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Chapter 93
The place Shavia headed to was a building used as living quarters by the soldiers. Since it was already late, only a few of the rooms still had their lights on. Shavia entered the building.
Walking down the dark hallway, Shavia pushed open a large door with both hands.
“We have to get inside before the door closes.”
Kazhar quickened his pace, grabbed Eluana around the waist, and pulled her into his arms. They barely made it inside before the door closed, and Eluana’s breath brushed against the back of his neck.
“We’re inside.”
Eluana pulled away from the stiffened Kazhar and looked around. The interior was furnished like an office, and the moment Shavia entered, the magical lights automatically came on.
While Eluana busily looked around, Shavia placed a ring into a groove in the wall. With a faint vibration, the desk slowly began to move. As the desk slid aside, a staircase underneath it was revealed.
Kazhar tensed immediately. Beneath the stairs was an abundance of glowing particles. The concentration of mana was far too great to have occurred naturally.
“There’s a lot of mana beneath the stairs.”
Eluana turned her gaze toward Kazhar.
“Could there be a mage down there?”
“I don’t think there’s only one.”
Staring at the glowing mana, Kazhar followed Shavia down the stairs. This time, Kazhar took Eluana’s hand and pulled her along.
As they spiraled down the circular staircase, an expansive space came into view. Luminous stones had been placed throughout the area, so it was not dark despite being underground.
A robed mage approached Shavia and bowed his head. Three stars were embroidered on his robe.
A Third-Circle mage.
Cold sweat trickled down Kazhar’s back. If not for the artifact created by Keyrun, a Fifth-Circle mage, their stealth would have been discovered at this very moment.
“You’ve arrived. As it happens, a suitable test subject has just been brought in.”
At the mage’s words, Eluana’s nerves became taut.
He isn’t talking about Ring, is he?
Shavia continued walking as she spoke.
“Show me. And it would be wise to strengthen the mountain’s perimeter.”
Fear flickered in the mage’s eyes.
“Has something happened…?”
“During transport, a monster escaped when the carriage was involved in an accident. And, of all places, the accident happened in Tuna Territory, which has made things rather troublesome.”
“I’ll make sure not even a rat can come anywhere near the area.”
“You’d better. What about that child?”
“She still hasn’t submitted. I suppose a spirit beast really is a spirit beast. Would you like to see her?”
“Take me to the new test subject first.”
“You can come this way.”
The bowing mage led Shavia to the right. Eluana and Kazhar followed Shavia at a reasonable distance.
The long underground cavern had circular chambers branching off at intervals. The chambers were furnished like laboratories, and whenever the people inside encountered Shavia, they stopped what they were doing and bowed their heads.
Is Shavia in charge of this place?
With that question in mind, they arrived at a row of iron cages.
Monsters were being kept in captivity, separated according to species.
Eluana recoiled at the grotesque appearance of the monsters. A visceral fear seized her, making her breathing quicken.
“They’re monsters, aren’t they?”
“They are. I don’t think I would have believed it if I hadn’t seen them myself.”
Most monsters were sealed away in the Forest of Monsters, and only a small number of individuals were scattered throughout the continent. Even then, they were only occasionally discovered around the Elaine Mountains bordering the Kingdom of Baran.
Kazhar looked at the monsters one by one as he followed Shavia.
The place where Shavia and the mage stopped contained a massive iron cage.
The mage proudly explained,
“This is Milba, the newest test subject. It’s one of the medium-sized monsters. Because its saliva contains a deadly poison, it’s a particularly difficult species to capture.”
Inside the cage was a spider-like monster.
Shavia looked Milba over before speaking to the mage.
“It has many injuries, so treat it first. Milba is valuable, so it must be handled with care.”
“Understood. I’ll take good care of it so that you can tame it the next time you visit.”
“Good.”
Shavia turned and headed elsewhere.
Eluana and Kazhar also moved on, their steps slowing as they looked into the cages. Other mages appeared intermittently along the way, forcing them to remain extremely cautious.
One of them, a mage with gray hair tied into a single ponytail, was standing in front of a monster resembling a polar bear.
When the mage raised his hand, the monster cowered and hid itself in a corner.
“Bear. Pick whichever one of these you want to eat.”
The mage’s eyes gleamed as the monster called Bear reluctantly raised a forepaw.
Among several pictures, the monster pressed one with its paw.
“Good job, Bear.”
The mage praised it and placed the food inside the cage.
But the monster did not immediately rush toward it. Instead, it curled itself up even more tightly and trembled.
“Now eat.”
Only after receiving permission did Bear begin eating.
Even while chewing on raw meat dripping with blood, the monster kept glancing around anxiously.
Eluana and Kazhar looked at the monster with grim expressions before hurrying onward.
Shavia was looking into a cage not far ahead.
Inside was a golden beast.
The beast was large enough that Eluana had to look up at it. Unlike the other monsters, which looked grotesque and dangerous, the creature inside the cage possessed an elegant air.
Kazhar recognized it.
“It’s a Golden Wolf.”
“The Golden Wolf from the founding legend? It actually existed…?”
“The first Duke of Spes found and raised a young wolf. According to the legend, a dragon playfully dyed its fur gold and gave it intelligence. The duke bred it with wolves and managed to produce offspring, but after several generations, no more golden wolves were born. It was believed to have gone extinct.”
Unaware that the two were talking behind her, Shavia smiled sweetly as she looked at the Golden Wolf.
“If your owner has come, you should wag your tail.”
The Golden Wolf bared its teeth warily.
“This one will be transported to the marquis’s estate. I should start spreading rumors that I have a Golden Wolf.”
“Understood.”
“Look forward to it. I’ll spoil you even more.”
