128. King’s Ruins (1)
A vehicle arrived from afar.
It was Freud and Lenny who arrived after being contacted by Cain.
“A sample of petrification treatment. As soon as it was finished, I brought it back in a hurry. Niles asked me to come back to see how it worked.”
Niles said he collapsed from exhaustion as soon as he finished the drug.
Freud took out a syringe and injected the medicine with a skillful motion.
A look of tension was evident on Silver Fang’s face as he looked at the sharp needle.
Rather than being afraid of the pain the needle would give, it was because he did not like the unknown drug being injected into his body.
“It doesn’t hurt at all. Be patient, Mister Wolf.”
Lenny took the syringe and approached Silverfang.
As a small hand grabbed his arm, Silverfang felt his anxiety subside a little.
The burning sensation of the alcohol swabs spread, and then a stinging pain was felt.
Silverfang tried to move the arm that had been injected. After a few minutes, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
“… Moving the limbs is not uncomfortable at all. Not as stiff as before.”
It was not known whether this effect was temporary or permanent.
However, the emotion that Silver Fang felt right now was real.
The gray wolves who watched the scene burst out in admiration.
“Is the colonel healed?”
“Isn’t it an incurable disease?”
To my surprise, so did Freud and Lenny.
As a doctor, I’ve heard of petrification more than anyone else.
“Huh, I hoped it was true, but I thought the recipe for the medicine was real… .”
In the midst of the commotion, Cain was unmoved. It just seemed like it was supposed to happen.
“Then we’ll go back to Area 47 and do what you told us to do.”
Freud handed Cain the tool he had asked for and left.
After finishing the maintenance, Cain went through the gray wolf to the entrance of the ruins.
“Don’t leave. It would be good for everyone to be tight-lipped.”
* * *
Cain and Silverfang.
And the seven gray wolves.
The group entered the ruins with high tension.
The hallway was pitch-black darkness.
With every step I took, the sensor activated and turned on the light, but the range wasn’t that wide.
Cain made a fire with magic, but the darkness was so thick that it had no effect.
Silver Fang held his breath and spoke in a low voice.
“I heard that the magic kingdom existed hundreds of years ago. It must have been around the same time that these ruins were built.”
“Have you ever studied history on your own?”
“Of course. The reason for living as a mercenary was to find the seeds of life. I’ve been to many places and read many books. I know a lot more about history than ordinary people.”
Silverfang’s aspiration for the forest was second to that of Leica.
After the mercenary life with Laika ended, the organization and the destination were different.
Silverfang brought up a question that he had not been able to ask because he was too busy.
“Is the seed of life thrown at Leica real?”
Seeing from a distance, Silverfang was unsure.
The fact that the seeds of life are not so easily found also contributed.
“If you catch a Leica, you will be able to confirm.”
“… For now, I’m talking about focusing on chasing him. i get it.”
Cain returned to the original topic.
I looked at the strange text in the dim light and asked.
“Can you read these letters?”
It was extended along the wall, giving the impression that the words were following the party.
“Can you read it? Even across the entire continent, it will be difficult to find anyone who can properly decipher ancient texts.”
Cain nodded inwardly.
Hahaha, if Silverfang or Ashen Wolf had deciphered the words of this character, they would have shown great commotion.
“Go back. Therein lies death.”
“Go back. Therein lies death.”
“Go back. Therein lies death.”
As with any relic, there are words written that cannot be said to be friendly.
And that’s been repeated several times.
pod.
As the hallway ended, his vision flashed. When I opened my eyes, a bright light was illuminating the cube-shaped room.
shudder!
The door that came in was closed in an instant.
Embarrassed, the gray wolves tried to open the door again.
The door made of unidentified metal did not open again no matter how much I pushed and knocked.
“Don’t panic. Everyone, don’t move.”
The gray wolf regained some stability at Silverfang’s voice that sounded like a whistle.
But the unknown situation, which he had never experienced before, was still terrifying.
“It seems that these ruins are in the form of a labyrinth.”
Cain said looking at the square tiles on the floor.
Tiles large enough for two or three adult males to climb.
Silver Fang asked in a surprised voice.
“Have you ever been to the ruins?”
“A few times.”
“Have you never had any experience? I can’t even imagine what kind of life I’ve been living.”
In any case, Silverfang agreed that the ruins they had entered were in the form of a labyrinth.
“It’s a labyrinth. Are you saying this place has a maze-like structure?”
Cain raised his finger at the gray wolf’s question.
front, right, left.
There were doors on the walls in three different directions.
“The smell of Leica continues through the front door. Hurry up and chase after it before it’s too late… .”
Cain put one foot on the front tile without saying a word.
As soon as the foot was removed again, the color of the tile turned red and a pillar of flame erupted.
Whoops!
The flame pillars disappeared leaving soot on the ceiling.
‘The order of the scaffolding has also changed.’
If you step on the wrong step even once, the entire tile is reset.
The story of the inability to distinguish between a trap and a safe zone.
It was highly likely that Leica reset it by deliberately stepping on the wrong tile after she passed the area safely.
Cain said to the gray wolf, who was speechless at the great sight that had suddenly occurred.
“You don’t have to be in a hurry. If my prediction is correct, the Leica will definitely not get to where it wants to go, and it won’t be able to move out of ‘some room’.”
