A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"I've never seen this before...there's never been anything like it before."

“But…” Rector hesitated, clearly thinking of something but not saying it aloud.

"Is that so?" Bray nonchalantly sheathed his sword.

Just like before, Bray had no interest in asking further questions; the other party could say whatever they wanted.

He examined the centipede corpse at his feet.

Actually, calling it a centipede isn't quite accurate; it's just an insect that looks very much like a centipede.

Its body is translucent, and it has exceptionally long legs. Both ends are covered with tiny compound eyes that resemble those of a spider.

It's much stranger than a regular centipede.

"I really hope people who are afraid of centipedes don't see this thing." Bray shrugged, guessing that many people would find this insect disgusting.

“I wish you had explained it more clearly,” Bray said to Rickdo after cutting up the several writhing centipedes on the ground.

"I reckon the people ahead of us have all been eaten by these centipedes."

"It can't be that bad, these bugs don't look as scary as I imagined," Rector said with a wry smile.

“It’s much more complicated than you think,” Bray said softly.

If someone else were to try and kill these centipedes, they would probably be bitten to death.

I wonder what would happen if I got bitten by one of these things.

Of course, Bray didn't want to try it either, as his mortal body had no resistance to poison.

"Even if you don't tell me much, I don't mind."

"But you'll have to take responsibility for the consequences yourself." Bray sheathed his sword once more.

Drawing his sword and sheathing it, Bray repeated this countless times in this underground city.

Although using "water-cutting technique" can prevent the blade from getting blood on it, it is impossible to completely avoid getting a single drop of blood on it.

Fortunately, the insect blood did not have any adverse effects on Bray.

"..." Rector's wry smile froze, and he felt a little uneasy.

As you go deeper, the religious atmosphere of this underground city becomes increasingly pronounced.

At the same time, Bray also noticed a very special type of abstract pattern in the city.

It was a pattern of an angel above and a cloud of black mist below.

This pattern is likely related to the centipedes that kept appearing before.

Even if Rector hadn't said anything, Bray had gradually guessed some things.

Although Bray doesn't seem like a smart person, as Nicolas has said, he has an extraordinary sharpness at times.

He even occasionally gave people the mistaken impression that he was a "wise man".

Bray had once used his Mind's Eye to sense the underground city, but he had not detected any trace of the concept.

In other words, there are no native Silver Species or Aragami here.

These symbols, representing angels suppressing monsters, are quite intriguing.

As Bray pondered these things, they passed through the tunnel and arrived at the mysterious complex of buildings.

"It's so bright..." The light here is much brighter than in other places.

Even without using the magic lamp, one can see clearly the surrounding things.

“We haven’t explored this area before,” Rector said to Bray, shielding his eyes with his hand.

The moment one emerges from darkness into light is truly difficult to adjust to.

They had unknowingly traveled a long distance, moving faster than the exploration team from a few years ago.

"So what you want is after this," Bray said.

Along the way, Bray and his companions passed by many antiques and stone carvings, but Rector showed no interest in any of them.

Most likely, it was something they had researched before, or it might be far removed from what Rector wanted.

"I think so, I want some information."

“As you know, I’m here looking for a certain technology.” Rector lowered his hand, finally getting used to the light.

"Oh," Bray replied vaguely.

He scanned the surrounding area of ​​the buildings; it looked like a residential area.

This place is also very similar to the angelic dwelling place that Bray had seen on the holy mountain before.

As expected, it was the remains of an angel.

It's not surprising that bronze artifacts were unearthed a few years ago.

Whether by coincidence or for some other reason, relics were discovered one after another during that period.

Many things happened around that time, and without those ruins, Bray himself probably wouldn't have had so many stories.

"Look, are these all corpses?" As Rector looked around, he suddenly noticed many people dressed in simple clothes sitting on the ground with their heads down.

From their drooping, powerless posture, it was easy to tell that they were already dead.

However, the absence of any signs of battle made them wary.

The absence of signs of battle is even more chilling than the presence of signs of battle.

“Stone tablet! That’s the medium for recording text in the underground city.” Rector spotted a dead adventurer clutching a small stone tablet tightly.

This was also the first time that Rector had found something in this underground city that could serve as a medium for writing.

Looking at the small characters on the stone slab from a distance, he couldn't help but get excited.

It is possible to record what you really want in any text.

Before he could run off again, Bray pulled him back once more.

