By Zephyria Even if you only estimate the height to where your eyes can reach, it’s at least several hundred meters. The unknown space below is filled with yellow smoke like a waterfall.
This place, where even the smallest breath seemed to turn into an echo, was like a huge dome-shaped space endlessly expanded up and down.
It was so majestic that a human standing on it would be considered a mere trifle, and the pupils that had been trapped in the narrow cave constantly contracted to capture the wide view.
No one would have imagined that there was such a vast space inside Seal 118, and even if they saw the scene with their own eyes, they would not easily believe it.
But what surprised the two of them more was something else. It was the huge and beautiful Magic Circle covering the very center of the sky and the hundreds and thousands of pillars made by carving each Boulder that made up the wall, reminiscent of a temple.
Unlike the natural caves they had passed through so far, this place was full of artificial traces, like the structures built outside. There were railings on each floor, and old but magnificent pillars supported them, and strange statues were placed at regular intervals, giving a geometric sense of unity.
These structures densely filled the walls on all sides, based on the Magic Circle in the center, and this magnificent space woven by them was like an iron cage to confine the existence that would be bound somewhere here.
Perhaps this place was a fortress to seal the monster.
“……”
Sweat was already beading on Leonardo’s forehead as he faced the brilliant light coming from above. It was because the scorching heat of ultra-high temperature rose from the bottom and swept past his skin.
However, the feeling of being breathless as he entered the magnificent scenery was not only due to the hot air. It was a feeling of being overwhelmed by the space, beyond the rising fear.
‘Headache.’
Leonardo frowned and rubbed his forehead and temples with his hands.
The throbbing sensation was more severe than before, and the coldness that climbed up his spine awakened each cell in his body. Perhaps because he had so many imaginations while longing for the day he would reach this place, he even felt a strange sense of déjà vu now that he was about to reach the monster’s nest.
It was around that time that he realized that the hallucination he had been hearing had stopped.
Hugo, who was looking at the huge Magic Circle floating in the sky, instinctively knew that it was the Sealing Magic left by Theodore Ragnarvaldr Laina, the last King of Laina a thousand years ago, written in the records.
His magic, which was still intact even after a thousand years, went beyond the impression that it was powerful and beautiful, and gave him a sense of overwhelming emotion, as if he were facing a sacred sun illuminating the sanctuary.
It was unbelievable even when he was looking at it, and it felt like it would disappear if he tried to grab it. A sense of longing and an indescribable hot emotion stirred in his heart, as if he were actually facing an ancestor he had only seen in print in the old days.
Hugo’s head turned without him realizing it. He naturally looked at Leonardo, who was standing next to him.
The trembling Gold Eyes between his frowning eyes and his slightly parted red lips caught his attention. With that alone, Hugo could be sure.
That he was feeling the same emotion as him.
Even without saying it, it was conveyed to him on a trembling breath.
As if their minds were connected, Leonardo, who had been gazing at the other side, glanced at Hugo. Leonardo was the first to open his mouth among the two who had been looking into each other’s eyes for a while.
“…This is it, right?”
Hugo nodded at the short but certain question.
“It seems so.”
As the returned answer added to the sense of reality, Leonardo felt as if his heart was beating violently. After calming his rapid breathing, he suddenly scanned the area around where he was standing.
“Where is the Illaptor you were chasing?”
“It had already disappeared when I entered this place. It must have sneaked into one of those places.”
Hugo said, gesturing with his chin to the narrow caves between the straight pillars. Besides the cave they came out of, there were similar small caves hidden behind the pillars and statues. He didn’t know where they all led, but there were easily hundreds of them just by looking at them.
As Leonardo scanned the scene reminiscent of a beehive, he was suddenly swept away by one question.
‘Then did the Illaptor lure us here?’
The caves, which were like a maze in this Seal 118, may seem complicated to humans, but they would be as familiar to demon beasts as their home ground.
But the fact that this guy, who had so many ways to escape, had been constantly screaming and engaging in a chase that seemed like he was about to be caught, didn’t feel natural. Rather, it was more plausible that he volunteered to be a guide.
However, Alec Siles said that Illaptors were demon beasts that performed the role of inner seal, so it was difficult for them to escape the Queen’s control, didn’t he? If the monster was following the Queen’s will, he wouldn’t want to expose the nest to humans.
