Chapter 483 - The Landlord
Inside the Great Hall of the Black Hour, there was an artificial artifact installed, created by extracting the engraving function from a damaged ancient artifact and transplanting it.
No entry except for authorized personnel.
To freely move about the Great Hall, one must hold either First Control Rights or Second Control Rights.
Otherwise, one must receive temporary authorization from someone who holds the rights… all others are recognized without exception as intruders.
In other words, all the magical security of the Great Hall, which did not react to members of the Black Hour, was now targeting Verden's party in the shadows.
'According to Cayman's schematics, the corridors here are intricately intertwined.'
However, in the end, the only path leading to the second gateway of the Deep Layer was the central passage.
Continuing straight through was the shortest route.
Of course, that also meant it was obvious there would be countless obstacles lying in wait to hinder them.
Fwaaaaah!
Verden activated all of his mana circuits, manifesting
Following that, he extended his mana control.
As the mana of a Transcendent descended over the Deep Layer, he detected magical circles and items that were invisible to ordinary eyes.
Then, without triggering them, he enveloped them in a dense barrier of pure, wavering blue mana, making them visible to everyone.
The passage flickered.
Seeing this, Isabella furrowed her brow.
"The leader of Black Hour has changed to Dahit, and time has passed, but… this is far too different from what Cayman told us."
Originally, there should have been advanced magical circles connected in multifaceted ways.
But the first thing Verden noticed were fragments, 'innumerable shards of mana', sporadically embedded in the walls and floor.
'The traces continue beyond the range of
The fragments had been scattered haphazardly, as though someone had tossed them there at random.
The forms were the same, irregular.
'But this is…'
Verden moved sideways.
His unparalleled understanding of magic.
Just by observing, he seized upon meaningful clues, and halted his steps.
"Concealment through focal points, is it."
When Verden stood at a certain position and gazed straight ahead, the scattered shards of mana within a certain range overlapped one by one, forming a peculiar arrangement.
An unfamiliar magic circle.
It was constructed so that unless the observer's angle of sight was precise, it could never be found.
Verden heightened his vision, analyzing the structure of the circle at once.
As he revealed the overall framework… it became clear that the shards of mana were linked in groups, sometimes a few, sometimes in the dozens, each forming a cluster.
"…Extreme."
Though it was just a single magic circle, it contained more than a dozen functions—elemental magic, mana diffusion, alarms, sealing, black magic, and more.
The number of functions was exactly the same as the number of mana fragment clusters comprising the circle.
'It's unlike any conventional magic circle. With a single activation, it doesn't release all the spells at once.'
From the perspective of the shards of mana serving as focal points… the circle was designed to respond depending on which angle the intruder stepped into it from.
A magic circle drawn and hidden through focal points, packed with countless magical functions without taking the form of a compound or connected circle.
Novel, but bordering on madness in its efficiency.
It felt less like security, more like an experimental prototype.
Isabella brushed her bangs back.
"Hmm… and we've already hit trouble right after entering the Deep Layer. What will you do, Master? Will you break it yourself, like usual?"
"To apply my dispelling method, I would first have to nullify every spell embedded within this circle. It's reliable, but it would take time."
Besides, there was not just one such circle along the central passage.
If they destroyed them all along the way, their plans would be significantly delayed.
"So, we'll go with the alternative."
"Do you intend to bypass them along another path?"
"Even if we detour, there's a high chance more such circles lie in wait. Or new variables arise. It's more suitable to create small openings that let us slip through the central passage."
Verden stepped back.
"You will do it, yourselves."
***
The usual method of weaving mana threads into the circle to collapse only its keystone was boldly set aside for lack of time.
Of course, he could have unleashed Mado
If Dahit detected the disturbance and returned through spatial teleportation by some means, it would be disastrous.
Naturally, he had considered the worst-case scenario, but it was nonsensical to create the worst with his own hand.
In any case.
So how could they pass through the circle guarding the central passage?
The answer was simple.
'Isabella's eye, and Adrian's sword.'
Inside the single magic circle of the Deep Layer, over ten clusters of mana shards were bound together, filling it completely.
They were not harmonious.
In short, it was like a patchwork quilt, made by forcibly stitching disparate materials together.
The key was to target the junctions between those materials.
Once Isabella used the True Eye of Brilliant Eyes to discern the contact points between clusters, she would invade with the Mado of Erosion, naturally prying open a fracture between the circle and the cluster.
Adrian would then swing the Demonic Sword, Cadence, which severed mana arrays, slicing through them with precision.
That was Verden's stratagem.
Huuuuum.
A distorted magic circle of Defying the Heavens surfaced in Isabella's left eye.
Her gaze flickered.
As soon as her sight pierced the vulnerabilities of the circle, she unleashed Mado, tracing dividing lines upon the targeted cluster.
Shiiik!
At the same time, Adrian swung his blade.
A swift strike, without error.
The instant the sword cleaved the air, a portion of the circle was severed.
The detached cluster, having lost the trigger of the circle, ceased to react.
"..."
As Verden had expected, the single circle did not activate.
Partly because Isabella's erosion had intercepted the shock midway.
And given the circle's already unstable structure, one or two pieces being removed did not cause total collapse.
The group quickly slipped through the artificially created gap.
Then they repeated the same process.
Isabella and Adrian's movements grew ever quicker.
After coordinating their signals twice, syncing their rhythm, they no longer spared each other a glance, linking seamlessly, like flowing water.
[Neat.]
Verden and Alpha followed behind, observing the two.
'Seems we're about halfway there.'
Verden recalled the map of the Great Hall, estimating the distance covered.
The overall structure would not have changed.
That was not something that could be arbitrarily altered—Cayman had guaranteed it.
So far, everything was smooth.
But one thing gnawed at him.
'Too quiet.'
Even with the senses of a Transcendent, even with
It was clear.
The Deep Layer was empty.
The obstacles with potential variables had disappeared on their own, which should be welcome… but not knowing why it was so deserted made him uneasy.
Just then, Isabella, at the front, halted.
"Hoo… finally arrived."
She pressed hard at the corner of her left eye.
Though she had used the True Eye several times in succession to pierce the essence of things, she showed no significant strain.
Just as Verden had adapted to the Mystic Eye, Isabella had grown accustomed to the Brilliant Eye.
Thus they had safely traversed the central passage.
Now, once they crossed the 'Central Laboratory', the second gateway of the Deep Layer would appear.
[Opening the door.]
Alpha manipulated the code at the entrance to the Central Laboratory.
There was nothing complicated, no barrier like a gateway.
Compared to those, opening a normal door of the Great Hall was no more difficult than pressing a button.
Seconds later, the door to the laboratory opened.
Within Black Hour, this was one of the most secretive spaces, aside from the very bottom.
What would be hidden here?
Verden, driven by instinctive curiosity, stepped inside.
But…
Contrary to expectation, it was empty.
Aside from minimal equipment, there were no valuable artifacts, no magical items to be seen.
And not just that.
Perhaps it had all been cleared out, but for a laboratory belonging to a Transcendent faction, it was unbearably barren.
Still, it was not entirely devoid of things.
The Center of the Laboratory
There, was a human encased in ice.
***
Ssssshhhhh…
A frigid chill drifted through the air.
Thanks to a special device preserving its state, not even moisture formed on the surface of the ice.
Verden, Adrian, Isabella, and Alpha halted their steps, staring at the unmoving figure within the frozen block.
[Record name, Frozen Human.]
Unable to resist, Alpha, with Verden's permission, immediately took out a Memory Golem and captured the entire scene.
Adrian groaned.
"A frozen human… Master, what is this?"
"I do not know either."
Verden was just as surprised.
Who could have imagined something like this would be kept in Black Hour's central laboratory?
Cayman and Melard had never once mentioned this.
'Judging by the traces on the body, it seems to be a branch of human experimentation…'
That part was expected.
The infamous Black Hour would never shy from human experiments. Dahit was a Transcendent who had slain even his own masters without hesitation.
The only question was, what kind of experiment were they conducting on a man frozen solid?
Perhaps it was worth a brief investigation.
"Alpha, Isabella."
"Got it."
[Confirmed.]
Their eyes flashed.
Alpha attempted a scan, Isabella probed the essence with the True Eye.
