Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter8 Draft (section)

===Part 4===

Sounds of solid footsteps were heard in the long endless tunnels.

The group was following the silently walking Est, who lead the them deep underground.

This mine was a giant maze and the ceilings were too high for normal people. It was as if giant spirits were used for digging the tunnels.

There were many doors that used to be sealed, but had been recently opened.

It was probably done by Jio Inzagi's comrade, who had been carrying out the ritual at the shrine above ground.

Suddenly, sharp pain shot through Kamito's left hand.

"What's wrong? Are your wounds hurting?"

"No, it's nothing..."

He shook his head to reassure the girl, who was peering at him anxiously.

Claire pouted, dissatisfied with such a response from Kamito.

"...For some reason it feels as if you are always fighting alone."

She muttered with a sigh.

"It was also like that when we were assembling a team for the tournament. No, it wasn't just that time, I felt like that when you were taking the lectures too and when you were in the dormitory... how should I say it, shouldn't you trust me, your partner... that's not it, your master, more?"

"Is that so? ...Or rather, I don't want to be told that by someone, who has no friends."

"Sh-Shut up, I do have friends!"

"You mean Rinslet?"

"Sh-She's just a childhood acquaintance, it's not like she's a friend!"<!-- acquaintance differentiates better from friends --chancs.-->

"Ah, what a coincidence. I always ate alone while at the «Divine Ritual Institute» as well."

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"Fianna, you too? ...What's with this pitiful party?"

While having this endless conversation the group started descending a long stairway.

"Hey, are we there yet, Est? We’ve been walking for more than an hour already."

"A few paths seem different from what I remember. And Claire is noisy."

"Wh!"

"It can't be helped; you were sealed several hundred years ago."

"Unh, Kamito, you're on Est's side again..."

As they progressed down the endless stairway, the group finally emerged into a wide open space.

Est continued walking straight, and stopped before a gigantic wall.

"Here, Kamito."

"...Here? Isn't this a dead end?"

Claire frowned suspiciously.

Before the four of them was a stone wall towering over its surroundings.

Est held up the light and the carvings engraved on the wall's surface become visible.

They looked ancient. It seemed that the group was in front of a historic ruin from a mythical age.

"This is the carving of the «Five Great Elemental Lords»... or looks like it."

The motif of the carving was quite a typical thing.

Fire, water, wind, earth, holy— The kings of the five attributes that control Astral Zero.

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"Hn?"

Suddenly, Kamito saw something out of place in the design of that pattern and frowned.

It was composed in such a way that the holy attribute Elemental Lord was at the top of the drawn pentagram. 

At its bottom was a large scraped mark.

It looked unnatural, as if someone purposefully erased whatever was written there.

Est approached the wall and softly placed her hand on the part that was torn-off.  

"This is the carving from the mythical age. In the later times Ren Ashdoll had its existence erased."

"...? Est, what did—"

The moment Kamito raised his voice to ask a question, a thunderous roar reverberated through the underground tunnel.

Slowly a crevice appeared on the wall and widened revealing an opening, illuminated by blue light.

"A hidden door?—"

"This is the historic ruins from the mythical age. The door can only be opened by high-ranking spirits."

Est muttered expressionlessly.

"Terrific, Est."

"Kamito, please praise me more."

"Ah, Est is remarkable."

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Suri suri*. *Nade nade*.

"Kamito, it feels good..."

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Feeling the boy pat her head, Est tightly closed her eyes.

"..."

Claire and Fianna glared at the two of them.

"...As I thought, you're soft towards Est."

"Kamito-kun, if we don't hurry up, the {{Furigana|strategic-class militarized spirit|Jormungandr|margin=13}} would wake up."

"Ah, that's right..."

Drawing his hand back after hearing Fianna warning, Kamito walked through the door.

—On the other side was an unbelievably gigantic cave.

It had a polished agate floor and a stalactite ceiling that was inlaid with countless spirit crystals.

Each of them emitted a mysterious faint glow that bathed the cave in dazzling light.

At the center of the large cave was a shrine, made of precious metals and crystals.

Compared to the grand building above ground, it was quite small, which just highlighted its solemnity.

"—There's no doubt. Here is where this mine's «true shrine» is."

"All Fianna has to do is conduct a resealing ritual Kagura here, right?"

"Yes. However, before that—"

Fianna pointed at a small reservoir near the shrine.

Clear underground water, which trickled down from the stalactite, was being collected there.

"I must do the purification ritual and cleanse my body."

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"That's right, I also want to bathe. My purity has decreased greatly because of the battle."

Claire muttered. Suddenly, she noticed Kamito's gaze.

"...Err, what should I do?"

"Y-You'll stand watch outside!"

She immediately lashed at him with her whip.