Chapter 331: 331
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"They call this a waterfall?" Wolfe frowned as he looked up at the top of the waterfall. "Given how Warrick talked about it, I expected something more, like the Niagara Falls."
"Technically," Luca said, "it's still a waterfall… Just not an impressive one. This one must have dried off…" He pointed at the rocks around the bottom of the waterfall. "Look at how polished and smooth those rocks are… Even those that aren't hit by the waterfall… The waterfall must have been quite impressive previously."
Looking at the top of the waterfall, which looked like it was at least 500m above ground, and then at the plunge pool, Juin nodded slowly. "Something must have been happening to this island after the natives were gone."
The plunge pool was at least 50 meters deep, yet the water level reached around 15 meters in height.
"Could this have something to do with the 'person' that you mentioned?" Cyrus asked as he took a sniff of the surroundings while walking on the edge of the plunge pool.
"I don't know," Juin said while looking around to make sure that those spirits were really gone. He remembered those horrible emotions and feelings from earlier, and it still bothered him. It was as if they were all etched onto his bones and that he could not get rid of them. "Maybe. Or maybe this island itself is dying."
When others looked at him with curious gazes, Juin shrugged and said, "There are animals here, yet the number of which is suspiciously low. Given the fact that this island was supposed to be uninhabited for a long time, save for a few intruders who may come here looking for the portal, there should be a bigger animal population here. After all, humans are the worst predators, and without humans, the animals should be able to populate faster."
He stopped to think for a moment before continuing, "And no, I don't think it's that unknown person's fault. There's no reason for him to harm the animals. Furthermore, the burnt houses on the beach… They were quite near the sea. I saw one that was partially submerged in the sea. Even if the natives of this island could live in water and on land, they probably wouldn't want their houses that were built on land to be so easily submerged by the seawater.
"So, what I think is that this island is slowly dying… Or rather, it's slowly sinking, and the animals could sense it. This might be why all the animals that we have encountered so far were those that could only live on land. Those that could swim had probably swum off a long time ago." He looked up, but he couldn't see through the leaf canopy high above. If not for the tiny streams of light that escaped in through the canopy, he would have to expend his energy by calling up a few balls of flames.
Even so, he could hear the sounds of birds chirping loudly from above. "And those that couldn't swim were eaten by the birds."
"That's true…" Luca mumbled to himself. He had been so focused on the destination that he failed to realize that the chirpings had been going non-stop.
"Anyway," Juin looked at the boys and said, "that's just my speculation."
When no one answered or said anything, he frowned. "What?"
"I'm surprised, that's all," Wolfe said with a cheeky grin.
"I didn't know you had it in you all along…" Cyrus smirked as he patted Juin on the back, looking very much like a proud older brother.
"..." Luca merely sneered and rolled his eyes. "Guess you are not all that dumb."
Facing their odd looks, Juin cleared his throat and said, "Stop that. Let's not dally and start looking for the cave. It shouldn't be that hard."
"You sure?" Wolfe mumbled tiredly as he looked at the cliffs surrounding the waterfall. It would have been easy to locate the cave if not for the thick layers of mosses that were growing on the sides of the cliffs.
"Are you blind? It's there!" Cyrus suddenly pointed in a direction. His eyes narrowed as he nodded slowly. "Yeah, I can see it."
"Where? Why can't I see anything?" Wolfe asked as he squinted his eyes. He looked in the direction that Cyrus was pointing at, but all he could see was the long hairy green and purple mosses.
"Are you blind?" Cyrus rolled his eyes and said, "It's not that obvious, but it's not that hidden either. I can see the two guys standing there. Isn't that what that stupid prince mentioned before? That his men were attacked by two stone guardians. Those two look like guardians."
Juin looked at Cyrus before looking at where he was pointing.
"Odin's Sight…"
He focused for a long time, and eventually, he saw two silhouettes among the purple and green mosses. It wasn't easy to locate them, for these two statues weren't solid statues that one imagined. They were hidden in the mosses. Or rather, they were the mosses.
"It's another type of camouflage spell…" Lucfer said as he stood next to Juin with his arms folded. "These Atlanteans are rather talented in creating camouflage spells."
