“What...was that projection?” I asked. I turned to Tutte to see if she saw it too, and I knew that I wasn’t imagining things.
We’d been at the altar and on high alert, prepared to fight back if any of this building’s defensive measures jumped out at us, but the place was just an empty shell. I was surprised that the altar on this legendary island could look so dilapidated. It felt like I’d encountered a ruin.
Had we had no business here, I’d have immediately turned back and left, but I’d known for a fact that Noa and Lily were trapped here somewhere. The Argent Armor and Nike must’ve been here too. Surely, there must’ve been a good reason for this island’s decay, but I hadn’t managed to see anything out of the ordinary yet.
The only thing I’d noticed was that there was a humanoid mithril statue standing deep within the chamber, just like at the facility of Eneres. The figure had made no attempt to move, but when we’d approached it, one of our belongings started to glow—Agard’s memoir that Sita had brought along with her. Just as I’d wondered if we were in danger, the statue had absorbed the light from the book and began emitting a bright light in turn. That’s when we began to see a projection showing Noa’s past and revealing her thoughts.
“I suspect this is the doing of the fairies in charge of this place,” Orthoaguina guessed. “Their presence is similar to what I felt back in Eneres, so it must be the doing of the same fairies or ones similar to them. The fairies in question must’ve been protecting Noa this entire time, and when we reached here, they wanted us to know about her life. I imagine they hoped it would convey what had occurred here.”
When I’d caught glimpses of Noa’s—the Argent Knight’s—life, my chest grew tight with pain. Had I made the wrong choice, I was sure that I’d have lived the same life as her. While this revelation was worthy of more thought, I first had to find Noa and Lily and ensure their safety.
“We should prioritize Noa and Lily,” I said. “Snow, are you sure that you can’t find them anywhere?”
“I think they’re somewhere around here, but I feel a sort of interference anywhere I go,” Snow replied. “In fact, I feel like even my will to search for them is being obstructed somehow.”
“What do you mean?”
Ever since we’d entered this place, I had realized that Snow and everyone else, excluding me, were acting weird. Is that why? Everyone looked worried and were eager to search for our friends, but the moment we entered the temple, it was like everyone had lost their concentration. I’d also felt something eerie and uncomfortable envelop my body ever since we set foot into this building.
We sluggishly began our search, but there wasn’t a trace of Noa and Lily inside. We searched every nook and cranny, but there was zero indication that anyone was ever here. The only thing we spotted was the suit of Argent Armor enshrined in the depths of the temple, likely where it rested daily, and the mithril statue that solemnly stood beside it.
“Interference... Interesting, I can see him doing that,” Orthoaguina mused. “He’s probably laid several layers of traps within this room. Mary, it looks like you aren’t affected by it like everyone else, but the longer this search takes, the heavier the toll it’ll have on your friends.”
“B-But what can I do?” I stammered.
I gazed around the vast, dimly lit room. The more I panicked, the less I could concentrate, which would cause me to miss any minute changes. Something has to be here, somewhere. Maybe they’re hiding something behind an illusion, as people usually do. These boss rooms almost always have some kind of hidden passageway that leads to our goal. I strained my eyes and desperately searched for any sort of oddity, but I didn’t notice the walls or floor waver one bit.
Just then, I thought I heard something echo in my mind.
“Snow, did you just say something?” I asked.
“Nope,” Snow replied. “What’s wrong?”
Seems like it’s not her. “It’s nothing,” I replied. “I just...”
Once more, the voice echoed in my head. There it is again! I glanced around and honed my senses. I could hear something or someone—I was sure of it. It was echoing within my head, a voice so feeble that I usually would’ve ignored it and chalked it up to my mind playing tricks on me. However, I was currently on high alert and as vigilant as ever, and it was precisely because I was focusing so hard that I was able to catch this faint voice. I was also probably used to it from my conversation with Snow, and that benefited me greatly.
I didn’t hear any comprehensible words, but a sound undoubtedly echoed within me. Where is it? Where? Lily? Are you the one talking to me? Please! Answer me, Lily! I desperately begged the baby snow leopard to provide an answer and refused to miss even the smallest of signals. Usually, Snow was more sensitive to these kinds of stimuli, but the unexplained interference was likely preventing her from picking up on things. I was frightened by just how effective this technology was. In the face of something this powerful, I have to be the one to get us through this. No one else will be able to pick up on any signs.
The sound grew louder. I abruptly turned toward it, and I noticed the space there waver ever so slightly for only a split second. “Lily! Are you there?!” I shouted.
