Running down the hall at an amiable speed, Lieren and Umbra ran in a desperate huff, illusory voices sounding behind them.
…After the looping corridor spell was broken, they immediately faced another problem. The two guards that fell to the ground immediately got back up, as if revived, and ran after them in a mad chase.
Luckily, they didn't seem to be able to use Enhancement. However, they didn't seem like Insigs, either. Their weapons glowed with a bright glow.
One of them, in particular, was an Invoker—a magical implement meant to channel mana in a more efficient way to achieve various improved effects. It took the shape of a lantern the same size as an open hand. On of the guards held it in front of him, casting a bright light on the two of them.
The emitted light seemed to have tracking abilities, its shine shifting to their position. However, it was only able to keep track of one of them, which was somehow a blessing.
'Curses!' Lieren immediately decided to take center stage and focus the light on him.
Unlike Umbra, who seemed to rely on shadows and darkness, his spell list didn't have any particularly debilitating restrictions.
As the lantern cast its light upon his thin figure, the apparent target, he made sure to stand on the opposite side as Umbra, reducing the risk of her being found and breaking her concealment. Compared to him, she did not have much stamina or mana left to spare.
But he wasn't in the best of conditions, either. His body still burned from the torturer—Brad's beating. Battered and bruised, with burn marks strewn all across his body, Lieren felt like he could collapse at any second.
He hadn't eaten in a while, either. A couple of days, at best. And then, something flashed behind him, and his intuition yelled at him to duck.
Following the feeling, he lowered himself, felt something sharp brush against his skin, and saw two glowing arrows pierce the wall in front of him. With a grimace, he wiped the bleeding off his cheek and cast a glance back, casting his own spell:
Invisible Abjuration.
With a glint and a short pause, a crude arrow formed itself midair and shot out of his periphery, piercing the air and distorting space. Seconds later, it rapidly expanded… but nobody had been caught.
Like clockwork, the two guards dodged out of the arrow's way, their movement seemingly automatic. Lieren had tried to catch them mid-jump, but the two guards moved too quickly and autonomously.
Thus, he cursed, and quickly caught up with the enveloping shadows. He found Umbra's figure, then lost it, and he sighed inwardly.
Even he had trouble piercing through the darkness.
Dodging two more glowing arrows, a shudder suddenly ran through his entire body, and he stopped momentarily. Urged by the desire not to die, he quickly caught himself and kept going, his thoughts slowing somewhat.
Dun! Then, he shuddered again, and he couldn't help but glance backwards. That was when he saw it.
Within the hand-sized lantern was a bright glow, burning brightly, slowly coalescing into a bright ball of fire. In thirty seconds, it was bound to be released, cast, or whatever way it could to hinder him.
Enhancing his legs and hips, he sped up, then began accumulating Fortification in his body in preparation. Accumulating Augmentation was different from regular Augmentation in that it was more stable, increasing its efficiency. However, it can only be used via a preemptive command, requiring a strategic mind to make the best use of it.
Since Lieren already had a rough estimate of the spell's casting time, he decided to stack Fortification and preemptively defend himself.
Being extra aware of the situation behind him, he kept count of the seconds passing in his mind, and when the time came, he quickly rounded a corner and stuck close to Umbra, then pushed her out of the way.
*Flash!*
The lantern let out a bright burst of light, then quickly dimmed. The tracking light it emitted vanished, and only the growing ball of burning light remained. With another flash, it suddenly disappeared and reappeared, shooting out of the lantern at a remarkable speed.
Gritting his teeth, Lieren raised his arms and used his amassed Fortification to reduce the oncoming damage.
The ball of fire split into three parts at the last second.
*BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!*
Three explosions resounded, completely eviscerating the walls, ceiling, and floor of the dungeon. Collapses erupted, crack crept, and rubble fell. In the span of a few seconds, debris and dust covered the hallway under the falling mounds of stone.
And Lieren felt his body burning. Jumping at the same the explosion resounded, he let the shockwave carry his frail body and fling him away from the scene of raw destruction… but not without consequence.
'Curses!' He was in a world of pain.
Burning arms, jelly-like legs and a wave of pain so powerful that it even reached bone. Not to mention the burning heat assailing his entire body. Wisps of his hair were singed as it caught fire, then extinguished as he rolled on the ground behind him. A cloud of dust and dirt erupted.
And a shadowed figure loomed over him like a monster. The darkness writhed, and the shadowed figure suddenly extended her hand.
It took him a couple of seconds to realize that the figure was Umbra. Reaching; extending, Lieren allowed himself to be supported, standing up on his own to feet.
With a deep, deep sigh, he keeled over and took a deep breath, then looked at the wreckage. When he failed to see much, he gave up immediately.
"What happened? I can't make anything out," he asked, confused and worried. That spell was powerful, extremely so. He wasn't sure if the two of them would be able to survive another one of those.
Umbra lingered for a moment, then said, "Don't worry. The worse has come to pass. Those guys are probably on the other side of the mound of rubble, either trapped or dead. Bastards deserved it. Using such a destructive spell in a closed off area is practically suicide."
Then, she patted his shoulder, and the two looked up at the broken ceiling.
Up above, light seeped out. Natural light.
Nodding deliberately to Umbra, Lieren peeked above, then returned when he saw nobody waiting for their arrival.
He asked her, "So, can you sense anybody?"
From previous evidence, Lieren had surmised that Umbra had a unique way to detect presences—"feeling shadows," she called it. However that worked.
For now, that was all he could count on.
She shook her head.
"Don't worry, from what I can tell, there isn't anybody there. Though, you should still be careful. Rogues, especially are a troublesome bunch. They're stealthy and cowardly, lithe and flexible. And they like to ambush the unaware," Umbra warned, her eyes serious.
