Maruyama Kugane - The Invaders of the Large Tomb

‘Lightning Strike’ produced a straight line of piercing lightning, and there was only one way to dodge it.

“—Push the ghouls back!”

Neither Imina nor Roberdyck understood why Hekkeran gave this command, but they obeyed without hesitation.

A bolt of white lightning flashed across the hallway just as the four of them pushed the ghouls through the illusionary wall.

As the air shook with crackling sounds, Hekkeran felt a magic circle activate under his feet. In the next moment, they were enveloped in a pale blue light that they could not avoid, and the scenery before them shifted.

“Be careful! Stay alert!…?”

Although the ghouls had vanished and the surroundings had changed, they were still on edge from the battle. Even so, after such an unexpected occurrence, it wasn’t a surprise that they were dumbfounded for a few moments.

Hekkeran shook his head, regaining his focus. The most basic thing he had to do—although learning about their current situation was also important—was to ensure the safety of his comrades.

Imina, Arche and Roberdyck.

All the other members of ‘Foresight’ had maintained their formation as the magic circle activated, and nobody was missing.

After mutually confirming that they were all safe and sound, the four of them continued observing their surroundings.

This place was a wide corridor, dimly lit and with a high ceiling. Even a giant could walk freely through here. The flickering flames of faraway torches provided unsteady illumination and in their light the long shadows seemed to dance. Ahead of them was some kind of crosshatched portcullis, and from the square gaps in its surface, rays of white, magical light shone through. Behind them, the path stretched into darkness, and along the way, several doors opening into the corridor could be seen, lit up by torches.

With everyone remaining quiet, only the crackling of the torches could be heard.

It did not seem like they were in any danger of being attacked immediately. After they realized this, their tension eased.

“Although I don’t know where this place is, it has a completely different atmosphere to what we have seen up until now.”

The style of this place was completely different to the tomb they had just left. In fact, signs of civilisation could be seen here. The members of ‘Foresight’ surveyed their surroundings, and whilst they were trying to grasp where this place was, only Arche’s attitude was different from the rest.

“—This place is…”

Keenly perceiving the meaning behind the words, Hekkeran asked Arche:

“Do you know? Or perhaps you have a clue?”

“—I know of a similar place. The Empire’s Grand Arena.”

“Ah… indeed, you are right.”

Roberdyck grunted in agreement. Although Hekkeran and Imina did not say anything, they also shared Roberdyck’s opinion.

When ‘Foresight’ had made their debut at the arena, there was a place similar to this one when they were making their way from the waiting room to the arena.

“Then behind that should be the arena.”

Roberdyck pointed towards the latticed gate.

“That should be the case… then being teleported to this place means that… is that what it is?”

“Give me a fight to watch” was probably the intention here. Although, they had no idea who or what might be waiting for them.

“—It’s dangerous. Long-distance teleportation is reckoned to be 5th tier magic. Being able to use that kind of magic as a trap has only been heard of in stories. This site must have been constructed by someone with unimaginable skill in magic. It is not favourable for us to accept the opponent’s invitation. I suggest we proceed in the opposite direction.”

“But, if we accepted the opponent’s invitation, don’t you think there might be a path to survival?

Wouldn’t rejecting the invitation antagonise the other side?”

“Both sides are very dangerous. Rob, what do you think?”

“There’s a case to be made for both arguments. But I have some doubts about what Arche-san has said. Is this really a trap laid by the person who currently resides here? Could it be that they're just using something created by an unknown third party?”

They looked at each other and exhaled in unison. There was no point in staying here and discussing the matter further. They did not have enough information and their opinions did not match, but they had to make a decision right now.

“What Rob said makes sense. Who know, maybe it was made five hundred years ago.”

“Ah, there were more advanced magic techniques in the past.”

“Are you referring to the beings that dominated the continent and whose country shattered almost immediately, of which only the capital remains today?”

“—The Eight Greed Kings. They are considered to be the ones who spread the existence of magic further through this world. If this is a relic of that era, then perhaps…”

“…I see. Then I am in favour of heading out to the arena. In any case, since we were brought here by a trap, they would not allow us to escape.”

In response to Roberdyck’s statement, everyone nodded as they resolved themselves, and began moving.

When they got close to the latticed gate, it rose upward with impressive speed, as though it had been waiting for them all this time. The first thing they saw as they entered the arena were rows upon rows of audience seats around the arena.

The arena was no less impressive than the one in the Empire. In fact, it might have been even more so, given that it was covered in lanterns enchanted with ‘Continual Light’, which lit the grounds up as brightly as if it were the day.

Everyone in ‘Foresight’ was astonished, especially when they glimpsed the audience above them.

This was because sitting there were innumerable clay figures, the dolls known as golems.

Golems were inorganic creatures created through magical means, who would obediently carry out their master’s commands once they received them. Without the need for food or sleep, and never suffering from fatigue or even the ravages of time, they were treasured as guardians and labourers.

Furthermore, because their production took considerable time, effort and cost, even the weakest ones would cost a considerable amount of gold coins.

Even Hekkeran and the others, who were paid well, would find it hard to purchase a golem.

They were valuable constructs, and this arena seemed to be overflowing with them.

To Hekkeran, it spoke of how wealthy the person who owned this arena was, as well as how lonely he felt.

As though they had already come here many times before, they looked briefly at each other’s faces before silently walking towards the centre of the arena.

“Outside?”

Reacting to Imina’s voice, all that could be seen when looking at the sky was darkness. Because the light from the surroundings was too strong, it outshone the light from the stars, but even so, there was no doubt that above the arena was a vast expanse of open night sky.

In response to Imina’s voice, they looked up, and saw the night sky. The surrounding illumination was strong and eclipsed the light of the stars, but even so, it was impossible to miss the fact that this arena was open to the night sky.

“Then, we could use flight magic to escape—”

“TOOOOOH!”

A figure jumped from the balcony of the VIP box, in time with the voice that had interrupted Arche’s words.

The figure somersaulted in mid-air as it descended from a height that seemed roughly equivalent to a six story building, making people wonder if it might have wings as it gracefully landed upon the ground. There was no magic at work here, only pure physical ability. Even the rogue Imina had her breath taken away by the perfection of the movement.