Chapter 167

While we hid and eavesdropped on their conversation, Oslo and the nomad tribal chiefs slowly wrapped up their discussion.

And soon, the tribal chiefs moved away.

They didn’t head toward the passage we had come through.

“That must be the real entrance. The path we came through was basically a side route.”

“Yes, it seems that way.”

Responding to Luke, I looked in the direction the chiefs were leaving.

Over there was an entry gate decorated with all kinds of ornate statues.

It was an absurdly massive entry gate.

“That way probably… leads out into the nomads’ territory, right?”

“Seems likely. Which means this temple itself… might become a route for them to invade someday.”

Jason scanned the enormous plaza where the temple had been built.

Then he turned his head toward Oslo, who was now standing alone in front of the temple.

“Should we… go grab Oslo now?”

“Mm, Instructor Kara?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Could you check this place with an observation spell?”

“Oh, right. Just a moment. I’ll do it right now.”

With those words, Kara activated her spell.

Her eyes shone as she quickly scanned the vast plaza.

“Hmmmmm… nothing. Nothing special. The only thing that’s bothering me is that temple. I can’t see inside it. I’ve never seen a spell like this—looks like it’s blocking observation.”

“I see. So at least there’s nothing especially dangerous around us.”

I nodded and looked toward Jason again.

Jason met my eyes and nodded back.

“Should I just knock him out?”

“Yes, knocking him out should be enough.”

“Alright then… hey, Monsoon. Lend me some strength.”

After summoning the Spirit of Wind, Jason immediately moved.

He approached Oslo incredibly fast—so fast that not even a sound was made.

Until the very moment Jason reached him, Oslo didn’t seem to sense his approach at all.

When he finally noticed and turned around, it was already too late.

“Huh? You… kuhk?”

Jason skillfully struck Oslo’s vital point, knocking him out instantly.

After laying the unconscious Oslo on the ground, he beckoned us over.

“Whew, at least he went out in one hit. I was worried it might take more since it’s been a while.”

“You were incredible, Lord Jason.”

“No need to flatter me that much. For someone from the Hawkbat Family, this much is basic.”

Jason smirked, then looked again at the unconscious Oslo.

“But this guy… he served the Isrinbloom Family for a long time. He even fought the nomads himself. Even if the family ordered it, he’s not the kind of man who’d ever side with the nomads.”

“Yes, the Oslo we know wouldn’t. But this man is not the one we know.”

With that, I asked Kara again.

“Teacher. This man is probably under some form of mental manipulation magic. Could you check?”

“Sure. Let’s see… in this situation, this spell should work best… hmm, ah. Yes. Just like you said, a spell is cast on him. It directly affects consciousness and soul… hmm, this is another spell I’ve never seen. Wait.”

Kara brought her hand to Oslo’s mouth.

A moment later, she pulled out a thread of light from inside him.

When she swung the thread through the air a few times, it transformed into a magic circle.

“Hmm, this is definitely a magic formula I’ve never seen. Not from this era, and definitely not something created by humans. Come to think of it, that thing you mentioned—Dragon Tongue Magic? That was magic ancient dragons used, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. And this spell is probably one of those Dragon Tongue spells.”

“Dragon Tongue Magic… interesting. I should store this magic circle separately. Analyzing this will be fun.”

“Since we’re talking about it… I have a request, Teacher.”

We had captured someone under Dragon Tongue Magic.

This might be an opportunity.

A chance to obtain a card that could overturn the entire situation.

“Could you analyze this Dragon Tongue Magic as quickly as possible and maybe find a way to undo it?”

“That’s a tough request. If this were a spell humans created… then there’d be a good chance. No matter how creative human mages are, they don’t deviate from certain structures. But this is something entirely new—created by dragons, no less.”

“Then… is it impossible?”

“It’s incredibly hard, not impossible. Judging by your expression, this is a pretty important request, isn’t it?”

“Yes. If you succeed in finding a way to undo it, we might be able to overturn everything happening right now.”

“So you’re giving me a very important task.”

Kara chuckled and ruffled my hair.

Then she looked toward the magic circle floating in the air again.

“Alright. My disciple is asking so earnestly—how could I refuse? And if I play a major role this time… my name will be recorded in history even more clearly. I love that—having my name left in history.”

“Heheh. Thank you, Teacher. If everything ends well, I’ll be sure to state your contribution clearly.”

“Excellent. Then let’s start right away. First, we need to analyze—ah, come to think of it, Roy.”

“…Yes?”

Called out suddenly, Roy—who had been quietly following us—looked startled.

“Did you learn Kauros’ formula-dismantling theory? Wait, no, maybe not yet? They teach that from second year, so perhaps…”

“N-no. I haven’t learned it formally, but I know it. I got interested before entering the Academy, so I self-studied the theory…”

“As expected of a genius born into the Varbellos Family. Then help me out. First, could you dismantle this magic formula and organize its components?”

“I can. But… I wanted to examine the temple…”

Roy showed no special expression.

