The team set off again after a short rest.
Ansu and Celia walked ahead, hand in hand, scouting the way, while Eddie followed cautiously behind, carrying the "sleeping" Professor Duncan on his back.
After emerging from the long, narrow corridor, the space ahead opened up significantly. Although it was still pitch black, the faint whispers of their conversation created a series of echoes.
Beyond the corridor lay a circular gallery. Approaching the railing, which was adorned with exquisite carvings, and looking down, they saw only an abyss radiating a chilling aura.
Ansu cast an Illumination spell in mid-air, revealing that they were in a structure that spiraled infinitely downward like a tower. The light couldn't even reach the gallery on the opposite side, suggesting a diameter of at least a hundred meters.
With a silent understanding, Celia cast a fireball. The flame whistled as it shot downward, illuminating the architectural details along the way.
But as the fireball continued its descent, the profound darkness gradually swallowed the light. The bottom of the abyss remained unseen.
The sheer depth of it made them all shiver.
"I knew the ancient demon empire specialized in megastructures, but this depth..." Eddie spoke with a mix of awe and fear. "It's still shocking. How many years must it have taken to build, and how much labor and resources were spent?"
"The demon empire was a slave society; human life was likely the cheapest resource of all," Ansu said, shaking his head. "Besides, this is a religious structure. Religious buildings don't care about costs."
This ancient ruin was a temple built by the demon empire to worship the oldest god of death on the continent, the primary deity the demons believed in: Ersos, the God of Death.
However, at the end of the previous era—about a hundred years before the Demon Calamity War—Ersos had fallen and become an evil god for unknown reasons. He was eventually defeated and sealed by the combined efforts of the righteous gods.
This once-legitimate deity was stripped of his authority. Later generations called him the "God of Undead Bones," the "God of Slaughter," and the "Fallen Demon God."
Ansu recalled other plot points related to this ruin.
Because this temple was a sacred site for the demon empire, it had been held by the demon army until the very end. Before they were completely wiped out, they hid a vast amount of treasure and precious magic texts here, hoping to make a comeback.
Later, as the demon defensive lines collapsed, most of the soldiers died in battle. The survivors were turned into living corpses to continue guarding the temple.
A thousand years had passed, and the demons' ambition for revival and their thirst for revenge were buried deep underground until Ansu's party reopened this long-sealed secret.
Thinking of this, Ansu instinctively glanced at the witch beside him.
He wondered what Celia, who possessed demon lineage, thought about all this.
However, Celia was merely staring toward the deepest part of the magnificent temple with a look of annoyance, muttering under her breath, "Why did they build it so big back then... these people are truly sick! I don't know how long it'll take to reach the bottom. I'm exhausted..."
Well, it seemed the witch had no interest in becoming a demon queen.
She only wanted to find those magic texts and, secondly, help Ansu claim all that treasure for themselves.
After all, Celia didn't know that the depths of the underground were the key to breaking the situation. She had always assumed Ansu only agreed to come here because he was greedy for money.
The team began their descent along the spiral staircase.
Ansu held Celia's hand with his left hand while reaching into his shoulder bag with his right. After faking it for a moment, he pulled out his Future Diary.
Ansu used 【Mage's Hand】 to levitate an ink-stained quill in mid-air, slowly sketching the structure of the spiral tower onto the paper.
Celia glanced at the sketching Ansu and whispered, "Are you writing in your diary again?"
Throughout this journey, no matter the danger, the first thing Ansu thought of was pulling out that notebook.
It felt less like he was treasure hunting and more like he was a diligent war correspondent, recording everything in meticulous detail...
"It's necessary to record the map, but I feel like there's no need to write down many of the things that happen along the way," Celia said, pouting. "Recording it so clearly makes it feel like you're planning to come back..."
Of course I'm coming back... Ansu thought silently. After all, he was writing a dungeon walkthrough guide.
"But this kind of writing you're using..." Celia tried to decipher Ansu's "encrypted script," but after studying it for a long while, she gave up in frustration. "What kind of ancient script is this? I've never seen it before."
"This is Chinese," Ansu explained. "It's a writing system from the First Era that was lost long ago. A linguist friend of my father's taught it to me. Do you want to learn?"
"I..." Celia looked at Ansu's sincere expression and paused. "I do want to learn, but I probably don't have the time right now..."
