Chapter 32 Search and Lost Party

Inside a man-made cave in the great desert, two shadow-like figures hideously lurked through dark, narrow paths, while minding every step so as not to trigger the traps that are scattered around.

Each careful step, leaves no trace for other outsiders to follow.

With their bodies covered with white hooded robes that are adorned with gold embellishments and also with them being masked with a blank visage that it makes discerning whether these people are male or female, these figures aren't something to be called 'normal'.

"Hey, do you have any idea what kind of human being is sealed here in the middle of the desert?" One of the masked figures asked his/her colleague.

"No idea." The other person shook his/her head. "Maybe that person is dangerous enough to be sealed here."

"Hm, good point."

As it turns out, these two are inside the cave for a reason.

While walking down the path lighted with colored stones, their footsteps finally stopped upon seeing a large door ahead of them.

"So that's where that person is sealed, huh"

"Is it locked? I don't remember our superior giving us keys before we left."

"Maybe it's not even locked in the first place. You, try to open the door."

"H-Huh? Me...?"

"I'm your senior, remember? Now open the door before I shove these magic stones down your throat."

The other person sighed in resignation. "Haaaahhh..."

Feeling the pressure coming from his/her senior, the other masked person reluctantly held one of the handles and pulled.

"E-Eh? It's open...--" The masked junior gasped for a moment, and then...

At the moment when the junior opened the door, a sea of dead rats flooded over them.

"W-W-What the fuck!!!!!!"

"H-Hiiiiiihhhhh!!!!!!"

Both of them shrieked in disgust and panic as they clung on the wall, away from the countless rotten rat bodies scattered on the floor.

"S-Senior, let's get out of here...I think I'm starting to get sick..."

"No way we could do that! We'll get punished if we don't accomplish our task here--D-Damn it! I'm already covered with their smell!"

Although the senior himself/herself is about to vomit and cry, the risk of getting their superiors pissed far outweighs the suffering they're experiencing.

After almost an hour of mustering their courage, the two finally went inside the door.

"Is it just my imagination or there's really nothing in here aside from the rats?" The senior asked with a tone of disappointment.

Other than the rats and the blue stones on the walls, the huge room was apparently, devoid of anything substantial.

"If I recall correctly, there's supposed to be something on the floors, but I can't see it with these dead guys around."

The senior smirked. "Is that so? You go clean this place then."

"W-Wha?!--O-Okay, I'll start cleaning right away..."

And the junior started sweeping away the rats on the floor using his/her feet, fearing that his/her insubordination would result in his/her early dismissal from the organization.

'Damn it! If not because of my family, I would not join this hellhole of an organization!' The junior cursed under his/her breath, all while remembering the events prior to the present situation.

Being just a recent newcomer in their organization, this task was his/her first, and the results would determine if he/she would still be accepted into the organization.

A simple country bumpkin from some country, in hopes of a brighter future for his/her family, went on a journey to that country's capital, only to end up being tricked and beaten up by the people who sent him/her there. For a month, he/she became someone he/she feared the most.

With all of his/her money and belongings stolen he/she became a beggar not by choice, but by necessity.

Without any knowledge in magic also, he/she won't be accommodated to the places where only those with magic could go inside. His/her physical abilities won't help either, for his/her strength (and resolve) isn't enough to kill even one Demon Cow. All he/she has to offer, is his/her ability in shining other people's shoes, as it was his/her previous occupation before he/she left their countryside village.

It so happened that one day, while busily shining his/her customer's leather boots, that customer invited him/her to join their organization, with a promise of income ten, if not hundred, times more than what he/she is currently earning. The poor person, eyes glistened by the sweet words the stranger is telling him/her, immediately accepted the offer.

After a few short introductions, he/she became a probational member of the organization's Research Department. His/her role in the organization was rather simple: to look for any possible ruins where the so-called [???] is sealed. With all the records that leads to that certain ruins has been destroyed through the ages, the organization until that time has zero clues on the whereabouts of the ruins.

The newcomer, now having found a stable source of income, has resolved to do his/her best to contribute to the cause of the organization.

Several days of having no sleep, coupled with eating food that compromised nutrition over convenience of preparation--his/her health has gradually started to worsen as the efforts to find the ruins grew stronger.

'At last! I have found the lead!' He/she announced to his/her colleagues one night after he/she almost fainted while on his/her research. At first his/her superiors were skeptical at first, but after confirming that the lead has concrete basis on the historical records that the organization had, all of them rejoiced on the newcomer's discovery.

'Then, what's next is to go there, and confirm the existence of the [???]!' His/her superior told him/her.

'E-Eh? S...S-Seriously?!' The newcomer got taken aback by his/her superior's words.

The superior snorted. 'What? Haven't you read the manual of our organization? That [All claims of discovery must be confirmed by the discoverer himself] sort of thing?'

Fearing that further arguments would leave a bad impression to his/her superior, the newcomer has left no choice but to follow.

And thus, the baptism of fire--or rats, rather--for this unlucky junior has started.

By the time he/she finished the backstory inside his/her mind and most of the floor is cleared of clutter, the junior noticed something on the floor.

"The seal of the [???]...is missing?"

The senior shouted in shock. "What?!"

