Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 192

192.

Clatter! Rumble!

“Kyaa! Mommy!”

“Alisa!”

With a loud clatter and rumble, countless iron bars shot up from the floor, which had suddenly transformed into a pit. Just as Alisa was about to fall in, Isana hurriedly summoned Ciel and snatched her, pulling her to safety. It was a close call, one that would have been missed by even a fraction of a second.

“Are you okay, Alisa? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Yeah, I was really surprised.”

“Haa, I was even more surprised. Am I going to die of a heart attack at this rate?”

Isana and Sibelius gasped for breath next to Alisa, who was pale and taking deep breaths. Deron and El were just as pale. They had barely avoided another trap moments ago, so the continuous onslaught of dangers amplified their shock.

I briefly checked Alisa’s condition and glanced back at the path we had taken. The sturdy and magnificent inner walls, with their huge and long passages on both sides, resembled the corridors of a royal castle. However, the floor wasn’t made of well-paved marble but was scarred with traces as if it had been bombed.

Numerous bottomless pits, deadly weapons of unknown kinds, and various contraptions designed for slaughter were densely deployed. As I looked back at the gauntlet of horrors that would have sent ordinary people to the afterlife several times over, a sigh naturally escaped my lips.

When will we reach the end? While moving frantically as if being chased, we seemed to have ventured quite deep, but it was hard to tell exactly where in the dungeon we were.

What kind of structure is this building? Even though we broke the barrier that made us repeat the same area, the result wasn’t much different. The spirits were still not visible, and I felt as if my vision was blocked, just like before. I couldn’t even tell if the sun was rising or setting, so my sense of time had become vague. However, what was certain was that a considerable amount of time had passed since the first battle here, so much so that it felt like a distant memory.

‘……That was really terrible, too.’

My face naturally contorted at the terrible memory, even when just recalling it. The beast that greeted us at the entrance was a giant wolf with black fur. It was very agile and huge, but not so strong that it was difficult to deal with. The problem was that there were too many of them. No, to be exact, they came back to life and attacked again even after being killed. They would fall down when cut, but the corpse would soon disappear as if evaporating, and then they would gather again and transform into the appearance of a wolf. I just mechanically cut them down because they kept coming endlessly even after being dealt with.

The tedious back-and-forth battle finally ended only after I trapped all the wolves in water and froze them. It seemed that I should have focused on capturing them rather than killing them from the beginning. I realized it too late, so I wasted a lot of time. By then, everyone was so exhausted that they even showed severe symptoms of dehydration.

But as El said, that was just the beginning. From then on, the dungeon began to faithfully fulfill its original function. What that meant was that there were traps everywhere. It was common for sharp spikes to suddenly come down from all directions or for a rain of arrows to pour down, and the floor would suddenly collapse or huge boulders would roll down, just like now.

Living things would pop out every now and then, and most of them were bizarre creatures I had never seen before. At first, I simply thought they were created with magic, but thanks to Deron, I learned an unexpected fact: most of them were species that lived in the Demon World.

“What? Are you saying they’re creatures from the Demon World?”

“Yes, they are creatures that live on the border.”

“The border?”

“It refers to the outer areas outside the main territory of the Demon World. It’s an abandoned land where no residents live. Even among the demons, those who are not skilled cannot carelessly touch the creatures that live there. I heard that the Demon Sword was sealed, so it seems that this dungeon was designed by a demon. At least, he was definitely a great helper [a powerful ally or contributor].”

Deron’s overall assessment was that the demon involved in the design was of a considerably high rank. On top of that, he tried to figure out the identity of the opponent, but he couldn’t find any traces that could be used as clues, as he was a very meticulous person. Perhaps that’s why Deron had a very uncomfortable look on his face throughout the move. It seemed like he felt a sense of competition because he was a demon himself.

“Oh? A door!”

Was it evidence that we were reaching our destination? The adventure that seemed like it would never end soon faced an unexpected phase. The long corridor that had been endlessly continuing ended, and a firmly closed door appeared at its end.

“Everyone, step back just in case.”

