Chapter 571 - Chapter 11: The Crater of the Extinct Volcano III
We had the bee Revenants retreat to guard the depths of the hole, and in the meantime, we brought the saucer close to the exit, using the Wind Barrier cap with the wall of Light attached to take up a position.
From the view visible from the exit, we were probably about halfway up a mountain. I saw a large lake and the forest surrounding it at the foot. Based on the direction and shape, it was the lake where we found the fox while riding in Harold-sama's saucer.
(We've been there before, haven't we?)
(Umu, we went on the afternoon of the first day.)
(Were there bugs like those just now?)
(No, I didn't see any.)
It was the Priestess and Harold-sama. Harold-sama asked if they saw bugs in the forest, and Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama both answered that they hadn't.
In the meantime, I was raising and lowering the output of the Light, and Harrison-san was firing log-sized Holies from the hole in the cap. Since there were many of them, we gathered those that approached when the output was lowered to some extent and exterminated them all at once.
(They're coming from a different place. Harold, change the shape of the cap so we can scout.)
(Umu. Got it.)
Harold-sama made it bulge outward and jumped off the saucer to head there. Harrison-san, who was in charge of Holy, went with him. Since they wouldn't be able to see if bugs were swarming, I made it shine as brightly as possible.
(Did you see anything?)
(Umu. There's a hole further down too, and they're swarming out from there.)
Could it be that it's also connected to the inside of the crater? Or it might be connected somewhere via Teleport.
(Then, let's head to that hole.)
The bug extermination was decided instantly.
I turned the Light's output to the maximum to drive the bugs away for a moment. We squeezed out of the narrow entrance and somehow made it outside. The saucer was Eleanor-sama's sphere. It has holes in the front and back.
We soared up while keeping it shining. Our allies are on standby.
When I turned down the power of the Light, as expected, the bugs chased after the saucer. Since our allies were basically on the other side, they must have been left alone.
While illuminating the front and back, we descended just like that toward the hole where the bugs were swarming from.
When we entered, it was a similar cave. Since we were illuminating with Light, the bugs didn't approach. However, they were coming from deep inside one after another, and a traffic jam was occurring. The bugs in the rear were watching from a distance.
After causing a bit of a jam, Harrison-san released an Over Flow, and a mountain of corpses large enough to block the hole was created. This in itself is a problem. We can't move forward.
Inevitably, Wilson-san thrust his hand in and released a Prominence, and afterward cooled it with Cocytus.
Since the cave is nearly straight, a single Prominence could turn those within a considerable distance into soot. If reinforcements come, it'll just be a repetition of the same thing. We guarded the entrance with a wall of Light and, after crawling in, made a saucer again. We were doing our best to move forward, but...
(Could you stop for a moment? I have a bit of a bad feeling about what's ahead.)
(As I thought? I feel the same way.)
It was Harold-sama and the Priestess. Actually, I felt that way too. But, a cave where bugs swarm is bound to be unpleasant.
The saucer stopped for a moment. Just in case, I kept the Light at full power.
(You too? Harold. How about you, Henry?)
(Actually, I do too. I was waiting for the scout to speak up.)
(This humble priest feels the same.)
Apparently, the heroes and former heroes all felt the same. I managed not to be left behind.
On the other hand, Wilson-san seemed fine.
(This feeling, it might be the forbidden magic Psycho.)
It was Wilson-san.
Speaking of Psycho, it's a terrifying magic that fans human anxiety and impatience, causes fear and confusion, and finally destroys and maddens the mind. Of course, this is when it's released by someone with super-high-level or higher magic control against an opponent who is extremely defenseless against magic; in actual practice against humans, it's said to go up to anxiety and impatience, and at most to fear and confusion if the opponent is put to sleep with Sleep. Though, since the opponent is sleeping, they might just end up having a nightmare. It's probably as useless on the battlefield as Sleep.
(However, if it is magic, wouldn't something of this level be of no practical use?)
(Well, then, could you get a little closer?)
In response to Eleanor-sama's question, Wilson-san made a proposal.
Then, as Eleanor-sama moved the saucer forward, the unpleasant feeling grew stronger.
(Is this... a barrier?)
This time it was Harrison-san. Magic activated by a magic circle shouldn't be affected by distance. The places where it's effective and where it's not should be clearly distinguished. However, I had heard there were no barriers that worked on humans.
(It might be something that combines magic and a barrier. I believe such barriers weren't listed in the secret books we've investigated so far. Besides, it might be an ancient secret technique.)
I see. That was also true. Regarding Puppet, even the people of Primordia couldn't use it until we went to the cave where we met Keira.
