“The problem is that it’s not entirely clear why the Black Mages disappeared...” Fujiko whispered. The modern Black Mages did nothing more than seal the location away.
—So where did our ancestors, the ones who created Akuto, disappear to?
She thought to herself as she moved through the small huts in the jungle. They all had special teleportation circles into them. When she came out of the last teleporter, she found herself in a small fortification. It was a cliff with several entrances carved into it, and resembled a fortress, or a castle.
The entrances seemed to resemble caves that had been altered by human hands...
“Looks like an evacuation site...” Fujiko said as she headed for the nearest entrance.
She went inside, but there was no light anywhere. She took out the flashlight she’d brought with her. When she turned it on, she could see bare corridors in the cold light. As she proceeded deeper inside, it felt to her like either a bunker or a mine. The deeper she went, the more labyrinthine it grew. Fujiko took notes as she headed into the depths. Her footsteps echoed in the dim corridor.
And then, suddenly, she stopped.
She’d heard footsteps that weren’t her own. But then there was nothing but silence. She began to walk again, and heard the footsteps once more.
“I’m being followed...”
Fujiko took out her incantation gun. It was loaded with real bullets, not mana ones. It was every bit as deadly here as a normal handgun. She walked forward cautiously. She passed all the same facilities she’d seen in the basement under Constant Magical Academy: a barracks, an armory, a command room. The footsteps followed her from some distance away.
Eventually, she reached a room at the very deepest part of the fortress, protected by a heavy iron door. Fujiko placed her hand on the door, and pushed inward. It opened with a heavy groan, revealing darkness within. She cast her light toward the inside, and was met with a black sheet in the form of a parabolic antenna, held within a clear case.
“Is this it...?” she whispered, approaching the case and turning the light on it to get a closer look. The sheet reflected the light in a prismatic hue, as if it were covered in oil. It seemed to Fujiko like it was still functional, even after all this time.
“Now then...” Fujiko turned around. With the flashlight, she lit up with the corridor. She saw a shadow low to the ground. It was a four-legged, slow-moving animal. A hairy dog.
“You’re The One, aren’t you?” Fujiko said, and the dog answered.
“Correct. As I’m sure you’re aware, I followed you here.”
“Why would you want to follow someone like me?” Fujiko asked, probingly.
“I intercepted your communications and followed you here. Of course, I already knew the rough location, so it wasn’t that hard. I’m after the Robe as well, you see.”
“I do see...” Fujiko pointed her incantation gun at The One.
“Do you know what this it?”
“I do. That’s why I want it.”
“It’s supposed to be a ticket to the afterlife,” Fujiko said, just to see what he’d say. He must’ve noticed what she was up to, because he just shook his head.
“No matter what it is, it’s nothing that we can do anything with. From what I’ve seen so far... I assume only Akuto and Keena can use it.”
“Oh dear... I intended to only give the bare minimum of information, but I let that slip, huh? That’s right. So you know why I want it then, don’t you?”
“You want to destroy it?”
“Of course. I’m glad you’re such a clever girl, it saves time. Now, please get out of my way.”
“Do you really think I’m going to do that?” Fujiko grinned.
“I don’t. I simply wanted a chance to avoid unnecessary bloodshed,” The One said calmly as he walked toward her.
“Don’t move, please. Can’t you see what it is I’m holding?” Fujiko held the incantation gun up. The One nodded.
“I do see it. It’s a gun, right? That’s a problem. There’s a small possibility that I’ll be shot.”
“Then stop right there.”
The big hairy dog froze as it was instructed.
“Just so we’re clear, I stopped so I could give you a chance to rethink this. If we fight, you’re almost certain to die.” The One said, as if he was completely certain.
Fujiko laughed.
“Nonsense. You can’t use your magic here. And I have a gun. Do you know what this means?”
“I do. You’re the one who doesn’t know what it means to not be able to use magic.”
“I don’t?” Fujiko just grinned. But The One’s attitude didn’t change.
“First, you don’t have your magically enhanced strength. Anyone under the effects of magic has enhanced muscular power, whether they recognize it or not. In other words, you won’t be able to handle the recoil of that gun. You’ll almost certainly miss me.”
“Nonsense!” Fujiko yelled. But The One remained calm.
“Secondly, I’m a dog right now. You don’t know how powerful dogs are when they fight. Muscles. Claws. Teeth. All of these are grave threats to humans. Even if a single bullet hits me, I’ll still have enough strength to take you down before I die.”
“So what am I supposed to do, then?” There was a tremor in Fujiko’s voice now.
“You’re supposed to get out of the way. In the best case, you injure me, and then die. In the worst, you die for nothing.”
What The One said made sense. But Fujiko didn’t move.
“That’s not happening.”
She held out her left hand forward, and readied the gun in her right.
✦ ✦ ✦
