The Sealed Room
Merciless. Cruel, vicious fangs zeroed in towards her. In seconds, she would be decapitated. What little she had left in life— truly a pitiful amount— flashed before her eyes.
Soon, she would be dead.
All because of him.
"No."
"Awww… please, Fie? One more hug?"
"No."
Anelace clutched her chest and whimpered, unable to bear being close to such intolerable cuteness yet forbidden to touch it. Her arms fruitlessly tried to grasp her colleague's frame. "Pleeeaaaaaaseeeee…"
Fie blocked her cuddle bug tendencies with a hand to the face. "No."
"B-but— Airship... An entire day without cuteness... "
Ah, yes. A whole twenty-four hours stuck on a cruise ship. No luxuries; just a dull drift across the sky on an un-cuddleable steel horse. Unimaginable boredom. Fie could relate… except it's been months since she last left the country on such a long trip. Frankly, getting the requisite documents for a permit was more of a hassle. "...Fine," she relented.
"Yay!"
On one condition. "Not in public."
"Okay!" Anelace agreed quickly enough. Where was that obedience when they were at the airport?
Altina sighed, in desperate need of a comb for her frizzled hair. "I was careless… I need to increase my reaction time…"
So she can escape getting cuddled again, of course.
"You guys are so dramatic," Millium said mockingly despite two sets of green eyes glaring at her. "Cuddling's super fun!"
"For you," Fie chided back, to which Altina affirmed with a nod.
"Bareahard is so pretty~." Anelace, having already left the conversation and was now taking in the sights, spread her arms out and she circled around the Cathedral plaza— earning the ire of some of the nobles nearby. Her breastplate shone a vivid blue in the sun. Red coat tails swayed with the breeze, and a yellow ribbon bobbed with her every step— a vivid contrast with Bareahard's predominantly gray and green architecture.
She took out her ARCUS II. "Oh, I can't forget to take some pictures too!" Blissfully ignorant of the sneers coming her way, Anelace acquainted herself with the passersby- more so if they were, in her definition, cute.
Fie found Anelace to be the cutest one there, irritation notwithstanding. She let her rude remarks slide. At least with the much more sociable Anelace, bracer operations should progress more efficiently. Theoretically.
Might as well start now. The four of them had left the airport for lunch a while ago and chatted on the way to the city's noble district. Jusis, unfortunately, had Duke business to take care of, while Millium and Altina had somewhere else to be after escorting the two bracers to their venue. Top secret, even with the sister's loose lips.
Fie fiddled with the notebook safely tucked inside her vest. True to their word, the guild had provided a brand-new notebook for her, delivered by Anelace, who was assigned to be her partner and overseer, albeit temporarily.
And what was a more classic bracer work than a monster extermination request?
"Is this the place?" Fie asked. A somewhat oversized building stood before them. Stone walls with fissures spread over it oozed with green vines, but even with those, the house stood a sturdy two stories tall. Apparently, it also had an expansive basement, as their request form described. It was teeming with monsters, obviously.
The pay was good, though. The dire straits of her wallet necessitated that this request should be done first— as base as cleaning a house like a couple of housemaids was.
"Yep," Millium nodded. She hugged a small green hat to her chest before putting it atop her head. A gift by Anelace. The furry white bobble at the crown bounced up and down along with its owner. "'The big stone house two blocks down. 'Can't-miss it,' says Jusis."
Altina bowed politely, the black-feathered derby hat (also a gift) accentuating her lustrous hair. "We shall be departing here. If you require our assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us on our ARCUS II."
"Roger," Fie said.
"See ya later, Anny!" Millium shouted.
"Bye~." Anelace waved with a creepily satisfied grin on her face, still entranced with the two sisters. "Ehehehe…"
Fie could only give her a look of exasperation. "Hey. Focus."
"But, I am focused~." Anelace slurred, much like a couple of alcohol-addicted bracers Fie knew and loved. She trusted Anelace just as much.
Sighing, Fie twirled the pen that she hasn't been used for a while and scribbled down the preliminary details of the request. "Monster Extermination Quest, Client: Madam Imelda…"
Fie did a double-take. "Miss Imelda?"
The self-same Imelda that owned the antique shop in Crossbell? Fie had visited her shop countless times for information deals, but this was the first time she saw her name as one of her clients. How come that granny landowner owned a mansion in Bareahard, of all places?
More questions and no way to answer them. Fie shrugged off the curiosity and secured the notebook in her vest. "Mission start, I guess. You have the key?"
"Key?"
"Key to the house."
"I don't have a key," Anelace said.
"Didn't Millium give it to you?"
"Nope. I thought she gave it to you."
Fie facepalmed.
