Chapter 160: The Dragon and the Flower Bloom at Night (4)
The first thing to greet us was a presence far darker and damper than before.
It dug into our skin like fishing hooks—sharp and invasive.
A musty mold stench mixed with an unidentifiable fishy odor lingered at the tip of my nose.
“I thought they’d put up more resistance than this…”
Lian muttered, cautiously scanning the surroundings.
Ever since we entered the passage, we hadn’t encountered any resistance or interference.
We had been tense at first, expecting hidden traps or an ambush, but it turned out to be nothing more than unfounded worry.
“I, too, was quietly concerned. But… as you can see, we won’t be running into trouble or losing our way.”
“Yes.”
Lian nodded.
“At the very least, I don’t think we’ll be getting separated from Yuran.”
“Right… Looks like she very kindly cleared the path for us.”
Before us lay the wreckage—shattered and devastated ruins strewn about.
There was no need to scrutinize closely.
The entire interior of the passage was in utter ruin.
All of it was the trace Yuran had left behind.
The path she had taken… resembled the aftermath of a massive storm.
Traps and mechanisms once installed throughout had been utterly smashed, their remains hanging in tatters, and deep gouges marred the stone walls like scars.
Even heavy steel doors were so badly mangled that their original shape was unrecognizable, left crumpled and strewn across the floor.
It was as if she had torn through everything in her path.
“To think it would be this bad…”
Faced with the wreckage, Lian quietly clicked his tongue.
What lay beyond had been so important to the Cultists of the Evil God that they had blocked the entrance with the Tentacle Mass.
It wasn’t hard to imagine how much effort they had put into fortifying this place.
But none of it had even served to buy time against Yuran.
“…They must’ve spent a considerable amount of time and effort.”
Professor Shagas murmured as he looked around with a bitter expression.
There was anger in his voice, but also a kind of futility.
Strange patterns had been engraved along the passage.
Even though they had been caught in the storm called Yuran, those patterns still emitted a faint energy, as if they were still functioning.
Of course, it was so faint that it looked like it could disappear at any moment.
There were also traces suggesting people had lived here, and grotesque statues placed throughout.
Alongside weaponry, there were even crude facilities that looked like workshops and laboratories.
All of this confirmed that this was no mere hideout.
As mentioned earlier, this was a stronghold—a forward base for the Cultists of the Evil God.
“Haah…”
It was staggering to realize such a large-scale facility had existed right near the Academy and directly beneath the capital.
And not only himself—no one had noticed it.
Had they succeeded in their plans, whatever they may have been… just how much chaos would have followed?
He felt an unpleasant dryness in his mouth.
“Hmm…”
At that moment, Professor Shagas came to a halt.
Beneath his feet were several charred remnants, scattered in disarray.
At a glance, they resembled human shapes.
Could Yuran have burned them all to death in a fit of rage?
He suddenly remembered her quiet resolve to kill them all.
“Hm?”
Professor Shagas frowned slightly.
He bent down and carefully picked up one of the scattered remnants.
“Gwendil, take a look at this. Something’s off.”
“What do you mean?”
Without a word, Professor Shagas handed it to Lian.
It was a blackened piece of bone.
“A bone fragment…”
“Take a closer look.”
As he examined the fragment more closely, Lian’s brows twitched.
“This is…”
It was certainly similar to a human bone.
But it definitely wasn’t human.
Human bones didn’t have bizarre protrusions or sharp, spike-like features.
For a moment, Lian wondered if it might belong to a beastkin or a demi-human, but he shook his head.
Elf, orc, beastkin…
The shape was so grotesque that none of those races came to mind.
“This isn’t human.”
“…Yes. It’s like someone forcibly combined the bones of various creatures.”
“Indeed. The shape is human, but if you look closely, you’ll see features from other races. …Even among hybrids who inherit mixed traits from their parents, you’d never find something this extreme.”
Professor Shagas muttered in a low voice.
“…Just what kind of horrors were they committing down here?”
Having hunted Cultists of the Evil God for many years, he fully understood the implications of what he saw.
Some kind of horrific, twisted experiment—or ritual—had taken place here.
“It’s even more horrifying that something like this was happening right under our noses and no one noticed.”
“…”
The two men silently surveyed the scattered wreckage around them.
Then, following the trail of destruction left behind by Yuran, they resumed walking.
The passage was deeper and more complex than they had expected.
The underground of a city built over hundreds of years stretched out in all directions like an ant nest.
But there was no worry about getting lost.
Yuran’s trail had been left too clearly.
“…”
Amid all this, Lian noticed a change.
Unlike the chaotic and indiscriminate traces left near the entrance, the deeper they went, the more refined the traces became.
‘She’s already grown accustomed to her power in such a short time?’