(Then, shall I go? If I am alone, I probably won't be targeted by the bugs either.)
It was Wilson-san. After all, this is the person who spoke to the earthworm user while he was working.
(Hoho. Could it be that you are not human?)
It seems Harold-sama hadn't been told about Wilson-san's true identity. They didn't seem to have much contact.
(I thought you had already noticed.)
(I had a faint suspicion. So you are a Revenant?)
(Your insight is correct.)
(Well, we have the friendship of allied nations, so I'll keep quiet about it to other countries. After all, it's thanks to you driving away King Seldic that I am alive like this now.)
He was grinning patronizingly, but all the Crown Princes of the allied nations except for Morandine actually know. Of course, Price-sama knows too. Well, they don't say anything, though.
We deactivated the front wall of the saucer, and instead, Wilson-san attached a wall of Light to a cap he made with Wind Barrier. Since the size was just barely the size of the cave, the bugs wouldn't come if he raised the output. Wilson-san, while manipulating that cap, hopped off the saucer and walked steadily into the depths of the cave. The rest of us, not wanting to have unpleasant thoughts, stayed on standby there and exterminated those coming from behind.
After walking about twenty or thirty steps, just as I thought I heard a civil engineering-like sound, the unpleasant feeling vanished. Apparently, he succeeded in destroying the barrier.
The saucer advanced and joined him.
(I was able to break it quite nicely. It's at a level that can be analyzed and restored. However, the vocalization would be that of a demon.)
What he illuminated with Fire Ball were round clay tablets engraved with what looked like characters, and there were two of them. Both were broken cleanly in half. The walls on both sides were crumbling. With this, even if a large monster walked by, they wouldn't break from the weight. The size was about the size of a barrel lid. As expected of a Vice-Demon Lord. Two of this size were enough to produce a sufficient effect. After all, even the former heroes and the current hero had refused to approach.
(No problem. We'll take them back to Sertoria. For now, let's send them via Teleport.)
Eleanor-sama happily took out a Simple Teleportation Magic Circle. The other half is held by Matilda and the others. It was originally supposed to be for emergency evacuation, but for Eleanor-sama, it might be for confiscation.
(What are ye going to use that for? It's forbidden magic, isn't it?)
Harold-sama was exasperated. Well, that's natural. Even if it could be reproduced, the moment it's used, one would be branded a heretic.
(It's for the research of magic. Besides, if we become able to make large-scale magic circles, blocking roads during wartime will become easier.)
I see. That's certainly true. As a ruler, she'll protect the citizens without hesitating to become a heretic herself. Though, it would be best if the church didn't find out. Fortunately, there are no church priests here right now. Harrison-san is pretending to cover his ears with his hands, so I'll do the same.
(Sorry, but could ye tell our country about it later? Just me and the scout captain will do.)
Harold-sama's attitude changed.
Thus, the obstacle was removed. The remains of the obstacle were sent to Matilda along with a letter. And then, we went outside once to replenish the air in the anti-gas suits. There are three people who can use Wind Barrier. We made a square with walls of Light and filled them in turn. Thus, we corrected our formation and moved forward.
In the lower cave, bugs were still swarming as usual. Applying the lesson from last time, we had the bugs jam up while retreating and defeated them near the exit. That way, we just had to throw them out of the hole. After doing it several times, they either ran out or gave up, as bugs stopped appearing.
The lower cave was the same as the upper one, with a gentle downward slope toward the depths. We descended slowly.
(The lower part is wider, and water is pooled there.)
The Priestess sharply spotted the end of the cave. Beyond the cave was a ground like a shore, and beyond that, a water surface was visible.
Could it be another underground lake?
(Jeanne, deactivate the wall of Light. Please detect underwater with Sense Living. Harrison, deploy Magic Reflection instead of the wall of Light.)
Eleanor-sama's instructions were given, and we switched to stealthy action.
As we descended, an underground lake was indeed spread out. It's quite wide. However, it wasn't like the underground lake we saw in the Gnome's cave; there was a solid shore along the walls, and there were several islands too.
As for monsters, there was no need to even use Sense Living. Many frogs were sitting on the shore and islands, and clinging to the walls. On the water surface, there were also many frogs floating. They had the upper half of their faces out of the water.
(We've been found.)
Even in the darkness, I can tell because I'm seeing through the Priestess's eyes. Some of them have turned their direction toward us. If they use water, Holy will be less effective. There are many of them, and it'll be a hassle.
(Frogs, huh. Can we cool the saucer with ice magic?)
The Priestess suggested it. I wonder what on earth she's planning to do.
