Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Underground Temple (1)
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We entered the underground temple as a group of four: me, Lloyd, El, and Connie.
To prepare for any unexpected issues, Aira stayed outside on watch. That way, if anything happened out there, I could sense it right away.
We moved cautiously through the sewer. In the pitch-black sewer, where not a single ray of light penetrated, the only sound was the occasional drip of water droplets falling one by one. Strangely enough, no water was flowing as it should in a sewer. Outside, rain had been pouring down relentlessly for nearly a month, yet the sewer only had puddles sloshing around underfoot. It was truly bizarre.
"……Shh."
How long had we been walking like that?
Suddenly, an orange light flickered from up ahead. We all froze, holding our breath.
"Is it a person?"
"It's a person. An adult male, carrying a lantern at about that height."
I nodded at Lloyd's words.
Rain had been falling so heavily it felt like the sky had a hole in it, going on for almost a month. Could someone wandering the inner sewers really be an ordinary person?
No way.
"Master, should I take care of it?"
I shook my head at El, who had half-drawn her sword from its sheath.
"Let's follow quietly for now. That guy's definitely knows the way. We'll deal with him after we get out of here."
"Yes."
We trailed the light in silence. As we got closer, I caught a glimpse of the face holding the lantern.
"……!"
That familiar face made me stop in shock.
The one carrying the lantern was none other than a guard.
"……Do you remember that face?"
"It's the guard we met right after crossing the bridge."
"My eyes didn't deceive me."
When we entered Dehid, it was the guard at the bridge who'd checked our mercenary badges, peeked inside the carriage at El, grumbled a bit, and let us in.
'Not just the priests, but the guards too…….'
At this point, didn't that mean the entire city was compromised?
-Tadadak!
That's when it happened.
A swarm of rats suddenly appeared, scurrying wildly between our legs and racing out of the sewer like arrows.
"Ugh!"
"Shh!"
I clamped my hand over Connie's mouth as she tried to scream and waited for the rats to pass.
Only after dozens of them had gone by could we move again.
But the guard with the lantern was already gone.
'……No choice, then.'
We had no option but to proceed through the darkness.
Fortunately, I had [Owl's Eye], and Connie, being a dog beastkin, had better night vision than a human. We advanced carefully, reading the outlines in the dark.
The sewer was a maze. Paths dead-ended here and there, some were blocked by grates, and others were empty voids that made you wonder why they'd been built that way. Without our dark vision, we'd have been hopelessly lost.
"Over there, I see light."
Connie pointed to a distant spot I couldn't yet make out. She sniffed the air, then whispered again.
"Smells like oil and fire. The guard went this way too, I think."
I nodded and headed toward where she pointed. Soon, light became visible to me as well. A dim, cold, pale glow.
Wasn't emerging from darkness into light supposed to be reassuring? But as the light grew nearer, a strange dread gripped my ankles. What was this chill? It felt like massive danger was coiled right in front of us……
"Huh……."
At the sight that greeted us at the end of the passage, I could only cover my mouth.
A vast space, large enough to fit an entire castle, lay hidden underground.
'This is……!'
Massive pillars supported the ceiling. Carved with sharks—Donar's symbol—these pillars were made of deep-sea luminous stones, glowing blue, only found in the ocean depths.
"Underground temple……!"
Connie exclaimed, unable to hide her excitement.
"……Underground temple?"
"Yes. You know the legend, right? When Angsar fell, the cursed land's overflowing rivers nearly swept away Dehid."
"I think I vaguely remember……?"
"Dehid was on the brink of destruction back then. But Donar, moved by the people's prayers, showed mercy and saved it. There are even tales that the river came alive!"
"……Got it, so calm down and keep your voice down."
"Ah, sorry. Seeing the underground temple with my own eyes has me so excited. Only high priests get to come here……."
Jeez. Donar fanatics really were something else.
"Anyway, Dehid originally worshipped Rausian, goddess of temperance and order, but after that disaster, it became Donar's city."
"I see."
"The underground temple was created using Donar's great power. To ensure no more disasters from typhoons, monsoons, floods…… from 'water'…… ever swallow Dehid again."
"Ah."
