Chapter 238: Aelric’s Attention

The tunnel gradually began to widen until, finally, the nine of them emerged from its confines.

After several minutes of walking, the group found themselves standing face to face with a chamber that had buried them twice during their exploration of its ancient and deeply enigmatic depths.

Honestly, none of them could properly describe what they were feeling at that moment. It was something caught between apprehension and disbelief.

Apprehension because of what the morbid chamber represented—and disbelief because they had never imagined that they would return here so soon. It had only been five or six days since they had their last vivid and harrowing encounter within these very walls.

Yet here they were again.

The crypt remained exactly as they had first discovered it, albeit with slight vestiges of destruction that told the tale of the grievous battle once fought within its massive chamber. Cracks still marred portions of the ancient obsidian floor, fragments of stone and terracotta remained scattered across the ground, and several of the towering figures that had once stood in orderly formations now lay broken or displaced.

When they had first encountered the crypt, it had certainly been creepy. Yet beneath that eeriness had existed something else—a profound, almost overwhelming sense of grandeur that had left them staring with their mouths agape at the magnificence of the monumental structure.

Now, however, none of that grandeur remained. There was no awe, no fascination and no sense of wonder; only fear... A silent, deeply rooted fear of what might occur within the confines of these ghastly walls once more.

However, while the others regarded the crypt with a deeply ingrained trepidation, Aelric looked upon the chamber with the genuine expression of a lost man who had finally been reunited with his long-lost ancestral home.

The profoundly nostalgic expression on the green-eyed youth’s face was enough to make the others momentarily forget their own apprehension, and that alone demonstrated just how deeply Aelric regarded this crypt as something sacrosanct.

"It’s beautiful..." Aelric suddenly whispered subconsciously.

His emerald eyes slowly scanned the chamber, taking in every broken pillar, every weathered statue, every ancient engraving and every trace of destruction with the expression of a lovestruck man who had just laid eyes upon his beloved after years of separation.

In truth, anyone seeing Aelric at that moment might have mistaken him for exactly that sort of person. Unbeknownst to them, however, his reaction was merely the consequence of the nostalgia brought about by the moment.

Aelric was, after all, someone who was usually rather eccentric.

His whisper had only just begun drifting through the still air of the chamber when Veyrath suddenly scoffed.

"Yes, it is..." His voice carried a distinctly sardonic edge. "In a haunting, morbid sort of way."

After pouring out the disdain and sarcasm that seemed to exist within his heart through those words, the failed Alchemist turned towards Regaleon and complained.

"Honestly, I really don’t understand why you suddenly decided that coming back here was a good idea. By now, we could have already been on our way to the Sanctuary, but you just had to decide that dragging us back into this accursed place was somehow necessary."

Veyrath’s complaint had barely left his mouth when Valmyr immediately supported him.

The bulky youth had been one of the most vehement to oppose the idea of returning here, and despite the fact that his suggestion had ultimately been rejected by the majority of the group, he still hadn’t managed to conceal his dissatisfaction.

"I hate to say this, but both Veyrath and Vaelorin are right."

Turning to face Aelric, the failed Vanguard continued.

"I mean, there really is no point in exploring this place again. And trust me when I say this, we’ve already told you everything you might want to know about the crypt."

His expression hardened.

"However, I’m beginning to fear that this little detour of ours might interfere with the journey we’re supposed to take today. After all, you said it yourself—the moment we decide to go to the Sanctuary, we shouldn’t allow any distractions. Even such flimsy diversions could prove potentially fatal. And in the worst case, they could lengthen our journey to the point where we’d have to spend another night in the wilderness."

For someone who wasn’t particularly articulate, Valmyr certainly spoke like a seasoned strategist when he was genuinely concerned.

Because of this, the others could notice that even the failed Vanguard was beginning to lose his composure.

However, before anyone could muster a response to the multitude of well-reasoned words he had spoken, Aelric finally snapped out of his awe-inspiring trance and waved a hand dismissively.

"If you’re worried about the Sanctuary, you actually shouldn’t be."

His words were casual, almost as though he wasn’t aware of the consequences posed by what he said. He then glanced at Valmyr before continuing.

"Trust me when I say this, but this little detour—and any other deviation we might make along the way—won’t derail our journey or anything."

His expression remained remarkably relaxed.

"Therefore, you all should put your hearts at ease."

Aelric’s words were reassuring enough that, although Valmyr clearly wanted to say something else out of the inconvenient frustration he was feeling, he ultimately decided to swallow it and keep it to himself.

In actuality, it wasn’t merely the uncertainty of their journey that frightened him, rather, it was what the entire crypt represented.

The moment he had taken his first step into the ghastly chamber, Valmyr had felt a cold chill crawl down his spine, causing his body to reverberate with an acute tingling sensation, as though some unseen entity had fixed its gaze upon him.

Then his eyes had instinctively fallen upon the inactive Terracottas scattered haphazardly throughout the hall and that sight alone had reinforced the morbid perception taking shape within his mind.

Somehow, he suddenly felt as though every one of those lifeless figures was merely waiting for the right moment to awaken, and that was what made the entire situation so difficult for him.

As it turned out, Valmyr wasn’t the only one experiencing such unnerving sensations as both Vaelorin and Veyrath were feeling much the same.

Unlike the others, these three didn’t actually have the gall to willingly provoke whatever secrets this place might be concealing. They were accustomed to putting their lives on the line. They had faced monsters, fought enemies far stronger than themselves, and willingly ventured into dangerous territories.

But this was different.

This didn’t feel like taking a risk; instead, it felt like throwing their lives away in the name of curiosity.

They desperately wanted to pry open the Forgotten Knight’s head and see the gears turning inside his brain.

How was it that he could casually suggest returning to a place that reminded them of death and despair simply to show Aelric something?

And to make matters worse, Aureleah—who was supposed to be at least more perceptive than him—had supported his notion alongside the others.

In doing so, it felt as though they had consciously and willingly signed their own death warrants.

In the meantime, after soothing Valmyr’s nagging worries, Aelric turned back towards the crypt.

This time though, his expression changed once again as the casualness disappeared from his face alongside the eccentricity.

What remained beneath all of that was an intense, almost scholarly concentration as he began taking in the appearance of the crypt with the meticulous attention that most teachers demanded from their pupils...