Chapter 222. Ruin in the Forest (2)
How much time had passed, after they had finished a simple breakfast of the preserved rations Lien had prepared and set off.
The sun had climbed steadily higher, nearly overhead now, its blazing midday heat beginning to layer itself through the trees.
Victoria's 19th Outsourcing District, the forest along the border region.
As Enoch pressed on, along the slope of the jungle that was beginning in earnest to deepen, at some point the cool sound of rushing water started to weave itself into the wind.
A little further on, a massive curtain of waterfall soon unfurled across the entire landscape, filling his vision.
"……So that's the waterfall."
Walking through the forest, Enoch glanced to the side.
A curtain of water so vast in height and width it genuinely deserved to be called a hidden wonder.
The cascading falls of that magnificent waterfall revealed themselves between the forest's huge, green leaves.
"Wow. That's a whole lot bigger than I thought."
Alicia, too, had paused her steps beside him and was gazing blankly up at the waterfall, murmuring to herself.
Enoch's impression was not much different from hers.
"You're right. It's quite a different scale from what I pictured looking at the map."
The drop of the waterfall pouring down from the towering cliff was five hundred meters. The width of the river was broad, too.
The Elsyde Main House's modernized steel fortress stood at something like eight hundred meters, by all rights a colossal structure — and yet this waterfall was on a scale to rival it. A startling size.
After that, they pushed through the forest, approached near the waterfall, and walked a bit further until a riverbank came into view.
A river tens of meters wide, running as a fierce current at the foot of a near-vertical cliff. And overhead, the waterfall spread out wide.
SHAAAAAAA——!!
Over the streams of the waterfall, split apart by rocks that jutted out here and there, white spray crashed down like an immense wall, and above it, sunlight broke apart, casting a translucent rainbow.
"Hmm, the scenery may be pretty, but we can't afford to drop our guard. Once we cross this river, our line of retreat will be limited."
Alicia gazed up at the waterfall with a serious expression. Having craned her head up all that way, she abruptly lowered her gaze to what was below — and her face turned slightly horrified.
"Ugh, the bottom of the waterfall. That looks absolutely brutal…"
The downstream was, quite literally, a chaos of nothing but debris and violence.
On any other day, it might have been a place that boasted a more beautiful view, but at present the lower reaches were not only muddied brown with silt and rain, they were swollen in a state of flooding.
Was this really the terrifying riverbank they'd been cut off against during the pursuit with the magical beasts the other day?
"It looks dangerous. Better watch your step."
"Right. Ugh, honestly, whatever happens, I really don't want to end up falling in there."
Seeming to feel a chill just imagining it, Alicia hugged her own body beside him and gave a small shiver. Enoch nodded too.
"Yeah. If you fell in, there'd be no saving you."
It wasn't water itself he feared.
To begin with, back at the Lake Submerged Area Ruin Site in Rhodes, the Sword Saint of the Waves had been resting with her sword planted quietly against the submerged gate — Enoch himself had dived in to trace her presence, once before.
But whether or not one could swim, getting swept into something like that…
Enoch tried picturing it, then shook his head.
Just thinking about it sent a chill down his spine. Whatever the case, not falling in at all was the best course.
"We have to cross one way or another."
At Enoch's words, both girls nodded in silence.
For a long while they walked between the trees, moving toward the downstream side of the waterfall. At some point, cold droplets of water began to splash against their cheeks.
"Hmm. If things go according to plan, we shouldn't need to bother looking for a way to cross this wide river, should we?"
Walking beside him, Alicia shaded her eyes with one hand as she looked around.
Sure enough, as they descended a bit further toward where the map indicated a photo of a bridge, an artificial stone bridge revealed itself over the cliffs of the lower waterfall.
"A ruin… something related to it, maybe?"
Watching the bridge from afar, obscured by trees, Alicia tilted her head as if she'd thought of something.
Enoch had been thinking along the same lines, so he slowly nodded.
"Probably, yeah."
Even from a distance, it was clearly a bridge that had been built a very long time ago.
The design was crude and simple, but because it was set on pillars of considerable height, its age was even more obvious.
Moss clung across the stone surface in patches, and the corners of the arched pillars that supported the flat span were chipped and missing in places.
But it was a place they had no choice but to cross.
