Forty-eight adventurers and 169 Royal Knights of the 5th Settling Mission challenge the 'City of Ruins' as a search team.

In the rocky area and base, there are 50 members of the Temple Knights and 100 members of the Royal Knights remaining.

　We approach the valley where the City of Ruins is located.

　It would be about 40 meters deep to the city.

　galaran

　On the quay, a rope ladder was dropped.

　At the end of the rope ladder, there was a flat, rocky area that served as a foothold.

　Once we reached that foothold, we would drop another rope ladder from there to the foothold below, and gradually descend a distance of about 40 meters.

(...pretty shaky.)

　It wasn't a fixed ladder, so it was hard to keep my balance.

'Take your time.'
Yes.

　I nodded to Iltimina's advice and carefully descended.

　There are only about ten of us going down at a time, as we don't want our scaffolding to collapse.

　In turn, in turn.

　Eventually, over the course of twenty minutes.

　bang

　I succeeded in placing my feet in a corner of the 'ruined city'.

　The other four people also climbed down the ladder.

　Ten minutes later, all 217 members of the search party have successfully climbed down the ladder.

(Come on, let's explore.)

　Kilt-san opens a brand new map.

　Before starting the search, the 'Shumurian Dragon Cavalry' had checked it from the air and a simple map had been created.

　East, West, North and South.

The 'City of Ruins' was to be divided into four compartments, with the adventurers' group going to the northern compartment and the Kingdom Knights going to the remaining three compartments.

　In other words, we're in the north compartment.

''So long,''
Mm, I have been having a blast.
You and me.

　Everyone briefly dodges a greeting and each party starts walking toward the north section.

　Quilt looks back at us.

Good. Then, the warriors will leave too.
Yeah!
Yes, sir.
Yeah.
.......................

　We nodded and walked down the streets of The City in Ruins.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　In front of me is a city made of stone.

　From the looks of it, many of the buildings look like small pyramids.

　Also on either side of the street were hexagonal pillars about 20 meters high, most of which had collapsed.

　There were also what looked like dried up canals.

(It's a different atmosphere than any other city I've seen...)

　I wonder if this is the Tolga civilization.

　Curiosity is piqued by the curiosity of things, and my eyes are busy moving from side to side.

　And.

Marle, do you have a reaction to the probe disk?

　Soltis asked me.

(Ah.)

　I hurriedly took out the 'Exploration Stone Disk' from the pouch.

　The magic stone in the center remained transparent.

''No, it's not there.''
Yeah. So there's nothing else in this neighborhood.

　The girl exhales.

　Mr. Kilt looks back over his shoulder.

This is a big city. We'll take our time and keep heading north.
Yes.
Yeah.

　We pulled ourselves together and started walking.

　Zach, zach.

The "City of Ruins" was covered in dust, leaving footprints in its wake as they walked.

　Illtimina-san suddenly squatted down and touched the sand.

''........It looks like there aren't any demons here either.''

　I said.

'Why?'
There are no other footprints, except for ours.

　Looking back, the footprints of the five of us are a long way down the street.

　But there's nothing else.

'Considering the amount of sand deposited, I don't think the old footprints have been hidden either. Isn't it reasonable to assume that no people, or demons, are here?

　........................

　I looked around.

　The small pyramids that lined the streets were empty.

　Not even a moving shadow.

　Indeed, I couldn't feel any signs of living things from this entire 'ruined city'.

'A dead city........'

　I muttered that impression.

　Everyone is silent.

　Eventually, Solstice said.

'But it's not like there are dead bodies. Where do you think the inhabitants have gone?

　Indeed......

'Some other city?'
So you got rid of this place?　Why?
What?

　Even I don't know if that's what you're saying.

　Solstice's lips twitched.

'Can't you imagine what it is?　You're useless.

　Mmm.　

(So what about you, then?)

　I guess I felt a hint of an attempt to say something back, and Illtimina-san interrupted us.

