Ch.121Ancient Ruins (2)

====[Church of Vimos]====

The innermost sanctuary of the church.

The knight who had been sleeping for what seemed like eternity with closed eyes finally awoke from his long silence.

Sensing the presence of a warrior who had come to this place after thousands of years.

“Grrrr…”

A form shaped from gathered shadows into a human figure, as if wearing armor.

Behind the old, rusted armor, black darkness flowed like a cape.

The knight reached out toward the longsword thrust into the floor.

From inside the helmet’s faceplate, a green glow slowly seeped out.

The knight who drew the sword took a step forward.

Red rust powder fell with a soft hiss from between the creaking armor joints.

One step, then another step.

The knight walked toward the outside of the church. Slowly but steadily.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the once-silent church.

– Crack!

Something caught under the knight’s foot and shattered.

The knight looked down at his feet.

Fragments of a shattered statue.

It was a stone statue of the ancient god they once worshipped.

The knight trampled the statue, crushing it with deep hatred until it turned to dust.

And then continued walking.

To welcome the visitor.

==================

I swallowed dryly and tensed my body.

This was a situation I couldn’t have anticipated. To be suddenly separated like this.

And because of an entry restriction, no less.

The fact that even Frider couldn’t follow me meant that the entry condition for this place required at least Master level.

…In other words, it also meant that enemies of comparable strength would appear.

Was this feeling stirring in my chest anxiety, or excitement anticipating battle?

Either way, this was no longer a situation to take lightly.

My right hand tightened around Durandal.

Slowly, my mind grew colder. Like being doused with cold water.

It was a good sign.

Thanks to that, I gained the composure to look around.

It was an enormous rocky cavern, as if the inside of the mountain had been hollowed out completely.

I was standing on a raised platform about halfway between the ceiling and the bottom, like a cliff jutting out from the rock face.

More accurately, it wasn’t that this area jutted out, but rather that the rest of the ground had collapsed below, leaving only this part.

At the deep bottom below, black water had filled up like a lake, and from there, a dizzying amount of Dark Mana was rising.

…If I were to fall, it would be instant death.

Pillars rose from the floor to support the ceiling above.

Most were so thick that three grown men couldn’t fully wrap their arms around them.

The surface was rough and uneven, as if not artificially constructed. The thickness varied as well.

The shape of the ground was strange.

A narrow path continued and then suddenly widened like a field, followed by another narrow path.

I couldn’t see beyond that.

A structure like a fortress wall enclosed that area.

I advanced along the narrow path with my sword in hand, heightening my senses to their maximum.

Beads of sweat rolled down and fell around my collarbone.

The stuffy air carried heated warmth. Almost sweltering.

Probably due to geothermal heat.

I wonder if Frider, Millia, and Demian are okay?

I’m not sure what they’re doing right now.

Since I suddenly disappeared and the door probably won’t open, maybe they’re trying to break it down.

Frider has a lot of experience with these things, so he might have figured out that I disappeared due to spatial transfer.

If so, are they investigating other rooms? I hope they’re not in danger…

“Grrrrrr…”

A low growl cut through my thoughts.

Presences that weren’t there moments ago suddenly began to be felt.

As if corpses were awakening and beginning to move again.

Low growling sounds. Heavy heartbeats. Footsteps that seemed to be clawing at the walls gradually drew closer.

From below the cliff.

I dashed at full speed toward the open area.

If I were attacked in the narrow path and knocked off the ground, I’d die a pointless death from the fall.

The moment I reached the center of the open area, they revealed themselves.

Large hands covered in carapace gripped the ground and pulled up bodies hanging from the cliff.

Three of them. Two in front, one behind.

Dark Mana rose fiercely.

No, this isn’t the time to just watch…!

I took out my bow and shot an arrow at the hand trying to climb up from behind.

With a small hope that if I could just remove that hand, it would fall back down.

The arrow shot like a flash of light but instead of…piercing the creature’s hand, it bounced off as if by magic.

The sound of metal striking metal echoed throughout the cavern.

All that remained on the creature’s hand was a slight scratch on its carapace.

My God.

The arrow might be weaker than my sword, but still, it just blocked it?

An arrow that could pierce through rock like it was nothing?

So this is what armored monsters are like…!

I put away my bow and charged at the creature.

To quickly reduce their numbers, even by one.

It would be dangerous to be attacked from all sides by three of them.

