The ones who’d placed the seal had most likely been demons who’d been around before demons turned dark. In which case, their next question was why exactly they had placed such a seal there.
“I have no doubt that beyond here lies the sword of the Monster-Ruling God that we’re looking for. In which case, it’s likely they’re indeed connected,” Mira said.
Having come in search of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword, they’d stumbled upon the seal on the wall which blocked them from getting any closer. If anything, the seal being unrelated to the sword was the much more unlikely alternative.
“Yes, we ought to assume as much,” Wallenstein said, seeming to reach the same conclusion as Mira. But then Barbatos mentioned that he still wasn’t totally sure.
Having heard from his friend that the sword of the Monster-Ruling God had previously had a powerful seal put on it with the power of spirit leylines, Barbatos continued that it shouldn’t be possible to contain such a thing with the kind of seal they were dealing with.
“Hmm, that’s true. This seal wouldn’t quite be enough to seal that sword. In which case, something else must be sealed here,” the Spirit King said, agreeing with Barbatos’s thoughts on the matter.
“Hrmm, then you think so too, Your Highness? So, something else is probably sealed here, huh?” Mira said.
“It seems like things are more and more complicated, doesn’t it…?” Wallenstein said, smiling wryly. If the Spirit King agreed as well, then things would likely become even trickier now.
Whatever the case, they couldn’t just stand there twiddling their thumbs. This was because Meilin had been pestering Barbatos for quite some time, saying, “If you can open the seal, then do it!”
This was undoubtedly because they were engaged in a rather complex discussion. And yet, the pressure she was pouring on him was considerable, and so it seemed that he’d reached his limit.
“Okay, I’ll open it. I’ll open it, all right?” Barbatos said, doing as Meilin had urged. He then meddled with the seal and modified it.
Indeed, he didn’t dispel the seal, but merely altered it. Unsure at the moment of what exactly was sealed there, Barbatos had decided that it wouldn’t be wise to recklessly dispel the entire thing, and instead he simply revised the seal’s conditions to include Mira and the rest of their companions.
“All right, now I’ll try opening the entrance.”
Having revised the magic that’d been used, Barbatos was still working when something appeared before Mira and her companions.
“Oh ho, now that’s a surprise,” Mira said.
A large door had suddenly appeared where there’d previously been nothing but a wall. What’s more, the area lying beyond it was clearly different from anything they’d seen in the castle so far.
In the midst of the dilapidated ruins of the castle, a door covered in white crystals had suddenly appeared. Judging from how imposing it looked, it seemed like the kind of thing one would stumble upon in a game just before reaching a secret boss or finding some kind of hidden treasure chest.
“I wonder where it leads. Let’s proceed cautiously,” Wallenstein began, suggesting that they carefully investigate the area before moving forward… Or at least that was what he tried to do.
“This looks promising!” Meilin said, leaping through as soon as the door opened and running across the threshold without any hesitation. To her, it didn’t seem to matter one bit what had been sealed away there.
“Ah, jeez. I guess I should’ve known this’d happen…”
“Well, considering that she’s with us, you probably should have. Just let her take the lead like always,” Mira said.
And yet, sometimes such impulsiveness actually proved beneficial, as they probably wouldn’t make any progress sitting around pondering.
But most importantly, they had quite the crew assembled. Therefore, it’d be far more efficient to just keep plowing forward than to sit around and chat over every single thing.
This was especially the case now with Meilin who, able to ceaselessly keep up her guard and capable of dealing with even brand-new challenges, was forging ahead of the group.
Given that this was the case, it could certainly be argued that she was indeed doing what made the most sense.
Thinking as much, Mira and her other companions steeled their resolves and followed after her past the now-unsealed door.
Following after the three while watching the whole situation unfold, Barbatos said, “I think I’m starting to get it now.” He was beginning to feel as if he could now better understand his friend’s friend.
Wallenstein was cautious and deliberate while Meilin was impulsive and uninhibited. Smiling somewhat cheerfully, he thought to himself how the two still managed to be good friends even though they were so different.
Past the sealed door lay a staircase.
And, just like they’d expected, they indeed seemed to have found the path that led underground.
The staircase plunged far underground. Meanwhile, the light from Mira’s Ethereal Arts spell gleamed off the white crystals that covered the passage, making the place look dreamy and surreal.
In stark contrast to this, the expressions on Mira and her companions’ faces were ones of unease.
This was because the farther down they went, and the closer they came to the deepest reaches beneath the castle, the more they felt an indescribable pressure closing in on them.
