The Flooded Tomb
In a situation like this, the Cup of the Golden Star that could earn bonus points during the crown prince exam couldn’t help but become even more crucial.
“……It’ll only take a few days. Two or three at most.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
It seemed Lox had finally finished deciding which rules took priority.
Normally he would never let the weakest member wander off alone, but the imperial palace was one of those rare places where public safety wasn’t a concern.
Besides, if my guess was right, the palace was basically Lox’s own backyard.
“Everyone, look after Ash while I’m gone.”
“Obviously.”
“There’s no difference in fighting strength even without you, so relax!”
“Exactly. Not even a rat’s tail’s worth of difference.”
Lox, who was leaving the precious prince behind, already looked dead serious, but the three who had no idea what was going on didn’t take it seriously at all.
They actually looked relieved for a moment before suddenly asking,
“But if Lox isn’t here, who’s going to get us the spectator tickets?”
“You’re at least getting those before you leave, right?”
“Don’t you know anyone in Helicke?”
The string of questions made Lox look like he was about to explode.
“You…… what the hell do you people see me as!”
“A tour guide?”
“The weakest clerical worker.”
“Someone I’m going to kill someday.”
That last one was me.
Since I kept saying I’d kill him, the guys didn’t even flinch anymore. Maybe because I’d already “killed” him about a hundred times with my mouth. We cackled and teased Lox while he shook his fists in fury.
Yeah. This kind of thing was pretty fun.
It wasn’t as good as traveling alone, but hanging around together, poking fun at one another, making a fuss, and occasionally doing stupid, idiotic things wasn’t bad at all.
Whenever I felt our hearts sync up like this, it was genuinely enjoyable…….
Rumble.
“What the—!”
“Huh?”
A sudden chill slammed into the back of my neck.
We’d found the treasure, we had a trustworthy place to get it appraised, and now all that was left was to enjoy ourselves. The moment we let our guard down and started snickering—
A cracking sound came from the ceiling. When we looked up in a hurry, we saw a fracture spreading across it.
“Huk!”
The crack raced across the vast ceiling in a Y-shape, widening at terrifying speed. Heavy chunks of stone and dust poured down with it.
Someone panicked.
“Why is it doing that!”
“An earthquake?”
“No, no, no! We’re under a lake!”
“……Didn’t we descend pretty…… far?”
“Rai!”
This entire space was made of magic.
Although spirit power was mixed in, the foundation was mana that circulated according to rules—in other words, magic. The air, the light, the power holding up the floor from deep underground—everything was ancient, archaic magic.
Uh, it looks like something just turned off the magic maintaining this space? It’s collapsing fast.
The magnificent chandelier on the ceiling flickered uneasily as its power failed, then went out with a bang and plummeted straight to the floor.
Boom!
The impact shook the ground violently, and cracks began racing across the walls too.
Crack. Crack. Fissures spread everywhere, revealing the pitch-black void inside. It all happened so fast it was terrifying.
The sound of the space we stood in collapsing left the whole party speechless, stunned into silence.
Disaster had struck us without warning, pinning us in place.
“W-what is this! We’re screwed!”
“Aaaagh! I don’t wanna die!”
“I should’ve written a will!”
Darkness and chaos swallowed us.
Now only the small decorative lights remained. But because the mana had been cut, even those were flickering weakly, as if they would go out any second.
Just like the time we had left.
“This can’t be happening! Why all of a sudden!”
“Maybe…… because we took the treasure……?”
Anyone could see that was the reason.
“Damn it! Who was the one who said there were no traps here!”
“That was you!”
“Ah, right.”
“This isn’t the time! Everyone run for the corridor!”
Just how many meters below the surface were we? We had already descended deep into the water, then fallen even further underground.
And there was only one exit.
Only now did I realize how deep this artificial cavern had been built. If a place like this collapsed, it would be a dragon-level disaster.
Wait, maybe a dragon would be slightly better……?
Of course, my own fate—having suffered this kind of hard-to-rank misfortune twice—was the real disaster.
“Why does this keep happening to me!”
“Hwaaaaagh!”
“Somebody help!”
We screamed as we ran. But even running toward the corridor quickly became difficult. Massive chunks of stone the size of people had begun falling from the collapsing ceiling.
Getting crushed to death was a real possibility, but the men had keen senses and somehow dodged them. Before I knew it, Ash had grabbed my wrist and was practically dragging me along.
I was the slowest, so I’d probably end up getting carried soon.
Master!
Rai was stuck to my side, running with me. We barely managed to reach the corridor before the entire ceiling came down.
There was a hole in the corridor that led back up to the lake.
Our only exit!
In truth, whether all of us could make it there before the place collapsed was obviously impossible, but for now we had to keep running if we didn’t want to be buried alive.
Even while sprinting through the corridor entrance we were still screaming and cursing, desperately fighting to survive.
The fear of death crashed over us mercilessly, but it hadn’t yet reached the point where we gave up the struggle to live.
What truly terrified us was when water started pouring in from every direction, not just the ceiling.
