Sera and the others quickly got caught up with the commotion happening around Tristania. It caused quite the panic within their groups when bandits came out of nowhere, but they have started to realize the peculiarity of the entire situation after chasing down a group themselves.
"Tch, piece of cake," Shoko grunted, tossing one of the limped bandits' bodies onto the ground.
Behind her, Noel and Mitsui had also succeeded in taking down the rest of the bandit hoard without killing them. As they would need to extract as much information as needed while also assisting the guards of the city, they only went as far as to immobilize them and knocked them unconscious.
Now that they had a reason to fight, it wouldn't make sense to continue hiding their identities from the guards. They could simply pose as students who 'happened to come across a group of bandits escaping and took them down in the process' if needed, which would be very convincing given the circumstance.
"How are things on your end?" Shoko spoke into her necklace.
"No good," Rena's slightly distraught voice came from it. "They wouldn't cooperate. I think the magic oozing from their bodies are the source of what that is making them act so weird."
"Hmm, understood. I have already informed Sera to not apprehend them and only observe, we shall wait for her report," Shoko nodded. "It really is too weird, if you think about it."
Bandits that appeared all of a sudden without a reason all over the city, as if they were baiting whoever it was and wherever they were to chase after them. While Shoko and Rena's trio fought their own group of bandits that seemed to appear out of nowhere after mingling with the residences, it was clear they were different than what normal bandits would ordinarily act like.
Starting with the enhancement on their bodies, why would it be that they never made use of it? Clearly, what that was coursing through their bodies and making them seem much more intimidating was the red veins, which was caused from an excess of magic power flowing through them. If they truly were there to cause chaos, why would they not rely on their powers?
Secondly, if they were to cause chaos, why were they simply running around? They didn't even try to take down a guard or two with them but ran around wildly and knocking over people and stalls on the street with the guards chasing them. All the hollering and running around only stopped when they intervened by fighting them. It wasn't even a fight; it was a simple stop-and-arrest.
Thirdly, they wouldn't respond to their questions, regardless of what they were asked. Even if it was simple 'can you hear me?', they would just grunt and struggle.
"Hm, Rena, what do we do?" Noel asked, approaching the elf while Mitsui made sure to look out for the captured bandits. "I don't think we can get anywhere with this."
"I know. We can't let these bandits off on their own either," Rena sighed. "Can you direct some of the guards here if you see any around us? There should be some on normal patrol."
"Got it," Noel nodded and ran off on her own. "Mitsui, I will leave them to you first."
"Ehh~ please come back soon. I feel uncomfortable being here with Rena only," Mitsui made a small frown when Noel left, but didn't refute the action taken.
"Rena, are you there?" Sera's voice brought Rena back from her absentminded gaze at Mitsui. "I have an update."
"Yes, Sera?"
"Um… are you aware that the dragonkin sisters are here?"
"Uh, they should be at the palace or someplace safe. I don't see them around."
"No, I mean that they are here with us. Lunaea and Luniel were soaring above me just now, but they seem to have left."
"What? Are you sure? I find it hard to believe that they can sneak out- No, maybe that is exactly what they would do. They aren't people who would sit still and wait patiently while Lunaria is missing. What were they doing?"
"I don't know… Luniel noticed me, but she didn't approach. It is likely that we have the same goal, only that they have their own methods of finding Lunaria."
"Never mind Luniel and Lunaea. What about the bandits?"
"I can't seem to find out their true purpose of running around. The scope of scouting is far too wide for me to do it alone. Even with Shoko and you helping…"
Sighing when she heard this, Rena felt a headache coming. This wasn't their fault nor was it due to their incompatibility in scouting, it was simply the city of Tristania being far too big for their purpose of looking around. If the guards and bandits were able to be chased around at such a scale that they were being split up all over the place, it must have taken some serious coordination to be able to pull something like that off.
"We still don't know why the bandits are going around the area and not retaliating," Sera continued mumbling. "I mean, it is good in a sense that they wouldn't be injuring anyone in particular, but it does make the whole thing even weirder."
"Do you think we are overanalysing?" Rena asked. "I propose we continue with apprehending the bandits and passing them off to the guards. At this point, no jurisdiction will be able to forbid us or any passer-by from helping to capture dangerous people like them."
"Agreed. I will continue scouting with Chris and Irene."
"Let's go Yuuji, Albert!"
Sera and Shoko's voice came in response with Rena's suggestion. If they didn't have an answer, they would continue doing what they planned on doing until they found one.
Meanwhile, Kaze was making much more progress with the help of the much more capable scouting abilities of the dragonkin sisters.
