Lexerra looked at the beast rampaging outside.
It was a kind of beast he’d never seen in his life. Judging by its size and appearance, it was no different from a monster.
Its traits were so diverse that it was hard to believe it was a single entity—like multiple beasts had been fused into one.
And each and every one of them was at the level of a spirit beast.
[Is it really okay to just let him go like that?]
When Ludger said he would go alone, Lexerra hadn’t managed to stop him.
Partly because he was an outstanding mage, but also because his attitude had been so confident.
But seeing that monster slaughtering black mages, unease crept over him.
No matter how strong Ludger was, a real fight was always different.
In real combat, life and death could be decided easily by a trivial mistake, or an external factor.
Even a high-ranking mage wasn’t a perfect superhuman.
In a split second, even a knight could have their head taken off.
“Don’t worry.”
Casey and Veronica, the ones who had sent Ludger off alone, were calm to the point of being carefree.
They didn’t follow to help, and they didn’t clasp their hands together and pray desperately for him to win.
If you looked only at Casey, you’d think Ludger had gone for a stroll somewhere nearby.
[Listen here, detective miss. I think it’s because you haven’t seen that monster with your own eyes—]
At Lexerra’s words, Casey gave a snort.
“Me? Not a chance. I know that monster outside very well. I’ve met things even more horrific than that. I told you it’s fine after considering all of it.”
[Still, there’s always the ‘just in case,’ isn’t there?]
“You think he’ll lose? Sure, he’s young, so you might think ‘maybe,’ even if his magical skill is excellent. But keep this in mind. That man has more real combat experience than any mage. No—if anything, it’s just hidden behind his level in magic... but that’s the truth.”
Casey spoke with such certainty that Lexerra couldn’t argue further.
“Rather than that, let’s look around more. It seems there are still many spaces that haven’t been revealed.”
[Well, if you say it like that, I suppose someone as uninvolved as me has no place butting in. Besides, I was curious about that too.]
Veronica asked.
“Sir Lexerra, hadn’t you taken complete control of this ruin’s system?”
[Me? So that’s how it looked. Sorry to disappoint you, but even I only know about half of this place.]
Lexerra had breathed his soul into the ruin’s magical system and become one with it, but that didn’t mean he could handle everything.
Imagine living as a human in a small house.
If you live there long enough, you know what furniture and objects are in which rooms. You even know the structure and layout of the house.
The longer time passes, the clearer that memory becomes.
But this was different.
It was like moving from a small two-story house into a massive mansion.
The mansion was so enormous that he hadn’t even been able to tour all of it.
Where everything was—he was only just beginning to find his way.
And even if he had become one with the system, it wasn’t as though he could check anything he wanted whenever he pleased.
[This is a research facility. Naturally, each sector has a different security level. What I barely managed to break through was up to this point, where the artificial sun is. Beyond that, I haven’t even been able to confirm yet.]
“Is the security so strict you can’t break through it?”
[Hey now. What do you take me for?! I’m Lexerra! There’s no security I can’t break through if I set my mind to it! It’s just that I didn’t have the time!]
Veronica had asked out of genuine curiosity, but it seemed to strike his pride more than a little.
Lexerra’s hologram walked across the forest.
Casey and Veronica followed behind him.
[Here it is.]
Even a beautiful artificial forest had an end.
Because it was a space built underground, the overall size of the cavern had limits. Still, it was more than large enough, and reaching the opposite end wasn’t difficult.
A door similar to the one they’d entered through stood tall there.
It was smaller than the first, but its sturdiness was on another level. Anyone could tell it was guarding something far more important and confidential.
[I was going to check here, but I lost consciousness before I could.]
But now that the system had restarted, the opportunity had come.
Lexerra placed his hand on the door. His translucent blue palm seeped into the surface.
Bzzzz.
Blue mana circuits flowed across the door’s surface.
They extended outward, stretching farther and farther as though widening their range.
[Hm.]
But the circuits stopped midway, as if blocked by a wall. Lexerra let out a low hum.
[What is this? The security here is on a level that can’t even be compared.]
He’d thought he had fully become one with the ruin’s system, but this was completely unexpected.
It felt like he’d only just finished touring the mansion he’d moved into—only to discover there was an entire annex beside it.
Worse, the door was locked tight, and he couldn’t just walk in.
Lexerra felt stubborn pride rise in him.
[How dare it try to block me. I’m Lexerra.]
He was both mage and explorer.
The places he explored were always remote, and it wasn’t rare for them to include ruins tied to ancient civilizations.
Naturally, after wandering through such ruins, he possessed knowledge of dismantling traps—and even using them in reverse.
[No matter how sturdy it was built, it’s still something made hundreds of years ago. I can break through it.]
The mana circuits that had hesitated began moving again.
They spread over the entire door, then ran along the outer wall connected to it.
Lexerra frowned.
He thought he’d finally made progress, but the thickness of the barrier was greater than expected.
Even digging in with all his might, he couldn’t see the end. It felt like sinking into a mire.
Lexerra bit his lip. He was a little flustered—but he had no intention of giving up.
[Let’s see who wins.]
As he continued wrestling with it, something reacted from the inside.
[Connected!]
He’d broken through the dense security wall and finally made contact.
But it was only like making a tiny channel through a completely clogged dam.
Now he had to concentrate his power and widen the gap.
“I’ll help.”
Casey stepped forward.
[Do you have experience with this sort of thing?]
“No, but I roughly know how it works. And what I’m doing isn’t direct interference with the system.”
[Then what do you plan to do?]
“You’ll see.”
Droplets of water gathered around Casey.
