*Whoosh!*
In the vast and seemingly endless cavern, a glowing crystal had once again turned into a streak of light, darting forward at extreme speed, leaving the Demon Beast Insects it passed far behind.
Riezel flew after the light without distraction, his speed just as fast, prompting Raven, who was keeping up behind him, to speak.
"What the hell are you trying to do?!"
Raven was sprinting across the ground, watching Riezel soar through the air at high speed, his eyes carrying a hint of shock.
Evidently, even a marquis like him had never seen flight magic before. Earlier, the urgency of battle had kept him from reacting, but now that he finally had, it was only natural for him to be stunned.
Fortunately, he wasn't slow.
Even though he couldn't fly like Riezel, as a Sword Saint, he could easily break the sound barrier while running on the ground, so despite his moment of shock, he didn't fall behind, staying right behind Riezel as his battered armor let out a series of clanking metallic sounds.
Upon closer look, it seemed that Raven's armor, Moniz, had recovered quite a bit, as some of the previously damaged parts had already returned to their original state.
Needless to say, this was due to Moniz's auto-repair ability, allowing it to slowly restore itself even if completely shattered, ensuring it would never be truly destroyed—as expected of an ancient mystical treasure like Rebellion.
To this day, no one on Akasha Continent had figured out a way to destroy this armor completely, which alone proved that the ancient magic civilization was far more advanced than modern magic civilization. Items left behind from that era were all extraordinary, beyond what modern magic technology could easily decipher.
Upon hearing Raven's question, Riezel glanced at him and replied calmly.
"I already told you, I've got things to do here. If you wanna leave, come find me. If not, then forget it. Just don't bother me."
Hearing this, Raven was momentarily speechless before finally asking another question.
"You really got a way out?"
"Don't make me repeat myself, old man." Riezel replied, but this time didn't even turn his head. "Are you leaving or not? Make up your damn mind."
At Riezel's words, Raven didn't say anything else and just kept running in silence, making it clear that, for now, he had given up on the idea of leaving this place.
Understanding this, Riezel didn't bother with Raven any further.
With that, a glowing crystal streaked through the air, followed closely by one man flying and another sprinting bitterly on the ground—forming a rather peculiar scene in this desolate cavern.
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
Along the way, countless Demon Beast Insects were startled by the two men and the crystal, filling the air with the rhythmic sound of fluttering wings.
Unlike before, however, the Demon Beast Insects didn't charge at them like crazed beasts, but as the streak of light approached, they reacted as if encountering something terrifying—scattering in all directions on the spot.
'Looks like these Demon Beast Insects are afraid of that crystal, huh?'
Riezel fell into deep thought as he gazed at the streak of light.
Meanwhile, Raven, who also saw the phenomenon, narrowed his eyes slightly and, just like Riezel, fell into deep thought.
'I wonder what that crystal's origin is... Can we take it with us?'
If they could, then the crystal would no doubt become a highly sought-after item across the continent, especially in countries that had suffered from Demon Beast Insects before—they would stop at nothing to get their hands on one.
Having such an item, the disasters caused by Demon Beast Insects that had plagued nations for so long could finally be dealt with, and there would be no need to worry about future disasters either.
Naturally, Raven was tempted to have one himself since if he could bring a piece of this crystal back, then even if Mavros Territory were to suffer from Demon Beast Insects, they could easily avoid or resolve it.
Both Riezel and Raven were lost in their own thoughts as they followed closely behind the crystal, passing through one cave chamber after another.
After traveling for a while, Raven didn't seem to notice anything unusual, but Riezel keenly realized that the crystal was slowing down.
Riezel immediately adjusted his pace, causing Raven, who was on the ground, to sense something and slow his running steps as well.
Before long, all three of them gradually came to a complete stop, but the moment they did, Riezel and Raven's eyes widened.
"A... city...?"
Raven, feeling shocked, could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Riezel, staring at the sight before him, also felt the same, a mix of shock and doubt filling his mind.
Right in front of them, the monotonous caves suddenly transformed into a vast, open space.
It was undoubtedly a cavern chamber with walls and a ceiling surrounding it, but in terms of sheer size, it far surpassed any of the cave chambers they had encountered before.
It was enormous—so enormous that Riezel and Raven could only barely make out the walls in the distance. By rough estimation, they would need to travel at least dozens of kilometers to reach them, maybe even more.
Even more shocking, within this massive chamber, a city actually stood.
