Chapter 29
No One Is Born a Hero (14)
The rumbling of the collapse continued, with faint sounds of crumbling and shifting debris.
At some point, the fall had stopped, and the barrier was caught on one side of a pile of rocks.
It was dark all around, blocked by stones.
But shortly after, mysterious light particles began to float around, emitting a blue glow. A faint, pure, magical power could be felt.
“…Ha.”
It was barely enough to make out what was right in front of me, but this was sufficient.
Finally catching my breath, I glanced down at Ethan, who had fainted while leaning on my shoulder, without pushing him away.
‘…I could have done it.’
If I had been asked to choose between that knight and Ethan Behemoth, the answer would have been easy. Of course, isn’t it obvious?
I could have chosen without hesitation the one who would save more people, end more calamities….
The one who would be more helpful to the Crowell family.
And I talk about having noble intentions…
“…Ha.”
I’m even worse than him.
My heart churned at the sight of him throwing himself recklessly to save even one more person.
Ethan Behemoth was always like this.
This is why it didn’t work…
Then.
“……?”
Before I could dwell on my complicated feelings about Ethan Behemoth, a strange and sticky sensation invaded my consciousness.
“This is….”
It was a very unpleasant, familiar, and bizarre feeling.
No. I seemed to know what it was.
‘This.’
In fact, I had been on edge ever since entering the ravine as part of the scouting party.
I thought that if it was a curse powerful enough to turn back time entirely and repeat life hundreds of times, even a faint suspicious flow of magic power should be detectable.
But no matter how much I walked, even until now, no trace of such a curse had been felt in this ravine.
And that meant…
That a barrier powerful enough that I couldn’t detect at my current level was covering and hiding the path to the curse.
So the reason I was able to reach the cave on that day in the past…
‘Because the Gigantic Arachne had completely destroyed the ravine.’
And in the process, the barrier was broken.
And now, with the ravine having collapsed as much as it did then.
Finally, something began to feel strange.
As I became more deeply involved in the incident than expected, I had let go of my original purpose of exploring the curse while focusing on survival.
But thanks to that, I’ve now reached the curse.
Moreover, fortunately, the direction from which that eerie energy was felt was quite close.
It was the direction from which the mysterious light particles were flowing.
Everything seemed to be finally getting back on track.
Overwhelmed by insufficient magic power, I reduced the size of the protective barrier and arduously shouldered the unconscious Ethan on my back. Then, how long did I crawl through the narrow underground passage?
“Ugh… whew.”
After pushing away a strange stone that felt empty inside and squeezing through a gap in the pile of rocks, a cavity appeared.
Ethan Behemoth, you’re damn heavy.
Thanks to that, all my contemplations disappeared.
As I lowered my head to lay him on the ground and looked at his face, even his pale, limp appearance with closed eyes was frustratingly beautiful.
I can’t deny it anymore. He was certainly handsome even when young.
What kind of crossroads this experience would lead Ethan Behemoth to, that was something I couldn’t know right now.
After pushing him to a corner, I also struggled to catch my breath while supporting myself on the floor.
“Huff, haah. Whew….”
I could feel the traces of broken magic power shimmering brilliantly all around.
“Haah. Haha….”
This is the place. Without a doubt.
My breath pulsed as if jolting. My heart trembled as if it would jump out of my chest at any moment.
This is different from the unpleasant feeling I had earlier in the cave due to trauma.
Memories overlapped.
The pain that felt like my whole body was breaking.
My racing heart and gasping breath as I looked ahead.
It was similar to the moment I reached this place on that day in the past.
As if this place had been waiting for me.
As I approached the dimly visible wall and placed my hand on it, there was a magic-powered lamp hanging on a torch holder on the cavity wall.
It was a lamp that would emit a bright light if infused with magic power, but in my current state, it was impossible to infuse magic power.
“Somewhere around here…”
Looking around, I discovered a blue stone glowing like a luminous rock on the floor.
‘Found it.’
Magic stones always grow in spaces full of magical power.
I bent down to pick it up and pushed it into the wick part of the lamp. Then, a blue light grew from the end of the lamp, flickering and brightly illuminating the surroundings.
“Got it.”
While dusting off the dirt clinging to my body, I held the lamp high and turned around once.
“…Wow.”
Finally, I could properly see my surroundings.
A huge barrier encircling the cavity in a hemispherical shape was revealed, broken and glowing very faintly blue.
The dispersed magic powder seemed to be traces of this.
Unlike the gloomy aura of death emanating from this cavity, the barrier was made of surprisingly pure and sophisticated high-level magic.
“…It will disappear completely soon.”
I muttered quietly after rubbing the scattered magic powder between my fingers.
Once covered with such high-purity magic power, it would become really difficult to approach this cavity again.
That’s why I couldn’t reach this place again after regressing.
Goosebumps rose at the thought that this was a chance that would never come again.
To properly explore the interior of the cavity, I illuminated the wall with the lamp, revealing arch-shaped niches carved into each facing wall.
And within them were enormous statues. They looked about three times my height.
The statues were all in the shape of giant humans wearing long, flowing hoods, with ancient language inscribed below them.
‘This is.’
Ancient language. I didn’t expect to find a language here that’s rarely used even in old magic books.
Of course, I can read it now, but my past self wouldn’t have been able to read it at all, and wouldn’t even have thought of it as language.
…This cavity seems older than I expected.
I held the lamp close and read the elegantly engraved writing.
「I call upon you, First Apostle, come forth in response to this sacred summons. Bring fear and terror to the world and reign as a mighty army that will never fade… So that He may find His way back.」
A cold sensation crept up from my fingertips at the phrase that seemed to curse the world.
The format of the text was like scripture, making even my mouth that recited this phrase feel uneasy.
…Who is ‘He’?
I raised the lamp again to illuminate the statue’s face up close.
“……!”
And.
At that moment, I was startled by what I encountered and bit my wrist. The lamp swayed greatly.
Following the swaying light, the shadows cast on the statue also flickered.
My gaze met with the eight eyes of the spider carving covered inside the statue’s hood.
It was just crouching in human form, but this was clearly a monster.
Hurriedly illuminating the other statues while stepping back, I found they were all the same.
Inside the hoods were carved shapes of monsters contorting, twisting, and bending their bodies, pretending to be human.
‘Come heed the supreme call.’
‘With a vast army….’
Is it just my hasty conjecture that brings to mind the Gigantic monsters?
Or.
As I quickly moved with staggering steps, all strength drained, the facing walls grew closer and closer together.
Finally, near what looked like a vanishing point, the walls actually met.
…There was an altar in front of it.
I slowly raised the lamp to illuminate the top of the altar.
Then, a figure sitting on the old stone altar, which looked like it might demand a pure lamb, was revealed in the lamplight.
He was looking at me.
“Lady Edith.”
…It was Rimos Therion.
“…Therion.”
He smiled, shielding his eyes as if dazzled by the bluish light.
It was still a fragile smile.
“It’s, it’s too bright…”
I quietly repeated his name once more in my mouth.
Rimos, Therion.
The culprit who turned my insides out.
Whom no one can properly remember.
Who can act as a holy mage.
Who handles monsters….
Now I can be certain.
I slowly lowered the lamp I had held high.
His upper body sank back into darkness.
“Thank you.”
His voice came from somewhere in the vast darkness, not from where his upper body should have been.
As if that entire darkness was him.
🥀
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