Outside the Great Pit, about twenty meters away, Totorot paced anxiously back and forth, while Black Knight stood quietly in place, waiting for Riezel and Aesc to return.
As for Black Knight, it was one thing, but Totorot clearly was not the type who could sit still.
"I’m telling you, Black Knight, don’t you feel like there’s some really bad aura coming from the Great Pit?" Totorot asked restlessly.
"Yeah..." Black Knight was silent for a moment before replying. "A creepy feeling has been uncontrollably welling up from deep inside my heart since just now, and it’s only getting stronger..."
In fact, that creepy feeling had been there from the start.
It was precisely because of that feeling that Totorot and Black Knight instinctively resisted getting closer to the Great Pit.
But now, that feeling was growing stronger and stronger, and faint, ash-like smog seemed to be drifting out from the Great Pit, as if something was burning.
It was clear that something was happening.
"Aesc didn’t get into trouble, did she?"
Totorot looked worried.
"Don’t worry."
Black Knight still managed to keep calm.
"You know how strong Aesc is. She’s overcome all kinds of hardships so far, so there’s no way a single Great Pit could give her any trouble."
"And that magus—his strength is also unfathomable. With him by Aesc’s side, the two of them looking out for each other, there really shouldn’t be any danger in all of Britain that could pose a real threat to them."
During the past half month of travel, Riezel had never revealed his true face, always maintaining a mysterious and secretive demeanor, not even giving his real name, so Aesc and the others could only call him ’magus.’
However, as for his strength, Totorot and Black Knight had already witnessed it for themselves.
Over the past half month, no matter how many magical beasts or how many Moss they encountered in the wilderness, Riezel could always handle everything calmly and effortlessly. Even when surrounded by a horde of Moss or hunted by packs of magical beasts, he could easily dispose of his enemies without even breaking a sweat.
Because of that, even though Totorot and Black Knight had never seen Riezel fight with all his might, they no longer doubted Aesc’s claim that he was even stronger than she was.
At this point, they half believed it.
As for why they only believed halfway, it was because they trusted Aesc’s strength even more and had never witnessed Riezel’s full power themselves, so they couldn’t believe it completely.
Even so, Riezel’s strength had earned the recognition of both Totorot and Black Knight.
In Black Knight’s view, even if Riezel’s strength was not quite as high as Aesc’s evaluation, it was still enough to place him among the very top ranks in all of Britain.
With such a magus teaming up with Aesc, the chance of them facing any danger they could not handle was exceedingly small.
Black Knight’s words convinced Totorot, finally stopping his pacing.
Just then, something strange happened in the direction of the Great Pit.
*BOOM!*
With an explosive sound, a burst of fire shot out from within the Great Pit, streaking outward.
*Rumble—!*
At the same time, the Great Pit suddenly trembled, and before long, a terrifying power of curses surged out like black haze, with countless cursed hands appearing and stretching from the mouth of the pit, swaying and reaching, looking both bizarre and sinister.
"What?!"
"Aesc!"
Black Knight and Totorot’s expressions changed drastically at the same time as they stared at the phenomenon unfolding in the Great Pit, their faces full of shock.
What was that?
A curse?
How could there be so many, and so terrifying?
As Black Knight and Totorot both reeled in shock at the terrifying power of the curse emerging from the Great Pit, a cold voice rang out from midair.
"Get back!"
Within the flames that had shot into the air, a cloaked and hooded young man clenched his palm.
In an instant, a black sword appeared in his hand, and he swung it downward.
*Swish!*
Surging flames instantly swept down from the sky like a falling meteor, crashing straight into the Great Pit and smashing into the twisting, stretching curse that looked like black smoke.
*BOOM!*
With a thunderous roar, the flames tore through the cursed hands, evaporating their power and driving the dense, black haze-like energy back into the Great Pit, forcing them to retreat.
Even though the cursed hands that had stretched out writhed violently, still mangled and broken as if unwilling to be pushed back so easily, perhaps because the source of their power still slumbered and had not fully awakened, the strength of the curse seemed to wane the moment they emerged from the Great Pit.
As a result, the cursed hands, robbed of their strength, could only be forced back under the onslaught of the overwhelming flames.
Soon, the fire burned the curse away entirely, and the remnants withdrew to the bottom of the Great Pit, vanishing without a trace.
Only then did the flames begin to subside, the firelight in the sky descending toward the ground.
"Huff... Huff..."
Riezel dropped to one knee, utterly spent.
