3 bar menu

CHAPTER 278 – THE SCHEMES OF NO-FACE 1

――Zugagagaaan!

The hazardous zone known as the Nakva Mountains lay along the border between the Kingdom of Alto and the desert nation of Ordila.

Before 【No-Face】 and 【Bloodied】 sprawled the enormous carcass of a Gigantic Centipede, its body sliced into countless pieces and still raising plumes of sand.

「Kufufu. So it’s true—you can bring down a Gigantic Centipede without so much as a scratch. Truly, the Empire’s monster-man.」

「If you hadn’t wandered into its territory by mistake, we wouldn’t have had to waste time here.」

「You call it its ‘territory’, but it has no color, no scent—how exactly is one supposed to tell?」

「……You wouldn’t have stumbled upon it if you had just walked in my footsteps. Enough. We’ll be across the Nakva Mountains soon. Once past that, it won’t be long until we reach our destination.」

「We’re heading into the desert nation of Ordila to lure in those twins, aren’t we? ‘Viraj the Archaeologist’ and ‘Miraj the Historian’.」

「Yeah. The knowledge and techniques those two possess are incomparable to anyone else.」

Within certain forbidden tomes, the true contents are sometimes concealed through a technique known as ‘reverse script’.

No-Face suspected the tome Joseph had stolen from the royal castle’s restricted library was one such volume. But only a handful of specialists in the world could accurately decipher such script.

What’s more, to decipher one without permission was, in itself, a grave crime warranting immediate arrest. No one would openly attempt such a thing. Yet the two conversed with confidence, as if assured of success.

「Rumor has it they are known by the titles of ‘Grave Robber’ and ‘Chronicler of Madness’. Seems they’re rather lacking in ethics. Well, that works in our favor.」

「Ethics are nothing more than shackles when push comes to shove.」

「Kufufu, and we’re hardly ones to talk. By the way, do you actually know where the twins are hiding? They should be wanted men in Ordila, shouldn’t they?」

「That’s no concern. I’ve already located them.」

「And where would that be?」

「In the underground ruins beneath the Great Ordo Desert—the Forgotten City of Salvana. ……A ruin so lost, even its name has been erased from memory.」

「……The Great Ordo Desert? Another danger zone, of course……」

「‘Danger zones’ are nothing but names made up by the weak. Besides, it’s a convenient place to establish a base of operations.」

「Well, that’s true enough. We’ve drawn too much attention to be moving openly, after all.」

Their casual conversation, exchanged as if on a stroll to fetch groceries, almost made one forget both their current location and their destination were officially classified as danger zones.

One day later, having passed through the Nakva Mountains, the two beheld the vast, endless sea of sand: the Great Ordo Desert.

By day, scorching heat; by night, freezing cold; and in the sand beneath, monsters lurked. To ordinary men it was a death trap—’a graveyard to be crossed only at the cost of one’s life’. But to No-Face, it was nothing more than a passing waypoint.

「Hooh… In a way, this empty expanse is calming. Nothing but sand—there’s no stench of blood at all.」

「Don’t let your guard down. One slip, and it’ll cost you.」

As he spoke, the instant a presence surged from beneath the sand, Joseph snapped his fingers.

A giant Sand Worm burst forth, only for its body to be coated in mud in a blink and crushed as if in a fist, spilling fluids everywhere before collapsing dead.

「Kufufufu. My strength has returned quite a bit. Judging by the size, it wasn’t an S-rank Giant Worm, but an A-rank Sand Worm, perhaps? Well, perfect for leveling up.」

Joseph’s muttered comment went unanswered. No-Face didn’t so much as glance back, his gaze fixed firmly on the desert horizon as he spoke a single name.

「Salvana……」

The ruin called the Forgotten City. Said to hide traces of an ancient civilization beneath the ever-swallowing sands, yet most who entered never returned—and the reason why remained a mystery.

「For those eccentric twins to make their lair there…… Well, it does sound disturbingly plausible.」

「In a place like that, they must be able to fight to some extent themselves. That makes them all the more useful.」

The two chose to travel by night. Bathed in moonlight, they pressed forward step by step across the desert.

At last, beyond a dune, a row of collapsed stone pillars came into view—once a roadway, perhaps. Half-buried in sand, the columns stretched ever onward into the distance.

「……Finally, I see something. That the entrance?」

「The entrance has long since collapsed. But the guidance remains.」

With each step No-Face took in a precise order, the sand shifted and fell away, gradually revealing a hidden staircase.

When he completed the circle minutes later, the gaping mouth of a passageway into the depths had opened, like the jaws of some beast waiting to swallow intruders whole.

「Kufufu… Places like this, dangerous and mysterious, are much more to my taste.」

「Then enjoy yourself. From here on, the more you cling to common sense, the faster you die.」

The dark corridor carved beneath the sand.

Their shadows slipped quietly into it—
and with them, the name of the Forgotten City of Salvana was about to re-emerge onto the stage of history.