It was then that, at the edge of where she was about to leave the forest, Alicia ahead of him suddenly jolted to a halt.
"Eek?!"
"What is it?"
"Th, that. What do we do?"
With a troubled expression, Alicia pointed at the bridge with her finger and glanced back uncertainly.
"The bridge… it's collapsed, isn't it?"
The long stone bridge was snapped clean through at the middle, embedded at a slant in the center of the river with moss growing over it.
When he'd glanced at it from afar a moment ago, the trees had hidden it and he hadn't seen it properly. It was a rotten bit of luck.
"A bridge wrecked to this extent probably can't be used in any normal way, Young Master."
"Yeah."
At Lien's remark as she glanced over beside him, he nodded readily.
"Looks like we'll have to find another route."
Watching the river's torrent — whipped into a frenzy by the waterfall — smash white against the bridge's stone pillars, Enoch tilted his head slightly to one side.
Could they cross this with Lien's wires?
But he shook his head internally soon enough.
He was well enough aware of the mobility Lien's wires afforded. It might even be possible to move the whole group across.
Still, it was high noon. If they crossed the river out in the open, they couldn't rule out the possibility of getting caught by an enemy scout's watch on their way to the ruin.
"Ah! Since things have turned out like this, it'd be great if we could cross the river a bit more discreetly."
Alicia, as if she'd been thinking the same thing, frowned in deep thought beside him.
"I mean, last time we nearly had a real disaster because of the enemy's scouts, right? Now that their main force is even closer, if we could cross even a little more quietly, it'd be good…"
"I agree with that."
Enoch, having made his judgment in an instant, murmured quietly as he looked around them.
"But is there even a suitable place for that?"
"Hmm. About that!"
Just then, Alicia shaded her brow with her hand and furrowed her eyes, as if searching for something.
Then, having evidently spotted something noteworthy near the waterfall, she whipped around to Enoch with a bright look on her face.
"Ah! There seems to be a path behind the plunge pool of that waterfall. Let's head there!"
A plunge pool, if he remembered correctly, meant the basin directly below where the waterfall crashed down.
Looking at the waterfall's base, where white spray whirled in every direction, Enoch tilted his head slightly.
"There's a path over there?"
"Yes! I've seen waterfalls back home, too!"
Half-convinced by her words, he moved with her, and sure enough, a path that literally ran behind the waterfall came into view.
Beside him, Alicia clenched both her fists and puffed out her chest with a triumphant expression that all but said "yes!" as she stared right at him.
"See? I was helpful, wasn't I?"
"Yeah. It's a good thing."
After a glance at her, Enoch quietly asked,
"By the way — last time in the Outsourcing District, you got lost on a scouting mission and were even listed as missing. But out here in the forest, you seem oddly good at finding paths?"
"Ah! Th-that's…"
Alicia turned bright red on the spot and looked away.
"I, I actually grew up in the countryside, so I'm good at finding paths in nature. But I haven't quite gotten used to complicated cities I'm seeing for the first time…"
Enoch nodded without a word.
So that was why she'd spoken with such confidence last time about rendezvousing at the waterfall.
Though it was ironic that she was actually better at finding her way in a wilderness environment like this.
Just how remote was this countryside she called home? From what he'd half-overheard last time, magical beasts had even appeared there occasionally, so her childhood couldn't have been easy.
In any case, they had no time to waste. Enoch, who had been leading the way on the narrow path behind the waterfall, checked the terrain and pressed on ahead first.
With the waterfall roaring down in a thunderous torrent that threw up spray so thick he could hardly see his own feet, and, to make matters worse, slippery moss growing underfoot, he had to move his feet with care.
That was when he noticed a small cave extending inward at the back of the plunge pool, and he stared into that darkness for a moment.
But contrary to his expectations, the rock face came into view not very far in. It didn't lead anywhere deeper — apparently it was a dead-end cave, hollowed out into a fairly large space but sealed off.
Before he knew it, he'd taken the last step and arrived. Calmly, he readjusted the duffel bag and cloth bag on his shoulder. Just then, a cute little scream rose up from behind him.
"Hyah, cold!"
Enoch glanced back.
Alicia, having caught a burst of strong wind from across the waterfall that sent spray lashing at her, had squeezed one eye shut as she let out a small yelp.
