There was a huge door at the back of the temple.
　Around it were gray stone statues. However, their faces have been scraped off and they are lying on the floor. Both arms were also missing.
　The stone statues wore amulet robes and pendants, and their bodies were clad in robes. It's too old to have been built by the Sanctuary Church, so it must belong to the Ancient Magical Civilization.
　The huge door is at the end of the temple.
　I'm sure there's an entrance to the fifth underground layer beyond that?

''.........Gah........a. A.......... Honoré.

　The ghost priest flees towards the back of the temple.

...to activate the gatekeeper...

　So that's the gatekeeper, huh? A giant golem crouched at the back of the temple.
It's more than one size larger than the Giant Ogre.
　Its body is made of black stone, and it has crystals on its chest.
　I wonder if that's its power source.

　I remember when Flora-Zamel's party was attacked by the Ghosts, she said that the enemy had a Golem as well. So that's it.

'Hahahahaha!　Crush 'em and f*ck 'em!　I will show you my ability!
Dick, please!
Yes. I've been asked to write a sigil for you.

　The bat army that was ahead of him gathers above the ghost priest's head.
　And then...


"'It's fireball magic!


　Thud thud thud thud!


　Flaming bullets rained down on the Ghost Priest.
　And, I know it's hard to say, but the name of the magic is 'Flame God Ranchu (Efreet Brou)'.


''.....


　The ghost priest jumps back. Even though his body is scraped by the fireball, it still doesn't disappear.
　But in the meantime...



''Yes. Here's your 'magical blood' from Goshujin.


　Basha.


　One of the bat army threw a leather bag to the golem.
　It's the one containing my Myster Blood.
　Originally, it was intended to purify Flora-Zamel's Replica Lord.

　But you don't always get hit with a single shot.
　I made sure Dick and the others had a spare, just in case I missed.

''Aaaaahhhh!

　The Ghost Priest let out a desperate voice.
　The golem he was going to use is covered in my 'magic blood'. I'll 'purify' it if it gets close.
　With this, I've taken away his Yoroshiro.



　The ghost priest has his back to the door and is staring at me.

　It's the same as the ghost priest I fought at the first level.
　That guy is the "7th Priest Rogruel", as I recall. This is the guy that Gaile-Wolfgang inadvertently summoned during the "guard knight selection test".
　The 3rd priest in front of me is also like him, with a skull-like face and a robe on his body.
　The reason why he looks good in color is because he was absorbing Flora-Zamel's magic power just now.

''I have a question for you.
"...Hi!
'Who is the great first priest?　You said 'until he comes back'. So that means he's ghosted and on another level, too?
"....who are you?
Hmm?
"What have we done to ourselves?　Why was I ripped away from Yorishiro!
I'm simply a creature with those abilities.

　I took my holy sword and looked at the ghost priest.

''I don't really understand it myself, though. It's no wonder you have that kind of ability. Give it up.
"Moshikashite ... saint!　Are you holy!
...An?
"Toka, blessed by God!　That's why you're going to cleanse the ghosts.
Huh.
"Holy man, you may have mercy on us!　The "Sanctuary Church" worked the world into an evolutionary sacerdote!　And as a result...

　
　
　Hmm...............

''Enough!
"...hey!
When you were in your prime, you called someone else a demon king or a vampire lord, and when you became a ghost, you were called a saint?　That's enough!　I'm sick and tired of your self-serving labels!

　Okay.
　It's been 200 years since he died, but "Sanctuary Church" is still the same, isn't it?

　 They wouldn't have left me alone anyway.

　It was all I could do to take care of the people in 'Fira Village'.
　I'm just the guardian of a small, local village. That's enough.

"This world is a little easier to live in now that you Sanctuary Church is gone.

　I grabbed my holy sword and glared at the ghost priest.

'So something like me is alive. Keep it that way.
"....you will have to tell the First Priest that you are not supposed to be here...

　The ghost priest looked up at the geyser.

'I see. That first priest is on earth?
...?
'If you're underground, you'll be looking at the door. There is no other building on this fourth level, except for this temple, so maybe that door is the entrance to the lower levels. But you've seen where I am.

　The one with the stairs leading to the third level, to be exact.
　There was something similar in the old days in "Fira Village".

　You'd steal a fellow student's snack, hide it, and then look towards the hiding place while saying "I don't know". The kids I taught at the old castle, they used to do that a lot........

''.........................Ha, hahahahahahahahahahaha!

　The ghost priest opened his geyser's mouth and started laughing.

'You guessed it, Na!　The Young Magician!
I'm not so young.
"A man who can see as far and see as well as you can see, you are a pain in the ass!
No, you have to be a good judge of character to run a village.
Dagana!　You are the future of the Magic Guild.
'I'm not involved in running the 'Magic Guild' and I'm not responsible for the future.
"Nazenara!　We Raga First Priest Samaha the One who lives in a different time than others, Dacalada!
You don't mean to tell me you're immortal?
Oh!　'The first priest Samah is an ancient technology, and the first priest has transcended his life span!
Have you been alive for 200 years?
Souda!
Heh.

　I see. I knew there was an 'ancient artifact' about immortality.
　So if we can get hold of this guy called the First Priest, we can make Iris and Martha immortal.

''Huhahahahahaha!　'Despair Seayo!'
I'm starting to get hope.
"I will never be erased!　You are going to meet the first priest someday.
It's a good thing I don't have to look for it.
"Fear the day and live in fear of it, Kill Guy!
''It's definitely troublesome. But it's hard to get rid of the Immortal 'Ancient Artifacts' too.
"Huhahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Do you have any other information?

