The magic-formed protective barrier known as the Aegis is said to be designed to be invisible, so that it doesn’t give people the feeling of being trapped.
Therefore, aside from special cases, not many people are likely to distinguish whether the Aegis is active at the moment or not.
If I had to pinpoint someone who could, it would perhaps be a mage like Dwight, who is sensitive to the flow of magic, or a witch like me, who is inevitably aware of the barrier blocking miasma.
“Dwight, do you think…?”
“… Yeah, it seems the Aegis has disappeared.”
Perhaps because of this, it seemed that besides Dwight and me, no one had noticed the sudden disappearance of the barrier without any warning signs.
“Huh…? What do you mean the Aegis has disappeared? So suddenly?”
Even Sylvia, who was with us, only realized the situation after overhearing our conversation.
Of course, my knowledge was limited to merely the fact that the Aegis had vanished.
I had no clue as to why this was happening. Last time, I could at least speculate that the miasma’s invasion had caused a malfunction in the barrier, but this time, it was so abrupt that I couldn’t even guess.
“Dwight, do you have any idea why the Aegis suddenly vanished…?”
So, I asked Dwight, who would know a thing or two about the Aegis, but—
“… I don’t. I also don’t know why it suddenly disappeared when it was working fine.”
It seemed he, too, could only shake his head with a stern expression, unable to fathom the cause.
And then, at that moment, Ms. Eve contacted Dwight upon realizing there was an issue with the Aegis.
“Dwight, it seems there’s a problem with the Aegis. Do you know what happened?”
“I don’t know what it is either. But for now, the Control Room should have noticed the anomaly, so let’s wait a bit.”
“Hmm… For now, I guess we have no choice but to wait for them to resolve it.”
After a short call, the notification ended.
After the conversation with Ms. Eve, Dwight’s expression seemed to regain its calmness.
Both Ms. Eve and Dwight appeared remarkably composed despite the emergency situation caused by the vanishing Aegis.
I wondered if the Control Room mentioned during the call was the reason for his calmness, and thus I asked Dwight about it.
“Dwight, what was that Control Room you mentioned just now?”
“Oh, that’s the place that manages the magic circle of the Aegis. Mages from our family are stationed there at all times to prepare for any potential problems with the Aegis. Just like last time when we defeated the miasma’s intrusion and restarted the barrier through auxiliary power.”
Nodding in understanding to Dwight’s explanation regarding how they managed to reactivate the barrier immediately after defeating the invading miasma, I listened as he continued.
“Perhaps last time’s malfunction caused a slight issue with the magic circle, which might have caused this phenomenon. Although it’s strange, since the people in the Control Room are certainly not incompetent enough to allow such things to happen… Anyway, they surely recognized there’s a problem, so we should just wait a moment, and they’ll respond swiftly.”
Dwight spoke in a calm, composed tone, reassuring us that we didn’t need to panic.
It appeared he had considerable faith in that Control Room. After all, it was maintained by Neinhart’s mages, his blood relatives, so he likely trusted them.
Relieved by seeing his regained composure, Sylvia and I silently muttered that everything would be alright soon as we waited for the restoration of the Aegis.
Five minutes passed.
“… Seems it’s taking a bit longer than expected.”
Dwight’s face carried a perplexed expression.
Ten minutes passed.
“… This is strange. It shouldn’t take this long.”
Signs of unease began to creep onto Dwight’s face.
And when thirty minutes had elapsed,
“…”
Dwight looked more anxious than ever, nervously biting his nails.
Looking restless, he finally seemed to gather his resolve and muttered.
“… I think I need to go.”
“To the Control Room, you mean?”
“Yes. It’s unacceptable that such an issue is taking this long without any external contact. Clearly, something has gone wrong with not just the Aegis, but also the Control Room. I have no choice but to check for myself.”
Without another word, Dwight prepared to dash off somewhere, as if there was no time to waste.
“Dwight, wait a moment!”
Sylvia suddenly grabbed Dwight’s arm.
He glared at her, his anger visible, clearly asking what she was doing.
