Defense Mode
"Hoo... it really is enormous in here."
"In terms of sheer floor area, I'd estimate it's about one-fifth the size of Bolston."
Passing through a hexagonal corridor and into the ruin's interior, the familiar layout of a factory unfolded before us. Most of the usable contents had long since been excavated and carted off, so not a great deal remained. Even so, the colossal machine arms scattered here and there still hinted that this place had once been a working factory.
"Our best guess is that this was where golems were manufactured. The kind of golem that normally takes a few dozen mages working in tandem, produced hundreds at a time."
"And where did those golems end up? I imagine there were quite a few when the ruin was first unearthed."
"According to the records, they were all sold to the Magic Tower. The family was in dire financial straits back then... Though I suppose we should be grateful the ancestors at least left behind the artifacts they considered important for posterity."
"You mean the vehicle we're riding on right now?"
Vwooooom...
As if to confirm my words, the disc beneath our feet wobbled gently from side to side. This disc, which had welcomed us automatically the moment we entered the factory, was a marvelous contraption that floated in midair without any visible apparatus. Given how remarkably quiet it was, I wondered if it wasn't some kind of anti-gravity device. Even with the heavily armed Lena and the hulking Kaya aboard, the disc's output showed no sign of strain. It might well have been a cargo-hauling transport of some kind.
"Ooooh, amaaazing..."
"I'm curious what sort of technology is at work here."
"A remarkably well-preserved ruin, certainly."
As the disc sped off toward some unknown destination, Lena, Noah, and Kaya each indulged themselves freely in the sights of the ruin. Catherine watched them with a shrug.
"There are several more of these discs deeper inside. All thanks to the wisdom of our ancestors, of course."
"I see... And where exactly are we headed?"
"To the most important place in this ruin. The Central Control Room."
...
Before long, the disc carrying us arrived in front of a door marked CENTRAL CONTROL ROOM. Unlike the other open spaces we had passed through, a bulkhead barred entry here. But the moment Catherine drew near, it slid open as smoothly as an automatic door.
Huum!
The moment we stepped inside, the space that had lain dormant in dark silence began to conjure up faint glimpses of its past glory. Blue light raced along the walls, powering up machinery whose purpose we could only guess at, while white light poured down from the ceiling, bathing the control room in brightness. And the most breathtaking sight of all was the blue-lit young lady who materialized at the room's center. She wore a classically tailored business suit and smiled brightly—though there was something subtly mechanical about her expression.
Catherine glanced back at us and murmured, "That is the guardian spirit who manages the ruin. She seems to be bound by certain restrictions, so I sense no intellect from her... but please do mind your words and actions around her."
"Understood."
However hard I looked, she appeared to be nothing more than a hologram, but I nodded obediently all the same, if only to ease Catherine's worries. Taking a small breath, Catherine approached the spirit (?) hovering at the center of the control room. She stole a glance at something written on a sheet of paper, then spoke in a low, careful voice.
"Greetings, honored spirit. I am Catherine de la Bornee, humble though I am, serving as temporary administrator of this facility."
"I would like to activate this facility's defense system on a temporary basis."
Grrrrrk...!
The hologram lady nodded and began counting down in a flat, mechanical monotone. A cacophony of machine noise filled the control room as the systems processed her requested task. The machines groaned under the strain of running for the first time in ages, stalling and sputtering again and again... but they held on, right up until the hologram finished her count.
The hologram projected a three-dimensional map of the entire facility. Hundreds of chambers, each labeled in minuscule lettering with its name and function—most of them painted red.
"One week is plenty. Please activate the defense system."
"Yes. That's fine."
Weeeeeung...
Weeeeeung...
Apparently the method of issuing alerts hadn't changed much over the ages. The moment the activation was announced, the bright illumination shifted to red, and an ear-grating siren blared from every direction. So much time had passed that the speakers (?) crackled and cut out repeatedly, which made the whole thing rather painful to listen to. When the siren finally died down, a calm, oddly urgent female voice followed.
...
"Phew... it's finally over."
Only after the hologram had finished unleashing her barrage of warning broadcasts did the facility settle back into a pleasant silence. We had no way to verify it from in here, but judging by her report, the defense mode seemed to have deployed without a hitch. We gathered around the factory map to discuss our plan of action.
Catherine jabbed a finger at the marked entrances on the map. "Aside from the main gate we came in through, every other entrance is buried underground and physically sealed off. Which means we only have to defend the main gate."
"That's certainly doable."
"But I'd like to propose something else."
"Which is?"
"It turns out the ruin's defense systems are far more intact than expected. We don't know exactly what weapons and traps are lying dormant in there... but there should be no problem holding the line without anyone physically standing guard. So..."
Catherine suggested that "it might not be a bad idea to simply hide ourselves away entirely," then called the hologram up again.
