Chapter 2602: Chapter 2603: Statue
The first time Angel saw the fountain, he noticed the human-shaped statue within.
Statues built on the large square of the residential area always carry some meaning. Perhaps one can glean some clues from the statueās identity.
With this in mind, Angel approached to take a closer look.
When the lady in the statue revealed her true appearance, Angel had a moment of contemplation. Undoubtedly, this was an image of a Goddess, as the halo behind her head, symbolizing divine transformation, declared her identity.
But who was she? Which religion did she belong to? Why did Naraku City allow such an idol to be erected in the residential area?
These questions instantly filled Angelās mind.
However, as the cleaning work continued, those questions were cast aside. Because he saw the naked child on the right side of the scales.
In that instant, a string in Angelās heart was touched, and memories of his past experiences in Nightmare Abyss City flooded his mind.
He was eager to know if this child was the same as the one from before...
Fortunately, the statueās head had only fallen into the fountain and wasnāt broken.
When the childās head was reattached, Angelās doubts were finally answered.
Identical!
The face was exactly the same as that of the peeing child statue at the entrance of the Hanging Jail Stairway!
...
"Do you see anything odd?" Vay asked as he approached Kaier, knowing that Kaier enjoyed exploring various ruins and might know something.
Kaier pondered, "If there were anything odd, itād be the object the statueās left hand used to hold and the child on the scales with the right hand."
"Judging from the grip of the left hand, the statue seemed to once hold a sword?" Kaier finished, looking at Dox. Dox was the only one present who wielded a sword.
Dox nodded, "Indeed, a sword-holding posture. Judging by the grip, the swordās hilt should be wider at the front and narrower at the back... Hmm, this should not be a rapier. Also, the only missing part of the whole statue is this sword. Itās likely that the sword wasnāt carved from stone but a real one with combat power and was taken away later by someone."
Dox mused, "I wonder what this sword would look like."
As a swordsman, Doxās musings were natural. However, Kaier couldnāt empathize; after learning the left hand did hold a sword, his expression was somewhat peculiar.
"Setting aside the child statue, just the fact that this Goddess statue holds a sword in one hand and scales in another... donāt you think it looks familiar?" Kaier whispered.
Kaierās words triggered a realization among the group... a name was about to emerge.
"Are you talking about the Judgement Goddess?" The two apprentices dared not say her name outright, but Dox was unbothered, not only saying her name aloud but also touching his chin and pondering, "According to your description, it does bear some Divine Charm of the Judgement Goddess, though it lacks a bit of grandeur."
The Judgement Goddess, she could be called a god, too. But she doesnāt have a true form; you could even consider her to be... the World Will.
Yes, the World Will.
Thatās because the name of the Judgement Goddess, along with her statues, are placed in the Heretic Judgment Court of the Extreme Sect.
It can be said that the Extreme Sect, carrying the banner of the World Will, deified a Judgement God in their own right, using the name of the Judgement Goddess to punish all things from the Otherworld.
"Is it possible that this place is also connected to the Extreme Sect?" Dox pondered with a frown.
No one spoke, but their gazes shifted to the Black Earl and Angel.
The two had remained silent from start to finish; the Black Earl, with only a nose, showed no discernable emotion. Angel, however, spent most of the day in genuine thoughtfulness. Had he discovered something?
In truth, if the Black Earl could manifest a body now, he, like the others, would be watching Angel.
This was his first time seeing the statue, too, but the child with black-and-white wings reminded him of some matters. However, he said nothing at once, preferring to hear Angelās thoughts first.
Angel, feeling the scrutiny of the crowd for the better part of the day, undoubtedly sensed their attention.
He sighed softly and spoke under their gaze, "This is my first time seeing this statue, and your earlier speculations which Iāve heard, seem quite reasonable to me."
Dox: "... Thatās it?"
Angel shrugged, "What more can be said? Kaierās conjecture is indeed very reasonable. A sword in one hand, scales in the other, much like the Judgement Goddess."
