175. Hazart Ashin, The Buried City (2)
*
The entrance to the ruins was half-buried due to the thick snow that had piled up overnight. Between the dark, unfathomable entrance, a chilly breeze occasionally surged, tousling Fernandez’s bangs.
He gazed at the entrance of the quarry tunnel, where the piled snow was crumbling down. To an outsider, it would look like nothing more than a large, abandoned mine. However, the Rune Glyphs were a form of inscribed characters that marked their origin on the rocks.
The cracks between the rocks, small as they were, connected like spiderwebs, forming a chaotic pattern. But to those who knew, it was a sentence with a certain regularity.
-If you are not prepared, leave. If the time has come, be strong.
‘Or, refuse death and endure the end.’
It might seem like a nonsensical sentence, but that’s the inherent nature of Rune Glyphs. They are ideograms that can be interpreted in multiple ways, expressing multiple meanings simultaneously with a single word, and even structurally, they consist only of nouns.
To translate it more bluntly, [Death], [Outside], [Time], [Endurance]. Generally, sentences inscribed at dungeon entrances carry a warning to intruders, so it’s not something to be taken lightly.
“Let’s just go in.”
Loft clapped his hands and laughed. Yeah, in this situation, overthinking won’t lead to any clear answers. Fernandez shrugged and stepped into the tunnel.
*
There exists a discipline called Magic Engineering. Originating from alchemy, this field is said to have used magical energy as fuel, combining it with complex mechanical devices to create a new system that surpassed the existing magical frameworks.
The phrase “is said to” here literally means that this discipline has been lost and deemed irrecoverable.
The combination of magical craftsmanship based on Rune Glyphs and the intricate, dense mechanical devices. This unique magical system of the dwarves, who achieved overwhelming success in both Rune Glyphs and blacksmithing, transcending their race, was what ‘Magic Engineering’ was. Now, only traces of it can be found in ancient dwarven dungeons.
‘The important point is, they actually sealed the Great Demon.’
All five Great Demons are sealed across the Sixth Realm. Among them, only Mumto is sealed in the Material World. Like the scaled Empress Sadarkelisa, sealed by the Celestial Dragon Kaladpelin, the Great Demons are each sealed in different dimensions, only able to exert indirect influence.
However, thousands of years ago, the dwarves succeeded in sealing a Great Demon during the Celestial War. Not in the Material World, but somewhere in a distant dimension, they ‘imprisoned’ it.
The Crimson Duke Tyban. A mighty demon who started as a lowly undead and rose to the rank of Great Demon through sheer destruction and slaughter. Though his beginnings were humble, and he was not recognized as a king by his peers, hence called ‘Duke,’ his power is by no means inferior to other demons.
The power to destroy any magic, any material. Tyban’s ability lies in the realm of ‘destruction.’ His power is so immense that it borders on divinity, and merely walking in the Material World would cause the earth to crumble.
‘My old friend.’
Fernandez wandered through the familiar underground tunnel, lost in memories. It was a miracle to find clues about the Crimson Duke’s seal in the ancient dwarven dungeon. Poisoning the fellow adventurers who discovered it and beginning his research was the work of his youth.
Even while being chased by the Inquisition Office for stepping on their toes, he never gave up his research. As a result, he succeeded in excavating the dwarven dungeon where the Crimson Duke was sealed… and the clock of the world’s destruction ticked one step closer.
‘Though the style is more archaic, the essence remains the same.’
Fernandez stopped at the end of the tunnel, gazing at the massive bronze door blocking his path. The door, engraved with a tough-looking man with a long beard, bore marks of attempted destruction with picks and hammers.
“It seems young Erik gave up here. Well, there are more pressing matters than excavating an ancient city. What about you, can you do it?”
Loft chuckled. Fernandez silently stared at the door. Simple destruction wouldn’t break it. Fernandez stroked his beard, looking at the rusted door handle.
[Brother, we shall endure.]
To put it bluntly, these words were inscribed here. It’s open to interpretation, but… endure, the end. Then… Fernandez muttered quietly.
“Ragnarok.”
-Thud. Clatter…
Along with his words, the sound of thick chains winding and rough gears clashing echoed from inside the door handle.
“Oh ho? Impressive!”
Loft giggled. The door creaked and then slid open to both sides, as if the tunnel walls absorbed it. Inside, a wide corridor made of neatly cut stone and bricks appeared.
-Screech, thud, thud, thud.
-Clatter. Grind…
With the door opened, it seemed like some kind of mechanism had started throughout this tunnel, no, this entire underground city. Loud friction noises surged from various parts of the massive underground city.
Fernandez walked down the corridor with his hand on the sword hilt. The sensation in his left hand was gradually returning. The pain was still there, but it had become bearable. Rather, the excruciating pain gnawing at his nerves had sharpened his mind to an extreme.
-It’s massive.
‘Yes. It’s on par with the Steelfloor Seal.’
-There’s no way they built something this massive as a hobby, Fernandez.
‘At least…’
Something equivalent to Tyban… Or something of that value must be sleeping here.’
Fernandez frowned as he walked down the corridor. He knew all the seals of the Great Demons and the methods to break them. Even if there were things he couldn’t attempt due to time or circumstances, he at least knew that the northern underground Dwarf Dungeon wasn’t one of them.