Most of her future study time would be reserved for the ancient magic they were about to find. Besides, the script Ansu was using looked quite difficult to learn.
"Well, then..." Ansu put on a disappointed face and continued drawing in his notebook.
To be honest, the witch's reaction was quite plain. Ansu had thought his strange behavior along the way would have aroused suspicion.
He turned to her, observing her expression. "You... don't you suspect me?"
"Of course I suspect you!" Celia laughed. "Don't take me for a fool. I am watching you every single day, after all."
Ansu blinked in confusion.
Celia gave him an annoyed look. "But what else can I do? Didn't you say you don't like it when I show that I don't trust you? Haven't you noticed I haven't been using hypnosis on you much lately?"
"Oh, is that so..."
Ansu felt conflicted. Now that the witch had become like this, he felt a bit guilty about continuing to deceive her...
"I know you're definitely not telling the whole truth, but I don't care." Celia wore a smile. "Because I know you're definitely doing it for my own good~"
"Yeah." Ansu nodded, feeling strangely happy. He tightened his grip on her hand.
In response, he felt a slight pressure from her palm as well.
On the spiral staircase, the two held each other's hands tightly, smiling as they walked toward the end of the infinite, pitch-black abyss.
...
While Ansu's team was heading down.
On the level above in the ancient ruins, Elder John of the cult scrutinized two uninvited guests.
They were dressed plainly, but their aura and appearance were very unusual. One had curved horns like a ram on his forehead, and his skin was covered in black, twisted patterns.
The other looked much like a human, but the faintly shimmering dark red diamond-shaped pupils revealed his identity.
Demons.
Those unable to control their demonic appearance were low-level demons, while those who looked like humans were high-level demons.
"This is the proposal from Lord Barcas." The high-level demon was annoyed by the old man's constant staring. Although the other party was a human with inferior blood, they were still allies, so he maintained a distant, faint smile.
"Elder John, only the two of us know how to activate the altar, and only we can help you kill the cult traitors below. I have given you plenty of time. Have you made up your mind?"
The demon messenger's attitude—polite on the surface but coercive in reality—made Elder John frown. The other cult elders behind him also showed hostile expressions.
"Please wait a moment longer." Elder John walked back and began whispering with the dozen or so cult elders.
"Cult Leader Samantha hasn't sent a reply yet. She must still be in battle..."
"That papal guard, Seance, is indeed capable to have pushed Lady Samantha to such a state. The leader... she probably won't be able to reply to us for a while."
"These two demons... how on earth did they find this place? Have the remnants of the demon army already penetrated the Eastern Wasteland?"
One elder spoke with a face full of surprise. "That joke from the Squirrel Party last time made us think this ally was nothing special, but looking at it now..."
Elder John suppressed the discussion and looked toward one elder who had remained silent.
After waiting patiently for a moment, that elder suddenly looked up. "The leader has finally replied! She said we can agree to the demons' terms. We must kill the Hermit underground!"
"Good." Elder John immediately walked toward the two demon allies and said seriously, "The leader agrees to your terms. Please open the underground altar for us. However, you must keep your promise. Once the deed is done, we must receive ten percent of the demon army's treasure."
The two demons exchanged a look, and the high-level demon nodded expressionlessly.
"Of course."
Of course, my foot!
The high-level demon sneered inwardly. This is our demon treasure. What does it have to do with you human black mages?
The so-called ten percent was merely a compromise because the other side had superior numbers. After all, the Echoes of Truth cult had indeed seized the initiative.
But later... once the lords under Lord Barcas arrived, the situation would be very different...
Elder John offered a few insincere flatteries before walking back to the elders. By then, his eyes were filled with gloom.
Although the leader herself was trapped in the Royal Capital and could hardly escape, the news of the demon army's treasure appearing had brought excitement to the entire cult. Killing those two was important, but obtaining the demon army's treasure would benefit the entire organization.
The Council of Elders would not let the demon army's treasure slip away. Since they had discovered the treasure first, why should most of it go to the demons? Why leave them with a mere ten percent?
They wanted it all!
Of course, they had to keep up appearances for now. They would endure this arrogant, inferior demihuman for a while, and once everything was settled...
It wouldn't be too late to backstab them.
Rate on N.U.
