Chapter 422 – Warrior’s Stone Tube and Divine Platform
<– Previous Chapter | Glossary | TOC | Next Chapter –>
Before continuing onwards, I contacted everyone through blood messages. I told Quiche and the people back in Cydale about the battle with Delhart at the cave beyond the big waterfall of the Warhorse Valley. I entrusted the village’s defense to Kisara, Quiche, and Rotalz.
Mysty had postponed the research of Meliady’s magic crest in the shed and the matter with the underground door she discovered as an outcome of her deciphering Sol’s coded documents. Seeing how it was likely that Kuna’s key would be needed to open the underground door hidden by Sol, she apparently planned to wait for my visit. Instead she was now devoting all her efforts into developing her new sorcery doll. She apparently succeeded in further improving the engine which combined Munjay’s Stone Heart and Belbacue’s Core. Those two seemed to be quite compatible with Sol’s magic blast furnace and the materials gathered by Viine and Hankay in the Whirlpool Forest of Demonic Fog.
Viine apparently encountered servants of Cursed God Fug in a place similar to an underground ruin. She was asked lots of things by those servants, but without being given the time to answer, it apparently headed right into battle. The servants, who assailed her while engulfed by something like shadows, were similar to humanoids. Basically, they looked like humans who wore a weird shadow overcoat, but Viine could easily subjugate them with Gadorices. In the end she chased after a fairly strong humanoid she missed beforehand, but lost sight of it.
At that point, she went back to Mysty and Hankay. Later on, she continued to explore an underground tunnel continuing from the underground ruin together with Hankay.
『What if the tunnel we’re exploring was actually connected with the underground with that divine platform you were mentioning, Master? It’d be very funny』
『Well, I don’t know whether the stone tube is truly a divine platform though』
Afterwards, I asked Yui about her situation. First we talked about the fierce factional strifes between the dark guilds in Elephant God City Regeepick, then we shifted to another topic.
『Ah, I also ran into a vampire of a family different of the Valmasks at the end of an alley close to our inn』
『Did it develop into a fight?』
『Nope. The vampire was a cautious and pretty woman. She had blue hair just like Angie and a silver string ribbon. She apparently approached us after hearing about Dad’s popular alias, Mad Blood Swordmaster Kaldo. She introduced herself as Elizabeth of the Pylon family』
『Hoh, the Pylon family, huh?』
『Elisabeth only got in contact with me, and soon ran away. Of course I continued to follow her thanks to the power of <Baycala’s Eyes>. But, at some point she transformed into a bat and managed to flee into the sky. It allowed her to gain a lot ground on me, and once she left the city, I gave up on further pursuit』
Since she transformed, she’s no ordinary <Servant>. A <Servant Leader> or…their parent, a <Head Servant>. If she’s a <Head Servant>, it’d put her on the same level as Hoffmann.
Following that, Yui recounted an incident involving Kaldo, a friend of his, who he had tried to recruit for his own dark guild, and Assembly of Stars.
『Sorry for staying silent about it, but Dad suffered a big shock and asked me to keep it secret from you. But, I was sure it’d still interest you, so I told you』
『Yeah, I always wanna hear what’s going on with you guys. Even an experienced fighter like Kaldo struggles at times, huh? But, I trust that he’ll do the right things』
『Hehe…yep, thankies』
Yui didn’t mention it in her blood messages, but she probably wants to meet me. Still, the world is full of interesting things going on.
Just as I wrapped up my conversation with Yui, Shuhelia lent a shoulder to Delhart. I extended an arm, implicitly asking him whether he’d need my help as well, but Delhart stopped me by lifting a hand and saying that he’d be okay. The willpower of a martial artist had already returned to his eyes. Though it doesn’t look like he fully recovered his stamina and mana yet.
Delhart whispered something into Shuhelia’s ear. Hearing him out, Shuhelia cast a fleeting glance at me.
Then she said in an unconstrained manner, “You’re right,” nodded, and separated from him. Following that, Delhart approached me while being almost completely naked. For a short moment he adopted a pose as if offering his spear to me, then he placed it on the ground.
Afterwards, he genuflected.
“Milord, please allow me to offer an oath…”
It was a surreal scene, but I guess it’s going to be the same as with Shuhelia. Helme nodded, and then created many water spheres of various sizes around herself. In the meantime, Shuhelia genuflected just like Delhart.
I looked at him, “Sure.”
It’s never bad to increase the number of friends. In addition, he’s a spearmaster. He mentioned a Magic Flying Lightning Spear Style, so he’ll be a good training partner for me. Next time, I’ll ask him about his beloved magic spear.
His alias was <Spearmaster of the Dark Lightning>, wasn’t it? Did he obtain it in the past or is that his current combat occupation? If I take a guess going by the name…I’d say Luguy is one of the Lightning Spirits. Helme kicked up a fuss about it while watching our duel…
Also, I’ll try to ask him about the existence of strong fighters in the Spirit World, other than the Demonoid Martial Arts King. Shuhelia should be able to tell me as well.
