Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Saint Knight Rug's Tomb
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"Five goddesses, thank you. Hero, thank you! I'll chase hard after you!"
Eizel prayed like a true angel, and Raguel and Aurael joined her in prayer. Sara chimed in with her own prayer as well.
And at the same time.
Cheon-ho and Lucille were heading west toward Saint Knight Rug's tomb.
"Kyung kyung kyung!"
"Woowoo!"
Across the pristine white snowfield raced a bookshelf—no, a sled.
It was the bookshelf sled they had used on the desert third floor, now fitted with insulating walls and a roof.
Lucille dozed off with her head against the wall, while two massive white wolves pulled the sled, puffing out hot breaths.
They were Snow Wolves that had grown enormous after absorbing the Great Labyrinth's demonic energy.
The Hero skill, Beast's Time.
A skill belonging to the Hero's Body, it literally "beastified" various senses like smell and hearing, along with physical abilities.
But its effects didn't stop there.
Activating Beast's Time allowed some degree of communication with beasts.
In truth, it was more like barking orders, but it was more than enough to make the White Wolves—who fully sensed the power gap—pull the sled.
"It's impressive in so many ways, now that I think about it."
[Your proficiency is still low, but you'll feel greater effects as your level rises.]
[When Leon used Beast's Time, it wasn't just raw strength—it even increased his size. He literally became a beast.]
As Mitra warmed the sled's interior with heated air, Cheon-ho recalled the vision of Leon he had seen on the fourth floor.
'It gets even bigger than that?'
Heroes in stories were usually handsome, dashing young men, but Leonhardt was a bit different. He was handsome, sure, but his sheer bulk was overwhelming. It wasn't just height; his muscles were on another level.
Cheon-ho thought back to the moment he had used Beast's Time. His own body had indeed grown a bit larger.
"Hmm."
[Rug had an impressive build too. He wasn't inferior to Leon.]
Mitra's voice brimmed with excitement as she reminisced. It wasn't just nostalgia; she seemed to have a taste for big, burly types.
[Your father had an impressive build as well. So you have plenty of potential. Keep at it.]
"Hmm. But Mitra."
[What is it? Curious about some muscle-building exercises? I have a few recommendations if so.]
"No, it's not that... There's just something that's been bothering me."
[What might that be?]
"The story of the Demon King you and the First Hero defeated."
He had brushed it off as coincidence before, but it kept nagging at him.
The Demon King's five legions under his command.
He wanted to hear more about them.
"By any chance, do you know their organization... or the characteristics of each of the five legions?"
[Of course. I'll tell you one by one.]
Mitra listed the characteristics of the five legions.
They weren't just divided by troop numbers; each legion had a distinct identity.
One specialized in naval warfare, another in aerial combat.
For the ground forces, the unit compositions were similar, but the main forces differed in nature.
One legion of mighty magical beasts, one of undead, one of various beastkin.
Having fought on the front lines, Mitra remembered the Demon King's army organization in detail.
From squad, company, and battalion units and their sizes, to the command structures of each.
Cheon-ho's expression grew slightly tense as he committed it all to memory.
It was all too similar.
"The Demon King's army that invaded Phaien."
It resembled the Demon King's army the First Hero had fought. Not just the five legions, but the organization and command structures too.
'There are some differences, but...'
Just slight ones. Like minor tweaks within the same framework.
[What's wrong? Is there a problem?]
After a moment's hesitation at Mitra's question, Cheon-ho explained the Demon King's army that had invaded Phaien.
Mitra listened calmly at first, but grew visibly perplexed later on.
[It's eerily similar. No, at this level, it's no exaggeration to say they use the exact same organization.]
Military organizations across nations were often broadly similar.
Efficient structures people could conceive tended to follow certain patterns.
Even between Earth's armies and Phaien's, there were notable similarities.
But there were limits.
Dig deeper, and clear differences emerged.
Of course, those differences blurred between Earth's nations or Phaien's due to mutual influence and exchange.
But no such exchange was possible between the Demon King's army invading Phaien and the one invading the Labyrinth World.
They were from different worlds.
Yet they were similar.
With hardly any major differences.
Cheon-ho recalled what Lucille had said.
