After Zeke explained his plan, the trio left the mine to get some rest. This would be their last chance to relax before leaving the Danger Zone for good. It was also the first time he got to rest since coming here. He had spent the entirety of the last three days immersed in research. Therefore, the moment his head touched the pillow, he was out.
Akasha's voice woke him from his peaceful rest a mere moment later. However, despite his certainty that no time had passed, the first rays of the sun were already cresting the horizon. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Zeke exited his tent.
He found the Chimeroi already up, sitting around the fireplace and talking in muted voices. At his approach, their quiet whispers died down completely. He sat close to the two. "Nervous?"
Vulcanos nodded, and Gravitas looked away.
"You shouldn't be," Zeke said with an easy grin. "I have the hardest part to play, after all."
"That is exactly what has us worried, master," Gravitas said.
"I didn't know you cared that much for me," Zeke said half-jokingly.
Gravitas gave him an irritated look. It seemed she had grown comfortable enough around him to show her vexation openly. "This is no joking matter. You know very well what happens to us when you die…"
Zeke, who had been in the process of taking a bite from a slice of bread, froze mid-motion. He stared at the piece of bread in deep contemplation. "What will happen to them when I die, Akasha?"
[Notice]
I do not yet have a full understanding of the Ritual Magic binding the slaves. However, given the lack of laws geared toward them, they will likely experience some sort of backlash — with death being the most probable consequence.
Well, he should have realized that sooner. Knowing this, it made much more sense that his three slaves had voluntarily arranged a guard schedule. It wasn't because they particularly cared for him, but because they would die alongside him.
Zeke started to chew on his bread to buy some time. Now that he knew the consequences, a half-hearted explanation wouldn't do anymore. He wasn't only gambling with his own life, as it turned out.
"I am not suicidal," Zeke said after a while. "I don't even consider myself to be particularly brave, to be honest. I decided to take on the most difficult role because I am most suited for it, nothing more and nothing less. Also, I am confident of coming out of this intact."
"But you are by far the weakest among us," Gravitas said.
"You are right," Zeke said before vanishing and reappearing right behind her. "But I am also the most mobile," he whispered before suddenly reappearing in his previous spot. "And I am also the only one among us who can heal."
"But your body is so frail," Vulcanos interjected.
Zeke's expression crumbled slightly. As a Blood Mage, he had always prided himself on his excellent physical abilities. However, it was true that he couldn't hold a candle to the Chimeroi in that regard.
"That's far less important than you might think," Zeke said. "The Shadow Elementals all have Grand Mage level strength and are geared for offense. If they catch you, then I am pretty certain that they will cut your flesh just as easily as mine."
Both Gravitas and Vulcanos fell silent. However, Zeke could tell how uneasy they were about the whole thing.
He let out a deep sigh. "Listen. You haven't known me for long, and it might be hard to trust me completely. But there is one thing you should know: I am not somebody who takes unnecessary risks. The fact that I am willing to put myself in danger should tell you how important the black liquid is for me."
"More important than all our lives?" Gravitas asked.
"Important enough for me to risk them, yes," Zeke answered earnestly.
"What could be more important than life?"
Zeke chuckled without mirth. "A storm is brewing. A storm the likes of which hasn't been seen in millennia. I can feel it with every fiber of my being. It wants to sweep me away alongside everything I care for..."
There was a long silence as neither of the two Chimeroi knew what to say. It was Gravitas who eventually broke the quiet. "And this black liquid will allow you to weather the storm?"
Zeke shook his head. "It will not guarantee victory, but it will increase my chances— our chances of living through it."
The Chimeroi shared a glance before nodding in unison and standing up.
"Then it would be best we get going, master," Gravitas said.
A genuine smile appeared on Zeke's face when he saw the look in their eyes. The uncertainty from moments ago was nowhere to be seen, replaced by unwavering determination.
"Let's go."
***
Zeke, Vulcanos, and Gravitas crouched beneath the sea of black liquid. They were surrounded by dozens of Elementals who were motionlessly staring at them.
The Chimeroi were visibly unnerved. Their stiffness stood in stark contrast to Zeke's relaxed demeanor. He had spent enough time around the Elementals to know how far he could push before they would act.
"Give me the next one," Zeke said.
Without taking his eyes off the menacing shadows surrounding them, Vulcanos handed him the next bottle. Zeke took it and submerged it into the lake of blackness above their heads. The bottle immediately began to suck up the surrounding liquid. However, the Elementals still didn't do anything.
To those silent guardians, this was not that alarming. Even though he was bottling up their source, they sensed that he was not actually removing any. Had they been a bit more intelligent, they would have noticed that he was clearly preparing for a heist. Alas, they did not.
Zeke even began to hum quietly as he filled up the second bottle. However, his relaxed demeanor did not translate to the Chimeroi, who seemed to get more agitated the longer they stayed here.
