I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

70. The Hidden Past

[Please forgive our sins.]

Do not forget your sins.

Never forget the life you took, the future you took away, and live your whole life suffering.

That is the only atonement you can make, and do not forget your sins until your last breath.

“…Stella, what about these-“

Those words were written in the book Arcel opened.

Words not simply written with a pen, but engraved in red blood.

It was written with such extreme malice that it even felt creepy.

Arcel could not figure out why these words were written in the book he opened.

“I don’t know, I heard that there are still important documents that were lost in the past in the tombs of our ancestors…”

Face your sins.

The path you have walked is stained with blood, so never take your eyes off the endless footsteps of blood.

This is the only way to be sure of the sin you have committed, keep it in your eyes until your last breath.

“I can’t read anything like this. Who on earth did this…?”

It wasn’t even just one volume.

The two people managed to find a study in a tomb, and every page of the books inside was covered with passages written in red blood, covering the contents.

Look at your sins

Feel your sin

Confess your sins

Furthermore, all the books here contain different passages of blood.

The ancestor’s tomb is a place that is no different from the elves’ ancestral home.

The last time it was opened must have been more than 10 centuries ago, so who on earth wrote down this phrase?

Why?

For what reason?

†††

A little while ago.

After Arcel and Stella entered the tomb, nothing particularly dangerous happened.

In the first place, it was completely blocked from the outside world by a barrier, so even in the chaos, this place was able to remain noble.

“It’s bigger inside than I thought. It definitely looked like it was built on a mountain, but I never thought it was this big.”

The interior, reminiscent of a temple, was built so neatly and elaborately that it was hard to believe it was a tomb.

Among the kings of humans, there were many who made their tombs look like large houses, but the so-called ancestor of the elves seemed to have gone beyond that.

“It is questionable whether it was used as a tomb from the beginning. According to the Chief Elder, this place was originally a place where the elders managed the elves and observed the outside world.”

“What does it mean to observe the outside?”

“Literally, because in the old days, elves didn’t go outside much. “I saw what was going on outside here.”

“…Is that so?”

Arsel looked at the map and looked inside.

“It looks quite complicated, but it must be hard to find your way.”

However, the map handed over only showed the location of this place and did not show the interior design.

“You don’t have to worry about that, I heard there’s a map drawn somewhere here… Ah, I found it.”

Stella looks at the floor, then kneels down for a moment to take a closer look.

“This wasn’t just a simple pattern.”

“I said it was a magic book, so it’s probably in the study, so let’s see… I can go here.”

Large-sized pattern on the floor.

At first I thought it was just decoration, but now I looked at it and it seemed to be a map showing the interior design.

“What do other places do?”

“There is a mortuary room where the greatest elders of all time are kept, a room for personal use, and other than that, there is a basement used as a warehouse and a place where the elders gathered and had meetings.”

“What is the biggest room here?”

“That is probably where the ancestors of the elves sleep, and there is a magic circle that maintains the barrier of this tomb and the barrier that protects the elf land.”

If you neutralize the magic circle, the barrier will probably disappear.

Then, in some cases, Alfred and Sion can be brought inside.

“But it’s dangerous, so it’s better not to go there. It says that the area around there is poisonous mana, so even us elves can suffocate if they go in wrongly…”

“What on earth do you do to mana that makes it toxic?”

“Not only that, if the barrier disappears, there is a possibility that elves from outside will flock to this tomb.”

Of course, there are risks involved.

If you have to make such a choice, it would be better to make up your mind and make a decision.

“…Let’s go to the study first. What I’m looking for is a magic tome, so there’s a high probability that it’s there.”

“I agree, let’s hurry.”

From Noble mtl dot com

And then we reach the present.

The two succeeded in getting to the study without much difficulty, but all the books in the study were so damaged that they were completely unreadable.

With bloody verses written on every page.

This was the first time Arcel had seen such malicious and scary writing.

I even felt like it was being said to myself.

Never ignore the sins you have committed or the evil of those sins, and atone for them with your miserable body.

