Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 248: The Ancient Ruins (Part-20)

Not far away, the same phenomenon had appeared beneath Prince Kael’s feet. However, unlike hers, his halo was a brilliant gold. It rotated steadily, exuding a deeper, heavier aura, one that carried an unmistakable sense of authority and strength.

The contrast between the red and gold lights was striking.

Tiffany could not help but exclaim, his face filled with complicated emotions. "This luck is ridiculous. They already got so much from the stone room, and now this, too. Are they really going to take everything?"

Alaric Von Seraph watched the scene with narrowed eyes, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "It seems the swords weren’t the final key after all. Or rather... they were only the first step."

The moment the thought settled, movement erupted among the others.

Several Spirit warriors from the House Ravens quickly followed the example, leaping up to the statues and pressing the same hidden mechanisms. Crisp sounds echoed one after another, and soon, halos appeared beneath their feet as well.

Golden light flared.

Seeing this, the atmosphere instantly changed. What had been tension and uncertainty turned into excitement and hope.

"So it’s not exclusive!"

"As long as you activate the mechanism, you get a halo!"

Relief and eagerness spread through the crowd. One by one, the remaining practitioners rushed forward, no longer hesitating. Soon, the hall was filled with faint sounds of mechanisms being triggered, followed by the appearance of glowing halos beneath their feet.

After a moment of observation, a clear pattern emerged. Those standing before the male statue were surrounded by golden halos, while those who had activated the female statue were enveloped in red ones.

However, two figures stood out like thorns in the scene.

Guinvere and Sigmund.

They had also stepped forward and pressed the mechanisms, their movements no slower than the others. Yet when they did, there was no sound. No glow. No reaction at all.

Nothing appeared beneath their feet.

The lively chatter slowly died down as everyone noticed the anomaly. Curious, confused gazes turned toward the two of them.

Guinvere frowned deeply, her fingers pressing the statue again, harder this time. Still nothing. Sigmund did the same, repeatedly triggering the mechanism, his expression growing darker with each failed attempt.

"How is this possible?" Sigmund muttered, his voice tight with disbelief.

Guinvere’s face had already gone pale. She tried once more, but the statue remained cold and silent, as if rejecting her outright.

A low murmur spread through the crowd.

"Why didn’t it react for them?"

"Could it be... they were excluded?"

Someone finally voiced the thought hanging heavily in the air.

"Is it possible that this inheritance... isn’t meant for everyone after all?" Elowen’s gaze swept across the hall, lingering on the glowing halos beneath everyone’s feet.

When her eyes finally settled on Guinvere and Sigmund, who stood barefoot on the stone floor with nothing beneath them, a strange look surfaced in her eyes.

"So many people triggered the response," she said slowly, her voice thoughtful rather than sharp, "yet only the two of them were excluded. That’s... unusual."

The implication in her words hung in the air.

For a moment, the hall fell into an uneasy silence. Then murmurs spread, low and uncertain, as people began to reconsider what they were seeing.

"What if the owner of the ruins did it on purpose?"

"That’s not impossible. Guinvere and Sigmund are famous for their talent. Maybe the inheritance doesn’t use halos to mark the true successors."

"Right. Perhaps those without halos are the real inheritors, while the rest of us are just... spectators."

The speculation spread quickly, like sparks jumping from one dry thought to another. After all, Guinvere and Sigmund were widely acknowledged geniuses. If anyone was qualified to inherit the legacy of a supreme expert, it would be them.

Fiona crossed her arms, her lips pressed into a thin line. She glanced at Guinvere and Sigmund with unconcealed displeasure.

If the inheritance truly fell into their hands, the gap between them would only widen. By then, even breathing in their presence might become an act of caution.

Elowen’s expression darkened as well. Of all possible outcomes, this was the one she least wanted to see.

Meanwhile, Guinvere and Sigmund exchanged glances. The confusion that had flickered across their faces earlier was gradually replaced by restrained excitement. If this interpretation were true, then this moment was nothing short of destiny favoring them.

Sigmund’s chest rose slightly as he took a slow breath. The thought of inheriting the legacy of the ruins made his blood surge. At the same time, paired up with Guinvere in such a way brought excitement to his heart.

Reesa, however, snorted openly. "What kind of joke is this? If the inheritance really chooses them, then the owner of this ruin must have terrible eyesight." She shot a glance at Zora and Prince Kael, clearly indignant. "Zora and Prince Kael are far more suitable than those two. Giving it to them would just be a waste."

Baldwin nodded in agreement, his tone equally dissatisfied. "I can’t understand it either."

Inside the Ring of Chaos, Black’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Master, this can’t be right, can it?"

White shook his head vigorously. "If the inheritors are really those two, then this relic owner must truly be blind."

Zora did not join in the complaints. Instead, she stood quietly, her brows slightly drawn together. Everything everyone said made sense, yet the unease in her heart refused to fade. Something about this situation felt off, like a puzzle piece forced into the wrong place.

She turned her head and found Prince Kael wearing the same contemplative expression, his gaze fixed on the halos as if trying to see through them.

"You noticed it too?" she asked softly.

Prince Kael nodded, his voice low and measured. "This scene reminds me of something my master once mentioned."

Zora’s eyes sharpened. "What is it?"

"The Light of Inheritance," he replied.

Her brows lifted slightly. The term was unfamiliar, yet it carried an inexplicable weight.

"My master once encountered something similar in another ruin," Prince Kael continued. "But the situation back then wasn’t exactly the same as this one."

His hesitation made her heart tighten.

"What’s different?"

"The Light of Inheritance appears beneath the feet of every Spirit warrior who steps into the ruins," Prince Kael said slowly, his voice low and steady as he sorted through the memories passed down by his master. "Through it, the owner of the ruins examines one’s talent, potential, and even temperament, before carrying out a second screening."

He paused, his brows knitting together. "But Guinvere and Sigmund... their situation is different."

That single sentence carried weight.

Zora fell silent. This was the first time she had ever encountered such a phenomenon, and without prior knowledge, it was impossible to draw a firm conclusion. All she could do was observe, compare, and wait.

In contrast, Guinvere and Sigmund felt an uncontrollable surge of excitement. While others were marked by halos, they alone were excluded. In their eyes, this difference seemed less like rejection and more like distinction, as though the true inheritors were being deliberately separated from the crowd.

Just as emotions across the hall tangled into suspicion, anticipation, and jealousy, a deep, resounding voice suddenly echoed through the vast space.

"Anyone who shows disrespect is unworthy of inheritance."

The voice did not come from any particular direction. It sounded as if it were spoken right beside each person’s ear, heavy and oppressive, carrying a pressure so overwhelming that it seemed capable of crushing the soul.

In that instant, everyone felt their scalp go numb.

No one dared to breathe loudly. No one even thought of resisting. With just that single sentence, the speaker made it terrifyingly clear that he possessed the power to annihilate everyone present without effort.

Elowen’s face turned pale as shock flashed through his eyes. "Such strength... who spoke just now?"

Panic spread as countless gazes swept across the hall, desperately searching for the source of the voice. Slowly, almost unwillingly, everyone’s eyes converged on the same place.

The statue of the man.

Under the stunned and horrified stares of the crowd, the stone figure that had stood motionless for countless years... moved.

Not metaphorically. Not symbolically.

It truly moved.

Stone joints shifted with a dull, grinding sound, as if time itself had been forced to give way.

The entire hall fell into petrified silence.

Hadn’t the owner of the ruins already fallen? Hadn’t he been buried by time itself? How could he still act, still speak?

Zora’s pupils constricted.