There Was a Mana Stone Mine Behind the Fief (3)
"Someone's coming!"
The urgent shout echoed from deeper inside the cave. I moved slowly toward the dim mouth of the cavern.
This is driving me insane.
Knowing I was trapped inside an urban legend was bad enough. The darkness made the whole place feel like a horror movie. Even the crunch of my own footsteps was enough to set my nerves on edge. Not that bolting was an option.
I swallowed hard and kept walking.
The cave was wider than I'd expected, but aside from the faint glow of moss and a few meager campfires, there was almost no light. It was dark and oppressive. And within that darkness, countless eyes glittered as they fixed on me.
Damp, cold air pressed against my skin.
Yeah... this is terrifying.
Judging by the atmosphere alone, it wouldn't have been strange if a ghost or a monster came lunging out of the dark. These people were people, right?
Only after scanning the surroundings did I let myself breathe a little easier. Faces frozen in fear. Eyes drowned in terror and despair. They were all human. And by a rough count, there were easily more than fifty of them, every last one staring at me with a haggard, wasted look.
"W-who are you?"
The first to speak was an old knight in battered leather armor. Deep wrinkles cut across his face, and the weariness of long hardship clung to him — but his eyes still burned like embers that refused to die.
He had positioned himself nearest the cave entrance. Behind him clustered roughly twenty men and women in similar dress, along with a handful of children. He was clearly the leader of this band of refugees.
"My name is Ian. I was wandering the mountain when I... ended up stuck in this place. The space seems to loop endlessly. Are you all gathered here because you couldn't find a way out either?"
At my answer, the old knight's group stirred and murmured among themselves.
"Sharp young man, that one."
"Quick on the uptake. Most people just panic and start crying."
"What does that matter?! We've just gained one more missing person!"
The old knight raised a hand and quieted them with practiced ease. He clearly commanded real respect as a leader. Then he extended his hand toward me.
"My name is Hector. I was once a knight of the village of Rant — a village that no longer exists. We were searching for a place to settle when we became trapped in this strange space."
"And we still haven't found a way out! No matter how far you walk, you just end up right back where you started!"
A high-strung voice burst out from farther back in Hector's group. The man was clutching at his hair, radiating raw panic. As if in agreement, sniffling and sighs rose from all around.
It wasn't only Hector's people gathered here. There were all kinds. Some cast curious glances my way, reacting to a newcomer who'd just wandered in from outside like themselves. Others watched me with sharp, unbroken suspicion. And some among them simply stared into empty air, as though they had already given up on everything. Their eyes were so hollow it was hard to believe they still belonged to the living.
"Um... e-excuse me, have you seen my friend? Her name is Lili. She's a girl about my age..."
A young woman approached, her voice trembling with fear. Her name, she said, was Aurora. Tears welled in her large blue eyes; she looked ready to break down and cry at any moment. She told me she had entered the forest searching for her closest friend and lost her way.
"I'm sorry. I didn't see anyone on my way here."
"Ah... I see..."
Aurora swayed as if she might collapse on the spot. I steadied her lightly by the shoulder.
"Thank you."
She sagged back against the cave wall. Hector stepped closer and gave me a brief account of their situation.
Most of them were refugees displaced after the Eclipse. They had been traveling in search of a new settlement when they wandered into this uncanny forest. At first they thought they had simply lost their way in the fog — but after days of failing to escape, they had made a temporary camp in this cave.
"We've only been here a few days ourselves. But... there seem to be people who have been trapped here far longer than we have."
Hector gestured toward the deepest, darkest part of the cave. A woman stood there alone, keeping her distance from the others, staring intently at something. The way her eyes constantly flicked about, sharp and restless, was anything but ordinary. Fog had begun to seep in around her as well. There was something distinctly off about her.
Then, without warning, her head turned — and her gaze locked dead onto mine.
"What, a newbie?"
The woman Hector had pointed out rose and walked toward us. Her clothes weren't flashy, but they looked expensive, and a well-honed dagger hung at her waist. A sly merchant's smile sat on her face, yet her eyes cut through everything around her like a hawk's.
"A new guest. Name's Serin. Traveling merchant."
She introduced herself and held out her hand. Her palm was soft.
Traveling merchant, my ass.
Between the clothes, the jewelry, and the well-groomed caravan hands who seemed to answer to her, she was clearly something more. She sidled up with a friendly air and whispered without preamble.