"Prince Warrick mentioned that they were stone guardians," Juin said as he looked at the two silhouettes. Even though they were made of mosses, he could feel an imposing aura coming from them. Juin wondered if this was the reason why there were no animals here. For those animals who couldn't fly or swim, this was probably the safest place on the entire island, yet none of them came here.
"Oh yeah…" He looked at Cyrus, thought for a while, and nodded. "Those guardians probably appear to animals to keep them away in case they bring attention to the cave, and Cyrus, who's actually an animal, can see them better than Wolfe, who has human blood in him."
"You saw it too?" Luca asked.
Juin nodded. "Don't you have some anti-camouflage spells?"
"If they worked, I wouldn't have asked you," Luca said with a sigh. "It seems that only you and Cyrus can see it…"
Both Wolfe and Luca then looked at Juin and Cyrus with an evil smile.
"What do you guys want?" Cyrus asked with a brow raised.
"I mean, since you guys are the only ones that can actually see the stone guardians, we think that it's best for you guys to check out the cave. If there's really a portal, just give us a shout," Luca said with a fake smile.
"Why us?" Cyrus pouted. "I'm just a little boy. Who knows what those guardians can do to me? Juin can go by himself."
"Aren't you my pet?" Juin said as he put a hand on Cyrus' shoulder before the latter ran off. "If I'm going, you're coming with me."
"And we are a team!" Cyrus protested. He put out his claws and grabbed onto Wolfe's and Luca's shirts. With a wicked smile, he said, "We should all be going. Even if you can't see those guardians, we can. We will let you know if you're being attacked."
"Cyrus' right, you know," Juin added on. "Besides, what if we only have a few seconds to use the portal? Or if it's a sudden thing? I mean, I don't mind going by myself, but if you guys get left behind and die here, please don't haunt me."
He then walked towards the waterfall with Cyrus, who was forced to release the boys' shirts.
Left with no choice, Luca and Wolfe could only follow behind reluctantly.
When they were at the bottom of the cliff, everyone turned to look at Luca.
"I'm not a mode of transportation," Luca muttered grudgingly, but he still moved his hands a little, and the air around them started to show some changes.
Using a tornado to lift them up in midair, Luca brought them to the front of the entrance.
However, just as they were about to enter the entrance, all of them felt a murderous aura and jumped a few meters off to the sides of the cliff.
A 10-meter big X-mark was cut deeply over the entrance of the cave, yet within seconds, the two lines disappeared.
"What the hell?!" Juin and Wolfe cursed from one side while Luca and Cyrus hung off the other side of the entrance.
"Is Cecile alright?" Juin asked, quickly looking at Cecile who was behind Wolfe. "Thank god she's---"
Their views darkened all of a sudden, and they slowly turned their heads to the side in unison.
The dust and mosses that were cut and falling in midair blocked their views slightly, but they saw the two creatures who attacked them.
"Stone…" Juin's and Luca's eyes widened as they gasped, "Guardians…"
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"They call this a waterfall?" Wolfe frowned as he looked up at the top of the waterfall. "Given how Warrick talked about it, I expected something more, like the Niagara Falls."
"Technically," Luca said, "it's still a waterfall… Just not an impressive one. This one must have dried off…" He pointed at the rocks around the bottom of the waterfall. "Look at how polished and smooth those rocks are… Even those that aren't hit by the waterfall… The waterfall must have been quite impressive previously."
Looking at the top of the waterfall, which looked like it was at least 500m above ground, and then at the plunge pool, Juin nodded slowly. "Something must have been happening to this island after the natives were gone."
The plunge pool was at least 50 meters deep, yet the water level reached around 15 meters in height.
"Could this have something to do with the 'person' that you mentioned?" Cyrus asked as he took a sniff of the surroundings while walking on the edge of the plunge pool.
"I don't know," Juin said while looking around to make sure that those spirits were really gone. He remembered those horrible emotions and feelings from earlier, and it still bothered him. It was as if they were all etched onto his bones and that he could not get rid of them. "Maybe. Or maybe this island itself is dying."
When others looked at him with curious gazes, Juin shrugged and said, "There are animals here, yet the number of which is suspiciously low. Given the fact that this island was supposed to be uninhabited for a long time, save for a few intruders who may come here looking for the portal, there should be a bigger animal population here. After all, humans are the worst predators, and without humans, the animals should be able to populate faster."
