Wayland landed firmly on the ground.
He stayed close to Elena. In fact, all twelve members of the team were huddled together; the emptiness of the temple, combined with the omnipresent mist, made their voices the only sound in the silence.
"Should we split up?" Wayland asked.
"According to the external scans, this temple is about a hundred meters long, sixty meters wide, and twenty-five meters high," Elena explained. "Overall, the area is similar to a football field--not large enough to warrant splitting our forces. We're likely still in the outer hall. Our first priority is to locate the main entrance to the interior."
As she spoke, Elena swept her high-powered floodlight around the room. Like their magecraft, the beam could only reach about half a meter into the mist.
Wayland nodded. Hishiri Adashino was providing remote command from the ship, while Elena was the on-site leader. If she said they stayed together, no one would object.
He watched Elena's movements for a moment, then spoke up. "This mist... it's clearly some kind of light-shielding spell."
Elena didn't respond immediately. She knelt and running a hand over the pale, jade-like stone of the floor.
"The mist is indeed a spell designed to block light, but it's the floor that's truly absorbing the light source. This isn't white jade; it's a specialized form of fluorescent stone. Ordinary fluorescent stones contain phosphorescent materials that absorb light and then release it in the dark, creating a soft silver glow. But this stone... it only absorbs. It never gives it back."
Elena stood up, her expression darkening. "We need to be careful. Whoever built this temple wouldn't have gone through the trouble of sourcing such a specific material unless there were traps or creatures within that depend on that energy to survive."
"Understood."
Wayland focused his attention as they slowly advanced deeper into the hall. He gripped his projected spear, his senses on high alert.
The team formed a defensive circle, each member standing about thirty centimeters apart, creating a watchful, overlapping perimeter.
The time was displayed on the edge of their HUDs.
They were required to report in every ten minutes.
"Stay alert. We've advanced thirty meters," Elena reminded them.
Wayland's floodlight caught one of the pillars; they appeared every five meters, their patterns identical to the valkyrie images they had seen earlier.
He quickly looked away, returning his focus to the path ahead.
"Ah!"
A sharp cry of pain tore through the darkness behind them.
Wayland instinctively turned, but the mist blocked his view.
A moment of chaos ensued.
The air around them began to ripple with the magical pulses of the other team members.
"Don't panic! Watch for friendly fire! Everyone, fall back! Form a circle with your backs together!"
Elena's command was instantaneous and correct. In such limited visibility, any lapse in discipline would lead to them tearing each other apart.
The screaming only lasted for a heartbeat before falling silent.
Wayland's mind remained unnervingly calm.
That familiar state of detachment--the "Cold Reason" that surfaced in moments of extreme crisis--had taken hold of him once more.
The twelve of them were now clustered together.
'Wait... twelve of them?'
Wayland's eyes narrowed. If all twelve members of the team were right here, who had been the one screaming?
'Or has something slipped in among us?'
Because they were standing so close, he could see the faces of the others clearly. None of them looked unusual.
'Parasitism? Or mental control?'
If that were the case...
Wayland's fingers twitched subtlely. A faint, obscure fluctuation of prana began to form a magical circle in his palm.
"Elena," he called out.
"What is it? Wayland?"
The high-strung Elena nearly jumped at his sudden voice. The other members of the team also perked their ears, their focus sharpening.
"Soul Resistance!"
A ring of kinetic force exploded from Wayland's right arm.
"Wayland, what are you doing?" Elena blurted out, though she quickly realized the intent behind the move.
Soul Resistance. A Rank One spell from the Department of Evocation. Its effect was simple: to check for the purity of a soul.
Wayland was far too intelligent to act without reason.
She looked at the team members before her.
Aside from Wayland himself, every person was shrouded in a faint, ethereal blue light.
"Sapp McIntosh! He's being controlled!"
Elena's voice rang out as she saw a black mist beginning to seep from the operative's body.
Before the other team members could react, Wayland lunged forward, his spear cutting through the air with lethal precision.
Clang.
It sounded like metal striking scales.
Sapp's right arm had transformed, covered in bronze-colored, dragon-like scales. It was this armored limb that had parried Wayland's thrust.
'What the hell is this thing?'
As the others watched in shock, Wayland's spear suddenly vibrated. A flurry of orange sparks erupted from the blade.
The sparks accelerated instantly, transforming into high-intensity firebolts that swarmed toward Sapp's face.
The creature inhabiting Sapp's body hadn't expected such a sudden shift in tactics.
A bestial howl of pain echoed through the hall.
Sapp's face was charred, the smell of burning flesh filling the air.
The other team members, who had been momentarily stunned, began to move, but Elena shouted, "Everyone except Wayland, fall back! Stay in the circle and don't interfere! It's too dark--you'll only hit him!"
Wayland's expression didn't flicker. As the firebolts struck, he was already shifting his weight, his spear rising in a vicious upward thrust toward Sapp's right eye.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]