Back on the first floor's tower, before meeting Mitra.
The First Hero Leonhardt who defeated the otherworldly Demon King, and the Empire Guardian Sword.
[The Demon King's army was an invasion force from another world.]
So where had they come from?
Not the same place as the one that invaded Phaien?
[That's a possibility.]
Of course, there was a significant time gap.
The invasion of the Labyrinth World was centuries ago, while Phaien's was just over twenty years ago.
Hundreds of years apart.
But unlike Cheon-ho, centuries didn't feel like an insurmountable gap to Mitra.
The Labyrinth World had many long-lived races. High-ranking angels, for instance, could live virtually indefinitely.
By their standards, centuries weren't that vast.
The Demon King's armies invading Phaien and the Labyrinth World might hail from the same world.
Perhaps even the same group.
But that was as far as it went.
Intriguing as it was, it held no immediate relevance. No way to prove the hypothesis yet.
[Still, we can't just dismiss it. When we reach the middle layers, we should inform the Goddess of Healing.]
"Yes, I think so too."
If the hypothesis held and the two armies truly belonged to the same organization...
It meant a massive group repeatedly launching interworld invasions existed.
'And perhaps...'
It might connect to the horde of Demon Gods who invaded via the Great Labyrinth.
[Hmm...]
Mitra let out a strained hum.
Cheon-ho felt the same. He had never even imagined a link between Phaien's Demon King's army and the Labyrinth World's.
The scale had suddenly ballooned.
"Hero, that looks like it over there."
Just then, Lucille pointed into the distance. She had been nodding off moments ago, but now she was up and scanning ahead.
[We'll continue this later.]
"Yes, Mitra."
Cheon-ho glanced in the direction Lucille indicated. An octagonal rocky hill came into view.
* * *
Saint Knight Rug's tomb lay at the center of the rocky hill. It was a cave dug into the rock, worn in places but showing signs of human hands. It looked like a natural small cave artificially expanded.
Such a cave in the blizzard-swept snowfield should have been a den for monsters or beasts, yet no traces surrounded it. Just eerie silence.
"I can feel holy energy from inside."
Lucille spoke as she cast a small lighting spell to illuminate the cave. As she said, the air inside wasn't merely cold. It carried an aura akin to the holy hot spring water Mitra had been crafting lately.
[The aura of Ernasa, Rug's beloved sword. It's still intact.]
Mitra's voice carried a hint of moisture.
Cheon-ho surveyed the illuminated cave interior.
The entrance was narrow, but it widened inside. The ceiling rose about five meters, and the depth neared twenty meters.
The pervasive holy energy seemed to have driven away monsters and beasts. Cheon-ho and Lucille proceeded slowly inward.
It was an ancient tomb.
The walls and ceiling bore intricate, if not ornate, carvings like decorations.
At the deepest point.
A rectangular stone tomb stood. A massive knight statue loomed beside it, as if serving as a gravestone.
[Rug...]
A silver sword gleamed in the statue's grip. While everything else in the cave bore the scars of inevitable time, the silver sword alone did not.
Lucille clasped her hands in prayer.
Cheon-ho caressed Mitra's golden gem while gazing at the knight statue.
[Four years after Rug's death... Leon, now Emperor of the Aiter Empire, returned here and rebuilt his tomb. Rug's comrade—and successor to Ernasa—Raichel came too. She returned Ernasa to him.]
Though the Great Labyrinth had warped and jumbled the land, this place originally belonged to imperial territory. Imperial officials and priests of the Goddess of War Evnail had maintained the tomb.
[Rug was a holy knight of Evnail, but also of the Nameless Goddess... the fifth goddess.]
Unlike the other four, her domain and even name remained unknown.
Reflecting that, her church operated like a secret society.
Just as Lucille served all five goddesses, serving them collectively posed no issue.
Thus, Rug, holy knight of the Nameless Goddess, publicly served as Evnail's.
Mitra revealed this because of Rug's sword, Ernasa.
[Ernasa is the sword of the church serving the fifth goddess. Forged in the primordial forge that crafted the five goddesses' divine artifacts.]
Mitra herself had been born there.
The Holy Sword Mitra's memories began there.
