Chapter 135 : The Entrance
Chapter 135: The Entrance
Keeping his word, Henry arranged for a reconnaissance airship to transport Levi and the archaeological expedition to the Orens Mountain Range before dawn the following day.
“I can only bring you this far, sir.”
The pilot spoke to Levi.
“The terrain of the Orens Mountain Range is extremely complicated, and the weather conditions aren't particularly favorable. I'm afraid you'll have to make the rest of the journey on your own.”
“This is more than enough. Thank you for your help.”
Levi gave the pilot an encouraging smile.
“The next patrol will be in three days?”
“Yes, sir. Commander Henry said he'll pick everyone up then.”
“Very good. Remember what we agreed on. Once you arrive here, fire three blank shots from the cannon first. If I light a bonfire or fire a signal flare, then find a place to land. If I don't respond, return immediately and report to Henry. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
Naturally, the pilot had no idea what Levi had come here to do.
However, he also knew that there were some questions one simply shouldn't ask.
He nodded.
Levi chuckled and slipped a gold coin into the pilot's hand.
“Sir, this...”
“A small token of appreciation. Please accept it.”
Levi patted the pilot on the shoulder before leaving the cockpit and entering the passenger cabin, where he looked over the people before him.
They were all members of the archaeological expedition.
Or, to be more precise...
They were almost all university students.
Besides the elderly professor leading the team, the expedition consisted of four members.
Two men.
Two women.
There was no need to introduce Annie.
Levi already knew her.
The other woman was named Lavinia Godney, also a first-year student at Miskatonic University, specializing in ancient architectural ruins.
Unlike Annie, who always maintained an expressionless face, Lavinia was a cheerful, lively blonde woman.
According to her own introduction, her hobby was mountain climbing, and she possessed a fair amount of wilderness survival experience.
The muscular man who looked like a professional bodybuilder was named Joe.
He was a third-year archaeology student at Miskatonic University.
One glance at his physique made it obvious why the old professor had recruited him as the team's pack mule.
Ironically, despite his enormous build, his field of expertise was the study of ancient languages and scripts.
One truly couldn't judge a book by its cover.
The final member was an average-built blond man named Creed Johnson, a second-year archaeology student.
Compared to Joe, he had the physique of an ordinary young man.
His appearance was equally ordinary.
Wearing a pair of glasses, he looked rather scholarly.
His specialty was ancient folklore and legends.
“All right, everyone.”
Levi swept his gaze across the group before looking at the old professor.
“We've arrived. I need to remind all of you one last time. This expedition may be dangerous. If anyone wants to withdraw, now is the time. Don't worry about losing face. Returning home alive is far better than dying in these mountains.”
“Hey, don't underestimate us.”
Joe raised an arm thicker than Levi's waist—whether it had been built in the gym or not was anyone's guess.
“This isn't our first archaeological expedition. We've seen all sorts of dangers before. Wolves, wild dogs, bandits—we're not afraid of any of them!”
“Very well.”
Levi said nothing more.
He had already warned them about the dangers before boarding the reconnaissance airship.
Now he had asked again.
Since they insisted on going, Levi had no objections.
From his perspective...
He actually hoped they would come.
After all...
He genuinely couldn't understand those bizarre symbols that looked like random scribbles.
Soon, the reconnaissance airship landed in an open clearing near the center of the Orens Mountain Range.
Dawn had only just begun to break.
As everyone stepped off the airship, an icy wind rushed toward them, causing everyone to shiver involuntarily.
“All right. Let's move.”
Levi was the last to disembark.
After confirming their bearings, he spoke.
Originally, the old professor's group had come to the Orens Mountain Range in search of legendary ruins.
They had no specific destination.
After discussing it with Levi, everyone unanimously agreed to head first toward the location marked in the notebook.
While they had been flying overhead earlier, Levi had already identified the approximate location.
However...
The dense forest canopy completely concealed whatever lay beneath.
The only thing he could confirm...
Was that there were no people inside.
After all...
His 【Soul Vision】 wasn't merely for decoration.
Traveling through deep mountain forests was no easy task.
Especially while carrying enormous amounts of equipment.
Besides essential supplies such as tents and food...
Archaeology also required a considerable amount of specialized instruments.
That was precisely why the old professor had brought Joe along as the team's beast of burden.
Fortunately...
Although Henry couldn't spare any soldiers to support Levi...
He had provided him with some equipment.
Among it was a "Ground Walker" mech.
Calling it a mech was somewhat misleading.
