Aurelia continued staring into the massive hole.
For several moments—
she said nothing.
Then—
she turned her head.
"Lucan."
Lucan immediately looked toward her.
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"Come on."
Aurelia stepped toward the edge of the hole.
"I want to take a look for myself."
She glanced toward the Holy Knights.
"A few of you will come with us."
"The rest of you remain here and continue securing the area."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Several Holy Knights immediately stepped forward.
Aurelia reached the edge of the massive hole.
Without hesitation—
she leapt.
**WHOOSH!**
Her body descended into the darkness.
Lucan followed immediately.
**WHOOSH!**
The Holy Knights exchanged brief glances before following after them.
One after another—
they descended into the enormous underground opening.
The fall wasn't particularly long.
Soon—
Aurelia landed gently on the ruined stone floor.
**THUD.**
Lucan landed beside her.
**THUD.**
The Holy Knights followed shortly after, touching down one after another.
Aurelia slowly looked around.
The underground ruins stretched out before them.
Broken stone structures.
Collapsed walls.
Ancient pathways disappearing into darkness.
The air was strangely still.
Aurelia took a slow breath.
Her expression changed.
"...Now I can sense it."
Lucan looked toward her.
"Sense what?"
Aurelia's eyes narrowed.
"It's faint."
"Very faint."
"But it's still here."
She looked around the ruins.
"Dark energy."
"Corrupted mana."
Lucan's expression became serious.
"So..."
"The Abyssal Demons really were here."
Aurelia nodded.
"Yes."
"And there were a lot of them."
She slowly looked deeper into the ruins.
"Which means..."
"A gate was opened."
One of the Holy Knights stiffened.
"An Abyssal Gate?"
Lucan's eyes widened slightly.
"An Abyssal Gate..."
He stared into the darkness.
"And the son of the Demon King..."
"What is he planning?"
Aurelia remained silent for a moment.
"Yes."
"I've heard of Abyssal Gates before."
She walked slowly forward.
"If he truly managed to open one..."
"He must have had a reason."
Lucan followed beside her.
"But..."
He frowned.
"An Abyssal Gate can be opened, but closing one is impossible."
"At least, that's what I've heard."
Aurelia nodded.
"That's what I've heard as well."
"But..."
Her gaze shifted toward the ruins.
"It seems he managed to close it."
Lucan's expression darkened.
"So the question is..."
"Why was the gate opened in the first place?"
Aurelia stopped.
She looked ahead.
"You don't open something like that without a reason."
Lucan remained silent.
Aurelia continued.
"He must have been looking for something."
Lucan's eyes narrowed.
"And since the gate is no longer here..."
Aurelia looked toward him.
"We can assume he found what he was looking for."
Lucan stared at her.
"Then..."
"What could he possibly have been searching for?"
Aurelia shook her head.
"That's something we can only imagine."
Silence filled the ruins.
For several moments—
neither of them spoke.
Then—
Aurelia turned toward the Holy Knights.
"Spread out."
"Search every part of these ruins."
"Look for anything unusual."
"Artifacts, records, hidden chambers..."
"Anything that might explain why and how the gate was opened."
The Holy Knights immediately moved.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
They quickly spread throughout the ancient ruins.
Some moved toward the collapsed structures.
Others inspected the walls and floors.
Several ventured deeper into the darkness.
Aurelia remained where she was.
Her gaze followed them.
*What exactly were you looking for...?*
*Son of the Demon King.*
The Holy Knights continued searching the ruins.
They inspected the collapsed structures, searched through the ancient chambers, and checked every passage they could find.
Time passed.
Then—
"Your Highness!"
A voice suddenly echoed through the ruins.
Aurelia turned toward the sound.
"Lucan."
"I heard."
The two quickly moved toward the knight who had called them.
They soon reached a staircase leading farther underground.
Aurelia looked down.
"There's something below?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
The knight stepped aside.
"We found a chamber."
Aurelia nodded.
"Lead the way."
She began descending the stairs.
Lucan followed closely behind her.
The Holy Knight followed as well.
The deeper they went—
the darker it became.
Eventually—
they reached the bottom.
Aurelia stepped into a chamber that was barely illuminated.
The room wasn't particularly large.
But in the center—
there was a magic formation.
It was no longer active.
The engraved lines remained visible across the stone floor, but there was no mana flowing through them.
Aurelia stared at it.
Lucan looked around the chamber.
Aurelia slowly took a breath.
"The corrupted mana here..."
"It's slightly stronger than what we sensed above."
She stepped forward.
Her eyes remained fixed on the formation.
"And this formation..."
She crouched down.
"I can't say what kind it is."
She examined the markings carefully.
"I'm not a mage."
Her fingers moved across the ground.
"But..."
She suddenly stopped.
Something caught her attention.
Aurelia reached down and picked up something from the floor.
She stared at it.
Between her fingers was a tiny crystal.
It glowed with a faint red light.
Lucan looked at it.
"What is that?"
Aurelia's expression became serious.
"This..."
She held it up slightly.
"Confirms everything."
Lucan's eyes narrowed.
"Confirms what?"
Aurelia looked at the tiny fragment.
"It's small."
"Very small."
"But this is a condensed corrupted mana fragment."
She paused.
"From the core of a monster..."
"From the Abyss."
Lucan stared at the tiny red crystal.
Aurelia continued.
"Until now, I had doubts."
"The corrupted mana we've sensed could have come from another source."
"But this..."
She looked at the fragment between her fingers.
"This proves those creatures were here."
Lucan nodded slowly.
"So..."
"We can be certain the creatures were here."
"Yes."
Aurelia's gaze remained fixed on the fragment.
"I no longer have any doubts about that."
Lucan was silent for a moment.
Then—
his expression changed.
"Then..."
"Do you think the cores of those Abyssal creatures might have been what he was after?"
Aurelia looked at him.
"Maybe."
She didn't immediately agree.
"But we can't say that for certain."
"We have no grounds to reach such a conclusion from something like this alone."
Lucan nodded.
"Right."
Aurelia looked down at the tiny crystal again.
Then—
she released a small amount of mana through her fingers.
The fragment trembled.
A faint glow surrounded it.
**CRACK.**
The tiny crystal shattered.
The corrupted energy within it was purified almost instantly.
The red glow disappeared.
Nothing remained.
Aurelia lowered her hand.
"For now..."
"We keep searching."