Chapter 159 - Volume 8 (2/2)
“It’s the same as before?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
[………]
“No, wait, Onzada-dono says that the letters are shining brighter than before……”
“I see.”
How in the world are the two of you talking to each other?
As good as it was, given the technology of the magicians in the world and considering the [Hero’s Secret Art] that I’ve obtained, reading the genetic information shouldn’t have been possible.
So I thought that the key to it was [Magic Power] and [Attributes].
Thus, when they said that they needed the blood of many sacrifices, I considered that what they were after was in fact the [Pure Magic Power] that was obtained from the soul present within that blood.
But if it was merely pure magic, Geas or Onzada-kun should easily have managed it. Therefore, that’s not enough – you also needed the hero’s [Light Attribute].
Even though it had the same attributes as my human self, Geas and the rest didn’t have it.
“………”
…… eh? Wait, does that mean that it would have started up if I had hit it directly with [Sacred Magic] even if I hadn’t used my own blood?
“……………Is that the passage through?”
“It is.”
As I gave up on pursuing those deep thoughts, Geas didn’t probe further. What emerged was a passageway that lead within. At this point, I couldn’t care less about the details now.
The First Hero had left something behind here.
“Stone monuments?”
As we entered, there were stone monuments with glowing letters that flanked both sides of the passageway.
Written on all of them was the story behind the creation of this country of darkness. All of the secret arts that had been used in those days.
The further back one went, the more detailed the information was, and the more dangerous the techniques detailed.
[…………]
“I’m sorry. This is the limit for us.”
“…… okay.”
The sacred barrier that had been laid in layers was getting denser as we went deeper.
For humans, it seemed as if having a strong light-attributed magic power would let them go deeper? Or perhaps you couldn’t return without the power of a hero?
Ordinary demons and monsters who didn’t have the light attribute would be repelled by the barriers. A high-ranking demon would be able to forcibly push their way in, but the stone monuments wouldn’t have survived the impact.
Something that would rather be extinguished, than be used by evil…… huh? How thorough.
Is there something behind that was that dangerous?
“……nn?”
In the middle of the passageway, I found something that described a [Phantom Beast Humanization Art].
This was the method that Rinne and the rest used to humanize. So that’s as far as the twins managed to go. If I examined it a bit more closely, I could spot their small footprints.
H~~mmm…… This method was fundamentally different from the method that demons used to incarnate as humans.
It feels as if you would have to seal yourself with your own power? It wasn’t that much of a problem for the Beast-Demons like Geas who had little magic, but it didn’t suit Rinne at all.
Reading the details, it’s obvious that there were some very tearful efforts to transform a companion monster into a beautiful girl……
However, the method is still interesting.
For the time being, I’m going to just quickly browse through it and then go on ahead.
“…[Let there be light]…”
Gently releasing the sacred light, the stone monuments’ carving all lit up, glowing all the way down the passage.
It appeared to record the diary of the first hero or something like his monologues.
It was also slightly embarrassing to read through the feelings he held when he was building this nation and the dreams he wanted to achieve.
Hmmm, because it’s so embarrassing to read, I didn’t actually read it that carefully?
The person who’d created this might have lived not only in a different world, but in a different era entirely. There were elements of freedom and equality, which were philosophical ideas that were definitely less than a thousand years old.
But……
Paired with being this [Demon King ] and ruling them with fear for a hundred years, if he’d had a decent education, it shouldn’t have happened this way…… I think.
“An idealistic hero……?”
And as I reached the end of the passageway, an enormous stone monument stood before me.
No, this ……… this is…
“……A Contract……”
A contract for a [Skill System] that he had established with all of the [Greater Spirits] of this world.
“……… A replica.”
It would be utterly surprising if this was the original, but a mere Copy was meaningless to have.
Still, the information written on it is the real deal. The conditions for acquiring certain skills, the considerations in doing so, and how new skills should be handled should they arise were well documented.
In addition, since all of it was written in the [Spirit Language], if I inserted my magic power into it, it would still have some effect even if it was just a replica. This castle might have been built just to channel magic into this.
When I examined it closely, there was a certain part of the text that was strange.
It was as if someone had been forced to re-write certain parts of an English passage into German with nothing more than a dictionary.
Hohoh…… Because of this stone monument being in the center here, it seems that even creatures not covered in the contract, like Demons, could gain skills.
“…wai-… what is this?”
As I read on, I found something that was slightly less interesting.
It’s true that it was a “contract” where neither the spirit or the contractor was at an advantage, but if you factored this in……
“Rinne can’t possibly ever humanize……”
What we were trying to do was to find our own way, one that wasn’t okay to get disturbed by someone else.
This world had been distorted by someone’s ideas. Even the spirits who should have corrected it had been played without their knowledge.
And if this were allowed to continue, then this world would repeat the same mistake as that of Earth.
So… Because of that, I was able to enter into this “world”?
“……… fufufu, I just thought of something interesting.”
Author’s Notes:
A lot of exposition this chapter
Next time, another person’s perspective. What did Yuru come up with?