"Truth is, I heard there might be a secret mana stone vein somewhere around here."
"What?"
I nearly shouted before covering it with a cough.
"Ahaha! I figured as much. You're the greedy type too, huh? It's fine. The fiefs around here are all half-collapsed dumps anyway — find it and you can make a real killing. As long as you play nice with our side, that is."
She curled her fingers and mimed the clink of coins.
...Hey. I'm the lord of that half-collapsed dump.
She pressed on, thoroughly pleased with herself.
"With my information network, I figured I'd find that mana stone mine in no time — never expected this damn fog would pin us down! But don't worry. Serin here is very familiar with crisis situations! Follow my lead and we'll cut through a little fog like this in no time!"
She was building trust with practiced, fluid ease. I understood exactly what she was doing.
She's dangling the mine as a massive reward so she can use me like one of her subordinates.
In a crisis like this, every person you could put to work was another life in your pocket. This woman understood that instinctively, and she was recruiting people to her side. In fact, most of the cave had already gathered around her — not just her caravan hands, but nearly everyone except Hector's refugees and Aurora.
"So? You in?"
Serin smiled as she made the offer. Her voice was loud and full of confidence, but something about it felt forced, overplayed.
Should I go along with her?
It might be better than acting alone. The problem was how blatantly her words and manner revealed that even in a crisis, her own profit came first. She bragged as though she had predicted this entire situation, and she made no secret of her intent to bring everyone under her control.
And then—
"Is... anyone... looost... out... theeere...?"
From beyond the cave mouth, out of the thick fog, a voice drifted in. Slow. Strangely drawn out. Unsettling. But the words themselves were exactly the kind of thing that would kindle hope in people desperate for rescue.
"I... came from... the fief... nearby...! Anyone... who's lost... this way...!"
The people inside the cave began to stir. To those drowning in despair, that voice must have sounded like an angel's.
"A r-rescue party! They finally came for us!"
"What did I tell you?! I knew people would come looking!"
The cave erupted into a frenzy. Some were already trying to rush outside.
"Hold! Stop right there!"
Hector threw himself in their path.
"We must not move rashly! We cannot be certain that voice truly belongs to a rescue party!"
Oh.
I was impressed in spite of myself. This was a man who knew nothing about urban legends — and yet. So this was what a knight's experience looked like.
"But... but they're calling for us. Couldn't it really be a rescue party?"
Aurora whispered beside me. I shook my head firmly.
"No. Anyone who set a specific place as their destination ends up drawn to this cave."
"Ah..."
Aurora thought it over for a moment, then nodded in understanding.
"You're right. Everyone gathered here was heading somewhere."
"Exactly. But someone whose purpose isn't a place — like 'rescue' — can't reach this location. Which means that thing out there isn't human."
Aurora shuddered hard at my words. Fair enough. It was a chilling thought.
Hector, who had been listening carefully, redoubled his efforts to hold people back. But not everyone was convinced.
"Hah! A pack of cowards! So you'd rather stay here and starve to death?"
Serin sneered. Together with a few of her caravan hands, she egged on those already itching to leave.
"Go on, then! Stay in this cave and you'll either starve or end up like those wrecks over there!"
She jabbed a finger toward the people huddled in the corners, muttering to themselves. Every one of them looked hollowed out, as if their souls had already left their bodies. Even I had to admit they were unsettling to look at.
"If anything happens, I'll take full responsibility — Serin herself will look after you. We'll bring the rescue party back!"
In the end, several people who seemed relatively new to the legend took Serin's bait and bolted out of the cave.
"W-we're saved! We can finally get out of here!"
And a moment later, their cries of joy twisted into horrific screams.
"AAAAAAGH!"
"N-no...! Th-that's not a person...!"
The sounds from outside were agonizing. Something tearing flesh. Something crushing bone. And then, just as suddenly, everything went quiet.
Silence.
Stillness.
"...H-h-huuuhh..."
"W-what was that just now?! What the hell was that sound?!"
Terror seized the cave. People began to shout. The cavern itself seemed to ring with their wailing.
And then the oldest-looking of the missing — the ones who had been curled up in the corners — began to murmur. Their voices cracked and skipped like a worn-out record.
"...In the end... we're all... going to die here..."
"...No resistance... means anything... The forest... will never... let us go..."
The light in their eyes was completely gone.