“Since you’re in a hurry, how long will it take you to arrive if you run?”
Sylvia pointed at the starry platform already formed to carry us, suggesting it would take far less time than running.
Dwight nodded in understanding.
And at that moment, the starry platform soared into the sky.
The destination was the center of the city, the place where the magic circle managing the Aegis was located.
*
The central area of the city, being the safest place from external threats, was bustling with various essential facilities, always teeming with people.
Could it be that they hadn’t realized the Aegis had vanished?
The faces of those walking down the street showed no signs of great urgency.
Perhaps we should consider it a blessing that chaos had yet to ensue.
“We’ve arrived.”
While lost in thought, Dwight’s voice broke me from my reverie, notifying us that we had landed, having advised us to calm down during our flight.
Using a temporary invisibility spell, Dwight ensured they could land without drawing attention from those around.
As we saw the direction of Dwight’s footsteps, we couldn’t help but tilt our heads in confusion.
“… Is this really the place?”
“Dwight, are you sure this is the right location?”
The building Dwight was heading towards was a bank.
It was hard to connect the idea of a magic circle managing the Aegis being located in a bank, and just as I was bewildered, Dwight entered the bank and began to explain.
“The goal is to make you think it’s unexpected. It’s hard to imagine there’s a magic circle here. Also, with it being here, people wouldn’t find it strange that there’s security.”
Indeed, if that was the case, it made sense.
Was the bank selected specifically for security purposes?
It was entirely possible that the bank itself was built as a decoy to hide the location of the magic circle.
“… But is it really okay to let us know that?”
“Right? Given that I didn’t know until now, it means very few people are aware of it in this city.”
This is a massive secret, isn’t it?
Curious about this, I asked Dwight, and he gave a dry chuckle as he muttered.
“… If Scarlet, the witch and head of Astra’s family, seeks the city’s magic circle, then this city would surely be doomed. I trust you won’t do that, since we’re friends.”
“Ah… right.”
“Even if I told you, it wouldn’t pose any major issues. They wouldn’t carelessly neglect security for keeping the most important thing in the city safe.”
Dwight said that as he approached a door marked with “No Entry Except for Authorized Personnel.”
As we followed him inside, we found ourselves in what looked like a staff break room.
A woman sprawled out on a sofa inside, seemingly taking a break, jumped up upon seeing us and yelled.
“Ah! Wh-who are you? Didn’t you see the sign on the door? Why are you here…!”
“Um… I-I’m so sorry…”
The embarrassment of being caught resting turned her eyes teary as she cried out, and I instinctively apologized, reflecting my panic, but Dwight muttered to her.
“Willow, they’re guests entering with me, so you can stop.”
“I understand, young master.”
At Dwight’s words, the demeanor of the woman named Willow shifted instantly, and I was left dumbfounded.
So it was all an act… I completely believed it was genuine, especially with the tears…
Sylvia, possibly sharing my astonishment, stared at Dwight blankly and asked.
“Dwight, where is this…?”
“Nothing much. It’s just a place we need to pass through to reach the Control Room.”
“The entrance? In this break room?”
“It’s just a ruse, like a bank. Willow, if you would.”
At Dwight’s request to open the way, the woman bowed her head before moving the sofa she’d been reclining on to the side.
And then,
“Wait…!”
“The wall…!”
One side of the wall rotated as a hidden room revealed itself.
On one side of that room, there appeared a large safe-like door.
“As it turns out, there was a hidden room,” I mused, but as Dwight pointed at the steel door while explaining—
“This is the only entrance to the Control Room. There are qualifications required for entry, though.”
Just then, Dwight asked Willow.
“Has there been any communication from inside?”
“No. We’ve confirmed there’s a problem, and we tried contacting them, but there has been no response. This has never happened before…”
“… What was the last communication?”
“Last time there was an issue with the Aegis, we received a message indicating they would reactivate auxiliary power. The last recorded entry is from long before that message.”
The more we conversed, the darker Dwight’s expression became as he spoke seriously to the woman.
