Chapter 246 - The Battle for Migul and the Events at City Hall
City Hall stood atop a hill roughly fifty meters high. On its south side was a wide stone staircase, about twenty meters across, flanked by stone pillars at regular intervals. Additionally, winding, ramp-like access roads led up from the north, south, east, and west.
From the shadow of a building, Riley and I observed the southern staircase. A wide road extended from the base of the stairs, leading toward a distant, triumphal arch-like structure. About twenty soldiers stood guard at both the top and bottom of the stairs.
"So? Should we go?"
Riley grinned, extending her claws. The sound, however, echoed more than I expected. I hastily grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her deeper into the shadows.
"'Should we go?!' What are you planning to do against that many?"
"Hah? Well, what's your plan then?"
Challenged by Riley, I cautiously peeked out to check the area again. The soldiers didn't seem to have noticed us. The hill was covered in trees, and while the slope was steep, it looked climbable. However, it wasn't a prepared path. Just walking would make the sound of crunching leaves. If we slipped or grabbed a branch and shook the trees, we'd be spotted in an instant.
"A frontal assault is our only option. You take the top ten, I'll take the bottom ten. Let's decide who gets who."
For some reason, Riley looked thrilled.
"Stop joking."
My flat reply made her shrug.
"What? Getting scared?"
"Yeah, I'm scared."
Riley frowned at me.
"Whoa, don't mumble like that… Look, they're just more of those heavily armored soldiers from before. I don't think breaking through will be that hard."
"We don't know the situation inside City Hall. If we run into more soldiers in there, we'll be caught in a pincer attack."
The smoke that had been rising from the building had mostly subsided, revealing soot-stained marble walls. It looked like a sinister demon's lair.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you, no matter what happens."
Riley clapped my shoulder and grinned.
"Don't. I'm not planning on sacrificing you."
Still, I couldn't think of any other options. The site of the grand cathedral that Racshell had destroyed was now a gaping crater. Trying to climb that cliff would leave us completely exposed.
"Guess we wait for night…"
I mumbled with a sigh. But it felt like the more time we wasted, the worse the situation would become. As Ilisarie had said, the takeover was likely already complete. The option of slipping in amidst the chaos was gone. We couldn't handle this on our own. Levante was probably with Marina, but I had no idea where they were hiding. I thought of Cecily and Aira, but if they were somewhere safe, I didn't want to drag them into this. The only other fighting force I could rely on was Avea's group at the Mateo Trading Company and Karpana's Wandering People. I didn't want to involve any of them. But my options for breaking this stalemate were limited.
"You want to get into City Hall?"
Startled by a voice from behind, Riley and I spun around. Standing there was Ilisarie. While I stood there dumbfounded, Riley moved in a flash, pressing the tip of her claw against the woman's throat. Ilisarie glanced down for a second before turning her attention back to me.
"How did you find me?"
She smiled faintly and tapped her own wrist.
"This bracelet…"
I looked down at the metal band on my wrist, then scanned our surroundings. She was alone. Riley, still holding her blade to Ilisarie's throat, glanced back and forth between us.
"Who is this woman?"
"An enemy."
"What?"
Riley's voice was filled with confusion.
"You thought she was an enemy, that's why you have your claws at her throat, right?!"
"But she smells like you. And the scent that was on you…"
She's sharp. I cursed inwardly. Fam also had a sense of smell far superior to any human's. Maybe it was a trait of beast-kin. I should probably wash this scent off before I see Fam again. While I was thinking this, Ilisarie started walking. The claw grazed her neck, drawing a trickle of blood, but she paid it no mind.
"Hey!"
Before I could stop her, she strode out into the open street and turned back to us.
"You should follow me."
She tilted her chin up slightly and smiled.
Ilisarie's face was apparently well-known to the soldiers. As soon as they saw her, they lowered their spear tips and bowed their heads. Riley and I followed her up the stone steps.
"This land was originally a lush forest."
Ilisarie paused halfway up the stairs and looked back. I stopped and turned as well. Here and there within the city, sparks were still rising. Beyond the city, a great plain stretched out, the same plain that now continued all the way to Heilong. It was a land of great bounty, with a kingdom of earth dragons living beneath it. Ilisarie gestured for us to continue, and we resumed our climb. The steps were higher than they looked, but they were wide, perhaps to prevent people from tumbling down. There were landings at regular intervals as well.
"House Leafclout originally ruled this land. Then, an elven adventurer named Mama Marmi Mam Starunion arrived. Her companions included a human, a dwarf, a dog-eared person… was there a cat-eared one, too? Anyway, she settled here with her strange group. And they built a fortress on this land."
"Wait, is this the story of Okita Soji?"
"This is much older than that."