Her trail was becoming more and more precise and efficient.
It looked as though she were minimizing unnecessary exertion and learning in real-time how to use her power properly.
How much farther did they go like that?
At last, a vast chamber appeared before them.
And awaiting them was a scene of devastation and grotesque horror, beyond comparison to anything they had encountered before.
“My God.”
Professor Shagas let out a sigh and shut his eyes tightly.
Lian, too, involuntarily held his breath at the sight before him.
At the center of the cavernous space stood a massive structure that appeared to be an altar.
And surrounding it were stains of dark, blood-red gore and unidentifiable flesh scattered all around.
Grotesque symbols, unrecognizable and drawn in dark crimson blood, were painted on the walls, and what looked like shackles and torture devices were strewn haphazardly across the floor.
All of it was evidence suggesting a large-scale and horrific ritual had taken place.
Lian—no, even Professor Shagas—had never seen anything of this magnitude before.
“Bastards… should be torn to shreds.”
Professor Shagas cursed, his voice filled with loathing.
‘…This is why.’
Lian suddenly recalled the expression Sister Roberta had made when speaking of human sacrifices in the past.
Her anger, contempt, and hatred…
Anyone who witnessed such a scene would have no choice but to react that way.
“Professor.”
“Hm.”
Lian pointed to one side.
There, a pile of half-burnt documents and ashes lay in disarray.
Had they tried to destroy the evidence but lacked the time? Quite a few documents remained unburnt.
“…A list.”
Professor Shagas muttered as he cautiously unfolded one of the charred papers.
A sharp gleam lit his eyes.
“With this, we can track down every last one of those masked cowards in hiding. And even their true objectives.”
He murmured quickly as he skimmed through the documents.
“They weren’t just trying to interfere with the summit… They meant to expose it completely, sour public opinion, and worsen the chaos within the Empire. And then…”
Lian silently watched the scene unfold and thought to himself:
‘So this is how it ends up again.’
The task requested by Princess Velita.
She had asked him to uncover the forces aiming to sabotage the summit.
Somehow, he’d ended up finding that very clue.
“There’s far too much to gather here. We’ll have to call others in later to handle it.”
Professor Shagas set the documents down as he spoke.
Just as he said, there was something more urgent now than recovering the evidence scattered around.
“…Yuran seems to be nearby. Let’s hurry.”
And sure enough, not long after, a vicious sound began to echo intermittently from the other side of the passage.
They had apparently gotten quite close to Yuran.
And so, when they finally stepped out of the last passage, a space even larger than the previous cavern appeared before them.
And at the center of that space…
There stood a grotesque, massive cocoon.
But it had already been brutally smashed apart and was now burning, filling the air with a pungent, acrid stench.
And that wasn’t all.
A mountain of grotesque corpses—monsters hideously fused from werewolves, humans, and other races—was piled high.
Their faces bore a striking resemblance to Jode’s, whom Lian had recently slain.
Among the wreckage, remains of Giant Ants were scattered as well.
Seeing it all, Lian realized that Windy May’s prediction had been correct.
“…Ah.”
And at the center of it all stood Yuran, completely unharmed.
There was nothing alive around her—nothing but her.
She slowly turned her head to look at the two of them, tilting her head slightly.
“…Told you not to come. Yet you did.”
“Yuran.”
Professor Shagas called out to her.
“…Are you alright?”
“I am. See? Not hurt.”
Yuran nodded.
She had annihilated hundreds—perhaps even more—in an instant, and had completely incinerated even the fragment of the Eight Demon Lords. As she said, not a single scratch marred her body.
“Goodness…”
Just then—
A voice that did not belong to any of the three of them rang out from behind.
“What’s with this mess?”
It was none other than Windy May Maddown.
Arriving just slightly late, she frowned as she scanned the horrific scene, then fixed her gaze on Yuran.
In her eyes—barely noticeable—was a glint of caution.
“Professor.”
“Lian.”
Letting out a small sigh, Windy May met Lian’s surprised gaze.
“…I know it’s odd to say this, considering I’m late, but it seems the incident has been largely resolved.”
She murmured as she formed a quick hand seal.
At the same moment, Lian felt the sticky pain and exhaustion wrapping around his body melt away instantly.
“Well done, all of you. Let’s leave the rest to others now.”
Indeed, as if on cue, more people began to arrive in droves.
Selendis, along with the capital’s guards.
Inquisitors and Holy Knights from the Holy Sun Church.
“Thanks to this, I’ve been up all night.”
Watching the newcomers scurry around, Windy May mumbled with a touch of complaint.
As she said, time had already passed from night into the early dawn.
In any case, it seemed the incident had come to a close.
“…”
In that moment, Yuran’s eyes, as she looked at Lian, flashed with an eerie glint—but only for the briefest instant.