novelraw Chapter 115: Records
Chapter 115: Records
KIYOSHI:
Kiyoshi, Kakkona, and the three remaining S-ranks continued on through the underground labyrinth. Though Matoi had lost three of his party members in the span of mere moments, his focus was entirely on detecting any traps that they might come across.
Maeve kept a watchful eye out for anything suspicious, likely not wanting to let the assassin, as she described, ambush them a second time. Her face was carefully devoid of emotion as her sharp eyes scanned the rear. If she was regretful of her fallen comrades, he couldn't tell.
Akane was a stark contrast, a mournful look pressing against her will to suppress it. Though he could understand her grief, he worried whether she could keep a clear mind if the need arose.
Although Matoi had unveiled every trap they'd come across, some were identical to the ones they'd already bypassed with Koan and Masaru's expertise. Now that they were no longer with them, the sheer number of times their group was forced to backtrack and make detours had become exceedingly tedious.
After rounding a corner that led to another dim hall, Matoi gestured for everyone to stop. With a light movement, he pushed the specks of amber down the hall and carefully guided them into the rooms on either side. After unintentionally triggering the trap that had separated the team, he'd been more cautious, even wary.
A few minutes passed before he signaled it was safe. Walking down the hall, the team naturally peeled off in search of clues or evidence of the Vault's location. Kakkona and Maeve took the closest room to the right, while Matoi and Akane slipped into the neighboring room. Kiyoshi stepped inside the room across from Kakkona and Maeve, and a lighting artifact flickered to life upon passing the threshold.
The soft light dispersed the shadows to reveal a well-organized room of shelves lined with files and folders on either side and a wooden desk placed in the middle. A worn painting of a primordial landscape was hung lopsided on the back wall, and Kiyoshi rounded the desk to better view the parchment stacked on top.
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Hope Elixir (Ver. 1):
Production Phase:
-Location: Sotiri Village
-Process: Hope Elixir is synthesized using a complex process involving enhancement elixirs as a base and precursor chemicals sourced from the Mid Rim.
-Production Capacity: 6 test vials
Distribution Network:
-Primary Distributor: The Savior
-Distribution Points: Sotiri Bamboo Forest
-Clientele: Predominantly young adults
Overall Results:
-Volunteer No. 1: Deceased
-Volunteer No. 2: Deceased
-Volunteer No. 3: Deceased
-Volunteer No. 4: Alive
-Volunteer No. 5: Deceased
-Volunteer No. 6: Deceased
Volunteers have undergone drastic physical changes, and radiant channels have been damaged beyond repair.
Status: Failure
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Hope Elixir (Ver. 2):
Production Phase:
-Location: Sotiri Village
-Process: Hope Elixir is synthesized using a complex process involving enhancement elixirs as a base and precursor chemicals sourced from the Outer Rim.
-Production Capacity: Batch 1 totals 100 ounces of product.
Distribution Network:
-Primary Distributor: Volunteer No. 4
-Distribution Points: River Town
-Clientele: Predominantly young to middle-aged adults
Overall Results:
Channels become more prominent and are occasionally damaged. There are also signs of reduced cognitive functions.
Status: Failure
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Hope Elixir (Ver. 3):
Production Phase:
-Location: Sotiri Village
-Process: Hope Elixir is synthesized using a complex process involving enhancement elixirs as a base and precursor chemicals sourced from the Outer Rim.
-Production Capacity: Batch 1 totals to 10 ounces of product
Distribution Network:
-Primary Distributor: The Savior
-Distribution Points: Sotiri Village
-Clientele: Predominantly young to elderly
Overall Results:
-Volunteer No. 1: Alive
-Volunteer No. 2: Alive
-Volunteer No. 3: Alive (scheduled for execution) [Update: All attempts at termination have been unsuccessful. Revised executioners: Sentinels]
Overall Results:
There have been no recorded physical, cognitive, or channel complications.
Status: Success
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Kiyoshi's eyes lingered on the last sheet mentioning Sentinels as executioners. If these people viewed them or were using them as such, so be it. It likely wouldn't get in the way of their objective.
Putting that aside, he sensed he was closing in on what he was looking for. Sifting through another file, he found more documents detailing different stages of the elixir. Moving to a different section of the room, he came across another file labeled "Vault" and opened it.
He couldn't help the slight curl of his lips as he filled with satisfaction. Inside was a rough map of the underground tunnels along with a blueprint of the Vault.
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Vault:
-Construction Status: Complete
-Location: Sotiri Village
-Hold Capacity: 500 vials
-Hope Elixir (Ver. 2): Approximately 200 vials
-Hope Elixir (Ver. 3): Approximately 300 vials
All elixirs are to be transported to the Vault.
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"Everyone, on me!" He called out to the others.
Kakkona and Maeve were first to enter, then Matoi and Akane. Kiyoshi pushed aside the parchment on the desk and laid out the map. Everyone gathered around the desk.
"Good find," Kakkona said, leaning over the map. There was red ink circling a particular layout that looked identical to the area they were now in. He traced his gaze from their location to the Vault. "Seems it's close by too."
"We should expect heavy resistance." Maeve reminded. "If we haven't encountered many Second Grades in these caverns, we can assume they're either guarding the Vault or elsewhere."
