abcnovels
Chapter 155
Chapter 155
Chapter 155
155 – The Witch’s Domain
As we made our way through the forest, Seras seems to have noticed something .
Leaning her upper body forward, Seras began observing the trunk of a tree .
[This is...... a Magic Crest . ]
On the lower trunk of the tree .
There’s a symbolic crest carved on it .
Because it’s engraved in such a low place, it’s quite difficult to see with all the weeds growing from the ground .
I suppose it was made to be difficult to find on purpose .
Seras looked closely at the crest, as if she’s searching for the meaning of this crest .
[Is that some kind of trap that triggers when a condition has been met?]
[This crest is certainly one of those, but it probably won’t be triggered because some of the formula is damaged . It looks pretty worn out . ]
A really old one huh .
[Actually, we may be just told to excuse ourselves since that Witch has already died long ago . ]
I pass Seras a flask of water as I said that .
She...
[Ah, thank you . I’ll gratefully accept it . ]
—said with gratitude .
Untying the string on the flask’s opening, she began drinking water .
Gulp
After she swallowed the water down her throat, Seras continued .
[Most of the elves aren’t good at magic . Because just as you know, our bodies aren’t suitable for refining magic energy . However, the Witch of Taboos may be an elf who is good at refining magic energy . ]
Elf .
High Elf .
Dark Elf .
Generally, Elves weren’t good at refining magic energy .
They’re a race that isn’t suitable for magic .
Instead, they specialize in the Spirit Contract Technique to make use of the power of the spirits .
Apparently, that doesn’t change no matter which tribe you are in .
However...
[There are some exceptions huh . ]
[Yes, they’re very rare though . ]
[I see . Well......]
First of all, we need to know whether she’s still alive or not .
For instance, we may actually be having our first meeting with a dried-up mummy......
That’s not impossible .
We wouldn’t know about that until we see them face-to-face .
I glanced towards Seras .
[Seras-dono?]
[......You don’t look like you’re fatigued anymore . ]
[??? Y- Yes...... Thanks to Touka-dono’s ......]
It’s only just a bit .
It’s only just a bit but...
I could see guilt on Seras’ face .
I didn’t overlook those fluctuations on her expressions .
The reason for that guilt is quite obvious .
That thing she did to me last night .
......I see, so she remembered it huh .
However, it seems that she didn’t notice that I’m aware of it .
Then—- it should be enough for our situation to stay as is .
There’s no need to dare mention it now .
It also seems like she’s reflecting on it in her own way......
Moreover, I think that...
If it’s Seras, she would eventually come clean with it .
She has that kind of personality .
As for me, I would just go about my business as usual and act as “her lord” .
I would just wait until that right moment arrives .
Until the time comes when Seras thought about this .
?
[I somehow feel like the trees here were different . ]
I wonder if it’s related to how close these trees were to the Corrupted Tree .
Seras stops walking and gently strokes the branch of a tree .
[It seems that trees around here have a lot of vitality . ]
Apparently, she could tell the condition of these trees .
As expected of someone from a forest tribe .
......It suits her image though .
Even so...
[I can’t feel the presence of any monster at all . ]
[......A barrier?]
Seras mutters to herself .
[It may be the power of a barrier . ]
[A barrier huh . ]
As I thought, there would be such things like that .
[Barrier is an advanced technique . There are two types of barriers, magic-based and spirit-based...... However, I can’t infer what kind of barrier this one is . ]
We advance further .
[What in the world is that?]
It was Eve who noticed “those things” first .
Several stone pillars came into our sight .
Those pillars look like they’re deeply pierced on the ground .
Each one of them is subtly different in size from another .
There are about 10 of them scattered about .
I could see crests engraved on the stones .
Those crests were emitting a faint light .
[Those crests seem to be working . From hereafter, we should be vigilant—–]
Eve’s ears twitched .
[Seras...... These crests look like they’re activated already . ]
Eve puts her hand on the hilt of her sword .
However, by the time she did that—-
I already had my arms held out towards the front .
[]
———Crackle, crackle———-
The light on the crests became weaker .
The stone pillars look like they’re about to change into something .
Transmutation? (T/N: Henkei ??)
Transformation? (T/N: Henshin ??)
Anyway, it must have been some kind of a countermeasure against intruders .
However, it didn’t finish transforming .
It has now stopped turning into something that appears to be humanoid .
In theory, the one who moves first wins .
[Well...... It feels like it was a golem that would intercept any intruders . ]
That disguised stone statue we encountered back in the Mills Ruins .
If my skill works on that one, it may also work on this one too .
That’s what I thought .
[It appears that it worked . ]
[Touka . ]
Eve pointed at our luggage with her gaze .
She’s indicating the hammer tied up on my backpack .
That hammer we used to smash the Ashinto’s corpses back then .
It seems that she’s asking if we should break it or not .
I...
[No . ]
–rejected her .
[It can’t be helped if it forces itself to move while it’s paralyzed and ends up getting destroyed . However, I don’t want the Witch to think that we’re belligerent people that destroys everything in sight . As much as we can, we’ll go in a direction where we don’t destroy such things . ]
The paralyzed stone pillar didn’t try to force itself to move .
It instinctively(?) sensed that it would be dangerous for it to move .
It still values its life even though it’s a golem?
Or perhaps—- it’s the Witch’s order?
Without knowing the strength of the stone pillar golem, we made our way through the forest .
We arrived in an open area .
The lake shores—- we arrived in such a place .
We didn’t feel any dazzling nor anything frightening around the area .
Rather than that, it would be better to say that the area’s filled with vitality .
A lush forest .