Her first instinct had been to pick their way into the mansion. Anelace convinced her that would reflect poorly on their work ethics as bracers. So instead, Fie bit the bullet and called Altina not five minutes after they had left. Awkwardness ensued. She blamed Millium.
"This place reeks…" Anelace pinched her nose at the smell and the dust motes floating in the air. Being subjected to such a moldy environment was unnatural for an upholder of cute justice. She grasped her sword tightly before cutting a pouncing spider monster in half.
Spider monsters. The size of large dogs. With eight hairy legs and countless eyes that rattled like bloody sepith. "Ugh…"
Fie grimaced as she dislodged her knife from the spider's thorax. Behind her cold mask of indifference was a girl that was just as much disgusted by the ickiness. She kicked at the one charging her flank before shooting it in the head point-blank. A dozen down and at that point, both of them were covered in the grime-y blue blood. They were forced into melee as ranged attacks had the possibility of missing and damaging their client's property. Arts were also out for similar reasons— though the idea burning the house down sounded more appealing by the second.
"Totally not cute," Fie said.
"RIGHT?!"
The rooms themselves were mostly intact, piled high with wooden crates buried in cobwebs and with walls stained by mold. The windows had no visible cracks and illuminated the house sufficiently to see the droves of monsters attacking as soon as Fie opened the doors. Despite being abandoned, pillars sounded solid enough to not have the entire building collapse above their heads.
The house had three floors, according to the request. With Fie baiting in front and Anelace slicing at the monster's backs, the ground and top floors were swiftly dispatched of hostiles. All that was left was the basement. A creature akin to the spider's queen was stated to be lying in wait there, so Fie double-checked their items before proceeding. "Ready?"
Maybe it was from the prospect of fighting a strong monster, or maybe from the idea of taking a bath soon, but Anelace nodded enthusiastically. "Ready!"
With a gentle push, the door to the basement creaked open. Behind it was nothing but silence. Fie walked in first, taking advantage of her lithe movements to sneakily—
Squeak.
...Damn sneakers.
Thankfully, no demonic creature lunged at them from the darkness. If it were against humans, the entrance would have been the best place to set up an ambush— which was why Fie felt on edge. She glanced left and right and found nothing except a chuckling Anelace.
"What's so funny?"
Anelace responded with a fond smile. "Nothing~."
"Then stay sharp," Fie said. "It could attack us from anywhere. Be on guard."
"Aye, aye, Captain."
She should focus too, Fie thought. Too many distractions on the battlefield resulted in unnecessary risks and, oftentimes, death. Taking care not to make another squeak, she raised her arm in the Eight Leaves Unarmed stance. She had forgone using both gunswords; wielding both maximized their efficacy in mid-range skirmishes and hit-and-run attacks. A fighting style specialized in countering and creating distance between combatants was more effective in tight spaces like where she was at now.
A few tense minutes ticked by as they traveled deeper into the basement. Anelace lit up the path ahead with an orbal-powered lamp. Regrettably so, as they saw nothing but boxes upon boxes stacked atop each other along with dry rat carcasses and a mass of webbed cocoons. This was the spider's lair and hunting ground, all right.
A scuttle, like a pitter-patter of legs, resounded from the far left corner of the basement. They were close, but it would be unwise to draw the monster's attention.
Fie braced her arm higher. It was as Rean taught her: redirect the enemy's attack with a free hand before retaliating with a weapon in the other. An exemplary counter maneuver of the Eight Leaves One Blade style.
"..."
She has done it countless times during their sparring sessions, but something felt...off. Should I put my arm up higher or lower…?
"A bit lower," Anelace said. "If it's too high, you'll risk having your vision blocked by your arm."
Fie tried lowering her arm a couple of rige down. As if answering her lingering thoughts, her shoulders stopped straining, and her upper torso relaxed. She muffled a thanks to Anelace.
She grinned in return. "Happy to be of help."
A few arges deeper and the wanted monster hasn't shown itself yet. To break the monotony, Anelace decided to engage in some small talk. Her choice of topic, though, needed a bit of filtering. "Soooooo… How are you and Rean~?"
And a mute button for her mouth while at it.
"I don't want to talk about it," Fie answered back.
"Hoho. Is this a disturbance I sense in you two's lovey-dovey paradise?"
"We're fine. Don't worry about it." Stop asking, Fie didn't say.
"Well, alright— but if he does anything to hurt you, you come to me, okay?" Anelace shook her head in annoyance. "Pappy always said the Rean's the type to swoon a girl without even trying. Sometimes even the problematic ones."
Problematic. Yup.
"One day, he's gonna get himself in some hot water. As a fellow student of the Eight Leaves style— and older no less— I won't let him off so easy when he decides to break a woman's heart!"