It actually resembled a modern robotic dog much more closely.
It was approximately the size of a mule, possessed four legs, ran on steam power, and was primarily used by the military for transporting supplies through mountainous forests.
Levi certainly wasn't interested in carrying mountains of baggage himself.
So Henry had authorized the use of a Ground Walker to carry all their supplies.
After all...
That was exactly what it had been designed for.
Naturally, unlike modern robotic dogs capable of autonomous movement...
The Ground Walker still required someone to guide it.
Fortunately...
Leading it wasn't much different from leading a real mule.
Simply attach a rope and walk.
“Having one of these really is nice.”
Joe looked enviously at the Ground Walker beside him.
Although he was happy that his professor had invited him on an archaeological expedition...
He didn't particularly enjoy serving as nothing more than a pack mule.
After all...
Hauling supplies up mountains was exhausting work.
“Professor, could we buy one too? If we had one of these, wouldn't future expeditions become much easier?”
“We don't have that kind of funding.”
The old professor walked steadily through the mountains with the aid of his hiking staff.
Although his tone remained calm...
He still revealed a heartbreaking truth.
They were poor.
Well...
That was only to be expected for an archaeology department.
Walking through mountain forests was extremely exhausting.
Not only was the terrain difficult...
It also consumed tremendous physical energy.
Even the elderly professor couldn't keep going indefinitely.
The group advanced in intervals, stopping frequently to rest.
It wasn't until late afternoon that they finally reached their destination.
Considering they had departed before sunrise...
The amount of time the journey had consumed was truly astonishing.
“So this is the place?”
“It should be somewhere around here.”
Levi also stopped to wipe away his sweat.
At the same time, he glanced toward Annie in the distance.
Everyone else had flushed faces and was breathing heavily.
Only Annie remained as expressionless and composed as ever.
Apart from a faint blush upon her snow-white skin...
There wasn't the slightest sign that she had expended any physical effort.
Sigh...
Why did it feel like he had the weakest stamina among everyone here...
Well...
It wasn't merely a feeling.
Still...
Physical strength had never been what he relied on.
Levi took out his thermos and drank a mouthful of hot tea.
One advantage of steam machinery was that there was always a heating outlet available for brewing tea and keeping it warm.
Or perhaps...
For Imperial citizens, including a tea-brewing and warming device on every steam-powered machine was simply common sense.
The hot tea eased both body and mind.
Levi picked up his binoculars, pretending to survey the surroundings while secretly directing his Puppet Bird to search through the dense forest.
Soon...
“I found it. It's just ahead.”
Following the direction Levi indicated, the group walked for another half an hour before finally reaching their destination.
“Wow... This thing is incredible.”
Joe couldn't help but marvel at the sight before him.
The others silently nodded in agreement.
Standing before them...
Was an enormous stone gate over four meters tall.
On both sides stood equally massive stone pillars carved with strange patterns.
Above the lintel...
A gigantic All-Seeing Eye had been carved.
The eye looked astonishingly lifelike.
It silently gazed down upon the earth, as though observing and judging every visitor who approached.
“That's right! This is it! This is Mokhand architecture!”
Unlike everyone else...
The elderly professor became visibly excited the moment he saw the gate.
Meanwhile, his student Lavinia immediately picked up her camera and began snapping photographs one after another.
“Look at these stone pillars. At first glance, the carvings seem completely random, but they're actually symbolic of Mokhand civilization itself. The Mokhand people worshipped the Nightmare Goddess Mokhand, and their kingdom was named after Her. To the Mokhand people, nightmares themselves were illogical and chaotic. Therefore, when praising the Nightmare Goddess, they consumed a herb known as 'Divine Summoning Grass' before deliberately descending into madness. Once they regained their senses, they would leave behind chaotic markings, believing them to be divine revelations from the Nightmare Goddess and worshipping them accordingly...”
So...
They got high and then started drawing?
That was certainly... abstract.
Levi silently complained to himself before asking,
“Then why would the Mokhand people, who worshipped the Nightmare Goddess, carve the All-Seeing Eye here as well? The All-Seeing Eye is the symbol of the Creator God. It has nothing to do with the Nightmare Goddess, does it?”
“Folk beliefs differ greatly from the doctrines of the Holy Lord Church.”
The old professor shook his head.
“The Holy Lord Church teaches that the Creator God defeated and destroyed all the other gods before creating this new world, correct?”
“That's right.”
That was, after all, the official doctrine.