But this scale… If a massive underground dungeon, capable of sealing the Great Demon Tyban, had been constructed… What could it possibly contain?
-Whirrr. Creak.
When he reached the end of the corridor and stood before the Bronze Door again, the door opened on its own before Fernandez could even examine it.
-Whooosh…
A dry wind blew from somewhere, tousling his hair. Fernandez narrowed his eyes. A grand hallway unfolded before him.
“Welcome, friend! To Hazart Ashin! Haha, it’s been a long, long time since I last visited this city. The friends here were quite good folks too!”
Loft’s words echoed off the walls of the hallway. Fernandez ignored Loft’s words and scanned his surroundings with sharp eyes.
Ornate pillars adorned with bronze plates and golden inscriptions supported the ceiling, which was domed and covered in intricate and beautiful engravings depicting the war between heaven and hell.
A faint glow seeped from somewhere, illuminating the surroundings, and a long, worn-out carpeted walkway lay before him. Below the bridge, a city shrouded in mist was revealed.
Literally, a city. Just like the cities above ground, the underground city was three-dimensional. Layers stretched beneath the pillars, hallways, and bridges, with stone houses rising like spires, extending deep into the cliffs below.
Even the smallest footsteps would echo throughout this massive city. Perhaps the Dwarves were silent. It wasn’t an environment conducive to loud chatter. Between the pillars, traces of a once-glorious race shimmered beautifully.
It was a city crafted from gold, bronze, steel, and stone. Fernandez couldn’t help but marvel. But it wasn’t just the city’s scale and beauty that impressed him.
‘Every section is intricately woven… It’s a Magical Formation.’
-What a grand scale. A Magical Formation utilizing the entire city structure…
Tyban’s seal didn’t take the form of a city. No ruler, no matter how mad, would build a city over a place where a Great Demon was sealed. So, the fact that this city is drawing a Magical Formation… No, the fact that the city is built upon this Magical Formation…
‘It must mean that what they sealed here was something favorable to them.’
Fernandez thought as he approached the massive gateway leading into the city. The gateway was flanked by two giant statues, seemingly carved in the likeness of Dwarves.
“Loft. You knew.”
“Huh? Knew what?”
“That there was a city here. And what was hidden within.”
“Oh, of course I knew. That’s why I brought you here, isn’t it?”
“If it was so important, why didn’t you do it yourself?”
“Hahaha, friend. In the Material World, I can’t even move a straw as I please!”
Loft clapped his hands and laughed cheerfully. Fernandez frowned and glared at him.
“What’s here?”
“A Fuze. Oh, don’t look at me like that. It’s not bad for you, and it’s something I need too… Riddles are the salt and pepper of our lives, aren’t they?”
So, go ahead! As Loft chuckled, Fernandez passed through the gateway. The moment he stepped into the gateway, he quickly pulled his foot back.
-Crack!
A blue current sparked from where he had stepped. A trap? No, there’s no way a race would place traps at the entrance of their city… Fernandez frowned and looked around. By then, Loft was already fading away.
“Caught me!”
“…What are you doing?”
“I liked the friends here… But they didn’t like me! Oh dear, this is why I love those little chubby ones! These cute, petty things! Haha!”
Loft slowly floated into the air, chuckling. Annoying. Fernandez tapped the Sword Hilt, and Loft shrugged.
“If you try to trick me one more time, no matter the outcome, the deal is off. Northern God.”
“Oh, friend, friend. Have faith! I told you it would help you, didn’t I? Here… Half of the Einherjar are sleeping…”
-Thud, whirr.
With the sound of chains winding, noisy friction began to echo from beneath the bridge, under the city. The city was coming to life. Fernandez quickly looked down below the bridge.
-Whoosh!
Flames roared from the furnace, and hot lava flowed like a river beneath it. The lava traced red paths between the city’s sections, bridges, and beneath them. Intense heat surged, creating a gust of hot wind.
‘The Magical Formation is activating.’
-The First Central Circulation is active. Two opposing clauses, five conservation circuits…
‘And there are two more central circulations. What a grand scale.’
-Using lava to activate the Magical Formation… It’s not just a furnace. That’s a Rune Forge. Probably the heart of the Magical Formation.
‘And the heart of this city as well.’
The mist cleared due to the hot wind, revealing the cityscape in full view. The entire city flickered like fire, forming the shape of a massive Magical Formation. It was a complex, maze-like protective spell.
It wasn’t the kind of rune meant to protect the city from external attacks. Deep within the city, three Rune Forges formed the vertices of a triangle, protecting some kind of ‘Sanctuary’ within.
Of course, it couldn’t be breached through simple destruction. Fernandez thought for a while as he looked down at the city’s structure. Destruction wouldn’t break this protection, but…
‘I’ve already tried it.’
The opposite of protection isn’t destruction, but sealing. Protection and sealing differ in whether you place the enemy’s perspective inside or outside. Inverting the structure turns it into a seal, and back into protection.
It was a spell pattern almost identical to the steel-floor seal that imprisoned Tyban. Powerful, but not impossible.
-This feels like opening a box of memories.
‘Did we ever have such a hobby?’
-Even if we did, why would we reminisce about tragedies or seal them away?
Faijashi laughed softly.
![[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/TS-Obsessed-Gamer-The-Ultimate-Return2.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return")
