Deathbound Duke’s Daughter: Volume 1

by Terasu Senoo

  This is how a diligent genius is born, she mused.

  “Magic that allows you to freely pass through walls? That sounds so convenient that it’s almost unfair.”

  “It hurts a little to do it like this, but right now, we’re in a race against time.”

  “You’re right.” Erika nodded. With both Anne’s life and hers at stake, there was no time to waste painstakingly wandering the maze. Even Eduard had prepared this rule-breaking spell for his own expedition.

  Erika decided to just accept her big brother’s little cheat.

  “Having this just makes me detest the moving corridors even more. If this were a normal maze, we could just walk through it from one end to the other.”

  “If we don’t know the rules behind how it works, it wouldn’t be strange for us to make a fatal mistake.”

  The Seafarer’s Ruins changed over time, and it also changed based on shifting weight. It wasn’t as if Eduard had left a message in every single room. And even if they did have hints, it was unreasonable to try to figure out the laws of the labyrinth given what little time they had.

  “If only we could at least keep it from changing,” Claus groaned.

  “Then we either have to control time or weight.”

  “Time manipulation is one of the most powerful forms of magic. I’ve memorized the spell, but I’m too immature to use it. It’s never succeeded, not once.”

  “You’ve already memorized such a high-level spell?”

  “Anyone can commit words to memory. You’re only first-rate when you can actually put them into practice.”

  “Then I’m sure you’ll be able to do it once you become an adult.”

  “No, it seems I lack emotional strength. It must be because I’ve never experienced any terrifically strong emotions in my life.”

  Erika took in his sincere expression with a hint of admiration.

  But if time manipulation doesn’t work, that only leaves weight. How can we trick the weight sensors? Weight, weight, weight... Ah, maybe that wand can do it.

  “Claus, I have a Levitate wand. If we combine that with the Wall-Phase scroll—”

  “Oho, flying magic! Then we can essentially ignore the changing labyrinth!”

  The Levitate wand’s shaft was carved from the fossilized bones of a large winged wyvern. Its tip was amber, and its brass handle was carved in the likeness of a feather. The wick was a fossilized plume from an Urvogel.

  It was an incredibly expensive wand, but now was not the time to be stingy.

  Unlike the Flight spell, Levitate did not allow for finer adjustments to altitude, but if they wanted to avoid the maze’s contraptions, floating even a little above the ground would be enough.

  “Looks like we have a plan,” Claus declared. “We’ll use the Levitate wand and Wall-Phase scroll in tandem to search every corner of every floor, one at a time.”

  “If we throw in the Urðr-Sight wand, too, we should be able to cut our time down quite a bit.”

  “We have two Wall-Phase scrolls. Considering we’ll need one to get out of here, we should turn back if we can’t find Anne before the first one runs out.”

  “I suppose we have no choice. In that case, let’s leave some notes to safely guide her to Eduard’s camp.”

  With only the moon-gallnut ink on the walls, the weather might prevent Anne from noticing at all. Dropping pieces of parchment with detailed instructions in conspicuous places such as doorways would certainly raise her chances of finding them.

  “I know I’m repeating myself, but if you start feeling off in any way whatsoever, we’re getting out of here. No matter how much time is left on the Wall-Phase spell.”

  “Claus, I...”

  “I’m worried about Anne, but I will never forgive myself if I let anything happen to you. If only I’d been a little more cautious, if I had just looked at the mana around that chest, we could have prevented that trap.”

  Erika was both thankful for his sincere conviction and happy to see how worried he was for her sake. Still, she had tripped the trap with her own carelessness; there was no reason for Claus to feel responsible. Feeling pessimistic, she pushed to close the lid on the subject.

  “You’re pretty persistent, Claus. Please keep your concern for me in moderation.”

  “You...”

  He fell silent, a frown on his face. By now they had finished sorting through supplies, so they prepared to depart.

