Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Deep inside a small museum located in one corner of the city, in its most secret and hidden place, a man continued his work.

Bubble, bubble…

Pop. Pop.

Wilhelm Rogers whistled as he stirred the boiling wax.

Beside him stood a strongly built man, fixed upright inside a frame.

Even though several days had passed since his death, the corpse had not decayed at all.

Rogers poured in the wax, removed the bubbles, and carefully filled every empty space inside the frame.

After finishing his work, he stepped outside.

Several believers entered in his place and began cleaning up the messy room.

Rogers lightly wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued walking.

He passed through the Adults Only Area, his workshop, and the believers’ worship area before heading toward the entrance of the museum, the section open to all ages.

Someone was waiting there to report to him.

“Lord Rogers.”

“What is it?”

“It seems we have guests from outside.”

“…Guests? Outsiders?”

“Yes. Believer 194 observed them.”

“What about offerings? Did they appear to have brought enough?”

At his question, the reporter’s eyes turned bright red.

It was an Authority of an Inner God that Rogers usually called the One Eye.

Those who received a portion of its power could share their vision with one another.

The reporter briefly looked at the outsiders through Believer 194’s eyes.

After carefully examining them, he answered.

“…It doesn’t appear that they brought any offerings with them. Perhaps they intend to obtain sacrifices on this floor.”

“Then they’ll be staying here for a while. Are they heading toward the museum?”

“Not yet… No. They don’t appear to be coming directly here.”

“If there are raiders among them, they’ll eventually visit. Receive them appropriately, and under no circumstances allow them to see His true form. We still don’t know their position.”

“Understood.”

“Outsiders who descend beyond the tenth floor are rare. Wouldn’t it be useful to persuade them and use them for missionary work?”

“Of course, Apostle.”

“Good. You may leave now. I have plenty of work to do.”

After sending the reporter away, Rogers busily moved around the museum like a proper curator.

He wiped dust from displays and sanded statues that had not yet been completely finished.

He had been maintaining the Adults Only Area for around ten minutes when an ominous yet joyful cry suddenly reached his ears.

Rogers’s eyes widened.

He dropped to his knees before the central “thing” covered in cloth and shouted loudly.

“Oh, ohhh, OHHHH! My great Rhan Tegoth! Are You hungry again? Ah, of course You are! There is no way something as insignificant as a magic beast hunter could have satisfied You! Please wait just a little longer. I shall soon provide offerings to fill Your empty stomach. I, Wilhelm Rogers, Your slave and priest, shall offer every person who doubts You, and every person who fails to recognize You!”

Step, step.

Stride, stride.

A group was walking toward the museum.

At first, the residents had not even looked at them.

But the closer they came to the museum, the more obvious the stares became.

Most of the gazes came from fellow Sapiens.

However, members of the other three races could also be seen here and there.

There were even races whose origins could not be guessed at all.

The city was divided neatly into districts.

Signs showing addresses stood everywhere.

Streetlights containing glowing stones had been placed every few dozen meters.

The roads were relatively well maintained.

No one seemed to use carriages or other vehicles, but there were still many sections that clearly resembled proper roads.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a river.”

“The Holy Land is completely inland, and there aren’t any rivers near the Askartier Empire. You might be familiar with the sea, but a river would naturally feel unfamiliar.”

“Were the elves unfamiliar with the sea for the same reason?”

“More or less. Their kingdom is located in the mountains.”

At first, Dexter had thought the city looked gloomy because of its dull colors.

Now he said the environment seemed completely normal, perhaps even better than the Holy Land.

Several people, including Dexter, chatted while looking around.

Five or six questions were asked along the way.

However, the two people who had experience beyond the tenth floor remained silent.

“Each floor contains its own small world. That is both the most amazing and the most dangerous part of this place called the Dungeon, created by the Great Old Ones and the Absolute Gods.”

That unrelated observation from Yohan was practically the only answer either of them gave.

The moment they crossed the river using a sturdy bridge, they noticed a sign attached to a wall.

It showed the name of the district.

Southwark.

As soon as they entered the area, Danforth spoke for the first time in several dozen minutes.

He repeatedly warned the expedition members.

“Once we enter the museum, do not touch anything and do not answer any questions. If we need to speak, I will handle it. If I can’t, Yohan will. Understood? Do not forget.”

“Or maybe you should just do whatever you want. It might make sorting you out easier.”

“…Now that Senior Yohan said that too, I feel even more strongly that we should keep our mouths shut.”

Only after receiving a firm answer from every expedition member did Danforth head toward 31 Southwark, where the museum was located.