Fie couldn't help but laugh at how Anelace saw her fellow classmate. Truth be told, she would consider Anelace's offer if it were the time and place. She still wasn't comfortable sharing it, but it's the thought that counts. "We're fine. Really. I just don't wanna talk about it right now."
"That's fair. I— "
There was a snapping sound. A thread-like chill ran down Fie's spine. Her scarf swayed from an invisible wind, a fine sliver of light trailing along with it. They were in the monster's web trap, and she had unintentionally tripped it. A shadow loomed above before diving at her. Her eyes widened as a pair of giant, venomous fangs descended towards her neck.
It was too late. Too late to move. Too slow to react. She had been distracted. She had let her guard down.
A tiny slip-up that would cost her her life.
"Whirlwind Dance!"
Anelace slashed in a circle around her, sharp orbal winds following her blade. A violent tornado swept Fie off her feet and sent her crashing through several towers of boxes. It was sudden enough that she slammed her forehead against a steel chandelier. Tossed around haplessly, her eyes struggled to stay open.
The last of what she saw was a crevice in the wall swallowing her into an unknown abyss. Behind her, she saw Anelace fend off a terrifying swarm of monsters on her own before the walls closed and sealed her friend to a gruesome fate.
Fie tried to call out her name... but couldn't. Darkness encroached her vision, and she soon lost consciousness.
"...ie!"
Who..?
"Fie!"
The loud pounding in her ears only aggravated the awful headache. Fie slowly opened her eyes to a dark tapered ceiling.
"Fie! Say something!"
Where did the voice come from? It sounded desperate. Fie looked around, ignoring the aching of her neck. Her head throbbed as the pounding continued. Something damp covered her face. It smelled like iron and rust. It didn't take her long to realize it was the blood bleeding from her forehead. She patted her belt for her ARCUS and slid a bloody finger through the lines.
A refreshing breath of wind soothed the pain surging through her head. Her sight slowly corrected itself, no longer hindered by vertigo as it adapted to the low light. She could hear clearly now, too; someone was calling out to her through the wall.
Then she remembered. "...! Anelace!"
"Fie! Thank Aidios you're alive!"
"Nevermind me, what about you!?" Fie shouted. She didn't bother to mask the panic in her voice. Before she passed out, Anelace had been surrounded on all sides by monsters, including their mark.
"I'm okay on my end," Anelace said as if she hadn't just fought tooth and nail for her life. "After I took down the big monster, the rest of them scattered away."
Should she had expected any less? "That's…"
Amazing? A huge relief?
Frustrating as all hell?
"More importantly, where ARE you? I can't seem to get through to you."
Anelace said she tried to pry the wall open, but it refused to budge. Fie checked on her side as well, to no avail. Even with her better than average night vision, she could barely make out anything from the red-painted concrete.
Come to think of it...
"I'm so sorry, Fie," Anelace's muffled voice said, "I acted without thinking— I put in too much power and, and…"
"Drop it." Fie hid her face behind her scarf before realizing that Anelace probably wouldn't hear her. "I'm the one to blame. You saved me. Thanks."
Inexcusable. To be ambushed by a monster like that was unacceptable for members of Zephyr. Xeno and Leo would never let her live it down. That is if she was still alive come tomorrow.
"There's a path here." Fie inspected the wall again. The decor, color, and patterns on it reminded her of the underground room she found earlier. Since there didn't seem to be a way to open it, she was left with no better option. "I think I know where it leads. Meet me back at the mansion."
"But— !"
"Hey, don't forget: I was just one accident away from A-rank. I'm as much as a fighter and bracer like you. I'll be fine."
She certainly hoped she will. That had been all of her bravado spent. Contrary to her cold demeanor, being a spider silk's width away from dying brought her anxiety to an unbearable degree. Her heart drummed nervously in her chest, and if she could see her legs clearer, they would have been shaking.
She was scared, plain and simple.
When did I become such a coward?
FIe waited until she couldn't hear Anelace's footsteps anymore before moving herself. If her guess was right, then the tunnels were one of those secret passageways Jusis used back when they had to free Machias during their field studies. She hoped that following it would lead her into the sewers or back to the Albarea mansion.
She didn't have a lamp on hand, so she had to make do with the faint light emanating from her ARCUS screen. Looking up as often as to her sides and behind, she briskly walked through the creepy tunnel dyed in the sickly green color of her phone's default background. She really should have changed it a long time ago.
...
"Hey, Alisa. Do you know what would be great to have on our ARCUS? A flashlight~!" Fie whispered to a miniature Alisa sitting on her shoulder.
Of course, there was no Alisa there. "Emma always said that talking to yourself helps keep you sane when you're alone and afraid~~."
How much of that was true, she didn't really want to know but talking aloud like a madwoman was easier to stomach than the silence.
...
No monsters. No leaking pipes. No signal on her ARCUS. No nothing. Just a long narrow corridor built with clay and dust.
