Raphael realized he had been wrong about something. Or rather, his previous understanding had kept leading his thoughts in the wrong direction.
The Sealed Artifacts he had encountered before had, at most, possessed a faint mental imprint. Overall, however, they had been closer to "inanimate objects."
But a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact was different. Its level meant it might possess a degree of sentience!
After Raphael's reminder, Leonard, who stood beside him, immediately connected the clues they had gathered.
Miss S's flesh had betrayed her and fallen under the control of that Grade 1 Sealed Artifact. After molding itself a human form, the artifact had begun "Grazing" the four Beyonder characteristics around it, one after another.
The environment in this fortress was unusual. Even ordinary people's spirit bodies had become ghosts, so the spirit bodies of Beyonders were very likely to develop into ghosts or evil spirits as well. In any case, at least part of their spirit bodies still existed within this stone chamber.
With both spirit bodies and Beyonder characteristics present, the conditions for "Grazing" were met.
And anyone who could have participated in sealing a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact at such close range must have been a mid-sequence Beyonder, most likely Sequence 5.
Leonard also understood now. When he had been dragged into a dream earlier, the artifact had probably been trying out the corresponding ability it had obtained by "Grazing" a "Spirit Warlock."
He took a deep breath. "In other words, that Grade 1 Sealed Artifact isn't here anymore?"
"Right," Raphael said. "We'd better get out of here quickly too. It might be hiding somewhere, quietly watching us."
Still, he knew very well that the Grade 1 Sealed Artifact probably would not-or rather, would not dare to-attack them again, because it was wary of the secret