"Do you actually recognize this ghostly symbol?" Watching Longjing deftly press the buttons on the stone slab as if following a well-known routine, Aya was slightly surprised. "It seems bringing you along was somewhat useful after all."
"...Can't you sincerely praise me a little?" After pressing the final button and closing the stone slab back into the wall, Longjing took two steps back.
"Sorry, sorry. It seems like spending too much time with someone rubbed off on me." Aya waved her hand apologetically, wearing a mischievous smile that begged for a scolding.
As the correct password was entered, the stone wall began to slowly vibrate. The smooth wall first retreated a small distance inwards before rising upwards, revealing a passage behind it.
"This is quite unexpected. How was this done?" Aya carefully stepped inside and looked up at the ceiling after the stone wall had retracted. However, the seamless fit between the wall-cum-door and the ceiling gave no clues to any trickery.
Incredible. Based on the information gathered from Ayako and other members of the resistance over the past few days, Aya had formed some preliminary understanding of Morninglight. The most crucial point being that there was no presence of magic or chi-like energy in this world. Without such, it was hard to imagine anyone achieving this level of craftsmanship solely through mechanical means.
"So, is this considered a 'miracle' then?"
Glancing back at Longjing and Sakuya, Aya showed a hint of surprise and reverence, despite being somewhat mentally prepared. If even the locals viewed it this way, then Longjing was indeed heading in the right direction.
"From here on, let's maintain silence." Sakuya whispered, "We're not sure about the situation inside; it'll be troublesome if a battle breaks out. Longjing, you return to base."
"Huh? I wanted to give that old bad guy a beating myself… And in a hidden place like this, the old bad guy wouldn't have brought in many guards, right?" Longjing seemed unwilling, looking at Aya with anticipation.
"Ayako said that I'm in charge over here. We only have a few people, and we can't afford any risks." Sakuya patted the sword at her waist, leaving a statement before stepping into the passage.
Aya shrugged at Longjing, shook her head, and followed suit.
...Standing still for a while, Longjing finally vented by kicking a nearby small rock away, then turned and ran towards the cave's entrance.
Inside the passage, Aya saw a scene vastly different from the eroded cave exterior, one made of transparent, smooth crystals slowly changing from dark, rough rocks underfoot, above, and on the walls. Emitting a deep blue glow, the brightness surpassed that of the outside.
"Woah, this is amazing! So beautiful!"
"Stop staring; we don't know what's ahead... Hey?!" Sakuya tried to remind but found Aya tapping and feeling around, eventually stopping in front of a cluster of huge, transparent crystals, looking mesmerized, no different from a girl who just found her favorite pretty clothes and jewelry.
"Hurry up and move on, stop·staring·already!" Sakuya's face darkened.
"Just a moment, there aren't many large and beautiful crystals like these! Let me tap one... or at least touch a bit more! I don't want to leave!"
...But she was a Dragon, and moreover, in a situation where she had lost almost all treasures she had collected before being taken back home by the princess. In Aya's eyes, these dazzling and huge natural crystal formations probably equated to about ten princesses—just kidding, maybe five would suffice.
Ahem!
Finally, before Aya was forcefully dragged away by Shuuya, who had utilized the power of Qi scales to enhance his fists and smashed a small piece of treasure-like rock, Aya was reluctantly pulled forward.
As they walked deeper into the cave, the surrounding space became increasingly vast, yet the sights remained smooth crystal floors and walls, with clusters of cone-shaped crystals growing on the ground, intertwining in various colors, emitting a dazzling array of lights, appearing surreal and unreal.
"Sigh... I can't do this anymore. I'm afraid I can't resist the urge to pack up everything here and take it with me..."
Aya kept glancing around as they walked, like a child passing by a toy store or an otaku wandering between shelves filled with figurines.
"It's beautiful, but you need to focus!" Shuuya pressed on the hilt of his knife, almost tempted to use it to knock on Aya's head.
"Just kidding, just kidding," Aya quickly reassured Shuuya, though her wandering eyes around her didn't seem convincing, "But seriously, this massive crystal cave... and crystals covering almost every surface, doesn't seem like a natural formation."
"So, it's more like a miraculous presence, right?" Shuuya bit his lower lip.
"The way you're talking, it seems like you don't hold that deity in much reverence?" Aya tentatively asked.
The religion of Morninglight might be different from the Temple Church, the latter only leaving behind scriptures and countless legends of unknown veracity, whereas the former... if, in the perpetual night and the existence of threats from the shadows, the deity indeed created light and safety brought by the Sea Moon, the people's faith in the deity should be quite widespread.
