“Tsk,” I clicked my tongue with annoyance.
I rushed forth. I didn’t mind if she died, but I wished she’d do so away from my land. I wasn’t sure what might lead to my ultimate death, and the demise of one of the heroines in the tale was a laughable, cruel twist of fate that I very much wished to avoid.
It was likely that someone aside from myself had dreamed of this kingdom’s future. What if they were coincidentally a part of the main character’s forces? If that person found out that I’d abandoned one of the heroines and left her for dead, they’d be after my head for forsaking Lilka in her time of need.
Admittedly, the chance of that being the case was astronomically small, but it wasn’t zero. No matter how unlikely, I had to prevent it. Of course, it would be naive of me to think that I could eliminate every single factor that might lead to my death, but I had to do everything in my power. If saving that infuriating main character’s comrades might allow me to cling onto life, that was exactly what I’d do.
I rushed through the dark corridor and headed for the fourth floor; the other manaless members of the Scarlet Wind on the first floor would have to wait for now. They might have been against immortal beasts, but they were still only on the first floor. I was confident that those skilled adventurers wouldn’t die so easily.
✶✶✶
My mana radar served as my guide as I raced through the tumulus, reaching the fourth floor in mere moments. The founder’s familiars didn’t try to lay a hand on me as they sensed that I had Lightless blood flowing through my veins. This allowed me to take the shortest route to my destination without any needless fighting. I spotted a girl with light-brown hair being enveloped by tentacles that stretched out from her shadow, dragging her under. Looks like I was cutting it close...
I recognized this ancient monster well. It hid within someone’s shadow before it used its tentacles to sneak up on its victims and drag them under. This man-eating familiar was a natural hunter of humans. Whether this girl was lucky or unlucky was up for debate, but she had run into the weakest familiar of the fourth floor. I created a Dark Scythe in my hand and sliced the familiar into shreds.
Though the girl had been freed, she froze, stunned from the series of events. I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck to drag her out of the shadow. There was no mistaking her petite frame and light-brown hair; though she looked a touch younger than in my dream, I was certain of who this was.
“I knew it was you...Lilka Skyfield,” I muttered.
I’d faced Lilka in the Elite Four battles of my dream, but she didn’t treat me with as much hostility as Faltiana did, so I wasn’t too opposed to saving her. Of course, I didn’t have a wholly positive impression of her either, since she did attack me without any qualms.
The Lilka of the present sank to the ground clumsily and looked up at me.
“Huh? How do you know my name?” she asked.
I didn’t answer as I furrowed my brow at her. She was about to die seconds ago, but doesn’t seem all that disturbed... Is she airheaded or just stupid? Whatever... I’ve no reason to answer her oafish questions.
“This is an ancient site of House Lightless,” I snapped. “How dare you trespass into this land.”
I glared down at her and scowled, making Lilka snap back to her senses as she straightened her posture.
“Huh? Oh,” she stammered before she looked visibly confused. “I-I’m sorry. Wait, huh? You mean this is a Lightless ruin?”
“You don’t even know what you trespassed onto?” I barked.
“I was told that it was a ruin of the God of Darkness...”
“What?”
The God of Darkness was one of the Six Gods that this kingdom worshiped. As the name implied, six gods descended upon our kingdom a millennium ago and founded our nation. Each deity had their own element: light, dark, fire, water, wind, and earth. But I’ve never heard of this place being a ruin for the God of Darkness.
“As I said, this ruin has its roots in House Lightless,” I said. “It has nothing to do with the God of Darkness. Where you heard such nonsense is beyond me.”
“What?!” Lilka yelped. “But my source is pretty credible... Huh... Well, this is weird.”
She tilted her head to one side while. I continued to glare at her and sighed.
“In any case, I cannot allow you lot to stay here,” I said. “Grab your friends and leave at once.”
“I mean, I’d love to, but I don’t even know what floor I’m on,” she said. “And some pretty sketchy monsters are prowling about. Wait, so then how...”
Finally you ask me that question? Who do you think you’re talking to? You’re pretty slow in the head.
Lilka, perhaps noticing my exasperation, glared at me.
“Hey!” she said. “I bet you just thought that I’m stupid! Siggy’s looked at me the same way before!”
Sigil... If memory serves, he’s the leader of the Scarlet Wind. There’s nothing more exhausting than a conversation with an idiot.
As I internally berated Lilka, I noticed a flurry of tentacles emerge from the shadow by her feet. My magic barrier easily deflected them all, and I used that time to create a Dark Lance to hurl at the man-eating familiar in her shadow. When my weapon pierced it, a bloodcurdling, shrill shriek rang out, causing the corridor to quake, and in seconds, the tentacles vanished like mist. A familiar like that wouldn’t die, but I’d shattered the mana core that acted as a monster’s heart, so it would take some time to regenerate.
When I turned to Lilka, I noticed that she’d nearly collapsed on the floor.
“H-Heh heh... My legs buckled... That was scary,” she muttered.
“What are you laughing about?” I snapped coldly. “Come on, get up!”
She scrambled to her feet, looking a bit glum. “Wow... That cold attitude could freeze beer. You’re strong, aren’t you? But judging by how you saved me, are you the type who acts surly but is actually kind at his core?”
“I...wouldn’t know. What I do know is that you’re annoying.”
“Ack! Sorry! I didn’t mean it! Really! Thank you so much for saving my life! I’m so grateful!”
I scowled at her as I turned around, my coat fluttering behind me.
“Enough,” I spat. “I’ll take you to your friends, so follow me.”
“W-Wait, really?!” she gasped. “Wow! Thank you so much!”
For some inexplicable reason, she tried to hug me. I dodged her just in the nick of time.
“Huh?”
When she noticed my frosty glare, she visibly shrank.
“I’m sorry...” she muttered. “I won’t do it again.”
“Watch yourself, dolt,” I spat.
Just as I tried to walk ahead, I noticed Lilka trying to cling to my back once more. I dodged it again and imbued my hand with mana as I glared at her.
“You bi—” I started.
But when I peered into her face, I noticed that she wasn’t at all fooling around; in fact, she looked to be in a mild state of panic.
“Duck!” she shouted.
“Huh?” I asked.
A second later, a crack ran through the magic barrier behind me. My eyes widened with astonishment. I knew that I had to be careful in the founder’s tumulus, and thus had made my magic barrier exponentially tougher, just in case. And yet...it cracked.
I glared at my enemy who managed to damage my barrier. It stood proudly in the middle of the corridor, making no attempt to hide. The familiar looked to be a humanoid covered in rags. In its hand was a weapon reminiscent of Dark Scythe, and I suspected that this weapon was what had cracked my barrier. Countless eyes darted around and glared at me from between the gaps of the rags, and I could tell that this monster was extremely powerful even among the fourth floor monsters. The familiar produced four Dark-Lance-like objects in one go, casting nonverbal spells with little effort. Clearly, this familiar was highly intelligent like the Wicked Whale.
“R-Run!” Lilka cried, worried about me though her knees had buckled once more. “Just leave me behind and run!”
I sighed as I produced a Dark Scythe of my own, willing to oppose this humanoid monster.
“Just shut up and sit down,” I said.
The founder’s familiars usually didn’t attack those of House Lightless, but there were exceptions. If I attacked a familiar and treated it as an enemy, it would naturally fight back, and though I’d never tried it, if I sullied or damaged the tumulus in some way, I suspected that the familiars would jump me. It seemed my attempt to save a trespasser had enraged them; they saw someone helping a grave robber as equally guilty. In other words, it was possible I’d have to fight my way back out of here.