Chapter 172
Chapter 172
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Hazat Ashin, the Buried City (2)
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*
Overnight snowfall had piled up thickly, burying the entrance to the ruins halfway. Between the black maw of unknown depth, gusts of chill wind sporadically surged out, fluttering Fernandez's bangs.
He gazed at the quarry tunnel entrance where snow cascaded down in clumps. To an outsider, it would look unmistakably like a large but abandoned mine. However, Runeglyphs were a form of inscribed script that etched their origins into the rock.
Cracks between rocks and stones connected like spiderwebs in a haphazard pattern, but once you knew the pattern, they formed sentences with distinct regularity.
-If unprepared, depart; if the time has come, endure steadfastly.
*Or, reject death and withstand the end.*
They seemed utterly unrelated, but that was a chronic trait of Runeglyphs. Runeglyphs were ideograms that expressed multiple possible interpretations simultaneously in a single word, structured solely around nouns.
A more literal, aggressive translation would be [deathbed], [exterior], [timing], [endurance]. Dungeon entrance inscriptions typically served as warnings to intruders, making them anything but easy to ignore.
"For now, let's head in."
Loft clapped his palms with a grin. Yeah, no point overthinking it in this situation—there were no clear answers anyway. Fernandez shrugged and stepped into the tunnel.
*
There is a discipline known as magitech. Originating from alchemy, it is said to have pioneered a new paradigm surpassing traditional magic systems by combining mana as fuel with intricate mechanical devices.
The phrase "is said" means precisely that: the discipline was lost, deemed irretrievable forever.
Magitech was the dwarves' unique magic system, born from rune-forged mana circuits combined with exquisitely dense mechanical constructs—achievements transcending racial limits in both Runeglyphs and smithing. Now, traces of it could be found in ancient dwarf dungeons.
*The key point is that they actually sealed a great demon.*
All five great demons were sealed across the Sixth Realm. Among them, only Mumto was bound in the material world; the others, like the scale-clad empress Sadarkelia sealed by the heavenly dragon Kaladpellin, exerted only indirect influence from their respective dimensions.
Yet, thousands of years ago, the dwarves succeeded in sealing a great demon during the War in Heaven—not in the material world, but "imprisoned" in some distant dimension.
Crimson Archduke Tyban. A mighty demon who rose from lowly imp to great demon through destruction and slaughter alone. Denied kingly title by peers due to humble origins and called "archduke" instead, his power rivaled any other.
A force that destroyed any magic, any matter—Tyban's domain was "destruction." His power bordered on divinity; merely traversing the material world caused the earth to crumble beneath him.
*My old friend.*
Fernandez walked the familiar underground tunnel, lost in memories. Uncovering clues to the Crimson Archduke's seal in an ancient dwarf dungeon had been a miracle. He'd poisoned his fellow adventurers who discovered it and begun his research in his youth.
Even while hunted by the Inquisition for being tailed, he never abandoned it. Ultimately, he succeeded in excavating the dwarf dungeon sealing the Crimson Archduke... and the doomsday clock ticked one large step forward.
*The style's more archaic, but the essence is the same.*
Fernandez halted at the tunnel's end, eyeing the massive bronze door blocking his path. It depicted a sturdy man with a long beard in relief, scarred from attempts at destruction with picks and hammers.
"Young Erik must've given up here. Well, he had more pressing matters than excavating an ancient city. What do you think—can you manage it?"
Loft snickered. Fernandez stared silently at the door. Simple destruction wouldn't breach it. He stroked his thick beard while eyeing the cracked handle.
[Brother, we shall endure.]
A rather aggressive rendering might yield that meaning inscribed there. Interpretation varied, of course... Endure—the end. Then... Fernandez murmured quietly.
"Ragnarok."
-Thud. Rattle...
With his word, the grinding of thick chains echoed. Gears clunked into place, followed by bursts of noise from within the handle.
"Oh ho? Impressive!"
Loft cackled. The door creaked, then slid smoothly to both sides, as if absorbed into the tunnel walls. Beyond lay a wide corridor of neatly hewn flagstones and bricks.
-Creeeak, thump, thump, thump.
-Rattle. Grind...
The door's opening seemed to trigger mechanisms throughout the tunnel—no, the entire underground city. Friction noises rippled from everywhere in the vast subterranean expanse.
Fernandez walked the corridor, hand on his sword hilt. Sensation was slowly returning fully to his left hand. The pain lingered, but it was now tolerable. Rather than the gnawing agony dulling his mind, it sharpened his focus intensely.
