Chapter 364 – From Ancient Times

After dealing with the swarm of monsters that emerged into the hall and taking a brief rest, we freed the Living Armors that had been bunched up in cages at the rear and began subduing them as well.

That said, some of the armors that had been crushed underneath when they fell seemed to have sustained damage to their cores and were already immobile, while others were in complete chaos – either unable to identify which helmet was theirs or fighting over helmets. It was quite a scene of confusion.

Still, some of the armors immediately came at us when freed… but ultimately, it didn’t take much time to subdue them all. The battle ended decisively when Ignis’s War Hammer smashed the last remaining Heavy Armor head-on.

“Any injuries?”

“We’re fine here.”

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“Same as always.”

As usual, we started by checking our condition. When I looked at Marlene, she smiled and nodded. Good. Everyone seems to be fine.

Since we weren’t surrounded and could focus on dealing with enemies coming from one direction through the passage beyond the hall, our opponents couldn’t make full use of their numbers. Plus, I had flown over from above and managed to flank them instead.

“That looked fun earlier,” Sheila said while looking at Balor. “That” probably referred to riding Balor while flying.

“Well… that requires precise control with Levitation and Shield magic, or you’d fall off and get hurt. Don’t try to imitate it.”

After all, I was controlling Balor’s trajectory too. Maintaining posture and managing magic – it’s a feat that can’t be done without direct control. It would be difficult to replicate with a Magic Tool.

“Yeah. Too bad.”

Sheila backed off relatively easily. Watching her, Irmhild smiled somewhat happily.

“Well then, let’s finish gathering the materials first.”

“Understood.”

This time there’s quite a lot. It will take some time, but since we have time to spare, let’s do it carefully.

The lineup includes Elephas Soldiers’ savage swords and ivory, Hellhounds’ fangs and pelts, usable armor parts, swords, spears, shields, and extracted Magic Stones. While nothing particularly rare in terms of Rank, the sheer quantity should fetch a decent price.

After completing the gathering process, we organized the materials and had Claudia teleport them. We’ll take those to the Adventurer Guild later… but our exploration isn’t over yet. We proceeded further along the passage continuing from the back of the hall.

As expected, there seemed to be hidden rooms on both sides of the passage for monsters to wait in. We could see structures and spaces similar to where the Living Armors had been waiting. It would have been nice if there were treasure chests in the hidden rooms, but it appears they were purely traps.

Passing through that area, we soon emerged into a circular open space. The construction reminded me of an arena. The surroundings formed a moat-like structure filled with lava.

Beyond the circular plaza was a long ascending staircase. Both the circular area and the staircase had thick pillars standing at regular intervals like in a temple. And on top of the pillars – Gargoyles.

It was quite a spacious staircase – with lava flowing down from the walls on both sides, running along grooves in the corners before pouring into the moat.

The building materials, which should have been white originally, were glowing red… quite a dangerous place. Well, with Tephra’s Blessing, we can withstand the heat… And – when I looked up, beyond the top of the staircase, I could see the Sealed Door.

“…That’s it.”

Compared to other section’s seals, it was an enormous door. Engraved with celestial charts, it was the door leading to the Fire Spirit Hall… but it remained firmly closed.

The waiting Gargoyles – they didn’t seem inclined to attack. We made eye contact, but… they didn’t even point the forked weapons in their hands at us, instead returning their gaze forward and remaining still like literal statues.

“Gargoyles… It seems they won’t attack us.”

Rosemary furrowed her brow while looking at the Gargoyles enshrined on the pillars.

Gargoyles, huh. Well, for Rosemary, they were the ones who served as guards during her time in the North Tower, so she might have some feelings about them.

“Perhaps they’re Gargoyles under Ignatius’s command.”

“Ah, they were in the North Tower too. Since they follow Father’s orders… I wonder if they’ve been around since the time of the Seven Sages?”

“Maybe.”

…The reason these Gargoyles aren’t attacking is probably because they received orders from Ignatius not to attack us. Well… if it doesn’t come to a fight, we don’t need to provoke them either.

