Agent of Seraphim-Chapter 58: Entrance to the Ruin of Worm

Brand was now walking with Ruby back to the ruins. They had been silent throughout the journey.

He was deep in thought, not paying attention to his surroundings, as he had already gone through the area twice and knew it was secure. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

[The Beetle That Stands Above The Worms]

His Title effect was active. Keeping the demon worms in bay.

Ruby was amazed that the demon worms had been wriggling beside them without attacking, as if they were part of the swarm.

She even tried to reach out and touch one, but the chibi Ifrit slapped her hand away.

"Dirty," Seraphine whispered to him, translating for the chibi Ifrit. The spirit beast kept meowing at Seraphine while looking back and forth between her and Ruby.

’It’s comical to watch.’

While this was happening, his mind was still preoccupied with what Ruby had said earlier.

***

’Half an hour ago.’

Brand fell silent, unsure how to respond after Ruby confessed that she had burned the kingdom down.

He assumed that the Ifrit within her had gone rampant, resulting in the destruction of the kingdom, but this made him question just how strong the Ifrit was.

’I mean... I knew he was an ancient spirit beast, but what about the armies and the heroes of the kingdom?’

’Even when they came together, they still couldn’t subdue him?’

’And for such a powerful being to be in this state...’

"You can all talk later," Seraphine said impatiently, nagging at him.

"The mission! The village is still under attack!" She was practically pulling her hair at this point.

"Ruby will need a lot of time. Tell her you have to focus on the mission first," Seraphine urged, trying to get him to concentrate on the matter at hand.

***

’This is frustrating...’

He wanted to know what had happened to Ruby back then, but Seraphine was right. He needed to check on the ruins first. Only then could he take the time to process Ruby’s story.

Ruby agreed as well, knowing the village could be in danger. She had been there when Karl and Brand discussed the potential invasions from the Third Prince and the Dual-Axe Bandit troop.

==========

Mission: Explore the Ruin of Worm.

Explore the ruin and uncover the secret within the Den of Worm.

==========

He checked the mission and was intrigued by its description.

’Uncover the secret within.’

He had always loved adventure, and it was his curiosity that landed him in trouble in the first place.

Just like when he had stumbled into the secret chamber back in his own world and encountered the giant mechanical eyes that transmigrated him into this world with a cyborg body.

’Let’s hope there’s nothing like that this time...’

"Hey Brand, doesn’t this feel like Dejavu?" Seraphine teased. "Back then, you also stumbled into the chamber after exploring ruins."

"You just had to jinx it!" he replied. That had been a traumatic experience for him. Goosebumps ran over his skin when he remembered the peculiar sensation of metal tubes that were seeping into his body.

"You’re talking to the angel?" Ruby had started referring to Seraphine that way after he told her Seraphine liked being called an angel.

"Yeah..." he replied. "Sera, since you could help Ifrit regain a physical body, why can’t you manifest yourself so others can see you, too?"

"I don’t want to. I’m shy," Seraphine giggled.

’She’s clearly not shy. She just likes to play pranks.’

"She needs time before she opens up to others," he told Ruby, offering his own interpretation of the little angel, of course. "She gets nervous around people and, well, she would probably sweat a lot."

’Serves you right!’

"Meow..." Chibi Ifrit rolled over to glance at Seraphine lazily. He could see the little beast grinning!

’Did you really have to provoke her right now?’

He ignored the two supernatural beings, not interested in their banter, as he reached the entrance to the ruin.

Last time, he had been in a hurry and missed many details about the ruin’s appearance.

The entrance was marked by a massive gate with intricate worm carvings on the metal door. When he pressed his hand against the metal, a strange sensation tingled across his palm.

He could feel the wriggling movements of worms, as if they were alive. He could also see that there were some strange symbols among them.

"Could you help to translate the symbols?" He asked Seraphine, his little guide.

"Doesn’t matter, you’ll get to it later." She replied impatiently. She had been urging him to quickly go into the ruin. "Remove your hand for now."

He quickly lifted his hand, but oddly, the carvings remained still and unmoving.

’How do I open the door?’

There was no handle on the door, only the worms’ carvings.

"Try out your skill on it." Seraphine hinted beside him.

’Try out my skill... The one I got from the worms, maybe?’

"Consume." He muttered.

Red mist spread out from his hand, covering the metal gate adorned with worm carvings. The mist seeped through the gap beneath the door and enveloped the entire gate.

The metal then glowed with an eerie crimson light. The worm carvings seemed drawn to the mist, beginning to move around.

What had been mere patterns now started slipping past and crawling over each other.

When the sequence ended, a void had formed in the gate, large enough for both him and Ruby to pass through.

He glanced at Ruby to check on her, and they exchanged glances as they looked at each other.

[The gate to the Ruin of Worm had opened.]

The system sent a notification across his vision, as if celebrating his discovery of the entrance to the ruins.

’Even Seraphim was excited to see me venture into the ruin?’

Wariness crept in as he found himself associating Seraphine with the word ’ruin’.

’But here goes nothing... It’s a destiny I had to confront.’

With his profound realisation and acceptance, he ventures into the ruin together with Ruby, the spirit beast, and the little angel.