Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Mirror Ossuary (2)
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Mirror Ossuary.
Anyone visiting this ruin for the first time would likely feel a sense of unease upon seeing the tombstones surrounding it.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of them, each one visibly different in origin at a glance.
From moss-covered old stones that seemed less than a century old to pristine ones that looked freshly erected just weeks ago, these markers—varying in erection date and weathering—stood side by side like brothers born on the same day.
This was because the tombstones here were not part of the ancient ruin itself, but traces left by those who had come to excavate it and vanished.
Originally known simply as the Mirror Ruin, those who barely escaped alive from this place erected tombstones to commemorate the ones who never returned, honoring their spirits.
By carving the names of those who left not even a corpse behind.
With so many bodies presumably laid to rest somewhere within the ruin, it was no different from an ossuary, and at some point, the name Mirror Ossuary stuck.
Arsen quietly committed to memory the crudely engraved names on the tombstones he passed.
Imire of Kor, Mushan of Manar, Doel from Exekia...
As he looked at them, Maroon clicked his tongue from the side.
“It's grim. And bleak.”
Hardly appropriate words from someone who was supposed to be their guide.
Unthinkingly, Arsen responded.
“Didn't you assure me it'd be fine with you here?”
At Arsen's question, Maroon nodded.
“I'm certain! That's what it said. 'Can pass easily with the successor, no further explanation needed.' Just like that.”
The three mages accompanying them nodded at Maroon's assurance.
The sight was so unconvincing that Arsen scratched his temple to shake off the nagging doubt.
Unfortunately, his helmet meant all he felt was cold metal.
'Damn.'
“Let's go.”
Arsen led the group past the tombstones toward the center, the ruin's entrance.
As they drew near, he spotted a few tents, and inside them, people sitting dazed and slumped.
Other visitors who had arrived before them, it seemed.
Rino quickly reported upon seeing them.
“People are here, Captain.”
“They must've come before us. They might not have gone in yet, or they could have already gone and come back...”
If it was the former, things might get a bit annoying.
Since attacks targeting relics inside were possible, the unwritten rule was to wait a day if another excavation team had already entered first.
A provision to prevent crimes within ruins.
Violating it didn't bring legal punishment, but the backlash from onlookers would be no small matter.
That said, he had no desire to preemptively attack people who were just excavating peacefully, slaughter them, or erase their memories.
'We brought plenty of food... but do we wait a day? Annoying.'
As Arsen pondered and approached, one of the earlier visitors turned his head.
His face bore a vivid scar, and he wore fairly ornate relic armor as a knight.
Spotting Arsen's group, he laughed in disbelief.
“What's this, another bundle of customers come to lie down in the ossuary.”
His mocking voice lacked strength.
Not just him—everyone in the group sitting there looked utterly drained, as if their souls had fled.
Pale faces with sunken cheeks, like people who'd been trapped somewhere for days or weeks.
Seeing them, Arsen was certain they had already attempted the ruin and emerged.
'Lucky.'
The knight issued a listless proclamation toward Arsen.
“Go back. Don't waste your precious life here. Damn, if you were the type to listen, you wouldn't have come in the first place.”
“You already tried conquering the ruin?”
At Arsen's question, the man laughed and nodded.
“Yeah. And we barely crawled out alive just now. I still can't believe I'm actually alive.”
At his words, the other survivors began chuckling.
But only for a moment—they laughed and cried out while weeping.
“That fucking mirror, that goddamn mirror! I'm never going back in! Really, that inside is...!”
“I just want to get back to the inn and sleep.”
The survivors' chaotic outbursts were downright eerie.
Arsen tried not to be swayed, observing them closely.
Armament, physical condition, mental state, anything else...
Overall, they didn't seem to be feigning madness to ambush Arsen's group upon their return.
Arsen calmly bowed his head to them, showing respect to the survivors.
“I hope you recover well and make it back safely.”
Noting the absence of any intent to leave, the knight murmured softly, grasping Arsen's resolve.
“If you're ignoring the advice, nothing to be done. Young folks always grow by challenging themselves, after all. For every one who survives and grows, dozens of corpses pile up as fertilizer at their feet...”
He chuckled like he was cursing them.
At first, Arsen thought it was just spite or posturing, but he read pity in the man's eyes.
Pity like the kind he himself had once felt, certain they were about to plunge into hell.
“I won't forget the advice.”
After a perfunctory reply, Arsen spurred Jin forward from the lead.
As they passed, the knight suddenly called out to Arsen.
“Hey, wait a sec.”
“What?”
“If there are still... living people inside...”
A hesitant mumble trailed off.
The knight, who seemed about to say something, swallowed his words with a quiet curse.
Then, in a cynical tone:
“Forget it. Damn, you'll have your hands full saving your own neck. Good luck making it out alive.”
Though his words cut off midway, it wasn't hard to guess what he meant.
Arsen nodded.
“If there are survivors, I'll do my best to bring them out. We brought plenty of food.”
The knight's eyes widened slightly at Arsen's words.
“...Thanks.”
His voice was faintly hoarse.
Arsen's group silently proceeded into the ruin.
* * *
The ruin's entrance was spiral-shaped, like the one excavated in Narvik before.
Gazing at it, Arsen wondered if this spiral was merely a design choice or tied to some ancient philosophy or religion.
“We're going in.”
Maroon, at the front, opened the door, and Arsen's group entered the ruin's mouth, stepping into the unknown.
The last mage to enter closed the door, and pitch-black darkness pushed out the light, filling the space.
“Mages, light.”
At Arsen's command, several mages deftly conjured magical lights, banishing the dark.
Under the eroding glow, the weathered stone walls of untold ages gleamed strangely.