There were Gargoyles and Golems in the Wind and Earth Spirit Halls too, and they were also deployed in the North Tower of Theoreme Castle. If they were created by the Seven Sages who built the seals, it makes sense that they share common features with the North Tower and Spirit Halls.

In any case, this means we’ve reached the final Spirit Hall. As for the crucial Orb, we’ll move to collect it when the seal is released.

After selling the materials at the Adventurer Guild, we headed to the Royal Castle. To report reaching the Spirit Hall and have discussions with King Melvin and the others.

According to a castle maid, Ignatius and the others were staying at the Guesthouse, so we went there. When shown to a room in the Guesthouse, Ignatius and Lazaro were there… and when Ignatius recognized me, his face broke into a smile.

The corners of the dragon’s mouth curled into a grin as he smiled somewhat mischievously. Lazaro was as usual, standing quietly by Ignatius’s side.

“Good afternoon, both of you.”

“Theodore. I’m glad to see you’re safe.”

“How did it go? The exploration of the Blazing Fortress?”

“We reached the Sealed Door. We saw the Gargoyles’ faces and came back.”

“That’s good to hear.”

After exchanging greetings with the two, I sat opposite Ignatius.

“I thought you might be staying in the King’s Tower.”

“No, that’s what I was told initially. I was shown around the castle, reminiscing about old times, and shown the town’s condition… but I became curious about this new Guesthouse too. We’ve been staying here since yesterday.”

“I see. So that’s how it is.”

“I can watch the knights and soldiers training from here too. The training with the flying equipment is interesting.”

From the window, I could see knights training on the drill ground. In the shade at the corner was Corulis’s nest… and Corulis seemed to be peeking out from there, observing the training too. There was an atmosphere of learning about handling the Aerial Combat Gear…

Well, for now, let’s set aside Corulis’s matters.

For Ignatius and Lazaro, who had just emerged from the labyrinth after a long time, everything must seem fresh. Perhaps the new Guesthouse suits their preferences better than staying in the King’s Tower. I drank tea while conversing with the two.

“By the way, about the Gargoyles in front of the Sealed Door – were they indeed created by the Seven Sages?”

I asked about something that had been on my mind since the labyrinth earlier.

“Yes. They were deployed in parts of the castle as guards too. The Gargoyles in the Blazing Fortress are guarding the door, but I ordered them not to lay hands on you.”

“Thank you. But… they’re really from that era, then?”

“Is there some problem?”

“Hmm… I ended up involving the Crystal Golems from the Earth Spirit Hall in the fight with the Demon and breaking them…”

“There should be no problem. Those Golems can regenerate from fragments if given time.”

…Is that so? That’s good to hear.

Gargoyles and Crystal Golems have slightly different roles from labyrinth monsters, and knowing their origins, they’re like moving cultural heritage. The self-regeneration aspect makes them perfectly suited as Guardians tasked with long-term protection.

“Well, in an emergency, we could use them as combat forces too. Though they’d probably struggle against Demons.”

So they follow Ignatius’s orders. Well, I’ll keep them in mind as potential combat resources.

“Oh yes. I heard about it too. Something about a princess who discovered a hidden passage in the castle on her own? The hidden passages weren’t communicated to us, so I heard about it while being shown around.”

“Ah, you mean Marie.”

When I answered, Ignatius’s shoulders shook. He might have heard about Rosemary from King Melvin too.

While having such conversation with Ignatius, King Melvin arrived.

“Oh, you’re back, Theodore.”

“Yes. We reached the door in the Blazing Fortress. I think we’ll continue training in labyrinths like the Blazing Fortress and Full Moon Labyrinth going forward.”

“Well done. Now we can welcome the day of seal release anytime. Isn’t your birthday coming up soon too?”

I smiled wryly at his words.

“That’s right. I’m thinking of spending it at the Termwills house again this year.”

“Hmm. Since you’ve accomplished your immediate goal, you can now relax without worries, I suppose.”

King Melvin laughed in that manner.