(If we cool the surface, we'll become invisible to the frogs.)
(Is that so?)
(It seems so. We actually used to do it.)
The fortress in the wetlands where the Priestess was apparently had many frogs and snakes. Many rivers flow from the mountains into the wetlands, and those that became monsters in the mountains apparently flowed down near the foot. They used to exterminate them occasionally as part of their training. Hibernating them with ice magic before exterminating them is the same. The extermination period was in the summer when they were energetic, which means the wetlands were extremely hot and humid. They had no flight magic or techniques to hide their presence, so they went to exterminate them on flat-bottomed boats. There are always those who like to innovate, and someone who wanted to keep cool made a wall with ice magic instead of a shield and advanced. At that time, they became less likely to be found by frogs and snakes. Why? I don't know. But it was found that an ice wall was effective. Eventually, it was found that if even the hull was cooled with Freeze, they would almost never receive a surprise attack. It's a pity it hasn't been passed down to posterity at all, probably because most of the soldiers died from the plague.
The delinquent old men aren't ones to hear such an interesting story and not try it. Immediately, they cooled the saucer from the inside with Freeze. As a result, the frogs seemed to have lost sight of us, and the directions they were facing became scattered.
(It's true. It's a wonderful discovery.)
With this, even if an Amphisbaena appears, we can make a surprise attack. The way of fighting is quite different.
However, never mind the people wearing leather armor, I'm only wearing a thin anti-gas suit over my undergarments. It's a bit cold.
We took off slowly, but the frogs didn't react. With this, we can detect inside the underground lake with Sense Living without anyone interfering.
As a result of the detection, there were no reactions other than frogs. This seems to be a frog's nest. However, during the exploration, the Priestess found one hole each in the opposite wall, the ceiling, and underwater.
There's no way bugs would come out from underwater. It must be the holes in the ceiling and the wall. I don't think frogs spend much time underwater. If the Amphisbaena's food is frogs and the frogs' food is bugs, there's a high possibility that the underwater hole is connected to the Amphisbaena's nest. If there are multiple Amphisbaenas, fighting underwater would be extremely disadvantageous.
(Since we came from above, let's conquer them in order from the top.)
Even Eleanor-sama, who would normally head toward a strong enemy, seemed to think underwater was dangerous, as she decided to go up with an ambiguous phrasing.
As we climbed the hole in the ceiling of the underground lake, the slope became gentle partway. As expected, there were bugs here and there. Cockroaches. Since we were hiding our presence, we passed through without being noticed.
(Way in the back, it's getting bright.)
The Priestess was the first to find it. Partly because of the distance, I only noticed after being told. Wilson-san and I, merged with the Priestess, could barely tell. As we approached, it became clear that not only was light shining in, but a very wide space was opening up. By then, it seemed the others could see it too.
(Even though I'm having Sight cast for me, I can't see the end. Haven't we come out on the mountainside?)
I understand well what Harold-sama is saying. It seems quite wide, and even with the collaboration of the Priestess's eyes and my Sight, I don't know what's going on.
(Ah, something was flying. It's probably a Red Bee.)
I couldn't tell at all. This is where she's truly a ghost.
Beyond the cave was a very large depression surrounded by cliffs. It was as if a giant hole had suddenly opened up. It's oval-shaped, and wouldn't the longer diameter be about half a station, and the shorter one half that distance? It's like a smaller version of the outer rim of the volcano where we had the fire battle with the Fire Dragon before. The exit of the cave connected to the underground lake opens its mouth below the middle of that outer rim. Even so, it's quite high from the bottom.
The scenery looking down from the cave is a forest surrounded by cliffs. The area is about a quarter of the Flatlands where our farm is, isn't it? Looking up, I can see the sky. Since it's cloudy, I can't see the sun, but on a clear day, the blue sky must spread out. I can see several Red Bees flying. No birds are to be seen. The height of the cliffs acting as walls is considerable, and with this much height, it was understandable that the bugs, which usually don't stray far from the forest, don't go outside.
(Was such a place near that crater?)
It was Harold-sama. It's no wonder he asks. It wasn't in the Henry Party's report. I didn't see it either. If there were such a forest, you'd know immediately if you were flying overhead.
(No, there wasn't. Either this scenery is being disguised with Camouflage, or it's being disguised to look like a lava zone from above, or we were teleported somewhere before we knew it.)
It's a perfectly plausible story. Although the scale is different, we've actually experienced disguises and instantaneous movements within caves. Elves, Dryads, beastmen, Dragonewts, the Earth Dragon, and Gnomes were doing it. If the opponent is a Vice-Demon Lord, I feel like anything is possible.