Chapter 450: The Great War, a Reenactment of That Day.
Chapter 450: The Great War, a Reenactment of That Day.
Quite some time had passed.
“Ugh… I wish nothing would show up…”
Yoojung’s quiet murmur broke the silence that had persisted since we climbed the stairs.
One could call it a whine, but I said nothing. I was having similar thoughts, after all. Of course, I didn't wish for nothing to appear—just a simple hope that we would only find what we were looking for.
But I knew that was unlikely, so I remained vigilant, constantly scanning our surroundings.
The thick fog prevented us from seeing far. However, based on the scenery we’d passed so far, I got the impression that this fortress was structured like a city.
Of course, its true nature was that of a fortress, a military defense facility. Even the five-story building, faintly visible to our left, had a structure on its roof that looked like a watchtower.
Not only that, but the main roads were orderly, with occasional cover points, making it clear the buildings were designed to counter flying dragons.
The more I see, the more impressed I am.
As impressive as it was, a sudden worry crept in.
These buildings were, of course, built to defend against intruders.
Strictly speaking, we were no different from intruders ourselves. The Dead we had encountered so far had displayed surprisingly systematic tactics in battle. If, by some chance, the Dead appeared and used these structures…
Clatter, clatter!
Tink! Crack!
Clatter, clatter!
Just then, as I was imagining the worst-case scenario, I heard something get kicked. The sound of our steps crunching through the piles of bones had been constant. So, while the new noise was faint, it was clearly audible.
“Clan Lord. Please wait a moment.”
At the same time, a calm voice requested a halt. It was Cha Sorim. I immediately raised my hand to signal a stop and slowly turned around. Cha Sorim was standing straight, staring intently at the ground.
“What is it?”
“I think I just kicked something… I’ve found something strange.”
“Something strange?”
“Yes. A small object between the bones is giving off a sinister light… Please wait a moment.”
Cha Sorim nodded quietly and bent down gracefully. As I watched her, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
I quickly bent down and reached out my arm. Fortunately, I managed to grab Cha Sorim’s hand just before she picked up the object. I felt her hand tremble with a flinch.
“C-Clan Lord? H-here…? S-suddenly, doing this…”
?
Clearly flustered, Cha Sorim blinked rapidly several times. I wasn't quite sure what she was getting at, but I calmly shook my head.
“User Cha Sorim, your Arcus necklace is imbued with magic resistance, correct?”
“Huh? Y-yes. That’s right. I mean, yes, it is.”
“That’s a relief, but just in case, please don’t pick it up with your bare hands. Just tell me where it is.”
“Huh? What do you mean…? Ah!”
Cha Sorim tilted her head for a moment. But, as expected of someone with her experience, she seemed to grasp my meaning at once. This was because items found in places like this often carried dangerous curses.
I followed her gaze to where she was looking down and saw something emitting a sinister light, just as she’d described. The Third Eye was already active.
『Cursed Mark of Contract.』
A Mark of Contract?
I slowly reached out. After rummaging through the bones, I was able to grasp the Mark of Contract, which fit perfectly in my hand.
For a moment, I received a few blank stares, but they vanished as soon as I summoned the power of Eternal Flame in my hand. After all, I possessed extremely high magic resistance and could also purify curses with Eternal Flame’s ability.
Fwoosh, fwoosh!
The small flame of Eternal Flame slowly spread to the Mark of Contract. As expected of a low-grade curse, the sinister light immediately faded, and the object regained its original, clean color. It was round, with unrecognizable patterns etched in the center. I gazed at it again with the Third Eye.
『Purified Mark of Contract.』
“Um… Clan Lord. My hand…”
“Hm? Ah, my apologies.”
As I was examining the Mark of Contract, I heard Cha Sorim’s voice trail off. Now that she mentioned it, her hand was so warm that I’d apparently been holding it this whole time without realizing.
I offered a simple apology and immediately let go, then tucked the Mark of Contract I’d been examining into my clothes. It was a find, to be sure, but we were still exploring the heart of the fortress.
I spoke quietly.
“It’s nothing major. Still, just in case, if you find anything like this as we go… No, you don’t need to search so desperately.”
