Chapter 99: Secrets of the Tomb

And thus the night passed quietly in the tomb, and before I knew it, the next day had arrived.

At some point of time, I must have dozed off, but at least I managed to stay awake for six hours straight. Lilith woke up, saw the time, smacked me in the head and ordered me to go to bed. I was so exhausted by then that I didn't protest, and just passed out on the spot.

Now when I woke up, I caught sight of Lilith sitting in front of the extinguished campfire. She glanced at me with a smile.

"You really were extremely exhausted, weren't you?"

"After all that happened yesterday? It would be weird if I wasn't exhausted."

"Then why didn't you wake me up?" Lilith glared at me.

"You were even more tired than I was. You need the rest more than I do."

"No, I don't! I appreciate you looking out for me, but you should take care of yourself more! You're not a machine! And I'm not some damsel in distress, so I would appreciate it if you don't treat me as one. Rely on me more!"

"Yes, your highness."

After that, we ate our combat rations in silence, then proceeded toward the altar that was located in the center of the tomb.

I was tempted to summon Matsukaze, after recovering all my mana thanks to a couple of hours of sleep, but I decided against it. It would attract too much attention and there was a high risk that Matsukaze's titanic presence would provoke the monsters in the forest into attacking us. I would prefer to keep a low profile.

Not only that, we should preserve our strength as much as possible, not just for the duel tonight, but also in case of emergencies.

We couldn't afford to let our guard down at all, especially in such an alien land.

"It looks like it's going to rain."

"Huh?"

I gaped at Lilith, who was walking ahead of me. She had held her hand up to her face and was glancing skyward. I frowned.

"Rain? Does it even rain inside the tomb?"

"Based on the archives, it did. Didn't you read the archives and reports? There is a self-sufficient ecosystem within the tomb itself."

I did, but I didn't remember reading anything about weather. Must have missed a page or two. There was so much information that it was impossible for me to memorize all three hundred pages of details.

"Let's hurry."

With that, Lilith picked up the pace. However, just after a few steps, she staggered.

"Watch out!"

I managed to catch hold of her slender body before she hit the ground, and was shocked to find that she was feverish. Her body temperature was incredibly high.

"Lilith-san…don't tel me…"

Now I understood why she left the physical work to me when we camped out last night. Damn it, I knew we should have returned as soon as possible! We needed a medic, and some medicine! While Regeneration worked for physical injuries, I wasn't sure how effective it was against diseases or other ailments!

"I'm all right. I already told you that yesterday, didn't I? Thank you for helping me."

Despite that, Lilith gently shrugged me off and continued to proceed forward, her determined gaze riveted to the front. As she strode forward, I could see a small trickle of perspiration on the nape of her neck.

This wasn't good at all. The interior of the tomb wasn't even hot – rather, it was actually pretty chilly. Yet…

"I said I'm fine. Don't worry about me. It'll pass after a while."

"Your safety is more important, your highness. I'll summon Matsukaze and escort you back to the inner gate safely. You need medicine…"

"I am sorry."

As Lilith cast her eyes down to avoid my gaze, she refused to stop walking.

"I must go, no matter what. This is one of the few chances that I have, so please understand. I need to…"

"…I understand."

I could see the determination in Lilith's eyes. There was no way I could stop her. I didn't have the right to. This was so important to Lilith that she would risk her health and forge a path no matter the cost. I should do my best to help her instead of stopping her.

"Then allow me to take point."

Lilith hesitated a little, and then she relented. Even for a vampire, her complexion was pale and ghastly.

For a while, the two of us advanced silently.

"Hey, Lilith-san."

"…what is it?"

I couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere any longer, so I randomly addressed her to break the ice.

"What do you think will happen next week?"

"…next week?"

Lilith frowned and glanced at me. I shrugged.

"Moria. Do you think we'll be able to fend off the human armies and Evelyn's Chosen?"

"With you in command, I believe we will." Lilith smiled at me. "We'll be counting on you to lead us, Major."