With the two of them being aware of the existence of the seal--and the creature sealed inside it, it was quite a shock to find out that the seal was missing.

"It has already been confirmed that this place is the place we're looking for so long, right? But, how could that even be possible?" The senior gasped in disbelief.

"Other than that...senior, look." The junior stared at the object with a tired look, then called the attention of the other person.

"W-What is it...hmm?"

The object the junior was referring to...was a piece of paper.

Upon a closer look the paper appears to be blank, but the senior deemed that there might be something that is written faintly on its surface.

"Check it against the light to confirm. It might give us clues as to how did this happen."

"Understood." The junior replied immediately.

Against the pale blue light, the junior saw a faint arrangement of symbols that seem to be unrecognizable at first, but after his/her eyes got used to the ambiance of the surroundings, he/she jolted in surprise.

"W-What the hell's written in the paper, for you to be surprised?" The senior complained.

With his/her neck moving like a broken hinge, the junior faced the senior. "Y-You won't believe what's written on this sheet of paper."

"Heh." The senior took the sheet from the junior while almost tearing it, and examined the contents written on its surface, only to end up being surprised as well.

"This...This is absurd!" The senior yelled his/her junior.

"But, there's a possibility that it's just a mere prank, right? No one would write a contemptuous statement on a piece of paper and just leave it inside the very bottom of a cave at the middle of the desert while having pure intentions in his mind, right?"

'But, how?' The junior asked to him/herself. Upon coming to that place, they haven't encountered any people traveling in the desert, and they confirmed that no one has been there for a very long time. How would a freshly ripped piece of paper would make its way in that place?

The senior however, only spoke one word.

"No."

The senior showed to the junior the paper on his/her hand, that started to glow faintly all of a sudden.

"W-Wha--?"

"It seems that, the perpetrator..." The senior sighed. "Is serious about the statements written here. Look."

A few seconds later, a huge magic circle appeared from under their feet, and quickly swallowed them with its whitish glow, covering until the outside of the cave.

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Inside a man-made cave in the great desert, two shadow-like figures hideously lurked through dark, narrow paths, while minding every step so as not to trigger the traps that are scattered around.

Each careful step, leaves no trace for other outsiders to follow.

With their bodies covered with white hooded robes that are adorned with gold embellishments and also with them being masked with a blank visage that it makes discerning whether these people are male or female, these figures aren't something to be called 'normal'.

"Hey, what do you think happened to that newcomer? I'm starting to worry about their safety." One of the masked figures asked his/her colleague.

"No idea." The other person shook his/her head. "Maybe they got lost while exploring the interior of this place. If they're lucky, they're still alive up to this time."

"You sounded like you don't give a damn at all to other people's lives, huh?"

"You know me, right? I only care about my income. All competitors should just resign or die."

As it turns out, these two are inside the cave for a reason.

With the newcomer and his/her senior went missing in action for a few days already, the organization has issued an order to search for the pair inside the ruins, and rescue them if they are still alive. The ones sent for the search and rescue operation, was these two people that walked on the same route the first pair used.

While walking down the path lighted with colored stones, their footsteps finally stopped upon seeing a large door ahead of them.

"This is the place where the seal is located."

"Is it locked? I don't remember our superior giving us keys before we left."

"It's not, and I'm afraid that something will happen if we just open the door recklessly."

The one who spoke knocked a few times on the huge door, and yanked the small handle hidden on the carvings inscribed on the door. A moment later, a smaller door carved from the larger one appeared.

"The design is somewhat familiar to me, so I know how this one works." The second masked person declared proudly.

"I see."

When they entered the room, they got surprised by the emptiness of space in front of them.

"They're not here? So where are they if that's the case?"

"Who knows? Maybe they're dead."

They inspected the place once more, until they found a piece of paper on a corner of the room.

"Did they left it here?"

The other masked person only shrugged his/her shoulders, showing not even the slightest care about his/her colleagues through actions.

"Check it against the light to confirm. It might be something of importance to them."

"Okay, okay."

When the person's about to place the paper against the blue light, the paper suddenly glowed in a pale white haze.

"N-Now this is something that I should be giving a damn abo--"

Before he/she could even finish his sentence, both of them got swallowed by a great light coming from under their feet, and even the whole cave, leaving nothing behind except the paper that the two pairs of masked people have seized by chance.

That piece of paper, now blown away by the hot desert wind, fluttered around without any sense of direction, until a person snatched it gracefully in mid-air. That person, who's lying down on a reclining metal chair in the middle of the desert at that time, stood up and placed the paper against the sun's glare.

"Oh my, they really did it this time, huh? Not just once, but twice!" The mysterious person sighed while looking at the paper.

With the symbols written on the paper already faded away, the person deemed that it wasn't usable anymore, tore it into shreds, and then scattered the pieces into the wind.

"Now that I spiced things up a little, let's see how they would deal with that little girl starting from now on. Fufufufu~" The mysterious person chuckled before disappearing along with the reclining chair as if vanishing into thin air.

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A mysterious organization...and another mysterious person with a reclining chair.

Mysterious people, with unknown interests and motives?

Perchance, in what way would these people involve themselves to that certain [little girl]? Hopefully everyone finds out sooner or later.