"When water overflows, they store it here. When it's scarce, they draw from here. Thanks to Donar's mercy, Dehid became a prosperous city……."
"Understood. Let's skip the praises. We have places to be."
The underground temple was incredibly vast and deep. We scanned the surroundings by the blue glow of the deep-sea luminous stones. Fortunately, a small ladder was installed for descending.
"Connie, no one's around, right?"
Connie sniffed the air again.
"……Yes. No people."
"Good. Let's head down quick."
We gripped the ladder carefully and began descending.
"El, don't look down."
"……O-okay."
"Well, if you slip, Legion will catch you, so no need to worry too much."
"That's even scarier!"
"Relax."
The height was dizzying just to look at. Luckily, the ladder was securely fixed to the wall, so descending wasn't too hard. It just took a really, really long time.
"Whew…… It's making me dizzy."
Finally touching solid ground, relief washed over me, and my strength drained away. I wiped the cold sweat from my hands on my pants and looked around. The floor of the underground temple, which should have been filled with water, only had a few drying puddles.
'The sewer outside was like this too.'
I coated my shoes with moss to muffle them softly. Same for the others.
"Why this……?"
"Sound echoes a lot in places like this."
"R-right!"
"Yeah. So from now on, watch the noise."
We hugged the walls, moving slowly and silently. The deep-sea luminous stones glowed, but not brightly, so sticking to the walls let us blend into the shadows somewhat.
Only the drip of water droplets and the occasional patter of rat feet broke the silence. The temple's interior felt utterly still, almost peacefully so, as if no schemes were afoot.
"……."
I recalled the messenger bird's message again.
[ Underground Cease Fire ]
The 'underground' surely referred to this underground temple. But why was it so deathly quiet?
-Thud!
Lost in thought, someone grabbed me hard.
"Something's ahead."
Lloyd. He held my arm tight to stop me from advancing further, staring forward. Connie was sniffing from behind too. But ahead of us was just a massive……
"……Isn't it a wall?"
A wall. At least, that's what it looked like to me.
"Strange smell."
Connie wrinkled her nose, sniffing repeatedly. Her face was puzzled, like she half-knew what it was. Sniff, sniff, sniff……
"Rats and……."
"Rats? We've seen them nonstop. Not weird for it to smell like rats."
"Humans……."
"Obviously. Even if we don't know who, the ones behind this are wandering around."
"……Like they're, mixed together……."
Connie scrunched her nose bridge, looking at me with a frightened expression.
Rats and humans mixed together?
I was about to say, 'Connie, explain in more detail……' when—
-Kikigik……. Gik, kikigik……
From what we'd thought was a 'wall' came an unpleasant scraping sound, like metal on metal. No, softer, even more grating. Like fingernails on sheet metal……
-Kikik, k, kikigik……!
"Back up."
Lloyd shoved us behind him and drew his sword with a shing. Thanks to the blue glow reflecting off the deep-sea luminous stones, his blade gleamed fiercely.
"……!"
The light reflecting off Lloyd's sword let me see the 'wall' more clearly.
'Not a wall.'
No.
It wasn't a wall.
Behind iron bars, like a prison cell, something filled the space. That's why it had looked like a 'wall' in the dark.
From the 'wall,' dozens, hundreds of tiny lights twinkled. It wasn't beautiful. Dozens, hundreds of eyes slowly turning toward us……
"Ugh……."
It was horrific.
Only after meeting those eyes did I finally understand what Connie meant.
Rats.
And humans.
Mixed together.
"Connie."
"Ugh, urk…… ugh."
"Connie, snap out of it. Those 'things' over there……."
I grabbed Connie, who was writhing like she might vomit, and pointed beyond the bars.
"……Are they beastkin, by any chance?"
Connie shook her head frantically.
"No, no. Beastkin come in many varieties, but those aren't……."
"……Yeah, figured as much."
Covered in filthy brown fur, baring sharp teeth, gray eyes gleaming—those things looked nothing like beastkin. Not just a rat head or ears and tail attached……
'……Those are closer to monsters.'
One arm human, one leg human, rat head with human ears……
I'd seen such grotesque creatures before.
The artificial chimeras from the deep-sea dungeon.