Ch.1164The Air Here Is Quite Murky.

One month later.

“…The air here is unpleasant from the start.”

“That’s how all underground places are. Stuffy and damp…”

We were underground.

—-

“…What a strange feeling. To think such an enormous cavity existed beneath our feet.”

Nigel muttered while looking around above his head with an expression of unfamiliarity.

“Don’t knights frequently visit underground places during their duties? Even as Landenburg’s sword, I doubt you spent all your time guarding the wall. You know, things like dungeon subjugation.”

Leonore asked, tilting her head.

For knights, underground dungeons and ruins should be so familiar they’re practically routine, so why act so surprised now?

Certainly, that used to be the daily life of knights.

These days, monsters are so abundant that we barely have the capacity to subjugate those that come to the surface, but until just a few years ago, things were incomparably more peaceful.

Back then, most monsters lurked exclusively in ruins or dungeons, so lords would regularly deploy their knights to thoroughly clean out such ruins.

Nigel, the tenth sword of Landenburg and the youngest Master, was precisely the human resource suited for such roles.

“Of course I’ve explored underground ruins and dungeons before… but I’ve never descended this deep. Nor have I ever encountered such a vast cavity.”

However, this time the circumstances are a little—no, quite different from usual.

“What is this? Isn’t it excessively large?”

To compare this place to an ordinary underground ruin would be inappropriate, as its scale was on an entirely different dimension.

Though clearly underground with walls all around, the ceiling stretched endlessly high like the night sky, and the horizon extended broadly at the edge of our vision.

The ground, covered with mossy soil and broken rock fragments, was dotted with buildings that had crumbled under the weight of time, forming what resembled a city of tombstones.

An absurdly vast space.

It was no exaggeration to say it was like another continent existing beneath the continent.

“With the earth so hollow underneath, how has the surface managed to avoid collapsing all this time…”

“Well, from what Astraea told me, some ancient dragons and giants are supporting it with their strength.”

Indeed, as Nigel said, such an enormous cavity couldn’t have formed and maintained itself naturally.

Empty spaces inevitably get filled, and ceilings without support always collapse from even the slightest impact.

Yet this underground mega-cavity has been maintained thanks to several ancient dragons and giants who possess the power of earth.

They serve as pillars, supporting the ceiling with their strength, preventing the continent from collapsing all at once.

I asked if that meant they were on our side, but apparently not.

In fact, they were the original culprits who created this underground mega-cavity.

During the fall of Xanten, they sided with Alfodhr and sank several fortresses and cities, foundation and all, destroying them.

After they could no longer live on the surface due to Heaven’s Wall, they used those sunken underground ruins as bases and gradually expanded the underground cavity like territory.

They support the ceiling with their strength not to protect the life above, but to prevent the collapse of their own home that has grown too vast.

– So they’re enemies but we can’t kill them? Because every time we kill one, the surrounding foundation would collapse completely.

I thought they might be the kind of beings we dislike but can’t kill, but…

– That’s not necessary.

That wasn’t the case.

– Rather, it would be better to kill them if the opportunity arises. Though they currently support the surface voluntarily because they cannot leave the underground, no one knows how long they will continue to do so.

– Is that really okay? Won’t cities have earthquakes and chasms appearing in the middle of them? Surely you don’t mean that’s just a “minor” sacrifice or something like that?

– …What do you take me for? Of course not. I simply mean that killing them won’t cause the concerns you mention.

According to Astraea, killing the dragons and giants supporting the foundation wouldn’t cause the earth to collapse as I feared.

Of course, it wasn’t completely without issues, but this was contingent on me taking appropriate measures immediately afterward.

– After destroying them, offer “proper” prayers to Ceres and dedicate their power to her. Then new pillars will be established.

The ascended goddess Ceres symbolizes earth and death, so by offering her the power of the dragons and giants, new pillars to support the earth could be created.

So she told me to go kill them and offer their power.

I felt slightly like I was being used for labor, but thinking about it, this wasn’t particularly surprising, so I let it go.

From my perspective, fighting a few tough battles without compensation was far better than causing the world to collapse because of me.

“Dragons, giants… Even having experienced them, it still doesn’t feel real. I thought facing such beings would remain a childhood dream…”

Nigel, having heard my explanation, looked up again with increased interest and muttered.

