Chapter 153: Temple Of the Seal

Approaching the building built on the hill, its details become clearly visible.

“This isn’t a building where people live, is it.”

If anything, it looks like a temple for performing some kind of ritual. That building is considerably deteriorated, and looks like it wouldn’t be strange if it collapsed at any moment. Perhaps the poison of the Rotten Earth is accelerating the deterioration of the building materials.

“Let’s try going inside.”

“Yes.”

It was when we approached the building.

“Nn?”

I felt a certain sense of incongruity on my skin.

“This is…”

“What’s wrong, Rex?”

Seeing my state, Liliera asks if something happened.

“No, it’s nothing…”

Yeah, it would be bad if noticed, so it seems better not to say it out loud just yet.

◆

The inside of the building was simple. Because there was no furniture of any kind inside, only a single, battered large altar.

“What on earth is that?”

Liliera also seems curious about the conspicuously enshrined altar, tilting her head. On top of the altar stands a large disk with complex letters written on it. Would it make sense if I said it felt like a larger version of a decorative picture plate with a display stand attached to the back?

“Hmm, this seems to be some kind of seal.”

“Eh!? You can tell just by looking!?”

“Yes, please look. At the text carved into this altar.”

“Eh? These were letters!? Not a pattern!?”

Told that she didn’t notice the letters carved into the altar, I was a little surprised. Liliera should be able to read the letters posted on the Adventurer’s Guild request board…

“Could this be what they call ancient characters? It’s my first time seeing them…”

Ah, I see! These characters are from my era, so from Liliera‘s perspective, they are ancient characters! That was close, that was close, I was careless.

“Umm… hasn’t Liliera had the opportunity to come into contact with ancient characters in your adventures so far?”

“Unfortunately, I haven’t. Because I was active near the Demon Beast Forest to cure everyone’s illness in my home village, I never did any ruin exploration. If I had to say, it would be when we met the Sky People, and the underground ruins in the mine I participated in as Rex‘s support. Well, I didn’t have the opportunity to touch the ruins themselves in either case.”

Come to think of it, that’s true. During the trouble with the Sky People, we spent more time on the Forest Island and the West Village than in the Sky Castle, which is a ruin.

Even in the underground ruins in the mine, Liliera and the others were assigned to guard the camp, so they didn’t enter the ruin’s archives.

“Then would you like to go on an adventure to some ancient ruins next time?”

“Pfft.”

When Liliera suddenly burst out laughing, I was bewildered.

“Li-Liliera?”

“S-Sorry. But even though it’s a dangerous ancient ruin, you said it with the casualness of inviting someone on a date.”

“D-Date!? A-No, I didn’t say it with that intention…”

“I know. That Rex has no such intention. But you really said it so casually.”

That surprised me. I never thought exploring ancient ruins would be treated as a date.

“Fufu, in that case, dungeon exploration sounds interesting.”

Dungeon exploration, huh. It’s a place I didn’t have much connection with in my previous life. Basically, a hero’s job was Demon subjugation, so I naturally became estranged from places without Demons.

“Even so, this seal is in a slightly troublesome state.”

“Troublesome… could this be the cause?”

Liliera points to a large diagonal scratch carved into the disk with the spell formula sitting on the altar.

“Yes, this is clearly a scratch added later. It seems this scratch caused the seal to weaken and accelerated the erosion of the Rotten Earth. The abnormally high concentration of poison only in the center is also because of that. Moreover, in its aftermath, the seal itself is rapidly deteriorating.”

I don’t know who it is, but they sure did something troublesome. Thanks to them, the people in the surrounding villages are suffering.

“Isn’t that bad?”

“It is bad. If this continues, the seal will break completely, and the guy sealed inside will be released.”

That being said, from the events so far, I could roughly guess what is sealed. What bothers me, though, is why they went out of their way to take such a troublesome measure as a seal. Did they intentionally take the measure of a seal to use it for something? Since this seal seems to be a one-time use that can’t be undone until it breaks once cast, it doesn’t seem like it’s for reusing it for something either.

“Hey, what will happen if the seal breaks?”

Liliera asks with an anxious look what will happen if the seal breaks.

