Calling this place a graveyard of statues would not be an exaggeration. Merlin began counting the severed heads, and there were twenty in total.

Their sizes varied—some were small, some stood nearly two meters tall, and the largest was the massive head he had just seen.

"This might be a hall of worship," Luna remarked.

"A hall of worship?" The others looked surprised.

"Mhm." Luna nodded and explained, "No one in the world has ever known about this place, so I believe it's a set of ruins. And from what I've read, ruins come in many forms—remnants of kingdoms, dungeons, and more. Judging by the number of shattered statue heads, I'm certain this was once a place where ancient creatures came to pray or worship."

She gazed calmly at the statue heads. They weren't all human-shaped—there were dragons, elves, and even… demons.

After hearing her analysis, the others fell silent for a moment before nodding in agreement. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Her explanation was reasonable.

"In that case, what should we do now?" Catrine asked. "Should we keep going or turn back?"

Ever since she had been trained by her master—Master Illusion—Catrine had developed a strong sense of vigilance.

Her intuition warned her that something about this place was wrong. If they continued deeper, there was a chance danger might be waiting to ambush them.

Besides, her master was a ruin explorer, and she often told Catrine stories about her journeys searching for and adventuring through ancient ruins.

Catrine remembered one of her master's most important pieces of advice: "Never enter ruins if you feel uneasy from the very start. That's a sign misfortune awaits inside."

Still, the decision wasn't hers to make—that role belonged to her older brother.

As long as Merlin chose to move forward, she wouldn't object. After all, she trusted him.

Luna, Nysera, Margaret, and Lisa all turned toward Merlin at the same time, as if waiting for his decision.

Merlin didn't answer immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and communicated with the system.

"System, what do you think? With my current strength, is it safe for me to explore deeper?"

"[I suggest you leave now, Master. My gut feeling tells me you'll be in danger.]"The system replied with concern.

Suddenly, Lyserra's voice echoed in his mind.

"Merlin, don't act rashly! This place is extremely dangerous—it's not time for you to step in here yet!"

Merlin stiffened. He hadn't expected Lyserra to warn him as well.

"Do you know this place?" Merlin asked.

"No, I don't," Lyserra replied solemnly. "But I can sense this place is connected to that figure."

"That figure?" Merlin's eyes widened. "Who?"

Lyserra fell silent for a few seconds before answering.

"The traitor… the Demon King."

Merlin's face went pale. "The… Demon King, you say?!"

The Demon King was the title given to the leader of the demon race. However, in the present era, the demon race had been sealed away in a mysterious place whose location was unknown.

And since the Demon King himself had never appeared, most people in this world considered him nothing more than a myth.

"Yes, the Demon King! I'm not joking!" Lyserra warned in a heavy voice. "Long ago, Ishtar once fought the Demon King. That traitor surrendered to Volgrath and became his most loyal dog."

Her voice was filled with disgust. "In that battle, the Demon King was killed. His head was severed, and his body was split in two. However, the Demon King had received a blessing from Vorgrath. He could never truly die, even after his body was cut into several pieces. Therefore…"

Caution tinged her tone as she continued. "Ishtar took the three pieces of his body. The right half was cast into the forbidden forest at the remote edge of the continent, while the left half was cast onto Mount Eldravan, located in the dwarves' territory. As for the last part—his head—Ishtar threw it into the ocean. I don't know the exact place where it was cast, but just now…"

She swallowed hard. "I sensed the Demon King's aura! This place is clearly where his head was sealed! So Merlin, turn back now. You're not strong enough to confront the Demon King. Even if it's only the head, it would be enough to incinerate you and turn you to dust. Not even Lisa at your side would stand a chance."

Merlin's heart pounded. He turned to Lisa and the others and ordered firmly, "Retreat… We have to get back to the ship!"

The others were surprised. They had expected Merlin to push forward, but instead, he chose to withdraw.

Still, none of them questioned it. They simply nodded.

"We understand!"

Without wasting any time, Luna, Catrine, Nysera, Margaret, Lisa, and Merlin swam back toward the entrance.

What they didn't realize was that shortly after they left, the giant eye they had seen earlier suddenly moved.

Its piercing gaze locked onto the six of them as they swam away.

***

When Merlin, Luna, Catrine, Margaret, Nysera, and Lisa emerged, they hurriedly swam away as Merlin had ordered.

Then, under their bewildered gazes, Merlin swam back toward the entrance and pressed his palms together.

"Seal of the Sky!"

Buzz!

Two high-level magic circles appeared, completely sealing the entrance.

But Merlin didn't leave right away. He took out his invisibility cloak and attached it to the right edge of the entrance.

In an instant, the entrance vanished, as if it had never existed.

Merlin still wasn't done. He embedded numerous magic circles around the area, covering the entrance and everything within a fifteen-meter radius.

If anyone tried to approach, those magic circles would blast them away.

Even someone at the Second Spirit Core level would still be injured.

Lisa and the others could only stare in astonishment. They didn't understand why Merlin was being so vigilant and cautious.

Merlin didn't explain. He simply turned to them and said calmly, "Let's go back to the ship."

They suppressed their curiosity and nodded.

***

When Monica, Liora, and Nivis saw Merlin and the others walking back onto the ship's deck, they hurried over to them.

"What's going on? Why are you coming back?" Nivis asked worriedly.

Luna, Catrine, Nysera, Margaret, and Lisa didn't answer. They only glanced at Merlin in silence.

Merlin shook his head. "There's danger in there."

"Danger?" The three girls were startled.

Merlin nodded, though he had no intention of explaining further at the moment.

"Luna, tell Gerhan to leave this place immediately. Now!" he ordered firmly.

Luna didn't dare to question him and left at once.

Then he looked at the others seriously and continued, "All of you, come to my room. I need to talk to you."