Chapter 41 – In the meantime, X and Y
Ralph and Totto…Mystery Masks, X and Y, had infiltrated the mansion from the back. And the first thing they did was search for a ventilation shaft.
The mansion was a large two-story building made of stone. And since they had seen an underground ventilation shaft on their way here, it suggested there was an underground room.
There was probably an empty space between the ceiling of the first floor, and the floor above.
For rich people, the first floor was usually a public space, while everything above was private.
And so it was unlikely that there were Adventurers waiting on the second floor. In the first place, Menew…Z, was causing such a scene outside. And so most of them should have gone out by now.
But the non-combatants or people who were searching for Totto would still remain inside. It was best to avoid any trouble.
The entrance to the ventilation shaft was located close to the back door.
Y stood on X’s shoulders, and used a knife to break the decoration around the entrance. And then he burned some sleeping oil near it. It was very effective, and had been made by Y himself.
Outside, Z was using wind magic. And so wind blew through the ducts all at once.
And like this, the smoke moved through the vents and reached every room of the first floor.
Eventually, they could hear the sounds of people falling, or the sounds of snoring. Clearly, the plan had worked.
X and Y’s masks made them immune to sleep. After all, Menew had prepared them after the plan had been devised.
X and Y then ran down the hallway that was used by the servants.
And just as planned, they reached the end of the hallway without being seen.
Y then pushed a few spots in the walls, triggering a mechanism that then revealed a hidden passageway.
“This is where they kept us.”
Y whispered. It was as if he was talking to himself.
When they entered, there was an iron door with bars. At the bottom, there was a small opening where you could slide food underneath. It was like a prison for criminals.
Y passed by the room and then made a turn in the hallways. And then once again, he began to press against the wall.
This time, a staircase leading downwards appeared. And there was a cold draft coming from below.
“Mother is down here.”
“I understand.”
X held up a lantern as the two descended the cold stair.
It was not very long. They walked for about three minutes.
The stone room at the bottom was a fitting place to store bodies.
There were several lying there already, but the air was clear and chilled.
Perhaps they were the results of experimenting with the illegal potions.
Some of the bodies had strangely grown muscles. But there were others that were skin and bone or looked like mummies. And some had deep lacerations. One even had extra limbs coming out of its back.
However, there was one corpse that was normal.
Y’s mother. Y rushed towards the body and held the hand of what just looked like a sleeping woman who was still young. And then he cried. Silently.
Then he wiped away the tears and nodded at X.
X nodded back and picked up the body. Then they turned back to the staircase.
However, their return would not be so simple.
“I was wondering what you rats were up to.”
Said a man who stood on top of the stairs.
“I don’t understand it. That is not even a failed experiment. Just a tool that can’t move anymore.”
The light of the lantern reflected on his silver hair.
It was a thin young man who wore glasses. He was wearing similar white robes as Y, but his were frayed and old.
His eyes were narrow and cat-like.
“She is not a tool! And we will take her back!”
Y fired back, but the man seemed to have lost all interest.
“So strange. So strange. The masks you are wearing have more worth than that.”
He said while tilting his head. It seemed like he was puzzled that he couldn’t quite fight back against the recognition obstruction.
“You’re talking about my mother as if she were a thing…!”
“Oh! So you are that son. I didn’t realize it. And I’m in danger of not even caring. That is a very powerful tool. That mask.”
The man made an exaggerated shocked face and then bowed gracefully.
“I forgot to introduce myself. I am Sangus. I was put in charge of this area by the Wind Blast Gang. But that is all you need to know, as you will die here.”
Just as he finished this introduction, the bodies behind X and Y started to move.
“I am a Necromancer. Now, enjoy yoru deaths.”
X placed the body on the stairs and turned to Y.
“Can you protect your mother from that man?”
“I-I will do my best!”
X patted him gently on the head.
“Good answer. Wait here.”
And then Ralph unsheathed his sword.
Necromancer. He had fought them before. As they continued to use magic energy while controlling corpses, he would not be able to defend himself.
The corpses were already surrounding X and Y. In that case, he should ignore Sangus and deal with the corpses for now.
Sangus was here alone. In other words, either he had some kind of barrier-type magic item, or he was very confident in himself. In any case, it was possible that Y would be attacked in the meantime.
But the stone room was magical. It took in all of the elements in the room in order to have ice magic activated at all times. It would not be possible to burn them with flames.
“Y. If you want to eat meat tomorrow, glare as hard as you can at that man.”
Said X, and then he jumped off of the stairs and charged into the enemy.
It was mostly a one-sided slaughter.
The purple blade would flash in the air, and then the body would be split into two. Even the muscular corpse, or the giant corpse. Both fell to the ground after losing their arms and legs.
However, there were too many of them. Songs had started to control more than thirty of them at once. And there was no time to reconnect the limbs.
If he wanted to connect them again, he would have to use magic energy to move them as if they were new bodies.
So it didn’t matter if they were undead. If they could not move, they were of little use.
X took advantage of this, slicing through limbs or crushing them under his feet.
While he may not be as impressive as that other person, his skill with the sword was equivalent of a Hero.
He fought as if he was worth a thousand men, cutting and crushing until there was nothing left in the room that could move. And then he quietly sheathed his sword.
Sangus raised his hands as if to surrender.
He had only cared to prevent the leaking of information. In other words, the test subjects. Now that they were gone, he was not going to risk his life.
“Oh, dear. Look what you did to my valuable samples.”
“Let me ask you something.”
“What?”
“Are you influencing the Knights Guild somehow?”
X asked, and Sangus shook his head with a laugh.
“Hardly. We don’t want to be targeted. No, we are not foolish enough to engage with the Knights Guild.”
X nodded understandingly.
The guild had internal investigations as a way of keeping itself clean. It would be no good to infiltrate just one place. You would have to do it in all locations across the country.
But only people who had been in high positions, like Ralph, knew that.
“Good. Now move. We have to take this person out of here.”
“Yes, I see. I wanted to…but I cannot allow the son to leave.”
X had lowered his guard. He had continued to talk about her as an object, and so he didn’t think that it was possible.
However, the corpse of Y’s mother now attacked him.
“Totto!”
He shouted. But Y just smiled as he turned to look at him.
He had bit the tip of his finger, drawing blood. And then he drew a magic circle near the stomach of the mother who was strangling his neck.
It was one of the ten circles that his mother had taught him.
“Separate!”
The current of magic energy was so strong that you could see it.
And then Sangus’s magic was separated by Y’s magic, and it vanished from his mother’s body.
When the body stopped moving completely, Y looked up at Sangus.
“What…?!”
Sangus looked frantic for the first time.
“I am taking my mother back. Get out of our way.”
Y said calmly. And then X returned and the two of them carried her.
“While this may be your base, it will be in flames soon. It would be wise for you and your friends to leave.”
“…Very well. If I cannot deal with things, then this town is too costly. The Wind Blast Gang will withdraw. But we will meet again.”
The man with silver hair said before vanishing.
They waited for the footsteps to die away, and then X and Y took her outside.
Thanks for the chapter!