Chapter 644 - 631: To the castle

[Realm: álfheimr]

[Location: Dominion of Oz]

[Winkie Country]

They only needed to walk.

At least, that was all that remained for them to do.

The hordes of Deseruit Beasts surrounding them were no longer a concern worth considering. What had moments ago been an overwhelming gathering of them, with their countless bodies spread across the plains and their silhouettes filling the sky, had ceased to be an obstacle in any meaningful sense. General Magnus had already demonstrated the difference in strength between himself and the creatures unfortunate enough to approach them. Now, with the Divine General present, there was little reason for Mikoto to concern himself with the horde.

They had somewhere else to be.

Paimon’s blue eyes remained focused ahead as she moved alongside Mikoto. She occasionally caught glimpses of the destruction unfolding behind and around them, but she made a conscious effort not to become distracted by it. There was little point in watching every individual beast fall when they had already been given a considerably more important task.

Even so, it was difficult to ignore the sounds.

The distant shrieks of Deseruit Beasts continued to overlap with the heavier impacts of something striking the ground. Every so often, the air trembled, followed by the sound of another explosion somewhere behind them.

Then a dark blur passed overhead.

Paimon’s eyes instinctively followed it.

She barely managed to register the movement before a tremendous noise erupted across the plains.

BOOM!

The explosion was abrupt and forceful, its impact reaching them a moment after the initial sound. A powerful wave of compressed air swept across the surrounding terrain, stirring the grass and throwing loose soil into the air. The ground beneath the source of the impact was devastated, a sizeable crater forming where the force had struck.

Paimon briefly turned her head.

Through the dust, she caught sight of numerous Deseruit Beasts being sent flying.

Their bodies were thrown in every direction, some tumbling through the air before crashing against the ground, while others were carried much farther away by the force of the impact. A few collided with beasts unfortunate enough to be standing nearby, sending both bodies tumbling across the plains.

There was no particular distinction between the larger and smaller beasts.

Anything caught within the affected area was subjected to the same overwhelming force.

Paimon stared for a brief moment.

It was difficult to become accustomed to the way Magnus dealt with his opponents. The general had barely been summoned, yet he was already making short work of a horde that had seemed rather troublesome only moments earlier.

Still, Mikoto appeared entirely unconcerned.

"Come on."

His voice was calm, cutting through the noise without any particular effort.

He was already moving forward as the dust began to thin, apparently having decided that whatever happened behind them was no longer worth their attention.

He did not even bother looking back toward the destruction.

Instead, his red eyes shifted toward Echidna.

"Not you."

The sudden dismissal caused Echidna’s brows to furrow.

She had been preparing to follow when Mikoto addressed her, and the brief instruction was enough to make her pause. Her emerald eyes settled on him, her expression becoming slightly more guarded.

Mikoto, however, did not appear particularly interested in explaining himself at length.

"You can look for Gretel and Robert with Magnus once he’s finished dealing with this rabble," he continued. "There’s no reason for all of us to go in the same direction. Find them, make sure they’re accounted for, and then figure out where they need to go."

He did not wait for Echidna to respond.

The Mother of Monsters had barely had an opportunity to formulate a protest, let alone express whatever objection she might have had to being left behind, when Mikoto’s body suddenly shot forward.

The movement was immediate.

One moment, he was standing before them, the next, he had accelerated into a burst of speed that displaced the surrounding air.

His heavy sabatons barely seemed to touch the ground as he propelled himself forward. The movement carried him several meters away almost instantly.

Paimon’s eyes widened slightly.

She watched his figure rapidly recede into the distance.

"Oh..."

The sound escaped her almost absentmindedly.

For a moment, she remained where she was, looking between Mikoto’s rapidly diminishing figure and Echidna, who had been left behind with the enormous horde still scattered across the plains.

Paimon wasn’t entirely sure what she was supposed to say.

An apology seemed appropriate, although she couldn’t quite determine whether she was apologizing for leaving Echidna behind, for not being able to do anything about it, or simply because the entire arrangement felt a little inconsiderate.

She shifted her cloak, gathering the fabric enough to prevent it from interfering with her movements.

"Sorry?"

It came out somewhat uncertainly.

She gave Echidna a brief look, seemingly hoping that the small apology would be sufficient, before turning toward Mikoto’s distant figure.