''Well, well, you two. This is a quest to find out, isn't it?'
..........
..........

　We keep our mouths shut and look at each other.

'That's enough.'

　Mr. Kilt said.

'I know you have a lot on your mind, but right now you need to focus on exploring.
Yes.
Heh...

　We nodded grudgingly.

　After that, we walked in silence.

　Eventually we came to the north section.

　At the end of the street where we walked, a conspicuous large pyramid-shaped building stood out.

(A castle...?)

　At least it seemed to be one of the city's central buildings.

'Hmm. Let's check it out from there.
Yes.
Yes, sir.
Okay.
.......................

　We nodded at Kilt's words and headed for that huge pyramid.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


It's so big.

　The closer you get to it, the more you realize how huge it is.

　The pyramid was more than 100 meters high and its base was more than three times as wide.

Hmm, so this is the entrance.

　Kilt muttered.

　There was a hole in the front of the pyramid that seemed to be a doorway about ten meadows high.

　Pillars lined the left and right sides.

　But there was no door.

　A burglar could get in as fast as he wanted," Soltis said.

　Solstice approached the pillars and looked at the words engraved on their surface.

''Hmmm?　Sounds like this was security.

　I said.

'What?　Security?

　Those pillars?

Looks like it. If anyone other than the registered user tries to break in, a defensive spell will be released.
..........

　I move away from the pillar.

　The girl laughs.

"It's shutting down. It's as if the magical supply of energy has been cut off.
Yeah, yeah.

　Oh, good.

I'm imagining myself getting attacked by fire and lightning magic.

　I took a breath and they laughed at me.

'Good. Now let's go inside.

　At Kirt-san's command, we entered the pyramid.

　...........
　.............

　Inside, it was quite dimly lit.

　While illuminating the surroundings with the magic light of the lantern and the 'light bird', we proceeded through the passage between the stone walls.

　It's about 10 meters to the ceiling.

　The air was dusty and a bit chilly.

　On the walls of the passageway, I occasionally saw what looked like a stone door.

　But.

Don't open it.

　Even with Kilt's power, he couldn't move it.

　Apparently, it seems to be sealed off by something magical, and Solstice's opinion is that it cannot be opened by any external physical cause.

(As expected of the ruins of the Toluga civilization.)

　It makes me feel that a magical civilization was built no less than the ancient Thanatos magical dynasty.

　And so we proceeded through the passage for about 15 minutes.

''Mu...?''

　Mr. Kilt said, holding the lantern forward.

(Ah.)

　I could see it.

　Part of the corridor wall had collapsed.

　We could get into the room that opened onto the corridor from there.

　We looked at each other and nodded at each other.

　And then we walked into the depths of the crack in the wall.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


　It's a pitch-black room.

　I hold up each lantern and let the 'light bird' flap its wings to the back of the room.

''

　Instantly, we were astonished and each held our weapons at the ready.

　At the back of the room.

　At the back of the room, in the space illuminated by the lamplight, there was the figure of a huge black demon with a human face - the Dark Ape.

　He's not moving.

　........No?

　We stared at it for a while, and then we realized that the front of the Black Great Ape reflected a glimmer of light.

The front of the Black Great Ape reflected the light in a shimmering way.

　That's.....

The glass.

　I muttered.

　I recognized them all as I cautiously approached and pointed the lantern light at them.

　What was there was a huge glass tube.

　Inside it was filled with a bluish liquid, and the huge body of the 'Black Great Ape' was housed in it.

''........A specimen, is it?''

　Solstice muttered with a look that said she was half-confused.

　Mr. Kilt turned to the side.

'Look,'

　I said, holding up the lantern.

　We turn to look at it.

(Ugh!?)

　There were seven similarly huge glass cases in there.

　In three of them, the figure of the 'Black Great Ape' was in three of them, and in the remaining four, parts such as arms, legs, head and spine, and internal organs were floating in the liquid.

