Perhaps because the battle is over, the boss area is now very quiet. The cold wind of the dungeon hits my sweaty skin, making it is terribly cold.
In front of me is a nondescript stone wall. But looking more closely, I can see pillars sunken in on both sides. It looked like some kind of gate was buried here—or so it seemed.
『I feel a strong magical power ahead. 』
Solana’s words made me gulp.
If it had been yesterday, I might have unsealed it and head in without any hesitation. But that werewolf zombie monster we just fought a while ago made me hesitate.
My ability【Unseal】….
Up until now, only good things like Solana, the blue crystal short sword, and the spirits had been revived by that ability. However, considering the mythology of the kingdom, it should be that not all things that are sealed are “good”. Even the villains of the past, whom Odis-sama has sealed, are still sleeping in these dungeons.
So how can I not be hesitant? That’s a very normal reaction, right?
“What’s wrong there, Rion?”
Mia asked, breaking my thoughts
I guess she finished searching for items.
“N-nothing……”
I stood still in front of the wall, unable to move a single step.
What should I do? Should I open it?
The cause of Lu’s dream and the recurrence of the curse. That may be what lies dormant ahead. But the possibilities are endless. For example, it may be an ancient god like Solana. An item like the blue crystal short sword. Or, it may be a terrifying monster like the werewolf zombie.
Anticipation and anxiety filled me. If I turn back here, the next time I come, I will have to fight the boss monster again. I don’t want to take such a useless risk.
But that doesn’t mean I should proceed ahead directly either…
After much deliberation, I decided.
“I’ll open it, Solana.”
Even if I turn back now, one day I will still come back here and break the seal on this wall. In other words, both will be risky.
There is no such thing as a risk-free way to set my family free either.
| Skill, 『Alarm 』was used. Executing【Unseal】. |
The dungeon awakens.
The whole area shook along with loud rumbling sounds. Then it eventually stopped. Cracks appeared in the walls, eventually forming a hole. As if hundreds of years of old age had come all at once, the stone walls darkened and cracked open, exposing the path behind it.
There is an open path beyond the rubble.
Now it’s truly an unexplored area of the Eastern Dungeon.
“W-what’s this?”
Mia looked up at the entrance dumbfounded. Her red hair is swaying in the wind.
“This is my power, Mia.”
I turned around and told her about my skills.
“My skill, Alarm, can wake a person up feeling refreshed. However, it’s also a skill that breaks the seal of what is asleep.”
Mia seemed to have an idea of my skill. Her eyes went wide open with her mouth agape.
“The seal is the very foundation of the dungeon. Rion, you……”
“I can break it.”
Is this power really a good thing?
I’m starting to lose even that confidence.
So, I have to say it.
“Uhm, well, as you can see, beyond here is a place that no one has ever entered before. Mia-san, if you don’t want to then you….…”
“Idiot!”
Mia-san slapped me on the head with one hand.
“Ouch!””
“Don’t say that with a crying face like that. Besides, even if you tell me to go back, I’m going in there with you.”
Solana joins in.
『Right. Rion, I think that was heartless of you just now. 』
“Hoh~, I think I get along well with you.”
『Yes, yes. 』
They seem to hit it off….
『Now then, Rion. Sorry, but can you let me out? There is something I want to try now. 』
“Eh? B-but….…”
『If you’re concerned about the seal, I think it’s not a problem now. 』
Convinced by her, I used my skill. Solana then popped out of the gold coin in my pocket.
Doll-sized Solana has sparkling golden hair and bangles.
“Mmm. As expected, the area is filled with magical power, probably because we defeated a powerful monster.”
She’s right. There are still sparkling lights floating around, probably because we had defeated the werewolf zombie.
Could this be the magical power that had not been fully absorbed into the magic stone?
“It was a formidable monster after all……”
Thanks to that, Solana seems to be able to get out of the coin even deep underground.
Goddess turned to Mia.
“Nice to meet you, Mia the axeman. I’m sorry for the delay in greeting you. Thank you for helping me.”
Mia-san’s eyes lit up seeing Solana, who is at the size of a fairy.
“T-that voice I just heard before was you……?”
“Yes. I’m Solana, the goddess of the sun.”