Alpha spoke first.
[A human encased in ice. Correction, a corpse encased in ice. Deceased completely, no possibility of revival.]
"When did he die?"
[Unable to confirm. However, it was a very lo───ng time ago, without doubt.]
If Alpha, created roughly 500 years ago, said such a thing… then it had to mean the corpse belonged to a human from distant antiquity.
Verden's curiosity only deepened.
From all the knowledge he had amassed, he could not fathom what they were doing with such a thing.
'Besides, the body isn't even that of a mage… it's just a normal human…'
It could not have been placed here for simple archaeological research.
At that moment, Isabella lowered her mana and tilted her head.
"I didn't learn much either. Hmm, a frozen mage from ancient times. Creepy, but also fascinating."
…?
Verden turned his gaze to Isabella.
"A mage, you say?"
"That's how it looks to me. Of course, like you said, for a mage it's strange but…"
Indeed.
The frozen corpse bore no traces of mana circuits, the signs of one who had awakened to mana.
Nowhere on the body.
That was why Verden had judged it not to be a mage.
'But Isabella's True Eye perceives it as the corpse of a mage.'
Was it a peculiar trait? Or some ancient bloodline?
But even so, for a true mage… was it possible to have no mana circuits at all?
Verden sank into thought.
Staring at a mage from a distant era, one without mana circuits… he soon suppressed his emotions.
"…Let's go."
Roughly three minutes had passed.
Spending time on an unplanned action, this much was enough.
He discarded his curiosity, erased his lingering thoughts.
Immediately cutting off his interest, Verden's party departed from the central laboratory.
***
Beyond the central laboratory, after some distance, a wide-open space appeared.
An emerald lake lay still, and over it stretched a massive bridge, extending straight ahead.
Though he had heard it was built upon a natural cavern… facing it directly was something else. The sheer scale, and the view itself, were magnificent.
'Clean.'
No traps.
They crossed the bridge without hesitation.
Beneath them, the waters of the natural lake rippled, shimmering with self-emitted turquoise light.
The end of their second destination.
Guarding the deepest part of the Great Hall were three devices in total.
If a specific code was not entered within a time limit, an alarm would trigger.
Of course, there was no need to hurry.
Verden, Isabella, Alpha.
The three were more than enough.
Each took position to the left, right, and center of the gate. Alpha climbed onto Adrian's shoulder to match the height.
Then, simultaneously activating the devices, they sought and entered the forced override codes of the gate.
As expected, they succeeded.
Kugugugugugu…!
A wind unlike that of the earlier layers swept harshly over their skin.
'All gates have been passed.'
Now, they just had to reach the end, manipulate the Ring of Myriad Changes, locate the [Hourglass of Perpetuity], and escape through the
Not too difficult.
Since the natural mana flowing through the Great Hall was deeply embedded in the [Hourglass of Perpetuity], they could trace that trail to pinpoint its location.
It was then.
Suddenly.
Verden halted.
His wide-open eyes slowly narrowed as he muttered quietly.
"Go ahead first."
It was an abrupt command, yet no one questioned him.
Reading the gaze and expression of Verden, who was staring over his shoulder toward the rear, Adrian and Isabella nodded.
"We will secure it quickly."
[Confirmed.]
With that, they immediately launched forward.
Verden watched Alpha on Adrian's shoulder receding into the distance, then personally shut the second gate they had just opened.
Then he turned.
"..."
On the bridge they had just crossed, something had appeared, something that had not been there moments ago.
A pale, hazy figure.
Unclear at first.
But gradually, it became distinct.
The more directly he looked upon it, the faster its form solidified.
This was no ordinary magic.
From experience and instinct, Verden judged it more likely to be an artifact.
Verden spoke.
"This is no ordinary spatial movement. The existence's position is being redefined according to another's indirect senses, and direct point of view."
"You do have sharp eyes."
At last, the figure fully materialized.
Ash-gray hair, eyes of the same shade, and a short beard.
Clad entirely in black robes, holding a metallic staff, the man's impression was utterly cold.
"For a rat trespassing in another's domain, you are rather grand."
Darkmoon, Dahit Wethroel.
The current landlord of the Black Hour, had appeared.
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