As they approached, people began appearing around them one by one.

They were all visitors planning to enter the museum.

Murmur, murmur…

The museum entrance was wide open.

Six enormous pillars supported three arched entrances.

The reddish brown outer walls were faded and peeling in many places.

They looked strangely similar to animal hides stained with blood.

There was no second floor.

From the outside, there did not appear to be any windows either.

An indescribable smell came from inside.

It was as if the scents of wax and beeswax had been covered with disinfectant.

A faint metallic smell of blood was mixed in as well.

With every step they took inside, they felt as though some unknown force was pulling them deeper into the building.

As the expedition members slowly entered, a neatly dressed man walked toward them from inside.

He wore an old yellow jacket that appeared to be the museum’s official uniform.

A small square badge was attached to it.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Rogers Museum. My name is Orabona, and I serve as the curator of this museum.”

The man introduced himself as Orabona.

He bowed politely and welcomed them with a friendly smile.

“Judging by your exhausted faces and worn clothing, I assume you have come from outside, from the Dark Lands… Would I be correct?”

Dexter nearly answered, “How did you know?”

He quickly covered his own mouth.

As instructed, everyone remained completely silent.

Orabona chuckled.

“You’ve been trained well, raiders. Ask nothing, answer nothing. That is common sense in this world. Reckless judgment is always poisonous, so caution is important.”

“……”

“Well, very good. I had intended to offer you a guided tour if you wished, but if not, there is nothing I can do. Please enjoy the museum.”

Orabona slowly turned around and began walking back toward where he had come from.

Then he suddenly stopped.

He raised one finger.

“Ah, you probably already know this, but I must strongly ask that you never enter the Adults Only Area. Unless, of course, you are interested in the true essence of art discovered and created by our great Wilhelm Rogers.”

After saying that, Orabona disappeared into the museum.

Only then did Danforth release a relieved sigh.

“He backed off more easily than I expected. I thought he’d be much more persistent.”

“He probably knows. We’ll eventually have no choice but to visit that area ourselves.”

Hundreds of glowing stones brightly illuminated the museum.

From the entrance all the way toward the interior, fossils of various lifeforms were displayed everywhere.

There were skeletal specimens of mammals.

There were also tiny insects preserved in liquid.

One spider had sharp spikes growing from all eight legs.

There was a frog whose body had turned blue, frozen in death with both arms stretched upward.

The Four Great Races were not exceptions.

Dwarf skeletons were the most common.

But there were many specimens from the other races too.

Even Were specimens, which were relatively rare, numbered at least twelve.

As they moved deeper inside, stranger and more horrifying exhibits began greeting them.

There was a forest spirit trapped inside a large cylinder covered with sealing formulas.

There was also a water spirit imprisoned inside a tank, pressing its face toward them.

If any elves had been present, the sight probably would have caused a major incident.

The largest and grandest exhibit was a tree giant with its entire body bound in iron chains.

Its enormous size was not much different from Raufel, the Thorn Divine Tree that guarded the Dark Forest.

Its skin looked similar as well.

Its face was covered in foxtail grass that resembled a beard.

The light glowing around its eyes proved that it was fully conscious.

Even so, the tree giant did not resist.

It simply remained bound there.

It took around thirty minutes to inspect the entire museum.

There were certainly many strange objects that could rarely be seen elsewhere.

But they did not find an “existence” capable of making their minds go hazy simply by looking at it, something that filled their thoughts with fear.

Of course, everyone already knew.

They had not seen the entire museum.

There was a curtain cleverly hidden behind the tree giant.

And behind that curtain was the blasphemous existence causing the uneasiness they all felt.

Whether it was fear, caution, instinct, or all of them together, they could not say.

But none of them wanted to uncover the source.

So everyone except Yohan slowly left the museum.

Some of the expedition members moved rather urgently during the final moments.

“……”

“……”

Everyone maintained calm expressions on the outside.

But they could not completely hide their exhaustion.

That was only natural.

They had barely survived the fighting up to the tenth floor.

And now they had been forced to inspect this place while deliberately ignoring the ominous presence filling it.

“…Let’s stop here for today. We haven’t even reunited with the other three factions yet. If we start a full battle now, half of us could die.”

“……”

Yohan reluctantly nodded at Danforth’s suggestion.

They quickly left the streets of Southwark.

As they searched for somewhere to stay, they had no way of knowing what had happened behind them.

The group of believers that had been gathering near the river and moving toward the museum suddenly received some kind of order.

Then they scattered in every direction.