By Zephyria Leonardo and Kenneth flew into the air and cut off all the vines that had grown on the tall monument.
While they were clearing the upper part of the monument, Alex, who was below, also cleared away the fallen vines and cut the grass growing on the lower part. With their rare cooperation, the monument, which had been covered by nature for a long time, was gradually returning to its original appearance when it was erected.
Although not clear, some characters were densely engraved on the monument. Kenneth felt a strange feeling that was both familiar and unfamiliar from the characters, but he did not know the reason and grabbed the end of the last vine and came down.
The vine weakly tore off and fell to his feet, and the entire front of the huge monument, which was finally not covered, came into view at a glance.
The monument, which seemed to shine as it was reflected by the sunset, had many traces of time on it. Kenneth, who felt overwhelmed by the gap in time, could not take his eyes off the many letters and asked into the air.
“What… what kind of letters are these?”
Leonardo’s gaze, which was also staring at the letters as if possessed, reached the highest point of the monument. A strong red light permeated his eyes, and his pupils contracted.
Guessing at the parts that were worn out and unreadable, he carefully stepped through the letters from left to right and down about three lines, and he felt a sensation similar to the elation that Alex Siles must be feeling flowing into his body.
Eventually, he stopped his gaze at one point and answered in a confident voice.
“This is Ancient Language.”
At that moment, Alex, who was next to him, immediately turned his head towards Leonardo. His eyes held quite a bit of surprise.
“You know Ancient Language?”
Leonardo glanced at Alex and then turned his eyes back to the monument and said.
“A little.”
Ancient Language commonly refers to old words from the past, but in Laina Rogia, Ancient Language mainly refers to the characters and words used before the empire was founded. Many of the Forbidden magic that Leonardo used could only be cast if he understood this Ancient Language.
However, nearly a thousand years have passed since the era when that language was mainly used, so it was quite surprising to Alex that someone who was young and a soldier far from academic research knew it.
Alex’s strange gaze swept across his profile when the wind blowing from the mountains also swept past them.
Kenneth, who was clearly nervous at that moment, turned around and looked at the forest, but Leonardo, who was craving for the answers contained in the monument, did not notice it at all.
He looked at the top of the monument and shielded the sunset pouring into his eyes with his hand. Then, he interpreted the contents engraved there and slowly began to read.
“Laina Era 938. Akan Era 153. Five years of famine and… two Small Volcano eruptions.”
Laina Era nine hundred and thirty-eight. Akan Era one hundred and fifty-three. We endured five years of famine and two Small Volcano eruptions, but at some point――the cruelty of those who came in and filled their bellies with our flesh was an endless nightmare and an unbearable disaster.
All the seeds of this land where evil is rampant have dried up――when even hope is torn away along with weak souls, the King of the great country located in the north――took pity on us and came with thousands of soldiers.
His name is Theodore―――Scania Ragnarvalrod Laina. The dazzling Sun King of the great country Laina, and our eternal savior.
Flynn, who had been temporarily separated to carry out the personal orders given by the Commander, waited nearby with a member of the 1st Battalion he was accompanying, and after confirming that Hugo, Squad Leader 8, and some members were entering the base camp, he immediately joined them.
And immediately following them, Southern Branch Vice Commander Bruno Amos and commanders and members belonging to the temporary headquarters also arrived at the assembly location.
The commanders of the Southern Branch 9th Battalion led by Liner Molton and the Southern Branch 12th Battalion led by Isabella Roslin had not yet arrived, but Bruno requested Hugo to proceed with the meeting as soon as he arrived at the base camp.
After that, the topic that Bruno threw out at the meeting held only for the people who had arrived in advance was enough to break the internal atmosphere, which had been frozen by the war of nerves between Hugo and Meterion, in a completely different way.
“A huge Magic Circle is formed on this Eldermilli Peninsula. The statues and pillars of the ruins, all artificial structures, are all part of the strokes that make up the Magic Circle!”
Bruno said in a somewhat excited voice in front of the commanders gathered.
When he first told this story, most of the commanders reacted with disbelief, not easily accepting it. However, when the members of the Operations Department who came with him fixed the map of the peninsula and the Magic Circle overlapped on a prefabricated support and showed it, surprise and shock spread across everyone’s faces.
After a moment of silence, a confused murmur poured out. No one had ever thought that the ruins of this peninsula would form a Magic Circle.
Dellua had a lot to say, but she couldn’t figure out what to say first, so she only opened her mouth and took a step towards the map. What she saw in front of her was clearly a Magic Circle.
