Chapter 134: External Field Trip (7)

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“Well.”

Carl furrowed his brows.

Even after checking the hole that had swallowed Laysis, nothing remained.

Since he couldn’t sense her presence, it seemed she had been transported to an entirely different space.

“…….”

Carl’s eyes sharpened.

The fact that such a mechanism had activated only after entering the library meant someone had been watching them.

‘If it had been me, I definitely would have reacted.’

He wasn’t foolish enough to recklessly enter a place like that and abandon Laysis.

Had the enemy seen through that and targeted only her?

Carl stroked the spot where the hole had appeared, then rose from his seat.

“I’ll give you ten seconds.”

Boom.

With Laysis gone, there was no need for restraint.

The dark energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art surged through his entire body and began to ooze down into the library.

“Either open a path to the other side, or spit out Laysis.”

Crash!

Waves of force erupted from Carl, sweeping through the library.

Bookshelves collapsed and torn tomes fluttered in the air.

Covered in demonic energy, Carl became a fiend, delivering his warning to whoever was watching him.

“Make your choice. If you don’t want to see your precious house destroyed.”

But no answer came.

Carl twisted his lips and slowly reached out toward the empty air.

‘The most important thing to me is people.’

Laysis was a precious talent he had marked from the very moment he entered the Academy and had carefully built ties with.

Relics or treasures could be found elsewhere, but someone like Laysis could not be obtained so easily.

So between the two, the choice was obvious.

Kwooooom!

Pitch-black demonic energy swept outward.

Like a torrent breaking its banks, it devoured everything in its path and spread in all directions.

If they didn’t release Laysis, he intended to bring the entire place down.

Rumble.

The overflowing energy didn’t stop at the library but spilled outside the fortress, engulfing everything.

Burning all into nothingness, it displayed the awe-inspiring might of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, once hailed as the greatest martial art before the Primordial Unity Divine Art.

Step.

In the collapsing corridor of the fortress, Carl walked forward quietly.

As he poured out his demonic flame, the surroundings trembled from the resulting waves.

It meant the traps and systems inside had been triggered.

Clang, click.

Sure enough, soldiers stationed along the hall leapt down from their pedestals, revealing their hostility.

“Pathetic.”

Carl sneered and clenched his fist.

Did they really think such things could block his path?

Shaaak!

Despite their heavy builds, the soldiers charged swiftly.

But Carl merely twisted his waist lightly as he drew back his fist.

Then, a punch condensed with demonic energy blasted forward.

Kwooooom!

A fire fist shot out.

The straight-line blaze swept across the corridor, consuming all the soldiers who had descended.

They didn’t take more than a few steps before perishing in the fiery inferno.

Carl slowly lifted his head and gazed further down the corridor.

Clatter.

This time, the sound carried a different weight than when the soldiers had moved.

“So, after the soldiers, it’s knights.”

A knight clad in full plate armor slowly approached, a battle axe in hand.

Carl smirked and reached to his waist.

Shiiing.

The Divine Sword Cheonroe was drawn slowly.

At the same time, the swirling demonic flame coiled around it, creating a towering pillar of fire.

Whooosh─!

The knight moved on a completely different level from the soldiers.

In an instant, he cut through the encroaching flames and closed the distance to Carl.

The menacing edge of his raised battle axe seemed sharp enough to slice even the flow of time.

Screech.

But Carl’s movements were faster by a beat.

As if living in a time apart, slashes of lightless blades erupted within the swaying flames.

Crashhh.

The knight’s body fell apart into pieces upon the ground.

Carl shot a sharp glare at the fallen battle axe beside it, then suddenly lifted his head toward a part of the fortress.

“There it is.”

He sensed his demonic energy spreading through the fortress being blocked at one point.

In an instant, he kicked off the ground and dashed through the corridor with fierce speed toward his goal.

‘Just wait a little longer.’

No matter where Laysis had been taken, it wouldn’t take long for him to reach her.

“…Ugh.”

Laysis groaned.

As she opened her eyes and raised her head, the view of a dim interior came into sight.

Her entire body ached, as if she had been beaten.

“……!!”

Still staggering, she suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked around.

“This place is…”

Her memories were clear.

While investigating the library with Carl, a hole had appeared beneath her feet, and she had been dragged into it.

It had happened in a blink.

Laysis reached out slowly, feeling the wall beside her.

‘My body’s fine.’

She had bruises and cuts here and there, but it was little more than scratches.

Since she could still move, she cautiously stepped forward.

Passing through a dark passageway, she reached a slightly wider space.

A faint light shone from the ceiling, revealing the interior.

“A circular dome?”

The inside looked like a storeroom, holding numerous statues.

Most were shaped like humans, similar to those in the mansion’s lobby, but one detail differed—every statue here was kneeling as if in prayer.

‘They’re all staring at the same spot.’

