Chapter 832 - Chapter 4: The Effect of Testament
"I wonder where this is?"
The Wetlands Priestess raised a pale blue flame, so I could tell it was somewhere underground. Illuminated by the pale blue flame are dirt walls, a dirt floor, and a dirt ceiling. It smells of mold, and the air is stagnant.
The place where I activated Testament was made of stone. This is a completely different place.
"Were we jumped here like with Teleport?"
Fiona looks anxious. After the mist, it's the basement. It's natural to be anxious.
Where we are now is probably a room in an underground passage or something. There are stairs going down, and beyond that is a passage.
"I'll try casting Sense Living."
"Yeah."
When I actually cast it, it activated successfully. I thought it would be fine since I can use the Priestess's spiritual arts, and I was right.
"They're here."
There's a reaction. There are several monsters at a position a bit away from the door.
"Monsters?"
"Yeah, and it's a swarm."
"A swarm?"
"Probably slugs."
"Eh?"
It's the usual pattern. Beyond the door, there's a monster-repelling magic circle, and the slugs are gathered there. Thanks to that, it's safe here.
"Slugs are defeated with soapy water, right?"
It's Fiona. She knows well. I wonder who she heard it from.
"Yeah. But let's just jump over them with a bowl made of Wind Barrier. Let's explore while hiding our form."
We've been bestowed such incredible magic. There's no need to force our way through. First, let's explore and find a safe route.
I have them pull their heads in, and we become a complete three-person fusion. I cast Thought Communication, activate Fiona's Camouflage and my Almighty Guard, and open the door. I can't see anything, but there are two people who have eyes that can see through the darkness.
(It's true. They're slugs.)
(How disgusting.)
Apparently, nearly twenty of them are pushing and shoving each other. As Fiona says, just imagining it is disgusting. However, because those disgusting things are there, other monsters don't approach the door.
(Is there enough height to the ceiling?)
(Yeah. We can clear them.)
Since it's effectively one person, she made it into a small bowl so it's maneuverable. It's slightly elongated. I'm sitting normally, and the rim of the bowl is enough to hide my head. In front of me, there's a protruding part to make it easy to draw exploration maps. It's about the same height and width as my torso. And I'm sitting on a pedestal-like thing protruding from the bottom. I'm in a posture like sitting at a table, so it's comfortable. Moreover, if necessary, the rim extends to become a ceiling. If that happens, even through fire or water... probably.
(Then, let's jump over them.)
(Okay!)
We jumped over them just like that. If anything happens, we can come back and rest. Since we have the bread and alcohol Diana-sama gave us, we should be able to explore for a while.
After jumping over the slugs and taking some distance. I cast Thought Communication once more.
(Fiona, reaction on the right. Distance is about a hundred strides. It's a monster. Probably a swarm of Orcs. There might be Ogres too. Since they're scattered, there might be a large room.)
(Yes. A large room a hundred strides ahead to the right. Many reactions that seem to be Orcs or Ogres there.)
I decided to have Fiona make the exploration map. If the opponent is a monster, the attack is my responsibility. Fiona is in charge of the map, and the Priestess is of course in charge of the bowl.
(There's a fork ahead. About twenty strides ahead. It splits left and right. If there's a swarm of Orcs to the right, which way shall we go?)
If we were jumped into an Orc nest, a surprise attack on the Orcs would be best. However...
(Let's proceed with the exploration of the side where there's nothing first.)
Fighting is after confirming the situation. At any rate, I want to confirm what kind of place this is.
(Understood. Then, I'll go left.)
(Yeah. Please do.)
Going left in the passage, it was a dead end.
(This wall.)
The back of the dead end. The right wall. Sense Living doesn't reach beyond this. There's only a pitch-black image. Either they used slug paint, or...
I have Fiona put a mark on the map she's drawing.
Just in case, I bring the bowl close and press my right palm against the wall. If Fiona can pass through the wall, there's no problem.
(No good. It's not the thickness. It seems they've made it so I can't pass through somehow.)
As I thought.
Incidentally, when I moved a bit and tried, she said she couldn't pass through because it was too thick. In other words, only that wall is different.