The slowly moving droplets touched the door that Lexerra was struggling against.
Sssshk.
The droplets seeped into the door’s surface.
No—more precisely, they bored their way in.
The surfaces of the droplets in contact with the door were spinning at tremendous speed.
A miniature drill moving at high pressure and high velocity.
The door was thick and sturdy, but when Casey committed and forced it through, it pierced it helplessly.
The droplets that infiltrated created gaps within the door itself.
As the gaps formed, the droplets spread in all directions. Like a spiderweb, the water claimed the area and froze with a crackling snap.
In an instant, the volume expanded, widening the cracks in the door.
Lexerra felt the security wall pressing down on him weaken.
[So that’s it. Physical interference—deliberately creating cracks in the system!]
“Well, if you mess up, you might trigger another internal security system, but that’s something you can adjust as needed.”
She said it lightly, but it was never an easy task.
If she mismanaged her force even slightly, it could cause a far greater danger.
But Casey Selmore, the mage of <Azure of Water>, would never make such a trivial mistake.
[Done.]
Under the combined assault of Casey and Lexerra, the security wall couldn’t endure and collapsed.
Rrrrrrk.
As the entrance’s security framework crumbled, the tightly sealed door opened.
Heat surged out from the darkness beyond, where no light reached.
“This is... considerable heat.”
Veronica murmured in admiration at the heat against her skin.
She’d expected it to be cold since they were deeper underground, but instead it was stifling—hot enough to make even a knight hesitate.
“The artificial sun’s heat is pooling in this direction. What could be causing that?”
[We’ll only know once we check.]
“I’ll go first.”
Veronica took the lead. She drew her sword ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ and raised her aura.
An aura of cold pushed back the heat. Heat and cold collided, producing steam in midair.
Casey pulled all that steam in and wrapped it around her body, preparing for any unforeseen situation.
Lexerra entered deeper into the corridor and placed a hand against the wall.
[Hm. Compared to the external security, the inside isn’t that thorough. It seems they never assumed anyone would get this far.]
“So there really is something in here.”
[I’ll confirm it right now.]
Lexerra closed his eyes and focused. Casey didn’t stay idle either—she spread the steam wide, surveying the internal structure at least roughly.
[There’s unusual terrain below.]
If they descended in a spiral vortex pattern, there was a single space.
It was like a massive weight hanging beneath the underground ruins.
Anyone could tell that place was the deepest core, where the most important thing was stored.
[What is this? For the security level, the scale is far too small.]
Compared to the cavern of the artificial forest, the underground space was absurdly small.
It was only large enough to be packed if about twenty people entered.
There wasn’t even another entrance—there was only one corridor.
As Lexerra found the bizarre structure puzzling...
Casey, who had been searching by another method, suddenly went stiff.
“What is this?”
She was currently sending steam in, examining what was inside in fine detail.
And what she realized was that there were twelve coffin-like objects placed in that lower space.
“There are things like coffins down there. But it’s a weird location if this is supposed to be a grave.”
“Could it be new documents or relics?”
“No. Even if you’re storing relics, doing it in a place like this is strange. And look at this heat. No matter what you put there, it wouldn’t last long.”
That was when it happened.
The heat that had been pouring out suddenly stopped.
Casey, Veronica, and Lexerra froze.
“The heat is gone.”
“I know. Lexerra, do you have any idea what this means?”
[I think... we may have opened a lid we were never supposed to open.]
Kugugung.
A faint vibration rumbled from below.
[Was opening the door itself... some kind of condition?]
Casey’s expression hardened.
Among the twelve coffins below, one of them moved with a harsh noise.
The lid opened, and someone inside sat up.
“A person?”
A person underground?
Before Casey could even fully form the thought—
“......!”
The one who sat up turned to look at Casey.
Yes. It wasn’t a mistake. They were clearly aware of her presence.
‘How?!’
She was watching through the faint moisture floating in the air—yet they noticed it?
That didn’t make sense.
And then something even more shocking happened.
With a casual gesture of their hand, Casey’s vision was erased.
‘The water... it’s all gone.’
Casey shouted immediately.
“Veronica! Maximize the cold!”
“......Yes!”
Veronica didn’t ask why. She, too, had instinctively felt something.
At the same time, a flash of light burst from beyond the dark corridor.
Fwooooom!
Crimson flames rolled like tongues, filling the corridor.
It was fire like a volcanic eruption. Just breathing would scorch the throat and cook the lungs.
Ssssss!
The freezing aura Veronica unleashed at maximum output shielded them from the heat.
Casey also scattered the water she’d pulled in advance, blocking the heat.
The flames that seemed as though they would never end finally stopped.
Veronica slightly reduced the force of her aura and stared beyond the corridor.
“What in the world is—”
Tap.
Veronica couldn’t finish the sentence.
Because someone appeared at her side with a light landing sound, so close she didn’t even know when they’d approached.
“......!”
Veronica spun instantly. The sword, carrying centrifugal force, detonated cold.
A chill so deep it didn’t just freeze the air but pierced to the bone swept through like frost blades.
Crack—crack—crack!
The cold-infused slash swung toward the enemy who had appeared out of nowhere.
Kwang!
But Veronica’s attack didn’t succeed.
Her sword was stopped by the enemy’s forearm, unable to push forward any further.
Veronica’s eyes widened.
Drip.
Her blade had done no more than slice the skin of the opponent’s forearm.
The blood that seeped out wasn’t red.
It was gold.
And even that healed in an instant, as if time itself had been reversed.
KWAANG!
The air exploded directly in front of Veronica.
Her body was flung away, skimming through the air like a stone skipping across water.