“…I swear on the Spirit World Gods of old and present that I shall become thee spear and offer mine life for thee, Milord.”
He used all his strength as Spirit World Knight in our duel, so I’ll show him my gratitude by officially accepting him.
I summoned Baldok into my right hand and placed the spearhead on Delhart’s shoulder. At that moment I could feel a faint pulsation from Baldok’s handle.
Does it want to suck more of his mana and blood? Or has it approved of his magic spear? I don’t know since the pulsation immediately vanished.
“…I’ll swear as well. To give you a home at any time and to not do anything that would sully your honor. I’ll cherish your freedom of mind. I vow so on this halberd and Water Goddess Akreshys. On Rollodeen, too.”
I added Rollo as well since she was the reason for him to get rescued.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Delhart shouted full of energy.
At the same time, Helme and Shuhelia applauded. Eboue also hit the blade’s surface of his ax with a hand.
I’d love to prepare some clothes for Delhart, but unfortunately I don’t have anything fitting with me. Seemingly uninterested by our exchange, Rollodeen focused on Eboue as he hit his ax.
“Anyway, the proper ceremony is going to follow after we get back to the village. I’m curious about the rest of the cave, so please take us there, Eboue.” I looked at him while erasing Baldok.
“Very well, please come this way. Watch out as the ground is going to gradually incline upwards.”
“I shall accompany you. Spirit-sama, please follow me.”
“Hehe, how thoughtful of you, Shuhelia-chan. Want me to massage your butt?”
“N-No, it is fine.”
“…I see. Well then, Your Excellency, let us go to the place with the netherworld’s military noble,” Helme said with a vigorous bounce in her voice.
Shuhelia had been smiling, but as soon as she saw Helme’s fingers, her expression turned fretful. I guess she’s still traumatized from losing against Helme.
“Right. Also, don’t tease Shuhelia too much, okay?”
“I don’t intend to do anything like that.”
“Your Majesty, forgive me. It showed on my face…please don’t mind it since it’s my own problem.”
“You sure? Helme, it looks like I said something unnecessary to you. Sorry.”
“No problem, but I don’t think you need to apologize to me, Your Excellency…”
“Your Majesty…”
I suppose I messed up here. Time to smile!
“Anyway, rather than worrying about stuff like that, let’s move deeper inside the cave.”
“”Okay!””
The two girls nodded at each other with smiles on their faces.
That’s great. My smile worked. Though they might only be smiling for me out of tact. But, even that would be okay. After all, smiles look best on them because they’re such beauties.
Shuhelia and Helme peacefully followed Eboue.
“Alright, we’re going to take a look at that big stone tube, Rollo!”
“Nya.”
My partner pressed the tip of a tentacle against my hand, and then coiled it around. It looks like she was to hold hands, kinda. How cute.
I clasped the flat tentacle while enjoying the touch of the pad in my palm.
“Nn,” Rollodeen purred in satisfaction.
“Haha, there’s love in the air between Divine Beast-sama and Your Majesty!” Delhart laughed cheerfully when he saw us.
After bowing my way, he started to walk while holding his spear.
I directed my eyes inside the cave. The ground gently sloped as you went further in. The atmosphere was completely different, but it reminded me of the orchard near the prison of Golgonshura.
While thinking back on all that happened over there and the coming battles against Underground Goddess Rolga and her forces, I went down a stairway.
Rollodeen played around by extending tentacles towards the holes in the wall while going downstairs.
Suddenly, I felt magic sources. Countless if you include the huge one from deeper inside the cave.
The ceiling has stayed mostly the same, compared to the entrance area. It was bright thanks to the cauldrons and the burning stalactites.
Suddenly I spotted stone statues along the right and left walls. They were huge depictions of black panthers, towering over the cave’s space like sphinxes. They kind of looked like gigantified versions of the black panther statues adorning the alcoves around the entrance area of the cave.
Those statues, which were resembling Rozes in a way, packed quite an impact, but at the same time, noble mana seemed to be dwelling in them.
Yet, Rollodeen didn’t show any reaction to either of those statues. Maybe it’s simply because she doesn’t have any memory from her time as Rozes. But well, that’s inevitable. I clearly remember our conversation in my first mind world back then.
『I see, so if I find those treasures and give them to you, you’ll also recover your current shape and memories, right?』
『No, even if you obtain the sacred treasures for me, I doubt that I’ll be able to get back my current memories. In the first place, my self will blend with my master’s magic elements once we form our contract. Because of that, everything will change. But, if I have the power of the sacred treasures, I should be able to regain my current form at the very least』
That’s why it’s impossible for Rollodeen to recall what Rozes knew.