I swung my fist at that tiny flicker. The moment my hand made contact with the space, a small crack emerged, and the space shattered like shards of glass. I wasn’t sure if I’d used too much of my power or if another force entirely was to blame, but the scenery around us crackled and crumbled into pieces, giving way to a new space within the temple that wasn’t here before.
This illusion hadn’t tried to hide an entrance or anything small—no, it’d covered an entire fourth of the temple. I was stunned by how cutting-edge it was—it’d even accounted for our shifting perspectives, after all. According to Orthoaguina, Nike must’ve created an elaborate system of magic tools that could create illusions and induce cognitive impairment and mental fatigue, and by destroying the terminal coordinating them all, it’d create a shock wave that would put them all into disrepair. Of course, I obliged. Yeah, I get it, I’m the team wrecking ball.
“Lily!” Snow cried.
After taking a brief moment to thank my powers for their help, I snapped back to reality with Snow’s voice and turned toward the new room of the temple that had appeared. In the center of a massive corridor near the destroyed magic tools lay Lily, who looked utterly exhausted.
“Snow, is she okay?” I asked.
“Yes, somehow,” Snow replied. “She’s hurt, but if we let her rest, she’ll recover in no time.”
“Whew. I’m glad to hear it.”
I told my worried friends about Lily’s condition so that I could calm them down, and they all looked visibly relieved.
“You tried your best with your tiny body,” I praised her as I gently petted her tired head. “I know that best. You’re awesome, Lily.”
Lily most likely hadn’t been able to break through the illusion or destroy the magic tools, so she instead tirelessly stared at the wall and continued to shout for help, trusting that we’d arrive at her aid. Her admirable actions almost made me cry, and I had to pull my hand back for fear I might pet her too roughly.
“This is no time to relax, Mary,” Emilia observed nervously, staring in a different direction amid the relief that washed over the rest of my friends.
From the opposite end of the room where the illusion had been, I heard loud clangs approaching on the path to the temple’s entrance.
“It must be a magus weapon created to chase away any outsiders,” Orthoaguina said. “They must’ve frantically rushed out when they saw the concealment system get destroyed. And judging from the sound, there are quite a few of them.”
I recalled the magus weapon I saw when I’d tried to infiltrate the prison tower in Relirex. Girtz, Relirex’s greatest magus smith, produced weapons that were tough to deal with, but now I’d have to deal with Nike’s creations. I knew best that this would be no walk in the park. Luckily, that peculiar mithril statue showed no signs of moving.
“Mary!” Emilia called out. “Leave this to us! Go on!”
“Emilia, how many times have we talked about not setting yourself up for a heroic sacrifice?” I replied. “Don’t jinx yourself.” I could easily tell that quite a few magus weapons were trying to approach us, and I couldn’t possibly leave them all to my friends and rush ahead, so I tried to play off her suggestion with a joke.
“You fool!” Emilia shouted. “Look at Lily! She only managed to escape in such a sorry state. Who knows what heinous acts are being done to Noa? You must go on ahead and rescue her.”
I fell silent. It was true that I was worried about Noa, but I was concerned about Emilia too.
“Heh heh, don’t worry, Lady Mary,” Sacher chuckled as he stood in front of us. “I won’t let the princess hog all the fun.”
“Your Highness, I understand that you mostly cast spells,” Rachel said, stepping forward as well. “We’ll take care of defending you while forcing them to guard against our weapons.”
“Then we also need someone to take charge of this team,” Prince Reifus said. “I think Lady Magiluka or I would be best for the job.” He may have presented it as a choice, but he stepped forward, refusing to have it any other way.
“Go on, Mary!” Emilia shouted. “Take Noa back!”
I glanced at my four friends who tried to send me off, and I felt my chest grow warm. I was so blessed to have them all with me—Noa’s memories had made me all too aware of how lucky I was.
“Thanks, everyone,” I said. “I’m going to bring her back! Snow, take care of Tutte and Lily!” I trusted Snow would be the best of us to nurse her sister and guard Tutte, and I rushed ahead with Safina, Magiluka, and Sita in tow.
We proceeded deeper into the temple. Unlike the sparse room we’d seen before, this place was scattered with research equipment, making it more akin to some sort of laboratory. I couldn’t tell what most of these devices were used for, but there were some items used to store creatures or their body parts—the sight of it made me shudder. It boggled the mind to recognize that Nike was solely responsible for all of this, and it confirmed for me more than ever he was a man who was at the top of his field. I heightened my vigilance and prepared for the worst.
“Sita, isn’t that over there a precious plant that we’ve only seen in reference books?” Orthoaguina asked.
“Huh?! Where?!” Sita cried.