The Healer’s Reluctant Descent
Ain narrowed his brows as he sat inside the carriage that would carry them back to the outskirts of Carpe.
“Back then… and now, it still feels downright creepy.”
“Still, it’s not quite as bad as last time, right?”
That was Er, the blonde swordswoman in her silver shield, who had joined him on the earlier expedition into the underground mausoleum.
She was right. The mood had lightened a little since their last visit. The cavernous gloom that used to swallow every shadow was now dim enough that even a half-hearted scan with a mana stone lantern could reveal the walls.
“It’s still plenty dark,” Ain muttered. “Back then it was worse.”
But Jina, who had never seen the place before, tilted her head curiously.
“Huh? Zombies were popping out and making everything annoying back then… but now there are no zombies left.”
“We killed the skeletons,” Er replied, turning to the small figure already leading the way. “Haru, how far until we reach the inner sanctum?”
“The very center,” Haru answered in her usual slow, sleepy drawl.
“The spot we couldn’t find last time, huh.”
Ain’s lips twitched. That was the exact location of the underground mausoleum where skeletons had been guarding whatever black magic had once been performed here. The carriage had been too far for him to reach, so he had no idea what lay beyond the entrance.
Haru stopped right at the threshold.
“It’s right here.”
“We can just walk in?”
“Mhm…”
Haru’s voice was half-asleep when she added, “There’s nothing down there now.”
“Safe, you mean?”
Jina gave a single, decisive nod instead of answering for her.
Ain stepped forward, the familiar acrid stench of the underground already flooding his senses. The moment they passed through the entrance, he realized there wasn’t a single trace of anything—bodies, burial goods, nothing. The room should have been filled with corpses and offerings. Instead it was empty.
“What the—why is it completely empty?”
He muttered the words before he could stop himself, and Haru answered without hesitation.
“Not much left… only a few traces of mana and a little power.”
She had been the one to scout the place the last time, and she had arrived too late. Whoever had been hiding here had clearly wiped every last trace away. If Haru had been even a few minutes later, she would have missed even the fading mana.
“They must have cleaned everything while we were away.”
“Probably,” Ain agreed bitterly. “I should have checked myself back then.”
He had known the black magicians were masters of concealment, yet he had still walked out. A poison enough to be survived, a conscious mind that could still speak—none of those should have stopped him from insisting they go deeper. His mistake had almost cost them everything.
Before he could spiral any further, someone tapped his shoulder.
“Ain, you’re thinking that kind of thing again? No matter what happened, people come first.”
“…Yeah.”
“So keep those wrinkles in check. You’re going to get lines.”
Jina patted his shoulder a few times, then marched straight toward the wall, gauntlets already glinting in the dim light.
She had followed her master long enough to know exactly how thoroughly black magicians erased their footprints. Nothing shocking about it, but the possibility that something had still been left behind made her pulse quicken.
“So you’re sure there was a black magician here?”
“Mhm.”
Haru nodded slowly, her light-blue eyes fixed on the empty space.
“There was only one clue.”
“One clue? What kind of—”
Haru pointed straight at the mana-stone pouch still dangling from Er’s belt.
“That stone. The only remaining trace. The black magician’s skeleton left behind.”
Every other clue had vanished, but this one was still here—the stone they themselves had recovered after defeating the creature. That was why it remained.
“Give it to me.”
“You want to try it?”
“I guess it won’t hurt.”
“If you say so…”
Ain handed the pouch over with a sigh. Er opened it, pulled out the black stone, and squeezed it tight.
CRACK!
Black sparks shot outward in every direction, setting the air itself alight.
“Wha—?!”
“Rejection reaction,” Haru muttered.
“Pure mana and it’s already reacting like that?”
“Wait—”
“Damn it, Bless!”
Ain’s eyes flashed. The sparks kept shooting, so instead of risking his own safety he cast the skill on his allies, flooding their bodies with divine power.
Haru’s shoulders twitched as she watched the power flow. “Creepy. You’d better let me examine that later.”
“Enough of that talk,” Er interrupted, reaching out to help the girl up. “What do we do now?”
Haru lifted one finger and pointed deeper into the corner.
“The stairs leading down… they’ve appeared.”
