The B-loot-ish Museum, Part 3
This was more than enough for a "Night at the Museum" event. As everyone gathered in the Great Court—museum staff included—was gripped by sheer panic, even the emergency lights flickered repeatedly before plunging the entire space into pitch-black darkness.
Naturally, this was also the work of the strike team led by Pavel. It had just been confirmed that they had destroyed the emergency diesel generators and UPS units scattered across the museum grounds. Now, in a darkness so thick they couldn't see an inch in front of them, the crowd had absolutely no way to cope. Mobile phone adoption in this era barely scraped past ten percent, and even then, the flashlight feature wouldn't be invented until years later.
The only ones showing any semblance of composure were the staff. Even in the absolute blackness, they clutched their walkie-talkies, trying to navigate purely by instinct toward the spots where emergency flashlights were kept.
"Everyone, please remain orderly! Please come toward the sound of my voice! The power will be restored shortly!"
It wouldn't. Recovery from this level of sabotage was far from "shortly"; the power likely wouldn't start trickling back on until dawn tomorrow. Regardless, I wanted to applaud the employee's stellar work ethic, but unfortunately, I wasn't some ordinary visitor who had to follow instructions.
"Another staff member will be back with flashlights soon! Until then, please stay together and remain calm—Aaargh!"
The museum staff was doing a decent job of shepherding the murmuring flock of sheep, but that only lasted a moment. Shouting at the top of your lungs like that doesn't just attract humans, after all. I couldn't see what was happening over there either, but by now, the huddled crowd was undoubtedly coming face-to-face with corpses from thousands of years ago.
Of course, a mummy golem didn't go around biting people like a real zombie. Their mouths were sealed shut with bandages anyway, so biting was out of the question. They merely shuffled along on legs that looked ready to snap at any second. If anyone had the presence of mind to throw a proper punch, they could easily separate a mummy golem's head from its torso. But in this pitch darkness, the terror felt by ordinary humans—who weren't mages—was on a completely different level. It wouldn't be surprising if the flock broke control and stampeded at any moment.
Leaving the chaos behind, I conjured a faint magical light source and headed toward Room 4, where the Rosetta Stone was kept. Just thirty meters away lay the trophy that would crown this long, meticulous preparation.
There was a slight obstacle, however: the security shutter installed at the gallery entrance to prevent theft. A quick glance suggested it was designed to operate purely on gravity, even in a total blackout.
'Or... a fail-secure system that triggers the moment the current is cut.'
It was clearly designed to keep the shutter open with an active electrical current, dropping the heavy steel door instantly if the power failed. The shutter was also warded with a defensive spell that differed from the old standard. It was a method even I hadn't seen before, and I estimated it would take at least five minutes to dismantle. In the end, I had to show a bit of my hand. It wasn't like using something twice that I had already planned to use again would be a major issue anyway.
Clicking my tongue, I activated the Spiegel hanging around my neck as a locket. With a deafening crash, the shutter shattered into pieces. Annoyance flared within me at the realization that I wouldn't be able to run wild in the UK again anytime soon.
And the moment the Spiegel was activated, the magical early-warning radar ahead began to wail like mad.
'Has it finally detected me as a magical threat...?'
To be honest, even when I was making the golems earlier, I had worried that the Rosetta Stone might immediately pinpoint my presence. Although I had confirmed through Delis that its detection was strictly limited to active magical threats, I still feared it might react in some way to golems being constructed just one floor above. In the end, it hadn't, though I did have a backup plan ready just in case.
But activating the Spiegel unleashed a magical signature that crossed the line by a mile. Although the early-warning radar was screaming its head off, its alarm was strictly confined to the magical spectrum, so the humans in the Great Court had yet to react. They might have noticed a strange explosion-like sound coming from the west, but they were currently too busy fleeing from bandage-wrapped mummies to care.
For mages, however, it would be a different story. From here on, time was of the essence, and there was no longer any need to hide. Despite all the commotion outside, the national artifact, the Rosetta Stone, remained exactly where it belonged.
'I can't keep hiding this forever...!'
Caution was well and good, but keeping my greatest weapon tucked away indefinitely was a fool's errand. Four hands erupted from my elongated shadow—the Schattenmaiden—literally shattering the reinforced glass as they reached for the target.
First, I had to disable the alarm. Of course, I could just swallow it with my shadow and run. But as long as the magical early-warning alarm kept blaring, carrying the Rosetta Stone around would be no different from begging the Ministry of Magic to arrest me.
The writhing shadow on the display stand shifted directions constantly, searching for a "gap." No matter how grand a national artifact was, there had to be some sort of loophole left open for maintenance. Since an unauthorized witch was currently using that gap to infiltrate the system, calling this a backdoor exploit wouldn't be far-fetched.
I gritted my teeth at how much longer this was taking than expected. Why did they have to lock it down so tight? It should have just surrendered to my hands quietly...! What made me even more anxious was the fact that my connection to the mummy golems I had unleashed in the Great Court was snapping one by one in real-time.
And finally.
'Found it...!'
The Ministry mages who designed the security system had obviously anticipated this scenario. The Rosetta Stone's vulnerabilities were heavily fortified with layers of defensive measures. I infused the liquid shadow of my magical hand with dispelling magic, breaking through the defenses one by one.