“Willow, I believe something has happened over at the Control Room.”
“I agree, young master. While it’s understandable that there wouldn’t be entry records with living quarters set up, the complete lack of communication is the only explanation.”
Nodding grimly, Dwight continued.
“Usually, entry without consent from the Control Room is not permitted… but given the emergency, would it be alright for Neinhart’s direct line to go there? We have to confirm if anything is wrong.”
“In fact, I was planning to ask you to do that. With communication cut off, you are the only direct line available to check the Control Room. I’ll prepare right away.”
With that, the woman tapped her hoof on the ground.
As if by magic, the heavy safe door opened effortlessly.
Is that where the Control Room is?
Thinking that, I peered into the safe, revealing that contrary to my expectations, it was merely a small room-sized space.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and come in.”
However, with no time to ponder that, we had no choice but to enter the safe at Dwight’s urging.
The safe door clanged shut with a heavy sound as soon as the three of us stepped inside, as if it would never open again.
It felt dark inside, and the sudden fear of claustrophobia was almost overwhelming, causing me to shiver, but I soon realized this was not a safe at all.
“… This is moving?”
“Yes, it’s headed to the Control Room.”
What had appeared to be a safe was actually an elevator.
So, “Ah, so the Control Room is underground,” I thought, but then something even more surprising happened.
“… Wait a minute, didn’t it just move to the right?”
The elevator that had been heading downward suddenly changed direction.
Just as I was questioning why it moved to the front, the next thought was upward.
I had considered it an elevator, but it seemed to not only move vertically but also horizontally and even backward.
While I was puzzled, Dwight explained.
“They intentionally configured the path to be complex so that the Control Room’s location cannot be pinpointed. You don’t have to worry; as long as I’m here as a Neinhart, we won’t end up anywhere other than the Control Room.”
I intended to retort that I never had such worries in the first place, but in Dwight’s explanation, I noticed a rather significant point and asked him.
“Wait, if you’re not here, does that mean we might end up somewhere other than the Control Room?”
“Exactly. So don’t even think about attempting to intrude without permission.”
Dwight nodded gravely to my question in a somewhat eerie atmosphere.
I gulped and asked him.
“… What happens if someone does try to intrude without permission?”
“… Do you know what this safe we’re in is? Although it’s provided with oxygen supply magic, it’s just a sealed space.”
Dwight made that ominous statement before continuing in a chilling voice.
“If anyone foolish enough to attempt unauthorized entry into the Control Room shows up, they will end up buried deep underground in a sealed space with no oxygen supply.”
I screamed at his words, “Ahh! There’s a madman who buries people alive to enforce ironclad security!”
Immediately after, Dwight and I shared a laugh.
It was our way of trying to avoid any negative thoughts.
Dwight looked at me and asked,
“A solid security system, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s frightening how effective it is.”
I replied, and Dwight forced a smile while asking.
“… With security this tight, surely nothing is wrong, right?”
“… I’m sure nothing is wrong.”
As I answered, I took hold of Dwight’s trembling hand along with Sylvia’s.
Hoping, as he did, that nothing would go awry.
After a short while, the elevator came to a stop.
And as the door opened,
“Ugh…”
“Ah…”
Regrettably, we realized that something bad had indeed occurred.
An odor that should not be present wafted from beyond the elevator’s door.
The stench of blood and rotting corpses.
“No…”
Before I could stop him, Dwight dashed out first.
Sylvia and I followed closely behind, and we soon witnessed Dwight abruptly halt as if something had caused him to feel dread.
As we halted along with him, we caught a glimpse of the scene over his shoulder, causing us to involuntarily inhale sharply.
“Sherry… Layla… Harbor…”
Lifeless bodies with gaping holes scattered across the floor.
Staring blankly at the corpses, Dwight slowly walked towards one still body and collapsed before it.
With trembling hands, he embraced the head of the corpse, a voice full of despair escaping from his lips.
“Ah, Virgil…”
His sobs echoed within the Control Room, filled solely with lifeless bodies.
*
Here lies the illustration of poor Dwight.
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