Chapter 33

I, Elicia, and Selena had come to a warehouse in the back of the town hall.

It was a sturdy stone-built warehouse.

Until yesterday, the inside was dirty with charred wooden boxes and shattered pots, but it seemed the slimes had already tidied them up in the corner.

"Over there. In the back."

Selena pointed to a locked metal door.

"Could it be... Is this mithril ore?"

"Yes, it's orichalcum. But if you leave it to me, a door like this—"

"Hold it, Selena! It will collapse with the entrance!"

I said to Selena, who had red light in her hand.

Elicia tilted her head.

"Can't you just cut through the lock?"

"This isn't just a lock. It's a magical device. Moreover, it's made of mithril ore, so it's not easy to break... To unlock it, we need magic or a password, but Selena, do you know it?"

"Unfortunately... I thought this door was open to begin with..."

"Hmm? So someone locked it after Selena was done?"

"Probably. I immediately headed towards the woman in black."

Perhaps someone locked it to prevent enemies from entering for the sake of our companions.

"Anyway, we need to unlock it..."

To unlock it, we need to send magic power to the lock and move the magic to fit the shape of the keyhole...

I can now freely manipulate dark magic. I sent magic to fill the keyhole.

With a click, the lock fell to the floor.

"Brilliant!"

"Indeed, Master Alex!"

Elicia and Selena clapped. It was as if they were praising a small child.

Indeed, I am a child... but it feels a bit embarrassing.

"Anyway... I'm opening it."

"Leave that to us."

Elicia immediately pulled the door handle.

As the wind rushed towards the door, I expanded light orbs with the [Holy Lamp] to illuminate the surroundings.

As the inside of the door gradually became visible, a skull rolled onto the floor from the other side.

"Huh? – This, this!?"

I illuminated the inside of the door with the light orbs.

What appeared were skulls that filled the stairs leading underground.

They were undoubtedly human remains.

Selena's face turned pale.

"Why are they here?"

"Maybe the people who fled came back?"

Elicia muttered, and Selena said with a worried look.

"But there were also allied troops on the mainland! And in the underground, there was the Guardian unit that the governor had made!"

"Selena. I understand your concern. But these people may not be from Ars... They could be people who came from the mainland to Ars."

At my words, Selena nodded reluctantly.

"Anyway, let's check below."

I sent a glance to Eric, who was standing nearby.

"Sorry, but can you have the slimes gather the bones?"

Eric and the surrounding slimes began to carry the bones from the stairs.

For now, we'll place them in the corner of the warehouse and bury them later.

While the slimes quickly cleaned up the bones, we descended the stairs.

After about a minute, a corridor-like area came into view.

The floor of the corridor was scattered with shattered bones.

It was unclear whether someone had crushed them or if they had naturally ended up this way.

As we descended into the corridor, Selena's face turned pale at the scene around her.

"Who did this..."

The ground was covered with human ashes... The thought made me shudder.

However, Elicia, who seemed more accustomed to it, calmly checked the surroundings.

"Their clothes seem to have burned away... The metal is also melted unnaturally. Were they burned... Ah."

Elicia's eyes were drawn to a certain point in the corridor.

There, a metal medal-like object lay on the ground.

"– That's!"

Selena hurriedly picked up the medal.

"Governor of Tialus Province, Gregos Villias Verdes... This is the medal indicating the governor's position."

"So, the people here were refugees from Ars Island..."

At my words, Selena nodded and her face darkened.

She must have thought that she had managed to save the people of the town at the cost of her own life.

"Let's bury them properly later, Selena... For now, let's keep moving. We might find out why they died."

"– Yes."

Selena nodded firmly.

We continued down the corridor.

While illuminating the front with the light orbs, we carefully examined the floor and walls for anything unusual.

However, after walking for a while, I noticed countless magical reactions ahead.

I illuminated the area with the light orbs, and there stood a dull, shining metal.

"Is this... armor?"

As Elicia said, there stood large suits of armor. Not just one, but many. They were neatly lined up... Looking to the back, there seemed to be over a hundred.

