"Did you hear that, Leca?"
"…Hear what, Lady Mia?"
"Someone just said something! 'Who's there?' You didn't hear it?!"
Mia whispered urgently.
Leca, who had been about to open the door to a new room in the hallway, blinked in surprise.
"I didn't hear anything."
"You don't feel anything either?"
"…I can't sense any mana, but…There's definitely something wrong. The energy here is… unsettling."
Clatter—
Something fell with a soft noise. Mia spun around—but it was just a rat darting away.
"Let's just check this last room and head down."
Mia opened the final door.
Inside was a vacant room filled with cobweb-covered plush dolls and an old, crumbling bed.
Mia tensed, half-expecting to hear the voice again…But no sound came.
Somehow, that made it feel even more eerie.
At last, they finished searching the floor and went down to the level below.
There were no rooms there—just a massive hall.
Thick layers of cobwebs hung in the corners.
"This is such a strange castle. I don't think there were ever any windows here."
"On every floor?"
"Yes. At first, I thought it might've been an illusion, but…The rooms we saw upstairs all had no windows either. And yet, people clearly lived here. What was this place even built for?"
"Didn't they say a dark mage was abducting beastfolk to use as magical ingredients? This castle was probably made for that."
...leave...get out...now...
Leca and Mia locked eyes.
"You heard that, right? You heard it this time?"
"I did. Who's there?!"
Leca drew his sword and shouted, scanning the area. But there was only silence.
"What the hell is this? Why is there only sound… but no one?"
Mia looked around anxiously.
She summoned as many will-o'-the-wisps as she could to light up the surroundings.
But all they saw were cobwebs and rats. Suddenly, Mia felt her breathing grow heavy.
Cough, cough—hack, hack—
"Maybe it's because there are no windows, but I feel like I can't breathe. It's suffocating…"
At that moment, Leca saw it.
A thin green light was wrapping around Mia's body.
"Lady Mia! We need to get out of here—now!"
"W-why…?"
Mia tried to open her eyes, but sleep overwhelmed her.
Even in her dazed state, she saw a faint reddish glow emanating from Leca's body.
"Leca… your body… it's glowing…"
"We have to leave. If we stay any longer, it'll be dangerous. Hurry!"
Leca suddenly realized that his own body had grown heavy as well. Still, he forced himself to support Mia and moved toward the stairs.
But his limbs were sluggish, and it was getting harder to keep his eyes open.
Eventually, he laid Mia down and transformed into a wyvern. Then, with all his strength, he rammed into the wall.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
Finally, one section of the wall gave way with a crumbling sound. Leca gripped Mia in his jaws and pulled her through the opening.
She was already unconscious.
Leca looked down at the moat beneath the castle—black water swirling below.
They had to fly across it. Leca gently shook Mia.
"Lady Mia. Please… wake up."
"…Mmm…"
Mia barely heard Leca's voice through a dreamlike haze. She felt like something was grabbing her and dragging her down into the earth. She couldn't move at all.
She collapsed again. Green light continued to emanate from her body. Leca, struggling to stay conscious, managed to summon a spirit of air.
"Take her. Follow me."
With that, Leca took flight through the broken wall. The moonlight was already beginning to fade. Dawn was coming.
The path of the mages opened only beneath a full moon. Which meant—
When that moon disappeared, so too might the way back.
Leca flew urgently, making his way back to the tunnel entrance where they had first arrived.
When the air spirit saw the gaping, well-like opening, it signaled farewell. Mia's body touched the soft earth, and she opened her eyes.
"Leca? Where are we? Are we…"
"We have to hurry. There's no time. Can you fly?"
Mia nodded. Back in the palace, it had felt like she was drugged—completely helpless. But now, she could at least move.
Together, they dove into the well-like entrance of the mage's path.
By the time they reached the surface through the black swamp's exit, the sky was already glowing with the first light of dawn.
The entrance they had just escaped from was slowly closing behind them.
"We'd have been trapped in there if we were even a little later."
Mia murmured, watching the ground seal shut. The sound of chirping birds brought a strange relief.
Leca, exhausted, nodded slightly.
"What was that castle…? I saw red light coming off your body…But by then, I couldn't even move."
