**#183. Ancient City (1)**
—
A voice asked,
“By any chance, what does marriage feel like?”
“Hmm? Lady Veronica, are you already interested in marriage?”
“N-No! I was just curious!”
Another voice replied without a moment’s hesitation.
“Don’t do it.”
“Huh…?”
“If someone tells you not to, just don’t do it.”
“Why—”
“Because *husband* means *someone else’s side.*”
“How could you—”
“An elf like a sworn enemy.”
Two voices rang out from the far back seats.
Ray unconsciously repeated the word *marriage* to himself and turned to gaze out the window.
The sky had returned to its usual gray, cloud-filled state as if the previous night’s clear skies had been just a dream.
The damp scenery flowed endlessly past beyond the rattling window.
“……”
He quietly recalled yesterday’s conversation.
*‘What have humans lost?’*
*‘I’m not sure. I only know about elves.’*
The elf had smiled enigmatically.
*‘Maybe the idea that every race lost something precious is just a metaphor. Perhaps humans haven’t lost anything at all.’*
“Doubt it.”
He muttered without meaning to.
He was certain it wasn’t just a metaphor.
If humans hadn’t lost something precious, they wouldn’t be in such a wretched state as they were now.
*Clatter. Clatter.*
Many thoughts streamed through him in rhythm with the bus’s shaking.
What had humans lost?
What happened to the sun that descended to the earth along the rainbow?
What was the true purpose of Murcred and the Azure Dawn Society?
As Ray lost himself in thought, his mental energy drained, and he felt a slight pang of hunger. He reached for a pack of jerky on the makeshift shelf.
“…?”
The jerky pack was completely empty.
What? He didn’t recall eating it all already.
As he looked around in confusion, he soon spotted a procession of jerky floating toward the elf in the back seat.
Just as Ray stood up to stop the illegal march—
**—Destination ahead!**
Jang’s voice rang from the first floor.
Turning toward the front windshield, a hazy silhouette shimmered at the end of the horizon.
Ray descended the stairs and asked Demper, who was in the passenger seat:
“That place we see now—are those the ruins?”
“Yeah, that’s right. If you look closely, the silhouette is shaped like buildings. It matches the ruins at the coordinates you mentioned.”
Ray pulled out Allager’s notebook and checked the doctor’s orders written there.
*A-012. Sector 37 perimeter. Southwest direction. Investigate ruins at coordinates 512, 181, 322. Note the potential presence of the third gemstone.*
*‘The third gemstone.’*
That referred to a shard of the rainbow.
Although the likelihood of discovery wasn’t high—every gemstone-related directive in Allager’s notebook had been marked with an X.
*‘Same with Curiosa’s notebook.’*
Still, it couldn’t be ruled out completely.
The gemstone instructions for Sector 46 had been spot-on.
As the silhouettes of the buildings grew closer, Demper muttered,
“But since it’s on flat terrain, the exploration should be relatively easier.”
“There are ruins that *aren’t* on flat terrain?”
“Sure. I’ve visited over twenty ruins. Some were on high rocky peaks, some deep in pitch-dark caves. Others were below cliffs or next to dried-up riverbeds.”
Ray looked puzzled.
“Those all sound terribly unsuitable for a place to live.”
“Well, back then, many different races lived in the world.”
The answer came from behind.
When he turned, Ray saw Grine and Veronica coming down the stairs.
Ray stared at the jerky seasoning still smeared on Grine’s lips.
“Is something wrong? Do I have something on my face?”
Yes, you do. Greed—smeared all over.
Grine tilted her head at Ray’s gaze but continued the conversation.
“It’s said that originally, all races lived together in harmony. But the peaceful period didn’t last.”
“Race war.”
Ray answered, sensing where Grine was heading.
“That’s right. After the war broke out, the races likely split up. Each built new cities in environments they preferred.”
“Then this place we’re heading to might not even be a human city.”
“Exactly. I don’t have much knowledge about the other races either, so I can’t make an accurate guess.”
Ray turned to Demper, the only one in their group with actual exploration experience.
“What about you? Any hunches?”
