The Allure (7)
Accepting the reality, they let out a collective sigh.
“So what happened?”
“Yeah, you didn’t bring enough rations after all.”
Instead of the expected scolding, Ahin, who had been the pack mule, answered carefully.
“It’s not that the kid is hungry…”
“…That’s all?”
“And if I fill my stomach a bit, I can cast spells. You never know—there might be a situation where I need to support you guys.”
Despite her delicate appearance and dazed behavior, Haru was a Silver-rank adventurer. Maintaining the power of a Silver-rank adventurer was only natural, especially since the guild already gave her special treatment. Moreover, as a mage specialized in area-clearing magic, Ahin’s reasoning held.
“...You’re serious?”
“Just a little bit would be fine!”
“...”
“Anyway, it’s probably going to be a failure.”
At Ahin’s words, Jina shook her head vigorously and countered, “Who knows? The temple priests who taught me mana control all have only muscles in their heads. As long as it’s mana manipulation, they can only smash, cut, or detonate things, right?”
“That’s more than enough.”
The church Ahin knew from his previous life bore no resemblance whatsoever to the temple and priest image. Everything they could do with mana—the so-called holy power—was destruction alone.
That being the case, even long-time paladins had nothing to teach him about healing and buffing.
“…For now, let’s set aside the preservation talk and check the surroundings.”
Er, who had been glaring at Ahin, soon turned her head and began inspecting the surroundings and the skeletal remains.
“No gemstones.”
“Yeah, we caught over ten and none dropped.”
Even kicking the skeletal debris with her foot, nothing stuck to her.
“Still, the fact that so many skeletons came out means there must be something deeper inside.”
Skeletons weren’t naturally spawning monsters. There had to be a reason they were placed here.
“Thanks to Haru’s magic, the path is cleared. We can just keep going, right? Any other issues?”
The others shook their heads at Er’s words.
And of them all, Haru, who had swallowed the last of their rations, spoke in her slow, drawling voice.
“…The corridor is shorter than I thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“The magic hit a blockage. It should have smashed through any normal wall… but it got stuck.”
“So something blocked the magic.”
Ahin, who answered immediately upon hearing Haru, explained, “Whether it’s a black magician or a protective spell they created, we can’t back down. We have to keep going.”
“…Ahin’s right. But there’s one condition: if it’s dangerous, we run immediately.”
“Of course.”
With that, Er lifted her shield and led the way toward the inner part of the corridor.
The underground was quiet, the fire having completely died out.
With all the dry roots and clutter burned away, there was nothing for the feet to snag on.
Passing through the skeletal remains, their steps toward the depths were cautious.
To avoid any accidental noise from armor clashing, they tensed their shoulders.
After each step, they scanned the floor while advancing.
After quite some time, they noticed it.
“…Black magic.”
A red pattern drawn on the wall blocking their path.
It wasn’t mere paint. Dried blood-red, emitting a foul stench, it seeped across the wall and beyond.
The red pattern on the wall resembled a chilling pair of eyes.
With the dripping shape, it looked like three bloodshot eyes weeping blood.
“Everything is human blood… those black magicians… still doing this…”
Jina, who had been inspecting it, gritted her teeth and spoke.
“From the way it’s solidified, a lot of time has passed. Still, one thing is clear.”
“What is?”
“That no one has been here for a long time.”
The three eyes drawn in blood had already turned black and looked more like dried paint.
How much time would it take for human blood to discolor like that?
“…At least a few months, up to a few years.”
This was far earlier than when Ahin and Er had first explored the underground mausoleum.
So then.
“Even if we don’t know, this inside must be well preserved.”
“We cleared the underground mausoleum, why didn’t they do the same here?”
“Who knows? Maybe the person who cleared the upper area didn’t have permission to touch this…”
BOOM!
At that moment, a heavy sound echoed from beyond the wall.
A strong vibration as if something had slammed into the ground.