At El’s words, the group all took a step back with nervous faces. Since devices had been popping out from unexpected places, they couldn’t rule out the suspicion that the door itself was a trap.

El also seemed nervous, as he took a slight deep breath and then grabbed the doorknob and turned it. Creak—with a harsh sound like wood twisting, the closed door slowly began to open. A faint light leaked out from beyond the half-revealed gap. Nothing else happened.

As time passed and there was no reaction, the group slowly released their guard. Still, no one tried to look inside. Eventually, instead of them hesitating, I opened the door wide. At the sight that was properly revealed, I frowned slightly. Beyond the door, a long corridor was still continuing. But what made up the interior was different from before. It was narrower than before, and everything except the floor and ceiling was made of a glossy material. The surrounding scenery was reflected as it was on the smooth surface.

“……Mirror?”

I realized the identity of the material at a glance. It was a fairly clear mirror. Feeling like I was experimenting, I stepped inside slightly, and my appearance was reflected on both sides as it was. It didn’t feel very good, as if I was endlessly copied and multiplied.

“It’s a place with questionable taste.”

Deron, who followed behind, also muttered with an unpleasant expression. The other members of the group were also looking around with curious expressions.

“It’s all mirrors.”

“It doesn’t seem like a normal place here either, does it?”

“Something feels really bad.”

“Let’s go inside for now.”

At El’s words, we nodded and slowly started walking. The surroundings were quiet, and nothing was heard except the sound of our footsteps. Judging by the atmosphere, it wouldn’t be strange if something happened right away, but surprisingly, nothing special happened. There were no pits that appeared as soon as you stepped on them, no arrows suddenly flying, and no murderous weapons. Rather, it felt like we were having the most peaceful time since entering the dungeon. Of course, since we had also experienced being trapped in an infinitely repeating space, we couldn’t unconditionally relax just because it was peaceful.

“I’m more anxious because nothing is happening.”

“You’re telling me.”

Following Deron, who was uneasily staring at the surroundings, I also sighed. Then, someone lightly tapped my shoulder. When I turned my head, Isana, who was walking right behind me, had a bewildered expression on her face.

“What’s wrong, Jihoon?”

“Huh? Didn’t you tap my shoulder just now?”

“Huh? No, I didn’t do anything.”

“……Really?”

Did I feel it wrong? It was quite a clear sensation, but it was strange that it was a misunderstanding. Still, Isana’s flustered expression didn’t seem like a lie, so I was about to turn my head nonchalantly. But in the scenery that passed by carelessly, I suddenly felt a sense of incongruity. One of Isana’s faces reflected in the mirror seemed to be smiling at me. Surprised, I turned around, but everything was the same, and I couldn’t find any peculiarities.

“Jihoon?”

“……Ah, sorry. It’s nothing.”

‘What, another misunderstanding…….’

Am I too nervous? After clicking my tongue inwardly, I was about to turn my body again. At that moment, I felt like light was flashing in the mirror. A bewildering sight unfolded in the place I reflexively looked at. Alisa in the mirror was slowly taking out a dagger from her bosom. Did Alisa have such a weapon? I was startled and looked at Alisa properly. But there was nothing in her hand.

“What…….”

My body moved faster than I could judge the situation. I hurriedly grabbed Sibelius, who was next to Alisa, and pulled him towards me. Sibelius, surprised by the sudden situation, widened his eyes.

“What, what is it, you?”

I heard him shout as if protesting in embarrassment. All the other members of the group were also looking at me with surprised expressions. But I had no time to look back at them. Because Alisa in the mirror was stabbing her side with a dagger with all her might. It was the very spot where Sibelius was standing just before I pulled him.

‘What is it? The reflection in the mirror is acting on its own?’

It was such a shocking situation that cold sweat flowed down my spine. Both the attacker and the attacked were all scenes in the mirror. Still, I felt like I had to avoid it somehow. I couldn’t guarantee that the attack wouldn’t actually affect us.