Mia-san muttered.
“S-so cute.”
“Hn?”
“N-no, nothing. Nice to meet you.”
Mia-san’s hand and Solana’s small hand exchange an unbalanced handshake.
I cleared my throat and straightened up.
“Alright, let’s go!”
There is no light beyond that point. With just one step, it seemed as if the temperature dropped at once. It’s too cold that I could not smell anything. However, there is a feeling of silence that is peculiar to closed spaces.
“I’ll go first.”
Solana glowed faintly and illuminated the darkness.
“Thank you.”
With our heart pounding, we move forward.
It’s an area that’s been closed off for hundreds of years. It’s rare to find a place like this in a dungeon. Eventually, the cold air intensified. My earlobes start to hurt.
Mia-san’s breath also turned white.
“It’s cold.”
“Yes….…”
We eventually came out into a well-lit space. It was a cave that glowed blue. It is covered with ice on all sides.
“……Wow!”
I knew right away that it was magical ice. The walls and ceiling are encased in ice, and each piece sparkles as if a star is trapped inside it.
“I’ve never seen such a big piece of magical ice before.”
Mia-san seems to have been taken aback too.
The ice itself is glowing faintly so we no longer need a light. We are overwhelmed, but we continued forward.
Then when we got to the innermost part of the cave, it appeared.
“B-bronze statue?”
Sealed in the transparent ice were two giant bodies.
One of them, with fiery hair flying, was holding up a large hammer. The other one was preparing to block it with a large shield, his wolf-like mouth looks ready to let out a roar at any moment. The giant humanoids facing each other looked like rough works of art left behind by ancient people.
“It’s not a statue. They are the real thing.”
Solana’s voice trembled.
“I know them….. I know these people!”
Leaving a golden trail behind, her small figure approaches the ice.
“Trapped in this ice is one of the gods. Thor, the God of Thunder.”
He must easily be over two meters tall. The giant god is brandishing a hammer that is the same size as his height. His rippling muscles make it look like mountains are running through his body.
“The other is Skoll, the general of the monster army that fought against the gods.”
I felt something strange.
Or to be precise, I felt very uneasy.
The frozen giant known as Skoll. I could see something behind him.
As I got closer, I was horrified.
“M-monsters……!”
Wargs, kobolds and skeletons. Almost all the types of monsters that had appeared in the Eastern Dungeon so far had been frozen behind that Giant general.
The ice covered the area up to the ceiling and seems to be connected to the depths and even deeper underground.
“S-so this is where the monsters came from…..”
Mia-san groaned and Solana also circles the space.
“Skoll the Wolfbone. That’s what they call him, the commander of these monsters. He defeated my mother and her followers and absorbed their powers. These monsters must have been led by him.”
The two duelists are so huge that you have to look up to see them.
I can’t believe they are real.
No. In fact, was it really a myth?
“Rion, in the myths, it was said that it was a victory for the gods. But I clearly remembered that we had a hard time. But.…. since the people are thriving in this world and there is a supreme god, I thought that in the end, we had triumphed over the demon army. I believed that.”
Solana added, “I was still optimistic but……”
I felt the same way as Solana.
“You mean it was a draw?”
When I said that, Skoll’s eyes darted around.
I hurriedly pulled out his dagger and stepped back.
But when I came back to myself, the general in the ice didn’t even move a bit. It’s like I was having hallucination.
“Both of them are still alive—with a great deal of magical power left in them.”
Solana’s words reminded me of the scene when I became a believer.
With the sound of horns, the gods fought the demon army. I can still hear the sound of the horn calling to battle.
“The battle is not over yet, and the chief god Odis has sealed the gods and monsters in the dungeon. The reason for this was not to win, but because we are on the verge of losing.”
“……W-what do you mean?”
“It’s just postponement. He sealed everything in ice and put off the conclusion for 1,000 or 2,000 years.”
Then…. could it be that the monsters we fight in the dungeon are the ones who has escaped when the ice melted?
“No way….…”
I’m here to get a hint to cure Lu. But I couldn’t believe that so many monsters were hidden in the Eastern Dungeon.
At that moment, we heard footsteps behind us so we turned around.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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