Chapter 468: 433 [Portal]
Although Reiger said he wanted to take a look inside, he did not act immediately.
He glanced around and noticed that, despite the size of the chamber, there wasn’t a single magical beast insect in sight.
Outside, these creatures were ubiquitous, it was no surprise when they emerged, always appearing in swarms large enough to form a sea of insects. The fact that there was not a single one here was a clear indication that their absence was due to the presence of the giant guards.
It seemed that the giant guards were natural predators of the magical beast insects; therefore, the insects dared not approach them, let alone the chamber where the guards resided.
Given that—
"Let’s head back to Bessaray first," Reiger finally decided.
"Go back to Bessaray?"
Revin was completely caught off guard by Reiger’s sudden statement and was slow to respond.
Without explaining much, Reiger ignored Revin’s confusion and directly cast a high-level teleportation magic in front of him.
"[Teleportation Gate]."
With the activation of the spell, a tiny black dot first appeared in the space before Reiger. The dot then spread rapidly, as if dyeing the space black, and ultimately expanded into a semi-circular black hole, filled with swirling dark magical power.
"What is this...?"
Revin was stunned.
Because, on the other side of that semi-circular black hole, there seemed to be a faintly familiar sound coming through.
It was the very moment the [Teleportation Gate] opened that Reiger felt the connection of his contract with Liz return to normal.
It was within this instant that a figure burst forth from the darkness of the gate.
"What...!?"
Revin reacted violently, raising the sword of the rebel in his hand.
Even Reiger was taken aback for a moment, almost too late to react. By the time he did, the figure had already rushed in front of him.
The familiar aura and the sensation from the attendant contract allowed Reiger to instinctively lower his guard and even subconsciously raise his hand.
Under these circumstances, the figure threw itself into Reiger’s arms.
"Master!"
A childish and familiar voice rang out from Reiger’s embrace, filled with an overwhelming emotion akin to weeping with joy.
The figure was none other than Liz.
......
Time rewound to before the [Teleportation Gate] opened.
As Reiger and Revin chased the crystal, nearing the chamber where the ancient ruins were located, back in Bessaray’s training ground, a fierce discussion was also taking place.
Everyone had gathered together, standing in the training ground pit that lay buried in the ground, looking very serious.
Nipede was the first to speak out, sharing what he had on his mind.
"We can now be fairly certain that the legendary underground magical beast Yarakulon has been here; otherwise, the geology wouldn’t exhibit this strange, muddy texture," Nipede began. "Such geological conditions, as far as I know, only occur when that beast moves beneath the ground."
"So what?" Diego seemed not to grasp the gravity of the situation. "What does that have to do with my father and their disappearance?"
The one who answered this wasn’t Nipede, but Kazi.
"...Have you never heard of the legend of Yarakulon?" Kazi seemed to be suppressing intense emotions as he said, "That’s a colossal monster that surfaces and swallows whole villages and towns."
The implication of this statement dawned on Axel before Diego.
"Big brother," Axel said in shock, "are you saying that our father was swallowed by Yarakulon?"
As soon as these words were uttered, everyone’s expression changed drastically.
The one to refute this idea was none other than Liz.
"No! It can’t be!" Liz said eagerly, "The attendant contract within me hasn’t been dissolved, so my master must still be alive!"
No one knew what fate would befall those swallowed by the underground magical beast Yarakulon, but everyone would naturally assume that being consumed by a monster meant certain death.
And Liz was desperately denying just that, as if she was terrified that what Kazi and Axel had suggested might actually happen.
But what Liz said also made sense.
If the contract between Reiger and Liz had not been dissolved, it meant that Reiger was definitely still alive, and it was very likely that Revin hadn’t perished either.
The problem was...
"If they’re still alive, why did they disappear without a trace?" Kazi asked anxiously, "Could it really be, as Master Nipede suggested, that they were involved in some abnormal spatial transference phenomenon and thus vanished from here?"
"I think it’s very possible," Diego immediately responded. "Just because Yarakulon has been here, we can’t assume our fathers have been eaten by that underground beast, can we?"