“…”

Doesn’t it seem like he’s talking about a curse that has been placed on him?

Arcel clutched his chest in his strange frustration.

But even more than that, it is impossible to find a way to lift the curse.

As it is a magic book, it is probably somewhere in this library, but if all the books inside were in this state, I couldn’t read them.

“Are you kidding me?!”

“Stella?”

But suddenly Stella got very angry.

“I heard that the ancient magic used by the 12 great elders of the past is here! But who on earth did something like this?!”

12 Great elders.

They were probably the elders of the time when the elves were at their most glorious, and they were also the ones who lost their lives by the high elf Sion.

They are said to have possessed a level of knowledge and magic that no one can dare access today, and at the same time, they were the only hope to save the elves in crisis.

“Maybe we could have saved the people outside… But who on earth would do something like this…”

That’s probably why Stella is angry.

The ancient magic used by elves has now reached a level we cannot even imagine.

None of the currently existing magics is comparable to that ancient magic, and the only recently lost magic that can rival it is the magic of the Witch of Ember.

So, I thought there must be a magic that could save the elves who had turned into such monsters.

“If this happens, the remaining elves will perish…? “There won’t be even a hundred people left alive…”

But only then does everything become meaningless.

At the very least, if you look through all the countless magic books here and still cannot find a solution, you can at least give up on the fact that such is the fate of elves in the end.

But this is a hope taken away by others.

When you realize that the hope that flickered before your eyes was a mirage, only that despairing feeling remains.

“Stella, calm down first. “If you get caught up in your emotions, you won’t be able to see what you can see.”

“Ugh… And if your body’s curse is like this, there is no way to solve it.”

Stella covered her face with both hands as if she felt sorry.

That was also a problem.

According to Zion, there must be a book about the curse of Arsel in this tomb.

I’m sure it exists.

It’s just that it’s in a state where it’s completely unreadable.

“It’s okay. And it’s not completely unreadable. To some extent, even pages covered in blood can be interpreted to some extent. There may be a way if we find and bring back as many sentences related to the curse as possible.”

Still, Arcel did not give up hope.

There have already been attempts in the past to restore magic in which most of the contents were lost in this way.

Of course, it is time consuming and arduous, but there is nothing that cannot be done if necessary.

Elves in particular have a wealth of knowledge about magic, so there may be some among the survivors who can help.

“…I understand. Like you said, it’s too early to give up here.”

Thanks to this, Stella did not give up and wiped away her tears.

I have already experienced greater suffering and hell than this.

I couldn’t break my heart here yet.

It would be right to cry out for giving up only after you have at least tried everything you can.

“Even so, honestly, I don’t think there is a way to do this.”

Just as I was barely able to stand up, Arcel said something that made my legs lose their strength.

“Why are you so popular that you suddenly say something like that?!”

“…This is not just about covering up the contents of the book. Look carefully. “There are parts that are not covered by blood and cannot be read.”

“Now that I think about it-“

Arcel looked at reality.

These red blood letters not only covered the content, but were also a curse.

So that no one can read the contents of this book.

As if these are dangerous things that should never be released into the world.

“If Alfred were there, he might consider taking all the books here…”

Alfred has been showing physical eccentricities in his pockets for a long time that cannot be explained.

All I could say was taking out a large burning stake from my pocket, which was all I could fit my hands into.

Is that all?

Previously, I used sealing magic to make a small crow deliver a large number of heavy items.

“…Maybe there is a way to take all the books here.”

“What is that?”

As I thought about Alfred, a good method came to mind.

Sealing magic.

In some cases, sealing magic can trap even a distracted giant in a piece of paper the size of your palm.

A newborn baby could hold a weight that only the solid earth could barely support.

“Stella, do you know anything about sealing magic?”

“Sealing magic? Of course you know, because our elves’ barrier itself is a type of sealing magic in the first place.”

“Alfred even stored tons of monster food in a small piece of paper so that even a small crow could carry it.”

“What does that have to do with now… No way?!”

“Yes! I’m going to seal all the books here and take them outside. In that case, you can move outside without any problems.”