If so, he would have tried to prevent them from reaching this place at all costs, but there was no way to guess why the Illaptor was acting as if he was trying to lure them in the opposite direction.
However, a certain feeling inside him sent a disturbing sign that it was by no means a good thing. And it wasn’t long before he realized the identity of that sense of unease.
“By the way.”
Leonardo licked his lips as he looked around. The internal structure only came into view now because it was so vast and he was distracted by the Magic Circle in the sky.
What filled his vision was a vast space drawing a circle with a constant curvature. On that wall, there were only narrow caves where only one or two people or demon beasts could pass through.
Apart from those, there were no holes for any huge being to escape from within, nor any places to hide. If so, ‘that existence’ that the Council’s army had been searching for must be in this space in front of them.
Leonardo’s eyes, with narrowed eyebrows, slowly crossed the sky. He stopped breathing without realizing it, and then turned his eyes back to Hugo.
“Where is the core?”
Hugo’s gaze, which was also scanning the interior, turned to Leonardo.
The two intersecting gazes were full of questions.
The core was not visible.
Buzz― Crack―
―…E…, discovery….
At that time, a noise mixed with static was heard from Hugo’s radio, which had not been ringing for a while. In an instant, the eyes of the two turned to the radio at the same time.
Buzz―
―Echo 4, …suspected to be the core… location …discovery. Coordinates are …3, …5…, 12….
The radio, which had been occasionally losing signal as they advanced toward the center, had been completely cut off after passing through the crack. It could have been because there were no communication targets nearby, but the two were speculating that the reason was because the core’s powerful energy was interfering with the radio waves.
But the fact that the signal was being picked up now meant that the flow of energy that had been surging around had stopped or become relatively calm.
Feeling something was wrong, the two quietly looked at each other.
If this was truly the place where ‘that existence’ they had been searching for was sealed, and if the Magic Circle in the sky was evidence of that. Shouldn’t the energy that would interfere with the radio waves have increased even more?
But the fact that the signal, which had been cut off all along, was suddenly being picked up didn’t fit the theory they had been thinking about so far.
Buzz―
―…Delta 2. Echo 4, Say again.
―Echo…, …5. Suspected nest….
To the bewilderment of the two, the sounds of other groups were also leaking from the radio.
The content that was continuously heard after that was not a clear sentence, but if they combined the words that were heard vaguely, it seemed that they were reporting that they had discovered the location suspected to be the nest, that is, the space they were standing in now. At that, Hugo, who was holding the radio in his hand, pressed the side button and responded.
“This is Alpha 1, Alpha 1. Can you hear me?”
However, just as Hugo’s voice started, the answer that was coming back was completely cut off. He waited for a response for a while, but it was the same.
Hugo immediately grabbed the end of the carved railing and looked around. It was to find other groups that had arrived somewhere nearby.
But as soon as he leaned his head forward, the heat that soared from below swept into his lungs, and his vision became blurred again for a moment. His brain kept sending warnings that it was short of oxygen, and his senses were not as keen as usual.
Instinctively stopping his breathing and squeezing his eyes shut, Hugo stood still in that spot with his head bowed for a while. Then, Leonardo, who was next to him, noticed something and came over and grabbed Hugo’s arm.
“Are you okay?”
At the voice that sounded quite surprised, Hugo covered his nose and mouth with his hand and nodded once without answering. After that, he forced his eyes open with a pale face and moved his gaze here and there along the intricately carved pillars. However, with the dizziness getting worse, there was no way he could see things properly.
Leonardo, who was looking at him worriedly, suddenly turned his eyes somewhere. He stared intently at one point and then immediately reached out to the other side and pointed at something.
“There.”
Hugo also turned his head in that direction.
It was the entrance to a cave located about 50m below on the opposite side, and two shadows flickering in front of it came into view. Because the distance was so far, they looked small like dots, but the Light Balls floating around them allowed him to identify that they were at least the same humans.
Having identified the figures, Hugo raised the brightness of his Light Ball to the maximum to send a signal. Then, the other party also noticed this side and started shaking the floating Light Ball in their hand greatly. A familiar voice that echoed loudly through the vast interior was also heard.
“Supreme Commander!”
The spreading sound collided with the wall, and the echoes rushed in like waves. It was Rainer, the 9th Battalion Commander of the Southern Branch.
Buzz―
―How noisy.