She looked down at her thoroughly drenched body, then grumbled with a crestfallen look.
"Uuu. I'm soaked clean through, I am…"
Behind Alicia, who had nearly finished crossing the path, even Lien had already passed through the waterfall, expressionless, her clothes likewise thoroughly soaked.
Watching the scene unfold without thinking, he saw that both of them, having finished crossing, had begun to adjust their clothes — soaked through by the waterfall's spray.
Lien was calmly wringing out the hem of her drenched black-and-white maid-dress skirt, her expression composed.
Alicia, on the other hand, had her Dragoon uniform blouse entirely soaked by the spray, clinging to her skin.
When he unthinkingly let his gaze follow the line down from her neck, her black undergarments showed through enticingly beneath the now-transparent fabric.
Alicia glanced back at him through her wet hair, and, flushing in the cheeks, wrapped both arms around her exposed chest beneath her uniform.
"Ah! I — I showed you an unsightly sight… Ahaha."
"……No, I didn't really think that."
Enoch answered her with just that curt reply and turned his head sharply to the side.
For some reason, there had been a strange current flowing from Alicia since yesterday. But this wasn't the situation to have his attention pulled by that.
***
After that, the whole group moved like wind.
Partway along their path, they veered off from the riverbank and plunged back into the thick forest. The density of vegetation was noticeably heavier than before.
It was certainly a place where concealment would be feasible. For the success of the operation, coming this way had been the right choice after all.
Alicia, in the lead, kept her body low as she advanced, and he could see her gripping the Bombardment Lance as short as possible.
Her movements assumed close-range engagement the moment they breached enemy territory. It was also the picture of someone adhering strictly to the rule of moving as covertly as possible within hostile ground.
After pushing on for some time through such enormous vegetation, a faint fortress wall finally revealed itself in the distance, beyond the waterfall's mist drifting in the air.
"Ah! The place up ahead must be the ruin!"
What unfolded before them was a ruin that ran long beside a massive, sheer cliff that looked as if it had been cleaved away.
"Just like it's marked on the map."
"Yes. To get past this point, the terrain makes it pretty much certain we'll have to pass through that ruin, that castle."
Gripping her lance tightly, Alicia glanced back at him and called out,
"There's no telling where the enemy's scouts are stationed, so stay on full alert!"
Yes, he had to stay on full alert.
Enoch raised his senses in an instant and focused.
If, by chance, there happened to be an artifact around here worth retrieving based on his knowledge of the original story, it would be wise to take it — that was his judgment.
To begin with, this was a location that hadn't appeared in the original at all.
In that case, it was at least worth using the chance — while carving out a route — to scout the surroundings along the way.
The massive wooden gate, bordered with iron trim, stood half-open with no lock of any kind.
Advancing through it slowly and with caution, a vast green garden overgrown with wildflowers and weeds revealed itself.
The three of them cut across the interior of the castle — plain yet Gothic in style — like a passing wind.
Looking around inside the walls built of pale gray stone, vines, moss, and tree roots climbed their way up in every direction, giving a sense of how long this castle had been abandoned.
At that moment, Alicia — who had slowed slightly ahead and was walking with her guard up — quietly murmured.
"Hmm, is this place supposed to be a ruin? It's less mystical than I thought, and a little eerie…"
At Alicia's assessment, Enoch nodded.
"Yeah."
It was a ruin whose silent atmosphere came across as oppressive rather than serene, but they couldn't stop moving here.
They had to keep walking.
Looking more closely, the surrounding vegetation was toppled in a consistent direction, and there were multiple footprints as well.
There was no doubt that experimental magical beasts frequented this place.
And it was at that very moment that a cry clearly not of human origin reached their ears, and all three turned to look.
Between the ruined stone pillars of the garden, thick with greenery, two shadows could be seen standing tall.
Enoch sharply held his breath.
Massive bodies tens of meters in size. Their arms and legs clad in ponderous carapace that jutted out like jagged stone, their rugged forms scattering halos of green light — humanoid specimens.
Their height was tall, but because their backs were deeply hunched, their heads sat quite low. As if a great boulder had come to life, perhaps that was what they'd look like.
They weren't leader-class, but among ordinary specimens they were quite large even so.
In a fleeting instant that seemed like eternity, each side registered the other's presence. The beasts drew in a great breath to call their comrades. This was bad.
