Chapter 43: Test of Faith VI

As soon as the command was given, a construct lunged directly toward her.

Despite being a full-fledged Mage, Charlotte was surprisingly agile. She stepped aside and drove her blade through its body.

The attack did little more than disturb the water inside, but her sword began glowing bright red, boiling the thing’s form from within and causing its body to seize.

"Now!"

Three Lowenhardt Knights surged up immediately. They did the exact same, plunging their swords into the construct before their blades began heating up as well.

With the combined force of four people, the construct tore apart faster than it could reform, reducing it to an ordinary puddle across the street.

More emerged behind it, but Charlotte did not waste a beat.

"Next!"

’The very fact that Lady Charlotte agreed to become engaged to Young Master Rian was a miracle from above...’

Nadine guided the broom into a steep descent, where both women hopped off to regroup with the others.

Rosalia looked upward just as they landed beside the fountain. "Alicia! What happened to the Baron?!"

"Unfortunately...he has perished," she frowned, lifting the contents of his safe instead. "But I recovered what little I could."

Alicia handed the contents to Rosalia, then immediately turned around and started towards the Upper Banks.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Felix Rosenheim, that was my next immediate mission after all."

"Don’t bother. I’ve got eyes all over the city, and none of them spotted him." Rosalia sighed. "Either he escaped through some alternate route, or he’s hiding until everything blows over."

"He didn’t escape."

Charlotte’s voice came from behind the barricade. She pulled her sword free from another construct before leaving the remaining enemies to her Knights.

Hurrying back toward the fountain, she stopped to catch her breath before continuing. "I found the property records Rian asked for. There are discrepancies everywhere."

Rosalia frowned. "What kind of discrepancies?"

"Warehouses that officially haven’t been used in years still receive maintenance funds. Abandoned estates consume enough lamp oil to house dozens of people. Several properties near the riverside have also undergone renovations without submitting construction permits."

Charlotte spread one of the records across the edge of the fountain. Most of the page had been filled with property names and ownership transfers, but she had drawn a line connecting several marked locations.

It began at a warehouse near the port, then continued beneath the Upper Banks, before finally arriving at a house at the edge of the city facing the direction of the crystal mines.

All properties owned by Felix Rosenheim or Baron Eisenbran.

"The properties form a continuous route between the city and the crystal mines," Charlotte said. "I sent people to check it out...lo’ and behold.’

Alicia understood the implications instantly. "That meant the citizens were moved underground..."

"And if Felix hasn’t appeared anywhere in the city," Alicia continued, "then he may have used those very same tunnels."

Her gaze moved toward the distant mountain. "Then he’s in the mines. The connections between them are obvious."

"He’s done for."

Charlotte nodded, yet something about the course of action didn’t quite make sense in her eyes. "Why would Felix escape through those tunnels because of this event? Does that mean whatever is happening is related to him?"

No one answered, because frankly, it was none of their expertise.

Well, except one.

They all turned toward the Witch of Black Ice, who remained silent throughout their entire discussion. She stood beside the fountain, staring down at the water trembling inside its basin.

"I’ve had a theory for a while..."

Several thin streams rose from the fountain and curcled around her fingers. Their normally clear color had become dark and murky, with traces of foreign mana mixed within.

"These constructs...might’ve come from the Spirit World."

Rosalia stepped closer. "What does that mean?"

"Someone has forcefully opened a passage to the Spiritual World," she explained. "I’ve read in a few excerpts...of only one Spirit that is able to do something like this."

But as the conversation continued, Alicia suddenly realized where all the dots were connected. The dispute, the missing citizens, Felix nowhere to be seen...

It all led up to one place.

"The mines."

RUMBLE—!

The ground swayed under them as cracks spread across the central square, toppling several civilians and causing the surrounding buildings to fray

Then, every construct in the surrounding streets stopped moving. Their faceless heads turned towards the port.

One after another, their bodies collapsed. But rather than splashing harmlessly onto the ground, the water composing them began flowing through the streets in the same direction.

Citizens screamed as an enormous silhouette began to take shape. A gigantic head with gaping jaws large enough to swallow an entire ship emerged. Afterwards, a serpentine neck rose higher than the surrounding buildings while the river itself became part of its body.

The pressure that descended upon Eisenbran forced nearly everyone in the square to their knees in an instant. Alicia drove her dagger into the ground to remain upright.

"What...is that?"

"It’s not a construct," Nadine stared at the thing, her face having gone completely pale.

The watery serpent continued rising, revealing a body that seemed to stretch endlessly beneath the port.

"Then what is it?!" Charlotte demanded. "How the hell can something like this exist in Eisenbran?"

The creature opened its mouth. With a single roar, the sheer force created tidal waves, shattering every remaining window in the square.

"That’s a Disaster Spirit," Nadine said, even if her voice was lost under the chaos. "Leviathan, the antithesis of Undyne."

"What should we do?!" Rosalia yelled, just barely hanging onto one of the wagons nearby. "There’s no way we can beat that thing!"

Nadine examined the creature for a while, only to realize a certain fact. She spoke up immediately. "If the Disaster Spirit were really here, we would already be dead by now!"

"So you mean that thing’s only a partial manifestation?"

"Yes."

"That doesn’t answer the question!" Rosalia demanded. "What the hell are we supposed to do about this?!"

Yet, instead of answering Rosalia, the Witch of Black Ice suddenly turned toward Alicia.

"If my hunch is right, your Young Master is currently at the center of it all."

"...What?"

"He needs your help," Nadine nodded. "Most likely, this is a sacrificial contract made to summon Leviathan. There’s only one person here with enough authority to gain the resources required to do so..."

"Felix Rosenheim," she concluded. "He’s behind all of this. He’s likely the same as me, trying to contract a powerful spirit."

"And Rian is currently trying to stop him...alone."

Grabbing onto the shaft of her broom, Nadine threw it toward Alicia’s direction. The young maid caught it, staring back-and-forth between the owner and the object.

"I’ll handle it here," she paused, looking toward the thing. "Actually, I think I’m the only one who can..."

With a simple sentence, Nadine set the final act into motion. The fate of Rian Rosenheim...was in the hands of his own maid.

"Go save your Young Master."