Chapter 51: Reasoning.
Going deeper inside, but nothing appeared. Aoto was a bit disappointed.
"Why have I observed nothing on the walls? Could something be hiding it? Definitely not with energy. Is it some item that helps hide? But everything in this world uses energy. How can it bypass my energy perception?"
"Or am I overestimating my ability? Impossible. If only a little energy is used, how can they hide it?"
Aoto scratched his head, grimacing in confusion.
"Why is it so hard, damn it."
He startled, widening his eyes as if realizing something. He immediately turned back the way he came and walked fast. He ran while looking along the walls without moss.
"If everything else is wrong, then only this moss layer is most problematic."
"For example: they placed something very deep below. That would make it extremely hard to feel. Until now, I haven't felt any unusual energy. It must be at night."
"Last night, standing normally, I felt nothing. But when I knelt on the ground and fell back, I felt a bit of strange energy. Just a difference between standing and lying, and it's exhausting."
"That way it would be extremely hard for others to perceive energy to track. And maybe because of that, they used moss to cover an entrance."
"Although I know every creature has energy, who would suspect a damp, moldy place with moss?"
Aoto flew back through the water crossroad. He continued running. The light outside the sewer made him a bit dazzled after being in the dark too long.
Running a bit further, near the exit, he saw a large patch of moss growing on the wall to his right. He glanced left. That wall had no moss. But this side did.
"Alright. This is the reasoning I find most reasonable. If I clear all this moss and find nothing, I should rethink my reasoning."
"Assume behind this moss layer is a path. And people are below. Since I don't feel their energy below, they probably don't feel mine. If I use my energy now, they will sense it. Better be careful."
He ran outside the sewer and picked up a fairly long stick with one smooth side. He nodded in satisfaction.
"Yeah. This is good. Now I have to scrape the moss by hand."
Aoto went to the mossy wall. He placed the stick horizontally against the wall and began to scrape hard. He slowly backed away while scraping. Moss fell to the ground. He kept backing further inside while scraping.
While scraping, the stick in his hand hit something. It made his grip unsteady. He narrowed his eyes. But it was too dark. Right hand raised. Energy radiated and shone. He brought it close to the stone wall.
He widened his eyes in surprise. It was a straight vertical line from top to bottom on the stone wall.
"Here it is."
He held the wooden stick and scraped around. Before him was a long border on the stone wall. It formed a rectangle like a door.
"Hmph. Lucky. Don't have to rethink my reasoning."
His eyes changed. Became serious. Left hand holding the dirty stick. But he still raised his hand to stroke his chin.
"So it's correct. But should I enter? Or call Airi and Takeshi?"
He shook his head, disagreeing with that thought.
"Can't. I cleared the moss. If I go back to call those two, and someone comes, they will know they are exposed and might flee. Yeah, for example."
"The guys who made this are smart. Using moss like that. If they cut it when opening the door. Then push it back, moss will grow back very quickly and hide the traces."
"Whatever. Let's go in and investigate. If it's not good, I'll bolt. Hope I can run."
Aoto raised his hand and pushed the stone wall. The stone door slid down a bit. He looked down with curious eyes.
"Oh. They used small wooden planks placed horizontally under the stone. That makes the stone easy to push up and down. Although it still needs strength, it doesn't need much. Maybe using a bit of energy is enough."
He looked closer. Where the large stone block stood, were wooden rows vertically.
"Oh. That means I need to slide the stone to one side. Who thought of this? A genius."
"Better not use energy."
He grabbed the stone. Legs wide in position. Two hands gripped the right side of the stone. He clenched his teeth. Exerted force to pull the stone to his left.
When finished pulling, before him was a staircase leading down.
Aoto was a bit surprised. Eyes looked deep down.
"A staircase leading down. It matches what I thought. That noble didn't even think of this. Truly a novice."
He stepped down and turned around. Sighed.
"Haizzz. If I close the door now, I might bury myself alive. But I scraped all the moss anyway, someone will find out. Just ignore it. Who knows, if chased, I'll just run out."
The path below was lit by glowing stones along both walls. Aoto walked softly down. Avoiding making the slightest noise.
