Guardians of the Ancestral Tomb
Whoosh...!!!
The higher they climbed the stairs, the fiercer the blizzard grew, pouring down as if warning them not to enter this place.
"Garon. Long time no see—put in some effort."
Shut up. No-wind zone, then Forbidden Zone... What the hell is this place? It's crushing my divine power even more than the rift.
Garon panted as he spoke.
I should've killed that Garuda bastard in Gold Death Gorge and become a high god. No way he'd hand over his rank willingly.
Garon's flames swirled irritably around Adel, as if shielding him from the blizzard.
Garon. Enough whining. That's why you're still a mid god. You think it's just a rank difference that you couldn't even form a shape in the no-wind zone and are flickering like you'll go out in this blizzard?
Kalderet said.
If that were the case, those spirits would've been crushed and vanished too.
As he said, wind spirits swirled around Adel, forming a vortex to block the blizzard.
Shut up, Kalderet. You know it too—this blizzard isn't some ordinary natural disaster.
Garon grumbled.
Even the glacier gods hate this blizzard from the ice dragon's corpse. It's infused with death qi. You won't find power like this even in the demon realm rifts.
He gazed at the blue flames flickering atop the stairs.
Something you'd only see in the underworld... To think it's here in the human realm.
Like it or not, that's what being a god means. No excuses.
Grng...
Garon grimaced at Kalderet's words but soon fell silent. He knew they rang true. Though he hated to admit it, unlike him—who couldn't manifest in the no-wind zone—Kalderet had maintained his wolf form. And even now, in the blizzard, he climbed as a black wolf.
Just snuff it out if you want? Then help me out.
I could. But if I use void power, this already freezing place will get even colder.
Adel's your contractor anyway, so he's fine.
I'm worried about you. You might just vanish in my power.
Damn it...
Kalderet chuckled, clearly enjoying teasing Garon.
"Enough teasing, Kalderet. Garon's flames are crucial for climbing the Ancestral Tomb. Even you couldn't make it to the top without him."
Clink—
Adel rolled the heat stone in his palm as he spoke. Even it, which had been warming his body temperature, was losing power and cooling down. That meant they'd been climbing these stairs for quite some time.
"The void is extremely cold. Adding cold to cold might even devour you."
Think I'll die to mere cold?
"It's not about you. The more cold piles up, the stronger the Ancestral Tomb's wraiths get. If they go berserk, it'll be a headache."
Shoooo—
It was then. Around the middle of the stairs, the air around Adel began to waver strangely.
"Great weapons hold memories. This is where the kings' weapons slumber. Naturally, it's a place where those inscribed memories live on."
Adel pointed ahead.
"Look over there."
Only the chosen may enter this place.
Prove thyself.
Art thou acknowledged?
Several voices echoed through the blizzard.
"And reaching those memories isn't easy either."
Thump— Thump—
The moment he heard their voices, Adel's heart began to race. Red glows appeared in his vision.
We ask again. Art thou acknowledged?
Thou bearest no king's mark.
This place is for the tribe's king alone. No further intrusion permitted.
Ice statues blocking the stairs ahead warned Adel. The air grew heavy, pressing down on him, and as their warning promised, the blizzard intensified.
It wasn't magic or shamanism.
"Here we go."
Adel slowly inhaled, forcing frigid air into his lungs.
The unworthy may not ascend the Ancestral Tomb.
We shall exclude thee.
Clank—!!
Rumble—!!
As the statues began to move, piled snow shook and crumbled down.
"Garon, flare up brighter. Kalderet, suppress the blizzard. I'll handle the statues."
That enough?
"Yeah. If the gods intervene more, the old man managing the tomb won't acknowledge us."
Hmph. I hate going to the grave that sealed me, and now I have to follow pointless procedures too.
Kalderet grumbled but soon vanished with the darkness.
"Don't do anything stupid. It's not like dead spirits will come back to life... You wanna show off in front of his grave or something?"
A god wielding power in the human realm is just breaking even.
But contrary to his grumbling, as soon as his form faded, the fierce blizzard abruptly stopped.
But blindly following human-made rules hurts a god's pride.
Boom—!!
At that moment, as the blizzard ceased, darkness shrouded them like they'd stepped into another space.
Fsssh...
One of the five statues crumbled into ash and vanished.
Eh, this'll do.
"...Should I thank you for going easy?"
Adel gave a wry smile at the remains of the powdered statue. If Kalderet wanted, he could obliterate these statues in an instant.
Hmph, fine. This is only possible because your vessel has grown.
"I'll take it as a compliment."
Adel lightly cracked his wrist.
Whoosh—!!
The moment Garon's embers blazed, the statues moved as if it were a signal flare.
Thud—! Thud—!
Rumble—!!
Unlike their massive size, the giant statues lunged at Adel with tremendous speed.
Bam...! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!!
Adel kicked off the ground and leaped back. Whoosh—!! The statue swung its massive axe right then.
Stepping off thin air, air burst with a pop as Adel's figure zigzagged, dodging the axe.
Clang—!!
Midair, he twisted his waist and landed, but another statue thrust its spear without missing a beat.
Watch your back.
With Kalderet's warning, a third statue swung its iron mace at Adel's rear. Surrounded now, pincer attacks rained down fiercely.
Boom—!!!
Axe, spear, and mace slammed into where Adel had been.
Szzzt...
But astonishingly, Adel was no longer there.