Whether with hands clasped, arms stretched wide, bodies prostrated, or hands pressed against the floor, all their gazes pointed toward a passage that led elsewhere.

Laysis carefully studied the statues.

They were indeed like the ones she had seen in the mansion’s lobby…

Rustle.

“……!!”

Laysis flinched and stepped back.

One of the statues, which had been staring ahead, had turned its eyes toward her.

When she blinked and looked closely, the pupils that had shifted to her had returned to gazing forward.

“…What in the world.”

What was this?

The atmosphere felt completely different from the fortress above.

‘These aren’t ordinary statues.’

She carefully touched one.

The statues in the lobby had been nothing but cold stone.

But these ones held faint traces of life lingering within them.

‘A curse of petrification?

No, were they buried alive together with someone?’

In ancient times, the practice of burying the living alongside their master had been common.

But Laysis couldn’t figure out who had done this, or why.

After a brief thought, she raised her head.

“Carl…”

Even when she weakly called his name, no answer came.

No matter how great Carl was, he couldn’t possibly find her so quickly after she had been transported elsewhere.

‘What should I do?’

Should she stay here and wait?

Or should she explore ahead for now?

[Come.]

“…!”

At the faint whisper that brushed her ear, Laysis widened her eyes.

She hurriedly looked around, but the surroundings remained unchanged.

[Come, child. Into my embrace.]

She clenched her teeth.

It wasn’t her imagination.

Someone was calling her from further inside.

“…….”

Laysis lowered her body and carefully stepped back.

She wasn’t foolish enough to obediently approach the call of an unknown entity.

At the very least, until Carl arrived, she had to maintain the situation and stall for time…

Whoooosh!

Suddenly, the scenery around her changed.

The kneeling statues vanished, leaving behind an empty space.

…No, it wasn’t completely empty.

High above, a lone altar clearly stood.

[My trace lingers here.

Child, does my temple still exist in the era you lived in?]

“You are…”

Laysis placed her hand on the hilt of her sword and asked in a low voice.

“Who are you?”

[Child.

My apostles testify that you once entered my temple.]

“Me?”

Laysis frowned.

A temple?

Did he mean the Temple of Wiblem?

No, that was a temple honoring heroes.

It wasn’t a temple for some unknown being like this.

“Were you one of those called heroes?”

Laysis asked, her voice carrying a faint hope.

If he was an Ancient Hero, or a trace left behind by one, then at least he wouldn’t be her enemy.

[Hero.]

A curt reply echoed in answer.

Laysis’ eyes widened slightly with expectation, but the area suddenly shook violently.

[Dare you speak that detestable name before me!!!]

Boom.

The air grew heavy in an instant.

A sharp, murderous force pierced her skin.

Had she not quickly shielded herself with mana, her body would have been torn to shreds.

[Detestable wretches!

Traitors!

Vermin who betrayed their oaths!

Shameful beings who used others only for their own gain!]

Rumble.

The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.

Though staggering, Laysis held her balance and lifted her head.

“Then who are you?”

[I am…]

At her question, all the chaos vanished.

The trembling ground, the skin-tearing hostility, and the chilling aura—all disappeared as if they had never existed.

[So it is.]

“…What?”

[Who I am, child, is for you to discover.]

“What do you mean…”

Laysis frowned.

Whose fortress this was, why it had been built, why it was buried underground—she had uncovered none of it.

And yet he expected her to find out who he was?

[Yes.

Those detestable heroes once called me this.]

Fwoosh.

A patch of blue fire appeared on the temple wall.

Its wavering flames were in a form she had seen before.

‘…That’s.’

The Temple of the Fallen Heretic.

The same as what she had seen in Carl’s homeland, the Leipzig territory, during the Bayern field trip raid.

[One who has grasped the truth of all things.]

Fwoosh.

A new flame ignited.

[One who separates falsehood from truth.]

Fwoosh.

[Savior of the impoverished and destitute.]

Fwoosh.

[……And the one betrayed by those detestable beings who dared call themselves heroes.]

Fwoosh.

All the flames within the temple flared, illuminating the entire interior.

At that moment, Laysis could see the figure of a man standing atop the altar.

Ssshhh.

The man’s form vanished.

When Laysis raised her head, she realized he had appeared right in front of her.

[What do you think I am?]

“…….”

Laysis’ eyes trembled.

Who had the Ancient Heroes fought to protect the continent?

The academic world debated many theories.

She had thought it was the Demon King who invaded the Middle Realm from the Demon Realm.

But others claimed it had been a different existence.

One who had clashed with the Creator for the seat of the Supreme God.

“A demigod…”

[Well now.]

The man reached out and covered Laysis’ mouth.

[You guessed far too easily. That ruins the point of giving you a riddle.]

Then he lifted his gaze and looked behind her.

[Let us ask your friend whether he also knows my name.]

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