We approached the huge stone statues while I was wallowing in old memories.
◇◇◇◇
Like this series? Enjoy reading the translation?
As all the series on this blog, this series can only be translated thanks to the support of the great folks over at Patreon.
Become a supporter today and enjoy the various benefits like reading ahead.
As we approached, I saw Alray and Hueremy, who had run off earlier to play tag, rest underneath the statues. They apparently noticed our approach and quickly lifted their heads.
At that very moment, a change occurred in the two panther statues. Bluish-white mana clad their stone surface, and black panthers burst out from within. Simultaneously, splashes of mana scattered in the vicinity as if those panthers had jumped out of a liquid.
Next, bonchicchi with a shape different from those I’ve seen before appeared in smaller numbers, too.
What a mysterious spectacle…
The bonchicchi headed towards the ceiling as if loosely dancing through the air. Meanwhile, the illusionary panthers headed downwards, passed the two white tigers.
Are those spirits of black panthers? Or maybe illusions?
The spirits headed for Eboue. A part of them entered Eboue’s body and vanished. Some of them lowered their heads at Eboue as if apologizing. But, most of them disregarded him altogether, dashing across the whole place as you’d expect of panthers.
Among them, one panther walked up to Eboue – a child. The small panther fawned on Eboue.
Is this possibly…going by its appearance…maybe it’s a spirit of Eboue’s dead family…?
Eboue didn’t notice any of this. Watching that tragic scene, I was at a loss for words. I understood Eboue’s distress and that naturally caused me to cry.
After the panthers continued to dance around Eboue, they eventually passed through him and fleetingly disappeared as if melting with the cave’s darkness.
No one had noticed the actions of the panther illusions. No, wait. Rollodeen had apparently seen them as well for some reason, seeing how she meowed and wiped my tears away. Yet, Alray and Hueremy hadn’t realized. They remained dozing underneath the statues without even trying to come back to us.
As such I called them over to retrieve them as porcelain dolls. Both reacted to my voice and sluggishly trudged over, before turning back into dolls.
After picking those up, we kept traveling through an area with a rather steep downward-inclination. Naturally, our pace sped up as we advanced through the cave, or rather stone path.
While feeling the characteristic wind of a cave coil around my air, I tread across stone stairs. Those stairs and the walls at the side were all faded in color. You could also see cracks running through their surfaces all over. Several tens of thousands years must have passed since this cave came into existence.
At last, we reached a room. It wasn’t particularly spacious, nor was it narrow. A stone object shaped after the black rings was deeper inside the room. And a stone tube was installed in the center. To the left and right were also the symmetrical warrior’s stone tubes which Eboue had mentioned earlier.
“This place, huh…?”
“Yes.”
The warrior’s stone tubes were rectangles like coffins. Their lids were slid off. Next to those tubes you could find more black panther carvings. On the other hand, inside the tubes, where the warriors would sleep, had something similar to soot accumulated. Specks of silvery light fluttered above the black soot.
I could sense a minuscule mana response from the stone tubes and the soot. Maybe those tubes are actually treasured articles themselves?
I’m sure Mysty would immediately start talking about recovering them, if she saw all of this here.
But anyway, right now the central part is of more importance. I closely scrutinized the huge stone tube in the center, which resembled what I’ve seen in the past. Its shape was that of a cylinder with a milky white color, but with no roof. It was surrounded by a low wall of stones. There existed massive-looking doors on the sides of the cylinder, but they were open. Small stone statues stood nearby, too.
All of it resembled the chapel that exists in the Goldiba hamlet – or rather an Islamic mosque. Fine lines, similar to leaf veins, spread across the cylinder’s surface.
As I thought. It’s a building I know. No doubt about it. Inside…should be a pedestal with an embedded medal.
I took the medal I received from Master, which was now hanging from my neck as a necklace, into my hand. It depicted a wing symbol, sun symbol, and a symbol of a pair of swords held by hands.
“Nn, nyaa~,” meowed Rollodeen and headed over to the divine platform.
I walked straight for the stone tube while clasping my medal. Overall, not much dust had settled on it. Moreover, I saw traces of the nearby rectangle statue having been twisted to the left as was necessary to open the door towards the divine platform.
Maybe someone has used it not too long ago. At least, the door leading inside remained still open. Is it broken then?
I took a peek beyond the door.
The floor looked as if a round drill had dug through a huge rock. Some places of the surrounding walls appeared to be lower than the rest. A rectangle pedestal towered in the center of the room. A round hole, which seemed to be a perfect fit for a medal, could be seen at the upper part of the pedestal.
Okay, just as I expected, this is a divine platform. As long as it’s not broken…if I insert my medal into that pedestal, I should be able to head straight down into the underground world…
“Your Majesty, do you hold some interest in this building, or rather, stone tube?”