“Let’s see, I think the toxins condensed inside by the seal will erupt all at once, and the poisonous monsters inhabiting the Rotten Earth will be annihilated. And the Rotten Earth will spread in one go, sinking a considerable area into a poisonous swamp.”

“Even the poisonous monsters will die!?”

“Yes, furthermore, because towns and villages will be swallowed by the Rotten Earth without time to flee, many people’s lives will be lost.”

“N-No way!? Without time to flee…”

Learning that many lives will be lost, Liliera‘s complexion turns pale blue.

“Hey Rex, how long will the seal hold? We should hurry back to the nearby town and ask the Adventurer’s Guild to request an evacuation! The Guild can report the situation to the country, and since Rex is an S-rank adventurer, the credibility of the information is on a different level!”

Liliera, assuming the worst situation and turning pale, immediately proposed the next best plan. This judgment is as expected of an A-rank adventurer. However, we lack a little time to take that method.

“Liliera, I’m sorry, but there isn’t enough time to evacuate the neighboring people. The situation is that there are less than 3 days until the seal breaks. And that is 3 days at most.”

“That short!? B-But if we tell them to abandon their luggage and flee immediately, at least their lives will be saved!”

“No, even then we won’t make it. Considering the age of the seal and the concentration of poison in the center, I think the aftermath when the seal breaks will reach at least the Royal Capital. Even if everyone rides carriages, they won’t make it in time.”

“Th-That’s…”

“So shall we quickly reseal it?”

“…No way, to think resealing is the only… wait, eh?”

Liliera looks this way with a blank stare.

“Yes, since it’s impossible to evacuate before the seal breaks, I thought we should first reseal it and then deal with it anew.”

“No, I mean, you can reseal it?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Why!?”

“Why, you ask… because if I decipher this seal, I can understand what kind of seal was cast.”

“Why can you understand it so easily!?”

“Anyone can understand if they can read the ancient language.”

“That’s definitely a liiiiie!”

It’s not a lie though.

“Haa, don’t I look like an idiot for seriously thinking about what happens when the seal breaks… or rather, if you can reseal it, tell me from the start, jeez!”

“Ah, sorry. Since you asked what would happen if the seal breaks, I completely thought you were considering countermeasures for after the seal breaks.”

“It means there was a discrepancy in our premises from the start. From now on, I’ll decide to think after asking if Rex has a countermeasure.”

“Ahaha… Then first I’ll create a provisional seal. After that, I’ll do a formal reseal anew.”

“Provisional? You aren’t doing a formal seal immediately?”

“Because the half-broken old seal remains, and if I cast a reseal while this is present, there is a risk that some trouble will occur later. So I’ll create a temporary seal on the outside, and when the original seal breaks, I’ll confine the released toxins and the sealed entity with the temporary seal. After that, I’ll cast the main seal anew.”

“It takes time and effort, doesn’t it.”

“Instead, I intend to make it so that the new main seal can have a new seal placed over it without having to release it.”

“I see, so you are daring to do troublesome work so people in the future won’t have trouble.”

Liliera accepts it, understanding that’s what it was.

“That’s how it is!”

“…However, the problem is whether people in the future will be able to properly understand Rex‘s seal.”

“Did you say something, Liliera?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Then shall we cast the temporary seal… wait, before that, how about you come out now?”

I call out to the person hiding at the exit.

“Eh?”

Liliera raises a blank voice, asking what I’m talking about.

“So you noticed…”

Simultaneously as a third voice echoed in the empty temple, a single shadow appeared from a pillar near the entrance.

“No way!? There’s a person in a place like this!?”

It’s no wonder Liliera is surprised. Because this is a literally cursed land infested with a high concentration of Shock Demon Poison.

“Liliera, please remember. The seal was weakened because it was damaged by someone.”

“Then that guy is the culprit… right?”

Seeing the full view of the culprit who appeared, Liliera muttered in a tense voice… or rather, couldn’t. After all, even I was bewildered by the culprit’s appearance, wondering what was happening.

“Indeed, I am the ringleader who destroyed the seal of the Rotten Earth— Cough, cough, hack!!“

The culprit violently choked without finishing his sentence. Yes, the culprit who appeared… no, the Demon, was on the verge of dying while spouting blood from his entire body.

” “Wait, why is the culprit dying!?” “

What on earth is going on!?