Chapter 341 - Episode 6: The Wall That Repels All ③
Fiona, who had been sent out to scout, returned.
"It's a straight passage. About a hundred steps, I'd say. There was a wall I couldn't pass through. No monsters either. Just some rats."
It didn't seem like there were any particular problems.
After being seen off by the demon girl and exiting through the door, she closed the stone door while saying, "Good luck."
Miana shot a Fire Ball into the depths, and the rats scurried away all at once.
Since they weren't monsters, it should be safe until the target wall.
"Bonnie, wait. I'm going to prepare the orbs."
"Yeah. Got it."
I had Fiona return to the crystal.
I took out the orbs and put them in a mesh bag. I would hang it from my neck. I couldn't reach behind me, but it would be hard to drop.
First was the offensive Holy. Since instantaneous power was required, I decided to have Eleanor-sama hold it. The orb for the basic Light would be kept on by Mary in the rear. Using it alongside Firefly, we would illuminate both long and short distances evenly. Even if we were attacked from behind, just turning around would serve as a deterrent. The remaining two were kept wrapped in cloth in the storage bag held by Saxburg and Miana. The barrel the orbs came in was put back in the bag and left by the door. This made Beowulf more agile.
Looking at the candle in the lantern, nearly an hour had passed since we entered. If I used basic Firefly now, it should last until the third mark.
Bonnie, holding a Firefly in her hand, walked while meticulously checking the walls, floor, and ceiling for traps. Ahead of her, the rats chased by the light fled while squeaking. The small holes here and there were likely made by the rats. We turned left once, then right once. Proceeding straight after that, we reached the wall quite easily.
The real challenge starts here. Based on the information so far, there should be a Black Stone here. Despite that, they've built a wall and even prepared a demon, even if she wasn't that strong. There must be something beyond this.
To prepare for a monster attack, we changed our formation. In the vanguard were Beowulf with a sword and Will with a spear. In the second row were Eleanor-sama with a greatsword and Bonnie with a bow. In the third row were Aira and Sianya. Sianya would fire a barrage of Holy spells as the wall was dispelled, then deploy Magic Reflection. Next were the two princesses. In the rearmost were Eleanor-sama, Mary, and me.
Miana dropped a Fire Ball near the wall and extinguished the Firefly.
"Here I go. Light!"
While everyone else was on one knee, I alone stood up and chanted the high-level version.
The wall illuminated by the light began to disappear from the bottom.
"Sianya!"
"Yes!"
She fired four consecutive shots of the thick Holy Lance. The light traveled in a straight line and disappeared beyond the wall.
A muffled-like groan could be heard.
"I felt a hit!"
I knew it, they were there!
When the wall completely vanished, a straight passage extending into the depths became visible. Because it was illuminating a wide area, the light didn't reach the very end. It seemed quite deep.
As we were observing the situation, a sudden, intense stench of rot wafted over.
"Th-this is..."
A Revenant? No, this was incomparable to the swarm of Orc Revenants or the Dragon Revenant we saw at the mountain! The four in the vanguard began to cough. The two princesses crouched down, covering their faces with both hands. Miana's concentration slipped, and her Fire Ball went out.
This is bad, we're too vulnerable.
"Favorable Wind!"
Eleanor-sama created a wind, temporarily pushing back the stench of rot.
"Activate! Holy!"
Next, I released the Holy Overflow stored in the orb.
The surroundings were enveloped in white light.
"Everyone, you must not stand up! Get close to the wall! Mary! Prepare Glaciate! Release it immediately after I fire Prominence! Sianya! Fire three shots of Purification! Jeanne! Cast Resist on everyone!"
After giving the orders, Eleanor-sama raised both hands wide and began the incantation for Prominence. Mary also started the incantation for Glaciate.
A ball of red flame formed in Eleanor-sama's hands. Along with the incantation, it changed from red to orange. She moved forward bit by bit, stepping in front of the vanguard.
As Sianya fired Purification in rapid succession, groans could be heard from the depths.
Saxburg and Miana remained crouched, covering their faces with both hands. Aira, still crouching, edged closer to protect the two.
"I'm ready!"
Mary's Glaciate was complete.
I dispelled the Light illuminating the wall and cast Resist on everyone.
Red light illuminated all directions.
"Prominence!"
It activated. An extra-large orange fireball flew into the depths of the passage.
"Mary!"
"Yes! Glaciate!"
Mary released Glaciate, and the ice began to grow large.
The two in the vanguard braced their shields, while Magdalena-sama and Aira evacuated the two princesses to the rear. Bonnie took up the rear guard.
Eleanor-sama chanted Favorable Wind again to prevent the hot blast from coming our way.
The surface of the ice, which I thought had grown to fill the passage, was shining. It was melting.
"Ice Cube!"
After Mary blocked the hole in the melted Glaciate with a block of ice, the wall reappeared, and we decided to retreat for now.