On the other hand, Selena was stunned.

"Guardians..."

The armor was the magical devices known as Guardians. Puppets that act on commands. I've heard they were used for combat and security in ancient times.

Did the Guardians fail to protect the people and were immobilized?

No... these should still be able to move.

There was a faint magical power remaining inside the armor. The reaction of the magic core, the heart of the Guardians.

"Selena, are these Guardians made of mithril ore?"

"Yes, probably the same orichalcum as the door."

"I see... then, let's slowly retreat."

"You mean... they can move?"

"Yes. Given the situation, the people of Ars were killed by these... We're too late."

The armor suddenly glowed with a faint purple light in the center of their helmets.

Selena suddenly shouted.

"I'm Selena, the commander of the Sixth Legion! Listen to me! – !?"

However, the armor turned towards us and attacked with arrows and fire magic.

Selena looked incredulous.

"Why aren't they listening to me!?"

"Dark Wall! – It's not because I'm a bearer of the dark emblem, right?"

I created a wall of dark magic in front of us and asked Selena.

"Yes! They don't usually attack humans. They only attack humans on their master's command..."

"So, they're malfunctioning."

Elicia muttered while drawing her sword.

"Would a hundred malfunction?"

"That's impossible. They don't disobey their master's orders."

Selena looked completely confused. Guardians were known for their loyalty, and she had never heard of them malfunctioning.

So, perhaps the Guardians were being controlled by some factor.

"Selena, do you notice anything unusual about the Guardians?"

"Not really... No! The light in their helmets is purple, not red... But I don't know why."

"Dark magic often has black or purple light. Maybe – Ah, I see."

Carefully observing the flow of magic, I noticed that the magic cores of the Guardians were surrounded by dark magic.

"Can they be controlled by dark magic?"

– Demon... Do you know such magic? Hey...

But the demon didn't answer.

Stubborn... I won't ask you again.

Anyway, if I can remove the dark magic, it should work.

"Elicia, Selena, can you defend for a while?"

Selena nodded deeply.

"Of course! Fire and arrows are powerless against my flames."

"If necessary, I'll use my sword."

"Thank you both... I'll leave it to you."

I canceled the Dark Wall.

"Ha! Flame Wall!"

Selena immediately created a thick wall of flames in front of us.

The attacks were being blocked. We should be fine as long as the armor doesn't charge in.

Meanwhile, I closed my eyes and searched for the magic to locate the magic cores of the Guardians.

I sent dark magic to the cores one by one using [Transfer].

I tried to push away the dark magic attached to the cores with my own magic.

However, it seemed firmly attached, and I couldn't remove it.

The attacks from the Guardians showed no signs of stopping.

If I can't remove it...

...Then, I'll absorb it.

I sent even more dark magic to the cores.

I moved the dark magic attached to the cores as if absorbing it. Once I confirmed that my magic and the core's magic had merged, I dispersed it.

I confirmed that the dark magic reactions from the cores were disappearing one by one and opened my eyes.

"...How is it?"

"This is..."

Selena noticed that the attacks had stopped and stopped the Flame Wall.

There stood Guardians with red light in their helmets.

They seemed to be moving in a human-like manner, as if they didn't understand what had happened.

Selena spoke again.

"I am Selena, the commander of the Sixth Legion! Governor Gregos is dead! Your ownership now belongs to the Sixth Prince, Alex! Understand?"

The Guardians knelt in unison at her words.

It seems they are now under our control.

Selena sighed.

"That's... good... But why?"

"Someone controlled the Guardians... and then locked the door and killed them."

At my words, Selena clenched her lips.

"The woman in black... I couldn't protect anyone from her..."

Selena said regretfully.

The woman in black.

She was undoubtedly a powerful user of dark magic. And she was probably not human. A demon or a monster...

I don't know if she's still alive, but we need to be on guard.

"Anyway, Selena. Let's gather the remains here and bury them first. We'll head to the mine afterward."

"Yes..."

We gathered the remains and returned to the surface.