Lucentia and Kaze remained scurrying around on the ground. Unlike Sera and their groups, who were able to expose themselves more openly, the two were operating under a much more discrete sense. Even if they came across groups of bandits being chased by guards, they didn't stop to help apprehend them and kept on running. Their current goal was to locate Lunaria and nothing else, leaving the rest to the authorities.
Overhead, Lunatea soared through the sky at a much faster rate than what she normally did. Since all she needed to do was to trace a pattern, it was crucial that she didn't lose track of the few targets that she was focusing on.
Unlike normal people, dragonkins were one of those races where multitasking was essentially what their brains were made for, especially in situations where fighting was crucial. It wasn't to the point where it could be said to have parallel thoughts, but more of for observing and thinking at the same time. Lunatea, Lunaea and Luniel were putting such abilities to the test, with keeping track of all the enemies they were focused on, tracking where they were moving, leading the path, excluding areas they had been to all at the same time.
Such a task would have proven impossible for normal humans to do unless they had a map of the entire city to keep track while taking more time to do so, instead able to be done in a matter of minutes by the Rentaria sisters. With the exclusion of Lucentia for help, they were somehow able to roughly determine a few areas of interest within the search perimeters. It was quite the brief search, yet it was already enough for narrowing down the sites and locations within the city.
"Take a left here, Kaze," Lucentia pointed up ahead while sprinting. "Lunatea noted some point of interest in one of the bigger buildings ahead."
"Ah… nope, not there definitely," Kaze shook his head when they turned round the corner and the building came into view. "It's a school, another one in the area… If there really were a den of kidnappers, I doubt they would choose a place that would be easily observable like that."
"Makes sense. Next place then," Lucentia didn't refute his point, choosing to move on to the next location instead. "I can't sense any irregularity within the area too."
"Where else next?" Kaze asked Lucentia, running up close behind her. "I have to say that despite living here for 6 months, I don't know every place in the city yet."
"It's okay. I can see why that is the case," Lucentia answered, slowing down so they could catch their breath without wasting stamina. "I didn't expect you to know every street or building either, which is why we are moving together."
"But mainly because I can't communicate with the others like you can," Kaze made a wry smile at that. "How long have we been moving around for?"
"I would say it's been 2 hours. We have wasted more time than expected," Lucentia gritted her teeth silently. "Lunaria-nee… We have to hurry, the next one's quite far."
The guards, on the other hand, were not as dumb as one would have expected them to be. It was obvious something was wrong when the bandits weren't causing the chaos they did like the night before. They only gave chase because it was their duty and the only thing they could do as of now. It wasn't like they could choose to ignore them and be on their way searching for the missing dragonkin princess without a care for public safety. Plus, the situation was already being analysed by the watch towers in place all over the city.
Their only problem with the response to this sort of situation was the speed that it took to make reports against whatever they have come across. Since this was the first time they have encountered such a large-scale, bizarre-looking situation, it couldn't be blamed that they didn't have a system in place that was modified to consider every single scenario, especially with something like this. It was simply beyond anyone's wildest imagination that bandits would force the guards to get involved with turning the entire city into a chase.
More and more soldiers were being deployed around the city. It was as though they were at war against a simple group of bandits. However, it was possible that larger forces were at play here so it wasn't wrong to take precaution against these sorts of attacks against the city, be it a foreign matter or something that threatened the safety and peace of the people.
While people like Ethan and Reginsleif couldn't be directly involved in the search itself due to their status, it was still worrying nonetheless as they were in a position which could do nothing other than delegate orders and wait for results.
However, there were people who could execute such actions in their stead. Namely, adventurers from the local guilds who would be issued an emergency quest by now along with some of the fighters. From Kaze's school were the top 10, for example, who had authority to join the fight without an issue considering their abilities.
"Kaze, left side."
"This? It's a guard station. I don't think they can sneak in and out of here."
With yet another failure of a location, Kaze and Lucentia kept on moving through the streets, even more desperately than before.
"They are good. I think one reason why there is excess magic on the bandits is so that we can't easily trace them," Lucentia grumbled to him.
"Trace them? You mean why we can't see where the constant flow of bandits are coming from even from the sky?"
"Mm. My guess is… whoever applied the magic on them also added in a delayed state-reveal magic. When everyone left their place of hideout, they would look invisible due to the magic that had been casted on them. The magic would gradually wear off overtime and by then, they would already be scattered all over the place," Lucentia analysed.
"Not to mention that each time delay per group is at random," Lunatea added, having heard her sister's analysis through telepathy. "Don't worry, the main point is that we look at each of the buildings and area isolated. Next one is up ahead."
