Chapter 515 - Mysterious Portal In The Dark Empty Room
"Hey, where are you going evil one? It's not that I care about you or anything, but this maze is full of traps and mechanics." Nell shouted at the big man who was going somewhere on the first floor.
"That would be more interesting. I will explore this maze thoroughly. Nothing can stop me even though that blue-haired man is still around to guard this place." Xero waved his hand without looking back. He kept walking away as if he was in his own territory.
"Well, it's up to you." Nell decided not to give another warning. She swallowed back her words and canceled her intention to tell some rooms, which were quite troublesome even for her team.
At that moment, a patch of the floor suddenly disappeared and sucked the Heretic God down somewhere. He fell into a trap despite having just been warned of it.
*Bam*
"Woooho!"
The sound of booming and enthusiastic shouts echoed from the passage in the distance. Elysia just shook her head when she saw the Evil God instantly trigger and plunge into a deadly hidden room full of traps.
*Bam*
The open floor then closed as if there had never been a hole.
"..." Everyone didn't know what to say. Even so, there was no one to worry about the Evil God's well-being.
"Anyway, let's go to the deepest floor. One of the most sacred places with so many relics and treasures. I warn you all in advance. Please don't touch or trigger anything around you carelessly. Do you understand?" Nell lectured everyone on the team like an overly concerned instructor.
"Un, we will be careful!" Sylvia replied with a salute. She then rubbed her hands together and whispered to her friend. "Hehe, Ely, we will become treasure hunters and relic looters. We will become ultra rich soon~"
"Uhm... Aren't you already very rich, Sylvi? Money is the last thing you need to worry about even if you're not looking for them, right?" Elysia smiled in amusement to hear that.
"No, no, it's different. All my wealth is inherited from my father. Sooner or later, it will run out. Since I will depend on you from now on, then I also need to think of something so that our finances are never in a difficult situation." Sylvia nodded and folded her arms while puffing out her chest as if what she said was something noble and justifiable.
"..." Dylan didn't know how to respond. If he thought about his daughter's words briefly, it would sound like he was dead and his fortune passed on to his daughter.
*Thud*
Everyone stomped their feet on Nell's golden air tread. They had arrived at the deepest floor.
"Hou... So, a place like this is one called a sealed area, huh. Thousands of curse bearing creatures are under there, waiting for this seal to collapse in a few months." Dylan muttered while stroking his chin. He looked into the sealing chamber, which was so eye-catching.
"You already know about it? Did the Evil God tell you everything?" Nell felt a little curious about the extent of the relationship between this Devil Emperor and that Evil God.
"Not really. Some of my knowledge of the lost history comes from my research on relics. Several history books record some important points about it. And, I think, you or your followers are the ones who are deliberately leaving it all behind for future generations. Am I right, o the Goddess of Blessings?" Dylan acted as if he was a sage who had just uncovered a divine secret.
"That's true, but we created it and left it exclusively for the Human Race. But, well... Who would have thought that some of the relics fell to the devil's side." Nell shrugged as if she didn't think much of it. In retrospect, it was only the will of his followers who intended to record the facts of world history.
Unfortunately, the accursed's influence managed to disrupt the world even though they were sealed. No one knew the details of what that God-level accursed monster had done to this world, but it was no small matter nonetheless.
After that, Rhea decided to forcibly close the sealing chamber's gate, then repaired the mechanism so it couldn't be opened from inside or outside. That sky stone gate had to be destroyed, or no one had access to enter or exit.
"Let's find the core room." Rhea suggested and walked ahead. However, Oceanid preceded her because he was still on duty as a vanguard.
The others then just followed closely behind. Their main objective was simple, but they couldn't find the room in question even after an hour of searching.
"Ugh, we might have destroyed dozens of traps, mechanisms, and puzzles. But, but, where is the treasure room? Was the room we were looking for actually never been here to begin with? We're just walking around on the same floor. Look, we've arrived at this sealing chamber again." Sylvia puckered her lips and chirped a complaint. She then pointed at an asymmetrical stone gate in front.
