Based on Mr. C's description, Raphael guessed that the "strangers" who suddenly appeared among them were probably people brought into existence through Imagination by that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact.
Many of the Spectator pathway's high-level abilities were utterly fucked up. They could either write someone to death or conjure an entire person through Imagination.
That was no illusion. An actual, living person had been added to the world.
That was the truly terrifying part.
Recently, Mr. C had been arranging for everyone to get to know each other precisely so they could distinguish their real teammates from those conjured through Imagination.
But this method clearly couldn't distinguish friend from foe with absolute certainty-or rather, against a Sealed Artifact of this level, there was simply no foolproof method.
Mr. C continued, "During our previous two explorations, we established the Sealed Artifact's approximate location and made new preparations based on our last experience.
"I know this is dangerous, but the rewards for completing the mission will also be substantial. You'll receive priority for advancement, you can choose a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact from the organization, and you can even name your own terms."
Everyone exchanged glances. They had all noticed that Mr. C hadn't said what would happen if they refused to go.
Clearly, the consequence would be death!
Raphael asked, "Mr. C, have you been to those ruins?"
"Yes," Mr. C said. "Twice. As long as you're careful and keep your wits about you, you won't be in too much danger. After all, we've explored them many times already."
Raphael nodded. It seemed the previous explorations had left only one final area to investigate, and the Aurora Order was quite confident this time.
Xavier, the Rose Bishop, asked, "How are we supposed to bring out a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact?"
A