"You didnāt have anything else to add? You stood there frowning for half a day, and this is all you thought?" Dox was incredulous.
Angel thought for a moment and still said, "However, saying it resembles the Judgement Goddess, I actually think it looks more like the Goddess of Prison Codex."
"Goddess of Prison Codex? What kind of deity is that? Iāve never heard of it." Dox queried, baffled.
Angel: "That was a deity created by a friend of mine."
Doxās eyes lit up, "A god your friend created? Who is your friend, could it be the Ancient One from the Abyss?"
Angel: "Donāt try to get information out of me; Iām really not familiar with the Ancient One. The friend I mentioned was a peer I entered the Barbarian Cave with; his name is Serum. Not long ago, at the New Star Competition, he used an extremely powerful divine technique to transform a book in his hand into a Goddess who judges all crimes in the world."
"Her posture was also one of holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other, somewhat similar to the Judgement Goddess of the Extreme Sect. However, the Goddess of Prison Codex had her eyes covered by a black cloth, implying absolute justice."
As Angel spoke, he used an Illusion Technique to present the scene from the New Star Competition at the same time.
The crowd compared the Goddess of Prison Codex Serum conjured with the statue before them and found it indeed more similar than the Judgement Goddess.
For although this goddess statue was not covered with a black cloth, it had its eyes closed.
The Judgement Goddess was to stare at all the sins of the world, more like a god of slaughter.
While the Goddess of Prison Codex resembled a judge seated above the court, delivering the most appropriate laws with absolute fairness.
"So it was just created by an apprentice, I thought it was indeed some kind of Divine Spirit. But youāre right, based on the aura, this goddess in front of us doesnāt seem like a god of slaughter but more like the Goddess of Prison Codex who enforces the laws," Dox finished, then pointed at the bare-bottomed child on the right of the scales, "To say itās more like a god of slaughter, heās closer. On the left are criminals, on the right, heās ready with the bow and arrow for law enforcement, while the goddess just needs to give the verdict."
Dox began just jesting, but the more he spoke, the more it seemed like this interpretation wasnāt wrong.
The goddess adjudicates, the child executes. Black and white wings symbolize justice and evil. The bow and arrow are weapons of enforcement.
This logic can be self-contained.
Dox looked at the group, "Do you all think thereās some sense in what Iāve said?"
Kaier and Vay silently agreed in their hearts, and Angel didnāt deny it, but only the Black Earl had no reaction... because his attention wasnāt on Dox.
"Your friend should have a very special constitution or bloodline, right? This Goddess of Prison Codex already has the rudimentary form of a law domain, which normal apprentices canāt withstand." The Black Earlās gaze remained in the illusion.
Angel nodded: "Yes, Sage Body."
"Sage Body? Thatās rare, no wonder he can use rules as a weapon. However, from his fighting style, his Sage Body seems incomplete. This battle should be the last one, as the law domain isnāt something he can handle at his stage, and the Goddess of Prison Codexās final judgment will be on himself."
Angel nodded again: "Youāre right, after that battle, the Black Classic disappeared, and he became despondent."
Angel looked at the Black Earl: "Did you suddenly care about Serum because thereās a way to save him?"
Black Earl: "Thereās a way, but in exchange..."
Angelās brow furrowed upon hearing "in exchange."
The Black Earl chuckled softly: "You just need to tell me what you were contemplating at the fountain earlier. Of course, you can say as much as you want, but you must promise that what you say is true."
"Just this?" Angel was taken aback; he thought the Black Earl would bring up the Noah Clan again.
The Black Earl nodded: "Just this. Because Iām curious about your friendās constitution."
Angel: "Curious about the Sage Body?"
The Black Earl: "No, Iām just curious how he endured the Azure Bloodline... You donāt have to look at me like that, since I can see his Sage Body has issues, I can naturally guess he wasnāt born with it; the Southern Domain doesnāt have the environment for Sage Body birth. It must have been achieved by extracting the Azure Bloodline from other creatures."
