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Ideal Form – Part 05

Hikaru’s newfound aggressiveness had roused Jillarte and Gerhardt.

“We can finally catch our breath,” Selyse joked, though her eyes betrayed no humor.

She seemed to feel a sense of urgency to improve further, recognizing that her fighting style relied too heavily on her weapon.

“How much farther are we going?!” Igloo snapped.

It was their third break, a short respite to catch some rest. Although the dungeon’s depths made it difficult to gauge the time, it should be around midnight. The group decided it was better to rest and regain strength before venturing further into the unknown.

“I was told I’d just be tagging along for the hunt. I didn’t sign up for spending the night in this damp place!”

“I thought you were an adventurer,” a Beastman heckled. “Whining about a dungeon?”

“I am an adventurer, and a top-tier one! I don’t go around crawling in dungeons anymore.”

“Please calm down, Mr. Igloo. The holy sword bestowed upon you by His Holiness is meant for purging such evil as the ones lurking here.”

A temple guard tried to pacify him, but he would have none of it.

“I did say I’d wield my sword for the Church, but what’s the point of going under the holy city? You could just seal this place off.”

“Well… This was His Holiness’ noble idea.”

“His Holiness this, His Holiness that. He’s just Luvain. I was just chatting with him not too long ago like he was any regular person. He even invited me to a noble’s party.”

Hikaru tried to imagine Igloo and Luvain attending a party together, but it just didn’t work. They were a highly incompatible duo.

The complaints continued, with Igloo voicing his displeasure and the temple guards trying to appease him. One of the Beastmen remarked, “What a pain the ass,” which summed up the situation perfectly.

Gerhardt, genuinely fed up with the guy, finally spoke up. “If you want to go back, then go.”

“You heard that? He said I can go back!”

“You can’t do that, Mr. Igloo. We’re in the underground of the holy city, and we cannot entrust the protection of this sacred place to foreigners while we retreat to safety.”

Hikaru found this temple guard to be respectable. Considering the Knights Templar he had encountered so far were awful people that harbored biases against demi-humans, this was a pleasant surprise. Upon reflection, Luvain must have been quite selective in assembling the team for the mission to the pit.

“Like I said, just seal this place—”

“The seal has already been undone,” Hikaru said with a sigh. “Is ‘I want to go back’ and ‘seal it off’ all you can say?”

“And you’re that suspicious guy who destroyed the Church’s facilities! Why are you the leader?! How did you manage to get into Luvain’s good graces?!”

This time, Igloo directed his frustration squarely at Hikaru. Inwardly, Hikaru decided to give Luvain a piece of his mind later for sending such an annoying individual along.

“To seal this place, you’d need to offer dozens of lives as sacrifices. Can you prepare them?”

“Wh-What?! Sacrificing dozens of lives? Yeah, right. I’m not buying it. And how would you even know something like that?”

“Just look at the temple guards.”

The soldiers wore grim expressions and remained silent. They had undoubtedly learned something about the origin of this pit—about what happened here over a thousand years ago.

“There are two problems with sealing this place,” Hikaru explained. “First, the knowledge of the sealing ritual has already been lost. Second, even if we manage to seal this place, if Ranna is left inside, she will probably undo the seal from within. She was the one who destroyed it in the first place.”

“…”

“I believe a certain someone was protecting Ranna in the aforementioned Church facility.”

Hikaru’s words dripped with sarcasm, and Igloo clenched his teeth and shot him a hateful glare.

Is this guy really a Rank A adventurer? He’s so restless, and though I’ve barely trained, we’re around the same level in terms of combat ability. He knows his sister and party members are in Einbiest’s custody, and he’s done nothing about it. What was the former Pope thinking, giving this guy a monstrous weapon?

It was one puzzling thing after another, but Hikaru had no choice but to bear with his presence.

Under the guise of protecting the holy city, Luvain had to send temple guards, and if Igloo were allowed to return now, the temple guards would have to accompany him. Igloo had no other choice but to stick around until the mission’s end.

“…”

Igloo turned his face away and settled down a short distance from Hikaru. A tense atmosphere hung in the air as they organized the lookout shifts, preparing for a brief rest.

