103. Inside the Manma War [3]
103.
The end of the passage was a huge door.
The three of them should have felt dizzy just by looking at the door. It wasn’t just because of the hugeness of the door. The door was densely packed with golden embossed geometric patterns, presumably in the form of gods.
It seemed that they took the characteristics of the gods and transformed them into patterns, but it was natural for the two elves and Esilia to be a saint, so it was difficult to find out what the patterns of the demons each represented.
It was a relief technique that was complicated to understand, but the three of them managed to capture the characteristics even in the complexity. The pattern was symmetrical with the center of the door opening. The pattern seemed to embody the actual reaching out as if extending a hand. And the patterns were moving toward a form above.
The shape was symmetrical like the patterns. However, unlike the symmetrical patterns that are embossed differently on the left and right sides of the door, the one shape is symmetrical by being divided in half around the opening of the door.
It was an extremely bizarre pattern.
If I had to express it, I could say it was a man with many layers of cloak. If appendages presumed to be arms or tentacles were randomly attached to it, the explanation for it would be considered quite adequate.
I had no idea what kind of demon it was. The reliefs, which used to evoke dizziness due to their complexity, now harass the minds of the spectators with their bizarreness. The two elves were shocked by the complexity of the grotesque, to the point where they thought it might have been a pattern created purely for visual harassment.
The saintess of innocence was equally astonished. However, she was shocked in a slightly different part from the two. What the saintess was paying attention to was the small shape located just below the pattern at the top.
Different from the patterns shining in gold, the patterns are embossed with black stones. Even the shape was very simple unlike other patterns, but the saintess felt familiar with the pattern.
Because I couldn’t help but not know the person I’d been watching over and over again.
‘Knight… ?!’
The saintess turned her head and looked at her Death Knight. Her Death Knight’s gaze was directed upwards. At first glance, it seemed that she was looking at the most bizarre pattern at the top, but she could tell that she was a saint. That he was looking at the embossed pattern beneath it.
The saintess forgot that the two elves were here and felt the urge to ask a question.
Since it is an ancient event, and it is a fact that is close to her taboo, it is at most a few chapters of the Holy Demon War, so she can only guess that the Death Knight made a contract with the demon king or someone related to it. She didn’t really know anything.
She wanted to ask a strong question. What the hell happened to her? What happened in the past made her participate in the war of the gods called the Holy Demon War with the demon king?
No, before that…….
And, why do you have an indescribable look in your eyes whenever you see such things?
The saintess, who pursed her lips several times, had to bow her head.
“…… Don’t go in.”
At the low words of the Death Knight, the three of them came to their senses. The Death Knight slowly brought her hand to her door. Raising her right hand, he signaled the two elves with his left. The two elves grabbed the daggers and covered the saintess’ front with her arms in case something might come out from behind the door.
-Kiki-ik – .
Unbefitting of its size, the door opened with a smooth sound. Beyond the open door, darkness greeted them, making it difficult to see an inch ahead. The two elves felt their hands holding the daggers energize themselves. The Death Knight immediately prepared to strike the spear.
“… ….”
For quite a long time, I had a confrontation with the darkness, but all that came out was rolling dust and silence. The Death Knight held her spear more comfortably and cautiously entered the darkness. He put himself right in front of the door and spoke to the people behind him.
“It doesn’t seem like anything.”
With that said, he slowly went deeper into the darkness. He was still gesturing with his hand to stop coming. So when the Death Knight was completely immersed in darkness and could not be seen, a loud sound came from inside. It sounded like things with a hard texture colliding with each other. After several sounds ran through the darkness, the Death Knight’s low voice rang out.
“I think you can come in. I’ve checked here and there, but there doesn’t seem to be any traps.”
“Then is it safe, driver?”
Frigit asked, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Yes. But it’s so dark, I think I’ll need a light.”
At that, Ferien replied.
“Should I make a perch?”
“Where can I get a perch? There is nothing to light a fire with.”
“Or should I use the divine power? Because divine power has a quality that emits light.”
At Esilia’s words, the Death Knight immediately refuted.
“Don’t do that. If you use divine power, isn’t it constantly consuming energy? It’s too much of a burden for you. Moreover, when the two of you are injured, it may be difficult to heal.”
The party drool at the points that made sense. Frigate, who lowered her head and pondered for a moment, murmured.
“…… Should I take that gold and use it for a torch? That gold, it seems to have been specially treated to emit light.”
At the answer he couldn’t hear, the frigate raised his head, feeling puzzled. She then opened her mouth and blankly met the gazes of the women looking at her, and she must have been embarrassed.
As he was about to ask why he was like that with an expression he had never seen before, he recalled what he had experienced at the entrance and hurriedly added his words. It wasn’t just that. This is because her fiancée’s expression gradually changed to a more specific emotion of anger.
“Ah no… ! No, I was kidding… ! Because the atmosphere seems so heavy… ! Ha ha ha ha ha… ….”
Death Knight’s words continued with a groaning sound from inside the door.
“…… First of all, I think you’d better just come in. I checked to see if there was anything, but just in case, be careful.”
At his words, the three slowly moved their feet into the darkness.
The darkness engulfed them in an instant. The three of them flinched at the sight of the sudden disappearance. The saintess turned her head around, unable to hide her bewilderment. The open door at the back left a hallway still illuminated by light. However, the light in the corridor did not enter the interior of the door at all. I couldn’t even see the two elves right next to me.
“Gemini, be still. Since you can’t see anything, it’s more dangerous to move.”
The low Death Knight’s voice gave her saintess a sense of security. The saintess let out a sigh of relief and asked.
“This… Isn’t it normal darkness?”
“Right. Maybe this is some kind of trap.”
