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Ideal Form – Part 01

Magic lamps were installed on the walls of the spiral staircase. Temple guards, serving as guides, flipped the switch, turning them all on.

Hikaru led the way, deploying his Mana Detection as they descended. As he scanned a wider area, he sensed an unusual presence further down, likely the door.

But before they could reach the bottom, ghostly entities appeared.

“Three Specters approaching from below,” Hikaru reported.

These spectral figures possessed a pale, half-melted human-like form, their faces etched with agony.

“Ooooooooh…”

Wailing mournfully, they glided straight towards the group.

Hikaru didn’t know the nature of these spirits, but if they posed a threat, he was ready to take them down. He drew a throwing knife, uncapped the pouch of holy water hanging from his waist, and dipped the weapon in it. He swiftly hurled the knife, and it struck one of the entities squarely in the forehead.

“Ooooh…!”

The creature convulsed briefly, then disintegrated into a burst of light, leaving the thrown knife to clatter to the ground.

“Flower Face!”

Before Hikaru could even call for her, Paula had already begun her incantation.

“O’ gods who art in heaven, extend your helping hand to the suffering souls adrift in this world.”

It was a very short incantation, a magic spell under the holy attribute that many religious practitioners learned first. It served a simple purpose: to offer prayers for the departed, seeking the ascent of their souls to heaven.

“Rest in peace.”

Radiant light bathed the surroundings, its intensity turning the pit a brilliant white.

“…”

The remaining two Specters vanished silently, consumed by the radiant light. Even after the light subsided, Hikaru found it difficult to adjust his vision, blinking repeatedly.

What was that just now?

The spell Paula had cast was meant to be basic magic, but the power it displayed was astonishingly potent.

“Hey, Silver Face!” Gerhardt exclaimed. “What other powerful tricks do you have up your sleeve, huh?” His loud voice echoed through the hollow.

This was the first time Hikaru had witnessed it. He cast an inquisitive glance at Paula, who only gave a perplexed look in response. She was absolutely clueless.

Sophie giggled. “Apart from her innate talent, she has a very high mana capacity, so it’s only natural for her basic spells to be as powerful as advanced ones,” she explained delightfully.

A thought crossed Hikaru’s mind—perhaps Sophie had surreptitiously imparted something to Paula during his absence.

After that, they encountered Specters a few more times, but these malevolent entities were effectively repelled by Sophie’s magic and weapons soaked in holy water. In the dungeon Hikaru had explored previously, dead monsters turned to ashes, but here, they simply disappeared.

“I see the bottom,” Hikaru said.

More than the appearance of enemies, it was the fear of slipping and tumbling down the staircase that troubled them. But at long last, they reached their destination. Stepping onto the ground, they found themselves on bare bedrock, an eerie chill permeating the surroundings.

The light from the magic lamps revealed several of Hikaru’s throwing knives strewn about. Up ahead was a simple double stone door.

However, the surface of the door was covered in numerous ancient talismans exuding magical energy. They seemed to have been placed there as a seal of some kind, and despite their age, still retained some potency—until several days ago. Now, these talismans had been torn and strewn around the stone door.

But Hikaru felt little threat from this breached seal. The so-called pit that Funai had sacrificed their lives to appeared to lie ahead.

“We can safely assume that Ranna went inside, yes?” Hikaru asked the temple guards as he retrieved his throwing knives and approached the stone door.

“Yes.”

“Has she ever entered this place before?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Got it.”

A measure of relief washed over Hikaru. If Ranna had ventured into this place repeatedly, she might have had some clue about how to undo the seal on the pit. But if she hadn’t set foot inside, she would have to fumble around a bit. Though not much, they still had time to catch up to her.

“Open it,” Hikaru said.

“Are you serious?” The temple guards hesitated.

“Are you really asking me that now? The Pope gave us permission to investigate this place.”

“B-But this door leads to the pit that must remain closed for eternity.”