“But many folk religions don't see it that way. They believe that the Creator God was actually formed when the other gods, unable to bear humanity's suffering, willingly merged together into a single divine existence. They even have their own reasoning. After all, the various supernatural phenomena affecting humanity still exist today. If the Creator God truly destroyed the other gods and became the sole deity, then humanity shouldn't still be influenced by those other gods at all.”
“I see.”
Levi nodded.
It was essentially the same struggle over authority and interpretation that existed between the Royal Family and the Holy Lord Church.
Only this time...
It was between folk religions and the Holy Lord Church.
The folk religions believed the Creator God had been formed by the union of all gods.
Thus, every god was fundamentally equal.
The Holy Lord Church, on the other hand, claimed that the Creator God had defeated every other deity and unified the world.
Therefore, the Creator God alone was the true deity.
The others were nothing more than defeated losers.
“There goes the professor again.”
Listening to the old professor's enthusiastic explanation, his three students all wore helpless expressions.
“Professor, don't let any priests hear you saying that. Did you forget the last time priests from the Holy Lord Church blocked our university gate for three straight days?”
“Hmph! So what?”
Hearing his student's complaint, the old professor flared his beard and glared furiously.
“Scholarship demands openness and inclusiveness! We're not those fanatics! Whatever the Creator God truly is should be determined through evidence! The Holy Lord Church merely makes claims, but where's their evidence? What? Are scholars supposed to let a bunch of religious fanatics dictate what we can and can't research? Absolutely ridiculous!”
“Let's leave the academic debate for later.”
Levi had no interest in that discussion.
Whether the Holy Lord Church was right...
Or whether the folk religions were right...
Neither had the slightest relevance to his current situation.
What did matter...
Was...
“So... how exactly are we supposed to open this door?”
The stone gate stood over four meters high.
It appeared thick and immensely solid.
Were it not for the narrow crack down the middle through which a faint breeze emerged...
One might have assumed it was merely a fake doorway carved into solid rock.
The problem was...
How were they supposed to open it?
“I brought explosives. Should we just blow it open?”
Joe raised his hand.
Only to receive a fierce glare from the old professor.
“You fool! Look at the structure! This is obviously an underground complex! If you accidentally collapse the whole place, what exactly are we supposed to investigate afterward?”
“Then let's wait until tomorrow.”
Levi glanced at the sky.
Mountain climbing truly wasted an unbelievable amount of time.
They had spent nearly an entire day climbing.
Now...
Night was almost upon them.
“We should set up camp here first. Tomorrow morning we'll think of a way to open it.”
No one objected to Levi's proposal.
After climbing mountains all day, everyone's bodies ached with exhaustion.
The group pitched their tents on the flat ground beside the stone gate.
They lit a fire.
Ate dinner.
Then everyone retired to rest.
“Phew... This really was exhausting...”
Back inside his own tent, Levi yawned.
Closing his eyes, he crawled into his sleeping bag and quickly fell asleep.
However...
Who knew how much time had passed...
“Whoooo—————!”
An icy gust of wind suddenly swept over him.
Levi shivered violently.
Opening his eyes, he looked around.
It was now the dead of night.
Outside...
There wasn't the slightest sound.
Yet for some reason...
His sleeping bag felt freezing cold.
Almost as though it had been soaked in water.
What the hell was this now?
Levi frowned.
Checking his pocket watch, he saw it was almost time for the next watch rotation.
He stood up and stepped outside the tent.
The scene that greeted him...
Left him completely stunned.
The entire campsite...
Was utterly silent.
Crackle, crackle, crackle...
The campfire continued burning softly.
Apart from that...
There wasn't a single sound anywhere in the camp.
Levi narrowed his eyes and quickly swept his gaze across the surroundings.
Then he made a shocking discovery.
The entire campsite...
Contained no one except himself.
At least...
There wasn't a single soul visible.
What happened?
Levi immediately searched the surrounding tents.
Every one of them...
Was completely empty.
No living people.
No dead bodies.
At that very moment...
“Whoooo—————”
Another bone-piercing gust of icy wind swept past, making Levi shiver involuntarily.
He slowly turned toward the direction from which the wind had come...
What entered his vision...
Was a pitch-black entrance.
That's right.
The cavern that had originally been sealed shut by the stone gate...
Had somehow opened.
Beyond it...
Nothing but endless darkness.
It looked exactly like the gaping maw of some terrifying monster.
“This really is troublesome.”
Looking at the scene before him, Levi quietly sighed.
Then he reached for his waist, drew the Persuader, and cautiously walked toward the entrance.
(End of Chapter)