Then she pushed off.

Her body shot forward in an intense sprint, her cloak trailing behind her as she rapidly began closing the distance. The movement was considerably less effortless than Mikoto’s initial acceleration, but she maintained a quick pace, carefully adjusting her stride to the uneven ground beneath her.

Behind them, Echidna remained with the Divine General and the scattered remnants of the Deseruit Beast horde.

Paimon couldn’t help feeling a little bad about it.

However, there wasn’t much she could do.

Her attention returned to the landscape ahead.

The plains began to blur around her.

The grass, the terrain, and the distant hills passed in increasingly indistinct streaks as she maintained her pace. Even the myriad Deseruit Beasts scattered throughout the surrounding area became little more than fleeting shapes in her peripheral vision.

Some were still moving toward them.

Others were already being torn apart.

Every so often, another dark shape would pass through the edge of her vision, followed by a distant impact or the unmistakable sound of something being struck with considerable force. The destruction continued behind them, but Paimon gradually stopped paying attention to it.

There was little reason to look back.

She had to keep up.

Fortunately, it didn’t take her particularly long to spot Mikoto again.

His figure had become considerably clearer ahead of her, and she quickly realized that he had slowed down enough for her to catch up. He was still running, however, maintaining a pace that allowed him to cover the ground without having to stop or expend any unnecessary effort.

Paimon adjusted her own speed.

Within moments, she had drawn alongside him.

The rushing air passed around them, and the landscape continued to stream by on either side.

Once she was close enough to speak without having to raise her voice excessively, Paimon turned her head toward him.

"Did we really have to leave her back there?"

Her question carried a little uncertainty.

She wasn’t arguing against the decision. There was a practical reason for splitting up, and she understood that much. Still, leaving Echidna alone with the Deseruit Beasts and Magnus seemed a little harsh, particularly when the Mother of Monsters had apparently been accompanying him for some time.

Paimon glanced briefly over her shoulder, although there was no longer much point in trying to see where they had left her.

"Couldn’t she have come with us? I mean, I understand that Magnus is there to deal with the Deseruit Beasts, but it still feels a little strange to leave her behind without even giving her much of a chance to say anything."

She looked forward again.

"Not that I particularly want to slow us down. I just feel a little bad about it."

"I’m not gonna carry her across this whole place," Mikoto answered.

He didn’t even look back.

"Besides, we can cover more ground this way."

There was little hesitation in his explanation.

Mikoto continued running, his gaze fixed ahead as he navigated the terrain. He didn’t seem particularly concerned about whether Echidna would be offended by his decision, nor did he appear to believe that leaving her behind would cause any genuine difficulty.

From his perspective, it was a practical arrangement.

Echidna was perfectly capable of looking after herself, Magnus was more than sufficient to deal with the Deseruit Beasts, and carrying her across the plains would only slow him down.

There was no reason to complicate things.

Paimon considered his answer.

"Makes sense, I guess."

She didn’t argue.

It was difficult to find a reasonable objection to what he had said, particularly when she had an inkling that Mikoto wasn’t exactly the sort of person who would willingly inconvenience himself without a good reason.

Still, she couldn’t entirely shake the feeling that Echidna might not appreciate being left behind in such a manner.

Paimon briefly looked toward the distant landscape behind them.

("I hope she doesn’t take it too personally.")

The thought lingered for only a moment.

There wasn’t much time to dwell on it, because something began to take shape ahead.

At first, it was little more than a dark outline in the distant landscape. Its proportions were difficult to make out from where they were, but its size gradually became apparent as they continued approaching.

Paimon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The structure stood apart from the surrounding terrain.

It was enormous.

Its silhouette resembled that of a castle, with a sprawling arrangement of walls and elevated sections that gave it the general appearance of a fortified building. Yet, even from a considerable distance, something about it seemed distinctly wrong.

It looked decrepit.

The structure’s outer surface appeared worn and discolored, with large portions bearing the dull appearance of old tin. Some sections seemed to have deteriorated considerably, while others appeared partially damaged or distorted. Its overall shape was still recognizable as something resembling a castle, but there was little of the grandeur one might normally associate with such a building.

It looked as though it had been left to decay for a very long time.

