Haruto and Aoi approached the black stone pedestal.
The tome hovered in midair with a low hum, bound by three thick chains of golden energy that radiated a suffocating heat.
“They’re Vatican sealing chains,” Haruto said, assessing the runes flickering along the links.
“Someone from the Church was here centuries ago and locked the manuscript away so no one could read it.” “Can you break them?” Aoi asked, her fingers brushing the hilt of her greatsword.
“If we hit them with physical force, the golden energy will detonate like a trap,” Haruto explained, stepping forward and extending both hands toward the tome.
“The Church builds its seals based on faith and hierarchy.
But all magic is ultimately nothing more than a structure of vectors and nodes.” Haruto closed his eyes.
He channeled blue mana from his palms—not as an attack, but as dozens of ultra-fine threads that slipped into the gaps between the chains.
With the precision of a surgeon dismantling a complex mechanism, he began altering the frequency of the golden mana, searching for the resonance point where the spell lost its cohesion.
Aoi remained at his side, her gaze fixed on the chamber’s entrance, ready to react to any threat while her partner worked.
CRACK!
One by one, the golden links cracked until they dissolved into tiny, harmless specks of light.
The ancient dark-leather book fell softly into Haruto’s open hands.
As he opened the cover, they found no pages written in traditional ink.
Instead, a stream of luminous information burst from the tome and split into two trails of light: a bluish one that surged into Haruto’s chest, and a crimson one that wrapped around Aoi’s right arm.
Aoi let out a small gasp, clutching her arm as the marks of the Ancient Way burned into her skin like fine runic tattoos.
“I feel…
as if the weight of the air in this place just vanished,” Aoi murmured, staring at her palm.
Her soul energy no longer fluctuated wildly; it now flowed with a concentrated, perfect density, wasting not a single shred of effort.
“The manuscript didn’t give us a level,” Haruto said, opening his eyes, which now held a much deeper and calmer blue glow.
“It taught us the method to sever our circulatory channels from the Vatican’s network.
From this day on, neither the Church nor their God can measure or absorb our power.” Before they could fully absorb the technique, a deafening crash shook the entire structure of the ruins.
Dust and stone fragments rained down from the ceiling as the heavy thud of armored footsteps echoed down the tunnel staircase.
“They found the entrance,” Aoi said, shifting her stance and gripping her sword with both hands.
Her face hardened back into that cold, ruthless expression.
Haruto closed the tome, slipped it into his pack, and drew his short sword.
A cloak of perfectly stabilized blue mana enveloped the blade.
“Commander Gerald and the Third Division,” Haruto declared, standing shoulder to shoulder with Aoi.
“It’s time to test the first stage of the Ancient Way.”