Chapter 178 2 Old Men Relaxing In A Sauna
"――Everyone! Let's ignore what the baldy says and proceed with caution!!"
"""Understand!!"""
"EVAAAAA!! What's with calling your father 'bald'?!?"
The 4 families, who had gathered at the [Seal Temple] central control room, had already exceeded 50 in number.
And with such a significant numerical difference, no matter how excellent the Chronosphere magicians were, they would have no chance of winning.
"""――――?"""
Now, a barrage of [Space Rupture Slash] attacks was unleashed by Eva and the others.
The enemy magicians were quickly overwhelmed by the relentless storm of attacks, and even with the [Interdimensional Isolation Barrier] focused on defense, the barriers were continuously shattered by the sheer number of attacks. They no longer had the luxury of counterattacking, and this reality only pushed them further into a corner.
Once the enemy's attacks ceased, and the need for defense disappeared, Duncan and Zephyr, who had been holding back, also began to counterattack.
At this point, the scales of victory had completely tipped in favor of the 4 families.
"""――――!!"""
Before long, the enemy magicians' resistance reached its limit.
In the face of the 4 families' fierce onslaught, the barriers' reconstruction could no longer keep up.
However, even at this point, Eva and the others did not have the luxury of calling for surrender. Immediately after all the barriers were shattered, the enemy magicians were torn apart by a torrent of magical blades, and they sank into a sea of blood.
"""......"""
――Victory.
The battle had ended.
But, there was no rejoicing to be heard from anywhere.
"Whoooo-hoooo! In the end, justice always wins! And that's me! You fools who dared to oppose my justice! You'll regret your actions in the afterlife!!"
After all, even though they were enemies, they were still humans from the 4 families. In the end, they were fighting for the same goal――world peace. Even the ones who died were their own family members, relatives, and friends.
Although their opinions clashed and they became enemies, if they had even a shred of normal human emotions, they wouldn't be able to rejoice at their deaths with a clear conscience.
Eva and the others gazed at the 5 magicians lying in a pool of blood for just a few seconds, offered a silent prayer, and then turned to Duncan and the others with a look of contempt, as if they were gazing at trash.
"Uncle Duncan, Uncle Zephyr! Please restart the [Seal Temple]!!"
"Alright! Leave it to us!"
"...Let's hope it's not too late, though."
Duncan and Zephyr headed towards the pillar-type control device with determination and a stern face, respectively.
They stood in front of it for a while, trying to restart the [Seal Temple] through the Brain Support Interface.
It took only a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity.
Before long, the control device, which was previously shrouded in dark red light, began to glow with a soft white light.
This was proof that the [Seal Temple] had successfully restarted.
"Yes! The restart was a success!"
"But the question is..."
Did Noah Kirke, who was teleported to the depths of the labyrinth, achieve his goal or not...
There was no way for them to know the outcome at this point.
* * *
On the other hand, about 1,500 meters (≈ 4,920 feet) directly below [Seal Temple].
Inside the [Temple] built deep underground.
Leaving only one pillar standing, the place had become a terrible mess, and 2 old men were sitting amidst the rubble, guzzling potions with a "glug glug" sound. Sweat was pouring down their bodies like a waterfall, and their entire bodies were drenched.
If one had to simply describe their state, it would be like 2 old men relaxing in a sauna.
The inside of the [Temple] had become extremely hot due to the aftermath of the [Dragon-Slaying Slash: Ruin] they had unleashed, making it impossible to wear any clothes.
"Aaron, isn't your technique... quite a dangerous one?"
Logan said, drinking multiple healing potions himself.
His gaze was fixed on the spot where Aaron Gale was sitting amidst the rubble. There were already many empty potion bottles scattered around.
On the other hand, looking at Aaron, he still hadn't fully released [Chaos Strength]. While drinking potions, he was slowly releasing it, and had finally managed to release it from his head to his shoulders and chest. Below that, his body was still shining with a light that was merged with his aura.
"Well... if I didn't heal myself before releasing it, my arms and legs would fall off, after all..."
Aaron replied, recalling his near-death experience from the previous stampede.
In reality, he's had the experience of almost dying, with his arms and legs broken, and his entire body wounded, about 99% of the time. Although he didn't receive that much damage in this fight against Logan, he still can't let his guard down. If he were to cancel [Chaos Strength] without drinking a potion to heal, his muscles would tear, his bones would shatter, his skin would rip, and his internal organs would be damaged to the point of dysfunction.
That's why he needs to cancel [Chaos Strength] slowly while using a large amount of healing potions to recover from the damage.
Well, even if he does that, the fatigue accumulated in his body won't disappear.
"――Anyway, that's not important right now! Logan, spit out what you know, already!"
Aaron urged Logan to explain.
Of course, it was about the secret society called "Chronosphere".
What was their purpose? What was their goal? Who was a member of the organization? Aaron didn't kill Logan because he wanted to know all that information.
"Hmm, that's right..."
Logan also became serious and nodded, starting to talk.
