Chapter 202: The Vanishing
The entrance to the mine was propped up by decaying timber, the stone walls
choked with emerald moss. A skeletal remains of an abandoned minecart lay on its
side nearby—its wheels rusted into uselessness—surrounded by a scattering of
snapped pickaxes.
Lott, the brown-haired youth, was the first to step into the gloom. He held his
head high, his grip tightening around the hilt of his longsword.
"Stay close, everyone. This isn't the Academy's training grounds anymore," he
commanded, his voice bouncing between the damp walls.
Following behind Lott were the tall, lanky Tim and the stout Bard. Tim held a
glowing stone—the Light of Evernight—aloft, while Bard rested a heavy warhammer
against his shoulder. Both were visibly ill at ease, their eyes darting into
every shadowed corner.
"Lott, are you sure this place is safe?" Tim whispered, his voice tight. "It
feels... morbid."
Lott didn't look back. "What's there to fear? The bounty notice was clear. It's
just some wraiths. During the day, the ones in the outer tunnels are barely
Tier 1 fodder. We're graduates of the Evernight Academy—handling this should be
as easy as breathing."
Bard sniffed the air and pulled a face. "Gods, the stench. Smells like
something's been rotting for a century." He paused, a thought striking him.
"Hey, what do you think was up with that woman outside? Standing there all
alone, not saying a word. Creepy."
Lott dismissed it instantly. "Who knows? Probably some citizen girl with more
gold than sense out for a 'nature walk.' Ignore her. We're here for coin, not
gossip."
Leah, walking at the very back, remained silent. She gripped a glowing staff,
its soft radiance illuminating the path beneath their boots. She felt that the
woman was far more than she seemed, but Lott and the others clearly weren't in
the mood for caution.
As the tunnel narrowed, the air grew heavy with the scent of decay. Suddenly,
the Light of Evernight in Tim's hand flickered.
In the darkness just beyond the reach of their glow, a translucent silhouette
slowly manifested. It had no feet, drifting through the air with a distorted,
flickering body. Where its face should have been, there were only two hollow,
weeping holes.
Tim's voice cracked. "It's here!"
Lott barked an order, showing no fear—only a reckless, hungry excitement. "Don't
panic! Watch this!"
He pulled a small glass vial filled with a pale blue liquid from a pouch at his
waist. "Exorcism Potion! Five silver coins a pop! The merchant swore on his life
that one sip makes even Tier 2 wraiths give us a wide berth!"
He uncorked the bottle, releasing a pungent, chemical odor. "One swig each,
quick!"
The four of them hurriedly shared the foul brew, their faces contorting in
disgust. Lott tossed the empty bottle aside, puffed out his chest, and shouted
at the drifting wraith.
"Hey! You see this?! We've got divine protection! If you know what's good for
you, turn your back and I'll give you a quick end!"
The wraith did not care for his barking. Its hollow sockets locked onto Lott,
its jaw unhinging to release a silent, soul-piercing shriek as it charged
straight for him.
Lott's grin froze. "What—? The potion! Why isn't it working?!"
His mind went blank as the twisted face expanded in his vision.
"Primary Mana Barrier!" Leah's crisp voice rang out.
A shimmering wall of light materialized in front of Lott. The wraith slammed
into it with a dull thud, its form bouncing back like a stone hitting a drum.
Lott scrambled backward, falling onto his backside. His face flushed a deep,
embarrassed red.
"That damned swindler! I'm going to tear his shop down when we get back!"
He lunged to his feet, drawing his sword. A faint white glow coated the
blade—the most basic Mana-reinforcement technique taught at the Evernight
Academy.
"Die, you freak!"
Lott roared, swinging his blade in a wide arc. The sword passed through the
wraith's center without resistance. The spirit let out a final, agonizing wail
before dissolving into black cinders that vanished into the air. A gray crystal,
the size of a fingernail, clattered onto the stone floor.
Lott panted, walking over to scoop it up. "One silver coin secured," he
blustered, trying to regain his dignity. "Easy."
Bard wiped cold sweat from his brow. "Lott, live captures are worth two silver.
That sword stroke just cost us a whole coin."
"Then you go catch it! It almost ate my face!" Lott snapped. "Besides, how are
you supposed to 'catch' something that slippery?"
Tim looked down at the Light of Evernight in his hand, his heart still racing.
"That potion was utterly useless."
"Don't mention it. It was probably just dyed horse piss," Lott spat. "But the
wraith itself was weak. One strike was all it took."
"It was likely just Tier 1," Leah said softly. "As long as we stay sharp, we
should be fine."
With their first kill under their belts, their confidence returned. The lessons
from Evernight Academy hadn't been in vain; they hadn't learned ornamental
fluff, but the combat techniques that were once the exclusive privilege of the
nobility.
The panic faded, and Lott's head tilted back up. "Move out! We aren't leaving
until we've cleared this place of every silver coin it's hiding!"
For the next hour, they swept through the outer tunnels. The wraiths were indeed
minor, Tier 1 spirits. Despite the fake potion, the four of them coordinated
well. With Lott as the vanguard, Bard providing distraction with his hammer, Tim
scouting with the Light, and Leah providing barriers and light arrows, the
cleanup was smooth.