(U.........)　

　I frowned at the horrible sight of it, even though it was a demon.

　Tung-tung.

　He tugged on my sleeve.

　It's Poe.

　The little blonde girl indicated the back of the room.

　There was a large table there.

　On it was a

Giant centipedes!

　A massive body, five meters long, lay on its back.

　Its torso was secured to a table with what looked like thick nails driven into it.

　On the same table were disassembled fangs like scissors and thick, knotted feet.

　There was also a huge saw, a syringe, and a tool that looked like a pair of pliers nearby.

''You've been dissecting.''

　Solstice muttered.

　I can't even speak.

(What the hell is this place?!)

　Ms. Illtimina was heading to an adjacent room.

''This is....''

　He sounded surprised.

　I didn't want to go, but I approached it as everyone else was headed there.

　In the center of the room, there was a large hole.

　Beside the hole, a large amount of purple demon's bloodstains were spread out and dried out by the hole.

''.........''

　The 'light bird' descended into the hole.

　There was something slick and white.

　Bones.

　A lot of bones were piled up at the bottom of the hole.

　From their size and shape, I'd guess they were all Black Great Ape bones.

　How many hundreds of them were there?

　My body trembled as I imagined how many demons' lives had been taken away here.

　Solstice said with a pout.

''.......I wonder if this is a research facility for demons. Hey, let's find out if there's any detailed data left somewhere!

　With that, he walks out of the room.

　The four of us look at each other.

　Mr. Kilt lets out a huge breath.

All right, we'll split up and look for him.

　He instructed in a voice that sounded like it had been switched.

(I can't help it...)

　I slapped my cheeks with a pang to get my spirits up and went to examine the room with the others.


　◇ ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇


　Several documents were found on desks and shelves in the room.

　The writing was in Thanatos and Toluga script.

　I can't read them.

　The girl who knows things sat on the floor of this room full of specimens of demons and looked at the materials we had collected with her head in the light of the lantern.

''Hmm....I see....heh~...''
..........
..........
..........
..........

　And so on for about 30 minutes.　

　Eventually.

So that's what it is.

　Solstice nodded in agreement and looked away from the material.

'What did you find out?'

　I ask.

　I rub my fingers over my eyes, and then the girl answers.

"A lot of things.

　She looked around at us.

This is a factory that manufactures demons.

　I said.

(A demon factory?)

　Then Solstice told us what we found out.

　According to him.

"The Great Black Monkey.
"The Mud Golem
The Great Hundred Foot.
"Giant Hundred Foot.
The Grudge Tree

　The demons we've encountered so far have been

It was a living weapon created by the Tolga civilization through magic.

　And that's it.

　The girl says to us, who are stunned.

　This building, or rather, this city, was a place to create a biological weapon called "man-made demon".

　It is a city where magical scientists and their families live for that purpose.　

　The reason for creating the weapon is, of course, for the sake of war.

　The opponent is the Great Species.

　Just like the ancient Thanatos magic dynasty, this place seems to have been fighting against the "Great Species", a competitor for supremacy on earth.

　However, the use of biological weapons seems to have been used for other purposes as well, like conquering poison with poison, to fight against wild demons, or to protect humanity itself.

'I mean, it's possible that they were at war with the ancient Thanatos Magical Dynasty.

　And Solstice.

　Well, at any rate, the Toluga civilization was in need of such a weapon.　

　And so, after repeated experimentation and research, the man-made demons were created.

　They were also released on the ground.

''Do you remember the conditions that brought us here?''

　Suddenly, Solstice said.

(?)

　I nod my head.

　He looks around at us.

Didn't you think the distribution of demons was pretty obvious?

　I say.

　Speaking of which.

(The forest across the river was nothing but "The Black Great Ape".)

　In the marshes, the "Mud Golem".

