Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

The two figures radiating holy light still vaguely retained traces of the giant who had been devoured earlier, but the feeling they gave off was completely different...

In another corner of the relief mural, a massive serpent was shown winding its way through the sky before diving underground. Deep beneath the earth, the faint outline of a gigantic gate could just barely be seen!

Meriel stared blankly at the scene, completely absorbed by the mural.

Levi, however, possessed powerful Spiritual Power, and his Sea of Souls was protected by the cheat ability Origin Energy, so he was far less affected.

Blue light flickered within his eyes as hidden information surfaced before him. His mind raced as he frowned slightly and said slowly, "The two reliefs on this giant gate seem to be telling the story of this ruin's origin... and the birth of two saints."

"Saints?" Meriel snapped out of her trance. Upon hearing Levi's words, she looked at him in disbelief. "You mean... that light?"

"Mm. I think so."

Levi did not speak its name aloud, but he believed Meriel understood exactly what he meant.

Her expression instantly became complicated, a mixture of countless emotions flashing through her eyes.

"How can you be so certain?"

"Just a feeling."

Levi answered calmly, though a trace of gravity flashed deep within his eyes.

If that light represented Jesus Christ walking among mortals—or God Himself, since this world followed the concept of the Holy Trinity—

Then who was the giant that had been absorbed and transformed by Him?

The serpent staff immediately reminded Levi of someone.

Or rather, a god.

Asclepius.

Memories flooded into Levi's mind as information regarding Asclepius surfaced.

In Greek mythology, Asclepius was the orthodox God of Medicine, the son of the sun god Apollo and the mortal woman Coronis.

His most iconic symbol was a serpent-entwined staff.

Asclepius possessed the power to bring the dead back to life, and his medical skill was unparalleled. He had studied under the centaur Chiron.

Legend said that through his study of the medicinal knowledge of serpents, he even discovered ways to resurrect the dead.

However, because he revived too many people—including Glaucus, the son of Minos, and even the hero Theseus—he disrupted the boundary between life and death, causing Hades, Lord of the Underworld, to complain to Zeus.

In the end, Zeus struck Asclepius down with a thunderbolt.

After his death, Apollo pleaded on behalf of his son, and Zeus elevated him to the heavens as the constellation Ophiuchus, allowing him to become a true god of medicine.

It would be as if Asclepius had reached the limits of his power, attracted a trial from the world's will, and ultimately undergone a complete transformation, ascending to a divine throne and becoming a true deity rather than merely a demigod.

Whether that was actually the truth, however, was impossible to know.

If the giant depicted in the reliefs—and this entire ruin—were truly connected to Asclepius...

Then the White Snake Meat's ability to understand the voices of animals, as well as The Three Snake-Leaves' power to resurrect the dead, suddenly made perfect sense.

The resurrection power required no explanation. Asclepius had been the God of Medicine to begin with.

As for understanding animal speech, legend held that Asclepius could communicate with serpents as equals. Perhaps that was where the ability originated.

As Levi was pondering this, a white snake slithered out through a crack beneath the giant gate, catching his attention.

With a thought, he cast Wizard's Hand and seized it.

Origin Energy reacted once again, flowing into the snake before instantly returning to his body.

A new spell model crystal appeared within his Sea of Souls.

Animal Thoughts!

That was the name of the new spell.

Its effect was simple—it allowed Levi to hear the thoughts of animals.

Its appearance slightly strengthened the Sea of Souls, bringing the total number of spells Levi had mastered to thirteen.

It was merely a minor spell.

With Detection already at his disposal, Levi did not particularly care about it.

What he truly wanted was the resurrection ability of The Three Snake-Leaves.

Resurrection!

With that power, he would no longer have to fear unexpected death.

Its significance to him was enormous.

He turned to look at Meriel.

She was still shaken by Levi's theory regarding the "birth of the saints." Only after noticing his gaze did she finally snap back to reality.

"What do you want to do?" Meriel asked.

She already had a vague idea of the answer, but she asked anyway.

"Open this gate."

Levi gestured toward it.

When he had used Wizard's Hand to catch the white snake emerging from the crack earlier, he had also tried pushing the gate with all his strength.

It had not moved in the slightest.

And according to the information provided by Detection, opening this ancient gate truly required the bloodline of the Dres family—the so-called Gatekeeper Family.

Meriel remained silent for a moment.

Without looking at Levi, she simply stared at the gate before her.

"Don't forget your promise."

"I've never broken my word," Levi replied calmly. "Help me obtain what's inside, and I'll help you deal with your father. As for whether you can claim that throne afterward, that's your problem."

"That's not enough."

Meriel wanted more.

Levi shook his head.

"This is already the best deal you're going to get."

Meriel closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, she pulled a dagger from her clothes and, without the slightest hesitation, sliced open her palm. Crimson blood dripped from her fingertips, landing precisely on the relief carved into the giant gate.

