The silver ring Zeffel had created was growing fainter. Zeffel urged her on.
"What are you doing? If you don't open it now, the door will disappear!"
"Ah—right."
Mia snapped out of it.
She had been staring absentmindedly. She pushed the heavy stone slab that outlined the square-shaped gap the silver ring had carved out.
—Creeeeeeak
The door opened with a nasty sound. Beyond it lay a long passage, damp water seeping through.
The stench of mold and moisture hit her hard. Extinguished torches lined the walls.
Thin wisps of smoke still lingered—it looked like they'd been burning not long ago.
"…Where is this?"
Mia sniffed the musty air and moldy stone as she spoke.
"Isn't this that villa you were talking about?"
"This is where it starts?"
"There's a passage, right? I think this is it."
Zeffel sniffed the air too as he spoke.
"Hmmm…"
Mia swallowed hard as she stared into the tunnel stretching endlessly into darkness.
She had to walk into that ominous void, not knowing what might appear or where the path led.
"Wait—hold on. I've got a message."
Zeffel suddenly turned and pressed a hand to his forehead, mumbling something.
"…Yeah, I got it. I'm on my way. Sorry."
"Huh?"
"Well, take care of yourself, okay? Don't do anything reckless. I'll clean things up here. I've gotta go. See ya!"
Before Mia could say anything, Zeffel vanished like the wind. Behind her, she heard the bookcase slam shut—thud!
Mia was left alone in the long passageway. Now there was no way back.
She still had a ton of questions for Zeffel—like why Leca had been called for a physical exam, or how to contact him again.
But for now, the darkness needed to be dealt with. Mia summoned a will-o'-wisp to light her surroundings.
Was her only option now to move forward? Without even Leca by her side?
Sigh…
She carefully took one step at a time.
Summoning as many will-o'-wisps as she could, she lit the tunnel as far as possible. That helped a bit.
The passage, built of stone walls, was quite long. The torch sconces along the way were finely carved, their patterns ornate.
It really did seem like this had once been the villa of a court mage.
After walking for quite a while, Mia finally reached the end of the path.There stood a prison with black iron bars.
No other path was visible. A dead end.
A prison with black iron bars? What's inside there?
A wave of unease crept over her. What if something terrifying was sleeping in there? Mia glanced around.
All she saw were solid stone walls. No doors. Nothing.
Maybe there was a hidden one she hadn't found yet… But she didn't know how to locate concealed entrances the way Zeffel did.
Step by step, she cautiously approached the bars. She still couldn't see what was inside.
Mia stopped walking and tried to summon a fairy. She needed some kind of help.
But the spell fizzled out with a crackle. She tried again. And again. It kept failing.
She could feel her stamina and mana rapidly draining.
Could it be that fairies can only be summoned outdoors? That might be it.
That idiot Leca never mentioned that!
Grumbling to herself, Mia kept walking.
Finally—
She got close enough to make out the prison bars.
It still wasn't very bright, so she kept her footsteps quiet as she advanced.
She could only summon the salamander and fairy for help—but neither of them was available now.
That left her with only the ancient sword and shield.
Mia touched her earring. With a soft chime, the shield and sword materialized in her hands.
As soon as she gripped the sword, confidence surged through her once again.
—Right. What was I even afraid of? I've got this.
She could feel that her body wasn't quite the same since returning from the Vampire Labyrinth. But she was still okay for now.
With care, sword in hand, Mia slowly approached the bars.
"…"
No sound. No movement. Nothing.
A little more emboldened, she stepped all the way up to the bars and used a will-o'-wisp to light the inside.
"Nothing…"
The black-barred prison was completely empty. Not even a trace of anything having been there. Just a chilling stillness.
Mia tilted her head and looked around. Sealed stone walls on all sides. The front, nothing but that barred prison.
This had to be the passage to the villa. But how was she supposed to proceed?
She sat down and clutched her head. Maybe she should go back? But the way back was impossibly far.
And with the door Zeffel had made now gone, there was no way she could return alone.
So in the end, her only choice was to unravel the secret of these bars, break through, and press on—to whatever that "Curse of a Hundred Years" castle was.
Whatever. Let's give it a shot. This is underground. If I just go up, I should be fine, right?
Mia swung her sword with all her might at the bars. With a loud clang, the bars split cleanly in two.
"Gasp… I didn't think I could cut through inanimate objects too…"
Clang, clang, clang— Mia shattered the bars and stepped inside.
It was even damper and mustier than outside. She looked up at the ceiling.
"All right, let's try breaking through the top too."
She muttered to herself and floated up slightly, jabbing her sword into the brick ceiling.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Dust and shards of stone scattered.
The stone was beginning to crumble— But it hurt like hell.
Seriously? I can break iron, but not rock? That makes no sense. Isn't iron supposed to be harder than stone?