"God bless. Hope no one suddenly rushes out. If they do, hope they are weak. Or hope they all went out."
Thus, Aoto stepped down. After a while, he still didn't see the end of the staircase.
"Why is it so deep? I've been walking but haven't reached the bottom? Walking for a while and it's tiring. Did these guys design this staircase to drain an intruder's stamina?"
Walking a bit more, finally, Aoto reached the bottom. Turning right was another path.
"Finally down. Curse the staircase designer's ancestors."
"Currently this deep and haven't felt anyone's energy. Maybe they all went up to play."
Aoto accelerated. After a while, he reached a vast space.
"What bastard made this path? I walked until I almost died. Why not make it near the stairs? Walking in this path full of yellow light is about to make me see the world in yellow."
He turned his head. This vast space no longer had the yellow light of glowing stones. It had purple light from stones mounted on the walls.
Aoto's steps stopped as he entered the open space ahead. This was no longer a stone tunnel but a large room. High ceiling. Four walls were assembled with smooth stone blocks. Carefully processed long ago.
The smell of dampness mixed with rust and a bit of old parchment scent made Aoto grimace.
In the middle of the room was a long stone table. Surface dotted with old black stains. Scratches in places. As if someone had hit it hard. On the table were a few cracked glass bottles. Inside were liquids dried into brown or black residue. Some jars still had hand-written labels in purple ink. But they were so blurred they were almost unreadable.
On the right was a tilted bookshelf. Old parchment scrolls lay messy on the floor. Trampled and stained by dampness. A few pages were still readable. Aoto glanced and saw anatomical drawings. Including structures of... non-human creatures.
At the end of the room, against the stone wall, was a rusty iron cage. About the size of an adult. But it was distorted. The metal bars were bent as if something giant from inside had tried to break out. Below the cage was a streak like dark dried blood.
In a corner, Aoto discovered a wooden chair with leather straps showing wear. Behind the chair was a small symbol carved with a knife on the wall.
And most horrific, many jars containing human parts: arms, legs…
There were also parts of some creature. Even their intestines. Long, black, and squiggly.
Aoto narrowed his eyes. A bit of fear on his face.
"What the hell? Is this a laboratory of some madman? Looks disgusting."
He walked deeper inside. He took another step forward. A sensation of someone's energy. Immediately, Aoto backed up a few steps.
"Felt it. Someone's energy. It's ahead. My perception range is extremely far. Compared to an extremely strong person, I might even be better. Possibly they haven't sensed me yet. Unless someone is super strong."
"My perception range is more than 100 tharn. For now, no worries. But I worry if someone steps over, what should I do?"
He turned to look at the path behind.
"The path along this room. If I run, I'll be detected by the sound. But would flying be faster? What if I meet someone with high speed?"
He tapped his head.
"Damn it. Why think so much? Entering here is a gamble."
"But should I just wait here? If I go up, I won't gather any damn clues."
"But maybe he is focusing on research and doesn't sense surroundings?"
His face showed deep thought.
"So confusing. Should I? Going further is gambling twice. Is that a valid example?"
He tapped his head again.
"Focus. Thinking nonsense."
"Just go. What's there to fear? These stone walls seem thick. But I am an Elemental. I think I can fly through this place. But what if it collapses?"
"Whatever. Decided to go in."
Aoto walked on. At the end of this room was a path with purple light. Quite narrow.
"What kind of narrow path? If I fly, I might hit my head on the wall."
He continued walking into the path slowly and warily.
"I've walked a bit. I still feel this person ahead. Some movement, but seems inside a room. If I'm this close and they don't sense me, they must be focusing on something."
"Damn it. I've never killed anyone."
He stared at his palm.
"But why do I feel normal thinking about it now?"
"It seems in the book 'The Sin Everyone Commits' by Loid Kencho, the one who created the barrier protecting the Elemental race."
"He wrote an extra line in the book. It seems to be: 'Killing doesn't make us monsters. It's how we view it that decides who we are.' Yeah, something like that."
"In short, he talked about perspective. I am looking for clues to save my new friends. People who might be my companions forever. This is right, isn't it?"
