EWH Chapter 142

Splash, splash…

No matter how careful they were, loud water sounds echoed with each step they took. Their hearts clenched needlessly as ripples constantly disturbed the previously calm surface.

“Geez, we can’t go quietly at all… Won’t this wake that thing?”

Ramiya, walking at the back, asked worriedly.

“Can’t you do something with spirits?”

“I’m not very good at such delicate work…!”

“What about Nover?!”

“Huh? Oh, walking on water…? It’s possible… but drawing the magic circle would take too long… Since the distance is short, just walking would be faster.”

Nathan said while glancing down.

‘…Besides, it probably wouldn’t make much difference anyway…’

Seeing their responses, Ramiya finally pressed her lips together with a blank expression.

Their eyes were busy checking beneath the surface with each step forward. But they couldn’t exactly run across either. So they could only cross as quickly as possible while wondering ‘Is this okay?’

Thanks to their caution, they managed to reach the temple without incident.

“Phew…”

Only after stepping onto the temple ruins, away from the undulating water surface, did Nathan finally release the breath he’d been holding and clutch his chest. Focusing on everything during that short walk had been utterly draining.

Understandably so, as the massive serpent coiled beneath the surface was more enormous than any demon they’d encountered, with an equally impressive aura of intimidation. It clearly wasn’t something meant to be fought. If they disturbed it wrongly…

“This entrance won’t work.”

Azar sighed as he spoke.

Upon arrival, they found the temple’s entrance had collapsed and was unusable. With no choice, they looked around for another way in. However, collapsed debris blocked paths, and puddles instead of footing made movement difficult.

Still, looking further, they found a broken window and wall cracks twisted from the temple’s collapse. They chose the window that looked less dangerous and easier to climb. However, there was a problem. While it might be fine for the relatively smaller Ramiya and Ali, it would be tight for the other three.

“Maybe the two of us should go in first and check inside?”

Ramiya suggested, nodding toward Ali. Ali immediately showed his reluctance.

“Mm, good idea. Go ahead.”

But since Azar nodded in agreement, thinking it wasn’t a bad idea, Ali had no choice but to comply. Ramiya immediately threw her greatsword through the window, then grabbed the windowsill and slipped inside smoothly. Ali followed.

“…”

“…”

“…”

An extremely awkward silence fell as only the three remained.

Azar awkwardly watched the other two, mindful of their previous incident, when Remberton, who had been staring at the window Ramiya disappeared through, turned his head and announced while walking toward the back of the building:

“…I’ll look around the area more.”

“Ah, sure. Shout if anything happens.”

Remberton just waved his hand dismissively and jumped across to the opposite side using the building debris as footing.

“…Why don’t you two try talking sometime?”

At Azar’s casual suggestion, Nathan gave a bitter smile. Of course, Nathan had been thinking it was a headache too. But conversation isn’t something one can do alone—what could he do if the other party had no intention of talking?

“Umm, if the opportunity arises…”

So Nathan evaded the subject.

“Azar!”

Thankfully, Ali’s quick return meant Nathan didn’t have to add anything more.

“You guys should just come through here too? Everywhere else is completely blocked. If we force it, everything might collapse. Though, there are some holes in the ceiling—maybe we could climb up and jump down?”

Ali, clinging to the window, said while twirling his finger in the air.

“Talk sense. Ali, how’s this wall from the inside? Think it’ll be okay if it breaks?”

“Hmm, probably…? There’s a pillar supporting the ceiling here, so as long as we don’t touch that…?”

“Move aside.”

Azar picked up a piece of debris from the ground.

“If we break this part, we should be able to get in.”

“I could break it too.”

Azar snorted in response.

“Yeah, and bring down the whole building.”

A shattering sound rang out as the window frame broke inward. The noise was louder than expected, making Nathan’s shoulders jump. They immediately froze, pressing their lips shut and checking the water’s surface.

…Did a ripple appear?

Nathan felt uneasy somehow. Of course, he might have seen wrong, or it could have been ripples from the wind. The surface was calm again now. He could dismiss it as needless worry. But it could also be his instincts sharply reacting and sending warnings.

And Nathan thought this was the latter case.

“…You go in first.”

Nathan said while keeping his eyes on the water’s surface and pushing Azar’s back as he stepped backward. Whatever the case, getting inside seemed better for now.

Azar immediately drew his sword with its scabbard, cleared the remaining sharp glass fragments from the window frame with the scabbard, and hurriedly jumped through.

“Ali, what about Ramiya?”

Nathan, about to step onto the windowsill, belatedly asked.

“I’m right here, Nover.”

Ramiya came walking over while waving.

“I spotted Remy through a window over there, so I went to tell him to come back.”

“You saw him well.”

At Azar’s question, Ramiya just shrugged.

“The noise was quite loud inside? All that careful walking was for nothing.”

“That’s why we’re hurrying in now.”

“He heard it too and headed back.”

True to those words, Remberton was coming down from the debris pile. Nathan hurriedly stepped onto the windowsill, worried about what Remberton might say.

“It’s quite high here, be careful.”

“Yeah…”

Standing on the windowsill and looking down, it was indeed higher than expected. His height probably made it seem even higher. Nathan blinked, feeling dizzy from the height.

Just then, an imposing voice suddenly rang out.

[Why have you come here.]

“…?!”

But it seemed Nathan was the only one who heard the voice.

As he startled and froze on the windowsill, looking around, the other four acted as if they hadn’t heard anything.

[Why do you interfere with me?]

The voice came again. It resembled the growl of a beast. But again, Nathan alone heard it.

“Nathan? What are you doing, not coming down?”

Azar reached out toward him, thinking Nathan might be having trouble getting down due to the height and uneven floor.

“Ah, no. I’m coming.”

Nathan hurriedly grabbed the outstretched hand and stepped down. Though he stumbled due to the twisted floor, Azar’s firm grip pulled him back, preventing him from falling. However, Nathan’s attention was completely elsewhere.

[This was a righteous trial.]

The voice continued.

[But you ruin everything. Look, where else could there be a trial more meaningless than this…!]

Though Nathan felt nauseous and his head throbbed, thanks to his training through Calypse, he could quickly compose his expression. Looking at the others confirmed it. This voice was indeed only audible to him.

[Because of your presence here, the trials he should face have become this meaningless, and the hardships he should endure have been weakened immeasurably… This can no longer be called a trial. What am I to do about this…!]

Moreover… listening to the content, the voice’s owner was likely the sacred relic. Furthermore, it seemed to find him particularly objectionable, with displeasure evident in every word.

But what did it expect him to do about it?

Nathan found it absurd when he heard those words. The way it spoke as if the dungeon’s magic breaking and their arrival here were all his fault was quite ridiculous. Why was it confronting him about their reduced hardships being wrong? Nathan felt rebellious and tried to ignore the noisy voice, pretending not to hear it.

[…How dare you come here, you who turned your back on the divine, you who stepped into the darkest paths. I cannot fathom with what face you’ve arrived. You should not have come here. Your very existence is a denial. Nothing could be more wicked…]