Volume 2 - Epilogue

With the destruction of Norn, all the undead went back to being mere corpses.

「Julis-san......」

「...... Let's take this 『Scepter of Domination』 with us. If we ever stop by their country anywhere, we'll give it to them as a memento.」

「――You should have stayed with us.」

「Nyaa...... doesn't like to see people you know die-nya......」

All that remained where Julis and Kruse had been was the metalware they were wearing.

Mars picked up the 『Scepter of Domination』 from among them, and Nemu picked up the ring that Julis had been wearing.

It was a sad feeling, but he had a feeling that this would eventually happen.

「Their body isn't here anymore, but we'll make a grave for them. I'm sorry to have to do this here.」

「We were friends for a short time, you know. But I think she passed away satisfied with death. I don't have any evidence to support this, but I have a feeling that she did.」

A simple tomb is made, and the swords of Kruse and Julis are thrust into it.

Mars and the others made only one grave so that they could at least be together after death.

After burying all the corpses, they entered the pyramid.

Inside was a golden door. It was obvious that it was a treasure room.

「I'll open it.」

「Yes ......!」

「Please, please, please may the 【Forbidden Magic Book】 ......」

「Gilded splendor-nya(?)!」

With a little push, it opens automatically with a GOGOGO.

When the candleholders at the entrance were lit, the whole place was bathed in a dazzling golden light.

「Amazing ......」

「This is five times as much as 『Sekhmet』, no, maybe ten times as much. ......!」

「Hoee......I-I was so surprised that I peed a l-little. ......」

「All-you-can-eat food-nya......?」

「I bet you could eat a full meal every day for a thousand years. ......」

Treasures worth billions of yen were piled up to the ceiling in an appropriate manner.

The amount of money was only what Mars had randomly estimated, and there were indications that there might actually be more.

「Find the 【Forbidden Magic Book】 from the treasure! And don't read it, got it!?」

「Nemu know-nya!」

The inside of the treasury is vast, the size of a soccer field.

「Stand back-nya! Nemu is king-nya!」

「Ha, hahaha! But I'm a king too!」

「Nyaaa!? Both of us are kings-nyaa!?」

Nemu and Hazuki put on their fallen crowns and played a small game on a pile of gold coins.

Mars found a slightly incongruous space in one corner of the treasury.

It is a simple place with a wooden desk.

「Master! All the books on this bookshelf are 【Forbidden Magic Books】!」

「Really!? All right, let's check it out right away!」

Praying that there is a 【Forbidden Magic Book】 that can control the difference in lifespan between Lilia and Mars, Mars and Lilia began checking the spines of the books.

The first one is a book that can expand the dreamy treasury.

Magic that can make you invisible. The magic that reveals weaknesses. The magic of alteration. The magic of walking in the air for a short time.

And more than a dozen books on various types of attack magic.

The last book seemed to be Norn's journal.

「―Not here」

「Was it not good here too, huh ......」

They made it to the Seven Great Dungeons and were unsuccessful. Unable to hide their disappointment at this, Mars and Lilia sat down with their heads hanging down.

Lilia cries out, "sob," and then she starts to cry.

「I wonder if there is anything in this Norn's journal?」

In Norn's journal, she wrote of her passionate feelings for her late lover.

It seemed that her lover's body had all been reduced to ashes and scattered in this dungeon. So it seems that Norn had reached this point and did not go outside.

A corpse is absolutely necessary as a component of resurrection.

It was written that necromancy only creates undead and does not lead to resurrection, not even full resurrection of oneself.

There were many descriptions that may have kept her sane at first.

It seems that she was creating undead in the dungeon to improve her necromancy.

After she was described as being stuck and unable to find a clue, the writing fell apart and the characters became more appropriate.

It was depressing to see the process of people breaking down.

There is no guarantee that they will not become the same way in the future.

「I wonder if the magic of life span manipulation does not exist ......」

「Hold on. It looks like Norn also figured out a way to manipulate lifespan.」

Mars reads out a description that he thinks is important and makes sure everyone hears it.

