The goddesses attempted to gain my salvation.

Freya lit a match, burning the paper completely before speaking.

"We have been trapped in a misconception all along."

"We have always believed that the stone tablet's unique material is what allows it to absorb magic. However, we have overlooked the power of the inscription."

"Now, I can say with certainty."

"What truly gives the stone tablet the ability to absorb magic is the inscription on it, not the stone tablet itself."

"Of course, it might sound a bit awkward to say it that way."

"Next, I will explain it in the simplest way possible."

Freya then took out a piece of paper and wrote three sets of words on it: [Inscription], [Stone Tablet], and [Absorb Magic Power].

Then, several arrows were added between the three sets of text.

"In essence, the magic-suppressing stone we perceive is simply a phenomenon that absorbs the surrounding magic. And the root cause of this phenomenon is the inscription."

"In other words, as long as this inscription exists, anything can potentially become a magic-suppressing stone."

"A pen, a piece of paper, an ordinary stone..."

“Even a living, breathing person.”

Freya's words shocked Ryan to a degree that was simply indescribable.

Having experienced the Scarlet Eyes incident, Ryan clearly remembered that his mentor Nina was turned into a magic-suppressing stone through some means.

It was her existence that ultimately led to the sky being torn apart, the Crimson Eyes descending, and causing incalculable losses to the Holy See.

Fortunately, thanks to Olena's presence and excellent response, no other casualties were reported at the Vatican.

Freya did not experience that event.

However, her conclusions corroborated the facts.

Ryan believed that what Freya said was most likely true.

Looking at the white paper with three sets of words written on it in front of Freya, Ryan felt a chill brewing in his body.

As long as the inscription exists, anything can potentially become a magic-resistant stone...

Moreover, Freya didn't even use magic during the entire demonstration.

In other words, even a three-year-old child with no magical background can create a magic-suppressing stone simply by knowing the inscription.

The anti-magic stone is also the key to summoning the gate to another world.

It is foreseeable that once the inscriptions spread across the mainland, it means that at any moment, in some corner of this mainland, the Scarlet Eyes incident may occur.

Ryan dared not think too much about what this might mean.

At the same time, Ryan also understood why Freya had become the target of the assassination.

The inscription is the true secret behind Scarlet Eyes.

It seems that Freya's safety will become a very important matter in the future.

"Besides that, there is something even more important."

"Of course, the following is just my personal speculation."

Freya slowly raised her eyes and looked intently at Ryan.

"The inscription evolved from Luden script. And Luden script is a script for recording pronunciation."

"In other words, the essence of the inscription is a kind of incantation with a very special operating method."

"Since it's a spell, it means that this system can't just contain one type of magic: absorbing magic power. Behind it, there might be an incredibly complex magic system that we can't even imagine."

"It could even bring about a disruptive change to everything we have encountered so far."

Finally, Freya looked meaningfully out the window.

"Perhaps our enemy... is far more powerful than we imagine."

The words fell.

The carriage was completely silent.

Only the crowd remained, still in shock and unable to calm down for a long time.

------

Dusk.

The carriage arrived in Lavala.

After entering the city, Ryan could clearly feel that the security here was much tighter than before.

The pedestrians on the road all had serious expressions and were walking in a hurry.

When Ryan and his party arrived at the Church of Montfort.

What they saw before them gave them a shock.

The once magnificent Monst Church is now reduced to ruins.

The neatly trimmed lawn was covered in blood and signs of battle.

The bodies had been removed, leaving only a few guards patrolling inside.

Nancy, the lord of Lavala, leaned against a tree trunk with a worried expression.

Ryan squinted, because he didn't see Priestess Helena.

Nancy has barely had a good night's sleep in the past few days.

Every time she wanted to go to bed, something urgent would come up and force her to get up.

Last time it was the Church of Anhe, this time it's the Church of Munster.

There is no doubt that someone is planning to take action against the Vatican.

If the enemy had only massacred the An'i Church, then Nancy might still have a chance of winning.

But now even the Monster Church in the main city of Lavara has been massacred. Even if Nancy mobilizes the entire city-state, it will most likely end in failure.

You might even lose your life.

Nancy is truly powerless now.

Over the years, from childhood to adulthood, whether in business or politics, Nancy has never felt as helpless as she does now.

Or rather, in the face of an enemy powerful enough to slaughter a cathedral in a major city, one is like a newborn.

Upon seeing Ryan, Nancy, who was already exhausted both physically and mentally, still mustered her courage and managed a forced smile for them.

"Another piece of bad news."

"I think I don't need to explain the current situation to you anymore."

The dilapidated scene before us needs no further explanation.

"Actually, I also have a question."

"Such a huge commotion has already occurred in Lavala City, with two churches being massacred in succession. Why hasn't the Knights of the Sun been sent over to maintain order?"

As Nancy asked her question, the guards and clerks on the lawn stopped what they were doing and listened attentively.

After all, this is also a concern for them.

"You should know that in our eyes, the Vatican of Bysma is supreme, sacred and inviolable."

"The two churches were massacred. In the past, by this time, a large number of knights would have arrived here, even at the cost of wiping out the entire city-state, to avenge the dead."

"But now, apart from a few bland accusations, the Vatican has not done anything meaningful."

"If this continues, the Vatican's lofty image in the eyes of the people will likely be overturned."

Why hasn't the Vatican intervened?

The reason is very simple.

The perpetrators of the massacre of the two churches were a faction within the Vatican led by Tracy.

What will the Vatican do?

Should I use my left hand to hit my right hand?

Chapter 200: The Ghoul in the Picture Book

Unlike the reforms of the Vatican.

On the college side, since a portion of the old guard had already been purged, the entire reform process was proceeding very smoothly.

In Ziel's plan, fourth graders need to focus on graduation assessments, while third graders have already built their own small society.

The understanding of magic has already been established, and it is not suitable for such drastic changes.

After much consideration, Ziel believed that the best targets for reform were the first-year students and the still-developing second-year students.

Ziel quickly devised a plan to complete the reforms for the first year before the summer ended.

The following year, the system reform for the second year was completed.

Despite his seemingly rigid appearance, the head of the grade, Raymond Kitty, expressed strong agreement.

During Ryan's absence, with Kitty's help, Ziel completely dismantled and reorganized the mentor team, focusing on attributes, and formed several study groups targeting different attributes to explore the versatility of magic in real life.

The basic courses will remain unchanged, while the class hours for all continuing education courses will be reduced.

The significant amount of free time allowed the mentors to focus their energy on the work of the study groups.

Soon, general-purpose courses targeting fire and wind attributes were launched.

The first trial lecture captivated almost the entire student body of the college.

The instructor's humor, coupled with practical tips on how to use magic in everyday life—tricks that they hadn't previously known much about—made the course well-received by most students.

The reforms are proceeding in an orderly manner.

early morning.

After getting up, Ziel began preparations for the next phase of curriculum reform.