“Indeed, without beings of that caliber, such a vast cavity couldn’t be properly maintained. It makes sense, though it’s still hard to accept.”

“Really? Is it that significant…?”

With a goddess who walks the earth standing right beside you, I thought dragons wouldn’t seem like much… but thinking about it, I suppose it could be fascinating to her.

Since she and I spend every day together and have even bathed together, it’s probably difficult for her to feel any mystique or reverence anymore.

From the beginning, I’m uncomfortable with being worshipped as a goddess, so I earnestly asked my acquaintances to treat me as they always had.

Just look at Leonore, who still calls me “miss” and maintains a casual, comfortable tone regardless of whether I’m a saint, queen, or goddess.

With everyone around me maintaining that atmosphere, it’s only natural that Nigel would find dragons or giants unfamiliar.

“…It certainly is vast. When you can’t even properly see the walls or ceiling anymore. How deep have we descended?”

Leonore, who had been quietly listening to my conversation with Nigel, nodded as if somewhat convinced and asked almost to herself.

How deep have we come…

“…Who knows?”

I don’t really know either.

I just followed the location Astraea pointed out, melting through the earth and digging endlessly downward until I found an entrance leading to the vast cavity.

It feels like we’ve descended several times deeper than the highest peak of the Sky Mountains, but how could I know exactly how many kilometers that is?

“What do you mean ‘who knows’? Can you really say that, miss?”

“What can I do if I don’t know? This is my first time here too.”

“You came down here without knowing? You’re so reckless.”

Finding this incredulous, Ophelia, who had been muttering something about mana flow, let out a snicker.

She seemed to be saying that I dragged them down to these depths for something supposedly important, yet hadn’t done any prior research myself.

Of course, she wasn’t seriously scolding me; her tone was more like teasing me with a “that’s so like you” attitude.

So I just shrugged it off.

“Surprisingly, it’s not that dark. I thought we wouldn’t be able to see even a foot ahead, but at this rate we could even deploy cavalry… and there seems to be enough materials to build temporary barracks.”

“I have a somewhat ominous feeling… Ah! Of course, as long as I’m with you, sister, I don’t mind being anywhere!”

Jahan, ever the warrior to the bone, was analyzing the strategic value of this place, while Lena clung to me as usual.

Whether she truly sensed something ominous or was just making an excuse to stay by my side, I couldn’t tell.

Anyway, that’s how we set foot in the underground cavity beneath the continent.

The bottom of the current world—deep, dark, and vastly immense—a battleground for evil spirits and demons, infinitely close to hell.

—-

Perhaps even the road to hell has an ordinary entrance.

The underground mega-cavity, said to be a battlefield for demigods, was surprisingly peaceful, at least at its entrance.

Those with artistic sensibilities might even find beauty or mystery in this landscape.

The high ceiling was filled with dimly glowing minerals that substituted for the moon and stars, while unidentified elongated creatures swam through the air between them, dancing.

Water droplets formed at the tips of those glowing minerals and densely rising stalactites, falling like drizzle.

– Grrrrrr….

Somewhere, groundwater burst through walls forming rivers and waterfalls, while green tentacles with bamboo-like segments constantly writhed on both sides of the riverbank.

– Splash!

A two-headed frog jumped into the water to avoid the tentacles, only to be grabbed and devoured by a fish with a human face that leapt from the surface.

– Chirp chirp! Screech-!

Between the collapsed ruins, animal shadows or gleaming eyes would briefly appear and disappear, and unidentified cries would occasionally echo.

“Hmm… what are those? They don’t seem to be monsters, just bizarre animals?”

“They might be creatures altered by dark mana. Perhaps they were originally closer to monsters, but after generations of weakening, they lost their dark mana and only their altered bodies remained…”

Though they all looked bizarrely monstrous, they seemed to form their own ecosystem. Watching them was somewhat fascinating and interesting.

“…Let’s move. Sightseeing is fine, but we need to find a place to spend the night first.”

Since we weren’t in a position to leisurely observe such things, we just took a quick look and moved on.

Anyway, that’s how our underground exploration began.

…Is “underground exploration” too peaceful a term? Then perhaps I should use a more accurate, serious expression.

Yes, let me rephrase.

It was the beginning of our demigod hunt.