Cheon-ho silently regarded Rug's statue.
A man with bold, resolute lines and gentle eyes.
In the past, Mitra—unlike now—could speak to others besides her master Leon.
What had their bond been like?
What ties had bound them?
His father's tales surfaced.
Stories of comrades who journeyed with his father.
Bonds forged in life-or-death battles.
He dimly understood Mitra's feelings. The statue seemed to gaze at him.
Take care of Mitra.
The words came naturally.
Not Mitra's or Lucille's voice. A man's.
[Rug...?]
Mitra uttered in a daze.
In that instant, bright light erupted from Ernasa. Firmly gripped in the statue, it turned to silver light, shattering into star-like fragments that gathered on Mitra's blade.
Mitra's blade glowed golden—the same light seen when absorbing demon swords.
Cheon-ho looked at Rug's statue.
Even as stone, it conveyed warm eyes.
[Rug...]
Mitra sobbed softly. Cheon-ho raised her high, facing the statue. The golden light on her blade gradually faded.
Cheon-ho could feel it.
Mitra had grown stronger. Stronger than from any demon sword absorbed so far—thanks to Rug's sword.
Not just because Ernasa's power was potent.
Mitra wept.
Tears of joy and emotion, not sorrow.
Lucille had said it: Their path leading here via the connection route might tie to Mitra.
Had Rug called to her?
To lend strength to her new battles, however little.
A selfish thought.
How could he—who died centuries ago, even if his soul lingered—summon her?
Yet Cheon-ho was certain Rug had called Mitra. He believed it.
Take care of Mitra.
The voice that rang clear—not a hallucination—Rug's plea.
Cheon-ho sheathed Mitra. Caressing her still-sniffling golden gem, he faced the statue and made a vow. Once more, a voice came.
I trust you.
That was the end. He could feel it. The statue remained, but had changed.
Lucille nodded, eyes reddened. Mitra sensed the difference too.
[Rug.]
Mitra called, but the statue did not reply.
Yet she felt Ernasa's power stirring within her. Rug's heart contained therein.
[Rug.]
Mitra called his name again.
Gazing at his statue.
* * *
As night approached.
A blizzard raged over the snowfield.
Eizel gasped raggedly. She staggered onward but seemed ready to collapse any second.
"Herooo..."
Cold, sleepy, hungry.
Her feet were numb, her body leaden.
Waking up, she had felt okay. Cozy in the Hero's snow wall shelter.
The frozen jerky, roasted over a hot fire, was edible.
Leaving the snow cave, hope lingered.
Keep going straight, and the next shelter would appear.
Push hard, and poof!—the Hero's shelter would materialize.
So Eizel pressed on.
'It can't appear that soon.'
After two hours, she thought that.
'Hmm, maybe he skipped lunch.'
Around noon, that.
'Lucille-senpai's stamina is insane!'
By afternoon.
No shelters in sight.
Strange.
The flat snowfield should make any shelter visible from afar.
But none. No sign, and now a blizzard too.
A serious problem.
No flat snowfield offered no cover from the gale. Nowhere to even pause and rest.
Her head spun.
Staring at endless white hurt her eyes and turned her stomach.
"Herooo..."
Where are you?
Where's the shelter?
I want to be your angel too. I want to poof! away.
She wanted to cry, but exhaustion prevented tears.
"Haa... haa..."
Stopping meant freezing to death.
She forced her frozen feet forward. But sinking deep into snow drained her further.
Aurael glanced back at Eizel. She shouted something, but it didn't register.
"Sen...pai..."
Sorry. This is it for me.
Thanks for everything.
I love you, senpai. If it's not too much trouble, put a single rose on my grave.
Eizel could no longer think straight. She closed her eyes, about to fall.
But that instant.
Aurael shouted again. Not at Eizel, but farther back.
Raguel turned too. Her eyes widened; Dudy and Sara's jaws dropped.
"Kyung kyung kyung!"
"Woowoo!"
With barking, something sped past.
A sled. Pulled by huge wolves.
Eizel's steps halted.
"Huh?"
As she mumbled blankly, the sled—which had passed and gone ahead—turned and raced back.
At the entrance of the walled, roofed sled was something pink.