Chapter 48 Part7 (1/2)
<chapter 48.=”” -=”” premature=”” family=”” plan=”” -=”” 7=””>
An hour pa.s.sed, and when they were about done, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo looked over the map, which he'd made with Dana and Seira's help, and nodded his head.
”Mm. This looks about right.”
”You're quite good at drawing too, Hero.”
Because it'd been dozens of years since Dana or Seira had last been to the capital, there was no guarantee that their knowledge was reliable. However, once he heard their explanation regarding the capital, he pretty much knew how he should move from then on.
”The structure's a lot simpler than Bayran, which had traps everywhere. All we need to know is where the fortifications are, where the troops are stationed, and where the palace is... Oh. The source of darkness is beneath the palace!? Then he pretty much does leave it right next to him!”
”Dana told you that already. That the source of darkness couldn't be moved. So the Emperor just moved right next to it.”
How valuable was it for him to do such a thing!?
”He wanted to monopolize it. Since it's a treasure that made the underground, which was originally nothing more than a slightly large prison, into an Empire, and so... The Emperor wouldn't have wanted it to leave his side.”
”Ah, as I thought. Maintaining an Empire this size is abnormal, huh.”
”Of course it is. It'd be impossible with even the surface's magic engineering.”
”So why is that source thing here?”
Why exactly did such a treasure lay dormant underground? What, did they try to destroy it, but were met by a level 10 dragon or something? No, probably not. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo grumbled and Dana smiled.
”Of course not. It's just a huge, everlasting ma.s.s of pure energy. Some say it's a relic left behind during the Age of G.o.ds, before civilization even began. We cannot identify the origins of many level 7 artifacts and up. Please look at it that way.”
”The dungeon's loot does seem kind of out of place...”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was sure of something. The source of darkness... There was something behind it! Something that was a pain in the a.s.s!
However, there was no point in worrying about that now, so he decided to worry about it later. Getting the Emperor and the Lich away from the source of darkness took priority.
”The remaining problem is... Mm. We need to figure out where exactly the train will take us in the capital.”
”You can just sacrifice one of your Pauls.”
”Mm, that's a bit... How about I use a golem instead.”
He was reluctant to sacrifice one of the Pauls, as they'd regained a part of their human selves. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo instead decided to sacrifice one of the remaining level 4 Bronze Golems in his golem squad.
”Alright. We've gone over the main issues. Let's do it as we've discussed. I'll take Senior Prince to the surface right now. ...Oh, and Dana, you come to the surface too.”
”I'd like to be with you Hero, but... Ah, is this perhaps related to what you were talking about before?”
”Yep.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo grinned, seeing Dana's eyes gleam with excitement, and said exactly what she wanted to hear.
”I'll introduce you to the spirits on the surface. You're plenty strong already, but an Elementalist needs their spirits.”
”Aaaah! Thank you so much, Hero!”
As expected, it was easy to convince her when spirits were involved. The spirits of Bayran had been sacrificed over several years, and she had essentially been the one to kill them, but... perhaps that was why she wanted to meet living spirits so much.
”I'll take these two to the surface and take a look around, so you guys can all just rest...”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo stopped partway. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like they'd just stay put and rest. Everyone, including Kratia, looked at him, intent on going to the surface.
He supposed it only made sense. They had lived underground for so many years, so how could they not want to see the surface? But why was it that he felt that that wasn't the only reason? And why did the back of his head sting so much?
”Are you guys fighting something I'm not aware of...? Are you fighting something somewhere else?”
”Probably a fight over love.”
”Kratia, you're actually Korean, aren't you?”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo ultimately sighed and was forced to take all of them to the surface. Since they were so physically and mentally fatigued from the last battle, he was going to let them rest for a day or two anyway, so it wouldn't be problematic to his schedule. Plus, the Heaven Door's Key required much fewer bones and mana than before.
”This is...”
”It really is the night sky.”
With the Heaven Door's Key, an unbelievable high rank artifact, they could easily ignore the barrier and cross over to the surface; the party arrived in a quiet forest near the capital and were speechless for a time.
A city filled with life, as well as a natural sky with the moon and stars. No matter how much they looked, the party remained mesmerized by the abundance of life.
”Ah, I remember us being like this when we first got here too.”
”To think we'd be able to come to the surface so easily...”
”There was an artifact that could easily break through the barrier like this... My father is truly pitiful.”
”Yeah. Instead of developing the undead curse, he could've just gone around killing Steves instead; it would've been a lot simpler.”
”Steve?”
”He's a great guy in the neighborhood who always leaves something for me whenever I see him.”
”???”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo waited for them to calm down and then led them into the capital. Rem accessed the golem network, allowing them to use a path with no one around, so no one noticed them.
After the Emperor had torched his house, the Lawrence shop and Ye Jin Jin (she was operating under the alias, Izuna on the surface) moved closer to the Sun G.o.d religion. Of course, that location was reported to Lee s.h.i.+n Woo beforehand.
”This must be it.”
”It's quite grand...”
”You normally can't enter this part of the capital with just money... How many months did this take you to procure?”
”It's not all that great. Since we're publicly antagonizing the Emperor.”
To be more specific, he and the Emperor had opposing opinions of what was happening on the surface. Just that would draw the Emperor's attention, but... Lee s.h.i.+n Woo hoped his little trick would divert the Emperor's attention.
”Mr. s.h.i.+n Woo!”
”It's been a while.”