“Uwaaaaagh!”
From every crack in the walls, water gushed out like angry spears. Thick streams rapidly filled the floor until it reached our knees in moments.
“This can’t be happening!”
“Damn it, this isn’t fair!”
Running became difficult as the heavy water rose, but we still didn’t give up. We kept moving.
We fought to advance even an inch toward the door that led to the exit.
The corridor itself was slowly crumbling, but stopping felt like accepting death.
“Haa…… ha……!”
Why was I running out of breath so quickly?
I really hated tunnels.
I hated places like this.
And it was dark on top of everything.
Was my heart pounding so hard and my breath coming so fast because I’d run too much, or because I had accidentally dug up a trauma I was supposed to keep buried?
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
—Where are you? Jina. Mom’s coming! Jina?
“You know I love you, right?”
—Honey! Honey! Jin…… Jina!
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again. By then the water had already risen to my waist.
Water kept pouring from the walls like waterfalls. We could barely move forward unless we practically swam.
We were staring at the door the whole time, but at some point we saw even that door slowly closing.
We still had a long way to reach it.
“Fucking hell……”
“This……!”
Trapped with nowhere to go, the men let out short, desperate shouts.
The moment we froze at that miserable sight, a powerful surge of water and complete darkness swallowed us from behind. The treasure chamber must have fully collapsed.
What could we do? We had no choice but to stop there. Strength drained from our bodies helplessly.
This corridor clearly wouldn’t last long either. I could feel despair and sorrow finally crushing us.
It was too dark to see well, but everyone had fallen silent, sensing the inevitable. I knew better than anyone how painful and nearly impossible it was to accept that bleak premonition.
The fact that we were going to die was—literally—something you didn’t want to know even if you died.
If only death came as fast as a flash of light, that would be better.
I steadied my ragged breathing, pushed the pressure aside, and tried to think clearly.
This is underwater. Underwater. At least I won’t burn to death.
With the mana I had left, how long could I breathe underwater?
For six people, about a day would be possible. If I drew on Rai’s mana too? It could last a lifetime.
But at this point, the problem wasn’t mana.
It was time. The fatal fact that my body couldn’t endure that long.
In my current tattered mental and physical state, two or three hours would be the limit regardless of remaining mana.
Even if I make it possible to breathe…… it’s only emergency treatment. Even if I have Rai make a shield to keep us from being crushed, it would only buy a little time. If I collapse from exhaustion, we’ll all die anyway.
First we had to get out of this damned underground place. Escaping as quickly as possible was the only answer.
“Everyone…… we did our best, right?”
Chad muttered quietly in the darkness.
Even with my throbbing head, I thought his voice sounded strangely calm.
Splash, splash. The sound of rocks collapsing into the water grew louder and more frequent.
“Then…… we were brave, weren’t we?”
“Next time I hope I’m born into a family with good fortune. One where I can just get treatment when someone gets sick.”
“Haa, if we die here no one will ever know. What if Mother keeps waiting for me?”
It really was a despairing situation where I could only think, So this is where my grave will be.
Even though I was here.
Master! Wanna see this? Blub blub.
I couldn’t see, but the bubbles told me everything. Rai was already completely submerged.
“……Rai, how long until it completely collapses?”
It’s about to go any second now?
“Give me a precise number.”
Um…… ten seconds? Should I make a shield?
We had spoken out loud, but there was no time to worry about that now.
The fact that Rai’s blub-blub had lightened the mood even a little was a relief.
I wiped the water dripping down my face and took a deep breath.
No, now it’s eight seconds!
“Jeanie.”
Seven seconds.
Someone pushed through the water from behind and slowly wrapped their arms around me.
Hands that seemed on the verge of tears circled my waist, pouring warmth into me with a tight embrace.
I knew immediately it was Ash.
Pressing his face against my shoulder from behind, he held me with all his strength—yet gently, desperately. It felt like he was trying to say something.
“Ah, let go.”
I headbutted him backward to shake him off.
It was understandable to feel like crying in a life-or-death crisis, but now wasn’t the time to accept that kind of comfort.
I was going to save myself in the end.
I raised my palm above the water that had risen to my chest.
Five seconds!
“Stop counting down! It’s distracting!”
Four…….
My judgment might have been clouded because my condition was bad in every way.
Making a shield with Rai might have been safer. But I would still choose to charge forward like an idiot rather than curl up and wait.
“Everyone gather up. And hold your breath!”
Two seconds!
I poured strength into my entire body.
We had fallen far deeper underground after already being beneath the lake. Breaking through that thick bedrock to rise was obviously impossible for Undine, and the same for Undain. Adore and Pain were no different.
That left only one choice. And fortunately, I had the power to make that choice.
"From the end of the raging sea..."
"Come to me."
⟨ Endairon ⟩
There was no time to recite the full incantation or steady my mind.
Skipping everything and calling him in such a hurry was insane—it would cost me lifespan.
At that exact moment the ceiling shattered, and the water wrapped around us, squeezing the breath from our lungs.