"Wait. Feels like I'm manipulating myself. But can't deny his words are profound."
Aoto walked more. Before him was another large space. He saw the figure of the one whose energy he sensed along the way.
"It's him. Should I rush in and subdue him? What if he's extremely strong?"
That man was moving around the room. Holding glass jars. Inside was some purple medicine. Didn't look good. On the table were many such glass jars with various colors.
Around the room were many types of grass and plants. No, they were exactly medicines.
Aoto widened his eyes seeing a large wooden board. A dwarf was tied tightly to it. The dwarf's eyes were closed. Seemed asleep.
The man was dressed quite normally like an average person living here. Simple brown hair.
His crafty voice rang out.
"Hehe. This time the medicine will definitely work. Just wait for those guys to bring the two kids for the sacrifice."
Aoto widened his eyes at his words.
"Huh? Could it be Kazuka and Ayaka? Those two will be sacrifices? ...This is not good at all."
Aoto clenched his teeth.
"Should I rush in and hit him now? If so, they might find out and not bring those two here."
"Or should I wait? But what if there are others? What if someone senses me? I'm dead. Best to take him down."
Aoto raised his hand. Energy surrounded his entire body. Right hand with extremely thick energy.
The man was calmly admiring the medicinal leaves. Suddenly he felt energy from behind.
BOOM!!!!
Aoto unleashed a slash with a powerful wind element. The path was too narrow. The slash destroyed it immediately. The slash rushed toward the man.
He only had time to turn around when the slash was already close.
BOOM!!!
The slash hit him directly. He had no time to do anything. No time to counter-attack or mobilize energy for defense. Blood sprayed from his mouth. Face showed clear pain. The slash pinned him to the wall.
But the slash hadn't vanished. It pressed him against the stone wall for a long time. He screamed in pain.
"Aaaahhh!"
His energy was too weak. The slash split his body in two.
The top and bottom halves of the body fell down. Blood splattered everywhere. Half the room turned red.
The dwarf tied to the wooden board had woken up. Eyes wide with surprise.
Aoto stood at the entrance. Stared at his hand.
"I... I only wanted to subdue him. Thought that since he was unfocused, energy wasn't radiating outside and was accumulated inside."
"An Elemental's perception is the most accurate among races. Although there's always an error margin, why was it wrong now? Am I wrong? I just killed someone."
"I... I only wanted to disable his combat ability."
He swallowed his saliva.
"Why, although I'm thinking a lot, do I feel nothing about killing? Like I don't care?"
His hand trembled. Eyes wavered as if fearing himself.
As an Elemental with excellent energy control, the tense mood made him over-calculate. Therefore, calmness is the most necessary thing in combat or any situation.
Aoto stood still. Hand still trembling. The smell of blood filled the air. He turned to look at the dwarf tied to the board.
The dwarf had been watching. Eyes not fearful but sharp. He spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Kid... you really just killed him?"
Aoto startled. Swallowed his saliva. Nodded slightly.
"I... I only intended to subdue him... but when I struck, I don't know why I unleashed a finishing blow."
It seemed when he struck, his hood slipped back. The dwarf noticed his ears.
"At first, the energy was a bit hard to distinguish. But are you an Elemental?"
Aoto nodded and walked closer.
"Yes."
"I thought you people controlled energy well. Is there such a thing as losing control?"
Aoto stammered. He didn't know how to answer.
"I... this is my first time killing. I... I don't know why."
"Am I blaming the mistake on it being my first time?"
The dwarf snorted.
"If you aren't decisive, the one dead would be you. Here, if you are merciful, you die. Don't blame yourself."
"Besides, whether it's the first time or many, the important thing is the situation doesn't allow hesitation. Did you forget in this world, strength is power?"
"A battle is like a political game. If you don't strike in time, don't reason fast, don't grasp the situation... just being passive for one step means losing everything."
Aoto approached. Face still full of thought. He untied the ropes.
"Who are you? Why were you tied here?"
The dwarf grimaced slightly when released.