I was about to say, “Just tell me,” but I had to correct myself the moment I looked up. I saw Hanbyul secretly scanning the area and Yoojung diligently kicking aside bones with her feet.
It was natural to be greedy for results once we’d entered the ruins, but in our current situation, results were a secondary concern. I wasn't sure why, but Cha Sorim suddenly let out a small laugh and took a few steps back.
After confirming Hanbyul, who was feigning ignorance as if she’d done nothing, and Yoojung, who returned with a disappointed look, I moved back to the front.
“Alright, let’s get moving again.”
As we slowly advanced, the sound of crunching bones began once more. Strangely, it felt like the sound was much louder than before.
How much time passed like that?
We moved slowly, checking every detail, but I could feel the surrounding scenery gradually becoming clearer.
I thought my eyes had finally adjusted, but that wasn’t it. The fog, once so thick you couldn’t see ten meters ahead, was beginning to thin. At the same time, my feet, which had been trudging through bones, faintly kicked at empty air.
I slowed my pace slightly and quickly checked the ground. The slightly uneven road was gone, replaced by a clean marble floor.
Though it was covered in a fine layer of dust, I noticed something peculiar. There were no bones in this area. And the fog was also very thin.
Looking ahead, a structure unlike any I’d seen in the Hall Plain caught my eye. No, not a structure, but a kind of wall? Or perhaps a monument?
I couldn't be sure, but in any case, something that looked like a white wall stood tall, just like the floor. And surrounding it on all sides were what appeared to be statues.
“Oho. There’s a high probability this is the place.”
“…I don’t sense anything unusual. I’ll head in first.”
After replying to Vivian, I walked into what I presumed to be the center of the fortress, or a plaza.
The fog was definitely thinner here. The deeper I went, the more my vision returned to normal.
Passing the statues, I stopped in front of the wall and slowly looked around. It seemed my guess was right; from this spot, the surrounding area was much clearer. The plaza, which appeared to be about 200 meters wide, was empty except for the central wall and the statues.
“These statues… It seems they are personifications of the Residents from the myths.”
Seon Yuun remarked, observing the statues with his sharp eyes.
He was right.
Although time had worn them down in places, the statues had mostly retained their original forms. The four statues erected around the wall were holding a spear and shield, a staff, and a bow, while one was in a praying posture. They seemed to be statues of famous Residents from the myths.
Next, I turned my attention to the wall.
Its top was rounded, giving it the strong impression of a monument, but it was massive, reaching nearly two meters in height. This too had not withstood the test of time and was quite worn, so I gently raised my hand and carefully rubbed the wall.
And then, I stopped. I felt a subtle texture on the part I had wiped.
I blew lightly on it and saw that it was densely covered in engraved letters. I knew a fair bit of the ancient language, so I began to translate without delay.
…
However, I couldn’t understand it.
There were certainly letters I could decipher, but they were only grammatical particles and suffixes.
In other words, the text on this wall was not the ancient language I knew. Considering that language has continuously evolved in the Hall Plain, this was likely the script used during the Mythical Era.
Thinking Vivian might know, I immediately turned around.
The clan members were either looking at the wall with me or standing near the statues. After ordering them not to let their guard down, I called out to Vivian.
“Vivian. Come here for a second.”
“Huh? What’s up?”
“Come over and take a look at this wall.”
“Why? Is something written on it?”
Vivian rushed over and looked where I was pointing. After staring at it for about three seconds, her eyes widened.
“Oh, this is the language they used in the Mythical Era, isn’t it?”
“So you can read it?”
I asked with a glimmer of hope, but Vivian shook her head back and forth.
“No, impossible. The language we use evolved from what was passed down from the Mythical Era, but the eras are strictly distinct. This is ancient even by the standards of antiquity—the language used in what we call the distant past. Much of it has been lost by now, and very few people ever learned it to begin with.”
“…I see.”
“Tsk… Hold on. The language itself developed alongside magical incantations, so there might be something I can read.”
“Alright, then please… Hey, you!”
As I was nodding in disappointment, I was suddenly taken aback. Vivian had thrown both her hands up and started scrubbing vigorously at the wall. I worried it might crumble to pieces, but thankfully, the wall held firm.