Death Knight traced his memories of coming here a long time ago. But he wasn’t very helpful. It was a long time ago, and since he had come as an uninvited guest, the attitude of Man Ma Zhen towards him was completely different.
From the moment the first traps appeared, I had to give up trying to rely on old memories. I don’t know, but there may be things that change the internal structure. Finally he let out a small sigh and resumed his steps. There was no benefit to staying still, so it was better to move a little.
“Everybody stay as you are.”
That was the moment he stepped out.
From noble mtl dot com
-Hoo-wook!
The three of them closed their eyes at the sight that suddenly brightened. It was the torch that stimulated the sight of the three people. However, the three of them had to be surprised by the sight of the torch shining rather than the suddenly protruding torch.
Stone statues of bizarre shapes, holding perches made of stone, were positioned near the walls on either side. And the very long stairs leading down were glaring with lights. Death Knight slowly scanned the surroundings. Although the stone statues were taking different forms, many similarities could be found. It had limbs, and on its back it had a pair of bat-like wings, sharp teeth, and horns.
Not all the statues were holding torches. In the middle of the stone statues holding torches, there were statues kneeling, as if they would stand up at any moment. Perhaps because the eyes of the stone statue were reflected in the shadows of the torches, the three of them felt a sense of dread.
– Tung! Empty!
On the other hand, the Death Knight slowly pounded the statues with the tip of the Partisan. It was a memorable place, but it was unknown what kind of traps were set here as well. At the sound of beating, the three of them turned their heads and looked at the Death Knight’s actions. After completing a series of checks, the Death Knight nodded to them and signaled them to move forward.
As before, the three carefully followed the Death Knight at a slight distance. It was very similar to the previous time that the Death Knight checked for traps and the three followed, but the atmosphere was distinctly different.
It was the time when they were strolling through the aisles that had already become safe, but now the three of them hadn’t exchanged any conversation. An anxious swallowing sound was all they said.
Unlike the corridors, which were brightly lit with gold studded everywhere, this place showed off a lot of darkness, with only a little light around the torches. The three of them glanced at the stone statues with nervous eyes. And each time, the shadow of the torch shimmered, and they had to turn their heads quickly as if they were looking at them.
It was Jerpied’s words that put an end to them, who had been silently walking forward.
“We are here.”
The three looked around. He was so immersed in tension that he didn’t even know he had come down the stairs. In the middle of where the stairs ended, there was one stone statue that was bigger than the others.
And uniquely, the stone statue had two pairs of wings. After looking at the stone statue for a while, the three of them immediately turned their heads at the sight of a stone statue with burning eyes, perhaps because they were at the end of the stairs.
The place they were standing was an open area like a huge plaza. Several steps stand out from the center of the circular space. After appreciating her vastness for a while, the saintess opened her mouth slightly.
“…… What are you doing here?”
“It’s like a conference hall. It’s a ten thousand battles, so it’s a place where various gods can gather.”
As if realizing it, the saintess opened her mouth and said “Ah!” Made a noise. Because there is a similar place in the cathedral. As they looked around the place called the meeting hall, they realized that there was no more road leading them. Prigit was embarrassed and said to the Death Knight.
“Hey, driver. Is there nowhere else to go?”
The Death Knight drooled as if she knew and nodded her head. Originally, according to his memory, there was a further path, but now it seemed to be intentionally blocked, perhaps because he was an intruder. He muttered incessantly.
“…… I can’t help it. I’ll have to take a look around. Let’s spread out a bit and take a look at each one. Let me know if there is anything out of the ordinary. It might be a trap, so don’t touch it.”
“…… Even if you don’t look at it like that, keep that in mind, driver….”
Frigit said in a grim voice.
After about 30 minutes, the party fell into a deeper panic. No matter how you looked at it, there was nothing unusual about it. Death Knight changed what was originally said, so it might be something that needs to be touched to work, so she told me to carefully touch it, but no change appeared. As they continued their fruitless search, the party, already soaked in tension, felt fatigued.
“Whoa… ….”
Cilia sat down on the hem of her chin and ran her hand through the nape of her neck. Now she was more tired than anyone else here. This is because Freigit had been a sailor for several years, and Ferien was also a native of Lauren, so he was somewhat familiar with her physical activities, but her saintess was not.
The saintess turned her head and saw the death knight and her two elves. Excluding the Death Knight, she had a look of exhaustion on her face, but her eyes were constantly looking around. Seeing that, the saintess clenched her fists.
‘Yes, I shouldn’t be playing around like this.’
As Celia raised her body at the same time as her decision, her eyes met the stone statue at the end of the stairs. When her previously unknown anxiety rose up again, the saintess quickly turned her head.
Catch up?
The saintess hurriedly turned her head back toward the stone statue. Her eyes were trembling greatly.
She was not mistaken. She obviously ‘faced it.’
‘What… how…… ?’
Not only her eyes, but also her body trembled. She shouldn’t have been like this. She shouldn’t have met.
Obviously, the stone statue was located at the end of the stairs. And they are now in the conference hall beyond the stairs. In other words, the stone statue was not allowed to look at the conference hall. The stone statue had to face in the direction of the stairs. The saintess said in a trembling voice.
“Hey, knight…… ?”
“Hmm? Gemini, did you find anything unusual?”
“That… that… Standing, the stone statue…… !”
At Esilia’s words, the other three moved their gaze toward the stone statue.
“A stone statue? Why is the stone statue, Jemmy…….” “Something strange came out on the statue…… ?”
After hearing her words, the people who asked about the stone statue also realized that it was strange and stopped talking.
And that moment.
-Kooung – !
The stone statue stepped forward.
-Kuuuuung – !
With other stone statues not holding torches.