"Hmm... This is weird. Was it possible that he created the tenth floor just to secure this maze's core room? But, he loves odd numbers and it would be unusual to find his creations in even numbers." Oceanid folded his arms while trying to think of the possibilities.
"It would be pointless to consider this and that. Let's check down there with brute force." Elena rolled her eyes. She was tired and bored enough to stay in this maze any longer.
"En, that way, we will find out the hidden facts. It won't hurt to try and if the assumption is wrong, then we won't be at a disadvantage either." Elysia used more gentle words to get everyone's approval.
"I think you're right, Ely. Let's break into this floor one more time and see what happens. But, we better find the right spot. It would be disastrous if a swarm of accursed monsters got free." Nell nodded in agreement and suggested. Everyone gave their approval, and they went to a spot far from the sealing chamber.
"Hey, father, what are you doing over there? We go or you'll be left behind." Sylvia called out to her father, who was engrossed in observing the ancient writings on the wall.
"No, it's nothing." Dylan just shrugged his shoulders and immediately went after his daughter.
In an empty room in a safe area, Elysia and everyone entered there and decided to make a hole in the floor.
Elena simply made a circle and applied high-level gravity magic. She then added a structured kinetic force to make the hole go down slowly and carefully.
*Bam!*
The chunk of thick sky stone fell down and made a loud sound. Below there really was an empty room that was as dark as a bottomless abyss. They couldn't even see the part of the floor that fell just now.
"Below there really is an empty room... A hidden floor? But, why is it so dark there with no blue crystals or blue torches?" Nell peeked down and got a slight chill.
"Shall we go dwon there and explore the tenth floor?" Rhea asked Elysia.
Elysia took a deep breath and nodded. "Huff... Alright, our current objective is to find this maze's core room to secure some items, right? Then let's go."
"Let me jump down first. I'll check what kind of trap he has on this weird tenth floor." Oceanid proposed as a volunteer. After getting Rhea's approval, he jumped down without hesitation.
*Bzzt*
Something too strange suddenly happened. Oceanid's presence signal suddenly disappeared as if his entire being was swallowed up by something unknown.
"Eh? That, he, what happened? The Sea God suddenly disappeared?" Elysia stuttered in surprise. She was pretty worried if a deadly danger befell him.
"No need to worry, Ely. I saw a slight dimensional fluctuation earlier. Maybe, there's a gate down there. Or maybe, this maze wants to teleport us somewhere. So, his will only applies to the tenth floor, huh..." Rhea muttered while looking down with an intense gaze.
"Oh, umm." Elysia just nodded in understanding. She failed to notice the fluctuation and immediately used her sacred vision. Sure enough, a large circular dimensional portal opened wide below as if waiting for them to enter.
"Let's jump in there and see where this maze wants to lead us." Nell suggested and immediately freefallen after receiving a nod from her big sister.
Elena, Elysia, and Sylvia went after them to enter the vague and mysterious portal. However, Rhea did not immediately jump down there.
"You're not coming with us?" Rhea turned to the Devil Emperor.
"Tell me, what might happen to this world and what will you do?" Dylan suddenly asked with a solemn expression.
"Why are you asking me that? Is that the one you wanted to ask since an hour ago but held back from it?" Rhea was aware of the thing that had been troubling the Devil Emperor a long time ago. She only gave him a chance to speak.
"I don't know. I just feel like you're the strongest in your divine adventurer team." Dylan heaved a subtle sigh and shook his head.
"If that's the one underlying your question, then you're asking the wrong person. You'd better ask Ely or her master something like that. They are the strongest and wielders of unimaginable power. The fate of this world, will rest in their hands." After saying that, Rhea jumped down into the portal.
"..." Dylan was silent. He never thought that was the response he would get from the one he thought was the strongest. So, he misjudged the divine's estimated strength?
"The Goddess of Light and that human girl are the strongest? The fate of the world is in their hands? What does that mean?" Even though he didn't quite understand the deep meaning behind that answer, Dylan was able to draw a simple conclusion. Therefore, he immediately jumped into the portal.
At that moment, the portal slowly shrunk and disappeared from the dark empty room.