Mama was Marmie's ancestor, but since elves live for over a thousand years, perhaps she wasn't such a distant relative after all. We passed between the rows of stone pillars and approached City Hall. The scent of burnt material and the thick smell of blood wafted from the open doors. Ilisarie entered the building without a hint of concern. Riley, walking beside me, pinched her nose and shot me a look, her brow furrowed.
"Are we really going in there?"
"Yeah, I need to see what's going on inside."
We stepped into the building. The space was vast. The ceiling was dozens of meters high—the very place Racshell had brought me to before. Lying on the floor, arranged at regular intervals like dolls, were bodies. Most of them were not in armor. They must have been senators and the staff who worked at City Hall. Riley and I gasped, frozen in place.
"The corpses of the house heads aren't here. They're in the back."
Ilisarie turned and gestured for us to follow.
"This is temporary. We'll burn them after we've confirmed their identities."
Hearing this, Riley glanced at me again. Even for her, who seemed accustomed to battle, this must have been a new sight. I, too, felt a renewed sense that this was war, but I was more detached than when I fought Mii's group or the pirates. Come to think of it, I hadn't even flinched when Riley stabbed that soldier earlier. Perhaps I was becoming numb to how easily people died. I followed her wordlessly.
Ilisarie stopped in front of a stone statue. It was of a cat-eared girl with long hair.
"She is the founder of the church in this region. The cat-eared girl I mentioned."
Ilisarie's voice was devoid of any particular emotion.
"…She wasn't human?"
"Until the current Empire's influence grew stronger, priests weren't chosen based on race. To hide that fact, she was moved from the cathedral to this place. Thanks to that, she was spared the goddess's strike."
We passed the statue and approached a door in the back. Two guards stood there, but upon seeing her, they immediately opened it. We proceeded deeper inside.
"The dog-eared man Mama brought with her was an exceptional warrior. No, not just in battle—he never lost a single political struggle. With his powerful backing, House Starunion, inheritors of Mama's blood, replaced House Leafclout as one of the four ruling houses of this land."
Ilisarie then chuckled as if remembering something.
"Come to think of it, Mama was an exile from the Great Forest."
Another pair of guards stood at a door at the end of the hallway. Unlike the others, these two wore light armor. They were elves with long ears. They did not automatically open the door when they saw Ilisarie. When she glared at them, the guards exchanged a look.
"Even for you, we cannot allow you to pass."
Ilisarie scoffed at their words.
"On whose authority do you think this rebellion is succeeding?"
"Isn't the man behind you Mash, the otherworld hero?"
I was slightly surprised that my name was known even to common soldiers like these.
"I have no intention of answering. Let us through."
Overwhelmed by her forceful tone, the guards opened the door. She gave a small wave, almost like a greeting, and proceeded inside. It was a cylindrical stone room, perhaps twenty meters wide, with a high ceiling. The center was raised like an altar.
"Who are you?"
My voice echoed, seeming to multiply within the room. As if confirming the acoustics, Ilisarie looked up at the ceiling. It, too, was made of white marble. The room was devoid of any decorations like frescoes.
"You know of the Great Forest, don't you?"
I nodded. It was the forest at the western edge of the world where the Elven Elder lived. On our boat journey to this city, we had met Marmie, who was on her way back from a visit there.
"I am here on the Elder's authority."
"So, the Elven Elder and House Leafclout have joined forces to bring down House Starunion? Why would those from the far west meddle in the politics of a remote city like this?"
What I had thought was a city coup was actually part of an internal conflict among the entire elven race.
"Because you came to this city and changed the situation, of course, Mash."
She pointed to the top of the pedestal. Looking up, I saw a circular stone tablet, twice my height. Carved into it was the face of an old man, his expression one of pure rage. There was a hole in his mouth, large enough to fit an arm.
"What is this…?"
"It is a sacred item used in the secret rituals of the dog-eared race. Isn't this what you were searching for, Mash? The jar of holy oil, the staff, and this stone tablet that were inside the Ark."
I gasped, staring at the tablet.
"This is… it? I was certainly looking for the two tablets from the legends of my world… But the priest in Nielen said it was a 'mirror'."
I had assumed the 'two' referred to a combination of the tablet Akizuki Uta possessed and Fam's special skill, Yata no Kagami. We had been chasing Isaac, who had taken the mirror from Uta's coffin. Ilisarie ignored my words and brandished a sword that had been placed before the tablet. Its gleaming blade was engraved with a pattern of characters.
'God is one, shapeless, yet possessing spirit.'
It was the same kind of sword Akizuki Uta had held, the same kind Racshell had given to Mizuki.
"We, too, are collecting these sacred items."
"For what purpose?"
"To seal away the calamity that you people will bring."
