"Ieka!"

*Rumble!*

As soon as the magic word came out of his mouth, the rumbling sound shook the entire island.

Kai turned around and grabbed Nicholas's head before smashing it to the ground, trying to make him unconscious.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to do so because the ground began to shake and rise.

"!!!" He gasped when he realized the ground below him together with the one that his people stepped on suddenly rose from the ground, launching a few meters in the air.

"This is not what you think. Let me explain first." Nicholas's heavy voice turned into a deep and pacifying voice. His green eyes slightly brightened as if they were glowing. He noticed that the others were trying to beat him unconscious to save Nicholas, so he suddenly pointed his finger to the statue. "I am Rapakha. The protector of this island."

Kai took a glimpse at where he pointed his finger and noticed that the statue glowed. Due to the blinding light from the sun, they didn't notice this, so Kai fumbled for a second.

On one hand, he shouldn't believe whatever that guy said because it might be a lie to trick them. On the other hand, he couldn't do anything reckless because there might be more consequences behind his action.

"Even so… We need to save him first!" Kai shook his head and commanded the group to apprehend Nicholas and take him out of this island.

"No need." Suddenly, the one who possessed Nicholas shook his head and fell to the ground, unconscious.

"You can check your friend first. I only possessed his body to unseal myself. O' Child of the sound, have you heard the Earth's crying voice?" The voice continued, but it didn't come from Nicholas. Instead, the statue was the one who said it.

It didn't open its mouth but seemed to produce a human voice.

However, Kai was very familiar with this question. "This question! We need to run first. Tasha. Teleport us away! This statue is a protector."

Tasha nodded and clapped her hand, summoning a Teleportation Magic Circle that covered all of them.

The statue saw this and glowed a bit brighter before another layer of magic circle covered and broke it.

"!!!" Kai gritted his teeth, took out his swords, and activated his Vibration Sword.

Michelle and Ayaka appeared beside him with their weapons in hands. Sofia, Carissa, and Lexa surrounded the statue, while the Eagle Group hid Nicholas behind their back to protect him from this statue.

"A Protector huh… This is a nostalgic name that I haven't heard since two centuries ago." The statue seemed to be filled with joy when he heard that name. "However, you are wrong. I am not a Protector that observes the Earth. I am just a Protector for my own people, the Rapa Nui people. I mean no harm. You can even check that boy and see whether he is fine or not."

"You must be buying time." Kai gritted his teeth. As much as he wanted to check, he didn't know what kind of secret this statue had, so it was better to be careful and suspected every single thing since it was the most logical thing to do.

"I am not hiding anything. If I want to kill you guys, I think I have the ability to do so." He smiled before releasing his magic power.

The statue suddenly floated to the air before the ground rose and enveloped this big statue. The dirt and the rock mixed and became a part of his body.

A few huge rocks slowly became a joint of his four limbs, creating a ten-meter tall body. "Boy, I know your fear, but it's wise to stand down now. You might be able to fight me with that interesting ability of yours, but you need a long time for that. In the meantime, the other statues will also arrive here."

"!!!" Kai stumbled and planted his ears to the ground. His eyes were opened wide, and his veins began bulging out of his skin.

"I am sure that you have heard more than two hundred of my comrades screaming at you. You can consider this as a threat, but I indeed want to talk about something with you… Such as my Rapa Nui people, what I am, and what my purpose is. I might not be like this earlier, but I certainly heard all your conversations. That's why I want to talk to you, including about the matter of that Protector you spoke of."

"…" Kai gritted his teeth before slowly rising from the ground since the sound had disappeared. He glared at the statue and glanced at his group.

Michelle and the others had panicked and worried expressions, but the rest seemed to have fear instilled in their eyes.

'What should I do? Should I go with his demand and stand down? What if this is a trap? If it's really a trap, can we really escape from him?! He just broke Tasha's magic circle in two seconds. Even if I use all of my magic power…'

"There is still a doubt in your eyes. It seems I need to fix that doubt forcefully." The statue shook his head before a magic circle enveloped Kai and the others.

