"Are you afraid of snakes?"
First thing the next morning, Duanmu Huai called Lorena and Mary over and asked them this question.
"Well...…I don't like them."
"Same here."
It was clear enough that neither of them was fond of snakes. The question was...…
"Afraid of them?"
"Not afraid, no."
Lorena answered quickly, which made sense. As someone who traveled extensively on pilgrimages, she had certainly encountered plenty of snakes and was probably well used to them.
"I...…don't know. I've never actually encountered a snake before. I only know that snakes are venomous and dangerous...…"
Fair enough — Mary really didn't seem like the sort of young lady who went wandering carelessly through the countryside.
"Here's what we're dealing with this time...…"
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai explained the situation regarding the Serpent People to the two of them. Upon learning that such an ancient race was living right beneath the town, both of them couldn't help but be taken aback.
"Serpent People...…we're going to fight a race like that?"
"That's right. Exterminating them entirely — that's the objective."
"But there are only three of us."
"You don't need to worry about that."
Faced with Mary's curious question, Duanmu Huai gave a meaningful smile.
"We're not just three people."
"...…???"
After finishing breakfast, Duanmu Huai led Lorena and Mary to the manor Vyncourt had purchased. The old house still sat in its partially demolished state, and the police cordon remained in place — though the absence of any officers made it clear this was no longer a priority for the investigation.
Duanmu Huai crossed the cordon and made his way to the underground passage Vyncourt had described. Sure enough, the far end of the tunnel was completely blocked by collapsed rubble. At least from this side, getting through was clearly impossible.
"Goodness...…it really did collapse. Can we actually dig through this?"
Looking at the thoroughly blocked passageway before her, Mary couldn't help but look troubled. Duanmu Huai simply shrugged.
"Watch. It's simple."
As he said this, Duanmu Huai raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, dozens of puppets materialized out of thin air and immediately set to work.
"What? What?! What is this??"
Seeing the puppets appear out of nowhere, Mary was startled. Lorena, on the other hand, had seen enough of this kind of thing to be unfazed.
"Magic — you've learned it too, haven't you?"
"Of course I know...…but...…"
At that, Mary looked at Duanmu Huai with disbelief.
"Mr. Duanmu, you can actually use magic?"
"Why? Does it seem unlikely?"
"...…"
Mary looked carefully at the powerfully built man before her — muscles so tense they looked ready to split his shirt, stern features, shaved head...…
Honestly, yes, it did seem unlikely.
"I always thought mages were like Miss Ranni...…"
By comparison, Ranni fit Mary's image of a mage perfectly — the witch-like hat, the cloak, the staff, always seated in her chair with an air of profound wisdom.
"In this day and age, what kind of mage doesn't know close-quarters combat? You learned it too, didn't you?"
"Well...…that's true...…"
In fact, most of what Mary had learned from Ranni was indeed close-combat oriented — spells like Carian Slicer or Carian Greatsword essentially just condensed magical power into a blade, which still required your own melee technique to use effectively. She had simply overlooked this because Carian magic looked so spectacular.
"Does that mean all mages are like this?"
"Of course. I'll tell you — a proper archmage learns a flash spell, maxes out their whirlwind slash, and then runs in swinging. Isn't that exactly what you do?"
"...…"
Though she couldn't really argue with that, hearing Duanmu Huai say it somehow still left Mary at a complete loss for words.
"And Lorena is the same, isn't she? Don't let her fool you — she looks gentle, but she's absolutely ferocious in a fight."
"Well...…that's true as well."
Mary had witnessed Lorena fight on more than one occasion, and she had seen several times the elaborate shrine maiden robes Lorena wore into battle — white garments trimmed with gold, covered in sacred patterns that gave the impression of someone who should be singing prayers at an altar or in a church. Yet this same softly smiling girl in everyday life became absolutely ferocious the moment a fight broke out, and Mary had seen more than once the sight of Lorena swinging that enormous scripture and caving a monster's skull in with the impact...…frankly, Mary didn't think that was the sort of thing an ordinary shrine maiden or priest could do. Her impression of shrine maidens and priests had always been people who prayed in churches, offered counsel to the faithful, or stood behind everyone else encouraging them from the rear...…hm?
Was it possible her own assumptions were the problem here??
Just as Mary was beginning to question whether her own common sense was off, the puppets had already finished clearing out the collapsed passageway.
"Alright, let's go in."
The reason they chose this route again was that according to Suzume's scouting report, there were only two passages connecting the Serpent People's underground realm to the surface. One was the passage they had always used — the main route to the surface. The other was this one, and because it had been sealed off, it actually connected to the rear of the Serpent People's lair below.
In other words, unlike the main passage which would be full of Serpent People sentries, this route was far more suitable for a surprise approach. It was true that Vyncourt and his crew had already alerted the Serpent People once when they came down — but then Vyncourt had blown the passage shut again, and even the Serpent People probably couldn't have anticipated that anyone would try to come through here a second time.
Which was exactly why this was the right approach.