As if responding to Shavia’s words, the Golden Wolf let out a low growl.
It seemed the Golden Wolf, like the other monsters, could understand human speech.
Just as they were about to pass by, Eluana felt as though her eyes had met the Golden Wolf’s.
She stopped walking, and the Golden Wolf’s gaze remained fixed on her.
Eluana gave a small wave.
The Golden Wolf’s eyes followed her fingertips.
“Kazhar, I think it can see us.”
Kazhar was about to say that was impossible when his eyes met the Golden Wolf’s as well.
Just as he began to wonder whether it really could see them, Eluana spoke to the Golden Wolf.
“Please don’t look toward us. We came in secretly, so we can’t let anyone find out. I’ll help you get out of here.”
The Golden Wolf lowered its head as though it had understood her words.
It seemed that it could not only see them, but hear them as well.
“It’s so obedient. Isn’t it adorable?”
Misunderstanding the Golden Wolf’s movement, Shavia whispered sweetly.
Kazhar and Eluana left the scene behind them and continued walking.
As they moved farther away, Eluana spoke to the Golden Wolf.
“Thank you for doing me that favor.”
They passed Shavia and continued deeper inside.
There were dozens of different species of monsters inside the cages. Farther in, they even saw monsters kept together as families.
Among them was the same species of monster that had attacked people in Tuna Territory.
Now Eluana understood what Thing had meant when he called it a “young monster.”
An adult was nearly twice its size.
Kazhar stopped in front of the final enormous cage.
This time, the monster inside had wings growing from its back.
“This…”
Kazhar trailed off.
Eluana turned toward him.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve never seen a monster like this before.”
“Is it a rare monster?”
That wasn’t what he meant.
Rather than being a rare specimen, it would be more accurate to say that this creature did not exist in this world.
Kazhar rubbed his face with one hand.
“I think they crossed the monster that appeared in Tuna Territory with a flying-type monster. They’re breeding monsters.”
A chill ran down Eluana’s neck.
She had heard of noble families breeding pet dogs to create new breeds.
But this was a monster.
“What are they planning to do by creating new monsters?”
As she stared at the winged monster, Eluana remembered what Fotio had said.
‘I just thought that if I were killed by a monster, maybe someone would put a stop to this.’
Eluana thought about it.
Perhaps what Fotio had wanted to stop was this.
This very place.
What in the world was the Pegimul family trying to gain by going this far?
Eluana suddenly remembered the vision that had called out to her.
“Laplanfia, too…”
“It was probably trained here.”
What could be a more efficient assassin than a monster?
It would leave no evidence and could never reveal its master.
Even the victims, while wondering why a monster had appeared, would never suspect a human being.
“It’s horrible.”
Eluana turned around.
Shavia was now so far away that she looked tiny.
The beautiful Shavia now looked like a hideous monster.
“Let’s go. We need to find Ring.”
The two went deeper inside.
The farther they went, the more people they encountered.
Kazhar moved cautiously to avoid being discovered, but his eyes met those of a gaunt woman standing ahead.
At that moment, Kazhar recognized her.
“You’ve been blessed by mana.”
The gaunt woman also noticed the mana surrounding Kazhar.
His actual form was invisible because he was concealed, but she had recognized him by the mana gathered around him like a belt.
The gaunt woman mouthed silently,
Follow me.
Kazhar and Eluana were startled.
Eluana quickly looked over her own body, wondering whether their stealth had been broken.
But since the others still could not see them, it seemed their concealment was intact.
The gaunt woman walked away.
“How did she recognize us?”
“She must have seen the mana around me.”
Kazhar stared at Maria.
The glowing particles surrounding her sparkled with joy.
She was happy to see Kazhar.
“What are people blessed by mana like with one another? I mean, how do you feel about each other?”
“If I had to put it into words, probably sympathy. We’re in the same situation.”
As though urging him to follow, Eluana grabbed Kazhar’s hand and pulled him along.
“It would be better to talk to her.”
Kazhar hesitated for a moment before readily following her.
Even if they decided to deal with her, it would be difficult to do so here, where people were constantly passing by.
She did not seem to intend to cause a commotion, so it was probably better to follow her and see what happened.
The gaunt woman glanced back from time to time to check whether Kazhar was following.
After walking for quite a while, she opened a door and entered.
She left the door open, as though inviting them inside.
Kazhar peered into the room.
It was an ordinary room furnished with little more than a small bed, a desk, and a wardrobe.
“If things go wrong, you run. They probably haven’t noticed your existence.”
“Leave you behind? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“It could be dangerous.”
“Coming this far inside was already dangerous.”
Kazhar looked into Eluana’s stubborn eyes and let out a quiet sigh.
“Then stay concealed.”
Once inside the room, Kazhar released Eluana’s hand.
His figure became visible, and he faced the gaunt woman standing in the light.
“So you recognized me too.”
Joy filled Maria’s face.
In contrast, Kazhar frowned.
He was uncomfortable with the warm welcome from someone he had never met before.
“Why did you call me?”
“My name is Maria. This is my room, so you can make yourself comfortable.”
Kazhar swept his eyes over the movements of the light filling the cramped room.
The glowing particles that followed Maria bumped into one another, fell, and spun around as though welcoming him, sparkling frantically.
Their excitement conveyed just how happy she was to see him.
“Are you not going to answer my question?”
“I’ve never seen another person blessed by mana besides myself. That was stealth magic just now, wasn’t it? I didn’t know there was someone else who had received the blessing of mana, survived, and become a mage. I thought Sir Keyrun was the only one.”
She seemed somewhat excited.
Maria rambled on for a while before suddenly changing her expression and pleading,
“Help me.”
