Chapter 498: Underground Labyrinth
"We can"t say for sure. Let"s find out the truth." Rhea shook her head.
"In that case, please step back a bit Elysia. It"ll be a bit of a ha.s.sle to find the secret entrance. I"ll just make our way underground at the spot you"re standing on." Oceanid gave a hand gesture for Elysia to move a bit.
"Oh, um, okay." Elysia took three steps back.
Oceanid once again looked deep into the ground with his magic vision. Still, only a vast expanse of flat soil and rock was noticeable to his eyes. He couldn"t see what might be hidden behind that stone wall.
"That"s not a layer of the world"s crust. So, a dungeon or maybe the ruins from the G.o.ds era?" Oceanid muttered under his breath and made a four-meter diameter circle on the ground using his feet.
The blue liquid on the sandy soil then swirled and made a hole in the ground. It only took thirty seconds, and spiral staircases leading underground were created without any noise.
"Alright, the entrance has been created. There"s a ruin down there blocking my vision. Just in case, we won"t go into the ruins down there openly." Oceanid reminded the others. Then, he went down the stairs.
"A ruin?" Elysia looked at Elena cluelessly, but the latter didn"t really understand the matter either.
"Hm, maybe that night we didn"t scan carefully. More than a kilometer down there is a buried ruin." Nell scratched her head. This was so strange because she was sure that she couldn"t find anything down there.
"Ehm~" Rhea just hummed and went behind Elysia and Elena. "Allow me to walk behind you to ensure everyone"s safety."
"Okay." Elysia just nodded, and they went down the stairs to follow Oceanid.
Meanwhile, a girl with black hair and red eyes had just returned to the land on the northern sh.o.r.e of the mysterious island. She was thoroughly drenched, but that couldn"t hide her excited expression.
"Ehehe~ I did it!" Sylvia raised her hands high and jumped up a little.
"Oops, please stay calm and don"t make noise. Now, I just need to find Ely and join them. I just need to act like a sweet yet silly girl to Ely, then I"m sure she will let me come along." Sylvia clapped her hands happily at the idea.
She looked left and right in confusion as she didn"t know about the investigation team"s whereabouts. Nevertheless, that wouldn"t stop her. "Yeah, it"s an adventure! A mysterious territory exploration with a hidden boss in an underground dungeon. Err... I"m sure they"re in the middle of the island because that"s where Ely suddenly got gooseb.u.mps that night. Hum, yes."
After being convinced by the decision, the unruly devil girl went after the investigation team without considering the risk or anything else. Her father"s high-level weaponry made her quite confident that she could protect herself until she met Elysia, even without using any kind of magic.
"A stone floor? Are you really unable to scan anything underneath?" Elena stomped her foot on the stone floor to check its hardness.
"Ssshh! We"ll go down there in stealth. After this, we"ll just exchange words using a group protected telepathy line. Make sure no one notices us and we shouldn"t alarm anything down there." Oceanid reminded everyone once again.
At the same time, he established a telepathic connection that connected everyone on the team.
"I can manage our invisibility perfectly. But, I want you to be the vanguard and be at the forefront." Elena pointed her palm at Oceanid.
"That"s an easy thing. Get us into stealth mode now. I suspect that this is a dangerous ruin with some high-level s.p.a.ce Laws. Please raise all of your vigilance to the maximum level. We don"t know what awaits us later." Oceanid folded his arms confidently.
Elysia, Elena, Rhea, and Nell nodded in agreement. After that, Elena made a circular motion with her finger to construct a layered barrier dome equipped with invisibility for everyone.
Feeling incomplete, she also applied disguises and illusions in the deepest layers to ensure that even divine beings couldn"t detect them easily.
"Just don"t get out of this dome barrier or you will need to use your own magic for your own invisibility." Elena looked into the eyes of each individual.
"That"s good." Oceanid stroked the layered barrier with a satisfied nod. "All right, please wait a moment."
With that being said, Oceanid made another circle on the ground and made a way underground. The super-duper hard stone floor was drilled by the Sea G.o.d"s blue liquid.
"It"s been a minute, can you make a hole there or not?" Nell asked in astonishment as she stared into a few centimeters deep circle. It wasn"t even a hole yet!