“Phew. Shall we begin? But don’t get your hopes up.”
Vivian dusted off her now-grimy hands. She didn’t seem to care at all. But her expression quickly turned serious, and she calmly raised her right hand. She then extended her index finger and gently placed it at the beginning of the text on the wall.
Her finger began to trace the engraved letters, and with that, Vivian’s translation began.
“Hmm… Hmmm…”
But as expected, the translation wasn't going well. Even after several lines, Vivian hadn’t said a single word.
Then, her hand, which had been moving slowly, began to speed up. Vivian may have been a Resident from a hundred years ago, but it seemed even she found it impossible to read the script of the Mythical Era.
Just as I was about to give up hope, Vivian’s finger suddenly stopped. Her index finger was now more than halfway down the wall, and Vivian herself was bent over slightly.
A moment later, the first words finally left Vivian’s lips.
“Could not be trusted… No, cannot believe…? No, it’s past tense. Could not.”
“What did you say?”
“Surely… that at that time…? Such an incident…? An event…? That they would cause…”
“…”
It seemed she couldn’t hear me. Vivian was completely absorbed in the translation.
It looked like she’d found a section she could at least partially decipher, as she stared at the spot for a while. But soon her finger started moving down again, apparently stuck once more.
Her index finger swept across the engraved letters at high speed.
Then, at some point, Vivian’s lips parted again.
“The curse of Magna Carta… It is… to whom…”
Her words cut off again. Still, a flicker of hope arose in me that perhaps she was finding more and more decipherable parts.
However.
After that, Vivian’s index finger flowed down like water, reaching almost the very end. Watching her crouch down, I smacked my lips in disappointment.
I had hoped it might contain a way to clear this fog, but my guess was wrong.
In any case, it was confirmed there was nothing special in the central plaza. Now it was time to find a building that looked unusual.
With that in mind, I was about to place a hand on Vivian’s shoulder when her lips parted once more. Her index finger had stopped near the very last section.
“I…”
Vivian frowned deeply. She leaned in closer, checking it over and over, before tilting her head and continuing.
“No, we… hate… the hero…?”
At the unexpected words, I repeated them in my mind.
I, no, we hate the hero.
…Huh.
Just then, a thought shot through my head.
The words Ahn Sol had spoken before we climbed the first set of stairs.
‘I hate the hero.’
There was a difference between ‘I’ and ‘we,’ but I immediately turned my head. The moment I found Ahn Sol, I was startled.
Without anyone noticing, Ahn Sol had approached and was now standing beside me, staring at the wall and Vivian with a tense expression.
“Serje… Imersio…?”
Hearing the next part of the translation, I reflexively looked down at the wall. Vivian’s finger, which had been tracing the wall, was now moving slowly toward the very end.
“In Tenebras…”
It was then.
Vwooom…
A faint flow of magic, felt for just an instant. It was just for a moment, but I could feel it. An ominous flow of magic was slowly beginning to rise around us.
“Mor…”
There was no magical inscription, no magic circle. Nothing I could see. I was bewildered by the sudden surge of magic, but that wasn't what was important right now.
I can't let her say it!
“Vivian!”
I shot my hand out to stop her without delay.
Thud!
My hand, just about to grab Vivian’s shoulder, stopped midway. Someone had caught my arm. In disbelief, I turned my gaze and saw Ahn Sol, her eyes gleaming intensely.
“Ahn Sol? What are you doing…?”
“Let her do it, Orabeoni.”
“W-what? What do you mean?”
“If she doesn’t… we’ll all die!”
Ahn Sol’s cryptic voice.
Before I could even ask what on earth she meant, I had to listen as Vivian’s translation, which I thought was over, continued.
“…rtus. It was Mortuus. Phew, that was tough… It’s over now. Hey, Kim Soohyun! Did you call me?”
Without even thinking of answering Vivian, I just stared at Ahn Sol. She had returned to her usual sorrowful expression, but I could see a hint of relief in her eyes.
I slowly tore my eyes away from her and stared at the wall.
VWOOOM!
And, in that instant.