episode_0167

167. 2nd layer (13)

As I move forward, breaking through the black smoke blocking the end of the passage, what I see before my eyes is this.

“Altar…?”

It was a much narrower space than the previous empty lots, and there was an altar in the center of it.

Julie spoke as she watched us blankly staring at the altar.

“Whew… Doesn’t it feel like breathing is getting harder?”

“Okay. How is everyone’s health?”

I checked the status of my other colleagues at Juri’s words.

Everyone is just a little tired, but there are no signs of abnormality.

And just like the previous two places, wait for a moment for something to pop out of the altar.

“No response?”

“What is it…?”

When there was no response, I turned my head to observe my surroundings.

“Ms. Jury. There is no passage.”

“Okay.”

The open space with the fountain and monument-like structures was across from the passage we entered, leading to the next passage.

But on this side, there is nothing but an altar standing there.

“So, this is the last one?”

“Yeah, it’s over, but….”

This exploration was full of things she didn’t know from beginning to end, so Juri looked confused.

“Let’s approach it carefully and take a look?”

“Okay then.”

I told the other colleagues to wait and Julie and I headed to the altar first.

“Ugh..!”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

As I approached within a 5 meter radius of where the altar was, I felt a creepy aura coming from my body and my body becoming heavier.

And the ugly letters carved all over the altar looked like they were scribbled on a haphazard basis, more like words used in magic than letters.

It was quite unpleasant, as just looking at the letters made me feel sick and uneasy.

“What is this…?”

“It looks like a summoning altar?”

“Summoning Altar?”

“There is an altar that summons demons and devils to the present world, but it is a sorcery that is taboo throughout the continent.”

“But how does Juri know that?”

“The demon was summoned and the elves suffered a lot of damage. Of course, they are always being educated through the legend.”

Although she was speaking calmly, a look of frustration appeared on Juri’s face.

“If you drink….”

“Yeah, that incident a thousand years ago when the demon came down.”

The Demon King descends, and a saint receives a prophecy from the goddess, and a warrior is chosen by the holy sword.

It is said that when the previous Demon King descended, the damage suffered throughout the continent was so great that after the Demon King died, the leaders of each race made an agreement.

Regardless of the gains and losses, let’s all come together and defeat the Demon King when he descends next time.

And so the Demon King descended.

It is said that the Demon King’s army, which should have spread across the continent as quickly as germs, was unable to do anything but struggle, and the front line fell into a lull.

Still, it is said that the Demon King who descended a thousand years ago lasted for quite some time.

Did the previous warrior parties last twice as long as they received the oracle and took the Demon King’s head?

The moment when the Demon King’s neck was finally cut off.

“The devil has descended?”

“That’s right.”

No one knows the principle of the Demon King’s periodic descent.

No one on the continent knew that there was a being called Masin.

The Demon King had already accepted the fact that the world was over and that he would face death, and he did something that no other Demon King had ever done before.

The descent of the spirit.

He deliberately leaked information that he was in the Demon King’s army’s garrison located in the center of the continent, and covered the altar so that it could not be seen, and then he cut off the warrior’s neck with his sword on top of it, and blood flowed onto the altar.

“It’s an altar that looks exactly like the legend I heard.”

“Really?”

A warrior party isn’t just about party members.

The entire continent was a battlefield, as they were in a tight standoff without being pushed back by the Demon King’s army, and the warrior party volunteered to go into the most dangerous battlefield, defeating high-ranking demons and building up great achievements.

As a result, the number of mercenaries and adventurers who volunteered to accompany the saint, moved by the warrior’s military might and the saint’s sacrifice, gradually increased.

It is said that later on, the size of the party grew enormously, to the point where it became a specialized support unit for a sort of warrior party.

So, there must have been survivors who witnessed the descent of the demon, and Juri must have heard the story passed down by the elves.

“Well. They all died in less than a month, consumed by magic.”

It is said that the moment the demon descended, the warrior and the saint died on the spot.

And the other comrades in the warrior party also died with their limbs bursting under the gaze of the demon.

And the moment Masin turned his gaze to the surrounding unit members.

The goddess has descended.

“Every living thing there heard only one word.”

Run away.

It is said that since then, no one has been able to approach the place where the demon descended for a year.

It was said that the area, which was about the size of a city, was difficult for living beings to approach because of the entanglement of magic and divine power. Lightning would rain down and the ground would burst and the sound of explosions could be heard all day long.

