The Man Chased by the Red Sky (2)
#148
Ding!
A cheerful chime announced the elevator's arrival.
Its outward appearance wasn't much different from the ones in modern-day Korea. It even had buttons to choose which floor to get off at!
If I had to pick a difference...
It would be the interior materials.
The elevator here seemed to use materials far more luxurious than anything back in Korea. The floor tiles were the kind of marble you'd only see in the finest hotels in a movie.
Anyway, once we followed Estelle inside, the hum of the lift running on mana stones filled the cabin along with an awkward silence.
Hummm—
The elevator soared above the clouds. As a feeling of pressure filled my ears, Lucien, unable to bear the awkwardness, spoke up.
"S-so, anyway, Mister Do-yun... it seems this is your first time in an elevator!"
"Hmm, I was pretty surprised my first time too. Still, it's fascinating. I think you're the first person from outside Arcanum I've met who's never ridden an elevator before."
With Rubel chiming in, the two of them started treating me like some uncivilized primitive.
"No, I know what an elevator is—"
"Mister Do-yun, if you have time later, I'll explain how the elevator works."
Fine, think whatever you want...
***
***
Ding!
With the sound of the elevator stopping, the floating sensation that had enveloped my body slowly faded, and the feeling of my feet firmly planted on solid ground returned.
"We've arrived."
Rubel said in a low voice.
When the door opened, a spectacularly vast sight stretched out before us.
Had some kind of spatial magic been applied here?
Estelle had described this as a tower large enough that small villages could fit inside, but as far as I could see, that description was woefully inadequate.
The upper floor, where all sorts of facilities were gathered, was a collection of massive structures that couldn't be summed up by the phrase 'small village.'
At a glance, there was a storage vault packed with various weapons and equipment, and an infirmary that could practically be called a small hospital. There were living quarters for the on-duty staff to rest in, and even a control room that issued commands to the entire watchtower.
A massive plaza sat in the center, and around it, a comprehensive package containing everything you could possibly want unfolded before our eyes.
"It's wider than I thought."
"I-it sure is. It's very different from what I knew."
Estelle looked at me and answered with an awkward smile.
However, a strange sense of dissonance began to creep in.
Because despite it clearly being such a wide place... not a single person could be seen.
I wasn't the only one who felt that dissonance. Just as everyone was looking around and scanning the vicinity, Rubel opened her mouth.
"Strange... It definitely wasn't like this when I escaped last time."
As she said that, Rubel tilted her head with a dark expression.
I thought that expression was probably closer to pure curiosity than fear.
"Strange... When I escaped last time, people swarmed here and all died. A-as far as I remember, this is where the most people died..."
Her crimson eyes slowly swept across the space.
I asked her, giving voice to my doubt.
"Couldn't they all have evacuated?"
"Even so, I saw what I saw..."
Rubel trailed off. Then she spoke words filled with hope.
"Could there be survivors?"
"Honestly, I think it's possible. You said many people have already been killed by the Countess's hand. If so, there should at least be corpses here. If not that, there should be bloodstains."
Lily, who had been quiet the whole time, answered.
"If my guess is right, survivors cleaned up this place, just as you said. Look over there."
When I turned my head and looked over, in front of the infirmary were numerous unidentified 'somethings' wrapped in white cloth and stacked up like boxes.
In that instant, the truth of what those 'somethings' were flashed through my mind, but I couldn't bring myself to say it aloud.
It was too uncomfortable.
Having thought of the same thing as me, the blonde girl spoke in my stead.
"I think what's piled up there are probably corpses. Lily's right. Someone gathered the bodies in one place."
"............"
Rubel stared at the tip of Estelle's finger pointing at the white bundles and lost her words.
I might have been thinking about this too lightly. Honestly, I'd assumed we'd come here, have a decent Sex Battle or magic battle with Risie Maman, and the situation would wrap up.
But now that the reality of death was staring me in the face, my thoughts grew complicated.
That was when.
Pop!
"......?"
Something caught my eye. From behind a small structure in the central plaza, a tiny head popped out.
"H-hiiiiieeeek!!!!! It's a ghooooost!"
Lucien trembled and hid behind my back.
Ashen hair, and a long braid.
And large, round glasses.
The owner of the head was, fortunately, not a ghost.
"Excuse me...!"
The moment Estelle tried to speak to her.
Pop.
Pop.
Two more heads, looking identical, popped up from below.
One... two, three. Three identically ashen-haired girls were staring at us intently from behind the structure in the plaza.
The three girls resembled each other as if they'd been stamped out in a factory. If there was a difference, it was only the colors of the small ribbons tied in their braided hair.
One had a white ribbon, one had a gray ribbon, one had a black ribbon.