Ilisarie thrust the blade into the mouth of the stone tablet. The tablet erupted in a blinding light, then began to shrink, its form changing. Soon, it took the shape of a bronze mirror that could be held in two hands. To be precise, its gleam suggested it wasn't bronze but some other metal. I couldn't tell what it was made of, but its luster was similar to orichalcum, like gold. Eventually, the light converged into the mirror itself. A faint smile on her lips, Ilisarie lifted the mirror. She smiled at her own reflection.
"You… you started all this chaos just to get your hands on this thing? Was it worth building a mountain of corpses at the entrance for this?"
Ilisarie laughed at my words.
"How hurtful. I am trying to stop the conflict among you otherworld heroes, and even trying to let you have children. Do you have any idea how high a mountain of corpses you heroes have built? The number of people killed by the transfers from a hundred years ago far exceeds the number of bodies here. And considering the calamity that is to come, I am, in fact, keeping the casualties to a minimum."
Once again, Ilisarie led us away. We were now descending a staircase, walking through a basement. There were bloodstains here and there, evidence of a fierce battle. Riley, next to me, leaned in close.
"Hey, this woman is insane. It'd be better for this city if we just killed her here."
"And do what? We have no way to escape from here."
Riley clicked her tongue at my response.
"We can figure that out after we kill her."
Either Ilisarie couldn't hear us, or she was pretending not to, as she continued walking. The smell of blood that had assaulted my nose when we entered City Hall was growing stronger again. When she finally stopped, there were two mounds on the stone floor, each covered with a cloth. The mounds were unmistakably human-shaped. Beyond them was a prison cell, and inside, an elven man hung from the ceiling, bound by chains. Even through his clothes, I could see cuts and stab wounds, and the blood dripping from them had formed a pool at his feet.
"Augustus!"
I ran forward and shouted, but he hung limply, not responding. I slammed my fists against the iron bars again and again, but there was no reaction. Just as I was about to hit them harder, Riley grabbed my arm.
"Calm down. Weren't you looking for a woman?"
I didn't know how to answer. I just glared at Ilisarie. Her gaze fell upon the two mounds on the floor.
"The heads of each house. We will behead them and display them throughout the city."
I choked back a gasp and fell to my knees. With a trembling hand, I pulled away one of the cloths. Beneath it was the figure of an old dwarf.
"No… Katarjina… Skynorth…"
I held a hand to Katarjina's mouth. He wasn't breathing. I was supposed to deliver a message from his granddaughter, Petra. But I could never tell him now. And I was supposed to learn the legends of the dwarves from him. But I could never hear them now. My whole body shook as tears streamed down my cheeks. Forgetting to wipe them away, I reached for the second cloth. My sense of distance was skewed; I couldn't quite grasp it. For some reason, it felt incredibly far away. Maybe my hand will never reach it. I don't want to know. I want to keep reaching forever. But my hand found the cloth. I was terrified to lift it. But I had to know. That's why I had come here. My chest tightened. My head throbbed. It felt as if the blood had stopped flowing in my veins. I had forgotten how to breathe. I could feel my body growing unnaturally cold. Steeling myself, I flipped the cloth over. I stared at the face lying there, my eyes widening. It was a man.
"Same Wanland…?"
It was Marianne's uncle, the man who had ruled House Wanland until just the other day. It wasn't Marianne who had been killed. I let out a long sigh of relief, but Augustus didn't look alive, and Katarjina and Same were dead. A storm of complex emotions raged in my mind, turning my thoughts to chaos.
"So, Zeno failed to kill the dog-eared chieftain… Same is still the de facto ruler, but Marianne is beloved by the people. This could get tricky."
Ilisarie, who had been peering over my shoulder, muttered.
"Don't you dare! Is that all you have to say after murdering people?!"
I swung my elbow at her face. She swiftly ducked to avoid it. I pursued, throwing a punch at her, but she dodged that too, and I took a knee to the stomach. A sharp pain shot through me, and the contents of my stomach threatened to come up. I desperately fought back the nausea and crumpled to the ground. Ilisarie didn't press the attack, merely looked down at me with cold eyes.
"You—!"
As I started to yell, her mouth fell open and her eyes widened in shock. Riley's claws were protruding from her chest.
"Kah…"
Blood trickled from Ilisarie's chest and mouth.
"I just got to this city, so I don't know the whole situation. But your face, the way you talk… it's been pissing me off. I should have just killed you from the start."
When Riley withdrew her claws, Ilisarie collapsed. The mirror rolled across the floor, lost momentum, wobbled, and then spun faster before coming to a stop. Riley picked up the mirror and handed it to me.
"You're done identifying the bodies you wanted to see, right? This place is making me sick. Let's get out of here."
I took Riley's shoulder to help myself up.
"Wait, we have to rescue Augustus!"
"Give it up. We don't have time to rescue him. Besides, we can't escape carrying him. He'll just slow us down."
"If I abandon him, I'll never be able to face Marina and Moos."
Riley sighed at my words.
"All that ever comes out of your mouth are women's names!"