  Claus had found a belt in the supply chest that was made to hold the potion vials. He wrapped it around his waist, over the robe, and filled every single one of its specially shaped metal slots with a mana restoration potion. After drinking three of the potions, which the belt couldn’t hold, he tucked the rest into a cloth bag over his shoulder.

  Three at once... He’s only ten, but his mana capacity is immense.

  Erika was genuinely impressed. She had once heard that an average adult magician could fill up on only two potions.

  One’s maximum mana capacity was a result of daily training, meaning it was brought about by sheer hard work and effort. As Claus was only a young boy, he had surely worked harder than anyone else. Erika couldn’t help but admire him.

  “What? What are you looking at me like that for?” Claus’ face suddenly flushed as he noticed her gaze.

  “I was just thinking that you sure have a lot of mana. Were those potions enough to completely replenish your stock?”

  “Oh, so that’s what this is about. Well, if my long-range magic wasn’t being cut off, I’d have enough to run search magic through every floor we’ve been to all at once.”

  “Wait, Claus, now that I’ve gotten a better look at you, your face is quite red. Are you holding up alright?”

  Erika moved her face right in front of his as soon as she noticed a change in his complexion. Her concerned stare was turning him redder and redder.

  “Erm, yes... I wonder why. Perhaps the potions are alcoholic...?”

  Claus turned his head the other way and began organizing his spell cards at an incredible pace. His dexterity was reminiscent of a master illusionist shuffling a deck of playing cards. Separating them into piles of twenty, he slid them into an assortment of pockets hidden all throughout his robe.

  Hm? How many of those did he take with him?

  Just a slight glance, and Erika could see far more than 300 spell cards stuffed up one of his sleeves.

  “Don’t tell me you took every single card... There were at least two thousand of them.”

  “We might run into a dangerous monster if we keep going down. Two thousand is hardly enough.”

  “You Hafan magicians have it rough.”

  “We value preparation just as much as you do. Fundamentally, we’re the same as Aurelian alchemists. We differ greatly from Lucanlandt’s swordsmen, who need only their own bodies, and Ignitia’s dragoons, who are peerless so long as they have their dragons.”

  “And yet you came to the ruins so lightly equipped...”

  “There was something wrong with me then, I’ll admit. I’m repenting. I won’t do it again.”

  It was hard to retort when he was already feeling so ashamed. Claus’ conduct originated from the vampyre’s curse to begin with, so she didn’t intend to condemn him for it.

  “I understand. I’ll trust you on that.”

  Erika tied her lantern to her leather bag and equipped a belt fitted with wand holsters. She took two Magic Missile and Lightning Bolt wands from the offensive stash as well as a Levitate, Feather Fall, and Urðr-Sight wand from her utility set and stuck them all into the holsters. Too many, and it would be too confusing to select the right one at a moment’s notice. These would be enough.

  “Keep a manageable amount in your belt, and swap them out with your bag to adapt to the situation. That’s how an alchemist fights.”

  She recalled what Eduard once told her.

  “Oh, Claus, you should take these—a Levitate wand and a Feather Fall wand. They’re both pretty short-range, so pleas
e refrain from using them on the move.”

  “I understand the Levitate wand, but when am I supposed to use a Feather Fall wand?”

  “It’s indispensable. There’s no guarantee this place doesn’t have pitfalls, or you might need it if you levitate too high. Levitation magic is more finicky than I’d like to admit, and it’s easy to accidentally wave it a few too many times.”

  “How bad is it, exactly?”

  “Waving it once generally gets you five centimeters of lift. Stack it again for twenty-five. Another for one hundred and twenty-five. You rise exponentially higher with each swing.”

  “Hmm, that’s interesting.”

  Claus was staring at the wand like a child eyeing a brand-new toy, so Erika was certain she would have to keep him from waving the Levitate wand in excess.

  “Let’s get going, Erika. We’re running out of time.”

  “Yes, of course. We don’t have a second to waste.”

