"Huff! Huff!" Varian panted heavily as the ghost ship crashed and his body was thrown into the air.
Since the ghost ship's speed was too high, he didn't have much time to react.
Varian instinctively stretched his hand towards his left and clenched his fist. An invisible force wrapped around Sia and stopped her from moving, thus keeping her safe from collisions.
But Varian…
"Ouch."
He slammed into the top of the spaceship. It didn't hurt much, but it was very rare for him to experience something like this.
But he didn't mind it one bit and kept his eyes locked on the unconscious girl.
The first thing he did after landing was to check Sia's condition.
'She's still fighting against the hostile chi.' Varian sighed in relief.
Then, he turned around and saw Boo scratching its head.
"Boo?"
"Master…there's some restriction here."
Varian rubbed his forehead. This was a headache.
Right. What was he expecting?
If even abyssals had devices to restrict Boo, then shouldn't devas also possess them in plenty?
Heaven Will's restriction on Boo was lifted. But this was a special place and likely had its own restrictions. So, it was useless. It'd also be useless if they visit other unexplored parts.
But if Boo 'upgraded', then most of these restrictions might not work.
'I don't know when I can do that…now, I have to work with that I have.' Varian cheered himself up and asked.
"I can at least put stuff in, rig—"
Before he could finish his words, a bright light flashed and the ghost ship turned into a ring.
"Master, I can't stay in the ship form…" Boo's complaining voice sounded in his mind.
Since the ship vanished, Varian fell from the height of five meters.
It was a negligible fall for him, but Varian quickly held the unconscious Sia with his telekinetic power. She floated just a few feet next to him in a standing position.
Five meters felt like too much for her.
"I hope something here can help Sia," Varian said to Boo.
"If not…" Boo trailed off.
Varian's eyes shone with resolve. "We need to get outta here and go to another place."
"B-But there will be humans keeping watch. Maybe, even that bastard Julius himself." Boo whimpered.
"Even then…" Varian took a deep breath. "If I have to die in Julius' hands trying to save Sia, I won't regret it."
"…" Boo fell silent before whispering. "Boo wishes you success."
Varian looked around and his eyes widened.
It was a place at least thirty miles in length and breadth. The floor was made of pristine white marble. It was so smooth that he could see the reflection of his face staring back at him.
Occupying most of the space was a huge castle made of sky-blue stone. Rather than being in a cubical shape, it was a pyramidal structure.
The five-round towers on it seemed to stretch into the heavens. The tips of these towers emitted a silver light.
'Silver Barrier!' Varian's eyebrows flinched and he looked behind.
He flinched.
Behind them was the silver barrier.
In other words, ghost ship crashed right after entering this place.
Varian's mental sense failed to penetrate the silver barrier.
So, it didn't come as a surprise when he couldn't see the outside world through the barrier.
"Ah, Fuck! I need to get going!" Varian yelped and dashed to the giant castle, taking Sia behind him.
The entrance to the castle was wide. In fact, there wasn't even anything like a door except for a huge hollow in the walls.
Varian didn't have the leisure to appreciate the fine artwork engraved on the blue stone of the castle. Neither did he marvel at the beautiful sculptures on the sides of the entrance.
Whoosh!
He entered the castle right away.
But contrary to his imagination, there were no swords, no armors, and no noble atmosphere. There weren't any rooms either!
The whole ground floor had the same layout for its entirety.
With hundreds and hundreds of milk-white chairs spread evenly placed across the area, it was a sight to behold. In front of each chair was a white orb floating at the eye's height.
Whoosh!
Varian didn't know what it was. But he decided to try out everything here.
He wasn't curious. He was desperate.
'Since devas are so advanced, suppressing and eliminating the chi of a mere level 9 awakener wouldn't be so hard for them.' Varian reasoned.
If he searched in the right places, solving Sia's predicament wouldn't be a problem.
…But he didn't know the right places.
So, he had to try them all.
Varian sat down in a chair abruptly. A cool sensation spread from the chair and his anxiety suddenly calmed down.
The white orb floating in front of his chair flashed brightly.
[Welcome, reader. You have access to all the basic records. What would you like to read about?]
A mechanical voice appeared in his mind.
"!" Varian's brows jumped in surprise.
"Read?"
Why that abrupt question?
Wait…
Varian looked around and saw the evenly spaced out chairs. Then, he looked around and saw the plain blue walls. Unlike the outside, these walls had no engravings.
Orderly. Plain. Read.
"Library?" Varian muttered.
[Deva Records can be called a library, but I'd prefer if you address me as…] The voice trailed off.
Varian's suspicion was confirmed. This was no castle, but a library!
[…Who am I? What happened? I…I can't remember.] The voice whispered in a pained voice.
Varian had no answers to give. How the fuck would he know?
So, instead, he pointed to Sia and asked. "Do you know any way to expel the level 9 chi in her body?"
[…The related book should be on the third floor.]
"Third?" Varian's gaze shifted to the long staircase at the other end of the building.
Without another word, Varian sprinted to the first floor.
It was much shorter than the first floor. There were fewer chairs overall. But they were much more exquisite.
[Welcome to the first floor. The records depicting the devas' glory are stored he—]
Varian reached the second floor. It was smaller compared to the first floor.
[The resources, trade, and commerce of the deva empire—]
He finally reached the third floor. It was only a quarter of the second floor.
[The divine paths and the infinite—]
There were far fewer chairs here. Around only fifty.
But each of these chairs was made from beautiful purple crystal and exuded a pleasing aura.
Varian sat on a random chair and froze.
"Haa!"
His mind instantly cooled down. The aura in his body started to flow a bit faster and a warm feeling, as if he was taking a comfortable hot water bath, enveloped him.
'…I think this is a facility that allows students to concentrate on reading by making them comfortable.' It was extremely luxurious for humans. But for devas, it was a basic facility.
Varian's eyes moved to the unconscious Sia.
There were five potion bottles pouring down on her hands and entering her body to prevent the hostile chi from making her situation worse.
Rubbing his sweaty palms, he sat her down carefully.
"Huh?" A small sound escaped her lips.