Sweat dripped from beneath his hood, and his ragged breathing echoed in the air, making his dire state all too clear.
*Cough!* *Cough!*
Aesc, still in Riezel’s arms, fared even worse.
She looked as though she had just been dragged from drowning, and after a few harsh coughs, she suddenly began to vomit.
""Aesc!""
Seeing this, Totorot and the Black Knight’s expressions changed once again before hurrying over and stopping in front of Riezel and Aesc.
"Aesc! Are you alright?"
Totorot called out in panic.
"I-I’m fine..."
Aesc looked a bit better, but she was still extremely pale and seemed terribly weak.
"Here, drink some water."
The Black Knight took out a canteen and handed it to Aesc so she could drink.
"Thank you."
It seemed that this was no ordinary water, but a potion mixed with special herbs.
As soon as Aesc drank it, her condition improved noticeably.
Upon seeing this, the Black Knight handed the canteen to Riezel as well.
Riezel took it without hesitation and drank several gulps, steadying his breathing.
"What did you two run into down there?" Totorot asked urgently. "How did you end up like this?"
"That was a curse just now, wasn’t it?" Black Knight recalled the earlier scene and spoke in a deep voice. "From what I could tell, it should be something of the same origin as the curse on the Moss. Did you run into the Moss in the Great Pit? Or was it some kind of fully formed Great Calamity?"
Riezel did not answer, but Aesc gave a wry smile and replied.
"It would have been better if it were just a Great Calamity."
Aesc actually said that, treating the so-called Great Calamity—something that had always been seen as a natural disaster—as something minor.
It couldn’t be helped.
"What lies beneath is far worse than any Great Calamity."
Just recalling what she had seen at the bottom of the Great Pit made Aesc’s expression turn bitter and ugly, which caused Totorot and the Black Knight to both suck in a breath.
Having traveled with Aesc for so many years, this was the first time they had seen her make such a face. Even when some of the worst incidents happened during the removal of Calamity—incidents caused by Britain’s fairies—her expression had never looked so bad.
Aesc then continued.
"We can’t stay here any longer."
She staggered to her feet, her tone brooking no argument.
"Although whatever is down there hasn’t awakened yet, my presence has already disturbed it. If we stay any longer, there’s a real chance it might open its eyes."
"We have to leave at once and look for a way to keep this place under surveillance."
"Otherwise..."
No one knew what outcome she imagined, but Aesc showed rare frustration and bit her lip.
Seeing Aesc like this, Totorot and the Black Knight exchanged a glance and finally nodded.
Even though they still had many questions, since Aesc had spoken so decisively, all they could do was trust her judgment and follow her lead.
"Are you okay?"
After making her decision, Aesc walked over to Riezel, helped him up, and asked with concern.
"Is there anywhere you’re still feeling unwell?"
Riezel didn’t react much to Aesc’s words, but they did surprise Totorot and Black Knight.
They could clearly sense the concern in Aesc’s voice—something rarely, if ever, shown before—and it was impossible to miss.
Moreover, as she spoke, there was genuine worry in her eyes.
For the two who had always traveled with her, this was truly startling.
As her companions, they knew well that even though she was called a savior and did a savior’s work, years of hardship had left her heart full of wounds.
Because of that, she had become cold at her core.
But now, the deep coldness in her voice, even if only for a moment, seemed to have vanished—a change hard for those who understood her to believe.
"I admit that curse really was frightening." Riezel shook his head, his voice calm again. "Luckily, I already had a high resistance to curses, so it didn’t do much to me."
Aesc was the same.
Because she was a Fairy of Paradise and had divine protection from the Inner Sea of the Planet, that terrifying curse did not cause her any real harm. If it had been anyone else facing such a curse—one capable of corrupting the planet itself—even if they survived, they would have suffered unimaginable sickness and aftereffects.
"Good..." Aesc said in relief. "Alright, there’s no time to waste. Let’s get out of here first."
"Yeah."
Riezel nodded without objection, then reached out to Totorot and Black Knight.
"You two, hold on to me."
Totorot immediately grabbed his hand, while Black Knight placed his hand on Totorot’s shoulder.
As for Aesc, she kept leaning against Riezel.
"Greater Teleportation!"
Only then did Riezel activate the teleportation magic, taking everyone away in an instant.
On a desolate plain, the Great Pit sat quietly as if nothing had ever happened.
Just like that, everything returned to calm once more.
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next Chapters early at: /VALRRR]