“Yeah, I think this is a divine platform.”
“Divine platform…Hero-sama, do you know anything about the stone tube left behind by my ancestors?”
“It’s just a guess, but yes, I think so. This stone tube is a device I know under the name of divine platform. If it’s as I’m assuming right now, it’s a mobile device connecting the underground world with the surface world.”
“This is a device connected to the underground?” Delhart asked, looking skeptical.
Everyone else also entered the cylinder. The inside felt like a huge elevator.
“That is, if it’s not broken.” And then I asked Eboue, “Eboue, do you have such a medal?”, while showing him the necklace I got from Master.
“No, I don’t.”
“Have you heard anything about the black ring on your chest or legends from your ancestors?”
“Yes. 『The Kilmogarl, who have fought against the monsters that keep appearing from the zalalarp, are friends of Divine Beast Rozes』.”
“…I see.”
Just as I had anticipated, eh? There exist unknown gates that look like water membranes among the zalalarp. Huge flocks of demonic monsters in all sorts of shapes and sizes appear from the countless worlds beyond those membranes.
In the past, some of Eboue’s ancestors must have escaped the underground through this divine platform.
“I’d like to confirm whether this tube, the divine platform, still works, okay?”
“No problem, I don’t mind,” Eboue answered.
Thereupon, Rollodeen, now a cat again, climbed on my shoulder, apparently having sated her curiosity of investigating the surroundings.
“Very well, I will expand a defensive membrane, just in case.”
“If it comes to a battle, I won’t reach His Majesty’s exquisite spear skills, but…I’ll also do my best by wielding my Magic Spear Gulkinuss.”
Helme and Delhart agreed.
“We’re going to proceed into an unknown underground area, right…? Let us also consider the possibility of battling against hostile forces,” Shuhelia commented while placing her hands on the pommels of her swords.
Just as she says, the destination of this divine platform is unknown. Maybe I should summon the Burning Knights in preparation too, but no…I guess I can still do that once we actually enter battle.
I surveyed my surroundings while nodding, making sure that everyone had entered the stone tube, no, elevator.
…Alright. We’ll all be together, even if this thing should start to move about. However, I did experience once how everything was gone, alongside the floor. Back when I was running away from goblins while traveling the underground world right after transferring to this world. At that time, the room beyond the door I broke down was a trap and I got to taste the function of a pitfall.
Well, nowadays I can instantly shoot out two <Chains> and I also got my mana hand. Helme and Rollo are with me as well.
Either way, I guess I’ll insert my medal into the hole at the top of the central pedestal.
“I’m going to put this medal into the slot, so everyone, get ready.”
After cautioning my companions, I did as told. And in the next instant, the medal was absorbed into the pedestal. In a quite futuristic way at that.
There’s no ejector button, but it feels like a disk has been inserted into a device.
Following that, a stone in the shape of a controller appeared at the pedestal’s side with a creaking. Moreover, stone blocks appeared to pile up from below while releasing furious clouds of smoke, as if they were rebuilding the elevator’s bulkhead from scratch. The doors remained open on the sides, but the divine platform with us on it instantly turned into a room. Furthermore, light spilled out of the gaps in the new bulkhead, making it look seriously pretty.
While looking at the controller protruding out of the pedestal’s side, I said, “This divine platform is probably going to move once you grab the controller.”
Once I clasped it with both hands, the small room moved with a start. White steam gushed out through the gaps in the surrounding stone blocks with a wheezing. Immediately following, the platform started to move downwards.
And as soon as it overcame its initial, ragged movements, it quickly picked up in speed. So much so that I got a queasy feeling in my stomach.
You could see the outside scenery quickly change through the open doors. We were descending at a terrifying speed, making me feel as if I was on a bullet train. Rollodeen got startled and hid herself in my hood.
Right afterwards, flames rose from ahead of the doors, and the stone tube came to a grinding halt with a loud tremor. Are those flame-like things beyond the door transient?
I can only tell from here that it’s dark outside. The light released from within the platform’s wall is the sole light source here.
The doors, which had been opened, albeit halfway, now opened fully. Looks like they weren’t broken or stuck. The doors had transformed into something akin to compact gull wing doors. Meanwhile, the blocks around the divine platform finished being stored back into the blocks below. The protruding controller stone was pulled back inside the pedestal, too.
No sooner than the pedestal had returned to its previous state, the medal I had inserted appeared on the upper part of the pedestal. I grabbed it and put it back into the necklace.
Rollo came out of my hood and climbed back on my shoulder.
“Let’s take a little peek at the underground world.”
With that announcement, I stepped outside the platform. I thought it’d be an unknown underground world, a grotto, but…
<– Previous Chapter | Glossary | TOC | Next Chapter –>
Help out filling the Glossary of this series with life! Anyone is free to join by clicking >here< !
Translation Notes: