by Terasu Senoo
“I should probably deactivate it while we’re searching.”
Eduard’s a kind, soft-spoken soul. Unfortunately, he has no mercy or inhibitions where alchemy is concerned.
Erika realized that if they had continued their charge through this floor without noticing the golem, her and Claus’ skeletons would be floating with the rest of them. It was beginning to occur to her that her own death flags had practically all been raised by Eduard.
The star crystal necklace. The death trap on the trunk. A Wall-Phase scroll, combined with the dangerously acidic golem.
“Are you alright, Erika? You have a dark look on your face. Is something wrong?”
“Huh? Me? I-I’m fine, Claus.”
Claus’ voice snapped her back to her senses.
Yeah, let’s not go there. I was almost swallowed up by the darkness in my heart. How could I possibly suspect that someone as kind as Eduard was actually trying to murder his little sister? Let’s trust people a bit more.
Changing gears, Erika began the necessary work to deactivate the golem. With a normal golem of clay or metal, this would be a hard task for anyone besides the original creator. Against a transparent, slow-moving golem, however, even Erika could work with it.
She first stepped out in front of the quivering gelatinous cube, held up her lantern, and inspected its innards. With Glámr-Sight, she immediately spotted an ostracon engraved with sigils among the countless bones. This was its core.
Huh? There’s something floating near the core...
She spared no time in alerting her traveling companion, “Claus, there’s something floating inside the golem...”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Over there. Doesn’t that look like Anne’s hairpin?”
Claus stared long and hard at the item, which was suspended in the cube about a meter off the ground. It was white and presumably made of fine china or bone. The metal fastener seemed to have melted, but its characteristic flower-shaped ornaments still remained.
“No...!”
“Don’t worry, Anne couldn’t have been using a Wall-Phase spell.”
Claus was clutching the fabric around his heart, a painfully wretched expression on his face.
“Anne isn’t in there. The golem must have picked that up after she dropped it.”
“Yeah... Yeah, you’re right. From what I can see, there are no human bones. Got it. I’m fine.”
Claus was deathly pale, and he didn’t look the least bit fine. He looked far more cornered now than when he’d thought he would be fighting a powerful undead adversary.
While he was jumping the gun a little, Erika could hardly blame him; his sister’s life was at stake, after all. Despite his brave front, Claus was still only ten years old. The stress this was placing on his heart was unfathomable.
Let’s hope this clue helps lead us to Anne.
“The acid might splash out, so we should stand back.”
Erika retreated before pulling out a Mage Hand wand from her leather bag.
This wand’s shaft was made of yew. Its tip was white opal, and the handle was made of gold designed to look like a spider’s web and spindly feet. The wick was the leg of a gigantic old spider.
When she waved it in her left hand, small, iridescent magic circles surrounded the five fingers of her right hand like rings. Thanks to the Glámr-Sight, she could perceive the formation of invisible fingers inside the golem.
Erika tried opening and closing her hand.
Alright, it’s working.
She felt the invisible fingers flex to mimic her movements.
So long as she could reach the core, stopping the golem was simple. Erika moved her unseen appendages, reaching out to grab the ostracon. She scraped away just one letter from the word “truth”—emet—carved into it, rendering it met, meaning “dead.”
The golem immediately began to lose its shape, rippling and churning like water brought to a rapid boil, then promptly melted into the ground.
“I see, so this is the death of a golem,” Claus muttered in awe. It was rare to see a golem’s demise outside of Aurelia.
The rainbow-colored circles on Erika’s hand quickly faded. She must have used too much strength to scrape at the letter. With how fragile it was, Mage Hand was only really useful for delicate work.
Anne’s hair ornament and the golem’s core fell to the ground amid the hordes of bones. Erika splashed some drinking water over the core to wash away the acid before picking it up. She would need to return it to Eduard later.
Claus retrieved Anne’s hairpin. It was a lovely ornament with elaborate patterns mimicking the flowers on a tea olive tree.
“This is made from the horn of one of the many unicorns that inhabit Hafan’s forests. It’s Anne’s, no doubt about it.”
“That means Anne must have passed through here.”
Ten meters beyond the corner, however, they hit a dead end. The two waved their Urðr-Sight wands together and saw Anne walking toward the very same spot. Her expression turned to shock, and she left in a hurry. Perhaps due to her panic, she didn’t seem to notice she had dropped her hairpin.
She must have seen the lump of bones in the golem, Erika surmised. She heard Claus’ relieved sigh beside her.
“It really feels like we’re getting closer to Anne,” she said. “Although the maze has already changed.”
“It’s fine. As long as we know the direction, we can use the Wall-Phase scroll.”
They still had some time before the first scroll ran out. If they managed to find her soon, they could use the second one to escape together. At least, Erika hoped they’d be able to catch up to Anne before she encountered an ancient, evil spirit.
Erika and Claus recast their Levitate magic, quietly kicking off in the direction Anne had gone.
6
Using Anne’s past traces to guide them, they descended the stairs. They were now on the eighth floor.
Just how deep are we going to go?
