Chapter 56: The Thorned Spear

Elena removed her glasses and scanned the inscription on the crow's pedestal. The transmission quickly reached Hishiri Adashino in the ship's control room, who sent the image to the archaeology professors.

It didn't take long for a response.

"It's written in the same language as the song we discovered earlier. It translates to: 'I am the Crow who serves the Supreme One.' There's nothing particularly special about it."

Elena shared the translation with the eleven team members surrounding her, a hint of disappointment in her voice. They had combed through every corner of the temple and found nothing unusual—aside from the statues of crows, there didn't seem to be anything else of importance.

"'I am the Crow who serves the Supreme One'?" Li Xiang muttered to himself, pressing his hand to his forehead.

What was going on?!

That was the exact phrase he had uttered in his moment of *chuunibyou* during the illusion! How could it have been engraved here for two thousand years? It was like being publicly humiliated by history. But that didn't make sense—Morgan le Fay hadn't seemed to understand the crows' language in the illusion, merely using brute magical force to control them.

Suddenly, Li Xiang felt a faint tremor under his feet.

"Everyone, be careful!" he shouted. Although the shaking was subtle, it immediately set him on edge.

Was this another consequence of him saying the inscription aloud?

Li Xiang couldn't shake the feeling that everything in this temple had been laid out specifically for him.

Not far from the group, a square, black opening one meter wide appeared in the ground, with stone steps descending into darkness.

Li Xiang glanced at Elena, waiting for her decision.

"We're going down!" Elena took a deep breath and raised her hand. A light breeze of magical energy swirled around her, forming a protective elemental armor.

With her flashlight in hand, she led the way down the stairs.

Li Xiang followed close behind, with Pascal in the middle and Xavier guarding the rear. The three strongest magi in the group of twelve formed a protective triangle.

The passage was clear, unlike the misty upper temple. Lit by their flashlights, the stone walls were visible, built from mud-packed stones, and stood about two meters tall. Every three meters along the walls, they passed iron sconces with unlit torches.

After about ten minutes of walking, they emerged into a vast underground chamber.

As they stepped inside, blue lights suddenly flickered into existence.

Looking up, Li Xiang saw something like will-o'-the-wisps drifting in the air like the eerie glow of ghostly fire.

"Look at the ceiling!" someone exclaimed.

Li Xiang raised his head, and his heart pounded at the sight. The ceiling was covered with ancient carvings depicting a city, walled off with seven gates, each one manned by towering figures and shadowy creatures. Some were human-like, while others were skeletal or monstrously huge.

It hit him like a hammer. This was the Land of Shadows—*the Realm of Scáthach!*

But how could this be?

The temple they had entered was dedicated to Morgan le Fay, wasn't it? Li Xiang knew that Scáthach was a figure from Celtic mythology, a hero of Ireland who trained the likes of Cú Chulainn. Yet, they were standing in Scotland.

"The Land of Shadows?" Elena echoed, sharing Li Xiang's confusion.

"Could it be that this temple originally belonged to Scáthach?" Pascal suggested, staring at the carvings. "Maybe, over time, it sank underground, and Morgan le Fay built her temple on top of it?"

"You might be right," Elena said, nodding. "Scáthach was said to be active around the 1st century, while Morgan le Fay appeared in the 5th century."

Li Xiang pointed back toward the entrance. "But that doesn't explain the passageway. It looks more like someone deliberately built it under Morgan le Fay's temple after it was already in place. And let's not forget Sapp being possessed and the damaged key to the door."

"That doesn't add up," Pascal countered. "Even if Scáthach lived until the 5th century and built her temple here, the idea of two deities sharing the same space goes against everything we know. It violates the principles of divine beings. Besides, most legends place Scáthach's Land of Shadows near Ireland, not in Scotland."

Elena thought aloud, "There are some theories that Scáthach's homeland might have been in Scotland."

As the three debated, the ghostly blue lights floating around the ceiling began to cluster together.

In a flash, the chamber was bathed in blue light, casting long shadows across the floor. Before them, a high platform appeared, and on it rested a blood-red spear suspended on a weapons rack.

Li Xiang's throat went dry as he recognized it. That was Gáe Bolg.

"Gáe Bolg Alternative," Elena murmured, recognizing Scáthach's most famous spear. "But it's just a projection. If it were the real thing, the entire Clock Tower would go crazy."

Drawn as if by instinct, Li Xiang walked forward.

Up close, the spear's details were even clearer. It was crimson all over, with thorny barbs running down its shaft, and the spearhead was wide and sharp, lined with deadly hooks. Everything about it radiated an aura of death.

"Li Xiang," Elena said with a wry smile, "I know you've been practicing with Gáe Bolg replicas and your spear techniques are impressive, but there's no trace of Scáthach's actual spear techniques here."

She couldn't help but admire him. Though still a low-ranking magus, his overall strength wasn't bad. To think he had managed to fend off one of the temple guardians without suffering any injuries—it was impressive.

As Elena glanced around the empty temple, she thought, 'These deities are really stingy. At least Morgan le Fay left behind those valuable cursed bodies, but Scáthach didn't leave anything behind, not even a single scroll on spear techniques'.

If only she had left something, it would've been a remarkable find.

Despite her thoughts, Li Xiang remained focused, a powerful urge compelling him to reach out and grasp the Gáe Bolg.

As soon as his hand closed around it, the projection wavered and vanished, leaving behind only silence.

But in his mind, a voice echoed from the system:

[Projection Magic - Thorned Spear: Rank D+. A gift from the Queen of the Land of Shadows, Scáthach, to her disciple. The projection magic has been specially reinforced, allowing you to project a version of Gáe Bolg with 50% of its original power.]

Li Xiang stood frozen, stunned by what he had just heard.