The archive chamber remained silent long after the projection stabilized.

Dust drifted slowly through pale blue mana light while ancient crystal mechanisms hummed faintly across the walls surrounding the group, and though the underground city had been buried beneath the mountains for centuries, in that moment it no longer felt abandoned.

It felt haunted.

Lucien stood near the center of the chamber watching the glowing crystal carefully while the surviving fragments of ancient projections flickered weakly around them like dying memories refusing to disappear completely.

Beside him, Gandalf’s expression remained darker than before.

Even Malen had stopped making casual remarks.

Because everyone now understood something simple.

Elarion had not fallen naturally.

Something terrible had happened here.

And the deeper they went—

The more obvious it became.

Lucas Marcus slowly looked around the archive.

"All this..."

A pause.

"...was hidden from history."

Gandalf nodded once.

"Yes."

The old mage stepped closer toward the central crystal while faint mana currents drifted around his staff.

"Ancient magical civilizations vanished constantly during the early eras," he said quietly. "But Elarion was different."

Lucien looked toward him.

"How?"

The old mage remained silent briefly before answering.

"Because entire kingdoms erased every mention of it afterward."

The room became still again.

That was not normal destruction.

That was fear.

Malen crossed his arms.

"You’re saying people wanted this city forgotten."

"Yes."

Gandalf’s eyes moved slowly across the archive walls.

"And after seeing this place..."

A pause.

"...I understand why."

The old mage finally placed one hand against the glowing crystal.

Mana surged softly outward.

Immediately the crystal brightened again.

The chamber trembled slightly.

Then—

The projections returned.

This time clearer than before.

The archive came alive around them once more as transparent figures moved between shelves and crystal devices, ancient scholars carrying glowing tablets while assistants organized records beneath floating mana screens unlike anything used in modern kingdoms.

The civilization looked advanced.

Far beyond ordinary magical cities.

Lucien watched carefully.

Even the architecture reflected precision impossible for most current nations.

Mana channels embedded into walls.

Automatic lighting systems.

Self-operating mechanisms.

Elarion had been centuries ahead of the modern age.

Then—

The atmosphere changed.

A loud alarm echoed suddenly through the projections.

Sharp.

Urgent.

The peaceful archive instantly descended into chaos.

Ancient citizens began running through corridors while scholars hurriedly sealed crystal archives and soldiers rushed past the chamber entrances carrying glowing weapons forged from silver-black metal.

One of the projections stabilized near the center again.

The same ancient mage from before appeared.

Older.

Exhausted.

But composed.

His projection flickered slightly while distant explosions echoed faintly somewhere beyond the archive.

Then he spoke.

"The Gate Project has failed."

Silence filled the real chamber instantly.

The ancient mage continued.

"The dimensional breach exceeded all predictive calculations."

Lucien’s eyes narrowed sharply.

Dimensional breach.

Malen frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Gandalf answered quietly.

"They opened a portal."

Another explosion shook the projection violently.

The ancient mage continued speaking rapidly now.

"We believed controlled dimensional access would grant infinite mana resources."

The projections around him flickered chaotically.

Scholars running.

Corridors collapsing.

Blood visible across sections of the underground halls.

"We were wrong."

Another tremor.

Then—

The projection shifted suddenly.

And for a brief moment—

Everyone saw it.

A massive circular gate deep underground surrounded by countless ancient mages while dark crimson light poured endlessly from within the structure itself like liquid fire bleeding into reality.

And beyond the gate—

Something moved.

Not human.

Not beast.

Something enormous.

Something wrong.

Several soldiers immediately stepped backward.

Even Malen’s expression hardened.

The projection snapped back toward the ancient mage.

"The portal connected to a hostile world."

His voice cracked slightly now.

"Forces emerged immediately."

The archive lights flickered violently.

Screams echoed faintly through distant corridors.

"We attempted containment."

Another tremor shook the chamber.

"But one crossed fully before the breach collapsed."

Silence.

Heavy silence.

Lucien felt cold.

Not from fear.

From realization.

The ancient mage’s face darkened.

"The demon could not be killed."

One of the soldiers whispered a prayer instantly.

The projection behind the mage flickered again.

This time showing fragments of battle.

Entire sections of the city burning beneath black flames while massive distorted creatures slaughtered soldiers throughout underground corridors, and at the center of it all—

A towering shadow covered in crimson markings walked slowly through destruction while ancient mages desperately attacked it with overwhelming spells that barely slowed its advance.

The thing did not even resemble life properly.

It looked like hatred given shape.

The ancient mage continued.

"We sealed the lower city levels."

Another explosion.

"We sacrificed the surface districts."

Another flicker.

"Thousands remained trapped below during containment."

The archive fell silent except for distant screams from the projection.

Lucien remembered the skeletal remains they had found earlier.

Families.

Children.

Ordinary civilians.

Now he understood.

They had not died from plague.

Or starvation.

They had been abandoned during the sealing process.

Not from cruelty.

From desperation.

Because if the demon escaped—

Everything outside Elarion would have fallen too.

The ancient mage continued speaking softly now.

"The lower seals remain active."

Another tremor.

"But weakening."

Malen’s expression immediately changed.

"How long ago was this recorded?"

Gandalf answered quietly.

"At least several thousand years."

Silence returned instantly afterward.

Because if the seals weakened after all that time—

Then the danger below might still exist.

The ancient mage suddenly looked directly toward the crystal projection.

Toward them.

Across countless centuries.

His expression had become exhausted beyond words.

"If anyone discovers Elarion..."

The projection flickered violently.

"...do not descend beneath the seventh gate."

The chamber lights dimmed.

The projection behind him shifted one final time.

And for a single horrifying moment—

Everyone saw the lower city.

Massive sealed gates covered in glowing chains and ancient runes stretching across colossal underground corridors while endless darkness pulsed behind them like something breathing slowly in the abyss beyond.

Then—

Two enormous crimson eyes opened within the darkness.

Several soldiers recoiled instantly.

One nearly dropped his weapon.

The ancient mage spoke one final sentence.

"It still lives."

The projection shattered.

Darkness consumed the archive chamber completely.

For several seconds—

No one moved.

No one spoke.

Only the sound of breathing remained.

Then Gandalf slowly restored the mana lights.

The old mage’s face looked pale beneath his beard now.

Even he seemed shaken.

Lucas Marcus finally broke the silence quietly.

"The demon..."

A pause.

"...is still sealed below us."

No one answered immediately.

Because nobody wanted to say it aloud.

Lucien slowly looked deeper into the underground city stretching beyond the archive chamber.

Beneath the ruins.

Beneath the valley.

Below countless layers of ancient stone and forgotten history—

A demon from another world still remained imprisoned in darkness after thousands of years.

And now—

For the first time in centuries—

People had entered Elarion again.

Malen finally spoke.

Very quietly.

"We should never open the lower levels."

Lucien did not answer immediately.

Because somewhere deep inside—

He already knew.

Eventually—

They would have to.

At the same time notification rang out-

Ding!Hidden quest completed (The fall of elarion)

Reward issued-Legendary class summon

End of Chapter 25