"… Complete several tasks for you?

" I arched an eyebrow.

"Yes,

" the shrine maiden replied softly.

"It is a fair exchange, is it not? You want something from me, and I want something from you. An even deal.

"

"Alternatively, I could just threaten you for the info I want,

" I said with a grin.

"And if you don't give in, worst case scenario, I kill you and find it myself. I have a tracker leading me to it, after all.

"

But despite my words, the shrine maiden was not at all fazed, and only blinked her snake-like eyes at me once.

"I assure you, you will not be able to reach the obelisk without my help,

" she said.

"Within Atlantis, there are many puzzles and secrets. None are intuitive. If you wish to know how to get past them and reach your goal, you will need my assistance. You know that as well, which is why you sought me out in the first place, am I wrong?

"

Hm… this woman… she's observant. But that also makes her dangerous… I'll have to keep my guard up when working with her.

"… Fine. I accept your conditions. What do you need me to do?

"

"…

" The shrine maiden fell silent briefly, then turned back around and faced the wall in front of her.

"This place is called Atlantis. It was once a glorious utopia for the riversnake race. We had a bountiful civilization, a happy community, and a well-established order. Everything was going perfectly. While the surface humans lived on the surface, we lived down here. Neither bothered the other, neither even knew of the other's existence.

"

We listened to her story quietly as the shrine maiden lifted her arm and traced her fingers across the wall, as if reminiscing about something.

"But then… they came.

"

The girls and I exchanged glances briefly, and Feng Mian raised the question.

"… Who's they?

"

The shrine maiden turned around to face us once more.

"I know not what their name is in your tongue. But we riversnakes call them the 'Kurl'Narx'. Invaders, in your language. That obelisk you speak of, emitting blue energy… it was left by them.

"

My eyes widened. So these 'invaders' are the Hex…

"They opened up a door to Atlantis from the surface, and came here to capture our land, kill our people. Nearly all the riversnakes have now gone extinct. I… am the only survivor.

"

"How did you survive?

" Feng Mian asked.

"Was it just luck…?

"

"I wish it was,

" the shrine maiden said.

"That way, I could feel less guilty. But I… was raised by humans.

"

"Wait, what?

"

Now that was a surprise.

"I know not what happened when I was born. I was raised as a shrine maiden, working at a human church. But when I turned of age, I found out what happened to my race. My home. After all, I could not disguise myself as something I was not forever. As I aged, my riversnake features grew more and more prominent. I could not pretend to be human anymore. I could not keep on lying to myself anymore.

"

"… So you came back down here, and remained alone for… several thousand years? Wow…

" Qing Yue mused in awe.

"Yes. You are the first humans to have ventured down into these ruins of Atlantis since myself.

"

"… I see. And what do you need us to do?

" I asked, to which the shrine maiden closed her eyes.

"It is a simple task, really. Do you see the tower at the center of this underground city?

"

I gave a nod. It was the massive tower with the half-broken serpent sculpture at the top of it. How could one even miss it?

"I need you to go there, and activate the lever,

" she continued.

"It is as simple as that. Once you have done so, come back here and meet me. Then, you will find the information you are searching for.

"

"Uh… got it,

" I said.

"But… what will pulling the lever do?

"

"Erase my suffering,

" the shrine maiden said.

"Now that I have passed the story onto someone else, it is time for me to forget it all.

"

"I… see…

"

I wasn't entirely sure what she meant, but it wasn't my position to question any further. Bidding us farewell and good luck, the shrine maiden left us to our own devices, and without delaying any further, the girls and I headed for the tower in the distance.

I imagined the dangers the village people were speaking of were the riversnakes that originally inhabited here, but they'd been wiped out by the Hex. Either way, the dangers that once dwelled down here were now replaced with nothing but these… mostly harmless creatures made of water, and although they stung like jellyfish if you came into contact with one (I got careless and learned the hard way, though Qing Yue fixed it right after), they didn't deal any lasting damage.

This made the actual terrain the most challenging part of getting to the tower. We had to fly across numerous islands, venture up somewhat tedious and tiring mountains, and at last, climb to the very top of the tower.

On the way, we did some exploring, of course. The ruins in this place were quite fascinating—just like the shrine maiden said, the riversnakes down here had established a whole civilization of their own. They even had places similar to those on the surface—a library, a council meeting room, and hell, even a hot spring, if that's what it was.

We also discovered a lot of evidence that the riversnakes were on par with if not better than any race on the surface, in terms of intelligence. As for physical strength, they similarly were superior to humans, and were pretty even with Demons, I would say, after observing some scraps of their weapons. Judging from their craftsmanship and the like, it was also clear they possessed dexterity on par with the Dwarves, and the existence of this entire underground place would be impossible without powerful magic, possibly on par with the Elves.

To be a powerful race like this, and still completely wiped out by the Hex with ease… just what kind of monsters are these aliens?