Another stairway, no different from the last, put them on yet another level of dreary stone.
However, the scene before them was completely different from any other they had seen in the Seafarer’s Ruins. The stench of death filled the air.
Husks of unfamiliar life-forms littered the ground—bloodstained mammals, mangled reptiles, and crushed giant insects among them. Monsters with far too many legs had been burnt to a crisp, and blood and flesh was scattered about in many, many small pieces.
Erika felt dizzy.
Somewhat fortunately, the corpses had been partially preserved with magic, so the rotting smell hadn’t gotten too bad. She was also lucky that none of the corpses belonged to animals she was familiar with; they were all bizarre, grotesque monsters.
Otherwise, Erika might not have been able to resist the urge to vomit.
The sights and smells were so unnatural to her that she was able to dissociate, and she instead imagined that the carnage before her was merely a scene from a movie or some sort of video game.
Haha... Looks like a gaming addiction can sometimes prove useful.
While this thought certainly fell short of bringing a smile to her face, she at least managed to keep herself from panicking.
“Urgh... Ngh, you okay, Erika?”
“Surprisingly. You?”
“I’m already used to this type of stuff. Yes, stuff. You know, Father and I went to that one place and did that stuff with those things, so...”
“Umm, you’re kind of all over the place, Claus.”
Erika was glad she had someone to talk to. The impact of gory movies could be lessened quite a bit when two people were watching. But Anne, who had seen this alone, was surely much worse off than either one of them.
“Let’s hurry,” Claus urged. “Anne must be close by, I’m sure of it.”
“Right. She’s probably huddled in a corner somewhere...”
A majority of pillars in the room had collapsed, and there were gaping holes all over the place. The
giant gears that shifted the labyrinth were exposed and even damaged in certain places. Someone had used terrifying destructive power here.
“No wonder your brother saved up so many supplies.”
“He was taking on tons of monsters, after all.”
“I was certain we were fully equipped when we left camp, but now I’m not so sure. I shudder to think what would happen if these corpses were all alive and moving.”
Erika also felt a chill. If Eduard’s party hadn’t performed a clean sweep of the monsters, there was no telling what would have become of her, or Claus, or Anne by now. She and Claus were finally starting to see why the Seafarer’s Ruins were said to be the most dangerous place in all of Aurelia.
☆
After walking a while longer, Erika and Claus came to a stop in front of one room in particular. A note had been written by the entrance in moon-gallnut ink.
“Do not step... star... Huh? It’s gone.”
“A thick cloud must be passing over the moon. I believe the first line said, ‘Do not step on the stars.’”
“Something to that effect...”
“I don’t know what will happen if you step on them, but we haven’t seen any stars on the floor so far. No need to worry just yet.”
Erika was growing a bit anxious. Eduard’s notes had always been directions; this was the first time he had written a warning. Erika made a mental note to keep her eyes peeled whenever she entered a room from now on. She wouldn’t want to miss a star marking just because it wasn’t glowing.
Also, the Levitate spell is about to run out, so I should wave the wand again while I have the chance.
All of a sudden, Claus crouched down on the spot, examining something at his feet.
“Did you find a star?”
“No, it’s not that. This is an Eastern spell card. Alarm magic. Its range has been decreased to raise its accuracy. This specialty belongs to...”
Claus jumped to his feet. He entered the room, carefully strafing around the spell card.
“Anne! Are you in here?!”
The room was relatively less damaged than the last. Claus headed closer to a small girl curled up and cowering in the corner.
The girl lifted her head upon noticing Claus and Erika.
Oh, good. We made it in time! Erika breathed a sigh of relief.
“Claus...? And Erika?” the girl murmured in a feeble voice.
The lantern at the end of the staff illuminated her face, which closely resembled Claus’.
Anne was pale from fatigue and dread. One look at her face was enough to tell how hard the journey had been for her. Her cheeks bore the trails of numerous tears.
She started crying all over again, but the meaning behind her tears had shifted.
Claus raced over and hugged her. Anne hugged him back.
“Claus... Oh, Claus! You... You big idiot!”
“I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. It’s because of me that you had to go through such terrifying ordeals...”
“I was so lonely,” she sobbed. “I was so scared...”
“Yeah, I’m really sorry.”
Reuniting with Claus must have opened the floodgates. What started as a whimper exploded into a spell of loud bawling. As Claus patted her head with the gentle expression of a caring big brother, Anne pounded her small fists on his chest like a spoiled child.
“I’m glad you’re alright. I was so worried about you.”
“Oh... That should be my line. Look, you even troubled Miss Erika!”
“Yes, it’s all my fault. You came to these dangerous ruins to stop me, didn’t you?”
“Huh?”
“Hm?”
There seemed to be a peculiar disconnect between them.
“Um, yes. That’s right. I thought I could bring you back peacefully so Father wouldn’t have to know. You’d best be thankful.”
“I see. So you were looking out for me.”
Claus seemed to take her at face value, but Erika noticed the girl’s eyes wandering.
Yeah, can’t say I didn’t see it coming.
