Chapter 572 - 566. The Corrupted One
The moment they saw the old man’s expression, they knew something was wrong.
"What happened?" Bassena and Zein immediately approached the Iron Mountain. "You’ve found the source, right? Is there any problem with it?"
"We found it, alright," the old man replied bitterly. He sounded disappointed for some reason; perhaps that was why Naoya took over the explanation.
Finding a way inside a ruin was harder than just trying to find a way across the forest, even with the absence of an illusion effect. Because of that, Naoya only sent four-star espers and above, including himself. It was tricky even with meticulous planning, because the ruin seemed like the remains of an Old Age lab or research center. With many rooms and floors, it was no different than a labyrinth. Thankfully, they still managed to locate what seemed to be the source of the fog.
"The miasma got very thick in the room, to the point that only those with special vision skills could see," Naoya explained. Naturally, an archer like him had one. "It didn’t let out miasma or anything like that, but the fog circling it was fierce and almost alive, and there was something like...vibration coming out--like a pulse?"
"And?"
"And I came inside to destroy it--or at least take it away," Tian Yu took over, still with a disappointed tone.
Well, it was clear that the attempt was unsuccessful because the field of fog was still there. Naturally, they didn’t say anything--not even Naoya, who should know what happened--and just let the old man reveal it.
"We reached the chamber where what we thought to be the source was--me and this kid," the old man pointed to Naoya, who scratched his cheek when he was called a ’kid’. "We planned everything well and moved fast following the rope and markings. We were still in low green when we reached the chamber."
That seemed sufficient enough--Zein thought. It was actually remarkable, knowing how treacherous the miasma’s corruption in that part of the field was. So...why?
Tian Yu shook his head and let out the heavy sigh he had been holding. "I couldn’t get through."