He stopped to think for a moment before continuing, "And no, I don't think it's that unknown person's fault. There's no reason for him to harm the animals. Furthermore, the burnt houses on the beach… They were quite near the sea. I saw one that was partially submerged in the sea. Even if the natives of this island could live in water and on land, they probably wouldn't want their houses that were built on land to be so easily submerged by the seawater.
"So, what I think is that this island is slowly dying… Or rather, it's slowly sinking, and the animals could sense it. This might be why all the animals that we have encountered so far were those that could only live on land. Those that could swim had probably swum off a long time ago." He looked up, but he couldn't see through the leaf canopy high above. If not for the tiny streams of light that escaped in through the canopy, he would have to expend his energy by calling up a few balls of flames.
Even so, he could hear the sounds of birds chirping loudly from above. "And those that couldn't swim were eaten by the birds."
"That's true…" Luca mumbled to himself. He had been so focused on the destination that he failed to realize that the chirpings had been going non-stop.
"Anyway," Juin looked at the boys and said, "that's just my speculation."
When no one answered or said anything, he frowned. "What?"
"I'm surprised, that's all," Wolfe said with a cheeky grin.
"I didn't know you had it in you all along…" Cyrus smirked as he patted Juin on the back, looking very much like a proud older brother.
"..." Luca merely sneered and rolled his eyes. "Guess you are not all that dumb."
Facing their odd looks, Juin cleared his throat and said, "Stop that. Let's not dally and start looking for the cave. It shouldn't be that hard."
"You sure?" Wolfe mumbled tiredly as he looked at the cliffs surrounding the waterfall. It would have been easy to locate the cave if not for the thick layers of mosses that were growing on the sides of the cliffs.
"Are you blind? It's there!" Cyrus suddenly pointed in a direction. His eyes narrowed as he nodded slowly. "Yeah, I can see it."
"Where? Why can't I see anything?" Wolfe asked as he squinted his eyes. He looked in the direction that Cyrus was pointing at, but all he could see was the long hairy green and purple mosses.
"Are you blind?" Cyrus rolled his eyes and said, "It's not that obvious, but it's not that hidden either. I can see the two guys standing there. Isn't that what that stupid prince mentioned before? That his men were attacked by two stone guardians. Those two look like guardians."
Juin looked at Cyrus before looking at where he was pointing.
"Odin's Sight…"
He focused for a long time, and eventually, he saw two silhouettes among the purple and green mosses. It wasn't easy to locate them, for these two statues weren't solid statues that one imagined. They were hidden in the mosses. Or rather, they were the mosses.
"It's another type of camouflage spell…" Lucfer said as he stood next to Juin with his arms folded. "These Atlanteans are rather talented in creating camouflage spells."
"Prince Warrick mentioned that they were stone guardians," Juin said as he looked at the two silhouettes. Even though they were made of mosses, he could feel an imposing aura coming from them. Juin wondered if this was the reason why there were no animals here. For those animals who couldn't fly or swim, this was probably the safest place on the entire island, yet none of them came here.
"Oh yeah…" He looked at Cyrus, thought for a while, and nodded. "Those guardians probably appear to animals to keep them away in case they bring attention to the cave, and Cyrus, who's actually an animal, can see them better than Wolfe, who has human blood in him."
"You saw it too?" Luca asked.
Juin nodded. "Don't you have some anti-camouflage spells?"
"If they worked, I wouldn't have asked you," Luca said with a sigh. "It seems that only you and Cyrus can see it…"
Both Wolfe and Luca then looked at Juin and Cyrus with an evil smile.
"What do you guys want?" Cyrus asked with a brow raised.
"I mean, since you guys are the only ones that can actually see the stone guardians, we think that it's best for you guys to check out the cave. If there's really a portal, just give us a shout," Luca said with a fake smile.
"Why us?" Cyrus pouted. "I'm just a little boy. Who knows what those guardians can do to me? Juin can go by himself."
"Aren't you my pet?" Juin said as he put a hand on Cyrus' shoulder before the latter ran off. "If I'm going, you're coming with me."
