Chapter 22
THEY CONTINUED DOWN the pitch-black passage until they spotted faintly wavering lamplight in the distance. Someone was up ahead—Mira doused her light and prepared for battle as she pressed on.
But when they drew near, it became clear that the light was just an unattended fixture. It was quite lacking compared to the light spirit’s illumination, unreliable and eerie. And instead of being placed at regular intervals, these were seemingly placed at random, adding to the spookiness.
However, nobody would set up and maintain pointless light sources. Mira and Scorpion followed the lights farther in.
Along the way, they looked into the sparse rooms and searched for clues. But though this was supposedly a burial ground, they didn’t find any skeletons or grave goods. Perhaps because of that, they found no security guards as they warily searched deeper and deeper.
***
Twenty minutes after they’d entered the catacomb of the War-Torn Burial Ground, Mira and Scorpion came across a staircase leading yet deeper underground. It was only a hundred meters down, but the stair heights were irregular, and the small blue flames along the walls flickered uncannily.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if these stairs took us straight to the underworld,” said Mira casually.
Scorpion put her hands over her furry cat ears with a worried look and sidled closer. “Mira, shut up…”
She was fine with the dark but…but the occult was a bridge too far.
They gradually descended until they arrived at a wide-open area.
“Now we come to the heart of the mystery,” Mira murmured.
It was built like an amphitheater, with a staircase leading to the lower level below. To the left and right were spiraling staircases that circled the central open space. Along those walkways were many openings to small rooms. At a glance, it became clear that this was the true center of the burial ground.
“So, all of these holes are supposed to be graves?” Mira looked all around and sighed at the extraordinary burial place. Just how many corpses lay within?
The amphitheater was filled with bright light courtesy of a tower that stood in the very middle of the giant room.
“Seems like that place is really special, huh?” Scorpion gazed up at the tower, which extended all the way to the ceiling. She was right; it was obviously significant, with myriad figures and symbols etched into its surface.
“Agreed. We should search for clues.”
The lowest level of the tower had an opening which seemed to be an entrance to its interior. It seemed to be the nexus of the War-Torn Burial Ground—it would surely contain some valuable clues. The two proceeded to the central tower. But when they finally reached the clearing at the bottom and stood before it, Mira suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“Somebody is inside.”
Something had triggered Mira’s Biometric Scan. Though obstacles could interfere with its range, she had felt no responses other than Scorpion’s all along the way. But now she had found someone inside the tower. It seemed they hadn’t moved for some time, and they seemed to be above the duo.
“Oh, they’re up above, huh?” Scorpion focused her senses and listened carefully. It was already late into the night, and there were no patrolling guards.
Who could it be? The two wondered if someone was illegally stealing artifacts again.
But if someone was there, then that must mean that something was there.
“I would say this merits investigation,” Mira declared.
“For sure!”
They might find a valuable clue. The pair suppressed their rash impulses and stepped warily into the tower.
The inside was bright as well, with a spiral staircase leading up. There was a central room on each floor with an entrance to the staircase. The layout meant there was only one way up and one way down, leaving a chance they might stumble into the stranger unprepared—but their keen senses would hopefully prevent that.
They tiptoed through the second and third floors, arriving at the fourth. The stranger was ahead.
Mira and Scorpion stuck close to the wall and peered into the room.
In the fourth-floor room were three coffins. Two of them were open, while one was still closed. There were hollows in the walls where the coffins had been stored. And it was clear who had dragged them out—inside was a suspicious individual wearing a mask that concealed their features completely.
Hm? That seems to be spirit equipment. Its element is fire, and its effect is…probably reflection? And it’s yin again… Noticing the person’s coat, Mira immediately intuited its traits. She could definitely discern the effects of spirit equipment just by looking at it; this was clearly the effect of the Spirit King’s blessing.
But something seemed off. This place was full of oni curses that kept Wasranvel from entering—so why was that spirit equipment safe?
“Making me…do this…so darn late at night!” the masked figure grumbled angrily as they wrenched open the third coffin’s lid. Based on the high soprano of their voice, they seemed to be a woman.
Mira stopped thinking for a moment and focused her attention on the stranger’s actions. After opening the coffin, the woman, whose short, purple hair was visible above the mask, grumbled some other complaints and rummaged around inside.
Mira watched for a moment before backing away. She made a go down signal to Scorpion and descended the stairs. From there, the two hid in the third-floor room and began a hushed strategy meeting.
“She’s not a security guard, right?” Scorpion asked.
“Right. The coat she’s wearing is a powerful piece of yin spirit equipment. And it isn’t weakened even in the thick of this curse. It may be even stronger than what that elite from the other day had with him.”
The woman on the fourth floor didn’t look especially strong at a glance, but her equipment screamed that she was no normal foe. Her coat emanated spiritual power that felt equal to that of the Chimera Clausen elite whom Mira had fought so recently.
“If she’s really that well-equipped, then I guess she’s no underling, right?”
“Right. And if she’s here, we have to assume she’s with Chimera.”
Chimera’s relationship with the War-Torn Burial Ground was all but confirmed. A suspicious masked woman was doing some unknown work inside, and she had spirit equipment equal to or stronger than that of a Chimera elite—all evidence that led to an obvious conclusion.
“Do you think…this is our chance to bag an elite?” Scorpion asked. She narrowed her eyes like a hunter, focusing her senses on the floor above. The woman had not moved; she seemed to still be rummaging through the same coffin.
“The ideal chance, I’d say.”
It was their opportunity to take another crack at the job they’d failed to accomplish before. The two exchanged slight smiles, then ascended the stairs slowly, ready to investigate the woman further.