Hikaru kept a cautious eye on Igloo in case he did anything unusual. Fortunately, as soon as Igloo laid down, he appeared to drift off to sleep. Feeling relieved, Hikaru contemplated taking a nap himself when Selyse approached.

Everyone except those on watch duty was fast asleep, with Lavia and Paula dozing off beside Hikaru.

“Do you need something?” Hikaru asked.

“…Just three more days,” Selyse murmured.

Three more days? Hikaru wondered what she meant until realization struck him. It was the day he had promised to perform the next spell for crossing worlds. However, that conversation had transpired between the Four Eastern Stars and Hikaru, not Silver Face. He hadn’t revealed his identity to Selyse.

“No need to be so guarded,” Selyse continued. “I mean, after spending this much time together, I can tell who you guys are: Hikaru, Lavia, and Paula.”

“…”

“Everyone’s tight-lipped, so they won’t tell me. I’ve known Sophie and Sara for a long time, but they’re prioritizing your secrets. It might not look it, but it bothers me, you know?”

“Well, I figured you’d find out eventually,” Hikaru replied as himself, not as Silver Face.

He had assumed that with Sophie and Sara knowing his secret, spending more time with them would eventually lead to Selyse uncovering the truth.

“I would like to return to Ponsonia somehow, but it’s impossible now,” Hikaru said. “I’ll perform the spell here in Agiapole.”

“Is the location important?”

“I don’t know. But it’s worth trying anyway. We’ll just need a large elemental magic stone.”

“I see… That’s good then.”

“…”

“…”

Selyse still wasn’t leaving, so Hikaru asked, “Is there something else?”

“Surely you can spare some time for a little chat.”

“What do we even talk about?”

Selyse crouched down next to Hikaru. “It’s not like you to snap at someone,” she said, likely referring to Igloo.

“I hate people like him. Given the power of the weapon, it should be obvious that it’s not just a reward. With great power comes great responsibility.”

“Adventurers don’t think like that. Many of them would just see it as a reward and show off.”

“Is that so… Did you come here to ask me to give him a break?”

“No.” Selyse propped her elbow on her knee and stared at the dwindling fire. “He’s a pitiful person.”

“…Pitiful?”

“He’s being used by the Church. I understand because I’m in the same position.”

“Ah…”

The Church had also loaned the White Ray Blade to Selyse.

“It’s not like there’s anything we can do about it.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“No reason, really.”

Selyse stood up, wearing a lonely expression.

---

After waking up from their nap, they pressed on through the labyrinthine cave.

Things are going too well, Hikaru thought as he battled more demons. He had lost count of how many he had killed since coming down here.

A long time ago, even the brilliant Funai believed that sealing this pit was the only solution. Yet now, Hikaru’s group was defeating enemies and advancing steadily, albeit with occasional pauses.

I sense the miasma growing thicker. Will we eventually reach a spot where it’s too thick to go any further, or is this cavern designed to spawn demons endlessly, forcing us to seal it?

All these thoughts remained speculations, however.

Or maybe the reason is simple: we’re stronger than those who faced this challenge a thousand years ago.

Thanks to the soul card developed by Funai, everyone in Hikaru’s group enjoyed the gods’ Blessings, which significantly enhanced their abilities, sometimes by several times. Their proficiency in using soul cards had likely advanced far beyond that of those who lived a millennium ago. Techniques for crafting weapons and armor had also evolved.

With no concrete answers to Hikaru’s musings, the party delved deeper into the cave.

They were more concerned about running out of magic lamp fuel than they were about their dwindling rations. Given the unexpectedly intense battles they were encountering, they couldn’t afford to lose their source of light. The fuel was being consumed at a rapid pace.

The idea of retreating might eventually need to be considered, but finally, Hikaru’s group arrived in an immensely vast chamber.

“What is this place?” Hikaru wondered aloud.

It felt even larger than the huge cavern at the entrance. The vastness seemed never-ending, with no ceiling in sight. It felt like being cast into the depths of the night.

Hikaru gestured for the rest of the group to stop.

She’s here…

He could hear the sound of swirling air, sense the immense magical energy surging up ahead, about 500 meters away.

Ranna is just up ahead.

There was only one presence besides the immense magical power, and their mana signature indicated that it was Ranna.