"And we are a team!" Cyrus protested. He put out his claws and grabbed onto Wolfe's and Luca's shirts. With a wicked smile, he said, "We should all be going. Even if you can't see those guardians, we can. We will let you know if you're being attacked."
"Cyrus' right, you know," Juin added on. "Besides, what if we only have a few seconds to use the portal? Or if it's a sudden thing? I mean, I don't mind going by myself, but if you guys get left behind and die here, please don't haunt me."
He then walked towards the waterfall with Cyrus, who was forced to release the boys' shirts.
Left with no choice, Luca and Wolfe could only follow behind reluctantly.
When they were at the bottom of the cliff, everyone turned to look at Luca.
"I'm not a mode of transportation," Luca muttered grudgingly, but he still moved his hands a little, and the air around them started to show some changes.
Using a tornado to lift them up in midair, Luca brought them to the front of the entrance.
However, just as they were about to enter the entrance, all of them felt a murderous aura and jumped a few meters off to the sides of the cliff.
A 10-meter big X-mark was cut deeply over the entrance of the cave, yet within seconds, the two lines disappeared.
"What the hell?!" Juin and Wolfe cursed from one side while Luca and Cyrus hung off the other side of the entrance.
"Is Cecile alright?" Juin asked, quickly looking at Cecile who was behind Wolfe. "Thank god she's---"
Their views darkened all of a sudden, and they slowly turned their heads to the side in unison.
The dust and mosses that were cut and falling in midair blocked their views slightly, but they saw the two creatures who attacked them.
"Stone…" Juin's and Luca's eyes widened as they gasped, "Guardians…"
"They call this a waterfall?" Wolfe frowned as he looked up at the top of the waterfall. "Given how Warrick talked about it, I expected something more, like the Niagara Falls." "Technically," Luca said, "it's still a waterfall Just not an impressive one. This one must have dried off" He pointed at the rocks around the bottom of the waterfall. "Look at how polished and smooth those rocks are Even those that aren't hit by the waterfall The waterfall must have been quite impressive previously." Looking at the top of the waterfall, which looked like it was at least 500m above ground, and then at the plunge pool, Juin nodded slowly. "Something must have been happening to this island after the natives were gone." The plunge pool was at least 50 meters deep, yet the water level reached around 15 meters in height. "Could this have something to do with the 'person' that you mentioned?" Cyrus asked as he took a sniff of the surroundings while walking on the edge of the plunge pool. "I don't know," Juin said while looking around to make sure that those spirits were really gone. He remembered those horrible emotions and feelings from earlier, and it still bothered him. It was as if they were all etched onto his bones and that he could not get rid of them. "Maybe. Or maybe this island itself is dying." When others looked at him with curious gazes, Juin shrugged and said, "There are animals here, yet the number of which is suspiciously low. Given the fact that this island was supposed to be uninhabited for a long time, save for a few intruders who may come here looking for the portal, there should be a bigger animal population here. After all, humans are the worst predators, and without humans, the animals should be able to populate faster." He stopped to think for a moment before continuing, "And no, I don't think it's that unknown person's fault. There's no reason for him to harm the animals. Furthermore, the burnt houses on the beach They were quite near the sea. I saw one that was partially submerged in the sea. Even if the natives of this island could live in water and on land, they probably wouldn't want their houses that were built on land to be so easily submerged by the seawater. "So, what I think is that this island is slowly dying Or rather, it's slowly sinking, and the animals could sense it. This might be why all the animals that we have encountered so far were those that could only live on land. Those that could swim had probably swum off a long time ago." He looked up, but he couldn't see through the leaf canopy high above. If not for the tiny streams of light that escaped in through the canopy, he would have to expend his energy by calling up a few balls of flames. Even so, he could hear the sounds of birds chirping loudly from above. "And those that couldn't swim were eaten by the birds." "That's true" Luca mumbled to himself. He had been so focused on the destination that he failed to realize that the chirpings had been going non-stop. "Anyway," Juin looked at the boys and said, "that's just my speculation." When no one answered or said anything, he frowned. "What?" "I'm surprised, that's all," Wolfe said