Chapter 1754: Activate the Altar
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As we walked along the old passage, an unusual pungent smell gradually began to fill the air.
That is the smell that can often be smelled in the demon fortress area.
Something unique to lava.
The surroundings began to become dry. Contrary to the coldness in Duriel's lair, the temperature continued to rise. It was hard to imagine that there was only a passage between the two sides, but the temperature difference between the two sides was so extreme.
"What... what, is this the Demon Fortress? Does this road lead directly to the Demon Fortress?" After wiping the sweat from his forehead, the restless Beya began to mutter and complain again.
"Oh, have you been to the Demon Fortress?" I looked at Beja curiously.
The environment there is even more cruel than in the Western Kingdom. Can this little girl endure hardship?
"Yes...yes, I went there once..." The little girl raised her head and glanced at me. In the form of the Demon Moon Wolf Witch, I could clearly catch her subtle expressions.
Originally, when I raised my head, my eyes moved slightly and opened, probably because I wanted to glare at me as usual, and then say something like "Stop looking down on me, you idiot Wu, my highness, balabala...".
But when the eyes just touched me, the eyes that were constantly opening and widening stopped, replaced by soft eyes, and shy, close, and coquettish eyes.
Just like when he was with Artoria.
Please spare me and go back to that tough-talking, arrogant little girl and princess.
I held my head helplessly and screamed, Beiya now. It gave me goosebumps.
If I had known at the beginning, I would transform into a Hell Fighting Bear. If I changed it now, it would look like I was afraid of Beja's enthusiasm, and my manly dignity was not so acceptable, so I had to bite the bullet.
Gradually, in the deepest part of the straight cave, we saw a faint red light.
"Almost there." We cheered up.
The red dot ahead is getting bigger and bigger. It is getting brighter and brighter, and it is accompanied by a heat wave that is stronger than the previous one. The air seems to be cooked. Ordinary people must not be able to bear it when they come here.
Getting closer. Finally, after turning a right-angled corner, the red light in the sky covered our eyes. We continued forward for tens of meters and stepped out of the passage. What greeted us was a dark fire-colored world.
What I saw when I came here eight years ago was no different.
Coming out of the cave is a semicircular platform protruding from the rock wall, with the feet of the platform hanging in the air. In the depths is the terrifying looking molten lava, which is constantly rolling and emitting sticky flame bubbles.
Black and dark red are mixed together, and the pungent smoke emitted pours out from the underground magma, making the entire underground world full of such pungent and toxic gases, making it look gray. Eyes are dry and uncomfortable.
Come out of the passage. Go straight forward along the platform. There is also a small piece of feldspar that protrudes from the circular platform, this feldspar. It is connected to a suspension bridge, and the other side of the suspension bridge is connected to a circular stone pillar platform that rises from the center of the magma and exists like an isolated island.
This suspension bridge has not been broken yet.
I was quite surprised. When I came here, I thought that if I stepped on this thing, it would be like what was shown on TV. In order to reflect the extreme thrills and the protagonist's luck, decisiveness and agility, it would suddenly break after walking halfway. It was simply built to deceive people.
More than eight years have passed, and in such a harsh environment, the suspension bridge is still surviving tenaciously. This thing may be more reliable than I thought.
Of course, even so, I am not going to cross the suspension bridge. The quasi-tragic emperor nature that comes with it may make this suspension bridge "a once-in-eight-year wait."
Seeing that the familiar scene had not changed much, I was slightly relieved, but I was still vigilant at all times, especially the lava under my feet.
It's okay to say it's a gaming disease, but after just one glance, you'll feel that something strange might emerge from the lava.
"You two, wait here for now, be careful, I'll go explore the way." Looking back, I ordered the two little girls very cautiously.
"Yeah." Beya, who suddenly became extremely well-behaved, nodded.
Although Tia had been here alone before, she also knew that now was not the time to show her "experience", so she nodded along.
The two princesses both stepped back a certain distance and came to the exit of the passage, assuming that if something happened, we would turn around and run away, with Fanfan on top and saying goodbye.
Although I know they are right, I am still a little sad, don't be so dedicated.
Nodding my head towards the two girls, I slowly floated up.
I have just said that I will not walk on the suspension bridge even if I am killed. That guy is here just to deceive people like me. If you don’t believe it, I will bring Feini for an experiment next time and you will know that what he said is true.
"Yawn!" In the distant seaport of Kurast, Fini, who returned to the Green Forest Bar, suddenly sneezed and her whole body trembled.
Thinking of the possibility of an alarm defense magic circle in the sky above the underground world, I didn't fly too high. My toes were only less than a foot above the ground. Then I walked slowly along the suspension bridge, looking around from time to time. Looking at the rolling lava lake hundreds of meters high below, I was afraid that a weird big mouth would suddenly burst out of it and swallow me whole.
Fortunately, none of these situations happened. I reached the other side smoothly and my toes landed on the cylindrical platform in the center of the lava lake.
This is a new place to explore. Last time I stopped across the suspension bridge and I only knew that there was an altar here.