“Well, I’ve felt something off at various ruins, but… I’m not sure. I only found out yesterday that there were other races besides humans.”
While they talked, the bus reached the outer edge of the ruins.
Before them stretched an ashen wasteland.
Geometrically shaped buildings made of unknown materials stood broken, chipped, and cracked, barely holding together.
“Young Master, shall we enter?”
Upon Jang’s question, Ray gave instructions to Demper.
“You have the thing, right?”
“Wait a moment.”
Demper pulled out a compass-like device from his coat.
When he pressed a button, a wave emitted from it, disrupting the mana in the air and spreading in a circular pattern.
Soon, countless red dots appeared on a glass panel.
“These are the locations of the Keepers. Damn, there’s a hell of a lot of them.”
Keepers were entities that roamed the ruins and attacked intruders.
They varied by ruin in form and function, but they all moved using mana as a power source.
“Some looked like animal-shaped machines, others were animated stones. Some threw fireballs like mages or blasted lightning.”
Demper showed a burn scar on his forearm as proof of his past encounters.
Ray turned to Jang.
“Let’s go in for now and get a feel for the place. Try to steer clear of the Keepers.”
“Yes, understood.”
The bus advanced between buildings, cutting through the heavy silence that blanketed the ruins.
As everyone held their breath, only the engine’s rattling persisted.
“……”
Ray kept watching out the window.
Upon closer inspection, the geometric buildings seemed constructed with no wasted space whatsoever.
No… it felt more like the design was so focused on efficiency that it ended up looking bizarre.
Without taking his eyes off the window, Ray asked Grine,
“Were there any races back then that prioritized practicality?”
“Hmm, I’d say the dwarves? Elves value beauty—more precisely, natural beauty—while dwarves are known for valuing practicality. Humans are said to fall somewhere in between.”
“Then… could this city have belonged to dwarves?”
“I’m not sure. As far as I know, dwarves lived underground.”
At that moment, Ray felt something and turned his head.
His gaze fell on a tall tower rising from the center of the ruins—so tall it could be seen from anywhere.
Using mana to enhance his vision, he scanned the tower’s windows top to bottom, but no figure could be seen.
“Demper, is it common to run into other exploration teams in ruins?”
“Hmm, I’ve never experienced that. Usually, the advance team breaks or hides the markers indicating a ruin’s location. So no one else can follow them.”
…Then was it just his imagination?
Ray nodded slowly at Demper’s words.
*Rrrrrrumble—*
The bus kept moving forward.
Thanks to Demper’s radar and Jang’s driving, they avoided the Keepers and progressed steadily.
Meanwhile, Ray placed the yellow gemstone on his palm and focused.
“……”
He wondered—if a shard of the rainbow really lay dormant somewhere in the ruins, wouldn’t it resonate?
So far, there had been no reaction.
*‘Maybe the pull is too weak with just one shard.’*
With that thought, Ray turned to Grine.
“Could I borrow your gemstone?”
“Of course. Here you go.”
She placed the green gemstone into Ray’s other hand.
…Mana surged wildly.
If yellow mana felt like it zipped around chaotically, green mana crept steadily outward in all directions.
Watching Ray control the green mana with ease, Grine exclaimed in wonder.
“Amazing. Back in the Last Forest, only Karon and I could properly handle the gemstone’s mana.”
Many had tried to commune with the gemstones but failed.
It felt as though the gemstones had a will of their own and chose their user.
That impression exactly matched what Ray had felt with the yellow mana.
A sudden idea struck him.
“Is it possible to absorb a gemstone?”
“Huh? Absorb it?”
“Yeah. Into the body, near the circle.”
“That’s not possible—”
*Flash.*
With a small flicker of light, the green gemstone vanished from Ray’s palm.
It was nowhere to be seen.
Grine’s pupils dilated in shock.
“What? Give me back my gemstone!”
“Give me back my jerky first—”
It was at that moment.
Ray once again sensed a gaze piercing in from outside.
At the same time, he detected a faint flow of mana beneath the bus.
*Vrrrmmm!*
It took Ray less than a second to draw mana from his circle.