And despite its condition, it remained standing.

Paimon continued looking at it as they approached.

The closer they came, the more details she could make out, and the less ordinary the structure seemed.

Its construction was strange, to say the least.

It was certainly not the kind of building she would have expected to encounter in the middle of such a desolate region.

Both Mikoto and Paimon gradually reduced their speed.

Their strides shortened.

The distance between them and the structure continued to close until they finally came to a halt. Their feet scraped against the ground as they skidded to a stop, displacing a small amount of dirt before settling into place.

For a brief moment, neither spoke.

They simply looked toward the enormous, decrepit castle.

Mikoto’s attention was focused on the structure, his red eyes seemingly following something that Paimon couldn’t perceive. His expression had become slightly more attentive than before, though there was still little outward indication of what he was thinking.

Then he spoke.

"Now that I’m close enough, I can somewhat make out Goiim’s presence again."

Paimon immediately turned toward him.

The statement caught her attention more effectively than the sight of the castle itself.

"You can?"

She looked back at the structure.

"She’s in there?"

Her eyes travelled across the building’s exterior, attempting to identify some indication of where Goiim might be. Unfortunately, the castle was large enough that even determining where its entrance might be proved difficult.

"She’s in this... tin castle?"

Paimon tilted her head.

She examined the structure more carefully, her expression gradually shifting into one of mild bewilderment.

It was certainly an unusual choice of material for a castle.

Tin.

Of all the materials someone could have used to construct a building of this size, tin was certainly one of them.

Not that she could deny the structure had a certain uniqueness to it. It was just difficult to understand why anyone would choose to build something resembling a castle out of such a material, especially when the result looked as though it had spent an unreasonable amount of time deteriorating in the open.

Her gaze travelled upward, taking in its towering silhouette.

"What’s she doing in there?"

The question was directed toward Mikoto, although she didn’t particularly expect him to have an answer.

"Beats me," Mikoto murmured.

He continued looking toward the castle.

There was no particular interest in his voice, but his attention had clearly become more focused. Whatever he was sensing, it seemed to be coming from somewhere within the structure.

"Though it’s faint, I can also sense two others of significance."

Paimon looked at him again.

"Two others?"

Mikoto’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"One feels like a collection of mana. The other is... a different kind of power."

He paused briefly, seemingly trying to distinguish the two presences from one another.

Neither appeared to be entirely ordinary.

He didn’t elaborate much further.

Instead, his gaze shifted toward Paimon.

"Try not to be stupid."

The remark was delivered plainly.

Paimon blinked.

The instruction was rather blunt, but she knew better than to mistake it for an invitation to argue.

Whatever was waiting inside the castle, Mikoto clearly didn’t want her doing anything reckless. Still, before she could offer any response, Mikoto had already turned his attention back toward the structure.

He began walking.

Paimon followed immediately.

They approached it together.

There were no strangely elaborate defenses surrounding the entrance, nor were there any doors barring their path.

In fact, the absence of doors was perhaps the first thing Paimon found particularly unusual.

For a structure that resembled a castle, she would have expected some form of entrance designed to control access. A large gate, perhaps, or even a set of heavy doors that could be closed to prevent unwanted visitors from entering.

There was nothing of the sort.

The way inside was simply open.

Mikoto did not hesitate.

He crossed the threshold, and Paimon followed closely behind.

Their surroundings changed as they entered.

The open plains and distant hills disappeared behind the structure’s walls, replaced by the enclosed interior of the castle. Their footsteps carried into the space, producing echoes that travelled through the otherwise quiet chamber.

It was expansive.

Considerably more so than Paimon had expected from the outside.

They found themselves inside a large chamber constructed almost entirely from rusted tin. Its walls, floor, and surrounding surfaces possessed the same dull, weathered appearance as the exterior, with discoloration and signs of deterioration visible throughout.

There were no decorations or elaborate furnishings. No statues, paintings, banners, or other ornaments that might have suggested the chamber had once served some important purpose.

Nothing particularly distinguished it from the rest of the structure.

Paimon’s gaze moved across the room.

The silence was noticeable.

After the constant noise of the Deseruit Beasts outside, the quietness within the castle felt unnatural.

And so, with Mikoto leading the way and Paimon following close behind, the two continued farther into the strange structure.