The two things they were looking for now from each location depended on a test by analogy. One: is it possible that the location was able to hide not only Lunaria, but possibly an even larger group of bandits without causing alarm to the surrounding. Two: were there traces of abnormal magic signatures around. Three: even if the above two were present, is it possible that they could hide in plain sight? It was all about a game of probability.
Up next was a public park. As much as it seemed unlikely that a park would be able to house a lot of people while being hidden, the possibility of there being a secret passage or a pathway being constructed by magic was much higher.
Instead of splitting off and looking around aimlessly, Lucentia brought Kaze to the middle of the park itself. Kaze wanted to question her decision but decided to follow her, knowing that she must have something in mind if she didn't want him to split up.
"What are we doing here?" Kaze asked her once they stopped moving.
"Hold on," Lucentia inserted her hand into her dimension storage, groping around for something.
When she removed her hand, Lucentia was holding what looked to be a turquoise crystal that was shaped in a diamond. From the clean cuts and shape it had, it must be something that was developed artificially instead of being a magic crystal or something relevant. Still, Kaze had never seen a crystal like that before, making the way Lucentia use it all the more special.
Lucentia planted it in the ground, with its tip showing. Placing her palm on top of it, she imbued magic into it and the crystal began glowing. Nothing happened when the crystal glowed, but Lucentia visibly frowned, as though a ton of pressure was being applied on her due to her strained look.
After a bit, Lucentia widened her eyes and removed the crystal.
"What happened? What did you do?"
"… The crystal allows me to scan areas underneath the ground by sending waves of magic pulses across the structure below. There is a hidden passage close by, follow me."
To Kaze, what Lucentia said was gibberish. He didn't understand what she meant because of the limited knowledge he possessed. To put it in simple terms, Lucentia quickly explained that the crystal acted as an amplifier that projected through objects and structures.
If one inputs their magic through it, it would be expelled from the other side as a form of wave. The wave energy, similar to one that was normally produced by sword skills and such, except in the form of pure magic energy that was capable of passing through the ground and rebounding, was reabsorbed by the crystal. From there, anything that it passed through underground like holes were being transmitted directly to Lucentia, informing her of an irregular in return pattern. If there was a hole or empty space below, then the returning wave wouldn't be the same. In that sense, it was an 'echo'.
From there, Lucentia estimated the returning waves' location where the irregularity was and followed the 'empty trail' left behind. If it was just a hole or two, it wouldn't have piqued her interest as much. What she could feel from the waves returning were a whole passageway underneath along with more split paths. While she couldn't get their entire scope of things due to the limit of the waves transmitting, it was enough for her to determine that it wasn't simply the sewers.
"Here," Lucentia determined, straying from the normal path and rolling into a bunch of bushes.
Using fire magic to burn the bushes, it immediately exposed a sealed hole that looked to be hidden with earth magic. Lucentia quickly got rid of it with earth magic of her own and a ladder came into view. Both widened their eyes in surprise as they never expected to find it hidden in this manner, but it was clear by now that it was obviously one of the passageways where the bandits had used.
"Lunatea, Lunaea, Luniel, we found it," Lucentia muttered with a shaky breath. "Kaze and I are going in. Please check the other areas as there might be more entrances."
"We're going in ourselves?" Kaze asked Lucentia with a small gasp. "You can't be serious."
"I'm not waiting around for Lunaria-nee to be killed, Kaze," Lucentia coldly stared at him. "Be afraid or save Lunaria-nee, your choice."
As much as Kaze was confident in Lucentia's abilities, he wasn't going to risk allowing her to go in by herself in case she got captured like how Lunaria did. Their enemy wasn't one whom they could underestimate, as proven from their previous fight. With a groan, Kaze complied with Lucentia and descended into the unknown darkness together.
What they had found was likely an emergency escape path or a failed route. That was due to them not hearing any sound even as they descended. If this was a path the bandits were using to spread all over the city, then there should be a constant flow of people. Even if there wasn't anyone left, security over the entrances would be expected, making this something that they hadn't expected.
Once they got to the bottom, they could tell by the soft feeling below their feet and the earthy smell that filled the air that the tunnel must have been constructed with haste. The floor and walls were simply hardened dirt using earth magic. If anything, Lucentia found it impressive that they managed to make it so solid and safe when they were supposedly in a hurry. That either meant they truly took the time to consider everyone's safety, or there were a few high-level mages in their ranks.
"Not a shabby job for a group like them," Lucentia admitted, even if it left a bitter taste in her mouth. "I suspect the devils were the one who constructed the tunnel in exchange for their numbers."
