Chapter 146: Underground Temple Part 1

Four of us entered the underground temple. It was Lloyd, El, Connie, and me.

Just in case something happened, Ayla stayed outside to keep watch. This was to make sure I would immediately know if anything occurred.

We cautiously moved through the sewers. In the sewer where there was not a single ray of light, for some reason, all you could hear was the sound of water dripping, yet strangely, the sewer itself wasn't fulfilling its usual purpose of draining water. It was odd, given the heavy rain outside, that the sewer was barely filled with water, just enough to create a shallow splashing sound.

"…Shh."

How long had we been walking?

Suddenly, an orange light flickered in the distance. We all halted and held our breath.

"Is it a person?"

"It is. The height of the light suggests it's an adult male holding a lantern."

I nodded my head at Lloyd's words.

Could it really be an ordinary person wandering around the sewers when it's been raining so heavily for nearly a month?

No, that's impossible.

"Master, shall I take care of it?"

I shook my head at El's question as she half-pulled her sword out of its scabbard.

"Let's quietly follow him. He must know the way. We can deal with him once we're out of here."

"Understood."

We quietly trailed the light. As we got closer, I caught a glimpse of the person holding the lantern.

"...!"

I suddenly stopped in my tracks. I was startled by the face that looked so familiar.

The one holding the lantern was none other than a guard.

"…Do you remember that face?"

"It's the guard we met right after crossing the bridge."

"So I wasn't mistaken."

It was the guard we encountered at the bridge when we entered Dihid. He had checked Lloyd's and my mercenary badges and even inspected El inside the carriage before grudgingly letting us through.

Not just the priests, but even the guards…

At this point, it seemed the entire city had been compromised.

-Tadadda!

Suddenly, a swarm of rats appeared. They darted through our legs and scurried down the sewers.

"Ugh!"

"Shh!"

I clamped my hand over Connie's mouth to stop him from screaming and waited for the swarm of rats to pass.

Only after dozens of rats had scurried by could we move again.

But by then, the guard holding the lantern had already disappeared.

…There's no other choice.

We had to keep walking in the darkness.

Fortunately, I had [Owl's Eye], and Connie who was a canine beastman had relatively better night vision than humans. We read the outlines in the darkness and moved forward cautiously.

The sewer was as complex as a labyrinth. Paths were blocked here and there, some were sealed off with iron grates, and there were empty spaces that made no sense as to why they were even there. If we hadn't been used to the darkness, we would have definitely gotten lost.

"There, I see a light."

Connie pointed to a distant spot that I couldn't yet see. Then after sniffing at the air, he whispered again.

"I smell oil and fire. I think the guard went this way."

I nodded and began walking in the direction Connie had indicated. Soon enough, I could also see the light. It was faint, cold, and pale.

Isn't moving toward the light supposed to be reassuring? But the closer we got, the more an eerie fear gripped me. What was this chill? It felt like a massive danger was coiled up right in front of us…

"Ugh…"

I had to cover my mouth at the sight that greeted me at the end of the path.

A space large enough to fit an entire castle was hidden underground.

This is…!

Giant pillars supported the ceiling. The pillars which were made of deep-sea blue stones that could only be found in the depths of the ocean were carved with the sharks symbolizing Donar.

"An underground temple…!"

Connie couldn't hide his excitement.

"…An underground temple?"

"Yes. You know the legend about the floodwaters that swept over Dihid from the cursed land during the fall of Ansgar, right?"

"I think I remember something like that…"

"Back then, Dihid was almost lost. But the mercy of Donar, moved by the prayers of the people, saved the city. Some even say the river came to life!"

"…I understand, but calm down and lower your voice."

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that seeing the underground temple with my own eyes has me excited. Only high priests are allowed to enter the underground temple…"

Seriously, devout Donar followers really are different.

"Anyway, originally Dihid was a city that worshipped Lausian, the goddess of temperance and order, but after that disaster, it became a city of Donar."

"I see."

"The underground temple was created by borrowing the great power of Donar. To ensure that storms, heavy rains, and floods….and all disasters brought by water could never again swallow Dihid."

"Ah, I see."

"When water overflows, it's stored here, and when there's a shortage, it's drawn from here. Thanks to the mercy of Donar, Dihid has become a prosperous city…"

"Alright, that's enough praise. We're in a hurry."

The underground temple was vast and deep. We relied on the blue light of the sea stones to survey our surroundings. Fortunately, a small ladder had been set up below that we could use to climb down.