Shuuya gave Aya a cold glance, making her think she had said something wrong. Just as she was about to change the subject, Shuuya responded to Aya's question on his own accord, "I... or rather, the 'Shadowchasers,' they don't believe in that deity."
The Shadowchasers, warriors who drove away the dark shapes, had been the main force combating the shadows before the appearance of the Sea Moon; even after their numbers decreased significantly after the Sea Moon appeared, they still roamed the country, driving away the small amount of dark shapes spawned in the shadows cast by the light of the Sea Moon.
Seeing Shuuya caressing the knife hilt, Aya widened her eyes after a moment, "Eh? Are you also one of those... uh, Shadowchasers?"
"...Your reaction is a bit slow," Shuuya said with a helpless look in his eyes, even though, using Aya's standard cold expression she was accustomed to, Aya still noticed the hint of resignation in his eyes.
"When you introduced yourself earlier, you mentioned a swordsman - nevermind, just forget it," Aya gestured to continue with the story.
The demand for Shadowchasers decreased after the appearance of the Sea Moon. To become a Shadowchaser and gain the strength to combat the dark shapes required unimaginably rigorous training, so they were no longer a tightly knit organization but more like scattered individuals.
For this reason, there was always an extremely low probability that in some places, dark shapes would attack remote villages without defenses and without anyone coming to their aid.
Unfortunately, Shuuya belonged to that extremely low probability group. The three leopard-like dark shapes that appeared suddenly were not formidable opponents to her now, but in that tiny village with only five households, they became death incarnate. With swift movements and sharp claws, her parents, who had only ever held farming and kitchen tools, were defenseless. From the appearance of the dark shapes to the settlement falling into a silence of death took less than ten minutes.
The still young Shuuya was hidden by her parents in the small cellar used to store winter food, but even she could not escape the dark shapes. Luckily, she was the last one to be found, hidden the deepest. As the young girl, huddled and listening to the continuous banging on the cellar door, wept in despair, the ringing of drawn blades finally silenced the roars of the dark shapes.
She waited for the passing shadowchasers, but no one else in the village was waiting anymore.
"Um… sorry…"
Aya touched her nose, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Hmm? Why apologize?" Sakuya looked at Aya strangely, "If it's about my past, there's no need to apologize. That was a long time ago."
At that moment, the passage finally came to an end.
Outside the passage was an astonishingly large circular hall, descending gradually from the periphery towards the center to form a conical pit, and the material was still entirely crystal.
Aya suddenly reached out and tapped Sakuya, pointing to the figure in a robe covering from head to toe at the bottom of the conical pit in the center of the hall, as if in devout prayer.
It's that guy!
Sakuya immediately recognized the robes worn by the High Priest, and in a place like this, it was hard to imagine anyone else being there besides the High Priest.
Based on Sakuya's experience, the High Priest's performance in the last assassination attempt was just that of an ordinary old man. In such near-fatal conditions, it was highly unlikely that he could put up much of a fight.
He could be knocked out and taken back directly.
Sakuya glanced at Aya, clenched her fist, made a striking gesture towards the High Priest, and then stealthily descended the passage's smooth crystal walls.
The crystal walls were very smooth, and with Sakuya's excellent skills in propulsion, her descent made almost no sound. Even with Aya's keen sense of hearing, it would be difficult to notice her without looking directly.
Everything was silent, only Sakuya being silently pulled by gravity towards the High Priest prostrating on the ground in prayer.
Ten meters, five meters, four meters, three meters… got him!
Without even using a weapon, Sakuya cleanly landed a punch on the High Priest's head, leaving even Aya, who was waiting above, stunned. Wasn't this too brutal? The force seemed to be aimed at splitting the target into pieces, like smashing a watermelon.
"Hey! Are you trying to beat him to death?!"
Since the ambush was successful, Aya no longer had to worry about being discovered. She leaped into the pit and swiftly arrived at the bottom. When she saw the fallen High Priest, her heart skipped a beat.
"Hey hey, his head is caved in... no hope, no hope. Weren't we supposed to capture him for interrogation? How can we get him to talk if he's dead..."
On the side, Sakuya clenched her fist, showing no remorse but instead a serious expression as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Something doesn't feel right."
"What do you mean?"
Before Aya could ask further, Sakuya had already torn off the robe covering the High Priest.
"Whoa! A puppet?"
It wasn't the chaotic scene of a head smashed to bits and covered in white, red debris as imagined. There was only a puppet with its head smashed into pieces on the ground.
The High Priest isn't here?
Aya also understood the reason for Sakuya's seriousness. That old man would not just idly place a puppet in the sect's holy site. The fact that this was a decoy meant their ambush had been completely anticipated.