"Couldn"t you be patient a little bit? This stone floor is ultra solid and exudes a strange aura. I need some time to get through this." Oceanid pursed his lips. His conjecture grew more substantial, and he became more and more confident that this ruin was from the G.o.ds" era.
After five minutes, Oceanid was still trying. Yet, the three-meter-thick stone floor could only be perforated after Elena decided to lend a hand. And it didn"t even take more than three minutes.
"Well, as I thought." Oceanid jumped into the hole and looked around with his magic vision.
"Hmm?" Elena held Elysia"s hand, and they jumped together. Nell and Rhea followed right after.
They all landed in a dark and empty pa.s.sage. The surroundings were just stone walls and the minimal lighting of the blue crystals on the ceiling.
"So, this stone wall is blocking my scanning ability and sight. It"s also lined with odd extra hard walls. This material reminds me of someone who is very sensitive to privacy." Oceanid went closer to the stone wall and inspected it.
"Do you mean the G.o.d of Sky, Sorush? The inner layer of these wall are sky stone, that"s the name he gave to this strange aura stone." Rhea only glanced at the gray wall and was instantly convinced.
"Yes, it"s definitely him. Is this ruin his? Is he safe and hiding here? Or maybe, something else?" Oceanid frowned and walked out of the dome barrier.
"You"re out of my protection." Elena told in a flat tone.
"It"s okay, I will be the vanguard and walk in front. You girls just have to follow me." Oceanid raised his hand high.
Elena just rolled her eyes. She then looked at the girl next to her. "Are you afraid, Ely? Don"t worry, I"ll keep holding your hand as much as you want."
"No, it"s just that- uhm, I have a bad feeling." Elysia rubbed the back of her neck with a bit of uneasiness. She didn"t even understand why either.
Elena tilted her head slightly to see Elysia"s face at a better angle. She also didn"t understand why Elysia turned a little pale and sometimes shivered.
"Let"s finish this investigation quickly." Elena gripped Elysia"s hand tighter and walked after Oceanid.
Nell and Rhea exchanged glances, but they had absolutely no idea what had happened to Elysia. This place haunted Elysia with anxiety and horror, but no one understood why not even Elysia herself.
*Clack*
The new girls walked no further than seven steps, a cracking sound suddenly sounded from the front.
"Oops." Oceanid was dumbfounded as he looked down at the floor. He stepped on something, and it cracked instantly.
At that very instant, a sudden heavy gravitational pressure suddenly came from the four sides of the wall.
*Splat*
Blue liquids splattered everywhere. Oceanid just died without a word.
"He died?" Elena asked with a deadpan expression. She didn"t know what to say to see such a ridiculous thing.
"I do not think so. His body only crumbled from his carelessness. Give him a few seconds and he"ll be right back." Nell shook her head with an amused smile.
The blue liquids moved on their own and reshaped the form of a blue semi-transparent human. Oceanid then awkwardly laughed while scratching his head. "Hahaha, sorry for showing such an embarra.s.sing thing. I paid too much attention to my surroundings for hundreds of meters, but neglected to pay attention to the close ones. The trap trigger camouflage is quite precise and difficult to distinguish."
"Let"s use our magic vision at all times and fly instead of walking. Apparently, this is a dungeon or labyrinth made full of traps. I"m getting more and more curious and wondering about what"s hidden in this place." Nell suggested with a nod. She felt that her suggestion was the best solution.
With that being said, everyone chose to levitate and use their special eye abilities, including Elysia.
"Huh? Elysia, your eyes shine with light of various colors. Doesn"t the light from magic vision just follow the color of your iris with a hint of color from the energy aura?" Oceanid made himself float slightly to be at Elysia"s eyes level.
"My precious disciple is the special one. Her eyes ability is no magic vision. Nevermind, go back to explore this place. You can trigger a few more traps, but don"t involve us." Elena shooed the little blue creature to fly ahead.
"Boo..." Oceanid loosened his shoulders and went ahead like bait.
The G.o.d who fell for an unexpected trap refused to embarra.s.s himself a second time. Because of that, he became super careful, without leaving out the slightest detail. The investigation team continued to explore the underground labyrinth without triggering any traps or accidentally entering any dangerous room.
At that time, a curious devil girl had just arrived at a hole with spiral staircases. She peered down with sparkling eyes. "An abyys, dungeon, or perhaps a labyrinth leading to incredible treasures that might be guarded by a final boss!"