But his eyes were more excited than ever—burning with desire.

He was obsessed with Ancient Studies. A massive ancient temple and all the statues in this underground plaza must’ve been calling to him.

But Kara was firm.

“You can check that later—help me first. The Empire’s survival might depend on this, so we handle this first.”

“…Yes, understood.”

And so the two mages began working beside the unconscious Oslo.

I watched the two for a moment, then turned to the rest of our group.

“Let’s head to the temple. According to what Instructor Kara said earlier, it seems the statues don’t have traps or devices.”

“But she said she couldn’t see inside the temple, right?”

“Yeah, Noona.”

Nodding to Lisa, I took the lead toward the massive temple.

Leaving Kara and Roy behind, the rest of the group followed me.

“It’s an old temple. I don’t know much about archaeology or ancient studies, but this architectural style… I remember learning about it once in history class.”

“How old of a style is it?”

“At least 1,500 years old.”

“…For a 1,500-year-old building, it’s in really good shape.”

At Luke’s words, I gave a faint laugh.

A temple built 1,500 years ago—this was quite literally a relic.

“Maybe it’s been preserved well because no one’s touched it for ages.”

I climbed the temple stairs with the others.

Before long, we arrived at the massive temple door.

I reached out to open it, but…

“…It’s locked.”

“Step aside for a sec.”

Luke wrapped his body in aura and pushed the door hard.

But the temple door didn’t budge an inch.

“…What the? It really won’t open.”

“Gideon. Is it fine if I just break this down?”

This time, Lisa stepped forward, pulling out her greatsword.

I scratched my head, then nodded.

“Plenty of scholars might cry, but… I guess it can’t be helped.”

“Alright. Then stand back.”

Lisa enveloped her body in blood energy and swung her greatsword at the door.

Boom―!

But again, not even a scratch appeared on it.

“…Seems like it’s being protected by some kind of unknown power.”

“Yeah. If even you or Instructor Luke can’t open it by force… I guess breaking it isn’t an option.”

I examined the massive temple door once more.

It was jet-black, adorned with ornate patterns and carvings.

‘What could be inside?’

A simple but fundamental question surfaced in my mind.

What lay within this temple?

We came to investigate it because of Eisen’s words—but in truth, we had no idea what awaited inside.

‘Why did Eisen tell us where this temple was? He couldn’t have sent us just to check on Oslo and the tribal chiefs. That alone wouldn’t have left him in such a state.’

I gazed back at the temple.

My instincts were screaming—something dangerous was inside.

So it was best not to open the temple door, yet another part of me whispered:

That I would have to enter this temple eventually.

That whatever was inside… I would have to face it.

As I was lost in those thoughts—

“I’ll go look around the area. You never know, there might be a key somewhere…”

“…Wait. A key? Did you say a key?”

“Huh? Yeah, a key. Why? You need a key to open a locked door, don’t you?”

“……”

I had forgotten for a moment.

Not long ago, the leader of Tazera had sent me an item.

Clergy had called it a “key.”

I pulled out the round stone tablet from my inner pocket.

I’d brought it just in case—but if this really was the key…

“Jason. Could there be a spot nearby where a stone tablet of this size might fit?”

“Hold on, let’s see… hmm… oh, there! On the floor next to the door.”

“The size even looks perfect.”

I crouched down beside it.

Then I inserted the round tablet—the key—into the hole.

It fit perfectly.

Vwoom―

A moment later, the engravings on the key began to glow.

And soon, the door that had been tightly shut began to open slowly.

“Oh! What’s going on? What’s happening?”

“Professor Kara? What about Oslo?”

“I tied him up real good to a statue nearby, so don’t worry. Looked like something fun was happening, so I came.”

“How’s the magic analysis going?”

“I’ve figured out its composition, but… unless I get really lucky, it’ll take some time.”

As the door opened, Kara rejoined us along with Roy.

That was fine by me.

Since we didn’t know what was inside, having a skilled magician around was reassuring.

Once the temple door fully opened, its interior unfolded before our eyes.

“…Whoa.”

The first thing that caught my eye was the mountain of treasures inside the temple.

Gold coins, jewels, ornaments, and all sorts of weapons and relics.

All kinds of dazzling treasures filled the enormous temple.

And then, what came next was—

“Didn’t think you’d actually come.”

A young girl sat upon a golden throne.

A girl who looked no older than ten.

“Holding one of the keys lost centuries ago, you would open the door to my temple and step inside. There, I would meet the swordsman destined to stand against the lava… That’s how it was foretold, wasn’t it? I thought it was nonsense when I first heard it, but to think it would come true.”

“You are… who?”

I reached for Mistcatcher.

Though she looked like a mere child, I could tell instinctively—

She wasn’t human. She was something ancient.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know who I am? You said you’d done plenty of research on us.”

Even though I showed hostility, the girl only smiled.

She sat leisurely on her throne, looking down at us.

“Evil Dragon Suiroti. The eternal subordinate of Lord Bedir.”

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