Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

17. The Lost Voice

"I'm going to blow it up," Blake said as he stood in front of the steel door, prepared to destroy it with his flames.

"Be careful..." I said in hushed tones.

We took a step back since it had the potential to demolish the debris surrounding us. Then we'll teleport back to the surface with Scylla as soon as we get her out of the cage that she was in. I'm positive that Freya has already figured out a means to get her out of the jail since she seems to be confident. Alright, I will have to depend on them to do everything as swiftly as possible. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat as I kept a close eye on Blake. Oh my god, what a shitshow. He wouldn't waste all of his strength on a little door, would he...?

"Here we go..." he muttered as he made the door burst open.

Actually, he incinerated the door along with the walls surrounding the room...

"How much money will the damage cost us?" I whispered to Dylan, trying to tease Blake because I knew he could hear me.

"We'll sell Blake to pay all of them," Dylan replied as he chuckled, shaking his head a little. Blake glared at us when he heard us, but he didn't retort back.

When we walked inside the room, Scylla seemed to be terrified. What...? There were blood splatters all over the place! I was paying close attention to the details in this room earlier to ensure that I would remember everything about it. And now I can totally smell something different. Well, aside from the scent of blood. It was like that of a person's musty odor. Those kinds of things would never pass undetected while I'm around.

I subtly looked around, pretending that I was curious about the details and the blood splatter. But in reality, I was just trying to find the one who was hiding in this chamber. It shouldn't have been possible for someone to get away since we would have seen if someone was moving about. Given Freya's ability to detect even the smallest movements inside the dungeon, nothing could have gotten past us. Her versatility is amazing...

"Dylan..." I said in hushed tones. "I'm able to move now, but please don't put me down just yet."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you when I am more certain."

Right after I told him about it, I felt something moving behind us all of a sudden. The person stood near the steel door, attempting to blend into the background. It seems that I was the only one who observed since everyone else seemed to be concentrating on removing the lock from Scylla's cage. They were being cautious since it electrocuted everyone who came into contact with it.

My gaze met Scylla's, and I was able to confirm that there was someone around this room. This is most likely their last-ditch effort to extricate us from this dungeon. It's too unfortunate for them since I'm here to put a stop to their schemes. When I became aware of someone's presence moving from behind me, I reached for my katanas with caution. Dylan already had them in his possession, so he casually put them in my hands.

Dylan threw me a quick glance, but nothing else came out of his mouth. My guess is that he was aware of what was going on at this point, but he chose to act as if nothing was amiss. Similarly, I pretended to feel sleepy to avoid arousing suspicion from the person. Heh, it looks like my acting is rather believable at this point. Despite this, I didn't let my guard down for too long. Perhaps that individual is plotting something truly heinous against the four of us.

And then I felt them fast approaching. I leaped out of the way before the person's blades could reach me, using Dylan's hands as leverage. I held him down with my knees while placing my katanas on each side of his head, close to his neck. I grinned when I saw him quivering, which indicated that he was willing to submit to my authority. However, I had to tell Freya to tie his legs and wrists to prevent him from fleeing from the situation.

"You can take care of the interrogation," Freya told me as she went back to Scylla's cage.

I let out a sigh. "Alright."

To be quite honest, I really wanted to speak with Scylla. I saw her looking at me as if she wanted to talk, but she remained silent. There are plenty of things that I wanted to ask her, and she seemed like she badly wanted to have a conversation with me as well. Alright! If that's the case, then I'll have to have this questioning finished as soon as possible.

"Talk. Now." I sat in his stomach while the blade of one of my katanas was directed at his neck.

"I'm ready to talk! Please put it away!" the guy yelled out in pain as he trembled at the sight of my sword.

It looked like a crystallized blossom had formed at the end of the blade. It was beautiful, but it will allow this guy to face certain death if he does not speak out quickly. He was wriggling and thrashing his head as he tried to break away from me, but the binding spell was too powerful for him to overcome. He was rendered helpless under me, unable to even speak.

"That's my dream..." I heard Blake mumbling from behind. And then a series of pained groans followed. Freya and Dylan probably hit him for not focusing. I also lost mine because of what he said!

"If you don't speak out, this is going to blow up in your face, so if I were you...I wouldn't spend time fretting," I told the guy who tried to assassinate us.

His mouth dropped as he fixed his gaze on the flower. "I...I'm going to speak. I am one of the NPCs in this dungeon that is identical to my twin," he started as he gazed at me with a look of utter terror on his face.

"And?"

"Orca has placed an order with my sister. He told her to resurrect the serpent, which had been charged with protecting Scylla. Someone was plotting to take her away from this place, it would seem. Because of that, the snake took on her appearance and concealed her. They suddenly held my sister captive, and I was tasked to kill Scylla in exchange for her life. You three were in the way! Because my sister's life was on the line...I had to kill you as well."

"Your sister has passed away. When the serpent transformed, it was able to kill her. We carried her body back with us, and we want to give her a befitting burial when we return to the surface of the planet." I felt bad for him because I knew exactly what happened to the twin he was talking about. But I had to be blunt about it.

I'm baffled as to why she died, however. She should have been able to withstand such a situation! To my knowledge, there are strong protective barriers in place for NPCs. That is until a god, or one of the three kings intervenes to stop it from working. But they wouldn't have any incentive to do such a thing, now, would they?

