Chapter 107: Maria Austere-winter
Chapter 107: Maria Austere-winter
No, she is not Annan Austere-Winter.
Annan realized this immediately.
She seemed to be almost identical in age, height, and appearance.
But the length of the hair was different. It wasn’t shoulder-length, but the hair reached the waist. Judging from the figure and skeleton, her gender was barely distinguishable.
What was more unique about her was her temperament.
It could be said to be the opposite of Annan.
There seemed to be no emotion in her icy blue pupils, and the half-open eyes were filled with the indifference of a deity. There was no trace of joy on her face. She crossed her hands and placed them in front of her; her eyes were full of vigilance and alienation.
She was wearing a pure white, heavy robe with a hollow silver crown on her head. The slender and long neck was reminiscent of a swan. Her delicate collar bone was hidden under the robe.
No doubt that she was Annan Austere-Winter’s sister.
Unlike Annan, there didn’t seem to be a Reverse Inscription etched on her soul. Those icy blue pupils without emotions reminded Annan, the man in his memory who taught him the Frost Sword.
Such a powerful and lingering aura could make people temporarily ignore the fact that she was still a young lady.
Speaking of which, Annan was theoretically fourteen years old. But his height and appearance were more believable to be at the age of eleven or twelve. So how old is this sister of mine?
When she saw Annan’s trio, she frowned slightly.
“David Gerald.”
There was a cold and tender voice coming from her mouth. The ice-blue pupils locked onto Annan immediately, “I didn’t expect you to come too.”
Is this Gerald famous?
Such a thought emerged in Annan’s mind for an instant.
Annan noticed that when Maria saw the other two, her gazes seemed a little distant. But when her gaze fell on him(Gerald), her gaze immediately became vigilant.
This is probably because notoriety tends to spread further.
What exactly did Gerald do that made so many big shots know about him?
“Salute, Your Excellency Austere-Winter.”
Annan saw this and immediately saluted Maria respectfully.
The two people beside him seemed to know of the Grand Duke’s daughter.
The trio greeted Maria as per the standard wizard address at the same time. Then, they introduced themselves to her.
Maria nodded slightly.
“You can call me Maria,” she said directly.
This should be the real name.
For such big shots, they didn’t need to use pseudonyms to divert the curse away. Their family would raise someone of the same name; the person’s only function was to block possible “living idols” that might curse them through the name.
So there was no need for her to report a false name to the three of them.
Annan’s situation was different. Gerald seems to be unexpectedly famous.
There was no possibility of him giving a false name.
He vaguely grasped the key. In this dungeon instance, the name seems to be the key to solving the problem.
Afterward, Maria explained to the trio, “The invitation letter should be delayed. I arrived here first. But obviously, the door hasn’t opened yet.
“I think Michelangelo will only let us in when everyone involved comes.”
Annan whispered in his heart too. I think so too.
He looked up at the gray-white giant tower. It was not so much a “tower” since it was a vast castle. It presented a bizarre, symmetrical structure. There were circles on both sides with a bridge in the middle.
If one were to look down directly above the sky, it would resemble a colossal dumbbell.
“This is basically the Twin Tower.” Claire couldn’t help but exclaim.
Annan thought so too.
Aside from anything else, which door do we get in from?
Or is any door fine?
The group did not need to wait long.
The other four guests came in three groups.
The first to arrive was an old man with a skinny and haggard face, sunken cheeks, and deep eye sockets. His hair was sparse. Since coming here, he had been silent and avoided the crowd.
After that, there came a middle-aged man with black hair, dark eyes, well-defined features, a kind, and cheerful smile. After he arrived, he approached Annan and the others to introduce himself.
His name was Ghirlandaio, a wizard of the Prophet school.
He was a student of Master Michelangelo.
Master Michelangelo himself was best at the spells of the Prophet school, followed by Shaping school and Idol school. Hence, after the enthusiastic middle-aged Gilandaio said his school, Annan and the others couldn’t help but assess him more.
As for the two who arrived last, they came together at the same time.
One of them was a handsome youth with a face with slight divinity to it.
His eyes closed tightly. One side of his hair was shaved, and the remaining white hair was braided into three braids of different lengths. Two braids hung in front of him, and the longest braid was towards his back.
Claire called him “Eugene Melvin.” He was the Idol school wizard. It was said that he was also a famous person. This should also be his real name.
Annan was familiar with that remaining person.
His beard was gray; his gazes were firm. His skin was slightly wrinkled due to his old age. Yet, there seemed to be colorful brilliance roaming in the muddy pupils.
“Master Benjamin.”
Annan bowed his head respectfully and greeted him.
Benjamin cast a complicated gaze on Annan. He opened his mouth but spoke nothing.
In the end, he silently nodded to Annan as a form of returning a greeting.
Indeed, the last heir candidate to appear in Gerald’s nightmare was the Alteration School wizard who was cursed on the ship – Benjamin.
At the moment when all the candidates arrived, everyone’s consciousness disappeared suddenly and briefly.
When they woke up again, they found themselves in a broad and highly luxurious hall.
“Oh.”
Annan couldn’t help but sigh.
Claire’s eyes widened.
Maria frowned.
It was just because of what had appeared in front of everyone.
There were all kinds of statues arranged in a specific pattern like a starry sky.
Giant statue. Centaur statue. Fairy statue. Old man statue. Child statue. Warrior statue. Maiden statue. Angel statue. Giant snake statue.
The place was so magnificent and so spectacular.
Lifelike was only the standard.
“As if there is a soul” was the statues’ level.
It was like countless frozen historical fragments, superimposed on each other.
The most incredible thing was that almost every statue could be combined with one or several neighboring statues to form a picture scroll. It would form a new picture scroll and a new story with different combinations.
At the same time, the arrangement of the statues on the ground seemed to contain a certain number of rules.
“They’re like chess pieces in the deities’ hands,” said Maria quietly.
The mood suddenly cooled down.
This was not a polite comment.
But because it was too accurate, everyone didn’t know how to respond to it.
After all, His Royal Highness Mary was a child, and her status was the noblest here.
When the child told the truth, people wouldn’t know how to answer them.
In the end, Benjamin clapped his hands and broke the awkward silence, “As expected of Master Michelangelo.
“This is nothing short of a miracle. No, it can almost be called a divine wonder!”
“It’s just like a miracle, right?”
At this moment, the laugh of an old man sounded.
In front of the eight people, the old man statue suddenly made a noise.
The strange thing was that it was clearly in the middle of the hall, in the middle of the whole stage, the whole canvas. But until it opened its mouth, everyone only realized its existence.
Talking stone statue was not strange in Transcended’s world view.
Especially since it was Master Michelangelo’s work. This seemed even more acceptable.
Therefore, everyone was not surprised but continued to look at the old man stone statue.
The crowd did not point it out.
But there was still a bit of grudge in their hearts because Master Michelangelo didn’t show up personally.
However, this ill-feeling disappeared instantly when the stone statue’s following sentence was spoken:
“Then.” The old man stone statue said slowly, “I will reveal it to you…
“[Time Stopper Eye] His Excellency Michelangelo Buonaro’s last words.”