***
When they returned, the masked woman seemed to be gathering something from within the coffin. Mira and Scorpion remained pressed to the wall, each girl peeking a single eye around the doorframe to examine every detail. After watching for a while, they pulled back and returned to the room below to resume their meeting.
This time, they discussed their angle of attack. But they were still befuddled; the unknown woman didn’t appear to have any weapons on her, making it impossible to discern her class. Even worse, Mira’s ability to examine others’ stats only worked if they could see the target’s face, and this stranger was wearing a mask.
Combat against other humans always came down to quick wit and application of strategy, so Mira and Scorpion would be at a disadvantage if they didn’t know who they’d be up against. But the coat the woman wore was so thick that it was impossible to tell what lay under it, and they couldn’t tell from her appearance whether she was a warrior or mage.
“We mustn’t underestimate their gear. If she has some spirit blade that she could use despite the curse…the damage would be enormous in this enclosed space.”
Mira thought back on the flame spirit blade the elite had wielded. If something of that strength was unleashed in here, they would be left with no escape and a very troublesome enemy.
Mira explained the information she’d gleaned to Scorpion. Spirit equipment’s abilities varied based on the power of the spirit. That was important to keep in mind for both weapons and armor. Especially so for a coat possibly bolstered by a flame spirit; half-baked attacks would deal no damage and result in a scorching counter.
Even without knowledge of the enemy’s weapon, Mira was confident that she could trounce her. But they had to keep her from going on the defensive and possibly fleeing before they could capture her. A captured elite would not necessarily yield useful information—but this situation called for careful action that allowed them to keep their options open.
They had to end this with a single decisive strike. In the silence, Mira racked her brain for the best way to accomplish this.
“I dunno how much spirit equipment could change things, but I don’t think she’s very strong,” said Scorpion. Despite her carefully noncommittal phrasing, she looked confident.
“Oho. Is that so?” Mira asked.
“Yeah. I watched her posture, footwork, and so on. She doesn’t look like she’s trained.” Scorpion’s judgment was based on her lifetime of experience and training.
“Fascinating. So, you think we’ll find an opening to take advantage of.”
Scorpion’s observational abilities were so advanced that even Mira had to acknowledge them. She put a finger to her chin and began devising a strategy. It was then that Scorpion produced a ball from her pocket.
“I bet we could suppress her before she can deploy her spirit equipment. In fact… Mind if I try something?” Scorpion curved her lips in a mischievous grin.
“Hm? What are you thinking?” Mira gazed at the black ball with knitted brows as her companion toyed with it. At a glance, it looked like deer poo…but it emitted a sweet scent that only served to confuse her further.
“As you’d expect from a country with a completely free market, they sell all kinds of stuff here. This is a sleep drug I made from some rare materials I found in the city’s shops. Light it on fire, and it starts to emit smoke. Just one whiff should put even grand bears to sleep for a whole day.” Scorpion emphasized the should, but she puffed out her chest like Mira always did. She must have been quite sure of it.
“Should? Have you not tried it?”
“The materials are so rare that I couldn’t get my hands on them before, so this is my first time making it. But I followed the recipe exactly, so I think it’ll work!”
Mira looked to her dubiously, which elicited a slight twitch in Scorpion’s self-assured facade…but her confidence didn’t seem to waver much.
The source of her surety lay in the recipe. Every item in the formula was extremely effective, and this particular drug supposedly had a long history of working well.
“Very well. If it doesn’t work, we can simply take her down as previously planned.”
If the drug worked, their objective would be a piece of cake. If it didn’t, then they just went back to Plan A, Mira concluded. Besides, it would be a good chance to observe Scorpion’s spy techniques.
There was some spirit equipment that raised one’s resistance to status effects, but given her new and improved blessing from the Spirit King, Mira had sensed that the woman in question carried no such items. She presumed that the sleeping drug would be more than effective. And if it wasn’t, she could just use her Demon's Eye and abundant mana to subdue this foe by force.
“But we do have another issue,” Mira noted. “Even if this goes well, taking her back will pose some difficulties. The guards at the entrance must be aware that she’s in here. If she disappears now, it’ll be noticed.”
An executive enters, nobody returns… There were four guards stationed at the entrance; no doubt one of them had seen this woman going into the ruins. If she failed to return, someone would come to search for her. And if they found traces of a battle here, they would realize she had been abducted and tighten up security even more. The investigation of Melville Commerce was ongoing—if they incited a panic here, it would only make their job more difficult.
However, leaving traces of a struggle was no issue for Mira and Scorpion—if they could deal with her before a struggle occurred.
“Should we wait for her outside?” Scorpion suggested. “We can probably buy a few days if she goes missing after she leaves.”
“True. We may get a chance to capture her if she’s still alone when she leaves. But it may make things more difficult…”
If she disappeared from here, the guards would notice and raise the alarm by tomorrow at latest. But if they snatched her after she left Melville Commerce’s compound, no one here would have any idea that she’d been abducted. It would make it possible to cover up the abduction’s relationship with the ruins.
Technically, this was a kidnapping. It would have to be done without anyone seeing. Total concealment would help immensely, but they were still up against Chimera Clausen. Putting too much faith in a spirit’s power could easily be their downfall.
After considering their options, they decided. Their current situation—no prying eyes, nowhere to escape, and nobody to help her—was an ideal opportunity.
Moreover, their target looked to be a Chimera elite who might have valuable knowledge…a source of information that the Isuzu Alliance would do anything to get their hands on. They had to take action while they could.
Scorpion fell deep into thought for a moment. Finally, she said, “I’ve got an idea. Wanna hear it?”
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