「『The labyrinth was first identified in the world about a thousand years ago. They appeared simultaneously all over the world. And it seems to be man-made. I have never met one, but it seems that there are people who have lived for thousands of years. Considering that the maximum lifespan of the human species is around a hundred years, this person must be manipulating his or her own lifespan.』」

Lilia looks up and carries a glimmer of hope in her eyes. Mars nodded.

In Norn's case, she was thinking in terms of the approach of giving life to the dead ― those with zero life expectancy.

「『This is only my guess, but it is likely that the person is the one who created the labyrinth and placed the magic book containing the supernatural magic that is on the bookshelf. Although we do not know the purpose of the labyrinth, the test to reach the realm of that person may be the raison d'etre of the labyrinth, and the magic books may be the grant of power to catch up with that person. If I ever get my flesh body back, I should probably leave here and go to other labyrinths to look for the perfect resurrection technique』. ――Have you heard of this story?」

「I have not. Norn's time is a long time ago. So dungeons existed even a thousand years before that time.」

「――There is still a possibility. Let's go to other dungeons.」

If it is true that there is a dungeon master ― someone who creates dungeons and even produces the 【Forbidden Magic Book】, and if that person dares to grant power as Norn says, then there are still many possibilities.

On the contrary, the possibility has increased more than ever.

「Nyaa, nyaaa. There's a map on the wall-nya.」

「Is this ...... a world map?」

Nemu pulled Mars to a place where she found an old map on a desk. The current location and several other places were circled in red.

「No, there's something wrong with it.」

「......? Do you think there are too many of them?」

「The 『Great Norn Tomb』, the 『Great Volcano of Regalia』, and the 『Ruins of the Great Temple of Clotho』. ...... The places marked with these marks are probably the Seven Great Dungeons. However,...... there are two places that are different from what we are currently told」

Lilia pointed to a red circle in the ocean and a red circle that apparently indicates the sky.

「Does this mean it's in the ocean and the sky ......?」

「I guess this means that this was the hardest dungeon in Norn's time, but ...... I think both are stuck in the means to get there stage. Is that why she changed to other dungeons?」

「Hmmm ...... it's kind of mystical and it looks like it, but it doesn't mean we'll find what we want there.」

The Seven Great Dungeons that have been erased. He can only speculate on the significance of these dungeons, but since there is no way to get to them, he has no choice but to conquer the others.

「Let's start with the one closest at hand and work our way up.」

「Right.」

This time we could not get the magic we wanted, but if we continue our journey, someday we will.

「Come to think of it, will we be called a hero or something when we leave here, Mars-san?」

「It doesn't sound right. ...... we don't look like heroes, do we?」

He admits to himself that he looks comfortable wielding a hoe in the field.

「Maybe Nemu is a hero too-nya!? A king-nya!?」

Nemu and Hazuki, still wearing the crowns, are excited again.

Then Lilia took Nemu's crown and put it on Mars' head.

「It looks good on you. ――Why don't you build a country? With the loot from this and future loot as resources, we will create the Master's ideal country.」

「Huh? Me? No, no, no, I can't.」

The seriousness of Lilia's eyes put Mars under pressure.

It was a look that wanted to tell him she wasn't joking.

「I think it's a good idea to create a country where everyone is welcome, even different races!　The condition of the people is: 『Let's all play nice together!』」

「If everyone played together, wouldn't that country be destroyed soon-nya?」

「That's not what I meant!」

As Mars watched them begin to make a fuss, he thought that such a path might indeed be possible.

To live a long life, you need a place to live.

A place where Lilia and Nemu could walk around by themselves without worry.

「Let's think about this for a minute. ――Shall we go with triumph for now? Now I'd rather take a nap in a safer place than the country」

「You're right. ...... I'm honestly tired」

「I'm tired too, after everything that's happened.」

「Nemu is still in energetic-nya. She can do her best if she eats a snack and sleeps-nya.」

「That's tiring, isn't it?」

Everyone was exhausted and covered in sweat.

They decide to go out of the dungeon for a while.

They didn't achieve their goal.

Those who could have been saved could not be saved.

The treasure was not all that remained, but Mars and the others chose to keep walking again.

The end of their journey was yet to come.