If stopping Claus was her sole objective, she would have stopped him when he was trying to put her into a magical sleep. The topic of the ruins had come up during dinner, and Anne must have developed an interest in them as well.
Like brother, like sister. Erika offered a tired chuckle.
Once she had finished crying and regained her composure, Anne parted from Claus. Wiping away her tears, she straightened her back and turned to Erika.
“I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble, Erika.”
“It’s perfectly alright, Anne. I’m just glad you’re safe.”
“Oh, Erika...”
Since Anne was getting teary again, Erika carefully wiped her eyes with a crisp handkerchief. The girl’s face broke out in a smile, the very same one she had shown in the garden.
Erika could finally have some peace of mind.
I had a terrible feeling when we reached this floor, but it looks like everything has ended peacefully! If we make it out of the Seafarer’s Ruins without issue, I’ll have successfully avoided my first death flag. All that’s left is to read the scroll, swing the wand, cross the gate, go home, and get some sleep. Pretty simple, all things considered.
Perhaps there was a lecture in store from their guardians, but it was nothing compared to the perils they could have faced down here. She had managed to avoid an event that would have caused her demise in six years’ time.
Claus took out a mana restoration potion and pressed it to his sister’s lips. She had also lost a large portion of her mana while exploring the ruins.
I’m actually surprised she held on for so long by herself.
Erika was rather impressed. The fact that Anne specialized in precise, concentrated spells rather than long-range ones meant she had an advantage in this particular kind of labyrinth.
Now then, it’s not over until it’s over, as they say. This does feel like a load off my shoulders, but who knows what’s going to happen on the way back? We should rest here until Anne’s in a condition to move again.
“Oh?”
Erika looked around. The labyrinth was beginning to shift once more, but she felt something was off about it. She had heard this sound all too frequently since entering the ruins. Before she knew it, she had grown accustomed and driven it from her mind.
This one feels like it’s going on for a terribly long time, though.
She looked back toward the path they had come from. There wasn’t anything particularly unusual; just some stone scarred by combat and plenty of corpses.
“What’s wrong, Erika?”
“Well, how should I put this? Something feels off...”
Forget stopping—the whirring gradually grew louder and louder. If it wasn’t just her paranoia kicking in, it was almost as if it was approaching them.
“Oh, right. It’s been bothering me for a while now, but do you know what that’s supposed to mean?” Anne asked, pointing.
“‘That’...?”
“Yes. I think it’s moon-gallnut ink, but...”
“Huh?! Erika, snuff the lantern!” Claus yelped. He wrapped his sleeve around the lantern hung on his own staff while Erika stuffed hers into her bag.
The clouds looming in front of the moon outside must have chosen that exact moment to clear. As the children looked on, the entirety of the floor overflowed with golden-yellow specks spread across a blanket of pale blue.
All three of them were standing over a starry sky painted with moon-gallnut ink.
A chill raced down Erika’s spine as she once again recalled the warning at the entrance.
Do not step on the stars, or else—
Or else what? What was going to happen? Erika timidly slid her shoes out of the danger zone. There was a star right where she had been standing.
I know I’m unlucky, but come on...
She cursed her ill fortune and ill-preparedness. She had even been warned!
&nbs
p; The sound of crumbling rock was interrupted by Claus’ scream. “Anne! Erika! Your hands!”
Erika’s field of vision was beginning to tilt diagonally. No, it was the labyrinth’s very floor that was beginning to tilt. The hard stone surged and dipped like a stormy sea.
The floor, the walls, the pillars, and the ceiling—the entire room crumbled and fell.
Erika, Claus, and Anne were thrown straight into free fall.
Seriously? This is where I die? Just when we finally found each other!
Erika condemned herself sharply in her own mind. Claus just barely managed to grab Anne, as she was close enough, but Erika had given the siblings some space for an emotional reunion and therefore fell separately.
Protecting Anne, Claus deployed several hundred spell cards like an umbrella. He had erected a protective circle to defend her from the falling debris. Neither Erika nor Claus needed to worry about this, as the Wall-Phase spell let all the rubble pass through them.
“Claus! The Feather Fall wand!”
“Got it!”
Erika barked a short order before pulling out her own wand as well. She and Claus swung them in unison.
Below them, a white magic circle spread out like a thin membrane. As they burst through it, the circle disintegrated into small, feather-like shapes. The children were surrounded by a soft wall of air, as if gravity had dissipated, and something gentle was supporting their bodies.
Their fall speed dropped drastically. The shattered stone and remnants of labyrinth gears raced past them to the bottom.
“Anne! Are you okay?”
“Y-Yes! Thanks to Claus, I’m unharmed!”
“How about you, Erika?”
“I’m fine. Couldn’t be better.”
Claus and Anne reached out for Erika, but five meters was a difficult distance to span.
Erika retrieved her animated rope from her bag and gave it an order.
“Stretch like a snake! Fasten like a hawser!”
Like a serpent striking at its prey, the rope coiled up and then shot forward. It drew a gentle parabola in the air before firmly twining around Claus’ arm.
“You really are well-prepared.”
“I may not be much, but I’m still an Aurelian alchemist!”