It would have been better if Cocytus could have been used simultaneously with Prominence, but there was no time. That's because the incantation would have to be restarted.
Since Light was dispelled, the wall was now closed, but I was afraid of what would happen the next time we opened it. It would be better to cool it down to some extent. No change could be seen in the wall illuminated by the basic Light from the orb, but there was no way to know what was happening inside.
Just in case, Sianya cast Anti-Poison and I cast Anti-Sepsis on everyone.
"Are you all alright?"
It was a harsh experience for the two for whom this was their first actual combat. To suddenly face that intense stench of rot. I couldn't find the right words to describe it.
"I'm fine. The smell was so overwhelming I held my breath, so I felt like I was going to suffocate."
It was Saxburg. The reason she was holding her face with both hands was likely to block her nose.
"Me too. What on earth happened?"
Miana also seemed energetic.
"I never imagined there would be monsters that attack with smell."
"It's horrible, isn't it?"
The two of them were drinking restorative wine, saying they were surprised.
I see. It was so smelly they didn't even have time to feel fear. There probably aren't any monsters that attack with smell.
Relieved, Aira and Magdalena-sama, who had evacuated the two, looked at each other and laughed.
By the way, what was the source of that intense stench of rot?
"Priestess Sianya. Regarding the source of that smell just now, do you have any ideas?"
Eleanor-sama asked.
"I suspect it might be a Flesh Golem."
"As I thought."
She let out a deep sigh.
What is that? No matter how I thought about it, it didn't smell 'flesh' (fresh).
"Mother-in-law, Priestess Sianya. What exactly is a Flesh Golem?"
Magdalena-sama didn't seem to know either.
"A golem is, in essence, the strongest gatekeeper humans have devised."
According to Eleanor-sama, it's a large doll made with a Magic Stone as its core, moving using the magical power stored in the Magic Stone as energy. The name changes depending on the material; stone is a Stone Golem, and earth is a Sand Golem.
"And a Flesh Golem is a collection of corpses."
A collection of corpses... that's beyond bad taste.
"It's like a secret art that was once used in Primordia."
Golems are apparently placed on top of magic circles. When a triggering event occurs, the magic circle activates, and the golem begins to move. It's like the powerful purification barrier the Headmistress used, activated by combining multiple spells and magic circles. The spells used are a combination of high-level and mid-level, but because it uses a vast amount of magical power, an ultra-high-level mage is required to control it. Currently, there are no users, and it's only passed down as a secret art.
Golems are large and heavy. Consequently, their movements are slow. Therefore, they are specialized for defense, but if placed in a narrow passage, they become powerful sentries. The border of Primordia consists only of mountain passes. It would be perfect.
"Of course, they can be defeated. The heat of Prominence can deform even iron or rock. Once we deform the golem's joints, it's our victory. A Flesh Golem can be burnt away."
Then there's no problem.
"The problem is that a Flesh Golem cannot be made without Forbidden Magic. Most likely, in addition to the secret art of making golems, several Forbidden Magics, starting with Undead, were used. In other words, the Ancient Priestess used Forbidden Magic."
"The Ancient Priestess... used Forbidden Magic?"
Saxburg raised her voice. It must have been unexpected.
However, it's not unthinkable. In the mountain investigation, magic was classified into five types. What we now call attribute magic, holy magic, other magic like status changes or movement types, the First King's series, and dark magic. It wouldn't be strange if the five Priestesses were experts in each type of magic. Originally, all magic was bestowed by the Goddess.
"Eleanor-sama. Even Forbidden Magic was originally bestowed by the Goddess. It's not strange that the Ancient Priestess could use it."
It's just as Sianya says. The Ancient Priestess lived over five thousand years ago. In contrast, the Great Southern Church was destroyed only a thousand years ago. For over four thousand years, there was no such treatment as 'Forbidden Magic'.
"That is true, of course, but then why protect it this much with Forbidden Magic? Starting from the demon's Charm, it's full of Forbidden Magic. What do you think the goal is?"
That... I don't know.
"Could it be that the Ancient Priestess desired for this place to be conquered by female priests?"
Magdalena-sama said as if muttering.
"Magdalena, why do you think so?"
"First, men cannot enter. And the Flesh Golem... was it? It's said to be purely specialized in defense. I admit Prominence is effective, but after all, this narrow passage is the stage. To prevent getting allies caught in it, ice magic must be used. If there are many of them after this, magical power simply won't hold out. If the opponent is a moving corpse, then holy magic would be the most effective after all."
I see. That's convincing.
"But if we repeat entering and exiting many times..."
Having said this much, I could feel my own face turning pale.
Don't tell me, we can't escape?
In a hurry, I illuminated the rear with Light.
There didn't seem to be any particular change.
After excusing myself to everyone, I went back with Beowulf and Bonnie, and there was the stone door where we met the demon girl. Just in case, I tried to have Beowulf open it, but it wouldn't budge whether pushed or pulled.
"This wasn't here, was it?"
