C375
The messenger was a woman, clearly weakened. However, despite her weakened state, she was by no means an enemy that could be dealt with simply by the petty tricks of the lesser fairies.
Some bold fairies even attacked recklessly without recognizing the enemy.
All those fairies had their wings torn and their bodies burst when facing death.
It was fortunate that there weren't many of them.
"Who are you?"
Even in the face of Sheila's question, the woman didn't reveal her name. Only her eyes hidden under the hood shone alone.
She seemed like she had just finished a battle because she smelled of blood and ashes.
"I've come to deliver Solderet's message."
The God of Shadows has a message for us?
The woman silently looked at Sheila.
She gestured for the other fairies to step back.
As the fairies stepped back, the woman spoke again.
"Do not forget your duty. And promise that you will leave behind a story that you must never forget."
That was the message Solderet left for Sheila and the fairies who followed her.
"Is that all?"
"That's all."
"Why should I follow this message?"
"This is probably the only and last hope for you to restore your honor and regain your original form. That's what he said."
Sheila's pupils widened.
Solderet knew everything that had happened to Sheila and the fairies.
He even knew how they had become pitiful forms after encountering Helluram.
The woman turned around.
After delivering the message, she seemed ready to leave immediately.
"Where are you going?" Sheila asked.
Naturally, she felt intense curiosity toward the woman, and for some reason, she could only ask where she was going.
The woman halted her steps for a moment.
"To a place I haven't destroyed."
With those words, the woman left the Wantaramo Forest.
Since then.
The fairies, no, the Descendants of the Fairies began to make the Royal Melodic Drink.
--------
As if awakening from a deep sleep, Jin and Valeria simultaneously gulped in air and stood up.
Both instinctively reached for their weapons and scanned their surroundings as soon as they opened their eyes.
An entirely unfamiliar landscape stretched out before them.
A subspace made of Shadow Energy.
Jin immediately understood that this was the Fourth Tomb of Temar.
"We're inside the tomb."
While Jin said that, Valeria lowered her staff.
Cold sweat ran down both of them.
"Inside the tomb? Then everything we've seen so far was just Records contained in the Royal Melodic Drink."
"It seems so. With the Records in the Royal Melodic Drink concluded, the seal of the tomb must have been released."
A straight path extended in front of Jin and Valeria.
After examining it for a moment, the two quickly came to the same conclusion.
"Someone has attacked this tomb."
"The previous tombs were the same. Starting with this being the Fourth Tomb, it means there have been at least four interments. It also shows how Zipple persistently sought and desecrated Temar's tombs. It could have been the work of the Vermont Imperial Family, not Zipple."
They began to move again.
It was a long path.
However, even after walking for a while, they couldn't sense the hostility or the unique presence of the Guardian that protected the tomb.
"It seems there are no Guardians."
Although Jin felt relieved at the thought of avoiding another tough battle against the Guardians, he also felt a bit disappointed.
The absence of Guardians meant that there probably wasn't anything important left inside the tomb.
Thud, thud...
Finally, the two reached the end of the path.
There was a massive tombstone where Temar should have been laid to rest.
The interior was completely empty, immaculate, without a speck of dust.
The lid was shattered, with fragments scattered around.
Jin first conjured a shadow energy flower over the tombstone.
"There's nothing here," Valeria said as she inspected the inside of the tomb.
As she had said, the only thing left in the fourth tomb was the empty tombstone.
There was nothing like Solderet's Recording Device or the legacy of the ancient Runcandel.
A moment of disappointment washed over them.
"I guess there really is nothing to be gained from this tomb. Even though we've seen the ancient secrets through the Royal Melodic Drink, we gain absolutely nothing... Ah!"
As if something had occurred to him, Jin cut off his own words.
"Now that I think about it, you're a Record Mage, right? This tomb is practically a piece of record in itself, isn't it?"
That's right.
To Valeria, this tomb was a treasure trove of Records.
In some ways, it was even easier to analyze than a Recording Device like a Shadow Energy Pearl.
"Exactly."
"Can you check the Records right away?"
"I can't read events from a thousand years ago with my current level of Record Magic."
Valeria pulled out a neatly folded leather bag from her robe.
"Instead, let's gather these fragments and go back. When my Record Magic level has improved, I can investigate them thoroughly."
Like an archaeologist discovering an ancient artifact, Valeria carefully placed the fragments in the bag.
Jin helped her collect the fragments.
"No need to gather them all. After all, it was just an object."
He collected stone fragments from the tombstone and the hallway and also carefully picked up a few bloodstains that were beginning to show.
He only placed the bloodstains in an empty glass bottle.
"Bringing you along was a good decision."
If he hadn't met Valeria before arriving at the fourth tomb, Jin would have had to return without gaining anything from here.
Valeria shrugged.
"I think this should be enough. Let's head back now."
Jin nodded.
However, there was a problem.
How would they get out?
The other Temar's tombs Jin had visited so far had been different from this Fourth Tomb.