I feel like the air in this place is clearer than the other places .
Eve looked around .
Oozing with interest, she exclaimed with admiration .
[I can’t feel the presence of any monster at all . ]
That means...
[We’ve completely entered the Witch’s domain huh . ]
?
The edge of the lake looks nearly elliptical .
Extending out her neck, Seras peeked into the lake .
[The bottom of the lake is shining......]
I stand next to her .
[Is that light coming from magic energy?]
[That could be possible . ]
Clear waters .
I could clearly see the rocks beneath the lake .
There’s no fish at all .
[The magic energies shining like that in the waters...]
[That’s probably because of the high amount of magic energies, isn’t it? With this intensity even in that deep waters, the amount of magic energy in there must be quite considerable . ]
While still leaning forward, Seras obliquely turned her head behind her .
Her glance was turned towards—- the Corrupted Tree .
[This abundance of magic energy and that withering giant tree...... It’s like these two places have two opposite impressions . ]
[......The witch is probably using that enormous amount of magic energy on a daily basis . ]
Seras gulps .
Then, she nodded her head .
Standing side by side, we gazed towards one direction .
A slightly elliptical shaped cabin erected on the edge of the lake .
I call out to Eve and the others standing behind me .
[Let’s go . ]
?
The door to the cabin erected on the lake shores .
It wasn’t locked .
I opened up the door .
Cautiously, I peeked inside .
......It’s surprisingly normal inside .
It really had the appearance of what a “cabin erected on the lake shores” would look like .
[Let’s look around inside . ]
Eve took the initiative to ask .
[Seras, keep a lookout here outside together with Liz . ]
[Understood . Please be careful, Eve . ]
[Umu...... Touka, could you stay on standby near the door? If something were to happen, I’ll be relying on you . ]
[Got it . ]
Holding out my hand, I have an unsheathed dagger on my other hand .
[If anything goes wrong, I’ll immediately make my move . ]
Eve started scouring around the cabin .
There was a ladder leaning against the wall of a room .
Eve checked out the stability of the ladder .
With that, she went up to the second floor .
However, she came back before long .
[It’s just an attic without anything unusual in it . ]
Eve started searching around the first floor of the house again .
It has two rooms, except for the attic .
I cast my gaze on the areas I could see from where I stand .
I could see some old furniture and furnishings .
The fireplace shows no sign of having been used for a long time .
There’s also dust collecting in various places......
There’s no lingering signs of anyone living here .
The hut probably hasn’t been used for at least a month .
[Touka, can you be quiet for a while . ]
[Okay . ]
Eve strained her ears and began pounding on the walls and floor of the room with her palms .
She stops moving .
Her gaze is on the center of the room .
There was a rug laid out there .
With her heel, Eve pokes the carpet a few times .
[There’s something down there . ]
Eve then peeled off the carpet .
Thereupon, there appeared a handle in a depression wide enough for a hand to fit in .
Looking closely, there’s a rectangular seam in the floor .
......That means there’s something hidden under the floor .
Walking into the house, I stand next to Eve .
Pigimaru stretched out his protrusion .
[Pinii?]
We peeped into the handle together .
Eve asked me with a glance .
I nodded my head in response .
Looking back at the floor—– Eve pulled the handle .
With a pull, the floor sprung up .
And then, a staircase leading to the darkness below appeared .
[Fumu... This is quite the typical way of hiding something . ]
[The Witch probably isn’t that particular about hiding this......]
This looks more like a doorway rather than a hidden room .
At this point, it seems like there wouldn’t be any traps .
Calling out Seras and Liz, I inject magic energy into my magical leather bag .
The leather bag faintly shines .
[From hereafter, I’ll be taking the lead on going down here . ]
?
It had become a spiral staircase along the way .
When we finally got down, I found myself in a space with a sense of freedom .
A rocky ceiling .
A rocky wall .
A rocky floor .
The unevenness on the walls has been scraped and smoothed out .
There were several candlesticks on the wall that appears to be powered with magic energy .
[Is that a golem too......?]
A magical creature made from earth .
It’s slowly moving about with its back turned towards us .
I wonder if it’s doing wall maintenance?
I didn’t use my skill on it .
In the first place, its attention isn’t even directed towards us .
It’s just silently working on something by the wall .
[Touka-dono . ]
Seras called out my name .
She’s looking ahead us .
Looking at it, we found an enormous door .
On that door, there’s a crystal ball inlaid on it .
We then stood in front of that door .
[In theory, we should be able to open it by injecting my magic energy into that crystall ball but...]
Incidentally, even when we walked here, the golem was still silently working .
It didn’t even look back at us .
It would be good if it keeps ignoring us but—–
[Pigimaru, let me know if that thing strangely moves . ]
[Pigiii . ]
[Now then . ]
I place my palm on the crystal ball .
Refining my magic energy—– I began pouring it in .
My magic energy began to ripple in the crystal ball .
It’s as if my magic energy is a liquid jumping in it .
The volume of that liquid is slowly rising .
Perhaps, there’s a mechanism in this door that opens it when it’s full .
[This door... The amount of magic energy it’s eating up is extraordinary......]
The amount it needed to fill up is stupidly high .
The doors in the Disposal Ruins can’t even be compared with this .
However......
[If we’re talking about my MP, I’m quite confident with the amount that I have . ]
I continued supplying my magic energy .
The crystal ball began to be filled up in flickering faint light .
And then...
[With this, it’s completely filled . ]
The crystal ball that was translucently black is now completely filled with a faint light .
——–Klink——–
Just like the sound of an opening lock, I heard a short click from the door .
And thus, the door opened .