"Exactly," Axel agreed, nodding, "perhaps Yarakulon had visited this place long ago, having merely passed by Bessaray, which is completely unrelated to our fathers’ disappearance."
Unfortunately, Nipede shook his head in disagreement.
"Yarakulon indeed softens the geology when it moves underground, causing the soil to become muddied in this eerie manner, but this muddiness is only temporary. The affected area will return to its normal state within a few days at most, and a few hours at least."
Otherwise, if such a massive creature could permanently soften the geology as it roamed beneath the ground, then the land it traveled through would invariably become a mess, and ultimately, uninhabitable, provided it lived long enough and roamed widely enough.
Yarakulon is an ancient beast that has survived since time immemorial, longer than any existing kingdom, and its whereabouts remain an enigma. It likes to roam the world, and if every place it traversed were to turn into permanent mire, the continent of Akasha would likely have sunk long ago.
Therefore, after his observations, Nipede could confidently tell everyone.
"That massive underground beast must have left this area not long ago. The degree of muddiness and how it has set indicate that, at least during the confrontation between Lord Brilliant and Raven, it was here."
This statement caused collective silence among everyone present.
"No... no..."
Liz refused to believe all this, her eyes welling up with tears.
Since the underground beast was here during Reiger and Raven’s confrontation, could it have encountered them when they fell into the underground?
What could have happened after their encounter that might have led to the disappearance of Reiger and Raven?
All one had to do was imagine such a scenario, and everyone would come to a conclusion.
That is, the disappearance of Reiger and Raven was almost certainly related to Yarakulon, which was present here at that time.
At this thought, not just Liz, but the expressions on Axel and Diego’s faces also turned ugly.
Kazi took a deep breath to keep himself calm.
"This matter is of great significance. It concerns not only the lives of two Sword Saints but also the entire Maplethorpe estate," Kazi said. "If the underground beast Yarakulon has appeared here, in the territory of Maplethorpe, then whether it rises to the surface to devour villages and towns, or causes the notoriously fierce plague of magical creatures rumored to be here, either scenario would be extremely serious."
"We must take action not only to confirm the fate of the two Sword Saints but also to determine the potential disaster that Yarakulon’s presence in the Maplethorpe estate might bring."
"I suggest we form a special task force from now on to track Yarakulon."
Kazi’s proposal was met with agreement from all those present.
Only Nipede could not help but sigh.
Track Yarakulon?
How could that be easy?
It was a prehistoric creature that could evade all magical detection. If it were so easily tracked, it would not have survived until now.
The notion of tracking a creature that can move at will underground and is undetectable by magic was not a new one, but none who entertained the idea had ever succeeded.
Therefore, Nipede was not optimistic about this action.
But, just because he was not hopeful, did that mean he could do nothing?
Not to mention that this matter was related to the safety of the Maplethorpe estate; for the sake of the two missing Sword Saints, they must find a way to locate Yarakulon.
If something unfortunate had indeed happened to those two, there would be serious trouble.
If Raven were to come to harm, border conflicts would surely erupt.
If something befell Reiger, the Franzel family would not sit idly by.
If things came to that point, the kingdom of Gennas would inevitably face complete unrest.
"It seems I must think of a solution as well."
Nipede began to rack his brains, drawing on his own knowledge, magic, and connections, in an effort to find means to cope with the situation at hand.
However, as everyone was getting ready to take action, suddenly, a black dot appeared in the nearby space.
The black dot expanded rapidly, transforming into a semicircular black hole in the blink of an eye.
"What is this...!?"
"What in the world...!?"
"Get ready!"
Those who noticed this scene were startled and immediately went on alert.
Nipede also snapped back to reality, his eyes focused intently on the spectacle.
Liz alone, whose eyes had been red and swollen, suddenly widened her beautiful eyes in excitement as the semicircular black hole appeared.
The young princess had realized that, the moment this semicircular portal of darkness appeared, the originally vague contract connection between herself and Reiger became suddenly clear.
"I, I can feel the presence of my master!"
Without a second thought, Liz shouted and plunged headlong into the portal of darkness.
"Miss Liz...!?"
"Wait!"
"Be careful!"
Liz’s cries were left behind as she entered the "Portal," and then she saw her master.