Akane rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "The Second Grades we came across during the initial assault didn't pose much of a threat. Is it really likely the Savior would station them at the Vault?" She looked over the map again, her finger tracing the areas they'd already explored. "There aren't many places we haven't been to, so I'm more inclined to think they're on the surface somewhere."
Matoi's face flashed with realization. "The distress call from Sentinel Sokuba and May. Do you think the rest of the Second Grades ambushed them?"
"Give them more credit, Matoi," Kakkona responded with a tinge of offense in his voice. "It's likely they ran into something much stronger."
As Matoi used the map as an excuse to look down, hiding his apologetic expression, Kiyoshi reviewed the map again. The tunnels stretched on to where the perimeter would be. If he were the Savior and had knowledge of the enemy's strategy, he'd probably send his pawns to ambush the perimeter from below. After they seize control of the perimeter, any Sentinel or ranger would be trapped inside with Third Grades.
Kiyoshi rolled up the map and handed it to Matoi. "I doubt any Second Grades would be present near the Vault, but Maeve makes a valid point. We have to assume there will be some form of resistance." He moved around the desk and started toward the door. "Let's move."
Everyone followed him out into the hall as they slipped into the same formation. They remained quiet for the majority of their search, more so than when they'd initially entered the underground network.
Matoi stopped periodically to check the map before they resumed their trudge. The air grew thick with damp earth and anticipation. With each twist and turn, the group grew increasingly tense as they closed in on the Vault.
Once they'd reached the corner to the hall they would find the Vault in, Kiyoshi ordered Matoi to take center with Akane while he protected them from the front. Everyone stacked up on the wall while the rogue's ember scouted the hall. With his shield raised, Kiyoshi shot Matoi a glance over his shoulder but couldn't read his expression.
"Talk to me, Matoi?" He said, his nerves surprisingly becoming more agitated within the silence.
Matoi didn't respond right away, but his face scrunched in confusion at whatever his shining eyes were seeing. After a few seconds or so, he spoke. "It's clear. But there's some kind of contraption at the end of the hall. It doesn't look like a trap, but stay on guard."
Kiyoshi carefully peeked around the corner to confirm. The hall was just a straight shot down to a dead end without any signs of life. He gestured for everyone to follow as he cautiously rounded the corner.
As his group stuck close, watching for anything unusual, Matoi spoke again. "Wait." Kiyoshi stopped again, shield held out front. "I'm detecting something else beyond the wall."
"Be more specific."
"A faint radiant signature coming from..." He trailed off, narrowing his eyes as if unconvinced what he was seeing was actually real. "One person." He pulled out the map to double-check their current location. Sure enough, they were practically facing their objective. "But if this really is the Vault, there should be more people guarding it."
The Sentinel looked back at the false wall at the end of the hall. "Be on guard."
As they approached, the detection artifacts on their belts began to flicker. Since Matoi didn't call out where, the obvious cause was from whoever was beyond the wall. They moved closer, the artifacts blinking more rapidly with every step. It wasn't until they reached the wall that their artifacts began to let out an agonized hiss before sparks tore from them, and their light died out.
Kiyoshi and Kakkona looked at each other gravely, but Kiyoshi stepped out of the way for Matoi to move to the front.
He let the ember hover over along the wall for a time before feeding it more radiance, its form growing into an orb while manifesting two more of the same size. Runes appeared on the wall in the orbs' light that were invisible to the naked eye, and Matoi examined them closely.
Kiyoshi and the others covered his flank as he worked to decipher them. With a practiced hand, he drew various patterns as the orbs gracefully followed his instructions. Similar to the first door he had to unlock when they initially entered the caverns, the runes began to glow in acceptance of his power. But unlike the first door's security measure, these runes would only glow for a set amount of time. Matoi tried again, but the same stream of radiance he put into the runes no longer seemed sufficient.
"It's like the locks are changing every ten seconds." Matoi's brows furrowed in annoyance.
For the next several minutes, the orbs' threads of radiance navigated through the runes as the mechanisms within the wall clicked and shifted. With each rune solved, the earliest rune would expire and reset. Some runes took ten seconds to reset, others took fifteen, others twenty. Realizing this, Matoi focused on solving the runes with the most time before they reset and worked his way down.
It took more time than Kiyoshi liked, but eventually all the runes lit up, and the wall began to rumble. Dust dislodged as the wall moved inward, then to the side with a groan.
As it ground open, they readied themselves for a confrontation. Kiyoshi and Kakkona took point while Maeve's and Akane's conduits glowed in anticipation. Beyond the wall was yet another wall, this one with gold transparency. No, a barrier.
The other side of it featured an empty room around ninety meters in width and depth with marble flooring and stone walls. The steel ceiling was around fifty meters high, and in the far back of the room was a large iron door with more complicated runes inscribed into it.
The Vault. They'd found it. But in the process, they'd also stumbled upon someone unexpected. Someone who calmly stood in their path as their final obstacle.
His snow-white hair cascaded down his back, and his multicolored gaze pierced the barrier. His hands were relaxed behind his straight posture as if he'd been expecting their arrival, and his smooth senior face was absent of any emotion.
Though Kiyoshi hadn't seen him before, the man's air, heavy with a regal pressure, told him exactly who was patiently awaiting them to cross the threshold. Kiyoshi's gaze hardened, and he approached until he was face-to-face with the man, the barrier buzzing with growing tension between them.
"A pleasure to finally meet you, Savior."