"What do you mean...?" he muttered as he stared at me as if pleading with me to stop whatever I was doing. "Please don't make light of the situation..."

"It's true," I told him with an impassive expression.

Dylan sighed as he took him to where we placed his sister's corpse. His agonizing cries could be heard throughout the dungeon. It came after a period of stillness during which a slew of recollections flooded back into my consciousness. It brought back memories of the way I sobbed when my parents passed away...

I sighed as I walked up to Scylla, pretending that I hadn't heard his cries at the time. She was still chained up because a spell had been cast on the chains that held her captive. It seemed as if there was no way to get rid of them. Was the spell really so powerful? The fact that Scylla's safety is at risk means that we cannot just destroy it. I wouldn't want to hurt her by forcing the cage open.

Scylla smiled as she sat properly. "This is fine. It is not possible for me to return to the surface since I am unable to exit this dungeon. This dungeon will be my home for the rest of eternity, and I have no choice but to stay. That is my punishment for bringing down the naval fleets of the three kings..."

My brows furrowed out of confusion. What is it, exactly? Is it true that there were naval fleets in this place? So then, does this indicate that the three kings functioned as a form of the regime in this area? Their fleets must have been destroyed because of Scylla's doing. If that was the case, then that means she's likely to be a member of the resistance that Yuki was involved in. I mean, Scylla acted like she was familiar with Yuki's identity.

I let out a sigh. "I see. Then it's fine. We will not compel you to accompany us if you do not like to do so. You will, however, be required to share everything you know about Artemia's past with us."

She blinked twice in response. "Yuki, what are you talking about...?"

"I'm not Yuki. My name is Ivory, and I'm a resident of a parallel realm to the one we're currently in."

"Such knowledge is incomprehensible to me. Why do you look so much like Yuki if you are not her? Your voice sounds exactly like her as well! Even your behaviors are identical to one another. I'm afraid I cannot understand..."

She seemed to be genuinely perplexed, but we just did not have enough time. I informed her of what was now going on outside, which caused her to become bewildered. It seems that she has been imprisoned for an extended period of time. Ah, she's completely unaware of anything that transpired after she was imprisoned. We can still acquire some information from her, albeit it may take some time.

"Tell me about Yuki," I said in a firm voice.

Scylla sighed upon hearing my words. "It was well known that Yuki was the princess of Artemia, a divinity who was revered by the people. However, an evil curse has kept her from ruling over the three kings..."

"Can you tell me about the curse?" I asked since she seemed to be stumbling about the events inside her head.

As she talked, I became more agitated, unable to keep my curiosity at bay. It was getting impossible to resist the impulse to force her to spit everything out because of the way she pronounced those things in a long, deliberate manner. The anticipation is driving me insane! I groaned and fanned myself as I glanced at her, my face flushed because of the suspense for whatever she had to say.

"Please, just tell us..." I uttered, almost begging.

"A curse that transforms individuals into statues, slowly murdering them as they are transformed into a work of art that can never be destroyed was unleashed back then. The Curse of Lapiz, an Artemian, is a curse that stemmed out of anger. After being slain by a stone that was rolling downhill, a curse emerged from his dead body as he could not believe what caused his death. Yuki and other warriors attempted to fix the leyline disorder. Following the resolution of the dilemma, the curse manifested itself and inhabited Yuki's body. She was afflicted by the curse and was destined to die within a few years, yet she refused to give up and continued to lead the resistance. It was the driving element behind my decision to join their ranks."

However, there is something that needs to be revealed about Yuki that I have to figure out. I have the impression that we were missing something. My inability to put my finger at whatever it was was bothering the heck out of me. I believe the kings are keeping something from us that is of importance to Yuki as well, but I do not think we will be able to get it through Scylla.

"But why is there a revolt in the first place? What was the motivation for their conflict?"

That was the question, and it is one that desperately needs to be addressed. Yuki's final objective must be revealed to me now that I have learned who she is. Afterward, we'll try to figure out why everyone was exterminated from the planet. Perhaps we can use this as leverage to persuade the three kings into allowing us to escape from this dimension alive and well.

Even when Scylla attempted to speak, no words came out of her lips. Muttering everything she could think of while holding onto her neck was all she could manage. We even leaned in closer to hear what she was saying, but there was nothing to be heard. As I glanced at her, my brows wrinkled in confusion as I tried to figure out what was going on. She doesn't seem to be faking it since she is still attempting to scream loud enough. She was even pouring his heart and soul into it...

I glanced around as I raised my katanas in the air, trying to figure out who was responsible for this. There is no doubt in my mind that her voice has been stolen by someone! There was no way for it to vanish without a trace! It's probable that the three kings were behind it since no one else can get away with it without being noticed but them. And, despite the fact that I have excellent senses, I couldn't detect anybody. Blake couldn't tell the difference as well!

"I'm sorry," I told Scylla after I'd given up trying to track out the perpetrator.

Scylla offered me a kind grin and a thumbs-up as if she were trying to reassure us that everything was well. In return for Scylla's voice, we were able to get sufficient information. f**k those kings, for real this time. After having her imprisoned in a cage for so long, they went ahead and took her voice.

I laughed and got to my feet as I looked up at the ceiling with a sinister grin on my face. To be really honest, all I want to do is meet with those three and grill them to death. They most likely devised all of these schemes for their own amusement, which is the most likely explanation. They're really going to get a piece of me if they continue to interfere.