Grind—!!
In that instant, metal screeched. Adel had jammed his sword into the leg joint of the mace-wielding statue and twisted with all his might.
"Hmph."
It was a perfect blind-spot strike, but disappointingly, the sword lodged in the joint bent as if it would shatter at its limit.
Clang—!!!
Adel frowned slightly and struck the sword's hilt with his fist, driving it deeper into the joint.
"Impressive... As expected of old man Tu-an's work. Tough."
Grrrk— Grrrk—
Metal ground with every statue movement. Still, the embedded sword took effect—the mace statue slowed.
Flash—!!!
"But without the unquenchable Sacred Flame yet, its magic resistance is lacking."
Booom...!!!!
Adel poured mana into the lodged sword; the sturdy joint swelled and exploded.
Grr...!!
As one statue toppled forward, Adel snatched the fallen mace and swung it with full force. It smashed precisely into the axe statue's head.
Splat! The mace embedded in the statue's head.
Thud...!!
Unable to withstand the mace's weight crushing its skull, the statue collapsed sideways.
...Cease!!
With two statues shattered in an instant, desperate voices cried out as the spear- and sword-wielding ones charged Adel.
Unlike the tight pincer before, with their numbers halved, gaps became clear in his eyes.
"Cease? With what?"
Thud— Adel ducked the spear and dove inside the statue.
Clang!!
Slipping between its legs, he drew a dagger from the scabbard at its chest and stabbed both groins.
Stab—! Thunk! Thunk! Rip!!
Leaping back into the air, he precisely struck the thigh, hip, and nape joints.
Grk?!!
The statue twisted desperately to shatter the daggers, but Adel stepped on their hilts first and climbed its back.
Chiii...!!!
Then, the Rundel's Gauntlets on Adel's wrists—returned by Kasan after acquiring the phoenix egg—began to glow.
Clank—! Whirr—!!
The gauntlet's steel plates parted, unleashing the infernal jade within with ferocious momentum.
The infernal jade in the gauntlets feels stronger... The phoenix egg's influence?
"Maybe."
Kraaa—!!!
The jade blazed, melting the gripped statue's head.
Grk... Grrrk...
Like a living thing, the statue struggled desperately against Adel's grip. But the more it did, the brighter and redder the jade burned, until the statue began melting like iron in a furnace.
"Whew..."
Drawing up mana made his veins burn hot—despite Garon's warmth, white mist clouded Adel's breath.
"One left."
Adel eyed the remaining statue.
"You can come out now."
But it wasn't a warning to the statue. Mindless things couldn't understand him anyway.
"They're still fixable. If you don't want your masterpieces ruined forever."
"...Fix my ass. Repairing those would take more material than making new ones."
It was then.
"Destroying my gatekeepers without proper weapons. What are you?"
A thick voice echoed from above, toward the summit. Adel lit up with joy.
"What's a non-heir doing here? What's your business?"
Short stature, thick forearms. Bushy brows and a wild beard. The man atop the stairs was a rare sight in the desert.
"Dwarf Tu-an, the Ancestral Tomb's caretaker."
Adel grinned at his face. Reunion's joy swelled endlessly, but Tu-an had no clue who he was.
"Why the grin? Think breaking the gatekeepers ends the tomb's trial? You're mistaken."
He spoke curtly, pointing to the summit.
"You won't see the tomb's weapons without reaching the top. Know what that means."
"Of course."
A dwarf in the desert kings' resting place was astonishing. But a moment's thought revealed it wasn't impossible.
The weapons used by Ulan tribe kings past—far more refined and sharp than any desert smith could forge.
Yet few knew of the bond between desert tribes and dwarves.
"I'm not particularly interested in the tomb's weapons."
"...What?"
Tu-an tilted his head at Adel's words.
"I'll climb to the spirit grave, sure. Got something to check. But..."
My real business is with you. I want to forge a weapon.
Adel pulled a small box from his bosom.
"...What's that."
It was the box from Gold Death Gorge.
"A device to kindle Spar. The unquenchable flame. I brought it from Gold Death Gorge."
Tu-an eyed the box with interest.
"Intrigued?"
"Nonsense. Looks like an empty box."
"It is now. But the red dragonkin hold the phoenix egg. Once it hatches, we can contain Spar here."
Adel said.
"Wasn't that your dream? Mixing the unquenchable flame with the tomb's Myriad Ghost Fire to forge a weapon."
"Spouting drivel. I don't take commissions. I forge only for the tribe's chiefs."
He refused outright, but Adel caught Tu-an smacking his lips regretfully.
"Even if Haien permitted your visit, you're just a guest. No qualification to commission."
"I know."
As if expecting that, Adel strode up the stairs toward Tu-an.
"To wield the tomb's weapons requires king's qualification."
Adel told him.
"You just forge. Refining the materials will take ages anyway... I'll earn the qualification by then."
"You dare lecture me, Tu-an, on material prep? No material I can't handle."
His pride stung, he snapped.
"Arrogant brat. What grand thing you planning to bring?"
Then Adel pointed to the tomb's peak.
"...What?"
Tu-an's eyes wavered.
"No idea what you're on about. Up there are just ancestors' weapons."
"Exactly."
Adel said, as if he'd waited for it.
"Ulan chiefs embed what they deem the finest material into their weapons."
He pointed to the summit.
"Isn't this the ultimate trove of irreplaceable continental treasures?"