“I don’t know what kind of stories they told you, but we can’t advance unless the door is opened.”

“If you don’t want to, we can just open it ourselves,” Gerhardt interjected. “Hey, you muscleheads! Come here and help open this door.”

“Leave it to me!”

“I think he’s talking about me.”

Several robust Einbiest Beastmen, confident in their strength, rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward.

“F-Fine! We’ll open it. Us. Foreigners, stay away from this door!”

Abruptly changing their mind, the temple guards clustered in front of the door.

“Why are they so hung up on a door? We’re all entering together anyway,” Gerhardt grumbled, a sentiment Hikaru concurred with.

The temple guards split into two groups. As they applied force, the door slowly opened, leaving marks on the ground. It appeared quite heavy, but it looked like it could be opened even by a single person with some effort.

“Let’s go,” Hikaru said, leading the way and hoisting a magic lamp.

A rank breeze wafted from inside. Beyond the door stretched a downward slope, the narrow passage just wide enough for Gerhardt to navigate.

“The ground is damp… watch your step,” Hikaru cautioned Lavia, who followed closely behind.

The passage was surprisingly long, and while Hikaru feared potential monster encounters, there were no signs of them.

“It’s too narrow,” Gerhardt grumbled.

“If you don’t like it, feel free to turn back,” Jillarte said coldly.

What’s this?

Along their path, they encountered places where ropes resembling shimenawa¹ were suspended, but they had all been severed. It seemed to be a form of seal, and Ranna had evidently cut through them.

The downward slope eventually led to a small chamber featuring another stone door. Instead of talismans, intricate patterns adorned this door, likely imbued with some form of sorcery. Hikaru couldn’t sense any mana from it.

He placed his hand on the door and opened it. Suddenly, a shadowy hand thrust out before him. He startled, leaping back in panic, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing there.

“What’s wrong?” asked Lavia, who had nearly bumped into him from behind.

“…It’s nothing,” Hikaru replied.

It could have just been his imagination. Nevertheless, he could definitely sense a strong malevolent presence in the vicinity. Here was where the seal was established through the sacrifice of many lives.

What lay ahead? What was Ranna doing here?

Gripping the hilt of the sword he had recently bought from Dodonno, Hikaru pressed forward.

What awaited them was an immense chamber. It was so expansive that it almost seemed like they had ventured outside. The darkness obscured the space’s boundaries, and the ceiling was indiscernible. A number of Specters floated about, but none of them seemed inclined to descend upon the group.

However, as they advanced further, the light of the magic lamps illuminated a colossal structure.

“What’s this…?” Igloo mumbled, his perplexity shared by many others.

There stood a building constructed from stone, with a flight of steps leading to the entrance and massive pillars on either side, forming a pilotis of sorts. While they couldn’t see the interior, its grandeur was unmistakable.

It was a temple.

They call it a pit, so I assumed it was some kind of a cave, but this is clearly man-made.

“Temple guards, what is this?” Hikaru asked.

“I-I don’t know,” one answered. “This is the first time any of us have been here. In fact, nobody has proceeded beyond the seal on the stone door we passed through earlier.”

Several human bones lay scattered across the entrance steps. Beyond that was darkness. Directing the light of the lamps in that direction revealed more bones. They bore the signs of considerable age and weathering, but the skulls remained intact. One of them appeared unusually large, with a pronounced bulge at the rear.

No way, Hikaru thought. Are these bones from a thousand years ago?

Could these possibly be Funai’s remains?

“Someone’s there.”

Gerhardt’s voice snapped Hikaru from his thoughts. Selyse of the Four Eastern Stars was already reaching for her sword.

An individual was standing before the closed massive door that constituted the temple’s entrance. At their feet lay tattered fabric—possibly a white robe.

“Ah… you’re finally here,” said an eerie voice. It sounded like multiple people speaking at once.

The woman—Ranna—turned, and Hikaru brandished his sword, not to attack, but to defend himself.