“And after about 3 years? This is the portal.”

And what was created is said to be the portal in the level movement hall that we used to explore the labyrinth.

“After that, the city was built and stuff, so I’ll skip it because it’s boring, but anyway, it looks like the altar that was probably used to summon the demon.”

As Julie’s old story ended, the group’s expressions became troubled.

“Surely, that won’t work, right?”

“No. The heaviness in your body right now is simply the effect of the condensed magic here, and since there is no important sacrifice, it won’t activate.”

“What is it?”

“Hmm….. Ah, I still don’t know.”

“Ah… Are you talking about the energy you feel from the monster?”

“Oh. You figured it out well.”

“Now that I feel it again, it seems similar to the energy of a demon.”

Certainly, after hearing what Juri said and feeling it again, I could mistake it for something different because the energy was so condensed.

“Huh… So how do I destroy that?”

“Really? How much potion is left?”

“Freeze 2, Explosion 3, Fire 2.”

Grrr-

I put my hand in my pocket, rolled the potion bottle, and answered Julie.

“Um… Let’s step back and talk.

“Yes.”

We retreated to the point where the magic began to fade.

“Lauren. Can you control your energy in this state?”

“That…that…a little difficult…”

Lauren’s complexion was haggard. And Claude and Sia’s condition didn’t look good either.

“Then, let’s all go back out to the hallway. I’ll support you, Sia.”

“Ugh…”

We supported the flailing Sia and kicked Claude’s butt as we walked out into the hallway.

We came out into the hallway and sat down in a row, leaning against the wall.

“Fortunately, it’s not like you can’t get out once you get in.”

“That’s right. It looks like smoke because there’s magic inside.”

“Um… That’s serious in its own way, isn’t it?”

Lauren and Sia fell asleep, leaning on each other’s shoulders, and Claude looked quite pale as well.

“Claude, do you think you’ll be okay if you rest like this?”

“Gasp…gasp huh..! The inside is so hard, can I hold out here too?”

“Really?”

“Oh, I think I’ll have to rest for a while, but I think it’ll be okay.”

Since he’s trained a lot and has a good sense of stamina distribution and such, I think it’d be better for him to rest for now.

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“Ugh…!”

“Oh my god, I’m dying.”

“I didn’t think everyone would just fall asleep.”

We tried to take a break and eat some food in between, but everyone fell asleep sitting on the floor the next day.

Everyone was groaning with sore backs and waists, and Claude called me.

“Cain.”

“Uh.”

“I thought about it.”

Thoughts? You?

When I look at Claude with that expression, he makes a sad expression.

“Hey! I think too!!”

“Oh, what are you thinking?”

“This is it.”

Srrrrung-!

Claude pulls out a replica of the Holy Sword from his waistband.

“Is this also similar to the warrior’s holy sword…..”

“Oh? That’s a novel idea?”

Julie, who had been listening from the side, suddenly steps in between us.

“Eww! Ju…juju…Juri?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“You…are too close.”

“Poo-ha! What is that? That tone of voice sounds like a loner.”

“Huh…!”

Julie’s chest, which had been hastily intervening, lightly touched Claude’s elbow.

Claude stutters to Julie with a disgusted expression on his face in that situation.

“Hmm… Let’s try using the potion first and then try that method.”

“That….yes!”

Claude heard me and quickly stepped back.

The baby is standing.

The slightly awkward stepping pose is an attempt to hide his erection.

Julie, who was looking at Claude like that, smiled and looked at me, then her eyes widened.

“Huh? Why?”

And then her eyes narrow, she comes to me, and whispers in my ear.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Yes?”

“Hey… Jealousy?”

Swish-

Then he gently touches the area near my glans.

“Okay?”

“Ugh…!”

The angles and exquisite hand movements of Juri’s sleight of hand that no one noticed made my jaw stiffen.

“Service~”

I really want that.

By the way, what if you set it up like this right before the attack? It’s ambiguous whether you can eat Sian or Lauren without even setting up a tent.

“Ha…”

“Oh my, Sia and Lauren look like they’re having a hard time? Are you okay?”

Then, as if nothing had happened, Julie approaches Lauren and Sia and loosens up their tensed bodies.

When I first saw her before this exploration, I thought she was a crazy, unpredictable woman, but now I’m starting to like her more and more.

Let’s think about Jury after we clear this level.