(Can you return to the fork from earlier for a moment?)
(Eh? Ah, yeah. I can, but. What are you going to do?)
(A barrier. We can trap the Orcs.)
(I see! You're smart!)
(Well, yeah.)
I was praised by the Priestess. I'll keep it a secret that Germana told me to practice barriers no matter what.
I set up two mid-level holy blocking barriers, Prevent, vertically in the passage where the Orcs are. E-rank Orcs and Ogres can be mostly blocked. It also blocks ghosts, but it's not a problem when fused. With this, there's no longer any worry about being attacked from behind. I challenge the dead end once more.
(Probably Light.)
There's a possibility they're using slug paint, but I want to try the easy way first.
(Light!)
The Voiceless activation method is useful at times like this. If you breathe out while visualizing without making a sound, the magic activates. Soon, I might be called a scout attribute rather than a decoy attribute.
The prediction was a hit, and a part of the wall disappeared. We pass through smoothly.
(It's a room with nothing. There are doors on the front and right walls.)
According to the two, the size is twenty strides square. The height is about five or six strides. The ceiling is unexpectedly high.
(I'll try casting Sense Living.)
It was when the bowl moved forward a little.
(BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!)
An ear-piercing sound rang out. It's an Alarm. They got us!
While the sound of the alarm rang out, footsteps echoed from two directions, and the doors rattled. And the two doors opened almost simultaneously with a bang. They were rattling because they were removing the latches. As soon as they opened, several jars were thrown in. The jars broke when they hit the floor, splattering a yellowish, sticky liquid they contained onto the floor. Immediately after, Fire Balls flew in one after another. It caught fire on the oil spread on the floor, and the inside of the room was in flames in an instant.
In the flames, three shadows let out high-pitched screams, and many arrows flew toward those shadows, piercing them one after another. The three shadows collapsed. Without even screaming, they lay sideways in the flames and finally stopped moving. Seeing that, an Ogre is cackling.
Perhaps having confirmed that the three shadows had become mere burning lumps, an Orc clad in armor and a helmet, and even gauntlets, shouted something, and the alarm stopped. And both doors were closed. And then, the latches were rattled back into place.
(Did they go?)
(Seems so. I can't hear footsteps anymore.)
(Phew. Thank goodness.)
(It's thanks to Fiona.)
(I was trained quite a bit in illusion arts by Okugata-sama.)
(It was great. Really. If it were me, I could never have crafted it to that extent.)
(Thank you! If I'm praised by the Priestess, I can have confidence!)
It's worth having been bestowed ultra-high-level status-altering magic by Diana-sama. With just three strands of hair, she staged the appearance of people dying while letting out death cries in the flames.
(Jeanne, what shall we do now?)
The Wetlands Priestess asked.
(An upper-level Demon Race will definitely come to inspect. There's no way Orcs and Ogres alone could have made something so elaborate.)
(Then, let's escape from this room while we can.)
(Yeah. Let's slip out through the door other than the one where the boss-like one was.)
Since the Priestess moved the bowl, I press my hand against the wall next to the door. It's quite hot because it's being scorched by the flames, but I won't get burned because I have Almighty Guard on.
(Then, I'll go remove the latch.)
(Thanks, Fiona. Be careful.)
(Leave it to me!)
Fiona, who gave a cheerful reply, vanished her presence with a 'fuh'.
Since the latch was removed, we go out the door. After confirming the latch was back, I press my hand against the wall next to the door and was able to rejoin Fiona, who had gone back inside once.
Since the ceiling of the passage is very high, we go up. We move slowly like that.
(If we go a bit further, there's a room on the left, and that's where the Orcs were. There were Ogres and Trolls too.)
As expected of the strongest scout. She easily got the information I wanted.
(So there was a Troll. That's why the ceiling is high.)
(Right. They surely intend to block the way.)
That's certainly true. If such a huge thing is there, that alone makes it impassable. Moreover, it's a Troll. Unlike a Cyclops, its movements are slow, but it's actually brave. It probably won't run away. It's truly a wall.
(Then, what should we do?)