Bonnie found a scroll lying as if hidden by the barrel Beowulf had placed. When I spread it out, it was a Teleport scroll. The keyword was simple. It said 'Escape'. It was longer than a normal scroll, and there was a drawing below the magic circle. Two lines were parallel, with a □ drawn at one end and a 〇 at the other. Looking at the notes, □ was the wall and the circle was the golem. It seemed to be the wall and the passage beyond it. In the middle of the passage before the golem, a single horizontal line came out to the right from the wall's perspective, with a 〇 written at its end. It might be a secret path and the room continuing beyond it.
A line of ancient characters was lined up below the drawing.
Those who use Teleport shall never enter beyond the wall again
They got us. We can escape, but we can't retry.
I returned to everyone and showed them the scroll.
"Ancient characters, I see. Could you read all of it?"
Eleanor-sama praised me. The effect of being taught by various people was showing.
"But why is a retry impossible?"
Saxburg asked, but it's simple. It's probably because the demon girl can't enter.
When I dispatched Fiona through the stone door, it was indeed so. The scroll was apparently rolled out by the girl after we departed. This was also part of the contract.
The opinion even came up to just destroy the door, but after all, it's an old ruin. I'm afraid of a cave-in. Besides, in this situation, there's no way Eleanor-sama would easily withdraw.
"An escape method has been found. Surely the golem is burnt to cinders. The magic circle can be used anytime. Let's try as far as we can go."
Just as expected.
Well, fine. We have the combat power. Let's do our best.
We held a strategy meeting to start over.
"First, let's go steadily. The wall is, so to speak, a rampart to prevent the opponent's offensive. If push comes to shove, we'll block it with the wall. Jeanne, handle the opening and closing of the wall, and Miana, use Favorable Wind to deal with the stench."
We'll open the wall and launch a preemptive strike. If the opponent attacks, we just have to close it. For weapons, we'll focus on the Holy Overflow stored in the orbs and Sianya's Purification, and if necessary, we'll combine Eleanor-sama's Prominence and Mary's Blizzard with Holy.
However, in addition to Eleanor-sama's Prominence, it's a heavy burden for Mary to fire Blizzard or Glaciate for cooling in rapid succession.
Wait? Hold on a second.
"Um, I'd like to confirm, around when did silver weapons become generally available?"
Elves mined silver and processed it into weapons nearly five thousand years ago to try and build a kingdom. In other words, it was likely to gain superiority over the surrounding creatures... probably humans. The Ancient Priestess died before that. Silver weapons shouldn't have been in circulation during the Priestess's era.
"Most likely, it was about three thousand years ago. The first silver mine on this island was found in Primordia."
Sianya told me.
"In other words, at the time this ruin was built, silver weapons weren't anticipated. Jeanne. You noticed well. If we can attack with weapons the Priestess didn't anticipate, we'll be able to overwhelm them in melee combat."
Once again, Eleanor-sama praised me.
In other words, the opponent's defense is at most only designed for iron weapons. Our defense is solid. We just have to utilize the offensive power that pierces steel armor and returns Revenants to the earth.
I was the one who read the island's history to everyone during the investigation in Nakanohara. Since then, I've become able to grasp the flow of time for the entire island.
"Also, shall we make holy water? If there's water, Sianya and I can turn it into holy water."
The strategy was decided.
The silver weapons are ready. All that's left is to prepare holy water.
Miana chanted Favorable Wind as a countermeasure against the stench. Next, after Mary made three square blocks of ice with Ice Cube in front of the wall, she sprayed water with Shower, then applied Freeze to stick them together. A wall of ice, or rather a weir, was created. Eleanor-sama created a wall of air with Wind Barrier as a countermeasure against the heat. Then, she brought out two Fireflies and illuminated the wall.
As the wall disappeared from the bottom, water began to flow out. The ice made with Glaciate must have melted. The surface of the Ice Cubes began to shine. Seeing that it didn't melt all at once, it seemed to have cooled to some extent. After all, we waited three hours. Since the wall went down, the effect of the magic should have vanished. As proof, the water held back by the ice weir was lukewarm.
I dispelled the Wind Barrier and put another Firefly on the wind of Favorable Wind. It's difficult for Miana to manipulate a Firefly, but just letting it fly on the wind is no problem. Sight has already been cast on everyone.
As the Firefly flew off, ice that remained unmelted could be seen here and there.
Mary immediately fired Freeze in rapid succession, creating another ice weir. With this, a certain amount of water was secured. The amount of water enclosed by the weir was about ankle-deep, but if there's too much, consecration takes time. It doesn't have to be that much.
The four people with silver weapons moved forward, and behind them, Sianya and I made holy water. It was completed in less than half an hour.
Eleanor-sama and Mary used Clump Water to float the holy water in the air, creating two large orbs of water.
Except for Light, the spells used were only basic and mid-level. Replenishing in enemy territory isn't limited to just food. With this, preparations were complete.