Over the past few days, slicing my own wrists with the knife looted from Londonderry had definitely paid off. Gorging on my blood, the magical hand grew stronger by the day. Unlike during Operation Demetrios, it could now hold a couple of spells within the shadow itself.
The wailing early-warning alarm fell silent. Because I had bypassed the standard maintenance protocols and breached it via a backdoor, the national artifact, the Rosetta Stone, had now entered a sort of factory reset state.
"Tsk..."
Having put out the immediate fire, I couldn't help but click my tongue. The physical vulnerability of the Rosetta Stone was located right where Ptolemy's name was carved. The cartouche enclosing the Pharaoh's name was a clear physical marker. If I had targeted that physical spot first, I would have saved a lot of time.
Now was the time to actually seize the national artifact. The unraveled magical hands began to weave back together into a thick mass, and a gaping maw large enough to swallow a grown man whole formed in the center of the palm. Just as the liquid shadow writhed grotesquely, preparing to engulf the Rosetta Stone—
"...?"
A loud clatter echoed from the shattered entrance of the gallery. It seemed escaping without a confrontation was out of the question. I sent the floating magical light source toward the doorway to assess the situation.
Two men and a woman. None of them were heavily armed. They only held a flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other. Judging by their attire, the two men in front were fortunately not Ministry mages, but simple museum guards. As for the woman—
'Delis?'
I frowned slightly. Why was Delis, who was supposed to remain in the control room, here? Had something gone wrong? Pavel and I had maintained radio silence, and Delis had intentionally avoided communication to prevent leaving any incriminating evidence behind. But perhaps I should have brought a walkie-talkie after all? It would be better to hear it directly from her.
Without even recalling my magical hand, I used a simple burst of telekinesis to pop the heads of the two guards. Their skulls burst as easily as watermelons, instantly drenching Delis's suit in blood and brain matter. I walked slowly toward her and asked,
"What happened to bring you here in person?"
"...There was an unexpected clash with combat mages. We eliminated all of them with zero casualties on our side, but because of that, the suspicion on me will only grow..."
"Since you're the sole survivor, you're highly likely to be suspected?"
The original plan didn't involve Pavel and the strike team directly killing Ministry combat mages. There was no reason to put Delis, a technocrat, under suspicion of being a traitor, so the combat mages were supposed to be left alone. But since things had turned out this way, we had to adapt.
"Yes... *ugh*, indeed. So now, Lady Yerina... you must bring me as close to death as possible...!"
Looking down at Delis's thigh as she suddenly begged to be half-killed, I noticed she already had a gunshot wound.
"Did Pavel do that?"
"I... asked him to shoot me. At least for now... *ugh*, he was the person I could trust the most."
Absurdity of the situation aside, in terms of consistency, this was indeed the best move.
'Encountered an armed group targeting the artifacts. While the other combat mages were slaughtered, she alone survived with critical wounds and crawled to the gallery.'
I had to admire her quick thinking in devising such a scenario on the fly.
Reading Delis's intentions instantly, I asked, "Do you really have to go that far?"
"If I want to avoid suspicion, I must...! If I can spin a situation where I'd be branded a traitor into a tale of life-risking patriotism, I don't care what it takes...!"
Since no other solution came to mind, I nodded. This time, I deliberately summoned a strand of shadow and began to strangle Delis.
'This is highly unpleasant.'
No matter how necessary, I really didn't enjoy treating my subordinates so roughly.
Even as she was being choked, Delis managed to raise her pistol, aim in my direction, and pull the trigger. The bullet didn't come anywhere near me, embedding itself in the floor three or four paces away. The magical hand immediately slapped the gun out of her grip. This little performance was also meant to confound any potential forensic investigation.
Though I had baptized her, being a mage didn't make her body physically stronger. Not without the aid of defensive magic, at least. Delis soon lost consciousness. The determined nod she gave me right before blacking out made me feel a level of loyalty that was honestly more than I deserved.
By the time I gently laid Delis's limp body over the exploded remains of the guards, the large mouth of the Schattenmaiden had swallowed the Rosetta Stone whole. Now, all that was left was to make a clean getaway.
Walking a bit further west, I activated the Spiegel once more against a corner wall of the gallery. Greek marble statues were caught in the blast and shattered into pieces as the inner wall crumbled, but of course, that was none of my concern.
The reason I blew open this specific wall was because a manhole leading to London's sewer system lay directly beneath it. Naturally, it was my escape route. Since returning to the Great Court was out of the question, I had prepared multiple escape plans.
There were undoubtedly plenty of visitors who had already fled. With mummies and zombies running amok, there was no way anyone was going to "stay calm and orderly," so I could easily blend in with the fleeing crowd.
Had this been ten years ago, utilizing the underground water system would have been difficult. The water supply was a strategic asset of the British Empire, providing water services to citizens across London. Thus, surveillance would have been tight, and co-opting it as an escape route would have been no easy feat.
However, the entity currently managing London's water and sewerage system was not the state, but a private corporation called Thames Water. It was the privatization pushed by the Iron Lady herself that made this entire operation possible. Thanks to her, I could achieve my goal much more easily, conveniently, and quickly. I couldn't be more grateful for her policies.