Passing through the cleared passage, the group quickly found the tunnel leading down to the underground depths that Vyncourt had described, and followed it forward until they emerged into a large subterranean cavity below.
"Goodness...…"
Seeing the sight before her, Mary couldn't help but widen her eyes in astonishment.
When Vyncourt had recounted his experience, perhaps because of his extreme agitation, or perhaps because he simply didn't want to relive it, he had never described the appearance of this place in any detail. But for Mary, seeing this underground cavern, her first reaction was...…
"It's beautiful...…"
Yes, just as Mary said — the underground cavern before them was far more than just a cave. The walls were smooth and even, flanked by tall stone columns, and both the walls and columns were covered in intricate, elaborate carvings. Elsewhere on the walls and floor, luminescent moss scattered all around emitted a pale blue-white glow, creating a genuinely breathtaking scene.
"This looks just like an underground ruin. If it were discovered, it would cause an enormous sensation and be excavated and studied extensively."
As a student of history, Mary understood perfectly well what a discovery like this would mean to the academic world.
"Depending on how things go, it might not be impossible to leave it intact."
This was Serpent People civilization, which naturally would contain records concerning the Serpent God. If Duanmu Huai managed to kill the Serpent God, the records here could potentially be left as an archaeological find. But if the Serpent God was cunning enough to escape from him, Duanmu Huai would have no choice but to destroy this place entirely.
"Alright, this isn't the time to be sightseeing."
Duanmu Huai lowered his voice. He had already noticed several dark shapes moving in the shadows beyond the reach of the luminescent moss. Whatever they were, it was clear that if they didn't pick up the pace, the Serpent People would detect them.
"Move!"
Duanmu Huai's strategy was simple — a single sharp penetration straight to the center, with the puppet army following closely behind to engage and eliminate any creatures that detected their presence. After all, as far as Duanmu Huai was concerned, with enough [Soul Cards], he alone was an army. There was no need to worry about that.
According to Suzume's scouting results, the most numerous creatures down here were the white ape-things and the Ghouls, while the Serpent People themselves were actually the fewest in number — understandable enough. Even the Necrons left constructs to guard their tombs while they slept in their sarcophagi.
Only a handful of Serpent People were actively guarding the lair, among them presumably a leader — but Suzume hadn't gone any further in, because she had sensed danger and retreated decisively.
Nothing to be done about that. In this world, Suzume was just a small, vulnerable little cat — not the shadow-stepping kunoichi she could be. If she had been, there would have been no need for Duanmu Huai to come down here at all — she might well have silently killed every Serpent Person in the lair overnight without anyone noticing.
What Duanmu Huai needed to do now was reach the area Suzume had marked as dangerous, and eliminate whatever threat lay within.
Though the luminescent moss provided some light, the cavern was still quite dim overall. But of course, that posed no difficulty for Duanmu Huai and the others — a brilliant blue magical orb floated above their heads, lighting the path ahead. This was one of the spells Mary had learned from Ranni: Starlight.
Honestly, the spells Mary had learned from Ranni were few in number, but each one was essential. Starlight handled illumination, Composure steadied the mind, Glintblade served for ranged attacks, and Carian Slicer and Greatsword handled close combat. Ranni truly was an outstanding mage — though Mary's limited magical capacity meant she had only learned a small number of spells, these few alone were more than enough to handle most of the difficulties she would encounter.
From this, it was clear that Ranni did think highly of Mary.
"This way."
Ahead was a passage, but Duanmu Huai chose the fork to the side instead. Under normal circumstances he would have walked straight through, but Suzume had told him there was a trap ahead — and in a moment like this, Duanmu Huai was very glad Suzume was around. Most traps didn't particularly threaten him, but they were still a nuisance.
"But Mr. Duanmu, there's no path this way!"
Rounding the corner and going forward, they came to what looked like the edge of a sheer cliff dropping into a deep chasm.
"It's fine. Hold on!"
As he said this, Duanmu Huai reached out, grabbed Lorena and Mary one in each hand, and leaped off the edge.
"WHOOOOSH—————!!"
The sudden move startled Mary completely. She squeezed her eyes shut on instinct, feeling only the wind roaring past her ears — and then in the next instant, with a tremendous impact, Duanmu Huai landed hard on the ground below, then set Lorena and Mary down.
"Haah...…"
Lorena was long since used to this kind of thing and even stretched lazily once they'd landed. Mary, by contrast, sat straight down on the ground, pale-faced.
"Mr., Mr. Duanmu, that was so dangerous! I thought I was going to fall to my death!"
After all, the spells Ranni had taught Mary did not include anything that allowed flight.
"It's fine. Do it a few more times and you'll get used to it."
As he said this, Duanmu Huai looked toward the path ahead.
"But for now — get ready to fight."
"Hissssss—————!!"
Accompanying Duanmu Huai's words, Mary heard a sound coming from the darkness ahead. She instinctively gripped her staff tighter, stood up, and fixed her gaze on what lay before them.
And then, illuminated by the glow of the magical light, dark figures emerged from the shadows.
(End of Chapter)