In the First and Second Tombs, he fought Guardians, inspected Records and Recording Devices, and then, naturally, the subspace collapsed, and they exited the Tomb.
Lueth guided him to the exit in the Third Tomb.
But what about the Fourth Tomb?
When they opened their eyes after drinking the wine, all they saw was a desolate subspace of Shadow Energy.
There were no Guardians or other information... nothing.
As Jin silently pondered, Valeria became concerned and asked.
"Jin Runcandel, could it be... you don't know how to return?"
"Well... I've never been in a situation like this before. Until now, I had always encountered Guardians or, after checking the Records, the subspace would automatically collapse, and I could exit."
There was a moment of silence.
Jin felt a bit embarrassed for no reason, but surprisingly, Valeria didn't seem scornful or mocking towards him.
"Well, it seems that's how things are. This place isn't an ordinary subspace. Let's think about it together."
First, they retraced their steps.
They had already taken a look before reaching the tombstone.
Even then, there was no exit-like structure in sight, and the result was the same after a second inspection.
"Should we try to break the subspace itself?"
This time, Jin shook his head at Valeria's words.
"Perhaps it's best to leave it as a last resort. If the subspace collapses, the fragments we've gathered could be affected and disappear. I can feel that the Shadow Energy composing the subspace is interconnected with the samples."
"Oh, that seems quite likely."
"Let's wait a bit, Valeria. The power that sealed this tomb within the Royal Melodic Drink won't last forever anyway. Once its effects expire, we should naturally be able to return."
----------
For Jin, it was a stroke of luck that Yona followed him.
Furthermore, it was a strangely peculiar fact that the place where she awaited him was the entrance to the Wantaramo Forest, and the forest sky was overcast with heavy rain.
Shoout, shooout...! Crrr!
Early in the morning with heavy rain and thunder.
Time passed differently outside and inside the tomb.
Three more hours had passed outside since Jin entered the Fourth Tomb of Temar.
This meant that the reinforcements from Zipple, the "Specter Corps," had arrived in the Wantaramo Forest.
A total of three Specters arrived in the forest.
However, they didn't recklessly enter the forest even after receiving the report that there was a pure-blooded Runcandel inside the forest.
"It seems like a mistake that only the three of us came."
"The mana response of the Magicians from the Third Magic Tower who went to the Wantaramo Forest was cut off, and... it seems like there's something inside. Especially because Yona Runcandel is there."
Yona Runcandel.
Among the members of the Corps, she had a reputation for being a very dangerous person.
This wasn't just within the Specter Corps; it applied to all high-ranking Magicians of Zipple.
She was someone who should never be taken lightly.
The members of the Specter Corps hadn't anticipated encountering Yona when they arrived at the Wantaramo Forest.
"Moreover, with the rain pouring down, there's no way the three of us can take on that woman."
Even for the Specter Corps, facing the Assassin Yona Runcandel under a downpour like this would be suicidal.
"Even the captain seemed shaken by the name Yona Runcandel. Now that I've faced her directly, I understand the reason. Even though she's just standing there, I feel like her sword is already at my throat."
Yona continued to sit where she had killed the Magicians from the Third Magic Tower, humming a melody to herself.
Although she was an assassin, she didn't bother to hide; she openly watched the entrance like a guardian.
However, the members of the Specter Corps still felt it intuitively.
There was no hope of victory unless they burned Yona Runcandel along with the entire Wantaramo Forest.
It didn't seem like they could kill Yona even if they burned the forest along with her.
In the end, if they only ended up burning this sacred forest, Zipple would suffer significant losses dealing with the aftermath.
"Maybe there's nothing important inside the forest after all. Yona Runcandel might have been rummaging through the forest for fun when Myla called for help, and naturally, there's a possibility that the Magicians from the Three Magic Towers were killed."
"If it's Yona Runcandel, she's entirely capable of that. Was there even a report about that woman that didn't include the expression 'completely crazy person'?"
"So, should we retreat?"
The members of the Specter Corps remained fixed on Yona, unsure of what to do.
Originally, they should have received information about the presence of 'Jin Runcandel and the 'Record Mage' inside the forest.
In that case, instead of just three, the entire alert Specter Corps would have gathered here.
Even if only three had come, they would have faced Yona in battle, prepared for a fight to the death.
However, the Magicians from the Third Magic Tower, who should have relayed the information contained in the letter about this matter, were turned into lifeless corpses by Yona's hand three hours ago.
As a result, the Specter Corps was in the dark about what was happening inside the forest, who was there, and what was going on.
"Damn, it's hard to make a judgment."
Amidst the Specter Corps' hesitation, Yona contemplated to herself.
"Are they perhaps here to kill my little brother? No, that's not possible; the letter those corpses had didn't reach them. Did they coincidentally run into me as they passed by? I'm not sure. Should I kill them? Or forgive them? Kill them? Forgive them?
Hehehe.
Yona smiled with satisfaction and turned her gaze toward the trees where the Specter Corps members were hiding.
And at that moment, the Specter Corps had no choice but to reach a conclusion.
Perhaps it would be best to simply withdraw.
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