And so, the four were already prepared for battle.
Mira had encased herself in her sacred frame, while Wallenstein had taken out a bottle of holy water as well as a short sword made of silver. The pair were ready to strike a mortal blow to whatever might cross their path anywhere.
Meanwhile, the stronger this pressure got, the more Meilin’s eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
And so, they finally made their way to the bottom of the stairs and arrived at the deepest reaches beneath the castle.
“What? Is that…?”
“Is that a monster…? Or is that a…human I see inside?”
That was what Mira and Wallenstein asked when they saw what was before them. They both stopped and furrowed their brows.
Before them stretched a space that was about two hundred square feet, which had likely been something along the lines of a storage room. And there, amid the remnants of old shelves that lay scattered across the floor, they saw it.
It was a huge mass of flesh which, though it somewhat resembled the bizarre-looking monsters, looked even more bizarre. Whatever it was, it filled up half of the room.
“It seems like two people… Hm, no, that’s not it. It’s one person and one thing,” Meilin said while staring at it, having taken another step forward.
While Meilin’s meaning was difficult to comprehend, one would understand if they were to see it.
Half the room was occupied by this mass of flesh. And yet, in the center of it, through a small gap, they could just barely make out a humanoid figure which was buried in this very mass of flesh.
Seeing the shapes before him, Barbatos nodded as if it all made sense and grimaced at the same time.
“No way… So that’s what it is. In that case, I can understand the need for the seal. While I can’t quite make out their face, I’m sure that must be one of my compatriots. By which I mean, they’re likely the one who sealed themselves here,” he said, declaring that past the sealed door and sitting in the deepest chamber beneath the ruined castle was a demon.
“What the…” Mira said.
“I see… If you look closely, you can kind of see a horn…” Wallenstein added.
The sight was still quite far away, and so they couldn’t get a good look at its face or body. All they could really discern was that it was shaped like a human, and they could just barely make out its head as well as both of its arms.
However, from the horns on it, they could tell that it was indeed a demon. Furthermore, considering the seal and everything, it had very likely been around before all the demons became dark demons.
So why was the demon there? There were a few possibilities that seemed plausible given the state it was in. For one, buried within the mass of flesh, the demon held a long and thin crystal in its hand. Another fact that helped them deduce why the demon was there was the fact that it was still alive. It had become incredibly weak, and yet [Biometric Scan] told them that it was indeed alive.
“But now that I’m getting a better look, it certainly looks like the thing we’ve been searching for is inside that crystal,” Mira said.
The clear crystal wasn’t any ordinary chunk of crystal. They could glimpse a very particular, baleful-looking hue inside of it.
Indeed, it was the very same color as the fragments of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword.
The room quite clearly had an unusual vibe emanating from it. Undoubtedly thinking that it must contain a powerful foe, Meilin stepped forward and said, “Then that’s two birds with one stone. I’ll fight it!”
Meilin could both fight a powerful opponent and get what they’d come there for. Figuring this had worked out wonderfully, she was raring to go.
“Wait, hold on. We should probably analyze the situation first…”
The situation was much more peculiar than they’d expected, and they still couldn’t see what kind of foe was lurking there. Could they safely extricate the demon who seemed to have been nearly swallowed up? But before jumping that far, was there even any way to do so? And what even was the mass of flesh that’d swallowed up the demon in the first place?
Either way, they were better off consulting with the Spirit King first and analyzing everything they learned.
Or at least that was what Mira was about to suggest when suddenly the crystal glowed dimly.
The moment it did, large lumps began falling away from the mass of flesh and were then bathed in the light from the crystal.
And, wouldn’t you know it, these lumps then gathered together and formed into a single entity.
It was one of the bizarre-looking monsters, and yet it was much larger than any of the bizarre monsters they’d yet encountered. And, most importantly, the power it contained was greater by far than any of its brethren.
“I never would’ve thought it’d appear like that…” Mira said.
“I’m guessing it won’t wait around for us. We don’t have a choice anymore. Get ready for battle!” Wallenstein added.
“It’s about time!” Meilin cheered.
As soon as it finished taking form, the bizarre-looking monster, which was shaped almost like a dark demon, charged forward.
On what appeared to be its head were baleful-looking horns, and countless winged arms stretched forth from what seemed to be its back. Finally, it had a black shell that covered its entire body, including its head, and tentacle-like legs. The way these legs quickly carried it across the ground made the creature look like some abomination straight out of a truly terrifying nightmare.