Chapter 24 (1)
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The fog thickened immensely from the moment they set foot in the demonic realm.
Huff Huff.
Philip, who was leading the way, had no trace of relaxation on his face.
Holding his sword and shield tightly, he opened his mouth without even turning his head.
Sir, am I really going in the right direction?
Yeah.
Ian retorted as if annoyed.
Miguel gave him a sidelong glance.
How are you finding your way here? Even as a hunter, I cant figure out the direction.
Good.
Is that all?
But. Do you have a complaint?
Miguel muttered under his breath, quickly turning his gaze ahead.
He was saying he didnt have any. You cant learn this kind of secret by just hearing about it. Seriously
He muttered to himself, and Ian turned his gaze back to the dense fog.
What he saw was contaminated magic mixed thoroughly with the mist.
The intertwined bead of magic swirled like an illusion with the fog.
This was a sort of marker.
The grave should be at the center of this.
If they followed the path of magic, they would eventually reach it.
How is this being sustained? The magic shouldnt endlessly surge just because its corrupted.
A question he had never considered before naturally followed.
He was so relaxed as to think about such things because there were no dangerous creatures in this forest, to begin with.
A dead forest with not a single antling.
Of course, the forest itself was a maze, and the infiltrating contaminated magic had eventually led intruders to their deaths.
But knowing the way, it wasnt much of a problem.
They continued like that for a while.
And then, suddenly, their field of vision brightened.
Huh?
Philip, who had stopped in bewilderment, opened his mouth after a moment.
Could this possibly be have we arrived?
Probably.
Ian answered, looking back.
The mist that had ended as if sliced by a knife spread out like a gray curtain.
Philip and Miguel almost simultaneously sank to their knees.
I really didnt think I could do it. Thank you, Lou Sola.
I didnt think you could do it either. Im hearing the sound of a short life, you stubborn fool.
Hes babbling. But this is just the beginning.
Ian sneered, looking ahead again.
There, in the exposed clearing, lay the ancient fairies ruins.
The structure that revealed the stairs leading underground, reminiscent of an ants nest, was the entrance to the underground grave.
Is that it?
Maeve, who had raised her veil, muttered while looking at the same place.
Exchanging glances with Ian, who stood beside her, she took confident steps forward.
Nonchalantly following her, Ian sifted through memories from the game.
The underground grave was the first proper dungeon that appeared in the game.
As such, it was quite typical.
A vast labyrinth extending like an ant nest.
There were two main routes for strategy.
The orthodox route of circling around to face the mid-boss and meeting the dark mage.
And the commonly referred to shortcut, a hidden route concealed by basic tricks.
In the game, they only discovered this shortcut after finishing the boss battle, but this time, they planned to take it from the beginning.
Theres no reason not to.
They wouldnt miss out on any loot, and there werent any additional quests either.
Maeve stopped in front of the stairs.
Beside her, Ian, who had stood by, opened his mouth, staring into the darkness below the stairs.
Are you ready to fight?
Of course. Whatever happens, I wont back down.
Maeve declared firmly.
Ian chuckled.
You wouldnt have a place to back down to, anyway.
Oh my, Lou Sola.
At that moment, sighs sounded from behind them.
Hmm, Damn. Mountains beyond mountains.
Thats exactly what Im saying.
It was Philip and Miguel who followed them.
Their expressions were filled with a hopeless sense of despair.
Ignoring them, Ian stepped forward.
Well, Ill take the lead from here.
Miguels eyes widened.
Huh? Are you going straight like this? Prepare your minds for a moment-
Enough with the preparations, sit down and be quiet.
Ian laughed in a snorting manner and stepped onto the stairs.
Philip and Miguel, who had faces like those being led to a slaughterhouse, Maeve with a stiff expression, followed one after the other.
Soon, the darkness of the underground swallowed the group.
***
Ippotranslation
***
Thud, thud
The sound of footsteps descending the stairs echoed conspicuously.
The surroundings turned pitch black within a few minutes.
Although Miguel lit a torch, it didnt make much of a difference.
The light barely illuminated a few steps ahead.
This was no longer surprising.
The darkness in this world wasnt merely the absence of light.
Moreover, the stairs seemed to be so deep that the end couldnt be seen.
It was evidence that some ancient, permanent magic was imbued in the grave itself.
Bending and distorting space, making the external appearance different from reality.
For Ian, it was a convenient setting, but in any case, in this world, there were countless things that shouldnt have existed.
Breaking the silence that had persisted for a while was done by Maeve, unexpectedly.
It seems well have to offer a prayer once we arrive underground.
Ians steps, which had been moving carelessly, slowed down.
Has something gone wrong?
Maeve placed a hand on her breastplate casually.
Since we entered here, the resonance of the Holy Mark has been weakening.
The Holy Mark?
Ian raised an eyebrow.
Maeve, who was gazing at him hesitantly, seemed to recognize his sincerity and spoke after a while.
When chosen as an Apostle, its an imprint engraved onto the soul. Through it, one resonates with the gods and gains their sanctity.
That was the principle?
Ians eyebrows creased.
The image of Lou Sola passed through his mind.
The times he almost prayed.
Unintentionally, he almost pawned his soul twice.
This damn world even fools the gods, he thought.
He had even lost his slight attachment to the Apostle.
While it might be an immensely honorable act for humans in this world, to him, it was nothing more than a slave contract.
Maeve continued speaking.
However, now I dont sense the sanctity as strongly Maybe this is also due to the influence of the demonic realm.
Got it.
Ian nodded his head nonchalantly.
It was a statement that they might lose support from sanctity, but compared to what he had heard before, it wasnt that surprising.
In the first place, sanctity was the antithesis of dark magic.
It wouldnt be strange at all if the dark mage had prepared something in advance.
Anyway, it probably wont have much effect on clearing out the small fry. Thats enough.
It would be better if they could slip away after the boss battle, but that probably wasnt going to happen.
Just as Ian was about to shrug his shoulders, Maeves somber voice continued.
Even if the god doesnt provide answers, there wont be any burdens. Dont worry, Ian.
Ian, smiling wryly, spoke without even turning around.
Ive never had that kind of concern.
The stairs came to an end around the time the taste of stale air filled their mouths.
Philip and Miguel had expressions as though they would suffer from claustrophobia any moment now.
The only change was that the space had widened; the darkness was still as thick as ever, as if it would swallow them whole.
Of course, not everyone was oppressed by the darkness.
You might want to offer a prayer.
Ian, who was scanning the surroundings, said.
His eyes, shimmering like those of a beast, were perceiving the darkness quite clearly.
In a spacious room, debris of shattered statues were scattered here and there.
Understood.
Maeve drew her sword in reverse grip and kneeled on one knee. With the tip of her sword tapping the ground, she closed her eyes.
While her lips moved in prayer, Miguel, who had been moving the torch around, muttered.
Theres nothing here
Philips voice sounded in his mind, full of astonishment.
Ive heard there might be hundreds of buried bodies.
Is that so?
Not a single bone is left. If it were you, wouldnt you bring the bodies deep into such a sinister place?
Um You think so?
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Translator; ippo
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