"That guy... used me to concoct medicine. They are preparing a ritual. If you hadn't come in time, those two kids would have been taken as sacrifices."
Aoto narrowed his eyes.
"You know Kazuka and Ayaka?"
The dwarf shook his head. Then glanced quickly at the corpse on the floor.
"No. But are they your friends? Or also sacrifices?"
Aoto: "Probably. They were taken by shadows. I am looking for them."
The old man was a bit surprised.
"Oh. Daring to charge in here without knowing anything?"
Aoto: "I came here to save my friends."
"Oh. But you just killed one of them. Sooner or later they will find out."
The dwarf pointed to the path leading deeper inside.
"See that? They are in that direction. They are performing experiments to create some creature. I'm not sure, but it's definitely not good."
His eyes directed toward the path with purple lights. Then back to the dwarf.
"Then how many are they? Are they strong?"
The dwarf thought for a while then said:
"There are about 10 people here. Two wearing masks seem to be their masters. If I remember correctly, five went out earlier. So there are about three left inside."
"Thank you for saving me. But I won't go with you. Take care."
The dwarf turned to leave.
Aoto nodded.
"Okay. But tell me your name?"
"Vita."
Aoto: "Okay. Hope to see you again."
"Yeah."
As if remembering something, Vita turned back. Eyes scrutinizing him.
"Hey. Are you ready to kill more people?"
"If not, don't hurry. Psychological burden is a fatal weakness in combat."
Vita turned and left.
Aoto heard that. He raised his hand and looked at his palm thoughtfully.
"Am I ready for the next time?"
He clenched his fist tight. Eyes determined. Without hesitation, he stepped into the path ahead.
While walking, he closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Held it. Then exhaled slowly. It was to empty his thoughts and calm himself.
"Currently I haven't felt the energy of the three people Vita mentioned. Does that mean this path is longer than 100 tharn? What kind of path did they make? Want to research and train stamina at the same time?"
Walking for a while, before him to the left was a yellow-lit space. He noticed and went over.
It was a space not too large. Bookshelves around. Books lay scattered on the ground. A complex array pattern with intricate motifs.
"Is this their library?"
He stepped inside and observed everywhere. Before him was a table. On it was a large book opened.
"What does the book say?"
Aoto picked up the book. Only text, no pictures.
"It's a formula to summon something."
"Use the dwarf's brain for intelligence. Use a young man for strength. Use a virgin girl for reasoning. Use snake eyes to see clearly in darkness. Use a lion's heart for dominance and power. Use the shadows of 400 people to complete the body."
Aoto widened his eyes in surprise reading the last lines. He was shocked. Put the book down.
"Not good at all. It means Kazuka and Ayaka will become sacrifices."
"Huh? It said use the old dwarf. Why was Vita used for medicine? Do they have another dwarf? Or does the dwarf need to achieve something first?"
"Strange that they didn't catch city people as sacrifices from the start but waited until we arrived."
He walked out while thinking.
"So they still need to collect shadows."
He clenched his right fist into his left palm. Seemed to understand something.
"It seems they need to use shadows in this city. Catching people can be done outside."
"Yeah. Now it makes sense. So the deduction that they placed something under here to make those shadows conscious is likely correct."
His eyes looked into the tunnel ahead. A bit worried.
"Hope they are okay. I must save these new friends. Can't let things end boringly."
While walking, he suddenly sensed the energy of three individuals far away.
"Found them. They are ahead."
He stepped deeper…
In the room ahead. Those three in white cloaks with red-gold patterns along the seams. They were observing Kazuka and Ayaka, who were tied hand and foot. Mouths gagged. Lying inside a transparent box-shaped barrier.
The one in the middle with a mature face was Mask. He was over thirty. He felt Aoto approaching from afar. He turned back to look at the path with a wary face.
The other two on the sides also sensed it and turned their heads.
One with a fairly young face and purple hair was Yuio. The other seemed the oldest with brown hair and a wrinkled face. About over 40 years old, he was Kasp.
Kasp with wary eyes.
"Do you feel it?"
Mask: "Seems there's an intruder."
Yuio smiled wickedly.
"Then let's destroy that mouse."