　In the wilderness, there is the Big Hundred Foot and the Giant Hundred Foot.

　In the misty forest, the Grudge Tree.

　In each of these lands, there were only those demons.

　I didn't see any other demons other than that one.

　Why is that?

Because this whole area was a huge testing ground for these man-made demons.

　The girl, who had deciphered the material, told him so.

(.........what?)

　A testing ground.

All the places we've been, all the places we've been, all the...?
Yes.

　The girl nodded strongly to me, stunned.

'Look at this,'

　The girl unfolded a single map.

　The shape of the continent is different from the Albac and Dollar continents, a triangular shape of the continent.......could this be it?

Yes, the Dark Continent.

　The girl's finger points to its northern edge.

'This is where our 'pioneer ship' landed. And from here to the mountains to the south, the map is painted in red, right?
Yes.

　That's roughly a tenth of the size of the entire continent?

All of this red stuff is the testing ground this city used to run.

　...such a large area!

　We're stunned.

'I think they were looking at those things, releasing them into their natural environment to see how much of a force they would actually be and how they would adapt to the environment. On such a large scale.
..........
..........
..........
..........

　It was so large in scale that I could barely keep up with the content.

　Mr. Kilt reaches for the map.

　His finger touches the mountain range that borders it.

"What is the southern part of this range?

　The map still had other markings on it that indicated the city.

　But.

I don't know.

　Solstice shook her head.

''Maybe the Toluga civilization is still going strong. Or, on the other hand, it may have been destroyed due to the effects of the God and Demon Wars. Either possibility is possible, but there's no way to know for sure right now.''
..........
It's just.

　The girl looked around the room.

　It was lined with specimens of the Black Great Ape and the Great Hundred Legs.

'This city is falling apart. The demons have been abandoned. -- this research city of man-made demons has been abandoned.

　The girl's voice echoed in the dark room.

　...........

　Abandoned man-made biological weapons.

　And the abandoned 'ruined city'.

(So 'something' happened to the Toluga civilization that forced it to do so.

　I don't know what it is, though.

...........
..........
..........
..........
..........

　For a while, we stared at the corpses of the demons born of humanity's arrogance in the darkness of the ancient facility.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　Before I knew it, it was raining outside when I left the pyramid ruins of the artificial demon manufacturing plant.

　Zaaaah.....

　Raindrops are bouncing off the stone ground.

　The sky is gray, just like our minds right now.

''Uh-huh, I got a lot of valuable material~''

　It looks like one person is slightly different........

　Solstice seemed to be pleased with the large amount of materials she had packed into her backpack.

　Huh.........

　Suddenly our gazes met with Illtimina-san, and we smiled bitterly.

　And that's when.

Someone is coming.

　Suddenly, Poe looked towards the rain-smoking city and said that.

(Huh?)

　We turned our gaze to look at them as well and stared at them.

　Then, we saw three kingdom knights coming strolling through the streets of the city.

''Kirt-dono, you're here!

　He notices us and runs over.

　All three of them are drenched.

　It looks like they've been running around pretty much looking for us because they're breathing on our shoulders.

What's up?

　Mr. Kilt asked.

　The oldest Kingdom Knight swallowed his spit and looked up.

''Ha, I have a message from General Roberto. Kirto Amandes and his group need to come to the wall of the western compartment immediately.''
"Hmm?

　Mr. Kilt raises one eyebrow.

'Have you heard what happened?'
I don't know... but we've made a major discovery in the west quadrant.

　A significant discovery?

　We look at Mr. Kilt.

　Thinking for a moment, Mr. Kilt nodded, shaking his rich silver hair.

'Okay.'

　He nodded and looked back at us.

'You've heard the story, haven't you?　We're going to suspend our search in the north sector and continue on to the west sector.
Yes.
Yes, sir.
Okay.
.......................

　What will I discover this time?

　We put on our waterproof cloth robes and ran off into the 'ruined city' in the rain.