Chapter 457: Chapter 457: Help
Eren watched the Holy Priests flying in their location, their robes fluttering like banners in the wind. He could feel that their hostility wasn't just directed towards the Sea Dragon Empress. It was also directed towards him as they didn't recognise him.
Before they could attack the two of them, he brought out a token of the Holy Empire, that was only given by the Holy Emperor to the friends of the Empire.
As the Holy Emperor, he didn't lack things like this. Let alone one, he had multiple such tokens in his inventory that were no different than freebies that came with becoming the Emperor.
The tokens could not be faked, as they came with the aura of the emperor himself. As soon as Eren revealed the token, the Holy Priests were surprised.
"I am the guest of the Holy Emperor. I was suddenly attacked by this crazy woman. Help me stop her until help arrives!" Eren exclaimed, sending the hostility of the Holy Priests along down.
The Priests still gathered their attacks, but they waited until Eren flew past them to attack the Sea Dragon Empress who was right behind him.
Their combined attacks were strong, but Eren knew that they weren't strong enough to delay the descent of the Sea Dragon Empress.
Even as he heard the painful groans of the Holy Priests as their bodies were ripped apart, he didn't stop flying. For him, even if the Priests managed to delay the Sea Dragon Empress for a short moment, it was more than enough for him.
The Sea Dragon Empress killed the Priests, but it also causes her to lose sight of Eren momentarily. The moment she located him again, he was already standing at the entrance of the Dungeon.
The last few priests that were responsible for contacting the Holy Church were lying dead next to him with a big hole in their chest.
Eren waved his blood covered hand towards the Sea Dragon Empress before he passed through the entrance, disappearing within the dungeon.
"This place... How dare he..." The Sea Dragon Empress was lost in anger, but even then, it took her only a brief moment to realize what kind of place this was.
Without even realizing, she had arrived at the destination that was told to her by the Prophet. As per the prophet, this was the Dungeon that was supposed to possess the heart of the Celestial Dragon.
She didn't know if Eren also knew about the significance of this place, or if he just entered to escape from her. From his expressions before entering, it appeared to be the former case.
She knew that she had promised the Celestial Dragon Prince that she was going to wait for him before entering the place. But now, she couldn't wait anymore.
Eren had already entered the place. If he reached the Celestial Dragon's heart before her, it was going to be a disaster.
Not just Eren, but even the Holy Emperor had discovered this dungeon. She could only drop the idea of teaming up with the Celestial Dragon Prince and enter alone.
As per the prophet, this place was discovered by the Holy Empire. It was when the entrance was discovered during an excavation.
Looking at the place, it hadn't been long since the place was excavated, revealing the entrance that was buried under the ground for a long time.
Even though the Holy Empire had discovered the Dungeon, they still hadn't finished exploring it completely, due to the recent conflicts with other forces.
The Holy Empire didn't know the treasure trove that they had been sitting on.
Without wasting much time, the Sea Dragon Empress also entered the Dungeon, ignoring the corpse of the Priests lying near the entrance.
As she stepped through the entrance, she felt like she had passed through a spatial curtain. Not just the surrounding essence but even the feeling that this space gave her had also changed.
Instead of appearing in an underground structure, she found herself in an open space. Above her, she could see a blood red sky that reminded her of the bloody ocean where she lived.
It was very faint, but she could feel her bloodline getting excited the moment she entered this place.
The Sea Dragon Empress stood under the crimson sky, observing her surroundings. There was a massive maze stretched out before her, its towering walls made of an unfamiliar stone that also had a very faint trace of the Celestial Dragon.
The trace was so minor that even as the Sea Dragon with the purest bloodline, she could barely feel it. For others, it would've been impossible.
She tried to rise above it, her wings unfurling wide, but as soon as she lifted off the ground, an invisible force pulled her back down. It was as if the very essence of this place was a shackle for the maze, refusing to let her escape its confines.
With a thud, she fell on the ground, her elbow getting scratched in the process.
Watching the minor injury, she was even more surprised. Normally, an even stronger fall wouldn't have scratched her. However, she was actually bleeding here.
"Heal." She used the Dragon Tongue to heal her wound.
The wound started healing, but it also happened much slower than it was supposed to. She could feel that her magic had weakened here.
"Is it because of these walls?" She frowned, reaching out her hand.
She touched the wall gently, feeling an even stronger resistance. The walls here were making it harder for her to use the Dragon Tongue.
Not just was her magic weakened, but even her physical traits had weakened. It wasn't just her either. Everyone who entered the Dungeon, experienced the same thing.
"It is similar to the Celestial Dragon's Curse that I heard about." She retracted her hand, her frown deepening.
The Celestial Dragon was the strongest dragon to ever exist in this world. It had many traits, and one of his traits was the domain of curse.
As long as one entered that domain, they were going to be weakened. It was a passive trait that made the Celestial Dragon more threatening.
It was also what made his death so shocking for everyone who knew the strength that the Celestial Dragon used to possess.
Even when weakened under the domain, someone was still able to kill the Celestial Dragon, painting the entire sea red. Even now, no one knew who actually killed the Celestial Dragon in the era long forgotten.