" Bloody hell, " Akira commented as he started firing at the undead ghosts that were charging at them.
BANGCLICK
BANGCLICK
BANGCLICK
Gunshots rang out in the corridor as Akira fired at the undead ghosts with his newly created shotgun, which he had made from light magic. Although he could make a modern gun, he felt a shotgun was more appropriate for this occasion.
After all, it's always a man's childhood dream to one day become a Ghostbuster and slay away ghosts with a massive shotgun.
After a few rounds of firing some light bullets, Akira put away his gun. He had finished cleaning up every single enemy that was present. He then looked at Gildarts, who was rummaging through the remains of the now-dead ghosts.
" Oh, it seems these guys are the souls of some dead villagers. " Gildarts said as he stood up.
" It seems we have come across an ancient slaughterhouse, which was disguised as a temple," Gildarts said as he looked around again. This is the conclusion he made from all the evidence he now has.
Akira almost wanted to correct him on that mistake, but think about it: what Gildarts said wasn't actually wrong.
" Well whether it is a slaughterhouse or a temple, it doesn't matter. " Akira replied.
Gildarts shook his head at that. " No, it makes a huge difference. If it was a temple, then the most we could expect are some monsters and some undead ghosts. But if it is a slaughterhouse, then there might be some high-ranking undead beings.
"And unlike these guys, those high-ranking undead are very dangerous, as they can even use magic and have intelligence," he explained, adopting a teacher's role.
" I see. " Akira nodded. He really didn't think about it like that. This clearly shows how inexperienced he still is.
' Maybe going out on a quest with this uncle isn't so bad after all,' Akira thought as they continued to walk forward while being wary of any traps.
On their way, they continued to meet with hordes of undead ranging from zombies, undead ghosts, undead monsters, and such. And every group seemed to be a little stronger than the past group, confirming Gildarts's guess that there is an advanced undead being.
What's more, they could also feel the air around them getting denser and denser as they went deeper. The gloomy aura is practically overflowing, and it even made the atmosphere a bit chilly.
Finally, after walking for another 20 minutes or so, they came across a huge door. There were carvings of a large snake on the door. The door was like what you could expect to see before a boss fight.
"Well, Akira, you might want to sit out on this one; the guy behind that door is someone you can't handle alone, " Gildarts said with a serious voice. He could sense danger emanating from that door, which is a telling sign.
" Okay " Akira didn't try to argue as he accepted what Gildarts said. For someone to even make Gildarts a bit wary is certainly not something he could manage.
Seeing Akira agree this easily, Gildarts was a little surprised. Weren't kids supposed to be stubborn and unyielding? But he kept those thoughts to himself as he readied himself for the upcoming battle.
Gildarts walked in front and pushed the door with most of his strength. The years of abandonment seemed to have sealed these doors very tightly. The doors made a creaking sound as they opened.
When Gildarts and Akira opened the door, they discovered a large hall that resembled the rest of the temple. Just as Akira was about to use his light magic to light the hall, all of a sudden, the hall began to light up as torches lit up in blue flames on their own.
And with the light, they could finally see the hall clearly. The hall had many stone pillars and a huge snake statue depicting Ophiuchus. The walls, like the rest of the temple walls, had drawings carved on them.
Seeing this, Gildarts and Akira surveyed their surroundings warily. Neither Gildarts nor Akira sensed any magic illuminating the torches. Even Akira with his unique skill didn't hear anything.
'Damn, it seems I may have just found someone who could counter my unique skill,' Akira thought with a grimace as he looked around.
"Welcome visitors, It has been quite some time since someone last came to my chambers. " Suddenly there was someone's voice that came from the front. Both Gildarts and Akira reflexively turned to look at the huge snake statue that now had its eyes glowing purple.
"Who are you? "Akira inquired, even though he already knew the answer.
"Ah, excuse me for forgetting my manners. My name is Yamaga Tokinada, the head priest and founder of Ophiuchus, dedicated to Lady Ophiuchus. " the voice said. For a strange reason, Akira could swear he saw an old man giving a bow when he heard those words.
" Oh, Ophiuchus, as in one of the Celestial Spirits and the one who is also referred to as the 13th Gate? " Akira asked, acting surprised.
"Yes, it seems Lady Ophiuchus's fame is still as great as ever, " the Tokinada said, giving an air of smugness and pride.
"Yeah, she is very famous and is considered to be as powerful as one of the zodiac keys," Akira said, throwing in some more flattery words to make this guy talk. He had noticed that this Tokinada guy seemed to like to brag when it came to Ophiuchus.
"Of course she is. Lady Ophiuchus is way more powerful than any zodiac spirit. She is the most beautiful and flexible among all the celestial spirits. And unlike the other spirits, she can fight and support the summoner at the same time. Ah, did I also say she was the most beautiful spirit that was ever to exist? Her beauty is so magnificent that no words of mine could ever describe it. As Tokinada began to sing praises about Ophiuchus, Akira's and Gildarts faces couldn't help but get weirder.
You know Ophiuchus is actually a snake, and there are no records of her having a human form. So this guy is actually obsessed with a snake to the point that even Gildarts, a well-known women's expert, is speechless.
Seeing the weird glances he was getting, Tokinada came out of his fantasies. "Cough, sorry about that; I was just too excited meeting new people after a long while," he said, giving out a lie that everyone could see.
'You are not excited; you are clearly an ophiophilist,' Akira thought while rolling her eyes inwardly.
"So why did you become a vengeance ghost, and why the hell is this place crawling with undead? " Gildarts, seeking to shift the conversation, posed the question.
There was silence before Tokinada began his speech. But this time his voice was filled with hatred and anger, " It's all because of that Zeref believer bastard. After my death, that bastard took over all my legacy and began to conduct inhuman experiments in my own temple using Ophiuchus to convince the villagers.
That bastard didn't leave anyone, as he even took children for his experiments. Because of that bastard, the religion I found was destroyed and scorned. Unforgivable!!!! "
Gildarts, who was a bit swayed by the touching story, was about to offer some condolence, but he stopped when he saw Akira raise a hand to let him be quiet.
After silencing Gildarts, Akira looked at Tokinada with a cold look. For a moment, when that guy's emotions were a mess, Akira managed to hear his true thoughts. " You know you can stop with your bullshit. "
Tokinada paused and asked in a threatening voice, "What are you talking about?"
Akira sneered and said, " You know, for someone dead, you seem overly too informed of what happened here. As you said earlier, you were dead before that cultist took over your legacy, meaning at that time you should have already entered the cycle of reincarnation.
But you seemed to have retained your consciousness for a long time despite your death. So you either turned into undead due to your obsession or you faked your own death.
But the first option is unlikely, as you couldn't possibly be born as an advanced undead and could only become a low-level undead who has no intelligence or memories.
And even if you managed to evolve into a higher undead, retaining your memories is nearly impossible, as you must need at least a few decades at the very least to evolve. And by that time your memories would have faded away.
So the only option is that you faked your own death and watched everything happen with your own eyes. "
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