As a result, that judgment was wise. The next moment, Isana in the mirror smiled and tapped me on the shoulder as if to show me, who was also reflected in the mirror. Then, I really felt a clear sensation on my shoulder. It seemed that Isana in the mirror was the one who touched me a little while ago.

‘Could it be…… If I get attacked in the mirror, will the real me get hurt too?’

As soon as I figured that out, I hurriedly turned to look at the mirror. I gasped at the sight that immediately came into view. This time, I was taking out a sword and aiming it at Sibelius!

“Get away from me!”

“What?”

Sibelius’s face contorted at the shout I let out as if screaming. But he soon made an astonished expression and hurriedly stepped back. He too had discovered the scene in the mirror.

“What, what is this!”

Only then did the other members of the group belatedly notice the situation and harden their faces. They couldn’t help but notice that their own reflection in the mirror was moving on its own.

“Everyone, step back!”

Fortunately, it seemed that we in the mirror could not deviate far from the place where we were actually located. As El gave instructions after grasping the situation, the group hesitated but quickly distanced themselves beyond a certain interval. We in the mirror were also facing each other, each with our weapons drawn. Sibelius made a frustrated expression when he saw that.

“Tsk, I knew it wasn’t a normal place. Could it be shadow magic?”

“Shadow magic?”

“It’s one of the dark magics. It swallows the shadow of the target and creates an alter ego that exactly mimics the appearance. It was mainly used for cursing or framing someone. It’s the first time I’ve seen a method that uses the shape reflected in a mirror. This seems to be a slightly modified form.”

“Do you know how to break the spell?”

It was Deron who asked this time. Sibelius scratched his head with a complicated expression.

“Any spell that uses an object as a medium has the object itself as a trigger condition. No matter how great it is, it can’t be maintained if the condition disappears. In this case, it seems like we can break the mirror…….”

“But?”

“As I said, it’s easy to break spells that use objects as a medium because you only need to eliminate the trigger condition. So usually, they decide on something that is not noticeable. But now they are blatantly revealing it.”

“You’re saying this itself could be a trap.”

“That’s right.”

The group made thoughtful expressions for a while. They couldn’t just stay like this, but it wasn’t easy to decide what to do next because they could become more dangerous if they rashly broke the spell. But the time for choice soon came forcibly. Suddenly, Isana in the mirror took her sword to her own neck.

“They’re even hurting themselves?”

As if enjoying our horrified reaction, Isana in the mirror smiled. Then, as if to show off, the other shadows also began to aim their swords at themselves in turn. Attacks can be avoided, but there was no way to stop self-harm. As the situation became like that, the expressions of the group also became urgent.

“Damn it! I can’t help it. Break all the mirrors!”

“I, is that okay?”

“It’s better than getting our necks cut off here!”

Because that was true, I immediately created waves and strongly struck both mirror walls. Ku-gu-gu-gung! Crash! With a loud noise, the mirrors that had been reflecting us shattered, and the figures of the shadows also disappeared at once.

An unexpected thing happened the next moment. It seemed that the space outside the destroyed wall instantly widened, and then huge pillars began to pop out from the floor at will.

Koo-oong! Koo-oo-oong!

“What, what is it!”

The floor we were standing on also began to wriggle and transform as the pillars rose. It was as if the place itself was being reassembled. The problem was that we were separated from each other because of the shadows in the mirror. Walls rose up even between those gaps and began to take on new forms.

“Kyaa!”

“Ji, Jihoon!”

“This! Alisa! Isana!”

The figures of Alisa and Isana disappeared as if swallowed by the rapidly erected pillars. I was about to quickly run to them, but a wall appeared in front of me and blocked my way. Someone supported me from behind as I was about to fall due to the suddenly popping out pillar. It was Sibelius.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yeah.”

After nodding, I suddenly felt that the surroundings had become quiet. Only then did I realize that the noisy shaking of the floor had stopped. When I raised my eyes, a completely different space from before was unfolding before my eyes. It was a room like a completely sealed secret room. In one corner on the left, there was a door that seemed to be the only exit of this space. The only people inside were me and Sibelius, and no one else was visible.