I groaned at that. "You give me far too much credit."

"Well…you've killed six Evelyn's Chosen so far, haven't you? And you've forged an alliance with nine others. If there's anyone who can turn this around and save the demon race, it's you."

Right, let's continue to pile the pressure upon me, eh? Thanks a lot.

Shaking my head, I continued striding forward, mindful of my pace. Lilith still seemed sickly, so I was careful not to walk too fast and accidentally leave her behind. I couldn't help but remain concern for her health.

Fortunately, our journey didn't last much longer. After ten minutes, we finally reached our destination.

"We're here. This place must be it…"

The altar at the center of the tomb. We had finally arrived.

There was a massive circular platform, upon which was mounted an enormous chamber. Right in front of the chamber, there was a single column that was embedded with a silver skull that radiated a mysterious light.

My eyes were riveted to the skull. For some reason, even Absolute Appraisal couldn't identify what the hell that was. I wondered why. The skull itself didn't seem organic, but rather appeared to be made from the same material as the tomb's walls and ceilings.

"It looks like we're the first to arrive, huh…"

Lilith cautiously approached the skull while keeping a vigilant lookout on our surroundings. I sighed and nodded.

"Seems like it. Well, let's wait for everyone here…"

Creak…

I was cut off by a metallic noise that resounded through the forest and sent birds flapping and soaring into the air in panic.

Oh boy, this is not good…

My hand instinctively went to the hilt of my Blood Dragon Sword, but a second later I realized that it wasn't a threat.

"Oh…seems like we just activated some sort of system."

I sighed in relief when I saw the familiar blue light shining out of the silver skull. A voice slowly hissed from its open jaws.

"Scanning…existence of the <key> confirmed and acknowledged. Unlocking security seals. Transfer process…initiating…"

I winced as the mechanical voice intoned those strange words in a monotonous tone. Without stating the obvious, it was coming from the altar.

Huh? Why does it almost sound like Matsukaze…no, like an AI?

It wasn't Matsukaze's voice, but the monotone was unmistakable. It was the voice of an AI.

Before I could confirm my suspicions, a brilliant light flashed from the column and engulfed the both of us.

"Whoa?!"

I cried out and reflexively closed my eyes. The next thing I knew, I opened my eyes, only to find that our surroundings had completely changed.

We were no longer inside the forest.

"It appears we've been transported inside the chamber."

The trees and grass had been replaced by mechanical constructs, metallic plates and conveyor belts. It reminded me of an interior of a factory.

So this was the interior of the altar that we had heard so much about. Glancing around, I caught sight of a coffin…or a sarcophagus right in the middle. That must be where King Alucard's remains were held, if they still existed.

After countless millennia, his corpse had no doubt disintegrated and been reduced to dust. Unless they embalmed him like a mummy, but I doubted they did that. He would have become a mummy instead of a vampire, otherwise.

"This place…is my ancestor's…"

While I was studying the unfamiliar surroundings and relating them to whatever modern knowledge I learned back in Tokyo, Lilith moved forward at an urgent pace. She approached a strange box-shaped object and placed her hand on it.

"!"

A white light emanated from the hovering object and a new mechanical voice spoke up, but this time it was feminine in nature.

"Validating the authenticity of the <key>. Level 2 security clearance confirmed. Removing seal to the second layer control room."

"More AI…"

I recognized the mechanical voice. Evidently the ancients had far advanced technology than current Restia. Did they go backward technologically or something?

But more importantly…

It reacted to Lilith-san and verified her identity. Well, Kishimoto and Kreuger were discussing this secretly, about her being the key to unseal the tomb. I guess this was what they're referring to.

"So…I was right after all."

With a small sigh, Lilith withdrew her hand from the object. Then she slowly made her way toward the other side of the chamber, where a tall shelf resided.

"Lilith-san? That shelf is…"

I could see rows upon rows of boxes laid out neatly on the shelf. There was no doubt these were containers that possessed ancient technology, weapons or standard template constructs. Schematics, documents or instructions on how to build weapons, at the very least. If I were to believe the historical archives, of course.

