Hero's Coffin Chapter 30

Chapter 30

But he was soon enveloped by a strange sense of dissonance. The clank, clank of their movements kept bothering him oddly, and after straining his eyes to check...

"...These things, they have no souls."

They were not living beings, but closer to 'dolls'. The sight of the empty white armor was somehow chilling. The soldiers, all wearing helmets, were all the same size, making it feel like looking at a scene where copy and paste had been repeated hundreds of times. Were these soldiers sent by Solnium to guard this tomb?

"Let's try to move quietly for now."

At Harenir's instruction, everyone nodded firmly. Though there was a terrifying feeling that they would eventually encounter these beings, it would be good to at least delay that moment.

However, less than a minute after having such a wish...

"Hmm."

They came face to face with soldiers appearing from the adjacent path. The maze-like twisted paths had many branches, making it impossible to predict what might pop out from where.

[Intruders, kigik, intruders...]

The soldiers approached, their helmets clanking. They all held spears longer than their own bodies, and as soon as they detected intruders, they thrust their spears forward. Kalterik clicked his tongue and drew his sword.

Whoosh! As he swung his large sword widely, the soldiers flew away with a rustle. Though they might be considered light for being empty dolls, the sound of them falling to the floor was very loud. It was the scene of Kalterik pushing them away with terrifying strength.

"...Do they break?"

And an unexpected scene unfolded. Like ball-jointed dolls, the soldiers' necks, torsos, arms, and legs broke apart. While the scene was bizarre, he was just thinking that if they could be neutralized like this, their progress would be smooth, when.

Kigik, kik, kiiiik...

[In this sacred space, unrighteous beings, cannot, enter...]

The dolls reassembled themselves and stood up. Thud, fallen arms crawled on the floor by themselves, reconnecting with the other pieces. Some pieces might have been mixed up, but since all the dolls had the same form anyway, it didn't matter if they got mixed.

It seemed they would keep getting up endlessly unless completely pulverized into dust. Kalterik sighed, and he swallowed a sigh internally. With such a conflict occurring as soon as they entered the temple, he had no idea how many more gates they would have to pass through.

"Wait."

However, Harenir stepped forward in front of Kalterik, who was about to regroup. As if he had gained some clue from the doll's words just now, he quietly took the lead.

Rumble, the soldiers approached with their spears extended. Though they didn't charge quickly, the momentum of dozens forming a group to surround them was fierce. As the distance narrowed to where the spear tips might pierce Harenir, Noi inhaled sharply.

But the soldiers who arrived right in front of Harenir just stopped.

"..."

They stopped just before the spear tips could touch his chest and just stared at him. Though it was impossible to tell if they were really looking with their eyes because of the helmets, at least their faces were turned towards him.

At the end of the tense silence that gripped everyone, the soldiers lowered their spears.

[Not, intruders, kik, not...]

[Kiik, those with courage... are the emperor's guests.]

The soldiers' attitude changed even though Harenir hadn't used holy power. Was it because he was the son loved by God, so God's soldiers recognized him? However, when the other companions also remained quiet, the soldiers clanked past them.

They glanced over Kalterik as they moved, then tilted their heads this way and that in front of Mela before passing, and when they discovered Noi, they even muttered softly.

[Fairy, it's a fairy...]

As long as they weren't unrighteous beings and didn't attack first, would the soldiers not try to fight? He was about to be glad that they had found an easier strategy than expected, but...

The soldier who discovered him standing last stopped abruptly. Even though he knew the helmet was empty inside, he felt an intense gaze as the soldier stared at him fixedly.

[Unrighteous...]

This is driving me crazy.

Had the stack of sacrilege that Isaph had committed over time been neatly piled up and detected even by God's soldiers? Not only had he committed a massacre in Klam village, but wasn't necromancy itself considered an act against God's will? Because life and death were God's domain, humans binding souls to the earth was seen as overstepping their bounds.

[Punish, kik, punish...]

