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Chapter 111. Beyond The Trap

The Simba Dynasty Ruins... it’s even crazier than I’d heard.

These dolls called "Naglfar" keep popping up, and they’re unusually strong. Even with Elixira using [Raziel], she can only manage to handle two at once. Vanessa’s helping out too, probably just because she doesn’t want to die, but it’s a struggle.

“If you put more effort in, we’d be done already, wouldn’t we!?” 

“Hey, hey… If I went all out here, the ruins would collapse, you know.”

That’s the biggest hassle here. If I unleashed the Grimoire and started rampaging with magic, sure, things might wrap up easier… but destroying a historical structure like the Simba Dynasty Ruins is out of the question for me. So I’m only using the bare minimum attacks by channeling magic into the Verethlagna. But the Naglfar keeps firing beams without any concern for the place, making things difficult. As we move down the main road closer to the castle ruins, the number of attacking Naglfar increases.

“This is getting annoying!” 

“No flashy magic, got it.” 

“We can’t afford to hold back!”

Just as Elixira, in a fit of rage, tries to take down all the surrounding Naglfar at once, luck, for better or worse, catches up with us... Elixira and I step on a trap. Feeling a strange floating sensation, I glance down and see the trap activate, splitting the ground open.

“You’ve got to be kidding!?” 

“What do you think you’re doing!?”

Without worrying about traps, Elixira and I were too focused on the Naglfar, and nearly fell into the pit—if not for Vanessa grabbing us and leaping, we’d have been toast.

“Hurry up and pull yourselves up—you’re heavy!” 

“S-sorry… Please, Vanessa!” 

“Uh—”

As I was about to ask Vanessa to lift us up, one of the Naglfar latched onto us and charged at her mid-air. She barely dodged the charge and let out a sigh of relief, but the next moment, the Naglfar’s core—the heart of its mechanism—overloaded, causing it to self-destruct.

“Wait, no—!” 

“Wahhhh!” 

“We’re falling, aren’t we!?” 

“Elixira, can’t you do something!?” 

“Impossible!”

Damn it! If I’d known this would happen, I’d have asked Jeremiah to teach me that flying magic! Elixira’s [Raziel], can only record spells she understands the principles of, so flight probably isn’t an option here. Vanessa, the only one among us who can fly, seems to have her wings damaged from Naglfar’s self-destruct blast. We’ll definitely hit the ground before she recovers and can fly again!

“Damn it!”

As a last-ditch effort, I pull Elixira and Vanessa close, creating a repulsive force centered on myself to lessen the impact. We drop over ten meters, but thanks to the repulsive force, we land without any injuries. Looking up, the distance is still considerable. Even if Vanessa’s wounds heal and we get out… considering the swarm of Naglfar outside, it would only mean another fall.

“You okay?” 

“Y-yeah, somehow…” 

“Barely hanging on here.” 

“As long as you can say that, you’ll be fine.”

With demon-kind’s healing abilities, we won’t die, but Vanessa’s wounds aren’t minor, so I won’t push her. The place we’ve landed in is… quite spacious. I was expecting some spike trap or something, but we’ve only fallen into a dark void.

“See anything?”

As I conjure a flame from my hand to illuminate the surroundings, Elixira comes closer.

“…Looks like there’s a path over there. But having a passage beyond a pitfall trap practically screams ‘trap’.” 

“Yeah, but going back up isn’t an option.” 

“Most likely, no.”

The choices here are either go back up and get sniped, or move forward and risk more traps… This place is messed up. But if a city had such intense defense mechanisms, then it’s clear the ancient dynasty must have been in constant conflict with some force—whether it was demons, humans, or some other yet-undiscovered entity. I believe the clues to that mystery are hidden in these ruins.

“Let’s move. There’s no other choice.” 

“But…” 

“I said, there’s no other choice.”

There don’t seem to be any other routes, and I can hear the Naglfar moving above us. If we linger here, they’ll start pouring down one after another… We need to move fast. I help Vanessa stand and begin feeling my way through the dark. There’s no way this place doesn’t have traps like those above, so I cautiously illuminate our surroundings as we proceed.

“…A candelabra?” 

“They’re lined along the walls… Shall I light them?” 

“Hold up. What fuel would keep them burning? I don’t see any candles.”

Golden candelabras line both walls, stretching far into the distance. It’s an extravagant, flashy corridor, but we can’t forget that this place lies right beyond the trapdoor.

“I’m lighting them up!” 

“…!”

Perhaps bothered by the darkness, Elixira immediately moves to light the candelabra with her flame magic… but I yank her back hard.

“Eek!” 

“An enemy?”

Just as she moves to light a candelabra, an arrow shoots out from deep down the passage. It must be a trap-triggered arrow… but nothing obvious was stepped on. I can’t figure out what triggered it, making it hard to proceed safely.

“It’s coming again!” 

“Reacting to magic, huh?”

The moment I extend a flame from my hand and step forward, arrows shoot from down the corridor. Grabbing one of the arrows mid-air, I notice its tip is designed to pierce flesh. And… it’s coated in poison.

“A nasty trap, this is.” 

“So what do we do? Arrows shoot out when they sense magic, but it’s too dark to see our footing.” 

“…We push through.” 

“What?” 

“You’re kidding, right?”

With Elixira and Vanessa held close, I generate a repulsive force and dash forward.

“You’re insane—!” 

“This is unreal…!”

It’s the fastest way.