The blood moved like living serpents. The moment it touched the relief, it began slithering across the surface. A faint red glow appeared wherever it passed.

Without blinking, Levi watched the scene unfold. At the same time, he flicked a small orb of light from his fingertips. It landed precisely on Meriel's palm.

Instantly, the wound healed completely, leaving not even the slightest trace behind.

"Thank you," Meriel said softly, momentarily stunned.

Levi did not respond. His attention remained fixed on the relief, blue light flickering within his eyes.

As the blood spread farther and farther across the carvings, the red glow intensified.

Then the previously cold and motionless giant gate suddenly began to tremble.

The engraved patterns seemed to awaken and slowly started flowing across its surface.

A moment later—

Rumble—!

A deep, thunderous roar echoed through the tomb.

The giant gate slowly opened inward, revealing a narrow crack.

There was no light beyond it.

Only a terrifying, surging aura burst forth.

The pressure carried the sensation of world-ending destruction. It swept through the entire tomb in an instant.

Compared to that overwhelming presence, the faint glow of the torches became pitifully weak, as though they might be extinguished at any moment.

Levi's entire body stiffened.

A deadly chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

The feedback from Detection was clear:

Extreme danger.

Far more terrifying than even the Seven-Headed Dragon.

It felt as though he were standing before a god.

The might of a god was like a prison.

Even his soul trembled uncontrollably.

Yet strangely enough, Meriel—a completely ordinary person—was utterly unaffected by the terrifying aura.

Not in the slightest.

As Levi struggled to comprehend this, the force threatening to tear him apart grew even stronger.

Even his cheat ability, Origin Energy, was triggered.

That brief activation gave Levi a moment to breathe.

Alarm bells screamed in his mind.

Without a second of hesitation, he activated the Polymorph spell within his Sea of Souls and transformed into the high-tier Third-Order magical beast, the Human-Faced Demon Owl.

Clutching the white snake in his beak and grabbing Meriel with his talons, he spread his black wings.

A flash of light enveloped him.

His body merged into the shadows of the tomb.

Then he shot through them at high speed, fleeing as fast as possible.

At the same time—

Within the Kingdom of Valeria.

Inside the grand cathedral where Archbishop Cologne resided, the previously tranquil and gentle Holy Light suddenly became restless upon sensing that aura.

Invisible streams of golden holy radiance burst from the cathedral's dome and stained-glass windows.

They surged skyward, pierced through the clouds, and gradually formed the faint image of a gigantic cross in the heavens.

Having just finished dealing with the King of Valeria and now praying devoutly inside the cathedral, Archbishop Cologne abruptly opened his eyes.

The calm expression on his face was instantly replaced by unprecedented gravity.

He knew that something had provoked an intense reaction from the holy relic housed within the cathedral.

Rising to his feet, he stared fixedly at the holy image in the sky.

His lips moved slightly as he slowly uttered three words.

His voice was hoarse and heavy.

"False god."

"Remnants."

Beneath the tomb, the giant gate slowly closed once more.

The terrifying aura vanished without a trace, as though it had never existed.

Without a target to pursue, the colossal phantom cross in the sky gradually dispersed as well.

But Archbishop Cologne knew this was not the end.

It was the beginning.

The aura of an old god had appeared within the capital of the Kingdom of Valeria.

This was an extraordinarily serious matter.

Investigating the identity of the newly appointed Count of Silverclaw was important.

But compared to this, it was insignificant.

Bishops and priests blessed with divine favor and holy power hurried over from other parts of the cathedral.

They had also sensed the abnormal reaction of the Holy Light.

One by one, they arrived with solemn expressions and turned toward Archbishop Cologne.

By now, the archbishop's expression had already returned to calm.

He said indifferently, "Report this to the Holy See."

"Inform them that remnants of an old god have appeared here."

The bishops and priests all nodded heavily.

Yet beneath their solemn expressions, a hint of excitement flickered deep within their eyes.

What better way was there to prove one's unwavering faith in the Lord than by eradicating the remnants of an old god?

Perhaps after this incident, they would all receive tremendous rewards.

Meanwhile, the King of Valeria, who had just returned to the royal palace, knew nothing of this.

His discussion with Archbishop Cologne had gone poorly.

The Pope's Divine Edict.

Archbishop Cologne would definitely leave and establish his seat within Levi's territory.

That outcome could no longer be changed.

The King of Valeria felt increasingly irritated.

Everything seemed to be slipping beyond his control.

Ever since obtaining the White Snake Meat, such feelings had become exceedingly rare.

The last time he had felt this way was during the war against Hornreach.

And now—

Once again, it was because of Levi.

In truth, this situation was merely a continuation of the consequences of that war.

If he had won back then, Archbishop Cologne relocating to Levi's territory would not have affected him much.

But he had lost.

And that changed everything.

He suddenly wanted to know what was happening within Levi's territory.

So he instructed his servants to head to the underground tomb and capture a white snake for him.

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar

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