"The organization's name is Chronosphere. Currently, the Caduceus family is the main operator."
"Hmph, I knew it."
Aaron nodded with a knowing look.
"――What? Did you already know that the Caduceus family was involved?"
Logan's eyes widened in surprise, and Aaron laughed confidently, answering.
"Heh, don't underestimate me? Although I said it, I'm pretty smart. I've been piecing together various information, and I already suspected that the Caduceus family was suspicious, you know?"
"Whoa... that's amazing. I never thought you'd have that much information."
Logan nodded in admiration.
...Unfortunately, there was no one to play the role of tsukkomi in that scene.
"Then you might know this too, but Chronosphere's goal is to maintain the seal of [God's Remains]."
Aaron nodded with a serious face.
"...Ah, of course, I knew that. But it was just a hunch..."
"Come on, you knew that too? Then there's no need for me to explain it, right?"
"No, no, no... I didn't have any concrete evidence. It was just a guess. So please explain it from the start for confirmation."
"Hmm... that's true. Got it."
And so, Logan began to explain.
With an extremely serious expression, he desperately tried to recall Ail's explanation from his memory.
First, he explained that the seal of [God's Remains] was about to reach its limit, and then mentioned the reason behind it.
"...In short, Aaron, the Space magic of the 4 families is created by a nanomasin (なのましん) inside the body, but it can't be used without a tool called 'debias.' To create this debias, the power of the Chronosphere god is necessary... and the reason why the secret society Chronosphere was formed is because the Chronosphere god's lifespan is running out. The secret society Chronosphere is trying to use [God's Remains] to open a door to the [God Realm] in order to extend the Chronosphere god's lifespan..."
"No, wait, wait, wait, wait! Wait! Logan, hey! Wait! Your explanation is terrible!!"
Aaron panicked and cut off Logan's words.
"Huh? ...Did you not understand anything?"
IHeshouted at Logan, who was tilting his head in confusion.
"It's not something! Don't throw around words I've never heard of like it's no big deal!! What's with this ' Chronosphere' and 'God Realm' business?! You're not making any sense!!"
Logan's explanation only confused him more.
Honestly, as Aaron, he didn't care about the Chronosphere organization's principles or whatever. If they were an evil organization trying to conquer the world to fulfill their own desires, that would be great――that's what he genuinely thought.
So, one reason he didn't understand Logan's explanation was because he wasn't interested. But more than that...
It was because Logan's explanation was terrible.
But don't get me wrong. Logan is the leader of the legendary Adventurer Party, and he used to be the captain of the 'Demon Hawk Knights' and the leader of the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫, who even managed to set up a teleportation circle on the 46th floor.
He's someone who's usually good at explaining things clearly in front of people, and at making plans and goals easy to understand.
So why was he like this now?
It's because Logan didn't fully understand the complicated matters that Ail had explained to him, and he was trying to explain them to others.
So, can one really explain something they don't fully understand themselves?
The answer is――absolutely not.
"I understand... Then, let me explain in more detail."
However, Logan continued with an air of excessive confidence.
This was a natural attitude that had been cultivated through his experiences as a party leader, knight commander, and leader of various organizations. He had always made sure not to unsettle his comrades or subordinates, no matter the situation.
Logan gazed directly at Aaron and spoke.
"You see, Aaron? The power of the [Four Great Families of the Seals]... isn't inherited."
"......!!"
Aaron couldn't help but shudder at Logan's words, spoken in a hushed tone as if sharing a great secret. A chill ran down his spine.
"What's with you, Logan? Are you planning to make this a long story?"
Aaron felt a sense of foreboding that the conversation was going to drag on.
"......"
Logan nodded solemnly, his face grave.
"It'll take several hours."
Ail had explained it to him in the same way. Logan, recalling that explanation, repeated it with a calm face.
Meanwhile, Aaron shook his head, saying, "Wait, wait." Don't joke around.
"Save the details for later. For now, just tell me who the enemy is."
Aaron decided to listen to Logan's story after calming down. It was a rare instance of good judgment.
"Hmm... The entire Caduceus family and some members of the other 3 families have defected to the Chronosphere side. However, as a family, Kirke, Gridavor, and Aron are in a hostile relationship with Chronosphere."
"...Which side are you on?"
If he thinks about it normally, there's no doubt that Logan and the others are members of "Chronosphere". However, there's something off about Logan's actions up until now. That's why Aaron asked cautiously.
The answer to that was more than half expected.
"We did belong to Chronosphere for a certain purpose, but in reality, we're on the opposing side. Our goal is the same as the 4 houses, which is to stop Chronosphere. ...I don't know if you'll believe me or not."
"Hmm... well, whether I believe you or not is another story. So, what's the point?"
Aaron asked what he wanted to know most right now.
"Why did you bring me here? What's the purpose of attacking me?"
"That's... already mostly accomplished."
Logan looked around the vast underground space――[Temple]――and finally fixed his gaze on the last remaining glowing pillar before continuing.
"This underground space...it's called [Temple], and my goal was to destroy it."
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