Before Enoch could so much as leap out, Alicia hurled her lance at high speed.
The conical cavalry spear struck its target with perfect accuracy, piercing the right-hand enemy's head like a skewer and killing it dead before it could call for aid.
The remaining one froze for just a moment, caught off guard by its comrade's instant death.
Ignoring the agonized cry of the experimental magical beast, Alicia lowered her stance and charged at a speed invisible to the eye, straight toward the lance she'd just struck the enemy with.
With a light, crisp tang sound, Alicia leapt, used the lance lodged in the dead beast's head as a springboard to leap again. Surging up in the blink of an eye, she spun her body upside down and pulled the lance free.
Rising high enough that her forehead nearly met the enemy's, Alicia twisted forward in a single rotation.
Driving the lance straight down into the head, she crushed the second beast's brain and dealt it a swift death.
The two of them collapsing to the ground with a heavy THUD of vibration happened almost at the same moment.
Enoch, who had been about to step forward, halted where he stood and merely watched the scene unfold.
"Enemy contact. There's no telling where more scouts might be. Let's move quietly."
Watching Alicia — who had made her calm remark and now gave her recovered lance a single whirling swing through the air — Enoch nodded quietly.
"Right. Let's stay hidden along the inside of the castle and keep moving."
Entering the inner keep from the garden, up a shallow flight of stairs, they were met with several other staircases branching in different directions.
With a quick exchange of glances, they chose the staircase leading furthest downward and descended slowly.
That revealed a long corridor leading to the lower levels.
The torches in their brackets were all extinguished, but fortunately, thanks to the collapsed ceiling, shafts of light filtered down into the space.
Walking for a while along that long underground corridor, lit by those beams of light, Enoch suddenly widened his eyes.
On either side of the fortress corridor, enormous statues of knights holding stone swords, spears, and shields stood arrayed.
They stood tall in the darkness, wreathed in green plants, bathed in the shafts of light spilling in through the crumbled ruins. The figures of knights that seemed to be guarding the dignity of some bygone age.
'These… somewhere.'
In that instant, Enoch realized he'd seen those statues somewhere before, and coolly knitted his brow.
Comparing the exterior of the castle alone, it looked almost as old as Rhodes, which he had visited the last time.
"It seems this place was once a small castle, long ago."
Alicia, running her hand along one of the statues wrapped in the massive surrounding tree trunks, looked up at it in a daze and stroked it gently.
"Hmm, a castle from the era when ancient Victoria was a kingdom, I suppose? At the very least, it seems to have served as a logistics base from that time. I don't really know for sure, though."
"A logistics base? How do you know that?"
"Ah, that's easy!"
At Enoch's question, Alicia unhesitatingly pointed at the stone statues lined along the fortress corridor.
More specifically, the emblem on the shields they held. Pointing at them with a face full of conviction, she exclaimed,
"This. It's the emblem of the old Victoria Kazimieśi military!"
Enoch's eyes widened in that instant.
Then, could it mean that this place — now an Outsourcing District — had once been connected to the old Victoria army?
Wait.
Watching the knights arrayed in the corridor as if standing guard over the fortress, Enoch suddenly realized what that earlier sense of déjà vu had been.
The statues of knights lined up in this corridor.
Among them, several knights stood whose shields bore no emblem of the Victoria family.
While not all of them, the armor of several knights had shapes that were oddly, strikingly familiar.
Yes — for example. If those knight statues carved of stone were given a silver hue, and the magnificently flowing cloaks of the figures had originally been blue…
"……The Guardian Knights of Rhodes?"
Just as Enoch muttered the realization without thinking.
Suddenly, his field of vision rippled on all sides, and a pitch-black darkness began to encroach from the edges of his sight, like a shadow.
Catching the anomaly, Enoch gritted his teeth.
This was unmistakably familiar. This awful sensation of everything around him being swallowed up — could it be…
〇 Entering the Ruin of 「Sword Saint of the Waves」
〇 Accessing Target's Past Memories
In the next moment, pale white messages he hadn't seen in far too long — and could never forget — began to rise up before his eyes.
And when he saw the message that followed, a chill shot through Enoch's spine.
〇 World of Impermanence: Until Entry Complete … 2%