestial Claw.’
Raylo silently repeated the name in his mind.
On the other side of the platform, two figures were gathered around the massive corpse, studying it with intense concentration.
One of them was the Legendary Mage Delin, known as "Star."
The other, dressed in a fiery-red Magic Robe, was the master of this Magic Tower: Master Wendel, the "Melting Furnace."
Beside them, Avril, dressed in a white Mage Robe, was holding a feather pen and rapidly recording something on a huge sheet of parchment.
Her expression was focused, and she hadn’t noticed their arrival at all.
"Teacher! Master Wendel!"
Lillian’s clear voice broke the silence of the hall.
Avril paused her writing. She turned her head in confusion, but when she saw Raylo standing beside Lillian, her beautiful eyes instantly lit up with joyous surprise.
"Raylo!"
She put down her feather pen, gathered the hem of her robe, and hurried over with a gentle smile on her face.
Raylo met her halfway, taking her cool hand in his.
"I came to see you."
A few simple words, yet they spoke volumes.
Meanwhile, the two Legendary Mages seemed neither to have heard Lillian’s call nor noticed Raylo’s arrival.
Their minds were completely absorbed by the corpse of the powerful creature from the Otherworld.
A constantly shapeshifting sphere of liquid metal hovered in Master Wendel’s hand. He controlled it, carefully probing a wound on the Celestial Claw’s wing to sense the residual energy within.
Mage Delin, however, had his eyes closed. He extended a wizened finger, tapping the empty air above the Celestial Claw’s head.
Specks of starlight flickered at his fingertip as if he were using a unique form of Magic to trace the residual information from the creature’s life.
They were deaf and blind to everything around them.
Lillian, apparently long used to this, made a face at Raylo and stuck out her tongue.
Avril took Raylo’s hand, led him to the side, and whispered,
"My teacher and Master Wendel have been researching like this for two days."
Raylo looked at the two Legendary Mages, completely lost in their own worlds, and then at the corpse of the Giant Beast radiating a terrifying aura. He understood completely.
To Mages like them, who pursued the truths of the universe, the allure of such a perfect "specimen" from an entirely new world surpassed everything else.
He didn’t disturb them.
He just stood quietly to the side with Avril, his gaze also falling upon the corpse of the "Celestial Claw."
Seeing it up close was far more awe-inspiring than the fleeting glimpse he had caught through the spatial rift that day.
Thanks to Avril and Lillian’s hushed whispers, the Magic Tower gained a touch of liveliness.
But the two Legendary Mages remained immersed in their own world, oblivious to their surroundings.
Raylo waited at their side for several hours, but the two Legendary Mages remained completely oblivious, lost in their research.
Watching them, Raylo knew he couldn’t wait any longer.
He needed the right moment to interject.
Just then, Master Wendel slowly withdrew the liquid metal sphere from the Celestial Claw’s wound.
His brow was furrowed in deep confusion.
"Strange... The residual energy in this wound is impure and chaotic, yet it also has... a spatial attribute. Its physical structure seems innately capable of withstanding the tearing forces of Space Travel."
Mage Delin also slowly opened his eyes, the starlight within them flashing for an instant before vanishing.
"I can’t trace its origin."
He shook his head.
"I cannot determine its cause of death."
The research of both Legendary Mages seemed to have hit a bottleneck.
’Now is the time.’
Raylo took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Masters, if I’m not mistaken, this creature is called the ’Celestial Claw.’"
The moment his voice fell, Wendel and Delin froze abruptly, as if they were two statues struck by the Petrification Technique.
They turned their heads almost simultaneously, two pairs of eyes locking onto Raylo in unison.