171 Light in the Dark
The blade passed effortlessly through the metal.
The chains and lock slid apart, falling to the ground in neat, severed pieces.
William ran a finger along the cut edge, nodding approvingly.
"Perfect. You really are the next Sword Saint."
"T-that’s too much praise…"
Felicia flushed, ducking her head in embarrassment.
With the chains removed, William and his retainers lifted the heavy door and stepped inside.
The moment they entered, the group stopped in their tracks, staring in awe.
The basement was no mere cellar—it was a vast underground cavern, easily larger than the entire estate above it.
The sheer scale of the space was staggering.
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"What… in the world…"
As they took in the sight, William noticed something odd.
The walls were lined with deep, evenly spaced recesses.
"What are these?" he muttered.
"They look like they were meant to hold something," Hugo observed.
"A keyhole?"
"If it were a keyhole, there wouldn’t be this many of them," Raymond mused. "More likely, they were used as handholds… or perhaps lighting fixtures."
William ran his hand along one of the recesses.
Now that he looked closer, there were clear signs that something had been forcibly removed.
So they didn’t just seal off the entrance—they stripped the lights as well.
No wonder it had been so dark inside.
Whoever had done this had gone out of their way to erase something from this place.
The group descended further into the cavern until they reached the floor.
Then—
Rumble.
"Hah?!"
Hugo stumbled back, nearly dropping his torch.
"What’s wrong?"
"T-the ground moved!"
The group quickly turned their attention downward.
Indeed, a section of the stone floor had shifted, revealing a thin gap between the slabs.
William knelt, inspecting the area.
The stone slabs had different markings. Each tile had its own unique pattern.
"A puzzle?"
There was no way this was an accident.
The floor hadn’t shifted due to age or damage—it had been designed to move.
While Hugo anxiously examined the displaced tile, Raymond swept his torch around the cavern and spoke.
"My lord, I believe this entire space is a massive puzzle."
William exhaled through his nose.
"That would explain why they removed the lights."
House Calix had taken extreme measures to prevent anyone from solving it.
Without proper lighting, identifying the patterns on the tiles would be nearly impossible.
William chuckled darkly.
So that’s how it is. They couldn’t solve it themselves, so they made sure no one else could either?
The lock, the sealed entrance, the missing lights—it had all been preemptively done before William had arrived in the north.
House Calix had tried to claim whatever was hidden here.
And when they failed, they sabotaged the site out of sheer spite.
Cowards.
Raymond hesitated. "Should we bring in more torches and extra men?"
William shook his head.
"No point. How long do you think it would take to solve this?"
"…A long time," Raymond admitted. "Especially if it’s as complicated as it looks."
"Exactly. And we don’t even know if solving it would do anything."
Maybe it was a protective mechanism.
Maybe it was an elaborate artistic display.
Either way, they had no guarantees.
"We don’t have time for this," William decided. "Forget it. We’ll leave this place as is and focus on Asagrim."
"Reasonable. If House Calix couldn’t solve it, we likely wouldn’t be able to, either—not with our current time constraints," Raymond agreed. "And if we take too long, Sir Glenn might start asking questions."
William nodded.
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For now, he would put the puzzle aside.
Still, he couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship of the cavern itself.
Just how had they built something like this?
Kneeling down, he brushed his fingers along one of the stone tiles—
And the moment his hand made contact—
FWOOOOM.
A brilliant light erupted from the cavern floor.
"What in the—?!"
The sudden burst of light sent William’s retainers into action, weapons drawn in an instant.
But the glowing lines that spread across the cavern floor did nothing except illuminate the space.
A moment later, as the intensity of the light dimmed and their eyes adjusted, the group finally discerned its source.
"My lord, the floor… There are glowing lines forming a pattern!"
"I see it too. But…"
William’s gaze swept across the illuminated puzzle beneath their feet.
Strangely, the lines had nothing to do with the intricate carvings of the puzzle.
They were drawn over the existing markings—crude, erratic, and seemingly random.
"…So there was never any secret to this puzzle." William clicked his tongue. "It was just a decoy."
"A classic old trick," Hugo said with a knowing smirk. "Like forging a fake keyhole on a door that doesn’t use a key at all—just to mislead intruders."
"Guess some things never change, no matter the era."
"Well, it works, doesn’t it? We managed to avoid the trap somehow, but I’d wager the fools before us fell for it completely."
William let out a quiet chuckle.
They’d likely spent years trying to solve this puzzle, unaware that it was nothing but an elaborate ruse.
Even if someone had miraculously completed the design, it would have led to nothing more than a decorative image—an empty reward for their efforts.
"My lord, over there."
Raymond pointed toward the far side of the cavern.
Previously hidden in the darkness, an array of chisels, hammers, and other destructive tools lay scattered at the edge of the chamber.
These weren’t meant for carving—they were meant for breaking things apart.
"They were planning to destroy the floor if all else failed," Raymond muttered.
"Is that why those bastards tried to stall us earlier?" Hugo asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Possibly."
At first, William had assumed they were simply trying to steal some proof of legitimacy—perhaps an emblem or a document to weaken his claim.
After all, the men left behind to manage the estate had no idea that William had already secured Asagrim.
It wouldn’t have been surprising if they’d been plotting to undermine him in whatever way they could.
But now that he considered it…
It was entirely possible they’d delayed him just to buy time—so they could get here first and erase whatever they couldn’t take.
"In the end, it’s kind of funny," William muttered. "They went through all that trouble to destroy the floor… and it turns out the damn thing was useless."
"Still, why did the real mechanism suddenly activate? We didn’t do anything."
"No idea." William shrugged. "The only thing I did was touch the floor—hardly the action of a key."