In the very next instant—
**KUGUGUGUGU───!**
The ground collapsed.
“We—we’re falling!”
“Wh-what the hell—?! This is insane…!”
Jang and Demper’s faces went pale.
Right in front of the tilted bus was a massive, black hole with no visible end.
Climbing onto the seatbacks, Grine and Veronica launched sky-blue mana outside the bus.
*WHOOOOOOSH───!*
An enormous gust of wind enveloped the bus, slightly slowing the fall, though it wasn’t enough to fully stop the descent.
But it bought them time.
Just enough time for the green gemstone’s mana to reach the ground.
*CRACK—! CRRACK—!*
Vines, which had taken root underground to escape the black rain, burst out through the cliff walls and into the open.
They grew to massive size in an instant and wrapped around the bus, halting it in midair.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Silence fell inside the bus.
They couldn’t see outside through the vines, but the stillness told them they had survived.
Crammed into a gap under the dashboard, Demper let out a crazed laugh.
“Haha… Hahaha! Hahaha! I’ve been to a ton of ruins, but I’ve never seen one try to swallow us without even signaling.”
“At… at least we’re alive. That’s what matters, right?”
“Damn right. We’re alive, that’s all that matters. But could you please get off me now? This isn’t exactly the most comfortable position.”
“S-Sorry. The bus is completely tilted so I can’t really—ack!”
*SCREEEEEECH—!*
The vines lifted the bus upright, sending Jang and Demper tumbling out.
Moving as if choreographed, the vines emerged from the giant hole and gently placed the bus back on solid ground.
Then they shrank and vanished into the cliffside.
“Ugh… The bus seems to be mostly intact,” Jang said, patting his back as he stood and pressed the button to open the door.
*PSSSHH—*
The group staggered outside and surveyed their surroundings.
The massive chasm gaping beside them sent shivers down their spines.
Ray asked Demper,
“Things like this don’t usually happen in ruins, right?”
“Absolutely not. No matter how weak the ground is, I’ve never seen the earth collapse like that.”
“Do Keepers ever set traps like this?”
“Not at all. Keepers are more like puppets that carry out pre-programmed instructions.”
Ray turned to Grine and Veronica.
“Did you feel it?”
“I did.”
“And you, Veronica?”
“I felt it too. Mana was moving below just before the ground collapsed.”
It wasn’t hard to draw a conclusion.
Someone who didn’t welcome their visit was lurking within the ruins.
Ray summoned the green gem onto his palm and handed it to Grine.
“Take this for now.”
“No, I think it’s better if you keep it. You were able to use the gem’s mana far better than I ever could.”
A brief exchange of glances.
Ray nodded and reabsorbed the green gem.
Then, he drew all the blue mana within the circle and conjured an ice spear above his hand.
“The enemy is probably in the tower.”
*Crackle! Crack-crack!*
What started the size of a finger kept growing as crystals formed endlessly in the air and attached to it, swelling into a massive giant’s spear.
“My god…”
“The people I knew who called themselves mages weren’t real mages at all.”
Overwhelmed by the intense cold radiating in all directions, Jang and Demper instinctively stepped back a few paces.
But because they weren’t protecting their bodies with mana, their bodies trembled, and white breath billowed from their mouths.
Veronica used the fire element beside them to envelop their bodies in warmth.
“Th-thank you, Miss.”
“Really… thank you.”
Even so, everyone remained unable to take their eyes off the steadily growing ice spear.
And finally—
*Crack.*
Once the ice spear, now wider than a bus, stopped expanding—
The boy closed his eyes, focusing his mind to sense the flow of mana.
“……”
Among the types of mana circulating in the circle, one of the most dominant was blue.
For targeting a small area, it would be the most destructive magic he could currently manifest.
…However, the opponent had likely realized they were being tracked and had hidden their presence, making them hard to locate.
Still, the boy didn’t give up and continued to focus persistently.
And then—
*Haa—*
The moment he sensed the trembling mana inside a faint breath,
‘There you are.’
The piercingly blue spear ripped through the air, splitting the sky as it flew.