However, the boxes seemed firmly sealed, and I could sense powerful defensive spells protecting them. It would require equally powerful magic to break those seals and open those boxes, spells that would require us bringing the boxes back to base camp and utilizing enormous spell circles or heavy equipment and machinery.

"..."

"Verifying the authenticity of the <key>. Level 2 clearance confirmed. Removing seal to the second layer control room."

Lilith had a serious expression on her face as she reached out with her finger to stroke the edge of a box.

With just that, the box despite being protected by formidable barriers and strong mechanical locks opened with a soft click.

Inside the box were numerous ancient weapons and armaments, along with schematics and documents that bore strange characters that I was unable to read. Absolute Appraisal immediately identified them as an ancient language, but offered no translation.

What are those?

While I wondered, Lilith browsed through the documents and scanned their pages. However, she shook her head, as if to say, "This is not it." Then she moved on toward the back. The metallic walls automatically opened as she touched them, revealing another chamber.

"…wow."

I peered at the chamber. It seemed there was another flight of stairs that led further underground.

"I still can't find it. I still don't understand…are the answers located deeper inside? Should I search deeper?"

Lilith was muttering fervently to herself. Placing her hand on the opened door at the back of the chamber, she was about to take a step, only for her to suddenly collapse.

"Lilith-san!"

"Uh…"

I managed to catch her before she fell. She shook her head to try and shake off the pain while trying to rise unsteadily to her feet, but she was unable to straighten until she had my help. I could feel the immense heat radiating from her body.

That was one hell of a fever.

"I know you're pretty hot, but I didn't think you would literally be hot."

Lilith glared at me.

"This isn't the time to make stupid jokes."

"Sorry. But you've quite the fever. We really should…"

"…I'm all right. I can still…"

WOOOO!

An alarm suddenly sounded in the chamber, and the floor underneath our feet began to shake. No, even the walls were trembling violently…

"Of all the times to have an earthquake occur…no, wait, this isn't an earthquake…?"

"Danger. Collapse imminent. Please evacuate to a safer level."

Soon after the object issued a warning coolly, the ceiling began to fall apart, debris raining down on the chamber.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Complaining, I supported the now immobile Lilith and rushed into a nearby room. Shutting the door, I placed Lilith down to rest and checked our surroundings. In a few seconds, the tremors had stopped, and I tested the door, but to no avail.

"Seems like there's rubble outside blocking the door."

I heaved a sigh of relief and shook my head. Good thing there was a safe room or we would be crushed to death by the debris outside. It was a minor cave in, but as expected of ancient tombs, exploring them was a dangerous task. I wondered if it was a trap. I didn't watch much tomb raider movies, but they always had traps hidden in these things.

Honestly, the architects of these tombs had nothing better to do than to concoct stupid traps.

"Let's rest here for a bit. With your current condition, I think you should rest. I'll check the place out and hopefully meet up with my battalion…"

I had stood up to check the surroundings after the tremors faded away. Glancing at Lilith, who had cast her eyes downward, I turned back toward the rest of the room in hopes of finding something useful.

Most likely the collapse had busted a wire or something, but the lighting in this room had mostly gone dead, leaving the room shrouded in darkness.

"…I am sorry."

I heard a faint voice from the girl who was hanging her head.

"No, don't worry about it. More importantly…huh?"

Before I could finish my sentence, I suddenly felt Lilith's slender fingers tugging at my hand. They curled around my fingers tightly and stopped me from moving away.

"Could you please indulge my selfishness for a bit? I would like you to hear my story."

"…um, sure." I shrugged. I had nothing better to do, so I might as well listen to Lilith's story.

"My ancestors…I am…descended from a line of traitors…"

"…traitors?"

Now that was something I never expected to hear. I stared blankly at Lilith as my jaw dropped, completely dumbfounded by the sudden revelation.