with a cheeky grin. "I didn't know you had it in you all along" Cyrus smirked as he patted Juin on the back, looking very much like a proud older brother. "..." Luca merely sneered and rolled his eyes. "Guess you are not all that dumb." Facing their odd looks, Juin cleared his throat and said, "Stop that. Let's not dally and start looking for the cave. It shouldn't be that hard." "You sure?" Wolfe mumbled tiredly as he looked at the cliffs surrounding the waterfall. It would have been easy to locate the cave if not for the thick layers of mosses that were growing on the sides of the cliffs. "Are you blind? It's there!" Cyrus suddenly pointed in a direction. His eyes narrowed as he nodded slowly. "Yeah, I can see it." "Where? Why can't I see anything?" Wolfe asked as he squinted his eyes. He looked in the direction that Cyrus was pointing at, but all he could see was the long hairy green and purple mosses. "Are you blind?" Cyrus rolled his eyes and said, "It's not that obvious, but it's not that hidden either. I can see the two guys standing there. Isn't that what that stupid prince mentioned before? That his men were attacked by two stone guardians. Those two look like guardians." Juin looked at Cyrus before looking at where he was pointing. "Odin's Sight" He focused for a long time, and eventually, he saw two silhouettes among the purple and green mosses. It wasn't easy to locate them, for these two statues weren't solid statues that one imagined. They were hidden in the mosses. Or rather, they were the mosses. "It's another type of camouflage spell" Lucfer said as he stood next to Juin with his arms folded. "These Atlanteans are rather talented in creating camouflage spells." "Prince Warrick mentioned that they were stone guardians," Juin said as he looked at the two silhouettes. Even though they were made of mosses, he could feel an imposing aura coming from them. Juin wondered if this was the reason why there were no animals here. For those animals who couldn't fly or swim, this was probably the safest place on the entire island, yet none of them came here. "Oh yeah" He looked at Cyrus, thought for a while, and nodded. "Those guardians probably appear to animals to keep them away in case they bring attention to the cave, and Cyrus, who's actually an animal, can see them better than Wolfe, who has human blood in him." "You saw it too?" Luca asked. Juin nodded. "Don't you have some anti-camouflage spells?" "If they worked, I wouldn't have asked you," Luca said with a sigh. "It seems that only you and Cyrus can see it" Both Wolfe and Luca then looked at Juin and Cyrus with an evil smile. "What do you guys want?" Cyrus asked with a brow raised. "I mean, since you guys are the only ones that can actually see the stone guardians, we think that it's best for you guys to check out the cave. If there's really a portal, just give us a shout," Luca said with a fake smile. "Why us?" Cyrus pouted. "I'm just a little boy. Who knows what those guardians can do to me? Juin can go by himself." "Aren't you my pet?" Juin said as he put a hand on Cyrus' shoulder before the latter ran off. "If I'm going, you're coming with me." "And we are a team!" Cyrus protested. He put out his claws and grabbed onto Wolfe's and Luca's shirts. With a wicked smile, he said, "We should all be going. Even if you can't see those guardians, we can. We will let you know if you're being attacked." "Cyrus' right, you know," Juin added on. "Besides, what if we only have a few seconds to use the portal? Or if it's a sudden thing? I mean, I don't mind going by myself, but if you guys get left behind and die here, please don't haunt me." He then walked towards the waterfall with Cyrus, who was forced to release the boys' shirts. Left with no choice, Luca and Wolfe could only follow behind reluctantly. When they were at the bottom of the cliff, everyone turned to look at Luca. "I'm not a mode of transportation," Luca muttered grudgingly, but he still moved his hands a little, and the air around them started to show some changes. Using a tornado to lift them up in midair, Luca brought them to the front of the entrance. However, just as they were about to enter the entrance, all of them felt a murderous aura and jumped a few meters off to the sides of the cliff. A 10-meter big X-mark was cut deeply over the entrance of the cave, yet within seconds, the two lines disappeared. "What the hell?!" Juin and Wolfe cursed from one side while Luca and Cyrus hung off the other side of the entrance. "Is Cecile alright?" Juin asked, quickly looking at Cecile who was behind Wolfe. "Thank god she's---" Their views darkened all of a sudden, and they slowly turned their heads to the side in unison. The dust and mosses that were cut and falling in midair blocked their views slightly, but they saw the two creatures who attacked them. "Stone" Juin's and Luca's eyes widened as they gasped, "Guardians"