The moment I reached striking distance, the monster pulled itself up completely.

Only then could I clearly see its form.

Its height was just over 2m. Not that large.

But its body length extending backward seemed to be over 6m.

A body covered in insect-like carapace.

Sharp spines protruded from the carapace on its back.

Six legs sprouting from its locust-like lower body were each twice as thick as my own leg.

The legs undulated up and down like waves.

Where a head should have been, there was something resembling a human upper body instead.

If it were a horse rather than a locust, it might have been called a centaur.

The upper body was also covered in carapace, and it held a two-handed axe.

Though slightly larger…it was definitely a human weapon.

Right. Hybrid monsters have forms that mix various creatures.

…Which means they can include human parts too.

The head attached above the neck also had a human face.

No, perhaps I should say it had once been a human face.

It was hideously disgusting enough to make me nauseous.

Both eyes had fallen out of their sockets and wriggled in the air like snail eyes, while the nose had stretched downward like an elephant’s trunk.

The skin of the ears and jaw similarly dangled down like tentacles.

The only parts that retained a human appearance were the mouth and lips.

Which actually made it even more repulsive.

Really, aren’t there any decent-looking monsters?

They’re all hideously disgusting without exception.

This was a monster I had never seen before.

If I had to name it, perhaps something like a locust-human?

Locust Centaur….

I’ll just call it a Locust.

The scientific names of monsters are typically given by their first discoverers anyway.

It emitted a terrible smell.

The stench of rotting flesh mixed with all kinds of filth.

My face involuntarily wrinkled in disgust.

“KIAAAAAAAK!”

The Locust charged at me with a shrill roar.

Moving its six legs back and forth with heavy steps.

Gripping Durandal, which had begun to emit a faint blue light, with both hands, I charged right back at the creature.

—-

– KWANG!

The axe and longsword collided with a thunderous sound.

Although I hadn’t used my full strength, it was still a powerful slash, yet the creature didn’t budge an inch.

The axe was chipped but not completely broken.

The Locust pressed down on me with its axe while thrusting its foreleg like a spear toward my abdomen.

Yeah, must be nice having eight limbs!

I twisted my sword to deflect the axe and rolled to the side.

The sharp claw pierced through empty air, and the diagonally swung axe shattered the ground.

The floor burst apart with violent vibrations.

Flying fragments struck my armor.

“KIIT!”

Before I could even get up, another leg targeted my head from the opposite side.

Demian almost got caught by an attack like this.

I heightened my fighting spirit even more.

The Karma seeping in elevated my physical body.

My left hand shot out like a snake and grabbed the creature’s leg.

“HAAAAA!”

I swung my right hand.

Even wielding it one-handed, the speed was several times faster than before.

The blue arc bit into the creature’s leg.

– KWADUK!

The carapace shattered with sparks.

Durandal’s blade tore through the creature’s flesh and dug deep.

Green fluid spurted out.

Just as I was about to completely sever the leg, the creature swung its axe again.

Tch.

What a shame.

I pulled back my sword and launched myself backward.

The axe cut through empty air.

The carapace scraped by the withdrawing blade sent fierce sparks flying, but unfortunately, it wasn’t completely severed.

Still, that leg probably won’t move anymore.

It’s barely connected by a piece of carapace, with all the flesh inside cut away.

“KIAAAAA…”

The Locust pounded the ground in rage.

The fluid flowing from its wound scattered around, giving off toxic fumes.

Eight seconds so far. The probing phase was over.

This monster was tougher than I expected.

Physical abilities similar to mine.

Carapace hardness greater than black iron…and an axe comparable to my sword.

More precisely, a strange mana was wrapped around the axe blade, protecting it from damage.

I wasn’t sure if the creature was using magic, or if the axe itself was enchanted…

It doesn’t matter. If it’s a magical effect, it will weaken with each collision with Durandal.

The true silver sword cuts through mana.

In the end, one-on-one, it wasn’t my match.

…The problem was that this wasn’t one-on-one.

I glanced behind me.

The two Locusts had already begun climbing onto the ground, slowly pulling themselves up.

If all three start swinging their limbs together…it would be difficult to dodge.

I need to eliminate this one as quickly as possible.

I took out Frosting from the case on my back.

The curse was suppressed, right?

I’ll trust you, Lacy.

I removed the glove I was wearing and put it in the case, then slid my hand into Frosting.

The familiar cold sensation penetrated my left arm.