Was this a matched set?
The girls, wearing ribbons that looked like a three-pack you'd find at some neighborhood store, were staring at us with their mouths firmly shut.
"Excuse me—"
The moment I opened my mouth and called out to them in a loud voice, all three girls' eyes widened simultaneously.
And then—
Almost as if flying, they pitter-pattered toward us.
"Shhh!"
"Shh."
"Shhh, please."
All three girls simultaneously raised a finger to their lips.
"Don't make loud noises!"
"Be quiet."
"You must be quiet."
"........."
Their firm voices stifled my words.
The moment I tried to open my mouth again, the girl with the white ribbon grabbed my wrist with surprising force and pulled me along.
"Wait a moment, where are—"
"Shh!"
"Shh."
"Do you want to die?"
Why wouldn't they let us speak?
The three girls didn't even give us a chance to talk.
With a strength that didn't match their small frames, they grabbed us and began running down a narrow passage beside the central plaza.
While following the girls, I glanced at Rubel's face. Even she seemed bewildered, as if she had no idea what was going on.
The passage was narrower than I expected. The easiest comparison would be one of those cramped, staff-only hallways you'd see inside a modern department store.
The difference was that this narrow passage was filthy, a dark alleyway that had clearly never been cleaned.
The three girls ran down that path without hesitation.
Left, left, right.
Several forks appeared along the way, but they passed through them without slowing, their footsteps familiar.
And just as we kept going, we reached a dead-end wall—
When the girl with the white ribbon muttered something to the wall, it glowed brightly and transformed into a door.
"Hurry inside!"
"This way."
"Hasten, please."
We had no choice but to go through the door, half pushed inside.
***
***
#149
The moment the girl with the black ribbon closed the door, the outside air vanished as though it had never existed.
Instead, what brushed against the tip of my nose was the scent of old paper.
It was a heavy, musty smell, as if the place hadn't been ventilated in a very long time.
Flick!
The moment the girl with the white ribbon produced a small mana stone lamp and lit it, I realized where we had entered.
A space where hundreds of massive bookshelves, several times my height, surrounded us like a labyrinth.
"It's a library."
Estelle said quietly.
"Yes!"
"Yeah."
"This is the watchtower's archive."
Tall bookshelves stretched on endlessly, and on the ceiling, very faint mana stones were studded like stars.
When I slowly lifted my foot and took a step, even my footsteps were inaudible thanks to the thick carpet.
In the heavy, quiet atmosphere, I asked.
"So, can we talk now?"
"Yes!"
"Yeah."
"Please, ask comfortably."
I really wish just the last girl would do the talking. Honestly, the first two are unnecessary!
Having apparently thought the same as me, Lily spoke to the girl with the black ribbon.
"Only you talk. The rest of you, be quiet for a moment."
With an expression that said 'Heeng,' the girls with the white and gray ribbons stepped back, and the girl with the black ribbon came forward and opened her mouth, adopting a very polite demeanor.
"We meet for the first time. We are the Parca three sisters, aides to the Duke Astravia's deputy, who manages all the archives of Arcanum."
"I'm Nona Parca!"
"Decima Parca."
"I am Mortaya Parca. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Parca.
The moment Estelle heard the surname Parca, her expression stiffened slightly.
"Parca... Could you be the fated triplets?"
"Yes!"
"Yeah."
"We are also called that. Please, call us as you wish."
"Huh? Huhhhhhhhh!!!"
Lucien exclaimed in shock.
"You look different from the descriptions I read in books...!"
The girl with the black ribbon, that is, Mortaya Parca, answered.
"That is because we have hardly engaged in external activities, unlike the previous triplets."
"Yeah. We inherited the imprints 50 years ago."
Decima added.
"We don't go outside much!"
That one was Nona Parca.
Anyway, their introductions were clear enough. But why were they here?
As if voicing my question, Estelle asked.
"So, what brought you all to the watchtower's archive?"
"A regular archive inspection!"
"Yeah. We just came here on schedule."
"We were visiting according to the regular inspection schedule."
So that's how it was... This time, I asked.
"I see... Then, are you also aware of Countess Valenor's rampage?"
"Yes!"
"Yeah."
"We are aware. We are the ones who collected the victims' bodies."
"Then the reason you're here is..."
The girl with the black ribbon cut me off and spoke.
"The rampaging Count is wandering about, so we cannot find a way to escape. Because of the aftermath of the last battle, the elevator won't move downward."
"The stairs are smashed too!"
"Yeah. We're trapped."
Ha. So that was the deeper story.
Mortaya added calmly.
"Thus, we are trapped here. To put it casually, we're screwed."
At that bewildering answer, I was left speechless.