"Why don't you just use your Space Magic to retrieve it?" Gravitas asked while scanning the gathering of Elementals all around.
"I wish that were an option," Zeke said with a sigh. "However, I am far too weak to use [Transposition] on a material of this quality."
"What do you mean?" Gravitas asked. Despite her agitated state, her curiosity still won out in the end.
"Why do you think trade caravans are still a thing, even though we have Space Magic?" Zeke asked.
Gravitas thought about it but didn't seem to be able to come up with anything. After a moment, she shook her head.
"It's because some materials are very resistant to Mana," Zeke explained. "Metals like Voidiron are almost unsusceptible to it. That doesn't mean moving them via Space Magic is impossible, but the level of Mana needed is astronomical compared to its mass."
"Then what about this black liquid?"
"Well, it's not as bad as Voidiron," Zeke admitted, "but if I wanted to take this entire lake, I would need to be an Exarch, at least."
"How much would you be able to take with your current strength?" Gravitas asked.
Zeke grimaced. Using his palm, he scooped up a mere handful of liquid before dropping about half back into the lake. "About this much."
Gravitas scanned the massive cavern filled with black liquid and then looked at the pitiful amount in his hand. "That doesn't seem right."
"It's not just about the amount of Mana," Zeke explained while taking the last bottle from Vulcanos. "When I try to control the Blood of another Mage, I not only have to use enough Mana to control the Blood. Instead, I have to overcome their resistance first. This is the same principle. You have to be able to overpower the innate resistance of a material before you can use it."
"I don't think that is necessarily true," Gravitas said.
Zeke glanced at her with a knowing smirk. "Your Magic works differently. You do not actually take possession of any object. Instead of controlling anything directly, you alter the laws of nature in the surrounding area."
Gravitas fell silent as she contemplated his words.
Meanwhile, Vulcanos stared at the bottles Zeke had already filled up. "Is this really going to be enough?" he asked. "Wouldn't we have been able to take this much from the fountain as well?"
Instead of explaining, Zeke handed one of the bottles to him. Vulcanos was puzzled but still accepted it. His eyes widened the moment Zeke let go. His eyes flicked between the floating black ocean above them and the bottle in his hands.
Zeke smirked upon seeing his puzzled expression. "Heavy, right?"
Vulcanos nodded. The bottle wasn't actually that heavy, but its weight was still surprising, given its size and the material it was filled with. After all, the black liquid had to be very light to float.
Zeke took back the receptacle, which was about the size of his head. "This is an adventurer's bottle," he explained. "They have an enchantment which makes them about ten times bigger on the inside. But the more important part is that they have a function to suck in water.
"I've been told that it is supposed to be used to fill the bottle in a shallow stream. However, it is also perfect for collecting black liquid. With this suction level, we can compress it quite a bit."
Zeke grinned, very pleased with himself. Given how little he had actually known about the black liquid before coming here, he had been forced to improvise. Using their drinking bottles to both contain and compress the black liquid had been a stroke of genius.
Vulcanos nodded with a blank expression. It was clear that the big guy didn't fully understand, but the weight of the bottle seemed to have somewhat convinced him. Zeke wasn't sure about the exact quantity himself, but he suspected that each of the three bottles contained many times the amount of the fountain above.
After the third and final bottle started to struggle, Zeke stoppered it up. His gaze turned serious as he addressed the Chimeroi. "It's time. Do you know what to do?"
Both of them nodded.
"Alright, get going then."
***
Zeke remained below the lake, the three bottles clutched to his chest. The casual appearance from earlier was nowhere to be seen anymore. Now that he was alone, putting on a front was unnecessary. Of course, he had confidence in his plan, but that didn't mean it wasn't risky.
He hadn't lied when he told the Chimeroi he didn't consider himself brave. Ever since his first adventure with Viola, Zeke had known that he didn't enjoy the thrill of danger. He had even resolved himself to become a researcher instead.
"The right of the strong," Maximilian had called it. Zeke had not fully understood what his mentor meant then, but now he did. Possessing anything in this world was a privilege one had to be able to defend.
The Dragon had also told him something similar when they talked about the slaves. They did not have the strength to protect their freedom, so they served.
Zeke felt it was regrettable, but he didn't pity them. He could not afford to. After all, he would end up no different if his true talents were discovered before he was strong enough to defend himself.
A drowning man could not save anybody.
"Ready!" a voice called from outside the circle of shadows. It was Gravitas. This meant that they were in position. That was right. He was finally taking the first step towards gaining the strength he needed. After this, he would get Snow from the auction and leave this desert behind. One step at a time.
Zeke took a deep breath and cleared his mind. He could not afford any distractions now. He stood up, and with a running start, he tossed all three bottles in the direction of the voice with as much force as he could.
"GO!"