Under the seeping light, her pale face was illuminated a bit. Looking back up, Lieren swallowed and sighed heavily, formed his resolve, and walked ahead.
Despite taking most of the brunt of the explosion, however sparse and mitigated by Fortification, he was still the more able fighter between the two of them. Which was a shame considering their conditions; neither one was ready to face on a full-on battle. Sighing, he slowed his steps and prepared for a fight.
Only to stop dead in his tracks.
"What's wrong?" Umbra's voice echoed behind him. She, too, had stopped walking up.
Lierne shivered.
Up above, corpses were strewn all across the room like a macabre menagerie, painting a cruel and bloody picture. Grimacing, he held himself back continued ascending the mound of rubble leading to the collapsed ceiling.
His eyes flew wide open as he bore witness on the room. Several items lay scattered across the walls and floor, some magical and most mundane. One them, especially, was very familiar.
It was his proof of participation: Aries's Blessing. As well as his striking dagger and clothes.
The two, apparently, had found themselves in the storage room of Mad Hatter.
◇◆◇◆◇
The Mocný family grand mansion, Zolovat's room: the Scorpio candidate. Pacing around the room hurriedly, Scorpio bit his nail and stopped suddenly.
Opening a certain drawer, he started ruffling through a couple of documents he had "borrowed" from the archive room and picked up a certain piece of paper, one of them being the list of candidates in this competition.
"Mad Hatter," he muttered in a low voice, his face calm and composed.
There was a deep, creeping suspicion in his eyes, as if a cold truth had just been unraveled before him.
◇◆◇◆◇
Staid and unperturbed, James Moriarty took an apprehensive step forward, eyeing the man with mocking eyes. His face stern and his voice low, he said:
"I want information," he isolated himself. This was a necessary step. "Information about the Silata's new candidate: Aquarius, also known as Naruse Silata."
The man crossed his legs and tapped his chin, smiling all the while. Despite clearly being the seller and not the buyer, he remained mocking and disrespectful.
"Hmm~ I believe I have heard of the name, yes. That's… the backup candidate of the Silata's, I believe…" he mused with an upbeat tune, his smile unwavering as he eyed the two detective gentlemen with conniving eyes.
The man was like a snake, slithering on the ground, waiting for its time to trap its prey and choke the life out of it. Worse: swallow it in its entirety, not leaving a trace behind. The man looked for any weaknesses with refined finesse.
If not for the deductive eyes of Sherlock and the quick-thinking by James, then they would have long been exposed, exploited, and stripped of any and all resources conceivable. Luckily, they were experts in this kind of altercation, maybe even more than on-site investigations.
"Stop the needless babble and get on already," James berated. Between the two detectives, he was the more intimidating with his robust physique.
The man chuckled, then stood up from the conspicuous velvet chair and sighed, his smile unfaltering. He walked over to the two with bravado, his hand behind his back, and narrowed his eyes.
Rolling his eyes but still keeping the man in his sights, he produced a small brown envelope, then threw it to the man's direction. The smiling man caught the envelope deftly, opening it musingly, completely ignoring James.
His smile grew.
"Yes, yes. It's all here. Wonderful!" he shouted, pocketing the envelope.
After sitting back on the velvet chair, he began:
"Naruse Silata has been given the proof of participation representing the constellation of Aquarius touted as Aquarius's Grace.
"Heh heh… from what little birds have told me, it would seem that his proof of participation has the ability to predate on souls, containment, and consume it for layer use. What the consumed souls do, however, is out of my imagination.
"There's also his step-brother: Taurus, the previous holder of Taurus's Boon and main competitor in this competition. He was killed by Aries during the opening ball at the very start of the competition. A shame, really. I've heard that his proof of participation is the weakest, and has a very debilitating feature.
"Oh! There's quite a lot of tension on the Silata family right now, as well. With the death of their main competitor, and their ramshackle attempt to reduce the damage, and the loss of their proof of participation, a little bird has told me that their influence is only being supported by the family's great head: its current leader and father of Aquarius himself.
"The tension is high in the family, and Aquarius's position is nothing more than a placeholder until they find a more suitable candidate."
James crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, gazing at the man suspiciously.
"And of his abilities? Do you have any information regarding his spell list?"
Smiling, the man nodded and leaned back on his velvet seat, crossing his legs and placing his hands atop the armrests. Lofty and overconfident, the man's air was almost like that of those pompous blue bloods.
"From a little bird, I've heard that his abilities lies in the water element. Heh heh, how fitting.
"According to some key witnesses and my own investigation, there is conclusive evidence to say that Aquarius's powers lie in precise control of water, sharpening of objects and conscious control of the battlefield. One time, a little bird of mine even saw him call upon lightning, which was a rare sight. That kind of element is usually in the hands of the believers of the God of Storms. Truly, what a rare talent. It's a real shame his family considers him no more than baggage. To reason as to why, however, is beyond me.
"Then again, in-depth research into the topic is still on the table. It'll cost you, but I can tell my little birds to keep an eye out for such information. At the right price, of course."
As the man pitched his offer, James and Sherlock were already on their way out, grim expressions etched onto their faces.
…As Sherlock reached to open the door, the man suddenly said, as if he had just recalled something:
"Oh, right. My condolences for what happened to Ms. Watson. Her loss was a true shame. Such smarts and beauty, her death was real negative for this world. I don't think I've ever met such a fine woman."
Ignoring the man, James pushed his partner onward and said in a low voice, "Come on, Sherlock. We have things to do."
With a click and a creak, the two left the man's hideout, their faces even more grim than when they had entered.