Eventually, she raised her head and looked around at the structures erected next to the base camp. As Dellua looked at them, the mysterious things she had been wondering about suddenly came to her mind all at once.
And she thought that perhaps the Magic Circle that those things were shaping was the key to solving these questions.
“Have you also figured out what this Magic Circle is for?”
Dellua immediately asked Bruno. Then, Operations Officer Scott, who was next to Bruno, answered instead.
“According to what we have found out, it was a type of top-level Sealing Magic. It’s not magic that can be seen in these days, and it’s even less common, but it seems to have been used to seal powerful criminals, high-ranking demon beasts, or ancient devils with almost disaster-level danger.”
“Top-level Sealing Magic?”
Dellua asked back with wide eyes.
When she heard her unusually high-pitched voice, Squad Leader 8, who was looking at that side from next to Hugo, suddenly recalled the conversation she had with her before starting the search for the missing. Commander Rivera was the first person to claim that the space under the ground had a different flow from the surface.
After that, Squad Leader 8 was able to directly experience the strange flow in the underground tunnel that Dellua had mentioned while chasing after the traces of Kenneth and Leonardo, and the story that a Sealing Magic Circle was widely laid out throughout the peninsula connected the phenomena that had been questioned so far with one link.
And it seemed that Commander Rivera was thinking the same thing.
“Then, can we say that the reason why Magic Power has been suppressed and the energy of demon beasts could not be felt in the ground is also due to the influence of that Sealing Magic Circle?”
“Yes, that’s what we’re thinking.”
Gray Scott, who knew the fact that he had been constantly hearing news from inside the peninsula through a messenger, nodded and answered Dellua’s words.
With his words as the end, the commanders stirred rapidly, but Hugo raised his left hand to calm the noisy atmosphere. Then, he frowned slightly and asked.
“Then what were you sealing?”
Logically, if a physical Magic Circle was implemented on this peninsula, its purpose should have been to seal the demon beasts. But now, those guys were rampaging around the peninsula as if they were hardly restricted.
However, there were a few things that bothered him about seeing the reason for that as the Magic Circle’s effect had worn off. The abilities of the members, including himself, were restricted in the ground, and the search for the missing was delayed because of it, wasn’t it?
In other words, the effect of the Sealing Magic was still ongoing, and there was a high possibility that it was acting on something other than the demon beasts that they had seen so far.
Gray answered Hugo’s question again.
“The target of the seal is the core.”
“…The core?”
His blue eyes narrowed at the familiar word.
Flynn, who had been watching the meeting from behind Hugo, also raised his head in a flash. He recalled that the chief investigator belonging to the Southern Branch had previously presented the existence of a core that creates Deformed species.
“This Sealing Magic is basically a magic that is limited to one person or one entity. Assuming that the Magic Circle is floating in the sky, the closer the sealing target is located directly below the very center of it, the more powerful the effect becomes. In addition, the binding force also increases with the sealing target’s resistance ability, so it seems to have some influence on the surrounding area as well.”
At his words, Meterion, who was looking at the Magic Circle with his arms crossed, opened his mouth.
“So the core is only one entity? And is its resistance ability so strong that it affects the entire peninsula?”
“We haven’t yet figured out the exact resistance capabilities. However, according to a report from the 9th Battalion exploration team of the Southern Branch a few hours ago, there is only one leader among the several entities that could become the core. We expect that one entity to have significantly superior resistance capabilities compared to other demon beasts.”
As Gray finished speaking, Bruno pointed his baton at the center of a large map he had set up on a stand.
“The reason I summoned all the commanders is this. This place where we are standing now…”
He added, feeling the commanders’ gazes following the movement of his hand.
“Is a location close to the very center of the Magic Circle.”
The place his baton pointed to was in the southern part of the peninsula, arbitrarily divided by the Council, but slightly north when based on the Magic Circle.
If someone had built the structures that formed this Magic Circle to seal the core, they would have naturally designed the Magic Circle based on the target of the seal.
Hugo unconsciously raised his head towards the south. The others followed his gaze. Before them stretched endless, towering mountain peaks.
Among them, one particularly massive peak, piercing through the clouds and mist, was majestic enough to capture the blazing twilight and the scattering of light. It was overwhelmingly larger than any other peak he had seen so far.
‘The very center of the Magic Circle. Right below.’
Hugo’s gaze gradually lowered, following the vivid light that gave the illusion of flowing lava. His sliding gaze finally stopped when it reached the foot of the mountain, hidden by a dense forest.
The core might exist beneath there.