Kai activated his Lullaby to destroy this by disrupting the statue's brainwave, but he wondered if a stone statue would have a brainwave or not. Ultimately, the statue's magic circle finished first, and the magic circle on his hand suddenly broke.

Not only that, but he also couldn't utilize his magic again.

"I can't use my magic!"

"What is this?!"

It seemed the others were in the same situation, making them hopeless.

Kai gritted his teeth. If they couldn't use their magic anymore, they wouldn't stand a chance against this statue. At this time, Tasha exclaimed in surprise. "This… This is Space Magic! No, it's Sealing Magic. I can't do anything about this! Argh!"

Kai sensed the fear coming from the group before he looked at the statue and shouted. "Fine. We can talk. Please let them leave, and I will remain here."

The statue didn't answer him for a few seconds and looked at him with curiosity. "If you want it that way, I can unseal their magic. However, I can give you seats for a few people. They can listen to my stories together with you and let the others bring that boy back… How is it?"

"Wait, Kai. If that is the case, I need to stay too. I will protect you this time since it is my job." Carissa immediately walked in front of Kai.

"Hmm… This lass… You are not qualified to listen to my stories, but since you seem to be an important person where the boy lives, I think you can also join our conversation. However, you can only listen. The moment you ask a question is the time I send you off here. And the conversation I have with these kids will be a secret. Suppose you try to get the information from them. In that case, I will attack your home alongside a million of Magical Beasts and my proud people." The statue released his killing intent while looking at Carissa.

"W—"Carissa was just about to ask 'Why', but the word stuck on her throat. She thought it would be considered as a question, so she could only suck her thumb and bow her head. "I understand."

Kai pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking about what he should do.

Isabelle's voice echoed in his ears. "Nicholas is fine. He has woken up!"

Sofia also reported from what she saw. "His fire is stable. But I would like you to bring him to the hospital to check his body thoroughly."

"Boy… I am thankful to you since you have unsealed me. And I would like to apologize for using your body, so I will grant you a reward… Although I say it's a reward, I will only awaken your power. Well, looking at your friends' actions, I will ask you. Would you like to receive this reward?" The statue looked at Nicholas. Unfortunately, he couldn't smile, so his action didn't really reflect his mood.

Every eye locked on him, wondering what he would choose. Nicholas slowly rose from the ground with the help of Isabelle before nodding his head. "Thank you for Elder's intention. This Nicholas will gratefully accept this gift."

"Nicholas?!" Everyone was taken aback by his words. He was the one that got the most powerful impact from all this, so they couldn't comprehend why Nicholas would actually accept.

"Don't worry. When the elder possessed me, I could comprehend a little bit of his intention… He has no intention of harming us. So, I would like to request Captain to lower your guard and listen to what the elder has to say," Nicholas humbly said with a smile.

Isabelle didn't believe what he said since she still suspected him of being possessed. However, she realized that everything the statue said was about listening to their conversation. That was why she knew the statue shouldn't be able to pry on their memory.

Having that thought, she proceeded to test him. "Where is Eve's and Eva's birthmark?"

"Each of them has half a butterfly in their butt!" Nicholas instinctively shouted as if it was programmed in his mind.

"Wait. What?!" Eve and Eva turned red from embarrassment. However, they realized that Nicholas wasn't possessed.

With that reaction, timing, and answer, it was the normal Nicholas.

"It's really him. This is a code that my group used in a situation like this. His reaction seems to have no lie behind it, so I guess we can trust his words…" Isabelle sighed, looking at Kai. She didn't know what to do herself, so she left it in Kai's hand.

"I understand…" Kai decided. It wasn't an easy decision, but as much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn't say no because their magic power was still sealed by the statue.

"Alright. Come here child." The statue nodded, asking Nicholas to come closer.

Nicholas nodded and started walking, albeit a bit slow due to his unstable body.

The statue stretched his stone hand and gently put the pointed tip of his finger on Nicholas's forehead before it started shining.