*Quite the scale.*
*Yeah. On par with the Steel Floor seal.*
*No one builds something this massive for fun, Fernandez.*
*At least something on Tyban's level... or of equivalent value slumbers here.*
Fernandez frowned as he traversed the corridor. He knew all the great demons' seals and their release methods. Even if time or circumstances prevented some attempts, he at least knew the northern underground dwarf dungeons weren't among them.
But this scale—if a massive underground dungeon on par with Tyban's seal had been crafted... what on earth did it contain?
-Rattle. Creeeak.
At the corridor's end, another bronze door. Before Fernandez could inspect it, the door opened on its own.
-Whoooosh...
A dry wind from somewhere tousled his hair. Fernandez narrowed his eyes. A grand hall stretched before him.
"Welcome, friend! To Hazat Ashin! Haha, it's been ages since I visited this city. The folks here were great company!"
Loft's words echoed off the hall's walls. Fernandez ignored him, scanning sharply.
Ornate stone pillars inlaid with bronze panels and gold leaf supported a domed ceiling adorned with intricate frescoes depicting the War between Heaven and Hell.
Diffuse light from somewhere illuminated the surroundings, and a worn, frayed carpet stretched across a long footbridge. Below it, a city shrouded in haze came into view.
A city in every sense. Like surface cities, this underground one was multidimensional. Layers extended beneath pillars and galleries, stone houses rising like spires down to a deep chasm.
Even a single footstep reverberated through the colossal city. The dwarves must've been taciturn—no place for loud chatter. Between pillars, remnants of the once-glorious race gleamed beautifully.
A city carved from gold, bronze, steel, and stone. Fernandez found himself admiring it unwittingly. Not just for its scale and beauty.
*Every district intricately woven... a magic circle.*
*Incredible scale. Using the city structure itself as a magic circle...*
Tyban's seal hadn't taken a city's form. No sane ruler would build a city atop a great demon's prison, madness or not. So if this city formed a magic circle—no, if the circle underpinned the city...
*At least it means what they sealed was favorable to them.*
Fernandez approached the massive gate leading into the city, pondering. It spanned between two colossal statues carved in the likeness of living dwarves.
"Loft. You knew."
"Hm? Knew what?"
"About this city. And what's hidden here."
"Oh, of course I knew. Why else bring you here?"
"If it was that important, why not do it yourself?"
"Hahaha, friend. In the material world, I can't even lift a straw on my own!"
Loft clapped gleefully. Fernandez scowled at him.
"What's here?"
"The fuse. Oh, don't look at me like that. It's not bad for you—it's necessary for me too... Riddles are the salt and pepper of life, no?"
So get moving! As Loft snickered, Fernandez passed the gate. The moment his foot crossed the threshold, he yanked it back.
-Crack!
Blue lightning crackled where he'd stepped. A trap? No race would embed traps at their own city entrance... As Fernandez frowned and looked around, Loft began fading.
"Caught me!"
"...What trick is this?"
"I liked the folks here, but... they didn't like me! Heh, that's why I love those runts! Those cute, petty things! Haha!"
Loft floated slowly into the air, cackling. Annoying. Fernandez tapped his sword hand irritably; Loft shrugged.
"Do that again, and deal or no deal, it's over. Northern God."
"Oh friend, friend. Have faith! It'll help you, I swear? This place holds... half of Einherjar..."
-Thud, rattle.
Chains ground as friction noises erupted from below the footbridge, from the city depths. The city was awakening. Fernandez quickly peered down.
-Splash!
Furnaces roared to life, molten lava flowing like rivers beneath. It traced red paths between districts, bridges, igniting searing heatwaves.
*The magic circle's activating.*
*The first nexus is online. Two opposing clauses, five maintenance circuits...*
*And two more nexuses. Incredible scale.*
*Powering a magic circle with lava... not just furnaces. Those are rune forges. Probably the circle's heart.*
*And the city's heart too.*
The heatwave cleared the fog, revealing the cityscape. The entire city flickered like embers in the shape of a vast magic circle—a labyrinthine protective ward, complex beyond measure.
Not runes to shield from external assault. Deep within, three rune forges formed a triangle's vertices, guarding some inner "sanctum."
Simple destruction wouldn't breach it. Fernandez studied the structure intently. Destruction couldn't tear it apart, but...
*We've done it before.*
Protection's opposite wasn't destruction, but sealing. Protection kept the enemy outside; sealing drew the viewpoint inward. Invert the structure, and it became a seal—or protection anew.
The pattern closely mirrored the Steel Floor seal that had held Tyban. Potent, but not impossible.
*Feels like opening a memory box.*
*Did we have hobbies like that?*
*Even if we did, why reminisce or seal pure tragedy?*
Feizashi chuckled softly.