While always paying attention to the movements of Tia and Beja, I started to circle around the cylindrical platform. The first thing that caught my sight was the altar in the center of the platform. I was looking at it on the other side and came to In front of my eyes, I realized that the actual area of the altar was a bit large, and the main body was actually not large, but it was centered on the main body. The mysterious patterns and magic circles carved on the ground cover almost one-third of the platform.
Going around to the other side, I found the [door] that Tia mentioned. Compared with the giant doors I had seen before, it was not very big. It was only about five meters high, arched, and had two doors that opened in the middle. The leaves are tightly closed. There was not a single gap left, and the gray-black, steel-colored stone looked much heavier than an ordinary door.
I didn't find this door that time eight years ago because it was blocked by the altar. The altar, the suspension bridge, and the exit of the passage on the opposite side just form a straight line.
As Dia said, this stone door is engraved with patterns similar to those on the altar floor. It is said to be the style of the Horadric tribe. I can't understand it, so I simply ignore it.
What surprised me was that this door was solitary and had no access to the village. There is no store left.
To put it simply, it is just a door, standing there. It is impossible to tell the front and back, and it is not connected to any object. It is just a single stone door standing there.
It exuded a sense of danger. Could it be that it was leading to some strange space? This thought popped up instantly.
After going around a full circle, no abnormalities were found. I retraced my steps. Then he picked up the two little girls, one on the left and the other on the right, and followed the path just now. Take them to the column platform.
"Be calm and don't touch around, you know?" I said this to Beya. This curious elf princess might not be able to help but reach out and touch those patterns at some point. , if something is triggered, it will be great fun.
If I had spoken to her in a commanding tone like this before, even if she agreed in her heart, Beiya would definitely have looked at me angrily and arrogantly, but now, she is looking at me, her beautiful eyes glowing with a slightly hazy and alluring look. Shui Guang hummed obediently.
Goosebumps fell all over the floor again, my elf princess can't be so docile!
On the other side, Girl Tia cheered as if she had returned home, and walked up to the altar, looking around. Although she had been here before, she did not have enough time to observe carefully like now.
"Can you tell from these patterns what your ancestors meant? What is the thing inside the gate? Is it protecting treasures or sealing demons?"
Seeing Tia squatting down and studying for a long time, I couldn't help but ask.
"I don't understand." Tia shook her head without raising her head.
"The ancestors... like to make things mysterious so that future generations can't figure it out."
To put it simply, it’s true that my balls hurt when I’m idle.
I rolled my eyes wildly behind my back and gave Tia's words another, more correct interpretation.
"However, judging from the overall style of the altar, it doesn't seem like there is any huge risk, such as sealing a powerful demon or something. Maybe... it really may be related to the Horadric Cube." After a while, Tia said again.
"That's good. If the altar is opened and a demon king or god is thrown out from the door, then we will have sinned." I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fanfan is an idiot, he wouldn't seal something so dangerous." Tia turned around and made a cute face at me.
"Okay, you can continue your research. There is still time. Don't rush to open the altar and see if you can find any useful clues." I simply took out a folding chair (by the way, Vilas, you even prepared this for me) and sat down.
Although it is not a good place, the air is filled with pungent and poisonous gas similar to sulfur, but in fact it is not much worse than the caves and tombs and prisons I have been to before.
Well……
It feels like Beya behind me is studying my dangling tail. Is it an illusion? Damn it, I really want to wrap it around my waist, Beya is so scary now, she is not the usual tsundere loli at all.
Simpledia didn't keep me waiting for long. After about half an hour, she patted her butt and stood up.
"nailed it?"
"It should be said that I gave up. My ancestors are really amazing. It's completely incomprehensible. Hehehe~~" The little girl hit her head and smiled.
Until now, even the Horadrics themselves admitted that their ancestors were too ungrateful. Only Dia was still saying good things to those troublesome guys.
At this moment, I was deeply moved by Tia's kindness and gentleness.
"In that case, let's open the altar. Anyway, it's a blessing, not a curse. We can't avoid disaster. What's supposed to come will come sooner or later." I stretched and said this nonchalantly. But his eyes were already fixed on the main body of the altar, and he never moved away.
"Give me the key and let me open it." I stretched out my hand towards Tia and decided to blow up the [bridge]!
"No, you can't just put the key in, let me do it." Dia shook her head, jumped a few steps, and came to the main body of the altar. I couldn't resist, I could only protect him.
In the center of the main body of the altar, a stone-like object like a torch protrudes, with a depression in the center, and three convex objects similar to bayonet evenly distributed on the edges of the depression.
This concave mouth. It's very similar to the Thousand Year Key in Dia's hand... ahem, the size of the Thousand Year Key.
Dia took a deep breath, her breath became fine and long, and her expression became solemn. She gently held the pyramid-shaped key with the thumb and index finger of both hands, adjusted its direction, and slowly faced the concave mouth. He inserted it slowly.
The key successfully entered the recessed opening. And the connection is tight and seamless, giving us more confidence.
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