Something is under the rubble and I don't think it was just nothing. I took out my Versatile Weapon and changed it to a gauntlet and began digging into the rubble by grabbing the big stones fallen over while destroying the rocks that cannot be easily carried into pieces easy to grab and hold. While I was busy digging, Queen Tori seems to have noticed my actions.
"Did you find something, Bladeheart?"
"Yeah. But I am not that sure just yet. I think there is something underneath here," I pointed into the rubble I was clearing.
"Then let me help as well. If you think there is something underneath it, then there must be something in there."
Queen Tori summons a few of her shikigami and commands them to grab the rocks and help clear the rubble. A few whiles later, Queen Tanya also returned and saw what are we currently doing.
"You guys found something now?" Queen Tanya asked as she headed in our direction.
"Not yet but I think there is something under the rubble. The Key to the Sanctum is currently reacting to what was under it."
"Alright, I will help out as well."
Queen Tanya raises the sleeves of her reaper outfit and helped to carry a few of the rocks. I am impressed as she was able to carry a few heavy rocks though she can only do so much and she has to rest a couple of times. This allowed Queen Tori to mock her for this though Queen Tanya didn't mind as she was indeed not as energetic compared to when she was fighting.
After a few more hours of digging through the rubble, we soon dug up something. It was glowing green and it looks like a slab of emerald but we can't see its whole as the rest are still under the rubble.
"I don't know how big was buried under here but seeing that there is indeed something beneath the pile of rubble made me think there must be a significance in what this thing does."
"Is there any way to remove the rubble without the need for us to keep on carrying out the big rocks? This is getting annoying and hard at the same time."
Unfortunately, we don't have any kind of way to remove the rubble as fast and efficiently as possible and it wouldn't be also a good idea to use a strong explosive spell just to remove all of it as this may also damage the item below the rubble.
In the end, Queen Tanya sits out of this as she can't handle the workload enough for too long and decided to instead guard the perimeter instead. As for Queen Tori, she is unable to do the same thing as Queen Tanya but she has the strong shikigamis to help out so it was fine.
So, we decided to use up all our time clearing the rubble and by the time we are done with the job, the sun has already set, Queen Tanya already made a small camp and catch a beast to butcher and eat while Queen Tori finally recalled her shikigami and rest. Even if she didn't do any physical labor, she drained a lot of her mana just to keep the shikigami moving so it was still taxing for her.
But since things are done, we finally have the chance to rest. Instead of checking out the newly dug-out thing under the rubble, I headed to the camp along with the other two as I am also pretty tired as hell especially since I didn't rest once.
"Yo, Bladeheart, have some food before going back there," Queen Tanya waved the thigh meat that she was grilling a few moments ago in the air.
The two are already eating the food that was being cooked and I am the last one who have yet to eat.
"Ha...it would have been nice if we have some kind of beer to drink while enjoying the meat. It's sad that there is no access to that right now," Queen Tanya sighed and bit off the meat she was holding.
"I absolutely agree. Nothing like a cold beer after a hard day's work," Queen Tori nodded while also enjoying the meat.
"Oh, you guys like to drink huh?" I bit off on my own share as well.
"No. I don't think my stomach can handle it and the first response of my body once I do consume one is to either puke it out or I get a very bad stomachache."
"Eh...well, that's too bad huh? But I guess it's your body's way of telling that they don't like it so I guess you shouldn't push it. Anyways, let's get back to the topic of the thing that was buried. So, did you already check what it was?"
"Nope. I was tired and hungry that I didn't bother to check it just yet. After eating this though, I will be checking it out. But all I can tell is that it was some kind of an obelisk toppled over."
"An obelisk?"
"Yeah. It's kind of an obelisk that was made from emerald gem though I don't think that was the main case. It's just that it looks like that for me."
"Ho...an obelisk huh. Interesting. An obelisk can have a strong power charge if placed and used correctly. Seeing that this was being used for the sanctum, I would guess that it must be part of the device that makes the wind work, or perhaps it was just the single usage of the obelisk," Queen Tanya scratches her chin.
"I didn't know you are knowledgeable in this matter, Sis," Queen Tori looked at Queen Tanya in disbelief.
"Hey, I know I am a muscle-brained woman but that doesn't mean I am dumb. It's more like this expertise I have with that is due to the fact that I encounter many obelisks in ruins that works in the same way. We needed to inspect it and see what this thing was all about."
I finished up my food and returned to the obelisk this time since I am curious about what was the event that will happen after investigating the obelisk.
Since the rubble that was covering the whole obelisk was cleared up, I made it stand back up again. Since my strength wasn't enough, I asked Atlas for help. The shikigami of Queen Tori also helped as well. This time around, Queen Tanya also pitched in as this is not as arduous as before.
The moment we put it back up, the obelisk glows a green color brightly into the night, causing the area to light up due to the light emitting to it. Not only that but strong winds started blowing around as well. Then, a few seconds later, some kind of operation happened on the obelisk as it suddenly activated, and some kind of lines that resembles neon lights moved up and down in many different manners.
After a few more seconds, the glow finally subsided but the "neon lights" that is moving on the obelisk did not disappear and continued to move around. I wasn't sure what it was but I tried to touch the obelisk. There wasn't any kind of obvious reaction this time around so we inspected it again but after a while of inspecting it, we stopped doing those as it ended up fruitless and the obelisk was not responding at all.
"Hmm...nothing is happening, Bladeheart," Queen Tanya tilted her head.
"Yeah, that's strange..." I frowned and inspected it one more time in case we just missed something obvious.
"Perhaps this will function if something was used to it? Like some kind of key item?"
A key item. Hmmm, the only key item I have that is currently related to the obelisk in the sanctum itself is the key. But hey, it might be worth the try especially since it was reacting to it earlier. There must be some kind of operation that might activate if the key is somewhat involved.
Pulling out the key from my inventory, the obelisk suddenly glow bright and the emerald on the key also started glowing as well and the light that was currently released from the key suddenly connects to the obelisk. As soon as it connected, the key flew off my hand and landed on the obelisk and fit itself on the obelisk.
The moment that happened, the strong winds started to behave and an input suddenly appeared before my eyes.
[Please insert the Wind Relic to begin the operation]
"What now, Bladeheart?" Queen Tanya is ready to go in battle mode anytime.
"We needed to insert the Wind Relic before we can begin any sort of operation involving the obelisk."
"Looks like if we grab the relic out and return it, here the winds will soon become operable as well," Queen Tori grinned.
"Yeah. It seems we are now going to be retrieving the wind relic and destroying the f*cker who stole it sooner than later," Queen Tanya grinned.