Chapter 145: Hidden Ruins

「So that’s the ruins of the ancient civilization of Ishtar… 」

After that, we drove the Kobuda towards the ruins we could see on the horizon.

Then, several hours later we stood before the ruins.

「But this is more like ruins than shattered buildings…」

I quietly nodded at Lily’s murmur beside me.

Indeed. I had expected to see more solid structures remaining, given that it was a ruin site.

But what was here was a pile of rubble.

What were once massive buildings were buried in sand, with only the roofs protruding from the ground.

There were other rubble and half-ruined structures scattered around, but almost none of them retained any of their original form.

「The ancient civilization of Ishtar… I’ve heard of it in fairy tales and such, but I never imagined it would be so completely gone… 」

「Do you know about Ishtar, Fitis? 」

「Yes. Though, all I’ve heard are legends, so I don’t really know what it was actually like. From what I’ve heard, Ishtar was the most advanced civilization since the beginning of this world. 」

「Advanced… 」

「I hear they possessed technology far superior to our current technology. Flying vehicles, underwater vehicles… and various other tools that made them a famous advanced civilization. 」

That was amazing. Since coming to this world, all the vehicles I had encountered had been medieval-like things such as monsters and carriages.

Flying vehicles… that must have been a pretty advanced civilization, right?

Actually, even on Earth, flying vehicles only appeared after a considerable level of civilization had developed.

「But I‘ve heard that even such an advanced civilization was destroyed in a single night. 」

「I heard that too. The one who destroyed it was definitely…」

「The Demon King of that time, Hræsvelgr*, huh? 」

That was something Alisha had told me before.

The ancient civilization of Ishtar. It was said that this highly advanced civilization was destroyed in a single night.

The one who destroyed it was a being called the Demon King of that time, Hræsvelgr.

I didn’t know what kind of monster he was, but if he destroyed a civilization in a single night, then his level of danger must be completely beyond anything I had ever seen in monsters.

Could he be even more dangerous than my mother’s SS-rank level? Such anxieties even crossed my mind.

「Well, in any case, all that’s left now is ruins. 」

As Lily said, what was here now was more like wreckage than ruins.

There wasn’t even anything to investigate even if I wanted to investigate something.

「Even if some ruins remained, many adventurers have already visited this place and taken the treasures of the civilization that perished long ago. There’s probably nothing left now… 」

「That’s true… 」

As Fitis said, even if something remained, countless adventurers would have already visited and taken it.

There was no way anything would be left here if we came here.

But something I felt from this place was still stirring in my heart.

Something other than those relics remained here.

「Dad! 」

And it seemed Rock felt the same way, jumping up and down excitedly as if she’d found something.

「Rock, what’s wrong? 」

「There seems to be something here! 」

As if drawn by Rock’s voice, we gathered where she had been.

Looking at it, it was a sandy area a little distance from where the ruins had been, and it didn’t seem like there was anything there.

「What’s going on here, Rock? 」

As I asked, Rock plunged her hand into the sand at her feet. Then…

「Whoa! 」

The ground where Rock plunged her hand sank, swallowing it whole, and Rock disappeared.

「Huh!? 」

「Wait, what was that…!? 」

We were all confused, but then Fitis muttered, as if she’d noticed something.

「A hidden path… or rather, a camouflage using a sand trap? 」

A sand trap. Like an antlion’s trap.

「Does that mean there’s something down there? 」

「No, either way, we can’t leave Rock here. Let’s go help her immediately. 」

「Right. 」

Everyone seemed to agree with my opinion, and we immediately jumped towards the place where Rock had been swallowed.

Suddenly, the ground, which had been flat just moments before, seemed to swallow us up like a bottomless swamp, and the next moment, we felt ourselves sinking into the sand.

Next came the sensation of being thrown into the air. We then fell straight down to the ground below.

「Whoa, that was closer than I thought. 」

It wasn’t that high, so our legs suffered almost no damage.

But what surprised us even more was the sight before us.

「This is…」

What lay there were countless ruins hidden underground.

It was literally an underground empire.

Looking at them, many of the ruins were half-destroyed or collapsed, just like the ones above ground, but some remained almost completely intact, hidden and lurking beneath the earth.

「This is…incredible. The ruins above ground were literally just a facade. The majority were hidden underground… 」

They were probably hidden underground by sandstorms over many years, or maybe this civilization itself fled underground just before its destruction. It was one of the two possibilities.

「Dad, look at that! 」

As I was thinking about this, Rock, who had entered the underground area earlier, pointed to a certain ruin.

Compared to the other ruins, its exterior was almost completely intact, and it was a much larger and more massive structure than the other ruins and buildings.

To put it simply, it was a castle-like building.

「Is it…that place? 」

Rock nodded, holding her trembling shoulders as I asked.

In truth, I didn’t even need to ask Rock; I felt my body tremble for some reason the moment I saw that building.

It was because my instincts told me there was something there.

And that was precisely the reason I had been led to this place.

Feeling this, I lightly slapped my cheeks to firmly support my trembling body and looked around at the faces of my companions once more.

Their expressions were, needless to say, resolute and determined to follow me.

「Okay, then everyone, let’s explore that central building. 」

「Got it! 」

「Leave it to me, Lord Kyou. 」

「Leave it to me, big bro. 」

「Yeah! 」

I headed towards the ruins with my companions after hearing their replies.

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*In Old Norse, Hræsvelgr signifies ‘Corpse Swallower’. This figure is a giant that transforms into an eagle in Norse mythology. Located at the northernmost edge of the heavens, he represents a formidable, wind-generating force of nature.