How echo-ey would it be if she yelled?
"HELLO!"
Quite a lot, apparently.
"STOP DRINKING, SARA!"
What else?
"YOUR HAIR SUCKS, MACHIAS!"
It didn't suck as much as she was willing to admit, but insulting Machias even when he wasn't around always cheered her up.
...She had exhausted all that she wanted to say, so she might as well practice.
"I WANT TO BREAK UP WITH YOU, REAN...!"
That wasn't so hard— even easier if she said it through orbal mail instead. Didn't make it any less awful, though. Especially after hearing it reverb distortedly in the tunnel.
She never thought she'd be agonizing over breaking up with someone before. Never felt the need to. Three reasons. One, jaeger life was never kind to relationships. Too risky, not to mention dangerous and illegal. Two, her dad would sooner skin a man rather than hand over his precious daughter to him.
And three: she really did believe Rean to be the one. She even promised to make a family with him someday— though that may have been too hasty on her part.
Vivi always said that everyone was deserving of true love. Her's just wasn't it. It shouldn't have borne fruit either. She was more than happy to stay by Rean's side merely as a comrade. As classmates. Never more. What it is now is a distraction. A deadly one. One acquired through her selfish desire to be loved.
She would be doing Rean a favor by letting him go— as soon as she can.
Fie sighed, "Nothing's ever easy."
A crossroad with either left and right passages leading to pitch-black darkness. Guess getting out of there came to luck after all. She flipped a coin, and it landed on tails.
"I'm going left. Ironic."
"You lost~?"
"Seems like it."
?
"Who's there!?" Fie shouted.
Not a soul answered her. Only a giggle from a disembodied voice indistinguishable from that of a small girl's. "Heehee. Follow me~."
Follow -what-? Fie wanted to ask back, though considering she was starting to hear voices now, that may not be for the best. Hitting her head seriously had done a number on her sanity.
"This way, this way."
It seemed like the voice was coming from the right corridor. Against rational judgment, Fie chased after it, ARCUS at the ready. She wasn't naive enough to not believe in ghosts and spirits; she'd fought loads of them already— but if it can talk, then it could tell her where the exit was, willingly or not.
"Heehee. Almost there!" the voice teased. Fie cast a hastening Chrono Drive buff on herself and ran faster. If anything, it sounded like it was getting further away. Fie really could lose them if she didn't hurry it up.
Up ahead was a 90-degree turn. To catch up, she just had to—
BAM!
There was a door.
"Not push. Pull~!" said the voice, unhelpfully.
What was with her weird relationship with doors recently? Cradling her nose almost as much as her bruised, pitiful ego, Fie picked herself off the floor and pulled the handle open.
The narrow tunnels led into a large, oval room, roughly 30 arge in diameter. It looked to be a study of sorts from what little light her ARCUS gave out. Dozens of bookshelves lined the circumference of the room and across the center, forming a neat little column leading up to a raised platform. Most of the bookshelves were empty save for a few but even then, the place felt cramped and cluttered.
Several dolls lay abandoned on top of the shelves, gathering dust for who knows how long.
A cursory glance around the room yielded nothing that might be construed as an exit, nor did it show who or what was calling out to her. Fie asked the voice one more time. "Hey! Now what?"
Silence.
"Dark tunnels, disembodied voices, spooky libraries, and creepy dolls. What's next? A talking Pom?"
The last one wouldn't have been too bad, actually.
"Where the hell am I?" Deciding that standing around wouldn't accomplish much, Fie started rummaging through the shelves and cabinets hoping that there was a secret lever or something. Unfortunately, she found none. Just tome after withered tome written in glyphs only someone like Emma would understand.
While she was looking, Fie couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. By what, she couldn't tell. She could've sworn she heard the sounds of necks turning and the temperature of the room dropping, though that might have just been her imagination.
"...Don't tell me these books are haunted too."
Couldn't be. Right…?
Ghosts were real. That much she knew— about time she high-tailed out of there.
She brought up her ARCUS on the probable chance that leaving would trigger a trap of some kind. Since she was on her own, she had to move cautiously; following that voice had been all sorts of foolish but it was too late to regret it. Going the opposite direction of where she came in, Fie hugged the wall for a switch that she may have missed the first time. She didn't find any.
What she did find, however, was a peculiar black handbook, written in a perfectly understandable language. She blinked her eyes in wonder when she saw five very familiar words on the cover— as well as the number.
'The Dark Prince of Helmdrr... Vol. VII'
I'm not rushing the plot, don't worry. In fact, in going super slow with the updates. Haha...
Reviews, Favs and Follows are appreciated.
See ya.
P.S. Look forward to a surprise sometime this month. You'll see it in the first chapter probably.