"Oh, you meant the tunnel? I suppose it is a very stable walk," Kaze nodded, looking around in the slight darkness. "I figured that it would be much narrower and worse, but it looks wide enough that I can swing my sword properly."
"I will take the lead, you cover for me," Lucentia nodded at him.
With her removing her sword as well, the two inched carefully down the tunnel at a descending rate. It was a simple straightforward path, but the two took no chances.
They quickly arrived at an intersection point, one leading to the left and the other to the right. Here on out, the paths only got wider and smoother, as if they had been trampled on to the point that the dirt had become solid underneath them. This was a sign of people, just what they were missing.
Choosing the left path since the Lucentia found the right part to lead to another area that was at a higher altitude, that could only mean they were close to their lair. From here on out, they had to be stealthy since they didn't want to attract unwanted attention to themselves before they could find Lunaria.
Thankfully, there didn't seem to be as many bandits left. With the number of people above ground, it was likely they would run out sooner or later. There was considerably less activity than what they had anticipated based on the rooms and signs of activity that they passed by. Only a few occasional guards were seen moving here and there, but all it took was to dodge behind the shadows and they were out of sight from patrol.
Another thing that made moving around underground like this incredibly hard was the lack of proper air ventilation along with the temperature. Unlike what one might think, it was very hot on the inside since this wasn't a naturally formed cave system, instead man-made. Lucentia and Kaze were already dripping with sweat from the heat alone. If it wasn't for the adrenaline that had been pumping through their system since they first found the hidden entrance, they would have collapsed on the floor from being too tired and lazy to carry on forward.
The pathway itself was relatively straightforward. There weren't any maze-like structures or confusing bends in the way, probably due to the enemy not minding a breach in their security from how confident they were. Either that, or this was meant not to confuse their own group of bandits, which proved to be weird since Lucentia and the others weren't aware of the relationship the bandits had with the devils. They could even be entirely wrong about it.
"… ! Here," Lucentia stopped Kaze and looked around them once they passed a certain threshold. "I can feel the anti-magic barrier from the sudden decrease in my magical perception."
"Are we inside of it?" Kaze asked softly.
"No, not yet. We are close though. If I can feel the effects of it even from outside, then that meant it must be a really strong barrier," Lucentia nodded, continuing to move cautiously. "It is likely the same perpetrator who was behind the centipede incident, as I have heard from Lunaria-nee. That one involved a barrier, while this was also had a barrier."
"Do you think that one of the devils is something like a barrier-expert?" Kaze suggested with a shiver running down his spine. "It is going to be tough fighting them if that is the case."
"Not if we have a way of countering the barrier," Lucentia gave him a quick smile. "I won't go into detail on how we can use their strength to our advantage, since we have to focus."
A few dozen meters ahead, they found themselves at an exit.
They came out of what looked to be a hole broken into the walls, because they found themselves in one of the sewer systems running below the city. A huge canal appeared before their eyes. Even in the darkness that was barely supplemented with new light crystals being placed along the narrow pathway, they could tell that water was running rapidly from the sound of it.
With their only option of following the lighted pathway, Kaze was able to tell, even with his weak magical perception, that they were getting closer to the barrier itself. Lucentia in particular was starting to feel slight fear from approaching the anti-magic area, her senses heightened even further to detect any signs of activity around them to prevent getting caught off guard. Unlike before, now it was eerily silent with the company of the occasional water trickle.
The dirt beneath their feet made small ruffling noises every time they moved, a result of cement floor not being walked for years now other than the recent activity. It wasn't enough to give their location away to anyone nearby them, but it did make Lucentia's long ears twitch with each louder-than-expected crack.
Quickly, they found the end of the canal itself, a room at the very end. From the small iron bars that barely provided a window for air was the emission of an ominous purple glow. Before that, the entire area around the dead end, including the door, looked warped in a sense that it was murky, as though it was covered by a wall of water that reduced the visibility and made it look opaque.
"That's the barrier," Lucentia spoke, her voice barely registering as a whisper in Kaze's perspective.
"I know… you don't need to tell me," Kaze gulped. "Is there a way of deactivating it without alerting whoever it was who casted it?"
"I don't know, it is difficult to tell. I am willing to be that there are traps and a trigger alarm that would notify them if we try to step any further," Lucentia noted, based on her experience and analysis. "My suggestion is to regroup with Lunatea-nee and the others, they would know what to do."
"Well, what do we do now?" Kaze looked around them, noting that there was no where else they could go. "This is definitely the most suspicious room out of the rest."
"… There is something we can do," Lucentia gave him a small smirk after thinking about it in the dark silence. "Follow me."