The second female lead Dual Cultivates

"U-Use m-me" pride and guilt swarmed around in Maria's head as she watched the demoness in front of her propose for her doom. Maria did not doubt the fact that Suna meant every word she was saying.

She was asking to be killed to provide the world a chance to live on. It was not that different from the Suna of the original novel but Maria was not ready to part ways with her friend just yet.

"It won't be enough. Your life force has all but dimed out already. Even if we sacrifice everyone here, it won't be enough. Supporting the whole continent is a huge risk already" Samuel looked conflicted as he spoke those words.

Maria did not fault him for the sadness in his eyes, nor the cutting tone he had been using. Even the man was having a hard time with this situation. The younger brother was still locked in a showdown with the chimera on the other side of the room.

"Isn't there anything else that can be done? I'm sure we can save the embryo" Maria sounded desperate. No, she was desperate to do something about this situation. It was all her fault that things had come down to this.

She had been the one to open the door and allow Rucci entrance into this part. The roof has also collapsed due to her carelessness which marked her as the problem here. Even if things somehow turned out to be alright, it would still be her fault.

"There might be something we can do. There is a tablet which details an emergency procedure for treatment in case things go south but I don't know how to read it" the man replied and suddenly, there was hope.

"Nao is a linguist so she might know how to read it. Suna, try to wake her up. I'll carry it there" Maria picked up Suna on her shoulder like a sack while she proceeded to do the same with Nao.

However, their height difference made it difficult for Maria to be able to achieve this. She was the shortest of the trio after all. Samuel made a motion to help but Maria just waved him off to not bother. It was not like he would be able to help her.

"Just lead the way. We should leave this place to your brother" Maria spared whatever magic she could to set her chains up around the node. It needed to be protected but they needed to find the way out as well.

"A-Alright. DANIEL, KEEP IT UP" the elder brother cried out before he started to run. Maria had to make an extra effort to keep up with him and it annoyed her to no end.

After all, she was the one carrying two bodies on her shoulder and not Samuel. Of course, it was going to slow her down. But the other did not even consider her situation when he started running.

Maria felt something collide with the chains she had left behind and instantly felt chills down her spine. It had been a brutal attack that showed no mercy. It would have crushed the node had it not been for her protection being anti-magic. Just what was the youngest doing against the group he had been fighting.

"Hurry. It should be here? Huh, how is it possible?" Samuel's confused voice rushed over Maria as she dragged the other two toward the small clearing and instantly felt her breath catching up inside her throat.

The wall was shining with red text everywhere Maria saw. It was written in a language Maria had never seen before but she felt like she knew what those words meant. It was a beautiful display of artistry.

"Nao, can you decipher this?" Maria asked as she sensed a moment behind her. It felt familiar, like Nao's and that was what caused Maria to take a wide guess.

Meanwhile, she couldn't take her eyes off of the shining walls as the text bounced around her and its magic even touched her. It was curious about her and Maria reached back with her own in response. There was a familiar feeling about this magic, even when she only had a general idea about the gist of it.

"Decipher what? Maria, did you hit your head and are now seeing weird things?" Suna asked as she stared around their group. Maria could feel the confusion coming off of her and it felt genuine to her.

Whatever Maria was seeing, Suna could not. And from the other three's expressions, neither could they.

If Maria had her system active with her, she could have asked it to clarify things for her. But her system had been deactivated ever since she had set a step inside here. Won't it be safe to say that her system had a connection with what was going on here?

"You really can't see it? There is text all over the wall that is written in bright red. I can't decipher it since I don't know the language" Maria complained as she told the truth. There was nothing to be done if she could not even tell what the text is about.

"You can? Is it a 'that' kind of situation?' Suna asked and Maria was pretty sure she meant 'Oracle'. But somehow, Maria did not think those two things were related. It felt more like this thing was connected to her system.

But Maria hesitated in answering back. How could Maria explain to everyone that she had another entity that lived along with her? She could not even tell Nao that she was not her Maria and she had not many years to do so.

"I think my inventor has a notepad and pen inside it. Let me take it out and draw the words out for you" Maria drafted the words to the best of her abilities but she did not have much time and she was sure she had butchered a lot of characters.

Maria was not good at copying writing and running on fatigue did not help her write any clearer. And Nao agreed if her furred expression was anything to go by.

"So, what happens next?" Maria asked with hesitation. She did not want any bad news but she knew she had to hear it as well.

"Please work on your handwriting. I almost did not understand any of it. But from what I could, I can conclude. I now have a plan of action" Nao sounded confident and Maria felt relief go over her head.

But somehow, the relief she felt was different from any other time she had felt it. This one made her heartache and her mouth run dry. It was not a good feeling to have.