"That castle…I think it was the legendary 'Bloodthirsting Labyrinth.'"
"What? Like a vampire castle or something?"
"No… not quite. It's the castle itself that's alive. It drains mana and life force from anything that lives inside. I'd only heard rumors of such a thing. I didn't think it really existed."
Leca's voice was weary.
It was only thanks to years of grueling training as the kingdom's High Commander that he had survived.
If even he had been drained that badly, someone like Mia—whose strength was mostly mana—would surely have died before long.
"That kind of thing really exists?! Then Roy and the salamander might still be trapped in there—!"
"…If they were going to die, they'd already be dead. Which means… they might still be alive inside."
"You think that voice we heard…could it have been the salamander?"
"Possibly. The salamander was supposed to meet us. If it couldn't… then that's very possible. But I can't say for sure."
Mia pushed herself up. All she wanted now was to get back to her room and rest.
"If that wasn't the salamander… then who was it?"
"They're likely spirits whose life force was drained until only their souls remained,"
Leca replied flatly. Mia shuddered.
"Who… built a castle like that, and why?"
"It wasn't the work of one person. Dark mages from Sibareth have gathered there since ancient times—adding to it little by little to strengthen their own mana."
"I just hope Roy and the salamander aren't there anymore…I don't even know how we'd begin to search again…"
Mia sighed deeply.
Back at the palace, Leca collapsed onto his bed.
He could feel something was wrong—his body felt unnaturally weak.
He'd heard that once your mana and life force were drained in the Bloodthirsting Labyrinth, you might never fully recover again.
…No. Maybe it's just fatigue. I'll ask Father next time. For now, I just need to sleep.
Just as Leca was about to close his eyes—a vision appeared before him.
He saw himself in a strange place.
Surrounded by stone walls.
Shackles. Chains.
He couldn't move.
In the vision, he struggled, trying to rip off the iron shackles binding his arms and legs. But they held firm—unyielding, heavy.
A memory.
Something he hadn't relived since he was very young… Why was it coming back now?
Cold sweat trickled down Leca's back.
—---------------------------------------------------
About a hundred Peridot girls stood shivering.
It was the day of their "Moon Rite."
But it had been pouring for over thirty minutes without pause.
They had wandered aimlessly through the Paradise of Monsters, unable to find shelter.
They could do nothing but stand there, soaking in the rain. Some had already begun coughing, claiming chills.
One freckled girl said,
"I heard there's a monster's cave around here. Let's try to find it—anything would be better than this."
"I looked. No matter where I searched, I couldn't find it."
"Why don't we just summon a spirit and ask?!"
"Don't be stupid, Rosa! If you go into the monster's cave, you'll never come out alive!"
The girls started arguing.
"Let's just go back."
That suggestion made everyone glance uneasily at one another.
During the Moon Rite, they were supposed to stay in the monster's forest until sunset.
The people of Sibareth believed that failing the ritual would bring divine wrath.
Leave as soon as you arrive?
"Let's wait a little longer. If the rain doesn't stop in thirty minutes, we'll figure something else out."
The tall girl, their de facto leader, spoke.
In the end, they sat beneath the broadest tree leaves they could find and waited for the rain to let up.
Then—
"What are you girls doing here?"
A kind-looking woodcutter appeared. He looked like a commoner.
"Ah… we've got something to take care of,"
one of the girls replied.
"In this downpour?"
The woodcutter tilted his head. Then, looking at the soaked and miserable girls with pity, he said,
"How long do you plan to stay out here?"
"Until evening…"
"Then come warm up at my master's house. Just for a bit—that should be fine, right?"
The girls perked up.
"There's a house around here? We've never seen anything like that…"
"Our master's a witch. She keeps her home hidden most of the time. Too many people come bothering her otherwise. Come on now, what are you all waiting for?
Follow me."
The girls hesitated.
But the rain was now a full-blown downpour—they could barely open their eyes.
In the end, one after another, they followed the woodcutter.
Within minutes, a warm and cozy-looking house came into view. A kindly old witch stood at the door.
"Oh my, you poor things—look at you! Like drowned mice, the lot of you. Come inside, quickly!"
The girls beamed with relief and ran into the house.