With nothing to feel wronged about, he just let out a dry laugh, when Harenir strode over and grabbed his arm to lead him. As he was enveloped in Harenir's embrace like in the historical hall, the soldiers' movements stopped. Then, as if to give them further assurance, Harenir even surrounded him with holy power.

[Kigik, disappeared...]

Only then did the soldiers withdraw their spears and retreat. It was a situation where he didn't know whether to be relieved at the soldiers' simplicity or to feel bitter about them trying to punish Isaph for being unrighteous. Because this incident was as good as a herald of future troubles.

In other words, while the companions would be free from the soldiers, only he would be endlessly considered an enemy by them.

"Sigh, really..."

Kalterik clicked his tongue and shook his head. His eyes seemed to ask, 'Do you now realize how great a wrong you've committed?' He even seemed to be urging him to repent, but it was too late to do so now. And what good would it do if he repented? It wouldn't be Isaph doing it anyway.

After pondering for a while, Harenir said,

"The temple is too large for me to keep surrounding you with holy power as we move around, and we don't know what variables might occur, so it would be difficult. For now, since the dolls' intelligence doesn't seem high... let's try walking with you in the center of our group."

He meant for the four of them to stand protectively around him in all four directions, while he walked as quietly as possible in the center. Harenir added that if this method didn't work, he would step in himself, and he just nodded. Kalterik's glare became even sharper.

He seemed to have been somewhat helpful until they entered the sky island, but as soon as they arrived, he became a hindrance.

Clank, clank, clank...

Fortunately, Harenir's strategy worked, and their subsequent progress was smooth. The soldiers would reflexively take defensive stances when they discovered intruders, but if their side didn't attack and remained quiet, they would also withdraw after checking.

Although this slowed their pace each time, it was much better than depleting their energy through combat. The companions moved step by step, following Noi's map.

"According to the records, the burial goods were stored this way."

His eyes lit up at Noi's explanation. Come to think of it, wasn't it said that all sorts of treasures were buried in the first emperor's tomb? Since no one had ever entered the tomb until now, the treasures must still be there.

Should he try to make some money on this opportunity?

The success reward for his current quest was 'freedom'. Whether that meant freedom from prison or freedom from this world, he didn't know, but assuming the former, he wanted to leave the empire. No matter how much Harenir might advocate for Isaph's sentence reduction for helping with the hero's return, even if he was released on probation, the views towards Isaph wouldn't be favorable.

So he wanted to go to a very distant place, wash away his identity, and live quietly, but of course, he needed money for that. Wasn't that the eternal law and unchanging truth?

His eyes sparkled as he guessed the reason why Isaph had always worn only a spacious black robe. It was the perfect clothing for hiding objects...!

"...There are no treasures?"

However, the space they arrived at was full of ordinary objects. Old books, clothing, writing tools, worn weapons, and so on. There were no glittering jewels or gold coins to be seen anywhere. None of the items one would typically imagine as treasure could be found, only antiques lined up.

At his muttering, Noi became indignant.

"These are all treasures! Objects touched by the first emperor!"

...While they might fetch money if auctioned off, items too important would be difficult to trade even on the black market due to the risk of being traced. It would only increase the chances of unnecessary trouble. His interest quickly faded, and he became indifferent while the companions looked around.

Right, since the first emperor was said to be frugal, he probably wouldn't have included flashy jewels as burial goods. Feeling deflated and disappointed, he wandered around the space.

Still, wouldn't there be treasure hidden somewhere? Usually, in maps where the 'tomb + maze = trap' formula applies, there are secret spaces. Like a wall opening when a specific book is pulled from a bookshelf, or a special space appearing when a certain handle is grabbed.

As he wandered around looking for such things, Harenir muttered behind him.

"Hmm, that holy relic isn't here. To another place..."

"Was this wall always open?"

He abruptly cut off Harenir's words with a question. He had no choice.

The dazzling moonlight brightly illuminated the interior of the temple, but the walls were shadowed and dark. So, inevitably, as he was feeling along the wall to check it, suddenly his hand went through. Then, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he froze at the sight before him.

The wall was wide open.

"...Isaph. Step away from there."

As if something enormous had passed through.