TMLHGCFTV 60

Chapter 60

After climbing all the way up the slope, a stone structure came into view.

According to the original novel, countless secrets were hidden within the sanctuary. Since the temple had restricted outsiders from approaching for a long time in order to protect the holy relic, almost no information about the sanctuary was known. Because of that, Kael and his companions in the original story had gone through numerous hardships.

That was why I spent the entire journey to the sanctuary organizing everything I knew in my head.

Kallad glanced at the ancient writing engraved on the enormous stone door and spoke.

“Can you decipher it?”

“It looks like you can.”

Kallad nodded with a triumphant smile.

“I’m glad I can be of assistance. The inscription says, ‘Only those who possess the qualifications may enter. However, possessing the qualifications does not mean you will obtain everything you desire, nor can we promise that you will leave here whole. Those who are afraid should give up here.’”

Kallad grinned.

“Quite a threatening message. Open the door, Your Highness.”

Kael stood in front of the door, rummaged through his clothes, and pulled out a piece of metal about the size of two adult thumbs joined together. When he inserted the key into the groove in the stone door, it fit perfectly. The key turned, and a rumbling sound began to echo from beneath the ground.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

The ground trembled as the door slid inward, and a cold breeze flowed out from the opening. It carried the damp smell of wet stone.

“Go in first, Kallad. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.”

At my gesture, Kallad smiled pleasantly.

“Thank you for your consideration. Then, excuse me.”

After Kallad went in ahead of us, I grabbed Kael’s wrist and spoke in a very low voice.

“That’s a lie.”

Kael looked down at me.

“The inscription. It doesn’t mean that.”

Even I was a little surprised. Who would have thought the ancient writing would be in Korean? And since I knew the original story, I already knew the truth behind the inscription on the stone door.

Kael quietly asked,

“You can decipher the ancient language?”

“……Yes. When I was young, the only thing I could do was read books.”

I gave him a vague excuse and quickly added,

“He did tell us some of the truth. But he left out the most important sentence. ‘If you desire the holy relic, you must offer a price worthy of it.’”

That was the entirety of the inscription.

But I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by. This was my chance to legitimately spoil the original story, wasn’t it?

I grinned and opened my mouth.

“……And the most important thing is……”

Kael’s eyes widened as he listened to what I said next.

“They’re definitely going to betray us, Your Highness.”

Kael nodded with a serious expression.

Still, I wasn’t worried.

In the original story, Seraphine and Kael had managed to find their way out from inside. And with my help added to that? We were practically invincible.

The moment everyone entered, the door closed behind us.

As expected. It was such an obvious setup.

We made torches and used them to inspect the interior. It wasn’t a temple.

It was a cave.

The ceiling was high, and a shallow layer of water covered the floor, making a splashing sound whenever we walked. According to the original story, they encountered trolls near the entrance.

The moment the mercenary in front raised his lantern, trolls with white eyes, their features degenerated by the darkness, emerged from the shadows.

Seraphine instinctively stepped in front of me.

They were smaller than the ones we’d seen in the forest, and their skin was much paler.

They couldn’t see.

Apparently, every monster encountered inside the cave was like that. According to the original story, the monsters here had lost both their sight and sense of smell but possessed extraordinarily keen hearing.

“Grrrr……”

The trolls didn’t seem to know where we were.

Everyone gripped their swords and torches with tense expressions. But the air was so damp that there was no telling how long the torches would last.

And I had heard that the deeper we went, the more of these things there would be.

Just as everyone was holding their breath, one of the mercenaries muttered a curse under his breath.

Every troll’s head immediately turned toward the source of the sound.

“What?”

When the mercenary carelessly uttered another word, the trolls pinpointed his location and charged at him.

“Argh! Get away from me, you damn monsters!”

The mercenary fled deeper inside, and the moment the trolls turned their backs, Kael moved.

Golden aura illuminated the cave as it sliced through the trolls’ backs.

The mercenary, realizing what had happened, collapsed onto the floor and gasped for breath while repeatedly cursing.

“What are you doing? Are you planning to wait for them to come back to life?”

Only then did everyone snap back to their senses and rush toward the fallen trolls, burning their wounds with fire.

The damp, fishy stench and the foul smell of scorched flesh spread thickly throughout the cave.

After confirming this, Kael issued an order.

“Check whether there are any other creatures nearby. And……”

Kael glanced at the mercenary who had nearly died.

“If you can’t handle it, at least keep your mouth shut.”

Kael spoke quietly as he examined the trolls.

“They appear to have lost both their sight and sense of smell. Their eyes are cloudy and white, and their noses have become flattened. However, they react extremely sensitively to sound. As long as we don’t unnecessarily draw their attention, we should be able to avoid fighting them. Remember. Our objective isn’t to exterminate these creatures. It’s to find the holy relic and return.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The knights answered.

Kallad gave a sly smile.

“I’ll keep that in mind. My subordinate seems to have been quite startled. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again. What are you doing? Are you planning to lie there all day?”

While Kallad irritably hauled the mercenary to his feet, the surroundings were cleared in an instant.

Meanwhile, in Gloria.

A patrol unit discovered several suspicious men in an alley lined with warehouses.

“What do you mean, what?”

The men immediately fled, but after a persistent chase, they were cornered in a dead end.

When they turned around, they saw that only two men were blocking their escape.

With only two opponents, they could probably force their way through.

This was worth a try.

The two mercenaries exchanged glances and nodded.

They drew their swords.

“Move aside, and I’ll spare your lives. I’m giving you a chance. Get lost!”

At those words, the knights burst out laughing.

“What was that?”

“Come over here, everyone. Looks like some rats have crawled in.”

At those words, more patrol members came rushing over.

The mercenaries cautiously stepped backward.

Damn it. What was this now?

In fact, before leaving, Kael had warned Millers in advance.

They had spent a considerable amount of money at the black market, so anyone who realized the group possessed valuable goods might target the people who remained behind.

Millers hadn’t taken that warning lightly either.

Seeing the people gathered at the end of the alley, the mercenaries swallowed nervously.

“We’ll say the same thing you said to us. Drop your swords. Unless you want to die.”

The knights spoke with mocking confidence, and the mercenaries immediately lost their will to fight.

That day, a knight who brought Halde his meal told him what had happened near the black market.

After finishing his story, the knight added,

“Sir Millers wants to see you.”

“Me? Why would he want……?”

“Get up. Apparently, some suspicious people came in during the night and were caught. He wants you to come and identify them.”

The knight answered curtly and helped Halde, who could barely even get himself upright, onto his back.

Millers was waiting for him in front of the government office.

“Come inside.”