No, don't smile. The way that door opens. Or the state of the fifth level.

"Where is the sage who betrayed the Sanctuary Church? How many 'Lords' are there? "What is the First Priest on Earth up to?

'You don't know. Or are you not going to tell me?

　The ghost priest doesn't answer my question.
　Oh well.
　This guy was shouting a lot of economic stuff while he was haunting Flora-Zamel. She might even remember the contents. The "Magic Guild" will be able to find out more about that.

The location of this guy called the 'First Priest' or something like that - and his relationship with the Empire - might also be known.

Well then.........get out of here!
"Please disappear..." "Goshujin no toki..." "Meiwaku gosuto...

　My holy sword cut the ghost priest in half.
　Immediately afterwards, the moment I jumped back, the flame bombs from Dick and the others' 'Efreet Blows' rained down on the ghost priest.


''────aah, aaaaah.......''


　The Ghost Priest, who had received the Holy Sword and 'Ancient Magic', disappeared without a trace.
　All that was left was an immobile golem and a huge door.
　Let's check out the golem first.
　My 'Myster Blood' is already soaked through.


"Activate... 'Erosion (hacking)'.


　Internal magic--start analysis.
　Analysis of the structure of the sorcery--it's the same as I thought it was, a protective wall.

　The first bulwark - break through. Well, it's only one?
　As expected, it's less protected than the "King's Horse".

　Analysis of the internal magic--completed.

　Yeah. This guy is an 'ancient artifact' golem.
　The difference between it and normal golems is that it has a higher resistance to magic. Also, it can be remotely controlled.
　By using the prescribed "ancient magic", it can be freely controlled as a "witch".
　Also, it seems that by possessing a spirit, it can be used as one's own body.
　To put it bluntly, it's a grave keeper golem that allows the ghosts to protect the graveyard. This.

　Then, when I applied 'erosion (hacking)' to the door - it was played.
　This one's anti-magic defense (security) is too strong.

　You can't just damage it with the holy sword and "hack" it, or you have no choice but to break down the door with the "Black King (Lord of) Noir".

I'm sure the Magic Guild will complain to me later if I do that. What should we do........
"Yuki...!　Are you okay!
'Are you all right?　Yuki-sama!

　I heard Odette and Giselle's voices.
　I looked and saw them both running towards us.

'I'm all right. 'Where's Flora-Zamel?'
The rescue party is here and they're taking care of you.
The rescue squad?
''They're the 'Zamelites'. They seem to have come in to see that the fourth layer of ghosts have disappeared.
I promised you that old Zamel would be in charge of us.
You can't keep the faction down, can you?
"But the 'Cainite' Demeter is with us. He is keeping them there.

　Giselle took over Odette's words.
　So, we haven't seen a fight with the 'replica lord'. No problem.

'How's Flora-Zamel doing?
The ghost priest drained him of his magical power, but he's in perfect health. His consciousness is clear. He just wants to apologize to Yuki.
I don't remember it being that bad.
A girl's mind is a very complicated thing.
I know that because Alice told me so much about it in a past life.
...And that's the door to the fifth level?　Is it about to open?
This is not the time. I'd rather explore the fourth level than open this one.

　Let's get back to it for today. If we hurry, we can make it to dinner.
　Martha will probably stay up until I get back, so it would be bad to keep her waiting too long.

"Goshujin.
What is it, Dick?
"There's an inscription on the wall of the temple...

　Dick said, staying on my shoulder.
　The other bats are gathering behind the stone statue. There's something there.

　Me, Odette, and Giselle walked up to it and...

...letters?
It sounds like a sentence.
"...Is it something left behind by the 'Sanctuary Church'? Or is it from the 'Ancient Magical Civilization'?
'The Sanctuary Church,' I suppose.
How do you know that?　Yuki.
No, because it's Lyle's handwriting.

　I said.
　Odette and Giselle's eyes dotted.

'Lyle is........Lord Iris - I mean, no. Alice's father's?
"You're the legendary chief of the 'Feela Village', Mr. Lyle-Carmine!
Yeah. Definitely, this is what Lyle left behind.

　It was me, Dean Nosferatu, in a previous life, who taught that guy how to write.
　Lyle's writing had a weird bouncing habit on the right side. He said it was more energetic and cooler, and that didn't get fixed when I grew up.
　There's no way I'd ever mistake his letters for anything else.

　He probably wrote the letters on the wall first and then carved them on top of it.
　Lyle was recognized by the 'Sanctuary Church' for killing me. He used it to infiltrate the organization and eventually betrayed them. That's why they called him the 'Betrayal Sage', right, that guy.

　........Why are you so clumsy?
　I taught you to study because I wanted to make life easier for Lyle and the others.
　I never had to go through all this hardship.........


".....'Tell those who should read this text'?


　That's how Lyle's sentence began.


O ye who have been guided in your souls by the ancient artifacts! I hope you are reading this.


　Oh, it's for me.
　I didn't name them specifically so other people wouldn't find out, but I know.

　Odette is nodding next to me.
The one whose soul was guided by the Ancient Artifact - that's me and Alice, who was reincarnated by the Holy Sword Leenkaar.

　I sit down on the floor.
　Odette and Giselle do the same.

　It's the first time in 200 years that a child (Lyle) has said that.
　We'll read it word for word, but we'll take it seriously.