Er blinked. Haru’s finger was already pointing at the spot. There was a staircase there—no one had ever seen it before, yet it was unmistakably real.
“There’s a deeper floor under the graveyard?”
They had already dug out the entire underground structure. Poking around further was the last thing any sane person would do, especially with the uneasy expression on Ain’s face.
“A black magician lives underground,” Haru explained calmly. “Of course they’d have space beneath.”
“So you knew the stone was the key?”
“…Told you.”
Haru shrugged. “I heard the guild that the black stone was with you. I went looking, but I got hungry and collapsed in an alley…”
“So that’s why you were sprawled on the street.”
“I just couldn’t eat anything because I was tired, and then I couldn’t find you…”
“I told the guild I was camping on the outskirts, but maybe the rooftop place I stayed at that night was the problem.”
Haru looked at him with surprisingly sharp eyes. “Fate was kind to you, though. At least we met.”
“No way. That night I slept at an inn, so maybe my luck was bad. Or maybe I was the one who screwed up.”
“Sleeping under the roof was your mistake?”
Ain shook his head hard, then stared at the stairs. “Enough chit-chat. We’re going down, right?”
“Of course we are. We accepted the quest, didn’t we?”
“I’m against it. Do you have any idea what black magicians can do? Think carefully, Ain. If it’s a trap—”
“Jina, you’re right about that…”
Ain raised a hand, pointing at Haru who had already vanished into the darkness.
“She’s already gone down.”
“…”
“We should follow her right now.”
Er unslung her shield and sword, gripping them tightly. For the sake of any contingency, the one with the highest defense would take the lead.
“Jina, stay behind with me,” Er said.
“If I stay here while you two go, what kind of situation are you leaving me in?”
Jina flexed her gauntlets with a cheerful grin.
“I’m fine. I’ll protect Ahin… I mean, protect you two.”
She reached out and gently touched Er’s cheek, eyes sparkling with fierce loyalty.
“Huh?!”
Ain yelped, grabbing Er’s arm. “We have to go now! We can’t leave her behind!”
He hadn’t released the Bless on anyone, so they didn’t need extra preparation.
Clack… clack… clack…
The sound of boots and armor echoed down the stairs like a death knell.
The air grew thicker with mana the deeper they went. The stench of damp earth and decaying flesh pressed against them until even Er, who had seen every kind of horror in her adventuring days, wrinkled her nose.
“This is getting worse. I’ll light it up.”
Ain lifted his hand, channeling divine power to create a small flame. The moment the light bloomed, a familiar shape lay sprawled on the floor ahead.
“No way… already…?”
“Jina, watch our backs!” Er shouted, stepping forward herself. “I’ll handle the front!”
“Got it! Ain’s got my back—”
“—PAIN…”
“Pain… I fell…”
“…”
The voice was weak, but unmistakable. A girl lay there, knees scraped raw, face twisted in agony.
“The steps were too high… it hurts…”
She must have slipped while descending.
Er knelt and examined the wound.
“Blood loss is heavy… you really tore those knees up.”
“Just wrap it with bandages and ointment,” Jina suggested. “You brought them, right?”
“No need,” Er said quietly. “We don’t have to show her Heal just yet.”
She had known for a while that holy skills like Bless and Divine Enchant could be explained away as mysterious magic. But something that could literally rewind time and heal any wound untouched by the world itself was something even a magician like Haru might not understand yet.
“Just bandage it,” Ain decided, digging out the supplies from his bag. “That’s the safest bet.”
He worked with practiced hands, wrapping the raw knees with steady fingers.
“Normally bandages are for bandits, but—”
He kept up the nonsense until Haru finally gave a tiny, sleepy nod.
“Done. Can you move?”
“Hurts…”
Haru tried to stand, winced, and sat back down.
“I’ll carry you,” Ain said immediately.
“I don’t want to be carried…”
“But your waist hurt earlier, right? I remember the feeling when I carried you to the inn.”
“Then carry me.”
“What?”
“Carry me.”
Er and Jina both glared at him at the same moment.
Ain stared between the three of them, shoulders slumping in defeat.
“Seriously… why does it always have to be me…”
He muttered, then turned back toward the stairs with a resigned sigh. “Fine. Let’s go.”