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

===Part 4===

—Solid footsteps were heard in the long tunnels that went on endlessly.

The three of them were going deep down underground with Est, who was walking silently, in the lead.

It was as if the mine, which once flourished as a place for mining spirit crystals, was a giant maze. It was an excessively large passage for people to use. Large sized spirits might have been used for the digging of the bedrock.

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

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

Suddenly, Kamito's leather-gloved left hand hurt sharply.

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

"No, it's nothing..."

Kamito shook his head at Claire, who was peering at him anxiously.

Claire pouted her lips, dissatisfied with such a response from Kamito.

"...It somewhat feels like 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 during the match, I felt like that also when you were taking the lectures, and also 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 you, who has no friends."

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

"Isn't it only 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 was also always alone while eating my meals when I was in the Divine Ritual Institute."

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

As they were having such an endless conversation, they went down a long stairway.

"Hey, are we still not there, Est? Although, we have been walking for more than an hour since then."

"A few paths seem different since several hundred years ago. And Claire is noisy."

"Wh!"

"It can't be helped, it was even several hundred years before when Est was sealed."

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

As they made progress down, down, the endless stairway— finally, they emerged out into a wide space.

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

"Here, Kamito."

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

Claire frowned suspiciously.

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

Est held up the light, and the subtle carving that was engraved on the wall's surface was reflected.

It wasn't something engraved during these several hundred years— it seemed that it was a historic ruin from the 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 felt something out of place in the design of that pattern, and frowned.

It had that composition that had the holy attribute Elemental Lord arranged at the top and a pentagram drawn.

At its bottom— It had a large scar like the wall was scraped off.

It was as unnatural as if the existence of the thing over there was erased.

Est went forward and placed her hand softly on that torn-off part.

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

"...? Est, what did—"

The moment Kamito found fault with that, a thunderous roar reverberated in the underground tunnel.

A closed crevice of the wall slowly opened— a blue light illuminated.

"A hidden door?—"

"This is the historic ruins of 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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Upon brushing the hair on her head, Est tightly closed her eyes.

"..."

Claire and Fianna glared at the two of them in that manner.

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

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

"Ah, that's right..."

Drawing his hand back at Fianna strangely hurrying him, Kamito walked into the middle of the door.

—Over there, there was an unbelievably gigantic cave.

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

Each of the spirit crystals emitted a mysterious faint light, and they were dazzlingly illuminating the cave.

At the center of the large cave— there was a shrine made with precious metals and crystals.

Compared to the grand shrine above ground, it was quite small, but its solemnity was the highlight.

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

"All Fianna has to do is to dedicate a resealing ritual kagura here, right?"

"Yes. However, before that—"

Fianna pointed at a small reservoir near the true shrine.

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

"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 fallen greatly due to the battle a while ago."

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

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

"Y-You'll stand watch outside!"

Her whip came flying immediately.