Bray had pulled this worker, who didn't understand what danger was, back more than once.

“…” Bray stared coldly at Rector, who had turned his head away.

Even though Bray was the one protecting Rector, he really didn't want to give this guy a friendly look.

Troublesome, likes to hide things, and is cowardly.

If it weren't for the fact that he needed to prepare things, Bray wouldn't have wanted to accept this guy's bodyguard request at all.

What was he thinking, jumping into this bottomless pit?

But it's clear that even Rector himself knew how deep this pit was.

"I...I'll be careful," Rickdo said, shrinking back.

Bray released his grip and followed behind the worker.

Although he was originally an archaeologist, he now works as a laborer in the safe zone, and Bray doesn't bother calling him an archaeologist anymore.

“These aren’t normal corpses.” Bray had no intention of having any contact with these dead adventurers.

But Rector wanted the stone tablet.

Step by step, Bray approached the drooping dead man.

Even when Bray came within half a meter of the corpse, nothing unusual happened.

"As expected, Mr. Bray, you're just too sensitive," Rickard muttered repeatedly.

Bray ignored him and instead slashed at the corpse with his sword, though the slash wasn't particularly fast.

The speed was so normal that even the men in work clothes standing nearby felt they could easily avoid it.

Then, in the instant the blade was swung—

The previously dead body began to twist in an unbelievable way, grabbing a brick and smashing it at Bray's head.

However, the brick didn't hit Bray on the head.

With a slow, deliberate strike, the sword severed both the brick and the corpse.

At the broken part of the corpse, an even more ferocious centipede emerged, seemingly replacing the upper half of the corpse.

But at the same moment it appears, the sword that was slashed out sweeps back along the same trajectory as when it was swung out.

"Click".

Before the ferocious parasitic centipede could even display any of its abilities, its exoskeleton was sliced ​​open.

“So you can never be too careful in these ruins,” Bray said earnestly to Rector.

"Hurry up and take what you want." He pointed to the stone slabs at his feet.

Otherwise, there would be no chance.

Rector hurriedly ran to the edge of the broiler and put the precious stone slab into his back.

Only then did he cautiously raise his head, wanting to know why Bray had said "there's no chance."

But when he looked up, he knew the answer.

The answer was far too simple—

Because they were now surrounded.

Those who had previously attempted to explore this underground city were now moving again, entangled by centipedes. Bray was deeply disgusted by these parasitic creatures.

If he could, he would absolutely not want to deal with these things.

You never know when you might get entangled by one of these insects, and that would be a real problem.

The last bit of nutrition in the deceased's body was absorbed by the centipede-like parasites, leaving him as withered as firewood.

Centipedes as thick as half a person crawled out from various parts of the dead body, driving their host to move in contorted motions.

How contorted is it? At least Bray has never seen anyone walk backwards from the waist down, completely ignoring the joints, truly walking backwards in the real sense.

Similarly, the attacks of these parasitized corpses are also bizarre and erratic.

Their subpar attacks, when faced with a minefield, were doomed to fail.

The massive parasitic horde fell to Bray's sword in droves, like dominoes.

The parasitic centipede looked so out of place in this yellowish-white underground city.

Their existence is like a defilement of this sacred place.

Without these parasites, this place could indeed be called a sacred ruin.

The problem is that it exists now, and there are many of them.

“Personally, I don’t think angels would raise such parasites.” Bray pierced the centipede’s core with his sword, then flung its dead body several meters away.

That centipede was the last enemy.

Once the centipede was no longer controlling it, the corpse fell silent again.

The bodies of all the explorers were relatively intact, making it hard to imagine how the parasites were inserted into their bodies.

The biggest reason why seeing parasites makes me feel disgusted is not because the parasites themselves are disgusting.

What's truly terrifying is the fear of "possibly being parasitized."

“So you know something?” Bray glanced at Rector, who was crouching with his head in his hands, defending himself.

Bray had initially thought Rector was the ruthless type who would plot and scheme, but now it seems he was mistaken.

This worker has great ambitions, but little courage.

The important thing is that he doesn't know how to act and doesn't have any specific plans.

It's really tough on this guy. In a typical story, he would definitely be portrayed as the mastermind behind a conspiracy.

Unexpectedly, he really is a simpleton.

“I…” Rick opened his mouth, but hesitated.

"I've already seen through you. There's nothing left to hide now."

"And you've already obtained a stone tablet."