'... That's the tip of the temple's top. In other words, that's the spire,' Eleanor replied.
'Don't tell me it's buried deep underground..?'
'You're correct.'
Lawrend opened his eyes and facepalmed himself.
"What's wrong, Master?" Amene asked him in worry.
"The place I want to go is directly below us. I don't think it will be easy to dig it up," Lawrend replied.
"What is that place, Master? You still hadn't told us," Amene asked curiously.
"It's a temple. I want to find something inside it," Lawrend replied.
"Another temple? How did you know about this place?" Clova Whitebird asked him with squinted eyes.
"I read about it in a book."
"A book? Was it from that ancient temple before?" Clova Whitebird asked. Her large beak opened and closed.
"Yes." Lawrend nodded his head even though that wasn't the truth.
What could he do? Reveal that he had Eleanor? That won't do. He could only lie in the meantime.
"Do you have any idea how to dig this up?" Clova asked.
"Can you dig it for me?" Lawrend asked her in return.
"No. I refuse. I'm a Guardian Beast. Even if I agreed to serve you, I won't lower myself," Clova replied with a sharp gaze.
Lawrend could feel the great sense of pride she had. She's a Guardian Beast that tops all other monsters.
"Alright. I won't force you," Lawrend replied.
He closed his eyes once again and communicated with Eleanor.
'Eleanor, do you have any idea how to dig this up?'
'Master, just use the ring. It should be able to teleport you inside. But that would only be you,' Eleanor replied.
'Isn't there any other way?' Lawrend asked.
He almost died the last time he explored an ancient temple alone. He can't do the same again. Otherwise, his maids would worry about him.
'I can attempt to go down, but I'm not confident,' Eleanor replied.
'There's no other way, huh…'
Lawrend was out of options. He could either hope for the best by sending Eleanor, or he could do it himself.
'What do you choose?' Eleanor asked.
'I… What would happen if you failed?'
'I would be forced to return to the ring, and I would lose some soul power.'
'Is it hard to recover lost soul power?'
'Very. I'd rather not lose some at my state,' Eleanor replied.
'Okay. I'll go alone. If only we had someone who could help us dig a way,' Lawrend replied solemnly.
He had already decided. Since he's in a soul contract with Eleanor, he had to do his best to help her recover her last soul shard.
Lawrend opened his eyes and saw a large pair of eyes staring at him curiously.
"Ahh!" Lawrend shouted in shock.
"Master, what were you thinking?" Amene asked.
"I was thinking of a way to enter the temple," Lawrend replied.
"Oh! As expected of Master," Amene exclaimed in amazement.
Her Master was always so enigmatic and mysterious to her. She would always be left in awe at what he could do. Now, he was saying that he was thinking of a way by closing his eyes.
'What an interesting and amazing idea' Amene thought.
"Master, I think I found an entrance," Aezel's voice sounded from afar.
"Huh!?"
He thought there was no other way.
He and Amene ran towards her voice and found her standing in front of a dead tree trunk. It was very large and thick as this was still in the Undrasil Monster Forest.
"Master, this trunk is hollow and it extends downwards. I think we can go below using it," Aezel said.
"How did you even find that out?" Lawrend asked her in disbelief.
"I had to make sure the surroundings were safe so I looked around and stumbled on this dead tree. I knocked on it, and I heard it reverberate deep into the ground." Aezel replied.
"Wha…"
Lawrend was speechless. It was a fortunate coincidence. This way, he doesn't have to go alone. He can go with the two of them.
"I will be waiting here," Clova said before she sat on the ground.
"Okay." Lawrend nodded his head.
"Master, stand back. I'm going to open this trunk," Aezel said.
Lawrend and Amene walked backward. Aezel stood in front of it and pointed her finger.
*Boom*!
A thick arc of golden lightning escaped from her hand and connected to the trunk, instantly shattering it. As a result, wood chips and splinters flew everywhere.
They walked towards it and looked inside to the bottom. It was like a bottomless abyss even with the sun rays entering inside.
"Master!" Amene shouted inside.
"-Master, ter, ter, ter, er, er, r, r…"
"It's quite deep. How did this even form?" Lawrend asked out loud in amazement.
"The Human World is interesting, Master. Let's go fly down," Aezel said.
"Alright," Lawrend replied.
And so, they flew downwards while Aezel carried Amene. It quickly became dark and eerily silent the deeper they went.
Lawrend flicked his finger and a small lightning ball appeared. It lit up their surroundings.
After flying for 10 seconds, they arrived at the very bottom of the trunk. It was damp and moldy everywhere.
"Disgusting," Aezel commented.
"Let me break it this time," Lawrend said.
He pointed his palm towards the trunk and a bolt of golden lightning shot out of his palm. It instantly shattered the fragile trunk and revealed a deep underground cave.
The thick branches of the trees around them supported the ceiling as if it was done on purpose.
"What the hell," Lawrend muttered in shock and disbelief.
It was like a world of its own. It was very dark but there were some occasional light sources from glowing mushrooms.
What's particularly eye-catching was the huge old temple in front of them. It was covered with glowing mushrooms and its shape was very visible from the glow.
"It's beautiful…" Amene murmured as she looked around them.
The mushrooms glowed a soft blue light and made the place look calming.
"Let's go," Lawrend said.
"Master, just what's the secret of the Human World?" Aezel asked as they walked towards the temple.