At the sudden radio sound, Leonardo looked at the radio in Hugo’s hand with a face as if he had misheard for a moment. Just by listening to the tone, he felt like he knew who it was.
But the fact that he could retort in real time that it was noisy meant that he had also heard the shout. If so, he must be nearby as well.
Buzz―
―Charlie 3, arrived at the target point. Alpha 1, please respond.
At the following radio message, Hugo raised his head and looked up. Two Light Balls were shining brightly in the distance.
Since the voices of the two group representatives had been heard side by side on the radio just now, one was probably Meterion Kleinder, the 3rd Battalion Commander of the Central Branch, and the other was Isabella Roslin, the 12th Battalion Commander of the Southern Branch.
As the four Light Balls of the representatives gathered in one space, Hugo fixed his gaze on the two above and immediately pressed the button on the radio and responded.
“This is Alpha 1, everyone has gathered.”
The fact that the vanguard of the four groups that had entered from different directions had met in one space meant that this was undoubtedly the center of Seal 118.
Soon after, as if to prove that communication had become smooth again, the confirmation responses of each Battalion Commander were heard in turn. However, only the radio of Echo 4, that is, the 9th Battalion of the Southern Branch, had a particularly poor signal and sound quality.
Hugo, who found this strange, asked again, looking at Rainer, who was at the very bottom.
“This is Alpha 1. Echo 4, please respond. Is there any signal interference material nearby?”
―…Echo 4, no…, …obscured by fog…, …however, sent… a search… party…, so….
“…This is Alpha 1. Echo 4, Say again all.”
―…Fog, …so….
Cheeeee―
The 9th Battalion’s radio was cut off one after another, and then suddenly a loud noise pierced his ears. Hugo, frowning, hurriedly moved the radio away.
Before long, the blinking sensor made a beep and the power went out completely. He thought it had gotten better for a moment, but it had become completely cut off again.
Hugo looked at his radio, which seemed to have gone bad in an instant, with a dumbfounded face. The fact that the sensor light was completely off meant that the communication failure was not just their problem.
“…What the hell is going on?”
Hugo swept his hair back in frustration and bit his teeth tightly at the end of a deep sigh. After that, he pressed the button on the radio a few more times, but the already broken sensor was silent.
While Hugo was examining the radio, Leonardo leaned halfway over the railing and narrowed his eyes as he looked down. It was because a strange phenomenon had been captured in his vision.
After staring at it for a long time, he straightened his body again and tapped Hugo’s arm next to him.
“Agrizendro, look down for a second.”
Hugo, who glanced sideways, moved his gaze following his gesture. He wondered if he was telling him to look at where Molton Battalion Commander was, but it didn’t seem to be the case. Leonardo’s eyes were directed further down, toward the bottom where the yellow fog was thickly spread.
But even if he looked closely, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly noteworthy. Hugo turned his head and asked, not knowing what he was told to look at.
“What’s wrong?”
Then Leonardo stood right next to Hugo this time. Then he reached out his hand in front of his vision and pointed somewhere.
“That yellow smoke, it’s rising more and more.”
At the unusual story, Hugo followed his fingertips again. Leonardo was pointing not at the center where the gas was undulating, but at the place where it was in contact with the wall.
Hugo’s brow furrowed slightly. Once he became aware of it, he could see it clearly. The pillars and railings erected on each floor served as scales, making the strange undulation even more distinct.
Clearly, the mysterious gas that he had initially assumed to be sulfur gas when he first arrived here was lying far below the location of Molton Legion Commander’s battalion. But now, upon seeing the gas again, its level had risen so much that it seemed as if it would soon reach the feet of the commanders of the 9th Battalion on the opposite side.
Hugo’s eyes, sensing a suspicious current, momentarily wandered in the air. As he mulled over the situation, a peculiar pattern flashed through his mind.
Currently, the representatives of each group were positioned in the order of Echo 4, Alpha 1, Delta 2, and Charlie 3, based on the lowest point.
Among them, the first to have their radio signal cut off was Echo 4, Molton Legion Commander, who was at the very bottom.
From above, mumbling voices could still be heard, indicating that the signal had not yet been lost.
If so, the second radio to go silent was Alpha 1, right above Echo 4. Himself.
“…….”
Blue eyes, watching the surging gas, subtly glanced sideways. Golden eyes were also turned in this direction.
A moment of silence flowed between the crossed gazes.
Before long, as if to instill conviction, Leonardo nodded.