Chapter 179 What The Heck Is Thissss!?
Logan continued.
"I'll skip the detailed explanation, but Chronosphere was trying to open the door to the [God Realm] by storing [God's Remains] in this [Temple]. That's the [Temple]'s function. However, we, including the people from the 4 families, judged that it's impossible to use [[God's Remains]], and so we tried to stop Chronosphere's plan. The method to do so was to destroy this [Temple]."
"Hmm..."
Aaron understood. So if they destroyed the Temple, they could stop Chronosphere's plan.
Then, he turned his gaze to the pillar inside the Temple. The only remaining pillar. Despite receiving the aftermath of the intense battle, it still stood tall, emitting light.
"So, do we not need to destroy that?"
"I think it's okay... even if only one pillar remains, the Temple's function won't work. So it shouldn't be a problem."
Logan said, with a hint of tension in his voice.
"It's likely that part of the [God's Remains] they took from the labyrinth during the previous Stampede is sealed inside that pillar. If the pillar breaks, the [God's Remains] inside will be released, so it's better not to destroy it. Besides, the reason that pillar hasn't broken yet is due to the magical energy effect produced by the [God's Remains]. Aaron, didn't you see it?"
Asked that, Aaron remembered.
He had indeed seen it during the battle.
"Ah... it's supposed to be broken, but it's fixed on its own... what's going on?"
In reality, that one pillar was unusually strong. Even when the other pillars were destroyed by attacks, that one pillar managed to withstand them. But by the end of the battle, that pillar too was definitely starting to break down.
Especially the aftermath of the [Dragon-Slaying Slash: Ruin] clash, which was incredibly intense, and when it received it, it was on the verge of collapse.
Yet, now there's not a single scratch on it. It's not like it regenerated... it automatically repaired itself.
"...if we just left it alone, wouldn't the other pillars also get repaired?"
Such concerns arise, but...
"...no way."
As he scan my surroundings, he denies it.
The magical energy light emanates from within the pillar, flowing somewhere. However, that flow is not heading towards the remains of the other pillars. The magical energy flow continues from this [Temple] underground to the outside, and it's not directed towards the broken pillars.
In other words, it's unlikely that there's a function to repair the other pillars in the first place.
And up to this point, Aaron thinks to himself.
"I'll ask later why I was used to destroy this [Temple]... but I understand that destroying it was necessary. If it's to stop the Chronosphere's goal, I won't object either."
Those behind the Stampede. Stopping their goal is something Aaron himself desires.
However, for now, there's something more important to think about.
All the circumstances, it's fine to ask about the details later. Or rather, if he makes Logan talk, it'll take time to understand. If possible, it would be better to have someone else hear the story and understand it, then have them summarize it in a way that's easy to understand. That role would be perfect for Io or Lady Eva――that's what Aaron thought.
However, for now, there's a pressing issue that needs to be resolved.
"Anyway, Logan."
"Hmm, what's up?"
"How are we going to get out of here?"
That's right. They need to escape from this place that's on the verge of collapsing as soon as possible. That's the problem that needs to be solved.
"Hmm..."
Logan nodded, thought for a bit, and then answered with a troubled laugh.
"Normally, Lady Chloe would have come to pick us up by now..."
"Hey, look!! She's betrayed us again, hasn't she!!"
Aaron screamed, covering his head. He knew it was pointless to expect anything from that witch.
By the way, the reason Lady Chloe was late in coming to pick them up was that she was busy taking notes. After witnessing the battles between Io and Ail, and Aaron and Logan, she had gotten many ideas and was fully absorbed in writing them down.
Writing down her ideas was a top priority for her.
However, once she finished writing down all her ideas, she would remember her original role and come to pick them up.
So, if they just wait a bit longer, she'll definitely come to pick them up... but the two of them didn't know that.
Ugh... Logan growled.
"No way, I was really betrayed by Lady Chloe... What was she thinking when she betrayed me?"
"I don't know!! Who knows what's going on in her head?! Hey, is there another escape route or something?! An emergency exit, a secret passageway, something?!"
"...Unfortunately, there's none of that."
"What do you mean, where are we?!"
"I think... we're underground, about a kilometer (≈ 0.62 miles) below Necronia."
"A kilometer?!?"
Aaron's face turned pale.
He had already known they were underground, but he hadn't thought it was that deep.
"A kilometer... a kilometer..."
Mumbling to himself, he grasped Black Radiance and deployed a rotating, cone-shaped aura around the sword. It was a technique similar to Spearman's [Aura Thrust], essentially a magical drill.
"......If I can recover my magical energy, I might be able to..."
"Hey, are you serious? You're planning to dig all the way to the surface?! That's impossible, right?"
Logan said, incredulous.
Aaron calmed down and thought it over again at those words.
"I finally managed to cancel [Chaos Strength]..."
As he looked down at his body, the radiant skin had returned to its normal color. During their conversation, he had chugged a potion and gradually canceled [Chaos Strength], finally managing to fully cancel it.
However, his condition was the worst.
He's been taking his time to recover, and thanks to that, he doesn't have any injuries like bleeding, broken bones, or internal injuries. But somehow, his whole body feels exhausted. The fatigue is so intense that he'd have trouble standing up if he didn't focus his energy.
Plus, the remaining magical energy is only about 20% of the maximum.
It's impossible to dig 1,000 meters like this... but if that's the only way, he might have to do it.
He's being supplied with oxygen here, so it's okay, but he's worried about what'll happen to the air if he digs a hole.
Anyway, it'd be better if they had more people to help with the digging. Aaron turned to Logan.
"Logan, has your magical energy recovered?"
"Don't be ridiculous..."
Logan replied, his face scrunched up.
"I used some inexplicable technique and completely drained my magical energy. It's not like it'll recover in just a short time... But at least it's recovering, I suppose."
"How much has it recovered so far?"
"Uh... about 3%?"
Magical energy is almost nonexistent, but at least it's recovering. That means he can use him for labor. They'll just have to take turns digging... And that's when Aaron made a crazy decision to dig over 1,000 meters into the ground.
""――!?""
The two of them realized it at the same time.
――They're being watched.
Someone's gaze. And a faint, spreading magical energy within the [Temple]. It's definitely [Space Perception] magic.
But this is the "second" one.
When they teleported here, both of them were aware that Chloe Caduceus had been peeking inside the [Temple] from the very beginning.
Because they were aware, the possibility of betrayal was high since Chloe didn't come to greet them.
Therefore, the magical energy that had spread out now didn't belong to Chloe, but to someone else.
"Who is it?"
"Well... it doesn't seem like Lady Chloe is coming to greet us, after all."
As the two of them were on guard, a new movement suddenly appeared.
It wasn't a faint, spreading magical energy, but a clear, concentrated magical energy that was pouring into a specific space.
""......""
Both of them turned their gaze.
There was no one there, and no one was around. But we could clearly sense that magical energy was flowing from somewhere.
The next moment, the flowing magical energy transformed into a magical phenomenon.
――It was a teleportation.
Suddenly, a person appeared.
It was a young man with golden hair and golden eyes. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, with a refined face, but now his expression was severely distorted by an unidentifiable emotion, a mix of shock and anger.
As they gazed at the suddenly appearing young man, Logan opened his mouth with a stiff expression.
"...Sir Noah."
The young man called Noah responded, shaking his shoulders violently, his eyes blazing with anger, and shouted.
"――WHAT THE HECK IS THISSSS!!?"
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