Startled, the group inhaled sharply, eyes widening at the same time.
“…Mana.”
Haru, who had been carried on Ahin’s back, descended to the floor and stared at the pattern on the wall with dazed eyes.
“That thing on the other side… mana… I feel it.”
“You feel mana?”
“Then is the black magician inside?”
As Ahin narrowed his eyes at that, Haru grabbed his head and spoke.
“I don’t know… but mana is definitely there. It’s strong.”
“…Strong.”
“What should we do, Ahin?”
Er, who had listened to Haru, spoke with a rigid face.
“The opponent controlled a dozen or more skeletons. If that thing inside isn’t a black magician, it means they were guarding it with that level of force.”
“Whatever it is, it should be fine.”
“If it’s an object or something, yes. But if the one inside is a black magician…”
“Better an object than a black magician or any other living being who can wield power themselves.”
“Fighting with no knowledge of the opponent’s skill is risky.”
“…Er is right. We have zero information on the opponent.”
Jina agreed with Er’s opinion. She, too, fixed a sharp gaze on the pattern on the wall, then spoke in a gloomy voice.
“I don’t know what those damn black magicians are going to do. We should retreat.”
“Yes, our goal is to find something strange, and we’ve achieved it. No need to force it.”
“…You’re both right.”
Ahin also agreed with Er and Jina’s views.
“We don’t need to risk ourselves. And we’ve been here for a while, right? So we can leave them alone for a few more days—there won’t be any trouble until the guild or church sends an investigation team. Haru, anything off about them?”
“...No.”
Even Haru saw nothing strange about the wall blocking their path.
We didn’t know what the eye pattern on the wall was for, but we were certain it sealed whatever was beyond it.
And Haru shook her head, having confirmed that it had worked without issue for a long time.
“No signs of release.”
“Good, then let’s go back. We should prioritize returning to Carpe and reporting as quickly as possible.”
“Ugh, the underground is gross. It’s too dark and my eyes are getting worse.”
Having decided to withdraw, the group each muttered a word and shook their heads.
They didn’t need to linger. They could just turn around and retrace their steps.
Since they had already confirmed there was nothing unusual on the way in, the return would be faster.
The wall with the strange pattern showed no signs of anything unusual.
The unknown thing inside the wall had been promised never to be released.
They could finally relax a bit.
“Ahin, give me a lift.”
Er, having thought that, stretched both arms and spoke.
“Haru, you can carry her, and hurry.”
“Aah! No! I was supposed to carry Ahin!”
“Then carry me in the underground, and carry Haru on the way to Carpe.”
“We’ll take a carriage when we return!”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“This is really…!”
Unable to watch the sudden bickering between the two, Ahin shouted.
“Neither of you is carrying me!”
“...”
“What? Your eyes look weird.”
Ahin, who noticed the strange expressions on Er and Jina’s faces, unconsciously took a step back.
It was an instinctive rejection: if he got caught by them now, things would not end well.
“Ahin?”
“Where are you going? Come here quickly.”
“I-I won’t!”
“Ahin!”
The moment Ahin, who had been retreating to avoid the two, felt a hard sensation on his back, that was it.
The wall drawn with eyes that looked like they were weeping blood.
They had only confirmed that there was a spell, but they had been certain it would not activate or release.
The moment the wall began to move with a loud creak.
It was the instant Ahin’s hand touched the wall.
There had been a feeling as if someone had called his name, but it vanished buried in the noise.
The blood that had been stuck seemed to crack with a foul stench, then slowly split open and revealed the other side.
In the endless darkness.
In Ahin’s two eyes, which had hurriedly retreated, he saw three blood-red eyes.
The group who saw the eyes staring at them from the lightless abyss froze with tension.
- Boss Monster, [Low Chimera, the Three-Eyed Beast] has appeared! -
Ahin, seeing the text floating before his eyes, gritted his teeth and said, “As expected, it’s fucking ridiculous…”