"Connie, are you sure there's no one around?"

Connie sniffed the air again.

"…Yes. There's no one here."

"Good. Let's hurry and go down."

We carefully gripped the ladder and began descending.

"El, don't look down."

"…O-Okay."

"If you do fall, Legion will catch you, so don't worry too much."

"I-Isn't that more scary?"

"Relax."

It was a terrifying height, enough to make one dizzy just by looking down. Fortunately, the ladder was securely fastened to the wall, so descending wasn't too difficult. It just took a very, very long time.

"Whew… It's dizzying."

Finally reaching the ground, I felt a wave of relief wash over me and my legs nearly gave out. I wiped the cold sweat from my hands on my pants and looked around. The floor of the underground temple, which should have been filled with water, only had a few drying puddles remaining.

The sewers we saw outside were in a similar state.

I covered my shoes with moss to soften my steps and did the same for the others.

"Why are you doing this…?"

"In a place like this, sounds can echo very loudly."

"Ah, I see!"

"Yes, so let's be mindful of the noise from now on."

We began walking slowly and quietly along the wall. Although the sea stones emitted light, it wasn't very bright, so sticking close to the wall allowed us to remain somewhat hidden in the shadows.

Aside from the sound of dripping water and the occasional scurrying of rats, the underground temple was utterly silent. It was so quiet that it almost felt peaceful. As if no schemes or plans were unfolding here.

"..."

I recalled the contents of the message once again.

[Successful underground contact]

The "underground" in the message surely referred to this underground temple. But why was it so eerily quiet?

-Thud!

While I was lost in thought as I walked, someone suddenly grabbed me forcefully.

"There's something up ahead."

It was Lloyd. He held onto my arm tightly and prevented me from moving forward, as he stared ahead. Connie too was sniffing the air behind us. But what stood before us was nothing more than a huge…

"…Wall, isn't it?"

It was a wall. At least, that's how it appeared to me.

"There's a strange smell."

Connie wrinkled his nose; he continued to sniff as if he was on the verge of identifying something. His expression was uncertain, as he sniffed repeatedly… sniff, sniff, sniff…

"Rats and…"

"We've seen rats all along, haven't we? It's not unusual for it to smell like them."

"And people…"

"Of course. Whoever is behind whatever's going on here must be lurking around."

"…This smell, it's as if… they're combined…"

Connie looked at me with his nose scrunched up. His expression was oddly frightened.

A smell like rats and people combined?

Just as I was about to say, "Connie, can you explain a bit more…?"

-Screeeech… screech, screeech…

An unpleasant noise, like metal being scraped, echoed from what I had thought was a "wall". It wasn't quite the sound of metal grinding, but something weaker and far more unsettling. It was like nails scraping against a metal sheet…

-Screech, screech, screeeech…!

"Step back."

Lloyd pushed us backward as he unsheathed his sword with a sharp ringing sound. Thanks to the blue light emitted by the sea stones, his blade gleamed even more fiercely.

".…..!"

With the sea stone's light reflecting off Lloyd's sword, I could see the "wall" more clearly.

It wasn't a wall.

That's right.

It wasn't a wall.

Inside a space blocked off by iron bars, something was packed tightly. That's why, in the darkness, it had simply appeared to be a "wall".

From the place I had thought was a "wall", dozens, maybe hundreds, of tiny lights flickered. It was far from a beautiful sight. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of eyes were slowly turning to look in this direction…

"Ugh…"

It was horrifying.

Only after facing those gazes did I finally understand what Connie had meant.

Rats.

And humans.

The smell was something like a mix of the two.

"Connie."

"Ugh, ugh… ugh."

"Connie, pull yourself together. Those 'things' over there…"

I held onto Connie, who was on the verge of retching, and pointed beyond the iron bars as I asked,

"…Could they be beastmen?"

Connie quickly shook his head.

"No, no, they're not. Of course, beastmen come in many different forms, but those…"

"…I see, as I thought."

Its entire body was covered in filthy brown fur, its sharp teeth bared, and its gray eyes gleamed—this creature looked far from being a "beastman". It wasn't just that it had a rat's head or that it had ears or a tail like one…

…These things look more like monsters.

Some had only one human arm, others just one human leg, or a rat's head with human ears attached…

I had seen such grotesque beings before.

The artificial chimeras of the deep sea dungeon.