Twin Reincarnation: Epics Of The Worldline-Chapter 301 Fallen fortress of Avatika

[El’s POV: ]

[You have entered the <A> grade artificial dungeon: Fallen fortress of Avatika.]

[You have entered an <A> grade artificial dungeon for the first time! Increased experience gain for three days.]

...

[Warning!]

[You have entered an area with lower system restrictions.]

[Skill: Blue crown is enhanced inside the dungeon and enhances the skill effect of other innate skills.]

...

[Spectator ’Sleepless author’ is bored by the familiar sight.]

[Spectator ’B. Woman’ clicks their tongues and leans back.]

[Spectator ’Shutting jade eyes’ takes another puff and makes a smoke ring.]

The same familiar messages announcing how we were stronger inside a place like this had popped up once again.

But I dismissed them all and went back to what I was doing.

[{ "What do you think about them, Cary?" }]

[{ Pretty good. Nothing too attractive, actually. If it weren’t for you threatening me like this, I would have even dared and said they are mediocre. }]

[{ "Bastard. Just shut up and look." }]

We were looking at the armoured skeletons in the distance that my babies were fighting.

And it was a good enough sight.

The Fallen fortress of Avatika was one of the last remaining places of ancient times and one of the places that were completely under the rule of the first conqueror Chiragya.

’It is said that the conqueror left some things for the future generations in his last days in hopes that there would emerge a real conqueror one day. Someone that wasn’t just a cursed being like him.’

He had excellent foresight so he knew what to do with all that he had received in his lifetime.

-Booooooom!

He scattered many important artifacts of his all over this world and made structures that contained his legacies.

Places that contained riches no man on this world could deny, power that would, when in right hands, could change the entire flow of the world, and knowledge that was beyond anything people of this world possessed.

Those places were special and something not just anyone could conquer. They were some of the most difficult sites to beat in this entire world.

’But this fortress wasn’t one of those places.’

This was a resting place he had given to one of his friends. The ancient creature that still resides in the heart of this world.

He was strong and lazy right now, but in the old days, he used to be a lot stronger and too active to just leave alone.

’There were times when it mistakenly destroyed entire nations. There were just too many accidents happening because of him that Chiragya had to leave him in a place where he could have as much fun as he wanted.’

The sky fortress that people now call Ainzcradel was once a prosperous city that was not floating in the sky like it is right now. It was a city made in the middle of the ocean for his friend the ancient creature, as well as many of his people.

’He was a ruler and a founder. He had people following him all around the world.’

But even if he was a transcendent figure with godlike abilities, he was still an invite being.

’He could have become a higher being if he wanted to, but he never wanted anything like that.’

He chose to stay as a finite being.

He had seen many things in his life that he did not want to experience for an eternity, so, he chose mortality. And stayed a mortal until he created his resting place, the shrine, and finished his lifespan.

’He was free now, however, after he was gone, the world he had left behind even with many countermeasures changed greatly.’

The city that he cherished was destroyed under the new rising internal conflicts.

The people who used to be loyal to him, many of them started fighting for the power and the positions of the world.

There were wars all over the planet and tragedies occurred from time to time and eons went by just like that.

[This fortress, standing still as the last remains of a forgotten civilization, the prison of the trapped souls who devoted their entire beings to the master they served, was the last piece of land still alive from a time none remembers anymore.]

The main monsters in this fort were undead creatures of three kinds.

’Skeletons that had only a physical body so magic attacks did not work on them, ghosts who only had astral bodies so physical attacks did not work on them, and... memory fragments that were a kind of monster that had no physical or astral body but only a memory that the challengers would have to experience.’

It was a trauma that they carried even till the moment they died and was the only thing that stuck with them instead of their physical or mental bodies.

’They were a rare kind of monster so there were few items even here.’

But they were unavoidable.

Some of them even used to be the closest with Chiragya or at least looked up to him as if he were their god. And they fought with all the traitors who wanted this fortress.

’They defended this place till the very end, and when they couldn’t hold them off, they detached the fort from the city and took it to this place, away from all of them.’