If you simply carry the books by hand, you will not be able to take them all and will be caught by the elves and killed.

However, if you use sealing magic, you can escape more easily than when you came here.

It was difficult at first because I had to go deeper into a more dangerous place without knowing the way, but it will be the opposite when I leave this place.

“All we have to do is seal this map. Although it is old, the paper itself contains high magical power, so it should be able to withstand sealing magic. Stella, can you help me?”

“Anything, but I don’t know how to use sealing magic…”

“It’s okay. “I will do the preparations, so all you have to do is use your magic.”

“But you didn’t learn sealing magic separately, right?”

“It seemed quite convenient, so I recently learned how to use it.”

Currently, Arcel cannot use magic, so he cannot use magic.

Still, I felt that the transportation method using sealing magic was very convenient, and I learned how to use it.

There was nothing he couldn’t do as long as Stella provided the mana for using magic.

“I’ll prepare right away, so just wait. First of all-“

It was then.

“Caw! Caw! “Caw!”

“Alfred?”

“Why is that crow like this all of a sudden?”

A crow urgently jumped out from Arcel’s chest, flew over the two, and spread its wings to cover them.

Tap. Step by step. Step by step.

“Wait a minute, someone is coming here.”

“What? That can’t be possible, no one can come in here and no one will remain in the land of the elves in the first place-“

Arsel took out the holy sword and prepared to respond right away, just in case.

The sound of footsteps is getting closer and closer and will soon be within sight.

‘That’s-‘

Soon after, the identity of the footsteps was revealed.

The crow’s feathers were only transparent from the inside.

‘Elf? There’s no way there’s an elf in here too… No, it’s different. Even though that is a dead elf…’

Pure white hair is also a symbol of a high elf.

The pale skin and the grotesque figure with half of its upper body blown off looked terrible even for the beauty of an elf.

Anyway, half of his face was burned and bruised.

The two people held their breath when they saw the elf.

It wasn’t just something that looked like it, but I felt an incredibly powerful magical power coming from that elf.

It’s only natural that it’s a high elf in the first place.

Fortunately, it seems that the two people cannot be seen from the outside, perhaps because the crows are covering them.

The strange elf looked towards the study for a moment, then lost his mind and went somewhere else.

“…What was that just now?”

“It’s different from the elves outside, they just die but come back to life as undead and move around.”

“Do you know who it is?”

The crow flew and sat on Arcel’s shoulder.

If it weren’t for Alfred’s help, I would have definitely been caught by that unidentified elf.

“It looked similar to the elders who were said to have died in the past… I’m not sure, because I heard that those 12 elders were all killed and then went missing…”

Stella says that the elf is similar to the elder who was killed by Zion a long time ago.

This is because he is a high elf and although it is not exact because it is a portrait, the remaining parts of his face are quite similar.

“Sweet.”

“Wow, what is this crow suddenly throwing up?!”

Stella, whose mind was confused, quickly retreated when the crow spit out something from its mouth.

“Wait a minute, this is that gem.”

But what the crow vomited was the same thing that showed the Holy Sword users of the Kingdom of Hermod destroying a village in the land of Clen.

Chiing-!

Then the jewels start to shine and another scenery is drawn.

“Isn’t that the same thing you saw before?”

This time too, there were the holy sword users I saw back then.

They seemed to be mercilessly slaughtering people with holy swords, and as expected, the swordsman who resembled Arcel, who was in the lead, cut down people more skillfully than the others.

“…That sword is impossible.”

However, there was one difference from before…

The blonde-haired girl picked up a sword that looked like she had seen it somewhere and began to focus her magical power.

Bright light gathers around the beautiful sword, soon creating a vast wave of magical power.

Kuuung-!!

“Huh?! This shaking is-“

Suddenly, the study room the two people were in began to shake violently, as if an earthquake had occurred.

This is what happened after the girl who showed the jewel swung the light and wiped out everything on the ground.

What this gem was showing now was not the scenery of the past.

This was showing what was happening in the present, not even anywhere else but in this elven land.