Arsen stared into the darkness blanketing the spiral stairs below.
“Advance.”
At the order, the group cautiously moved forward.
Unlike in Narvik, there were no magic beasts inside the ruin.
Of course, any that had ventured underground would likely have been dealt with by the group they'd just seen during their attempt.
After descending the long spiral stairs, an enormously vast chamber greeted them.
Easily hundreds of meters across, it could pass for an underground stadium or parking lot.
Maroon, who had been poring over the intel book, spoke up.
“We're here. Traps start once we go inside.”
“Once we enter the chamber?”
Maroon nodded at Arsen's question.
“Yeah. So now...”
As Maroon trailed off, Arsen nodded and spurred Jin forward into the chamber.
With intel saying it was safe for the successor, having him enter first would prevent issues.
After a few steps, Arsen left the stair area and entered the vast room.
But nothing happened.
“Nothing's happened yet.”
“Huh? That can't be, hold on...”
Maroon flipped through the intel book frantically.
“It just says 'Labyrinth Illusion Trap'... Maybe it needs more people to trigger. If one person trips it, the others won't enter...”
Muttering uncertainly, Maroon spurred Jin toward Arsen's position.
After a few steps, Maroon let out a gasp and began whipping his head around in bewilderment.
Staring into empty air, he shouted loudly.
“Ah, Sir Arsen? You there? Is this the real illusion?”
“I'm right here. Sir Maroon.”
Even as Arsen spoke, Maroon acted as if he couldn't hear, waving his hand through the air.
Moments later, he rubbed at it like an invisible wall, then began screaming.
“No matter how I look, it seems real. Sir Arsen! Where are you!”
* * *
In Maroon's eyes, the entire world was filled with himself, nothing else.
Front, back, left, right—even ceiling and floor—all mirrors.
Amid the dazzling reflections, Maroon had to strain his eyes just to gauge the mirrors' depth.
Cautiously extending his hand as he advanced a few steps, Maroon realized there was a wall ahead.
Fortunately, Jin's head hit first, sparing him a humiliating face-plant.
“What the hell is this...”
Afraid of losing his way back if he went further, Maroon carefully retraced his steps to his starting point.
The sight of his distorted reflections everywhere was utterly bizarre.
The space wasn't narrow, but Maroon felt suffocating claustrophobia.
In that sensation, a whisper crept into his mind: he'd never escape to the outside again.
He repeated to himself that it was an illusion, that his comrades waited nearby—but an incomprehensible despair filled his heart.
'Calm down, it's an illusion. An illusion...'
Struggling to quell his rising panic, Maroon raised his hand.
As mirrors do, dozens of Maroons around him raised theirs too.
Lowering it, dozens lowered theirs.
“Now it's really scary... Sir Arsen? You're right next to me, right?”
Maroon glanced around as he spoke, but no reply came.
An overwhelming silence that choked the breath.
In the quiet, Maroon began to whimper.
He was now convinced he hadn't fallen into an illusion—he'd been teleported deep underground into a real labyrinth.
“Sir Arsen? Joran? Atti? Ramad? No one's here?”
Swallowing his pride, he called his subordinates' names begging for help, but no answer came.
Regretting not being more careful, regretting stepping forward needlessly, Maroon tried to steady his quickening breath.
As tears welled in his eyes, suddenly a metallic reptilian magic beast's head poked from a mirror.
Maroon screamed at the top of his lungs and raised his halberd.
“KyaAAaAaH—!”
As Maroon recoiled in terror, what emerged was a knight in dark blue armor mounted on Jin.
Shaking like he'd seen a ghost, Maroon soon remembered the knight was Arsen.
“Sir Arsen!”
Overjoyed to meet someone again in this mirror hell, Maroon shouted with full enthusiasm.
But Arsen's response was nonchalant.
“Can you hear me now?”
“Of course! But 'now'? What does that mean?”
“Try stepping back a bit from there.”
“Back?”
Maroon glanced behind him.
“It's blocked back there.”
“It's fine. Ignore it and go.”
At Arsen's instruction, Maroon stepped backward.
But the mirror stopped him.
“I can't. It's completely blocked by the mirror—how am I supposed to go back...”
“You can't go?”
Moments later, Arsen suggested again.
“Why not try smashing it with your weapon or magic?”
Tilting his head at Arsen's words, Maroon swung his halberd at the mirror with all his might.
But it just rang out with a clang and bounced off.
A ringing pain shot from his knuckles through his whole body.
“Ughhhh...”
“Doesn't break?”
“You can see it! Not even a scratch!”
“I can't see.”
“Huh?”
Maroon blinked stupidly.
Without answering, Arsen demanded again.
“Then try magic this time.”
Moments later, he unleashed a max-powered heating spell on the mirror, but the wall didn't melt.
Despite temperatures that could melt stone.
Releasing the spell, Maroon caught his ragged breath.
“Useless. My mana will run out first at this rate.”
Hearing that, Arsen pondered briefly, then began pulling Maroon along.
“This might work... Follow me.”
“W-Wait, Sir Arsen! If we go that way!”
As Arsen headed toward the wall Maroon had just struck, Maroon tried to stop.
Naturally, they'd collide.
But Arsen vastly outmatched him in strength and the mana powering their Jins.
In the end, Maroon was helplessly dragged.
Arsen slipped straight into the mirror and vanished, just as when they'd entered.
As his body reached the wall, Maroon squeezed his eyes shut.
“We're out!”
He opened them again at someone's shout.
“Huh?”
Maroon was back in the stair area.
Eloise, Rino, the soldiers, and mages stood waiting just as before.
Realizing the fool he'd made of himself, Maroon asked in flustered panic.
“What the hell just happened? Why did I act like such an idiot?”