"Honored spirit. Show us the Panic Room, please."
Phsssssh...
With the hologram's characteristically mechanical utterance, one section of the control room wall split apart to reveal a small chamber. The Panic Room looked roomy enough to comfortably hold thirty or so people, and it was stuffed to the brim with supplies—food, bedding, and the like. The Count's household seemed to have prepared it in advance of our arrival.
Catherine rapped her knuckles against the exposed cross-section of the wall and said, "The Panic Room is the most heavily fortified shelter in this entire facility. It was probably built to protect VIPs. Stay in here and you can control the whole facility, keep an eye on the situation outside—two birds with one stone, really."
"Ooh, not bad."
"Hold on. I think it's about time you told us the *real* purpose of this request."
Just as I was listening to Catherine without a second thought, Kaya abruptly shouldered her way forward and spoke bluntly. Only moments ago she'd been gazing at the ruin's strange sights with an expression of curiosity—had something finally caught her attention?
"The... real purpose?"
"That's right. Haven't any of you noticed something off about this?"
"...I find the Panic Room arrangement rather suspicious, actually. If the true objective were truly the ruin's defense, we ought to be coordinating with the defense systems directly. I see no reason to divide our forces."
"Exactly. Noah, was it? You've got a decent head on your shoulders. Anyway, the way I see it, our client seems to have some other objective in mind...?"
"Could it be that an enemy far stronger than anticipated might attempt to breach the facility?"
Kaya and Noah traded observations back and forth, both fixing Catherine with a stare. The petite noble lady—only slightly larger than Lena—shrank backward step by step, as though their gazes carried some kind of physical force. When she put it that way, it did sound strange.
"No! This is absolutely, positively not a nefarious request!"
"I never went so far as to say *nefarious*."
"Ahem! In any case! This is merely a precaution on account of my... personal concerns."
"It is nonetheless a logically unsound arrangement, that much is certain. Might I ask what these concerns of yours actually are?"
"That's..."
"As of now, we are effectively sealed deep underground together. Wouldn't mutual trust be the most important thing of all?"
"Haaaah... fine. It's not some huge secret anyway, so I'll tell you. The truth is..."
Catherine wiped a bead of sweat, looking troubled, then opened up with surprising candor.
...
"HAHAHAHA! The Arcana Heart? Are you serious?!"
"Don't laugh! I told you it was a long shot!"
"Pfft... come on now. You've been raised soft and sheltered, so I suppose it makes sense you'd have a naive streak?"
"Grrrr!"
Hearing the whole story out, Kaya rolled on the floor in a fit of roaring laughter. Her massive bulk thrashing this way and that made the entire control room feel cramped. But... what on earth was the Arcana Heart? Trembling with indignation, Catherine heaved a deep sigh and explained.
"The Arcana Heart is... an artifact from ancient myth. From the age when gods and ancient humans fought alongside and against one another... it is said to be the source of the gods' power."
"Ancient myth? Just how long ago are we talking?"
"Sometime before the era of the Five Kingdoms—and before even the time when the masters of these ruins were active... roughly in between the two. Going by the timeline, about three thousand years ago, give or take?"
"Whoa."
Three thousand years? By Earth's reckoning, wasn't that even before Gojoseon was founded? I let out a small gasp at the sheer unimaginable scale of it. A span that long did deserve to be called myth. According to Dr. Elena's records I'd encountered at the lab, the Spacetime Barrier's time distortion had been at most a factor of two... yet this place had aged at least three thousand years. The distortion ratio must have been something like 20 to 1.
Just as I was mulling over the past, Kaya suddenly belted out a song in her thunderous voice.
"O! O! Arcana Heart!
Mystic heart of god, hear the tale~!
All the world's secrets and powers reside within that heart~
And the one who claims that heart shall claim the world!"
"...And what was that supposed to be?"
"A nursery-rhyme thing passed down among the outlying tribes. A moldy old tune even the bards have stopped singing. Now you see what a load of nonsense this Arcana Heart business really is?"
"It is NOT a load of nonsense!!"
Catherine, who had been enduring Kaya's mockery, shrieked at the top of her lungs. The shrill pitch of her own voice startled even her, and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Kaya seized the moment, sidling up with a sly grin.
"Ohhh... so there *is* some basis for it. Otherwise why would His Esteemed *Co*unt's dear daughter go to all this trouble herself, hm?"
"..."
"And matters like these tend to connect both friend and foe alike, you understand."
"What's that supposed to mean, Kaya Unni?"
"I'm saying the cultists might have their own intelligence on the Arcana Heart, and might come sniffing around this place too. Strong ones, at that."
"...!"
Wait, WHAT?! This request was way more dangerous than I'd thought?? I'd assumed it was a relatively safe job precisely because the Count had attached his beloved daughter to it! I shot Catherine a look of quiet betrayal.