It was a ruined city where most of the buildings still retained their shapes, but they were visibly old and worn. A towering wall surrounded the city, resembling an ancient fortress, with only a single entrance left open.
Meanwhile, the materials used for the walls and buildings all seemed to be stone, giving off the distinct aura of an ancient, foreign civilization.
Looking at this ancient city, Riezel subconsciously muttered.
"Ancient ruins..."
Indeed, this dilapidated, timeworn city felt exactly like the remnants of a bygone era, long forgotten by history.
It wasn't just Riezel who felt this way, since Raven also felt the same.
"Why..." Raven, gripping Rebellion tightly, muttered in confusion. "Why is it that within Underground Demon Beast Yarakulon's body, not only can humans like us survive, but there's also a mysterious giant wandering around and even an ancient city sitting here?"
Needless to say, this really turned one's worldview upside down—at least, this was the case for Raven. Even though he was a seasoned Sword Saint who had seen a lot and wandered across the continent in his younger days, he still ended up like this.
Riezel, on the other hand, regained his composure quickly.
"Well, this Underground Demon Beast seems to hold many secrets we don't know about..."
It was only natural since one of those secrets was right in front of them, revealing just a glimpse of itself.
"You're right..." Raven snapped out of it as well, suddenly sounding quite excited. "No matter what, these are surely ancient ruins that have never been discovered before. Inside, there might be lost knowledge, countless secrets, and even hidden treasures no one has ever seen."
As the thought that this city might contain ancient mystical treasures on the same level as his Rebellion and Moniz crossed his mind, Raven instinctively wanted to get closer.
*Swish!*
Just then, however, a fist suddenly came flying toward his face.
"?!"
Raven reacted instantly, jumping back to dodge the incoming strike.
"What are you doing?!"
Raven yelled angrily, glaring at Riezel.
"Seriously, shouldn't I be the one asking that?" Riezel casually pulled back his fist. "You were just gonna ignore my opinion and walk right in? You're even more arrogant than I thought."
'You're the arrogant one here!' Raven retorted inwardly.
Remembering how Riezel had barged into his home, provoked him without warning, and challenged him to a fight, Raven's mood took a turn for the worse.
In any case, even though Raven had indeed gotten a little too excited just now, with his strong personality, there was no way he would ever admit it.
"Riezel Brynhart, since these ancient ruins were discovered in my territory, even if the kingdom sends people here, as the lord, I have the primary right to explore them first."
Raven's point was obvious—he could go in whenever he wanted without anyone's permission since it was completely legal and justified.
However, that reasoning clearly wasn't going to work on Riezel.
"I remember that when ancient ruins are discovered, the first finder also has the right to be the first to explore them, isn't that right?" Riezel looked at Raven with a half-smile. "Besides, this isn't Mavros Territory but inside Yarakulon's body, so whether it's still in your territory or not is unknown. Now, please tell me, what really gives you the right to explore first?"
"..."
Raven was at a loss for words.
"Hmph, did you really think you could just walk in that easily, old man? Look ahead."
Saying this, Riezel turned his gaze toward the entrance of the ancient city.
Over there, two massive figures stood on either side like gatekeepers, guarding the city's entrance behind them.
"Giants...?" Raven muttered, his expression darkened at the sight.
Evidently, the enormous figures standing like gatekeepers at the entrance were the same kind of giant as before. However, these two were much larger than the previous one, standing at least seven or eight meters tall. If their size wasn't just for show, then it was easy to imagine that these two were far stronger than the one they had just fought.
Meanwhile, the crystal left behind by the defeated giant had already flown into the ancient city, disappearing from Riezel and Raven's sight.
Gazing at the two giants, Riezel spoke up.
"Well, although there are still a lot of secrets, one thing is clear—these giants are the city's guardians."
"Just like the one we defeated earlier, they're what's called 'Autonomous Guardians', created for the sole purpose of protecting something."
"And one more thing, they aren't living beings but artificial ones."
All of this was the information Riezel had gathered from the crystal using 'All Appraisal Magic Item'.
"You mean, if we try to get close, those giants will see us as enemies?" Raven asked in a low voice.
"Yeah." Riezel replied flatly.
"What should we do then? Just stand here and watch?" Raven asked again while frowning.
"Of course not." Riezel responded casually, shooting Raven a casual glance. "I mean, since we've made it this far, we're obviously going in."