  Once Claus had finished reading through the Wall-Phase scroll, a white light spread out from his staff and deployed a magic circle over their heads. Beads of light emerged from the circle and showered down upon them like raindrops. The drops phased straight through the both of them, rippling as they touched the ground and forming yet another circle. These two circles slowly crossed to sandwich them, and the children were enveloped by the white tracks of light left in their wake.

  After reaching out to the nearest wall and confirming that the magic had indeed done its job, Erika swung her wand of amber, bone, brass, and plume twice. Feathers made of golden light danced through the air and fell to the ground at their feet. The feathers burst upon coming into contact with their shoes, their atomized components reshaping into golden circles.

  Levitation magic spread out and covered their soles, hoisting Erika and Claus up into the air. The two held hands to make sure they didn’t lose each other, then kicked at the empty air below, sending themselves barreling straight through the solid wall ahead.

  5

  For both Erika and Claus, this was their first time experiencing a Wall-Phase spell. As their physical bodies merged into the solid matter, they were graced by an unknown, incomprehensible sensation.

  No, wait, thought Erika. This actually feels kinda familiar.

  She dredged up the memories of a life gone by.

  Yes, this is like walking through a strip curtain. It’s like a three-meter corridor made of rows upon rows of strip curtains running the length of my entire body.

  Erika had never expected to feel a sense of familiarity here of all places.

  What exactly is magic, anyway? Oh, but this is surprisingly fun!

  The Levitate wand’s effect would last approximately ten minutes. One could tell it was about to end when the magic circles on the soles of their feet had shrunk by half.

  Before the magic would no longer be able to support their weight, Erika and Claus swung their wands again.

  “Hey, maybe on the way back we could just phase straight through the outer wall of the ruins like this,” Claus suggested. “Don’t you think it would save some of your wand uses?”

  “That’s a little too risky.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “The Seafarer’s Ruins are surrounded by considerably thick bedrock. If we get lost in it and don’t make it out before the spell runs out...”

  “We’ll be crushed to death. Tragic.”

  “Very tragic. Additionally, even if we do get through the rock, the outside is mostly surrounded by sea. If we get our angle wrong...”

  “We’ll drown. Brutal.”

  “Too brutal. I don’t want to have to deal with any more absurd deaths.”

  “More... what?”

  “Nothing, just talking to myself.”

  “Uhh...”

  Claus was looking at her with suspicion, so Erika hurriedly averted her eyes. She had quite nearly run her mouth about the colorful compendium of little Erika’s mysterious deaths in Liber Monstrorum. Who would believe something so ridiculous as past-life memories?

  Since her mouth was sealed tighter than a clam, Claus shook his head in resignation.

  “Whatever. Just keep your eyes peeled,” he said with a sigh, and she was immensely relieved to hear he wasn’t going to dig deeper.

  From then on, the two of them explored at a breakneck pace. Now that they could access every room, they were finally beginning to see Anne in their Urðr-Sight.

  The images were all from a considerable while ago. Even if they wanted to follow Anne’s traces, the labyrinth had already changed, and her specter would quickly vanish into a passage that no longer existed. Nevertheless, Claus seemed more at ease, if only slightly. Surely this was because he was finally seeing Anne moving around, alive and well.

  I need to get him to the real one, and fast, thought Erika.

  What would happen if the siblings were parted by death? Imagining such a dreary future made her chest ache.

  “Hold it, Erika. There’s something there.”

  It happened two floors below where they had found Eduard’s camp. Claus spread his arms out to cover Erika and stared down the corridor.

  “Really? What is it?”

  “There are vibrations in the air, and I can hear something dragging along the floor. Must be some monster or beast your brother missed.”

  Claus’ words caught her off-guard. A monster? Now? She was definitely equipped for battle, but she clearly wasn’t mentally prepared for actual combat. She started off by sharpening her ears; a faint grating noise was certainly approaching them bit by bit.