"And Azure Bloodline isnāt easy to merge with. Iām quite curious how he managed it."
Angel thought about it and found the exchange quite reasonable, as heād mention the Hanging Jail Stairway later regardless.
If the Black Classic issue isnāt resolved, Serum might really be done for.
As for whether Serum would want to be researched on Azure Bloodline, heād decide that himself. Regardless of his choice, itās an opportunity.
"Alright, Iāll share what I was thinking. Though it might disappoint you."
Just as Angel said this, Dox interjected from the side: "You wouldnāt be thinking what Iām thinking, would you? Let me tell you, the āGoddess Judgment, Child Enforcementā was my idea first."
Angel turned to Dox, smiling: "Donāt worry, my thought process never intersects with yours."
Thatās good... Dox patted his chest, but upon further contemplation, felt something was off about Angelās words.
However, before Dox could figure it out, Angel had started discussing the statue.
"My focus isnāt on the Goddess statue, but on the Child statue." As Angel spoke, he drew a circle in the air with his short staff.
A black-and-white winged, bow-equipped, light-buttocked child illusion appeared in front of everyone.
The crowd wondered why use illusion when the statue was beside them.
But soon, they noticed the difference, as the light-buttocked child fell from a flying pose, retracted his wings, and in front of everyone, pulled up the thin veil from his waist, revealing a cute little sparrow.
Soon after, the sparrow spat out a graceful aquamarine arc in front of everyone.
The arc fell straight on Doxās face.
Dox initially thought it was an illusion and didnāt dodge, but when the arc touched his cheek, a warm, moist sensation spread.
Dox jumped back several steps in fright, glaring at Angel: "What are you doing?"
"To make it more realistic, relax, itās not child urine, just warm water to wake you up."
Though Angel explained it was water, Dox still felt a bit wronged: "Why do I need waking up? Iām perfectly alert. If anyone needs waking, it should be... Vay, this guy seems different since entering the relic. No way, you have to be fair, give him one too."
Angel noticed Dox was genuinely emotional, yet his way of easing emotions was very much his style.
He directly pulled his friend into sharing the āfun.ā
"If you want water, do it yourself." Angel turned, regaining his serious demeanor.
The Black Earl timely asked: "Is the peeing child the same person as the child on the scale?"
Angel: "Unless something unexpected happens, they should be."
Actually, since the childās face hadnāt fully developed, it was hard to be definitive. But the two images were slightly different.
Both the child on the scale and the peeing child had identical facial expressions.
They appeared to be smiling innocently, but there was a strange hint of mischief and sarcasm in their eyes. Itās a feeling difficult to describe because, superficially, everything seemed rightācute little round eyes and chubby cheeks, just a very adorable child.
Yet when looking at him, it felt like you could see through his outer layer and glimpse the pranks and sarcasm hidden inside.
Moreover, like the Goddess statue, he exuded an air of superiority, even when peeing, with an overlooking-the-masses sense.
Angel could perceive this, and so could the Black Earl.
"Where did you see this peeing child?" The Black Earl asked.
"I canāt answer that question. But I can help you rephrase it." Angel paused: "For instance, where is the statue of this peeing child?"
From Angelās deliberate rephrasing, the Black Earl had some vague guesses but chose not to ask now.
"Where is the statue then?" The Black Earl followed Angelās lead.
"Outside the Hanging Jail Stairway." Angel replied and, seeing the confusion in the crowd, explained: "The Hanging Jail Stairway is a structure within the Underground Labyrinth, or an official institution, used for imprisoning criminals."
"Are we going to the Hanging Jail Stairway?"
Angel shook his head: "Yes. But we go not to explore but because itās the landmark I am looking for, and once found, weāre not far from our target location."
Angel looked at the statue in front, then turned to the towering maze walls behind.
"The existence of this statue implies... weāre not far from the Hanging Jail Stairway."
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