Soon, they had collected over twenty gray crystals.
"We're rich! We're actually doing it!" Bard calculated the tally, his face
glowing with greed. "Twenty-three! That's twenty-three silver coins! We're
drinking the finest ale tonight!"
Lott smirked. "This is just the start. Once we clear this sector, we'll upgrade
to Fine-grade gear. Then, we can start taking Tier 2 contracts."
"I want a new mace," Tim added, his mind wandering to the future.
They shared grand blueprints of their future as Leaffall City's top adventuring
team. After Lott dispatched another wraith attempting a sneak attack from the
rear, he turned around. Habitually, he reached out to hand the crystal to Leah
for safekeeping.
"Leah, with this one, what's the total count?"
No one answered.
"Leah?"
Lott frowned, looking back. Bard and Tim were leaning against a wall, catching
their breath and boasting about their performance.
Leah was not there.
The girl who always followed quietly at the back, holding the staff that
provided their light and safety, had vanished. Her staff was gone with her. The
ambient light plummeted; only the small Light of Evernight in Tim's hand
remained, casting long, sickly shadows.
The lively atmosphere evaporated.
"Leah?" Lott's voice rose, echoing hollowly through the shaft. "Leah! Stop
messing around! Come out! This isn't funny!"
Bard and Tim finally noticed. Their smiles died. Tim's voice trembled. "She
was... she was right next to me. She just reminded me to watch out for that
loose stone."
Bard didn't reply; he just cupped his hands and screamed, "LEAH!"
Only their own echoes answered, bouncing deeper and deeper into the dark, silent
tunnels. It was eerie. Terrifying. The fear of the unknown began to paralyze
them. Tim's teeth started chattering, clicking like dice in a cup.
"Did... did something...?"
"Shut it!" Bard barked, though his own back was drenched in sweat. "We have to
leave. Now!"
Bard was the first to snap. He turned toward the way they came. "Something is
wrong! This is all wrong! We're getting out!" He looked back at Lott, who was
still standing in a daze. "What are you doing?! Lott! Move! If we stay, we're
the ones vanishing next!"
Bard reached out and grabbed Lott's arm to pull him. Lott snapped out of it,
violently shaking Bard off.
"I'm not running!" Lott's voice shook with emotion. "Leah is still in there!"
Bard roared back, his voice cracking with desperation. "Not leave her? We're all
going to die! Look around!" He gestured into the consuming blackness. "We don't
even know when she left! Or how! Whatever took her is right here! Don't you get
it?! It's right next to us!"
Tim began to sob, his face a mess of tears and snot. "Lott, please, let's go.
I'm scared. I'm really scared. Something is watching us..."
Lott couldn't hear them. He was trying to convince himself as much as them.
"What if she just got turned around? This mine is a maze of side-tunnels. She's
just lost!"
Bard's voice turned shrill. He pointed a finger at Lott's nose. "Lost? You call
that lost? The four of us were never more than five steps apart! She was right
next to Tim! And then she was gone! No sound! No struggle! Just gone! You tell
me that's being lost?!"
He saw the vacant, terrified look on Lott's face and his tone softened, though
it remained cold. "I'm sorry, Lott. But we don't want to die."
Without another word, Bard grabbed the shaking Tim and bolted toward the memory
of the entrance, running as if the Goddess of Death herself was snapping at
their heels.
Lott's legs were shaking. Not from excitement, but from pure, unadulterated
terror. He watched his comrades flee, then turned back to face the pitch-black
abyss of the inner mine.
His heart was a storm. His mind flickered with memories. He remembered standing
in the Evernight Academy plaza, boastfully telling Leah how glorious the life of
an adventurer would be. He remembered thumping his chest and promising Leah's
family he would look after her. He remembered the look in Leah's eyes when she
joined—full of trust and hope.
"It was me..." Lott's voice was a barely audible whisper. "I'm the one who
brought her here..."
His legs wouldn't stop trembling, but he turned his body away from the light of
the exit.
"LOTT! YOU MADMAN! DON'T DO IT! COME BACK!" Bard's voice drifted from the
distance.
Lott didn't look back. He raised his longsword, the dim light of his
Od-reinforcement flickering in the dark.
"I have to find her," he said, his voice quiet but absolute. "I will fulfill my
duty as Captain."
He stepped forward. One foot, then the other, marching into the darkness that
swallowed all light.
At the edge of the pit, Skele-Lust remained where she was.
She had watched the youths enter. She had seen their joy, their panic, and their
eventual splintering. She saw everything. Lust held up a finger; a faint, nearly
invisible thread of purple energy pulsed at its tip.
It was a mark she had placed on Leah—a little trick that allowed her to sense
the girl's vital state from leagues away. The mark had not vanished. Leah was
alive. But she had been dragged into the deepest reaches of the mine by a much
more powerful force.
"How interesting," Lust murmured.
She didn't move. She had no intention of intervening yet. The things inside this
mine were a bit more complex than she had anticipated. This was a perfect
opportunity to let the boy scout the way. She wanted to see if his "courage" was
a genuine spark or just a desperate flare of youthful impulse.
If he managed to reach Leah alive, she might just lend a hand. If not...
It would only prove that his boasted bravery was nothing more than a bad joke.
☆☆☆
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