  Were they better off running or attacking? She had no idea, so she looked to Claus.

  “Don’t move yet. Stay behind me.”

  “Okay, got it.”

  Still protecting Erika behind him, Claus readied his staff like a spear at waist height. Erika, meanwhile, tried to swap out the wand in her hand and froze mid-motion. Support? Attack? Should she have taken out her Paralyze wand?

  “Don’t overdo it. Be ready to run at any time.”

  “Y-Yes...”

  “I’ll keep you safe. Your job, for starters, is to calm down. A panicking ally is scarier than an enemy on the battlefield.”

  “You’re pretty calm, Claus.”

  “I’ve been trained for combat, and I’ve accompanied my father on hunts and exorcisms before.”

  Erika was surprised to hear that the duke and his son personally ventured out to perform exorcisms. Back when the dukes were still kings, however, Hafan’s royalty doubled as an assembly of the highest priests in service to their aboriginal sun god. The tradition must have carried on.

  A squirming shadow emerged from around the corner. Claus swiftly snatched two spell cards from his breast pocket, threw them at the shadow, and quickly chanted a short incantation. The cards deployed a circle as they flew, forking off in different directions as each emitted a powerful glow. They landed on opposite sides, the top right and bottom left of the corridor, shedding light on the identity of their shadowy foe.

  “A moving amalgamation of bone?! How many died to make this thing?!”

  It was a crude collection of the bones of various beasts suspended in the air. How many dozens... no, hundreds of creatures had those bones belonged to? The creeping horror was so massive that it was impossible to tell their original numbers; it occupied the entirety of the corridor from wall to wall, undulating as it approached them.

  “It has enough magic resistance to fend off my Glámr-Sight. No, wait, this monster boasts a magic composition I’ve never heard of...? What is this thing?!”

  “Claus, that’s—”

  “Listen up. When I give the signal, back away without turning around. If you charge in a straight line with your Levitate wand, the Wall-Phase spell should last you to the exit.”

  Claus’ face was tense. After shooting a fleeting glance at Erika, he pulled about a hundred spell cards from his sleeve. No matter how much combat experience he had, it would definitely be a difficult battl
e against an undead foe composed of so many corpses. Having encountered such a massive creature, it would be difficult for him to return alive.

  But Erika, on the contrary, was relieved the moment she saw the monster.

  “It’s alright, Claus.”

  “What?”

  “That is an automaton made by my brother—an acid-hydrogel golem.”

  “Huh?!”

  The mass of bones stretching out far and wide before them was no undead; the bones were simply suspended in transparent gel. Unlike a normal golem, this gelatinous golem wasn’t humanoid and instead resembled a cube.

  Its flexible body allowed it to occupy the entire corridor, swallowing everything in its path without leaving so much as a scrap as it oozed along the floor.

  A few days before her past-life memories had returned, Erika remembered seeing a prototype of it in Eduard’s room. It had looked like a quivering lump of apple jelly.

  At the time, she just thought it seemed somewhat convenient, and she never could’ve imagined that the real one would be this big.

  There you go again, Eduard... It required so many rare materials, yet you upscaled it this much.

  “Its innards are made of a strong acid, but the outside is a neutral, semi-solid gel,” Erika explained, staring in wonder at her brother’s creation. “It only dissolves dead bodies; any valuable materials it comes in contact with are coated in the neutral substance and protected. A smart and safe golem, he said.”

  “What?! Why did he release something like that in this labyrinth?!”

  “To clean up, I assume. You can see just how many monster corpses there were. The bones were preserved so he could collect them for his research later.”

  “God! How misleading!”

  My thoughts exactly. Erika shot him a wry smile. But she would prefer it if he directed those complaints at Eduard.

  As she was talking with Claus, Erika realized something else.

  “Ah, if we charge into it with Wall-Phase active, we’ll go through its outer wall and die instantly.”

  “Curse you, Eduard Aurelia! How dangerous can you be?!”