Silverfang suddenly wondered how Cain could guarantee that.
But then he shook his head.
Cain, whom he had seen, was a person who never spoke in vain under any circumstances.
Instead, I asked another question.
“If you can’t get to where you want to go, does that mean that Leica purposely found these ruins? Not just to hide?”
“okay.”
“If you deliberately searched for the ruins… . Is the purpose of Leica a relic?”
Cain nodded.
“The ancient magic kingdom was destroyed for unknown reasons. There are not enough records left, but the ruins spread throughout the wasteland prove that the magic kingdom really existed.”
Cain’s gaze turned directly to Silverfang.
“What do you think was the reason why the Demon Kingdom was destroyed?”
Silverfang was worried.
Because I have a lot of interest in history, it was a question I had pondered before.
“I think it might be because of the devil’s invasion. It is said that the ‘wall’ that exists between the 20th and 30th divisions was also built to prevent the invasion of demons.”
Silverfang added.
“I don’t think the ruins are like fortresses built to avoid demons.”
“Do you believe in angels, demons, or gods?”
Silence passed for a moment.
“… I’m not sure, but I think it may exist. I have thought a lot, but the answer to the question of who made the world we live in is not easy to come up with other than God.”
“You think so.”
Cain lifted his head and looked at the door in front of him.
Silverfang’s answer is half right and half wrong.
The speculation that the ruins were built for shelter was correct.
But it was to avoid ‘something’ other than the devil.
To be precise, there were no demons, angels, or gods in this world.
The wealthy aristocrats built their own ruins and hid within them.
Failing that, the vast majority of them hid in an underground bunker.
The same place where he had previously found Red Skull’s slush fund.
‘I must have endured in the ruins for a long time, so I must have equipped all kinds of equipment inside.’
It would include traps like now.
Besides the ‘place’ that Leica is aiming for.
“How about running fast? I just saw that there was a slight delay before the flames came up.”
“I think it would be okay to go ahead while checking the tiles one by one.”
With the gray wolf offering different opinions to each other, Cain was alone in his thoughts.
He knew how to attack each room inside the ruins.
The ‘immortals’ he encountered as a fortune teller.
It was originally a relic that would appear in an episode related to her.
However, it took a little time to think about whether the strategy could be carried out as it was, as it was a separate issue.
Cain chewed the manastone and swallowed it.
The amount of natural recovery was not completely full of mana.
“Relax your body. If you fuss, you use more mana needlessly.”
The mana that came out of Cain’s hand wrapped around all the gray wolves, including Silverfang.
“… … !”
As their bodies floated in the air, all the gray wolves looked startled. However, as Cain instructed, he left himself to Mana.
wow.
Everyone, including Cain, passed through the air and landed on the tile right in front of the door.
When the situation was resolved so easily that the concerns were overshadowed, everyone except Cain had a blank face.
“It would consume quite a bit of mana for Telekinesis. Are you okay?”
“Okay. Because you are using magic under your calculations.”
It wasn’t that other ways to break through the room didn’t exist.
However, the optimized method was to use telekinesis to cross the tile without stepping on it.
All the nobles of the Magic Kingdom were high-ranking wizards.
Although all ordinary people are wizards, they are powerful enough to be incomparable to them.
The design method of the ruins was clear.
As residents of the ruins and high-ranking wizards in an emergency, they could easily break through each room.
“Leader! Wait over there!”
Before he could even breathe, a gray wolf called out.
The tiles at the entrance turned red and pillars of flame soared.
Whoops!
The color of all the tiles in the next row changed, and several columns rose in a row.
The ‘wall’ made of pillars of flame was marching towards Cain’s party at high speed.
The ashen wolf’s hair was tanned by the tremendous heat.
“You must open the door!”
The gray wolves cling to the door.
However, the door did not have any knobs to pull on or any other buttons.
“Cain, maybe it’s not this door… .”
“I told you that the smell of Leica is going this way. Do not doubt yourself.”
Cain put his palm to the door with unshaken eyes.
Black mana spread throughout the door in a certain pattern.
A pillar of flame was approaching.
Even as Silver Fang, who has been through all kinds of situations while living as a mercenary, I couldn’t help but be nervous.
“Cain, thank you for suggesting to join me. Although… .”
“Don’t be silly. There is still a lot of work left for you to do.”
Weing-
The door opened and the next room appeared.
Confused by the pillar of fire that followed, the gray wolf didn’t even notice that the door was open.
Cain created a wind and pushed the gray wolf into the next room.
Feeling the heat rising from the tiles under his feet, he finally entered the next room.
thud!
Whoops!
Across the door was the sound of flames raging, and the heat came through.
“Did we buy it?”
Cain said to the gray wolves who were holding their breath.
“Get ready. The enemy will come soon.”
As soon as Cain finished speaking, white lights appeared all over the room.
Woong-
Wherever the light disappeared, a mechanical doll made of all kinds of metal parts appeared.
Sharp blades were attached to his hands and toes, and a hideous light was emitted from his eyes.
And at that moment, the gray wolves could instinctively feel what they had to do.
Ooh-
With one howl, the gray wolves left their seats.
Similarly, towards the mechanical dolls who rush towards this side.