(What's beyond the door where the Orcs are?)
(Um, there's another door.)
(Then, let's go there. Since they'll surely come to check, let's move as much as possible before we're found out.)
(Right.)
Proceeding straight, there was the door to the Orcs' hangout? Fiona mentioned. We pass it by, ignoring it. Proceeding further, we came to a place partitioned by a door. The latch is on this side. That means there's a possibility that beyond here connects to the outside.
(Hey, is there a wall above the door?)
(There is.)
In other words, even a Troll's head won't reach that part.
(Stick to it. Above the door. Let's watch the situation there.)
(Isn't it low?)
(What if we make it into a plate and lie down?)
(Then it'll be fine. Let's do that.)
Since it's for one person, it felt like I was lying on my stomach on a plate or something, but I don't mind. Since Fiona placed the map she was drawing in front of me, I stuck a Firefly with reduced output to my forehead. Now I can see the map too. I can see within arm's reach. Since I'm hiding my form, I can't be seen from the outside. Like that, we stayed stuck to the ceiling.
When I cast Sense Living just in case, there are just a good number of reactions in the hangout. There are none beyond the door. If things go well, we might be able to slip through.
While Fiona was organizing the map, we were waiting while resting when there was movement on the monsters' side. Suddenly, the door of the burned room is being banged on. The door of the hangout opens with a bang, and footsteps run out. They must be removing the latch since they're rattling it. And then, something like steam welled up from below with a 'muwa'. It seems they extinguished the fire with water. The Orcs' screams recede. Are they running away in a panic?
I can hear angry voices from the door we came out of. According to the Priestess, an Orc clad in armor and a helmet came out. He's shouting quite a bit. As expected, we were found out. It would have been better if we had left some charred corpse of something, but there's no such thing. Instead, a change occurred in the situation.
Surely, the boss Orc is setting aside their own faults and blaming these guys for their negligence. He's apparently pointing at the door below us and saying 'waa-waa'. Footsteps come from the direction of the hangout. There are many. Trolls are apparently there too. When they run toward here, they removed the latch with a 'gatan'. They seem to be setting out one after another, leaving it wide open. The Trolls apparently went out together too.
(Now!)
Whether they all went out, I can't hear any following footsteps. It's a chance!
(Okay!)
We slipped through the upper part of the door.
If possible, I want to follow the Trolls. So, we accelerated and proceeded through the place that had become a passage. We turned left at a corner on the way.
(There's another door. But it's wide open.)
(Is the Troll there?)
(Yeah. He's standing beyond the door.)
(Then, let's pass through the door and go that far.)
(Understood.)
We proceed straight and rise with a 'fui'. We must have passed through the door. We stopped as if sticking to the ceiling.
(There's a swarm of monsters ahead. Within the range I can see, there are about twenty Orcs. No boss. Also, I can see three Ogres and one Troll.)
Voices that sound like they're arguing can be heard from ahead, diagonally below.
(Hey, can we move forward a bit more?)
It's Fiona. She's in charge of the map. There's a four-way-fork-like drawing ahead.
(Are we going to that fork?)
I can't see it, but apparently there's a fork.
(Yeah. I want to confirm what's going on.)
(Understood.)
We move forward smoothly.
(A door in the front back, the left turns right immediately. The right is... huh?)
(What's wrong?)
(The right is a stone passage, but I feel like I've seen it before...)
If Fiona remembers it, is it the north? Were we jumped all the way there in one go?
(No, that's not it. Both this size and the indentations in the walls, I don't think I saw them in the north...)
It's apparently a magnificent stone structure, and the width and height are of a scale not usually seen. It's a size that a dragon could normally pass through. Certainly, there aren't many entrances to such huge caves. Moreover, the indentations in the walls are apparently lined up as if to place torches or oil lamps for illumination.
(Where was it? I think I saw it with Jeanne and the Priestess...)
If the three of us saw it together, the locations are limited. The times Fiona and I were together were only related to the Demon Lord...
(Ah~! I remembered.)
The Priestess remembered first, but...
(This is... the entrance to the Demon Lord's Cave.)