Still, it did not stop the power-hungry bastards... from coming after the treasures of this place.

[One last invasion had resulted in the fall of this grand structure of an intricate weaponry. However, the fall was not the defeat of the defenders.]

In the last moments of their lives, the ones who defended this place decided to give up on their mortality and humanity if it meant driving away the invader bastards.

’There was only one grand magician among them powerful enough to execute a forbidden ritual at the cost of his own life, and the dumb bastard did it without hesitation.’

Giving up on his life and turning everyone else into an undead being or immortal creature that could live forever even after death in the confines of this artificial dungeon was something the world did not allow to just anyone.

But they succeeded somehow. And what we see before us is the result of their dumb sacrifice.

[ "Oy, Lucy bastard. I’m going to take a stroll." ]

[ "Don’t cause any trouble. And please go in that direction. Not towards the center." ]

[ "Of course I know that much. Dumbass." ]

They were fighting skeletons right now but they would soon fight the ghosts and those memory fragments as well.

’Dealing with skeletons was pretty easy since they have physical damage deals like Crocs and their captain, but ghosts would be a little difficult.’

But they still have their Queen and her ghost-eating beetles with them so they should be alright.

Memory fragments would be a good learning experience for them so they should also learn everything they can from the memories of the best worriers of the greatest civilization of this world.

’They had special concentrated light elemental potions, and my masks with them so they will find undead easy to deal with.’

What they would find difficult though, would be the middle bosses, traps, and the bosses themselves.

But they will survive. And Lucy will make them famous... there’s not much to do for me now that we are inside as well, so I might as well go test some stuff out.

[{ "So, what does come to your mind when you think about the ugliest thing?" }]

[{ Hmm? The ugliest? Do we really have to judge everything based on appearance alone? }]

[{ "No, you bastard. When did I say anything about judging? I’m just talking about the concept of ugliness.

How do you understand it?" }]

The fortress of Avatika is a grand structure made up of strong rocks and though it is a ruined fortress, it used to be one of the safest havens of this world a long, long time ago.

It was destroyed right now, turned into a mess even. But it still had some good places that had remained the same.

Like this one.

"How’s this?"

[{ Ah... well, looks unsightly. But what can we say? It could be something someone like you would like to see. }]

"Hmmm. Welp, tell me what you think the ugliest thing is."

The fortress was a castle-like structure that was filled with traps, had many monsters in specific places, and there were places with a strong illusion magic blocking them.

The area before me was one of those kind of places...

’Pretty cool.’

Human bodies cut in pieces set all over the places, dried blood spilled on the ground a long time ago, smell that could take away someone’s sense of smell, skulls decorated into a sheep-like formation that resembled many of the common devils, realistic paintings portraying the deaths—sacrifices made to the gods a long time ago.

Jars filled with eyeballs, open boxes filled with tongues, nails, and fingers.

Some open drawers showing the skin and genitals of different beings... this place resembled the butcher room of the old time’s fortress where the slaves and criminals were cut open and turned into food for the beast pets of the fortress masters or the creatures of the arena that used to exist in the forgotten city.

[{ Well, master... I don’t see anything as pretty or ugly so I can’t recall just one thing that might be considered the ugliest. However by the concept of ugliness from an understandable perspective, I think some of the fallen Archangels like <<Master of 6th hell>> are the ugliest in their true forms." }]

"Why? You don’t like the eyes and horns combined?"

[{ "Like I said, it’s just what I would say if I could simply the concept. But yes, I’ve never liked those dumb kinds." }]

Angels, archangels, agents of the Worldline. We would have to deal with them soon as well after ascending but, aside from a few, I don’t dislike those cuties.

They are quite to my taste. Some of them even taste good so they are good snacks.

But that’s not the point right now...

"Most people would consider this sight the ugliest, most oppressive sight of their lifetime. Even some demons might think this is cruel..."

This scene before us was a depiction of a past so distant, that no one would have seen it if it weren’t for us.

Similarly, if it weren’t for us... no one would have known what lies behind this scene of cruelty.