Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 30

Chapter 30: The Serpent and the Crocodile

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

It was darkness. Suffocating darkness, all-consuming and absolute. There was no way to discern whether he stood, sat, or lay. A universe without a single star.

Russell’s eyes opened in that universe after what felt like an eternity.

Two will-o’-the-wisps flared to life in the darkness, their crimson flames dancing beyond the black of his irises. Russell sat up, his vision adjusting to his newfound sight.

Colors were absent, washed away by the lack of light. The world appeared gray, akin to a world trapped in time but devoid of any color. Russell realized, like in an old silent film, that he stood in the middle of a large, arching passageway.

The flow of mana was one thing he could see. It permeated the world with a steady concentration, unaffected by any wind, but it was slightly thinner here.

The thickness was understandable; the diffusion was less so. Russell looked out into the darkness, but the depths defied his vision. It simply went on and on, too long and too deep to see in one glance.

Shifting his gaze, he saw the lingering presence of old grudges and hatreds. These were not merely human beings, but rather a collection of beings possessing instincts and a degree of intelligence, clinging to the floor, walls, and ceiling. It wasn’t a pleasant sight, but he wasn’t about to describe it.

The air felt damp and humid against his skin. Underground, then. He heard the faint sound of water dripping in his ears, indicating the presence of an underground aqueduct. An underground aqueduct?

But even for an underground aqueduct, the darkness was excessive. Perhaps they hadn’t kept it up to date, or maybe the depth was just this great.

The moisture-laden air carried the scent of decaying moss, the tang of water, and something else he couldn’t quite place. It was reminiscent of the scent emanating from an ancient, centuries-old tomb that had recently been discovered. Of course, he had never experienced such a scent before.

“Hmm. . .”

The princess’s moan reached him, and Russell, who hadn’t yet registered her ’sight’, looked down at her, surprised.

Something he hadn’t seen before with his physical eyes, or even his mana-infused vision, now appeared before him. Silver and gold threads of energy. They rose and fluttered from the princess’s body. What were those?

“. . .W, What the? Aaagh!”

The princess screamed as she came to her senses, having just noticed the will-o’-the-wisps floating above her head. But the princess was no helpless lady who would simply sit there and scream.

“Keno-casto!”

A bolt of lightning erupted with the incantation he had heard once before. Russell, with his eyes wide open, recognized the source of the lightning as a bracelet on the princess’s right wrist.

That must be a relic. It contained an embedded offensive spell that could activate with just a trigger word, requiring no lengthy preparation. And from what Russell could tell, it was a lightning spell of considerable power. He couldn’t imagine how expensive such an item would be.

Crash━!

The lightning from the bracelet wrapped around the princess’s outstretched right arm, like a helix, before discharging from her index finger. As it expanded from the intense light and heat, the air screamed.

Russell, who had anticipated the direction, simply shifted his body slightly to avoid the white lightning that shot past him and into the passageway’s depths.

And with the light of the lightning illuminating her surroundings, the princess was able to make out the outline of the passageway and Russell’s figure. The lightning had been brief, and darkness enveloped them once more. The princess spoke into the darkness, her voice breathless.

“R, Russell?! What are you doing there?!”

“I avoided becoming a human pincushion. You shouldn’t just shoot those things at people, Princess.”

Even a princess couldn’t help but apologize for his nonchalant statement.

“O, Oh, I’m sorry. I was just surprised for a moment. Did it not hit you?”

“Unless the shocking revelation is that I’m already dead and the princess is actually a necromancer, then no. It did not hit me.”

“That’s a relief.”

The princess giggled softly, then her face hardened.

“No, but I really did see it.”

“See what?”

“Two floating will-o’-the-wisps. . . Oh! They’re there now! My goodness, what are those? Can you see them too?”

“. . .They’re my eyes.”

“. . .W, What?”

Russell took a step closer, and the princess let out a small scream as the two flames approached her.

“Agh. . . W, What are they?! They’re scary; turn them off!”

The question of whether or not one could turn off their eyes like a candle didn’t seem to cross the princess’s mind. Russell closed his eyes, and the gray vision disappeared, replaced once again by darkness. The princess seemed dismayed when the will-o’-the-wisps, which had been weakly illuminating their surroundings, also vanished.

“Er, would it be rude to ask you to turn them back on?”

Russell chuckled and lit a flame above his index finger. It was about the size of a candle flame, but with an infusion of mana, it quickly grew to the size of a torch, illuminating the surroundings.

“Ugh. . .”

The princess, who had been shielding her eyes from the sudden light, slowly stood up. She was wearing the same sleek plate armor as when they first met, its silver and gold a refined harmony, and it gleamed in the torch’s light. It was almost as if it was self-illuminating.

The princess lowered her hand and looked around, seemingly adjusting to the light.

“Where is this place?”

Russell recalled something he had heard at the inn’s dining hall when he first arrived in Calisden.

“An aqueduct, or perhaps an underground labyrinth.”

“A labyrinth? Why would there be something like that here?”

“Didn’t the Lord say that this place used to be a dragon’s lair? Perhaps it was created for its own amusement. Or perhaps the dragon made its home in a labyrinth that already existed.”

The princess nodded; her guess was surprisingly plausible.

“That’s a good guess. Then that key must have been a portal that transported us to this aqueduct, or underground labyrinth.”

The princess held up the tablet with her other hand. Its embedded spell is no longer a key or portal, but rather an old antique with elaborate decoration. The princess suddenly said,

“But why are only you and I here?”

“Recall that you opened a teleportation gate when you placed that tablet on the magic circle. It should have become a passage that stably connected the spaces with their coordinates fixed, but it didn’t. The gate was about to close after sucking you in, and I barely managed to enter with you.”

“The gate. . .”

“I think the spell’s instability may be due to the fact that it’s been three hundred years. But I’m no wizard, so I can’t give you a definite answer.”

“No, that makes sense. It’s absurd that I didn’t anticipate that.

The princess, who had been chastising herself, suddenly looked at the flame of mana that Russell was still holding.

“You can turn off that light.”

“Won’t it be too dark?”

“I have a way.”

Russell silently gathered his mana. Darkness descended for the second time. And then, a glowing orb formed in the princess’s palm, devouring the encroaching darkness. It was a beautiful orb of white light in the darkness.

The orbs swam through the darkness, trailing beautiful tails like shooting stars. Then, they stopped above Russell’s and the princess’s heads and scattered particles of light. Like Tinkerbell’s dust.

“Is this a spirit?”

“No, it’s just a light attribute. It’s a power I’ve possessed since my childhood.

Attribute power. This attribute power allowed for the conjuration of specific elements without requiring any mana. To be precise, it was about gathering mana with spiritual power and manifesting it, but it was certainly an amazing talent.

“Now then.”

Russell waited.

“. . .How do we do this?”

The ever-so-sharp princess. Russell said,

“I can think of three ways.”

“That many?”

She seemed a little excited. Despite being without a single Dawn Knight and in the company of a strange (and important) mercenary, the princess didn’t seem anxious. In fact, she looked rather thrilled.

“First, we can just sit here and wait for rescue. We don’t know this place at all, and we don’t know what other dangers might be lurking beyond that darkness.”

“Mm-hm. And?”

“You are the princess.”

“I know that much.”

“And as such, you appear to be in possession of a variety of invaluable magical items. Don’t you have a tool that can communicate with the knights? If you do, we could use it to find out where they are and meet up with them.”

Russell asked the question based on his own experience. His father had a similar tool. The princess nodded but then shook her head, ending up with an expression that suggested her neck was a little sore.

“I do have one. However, I’ve been trying since earlier, and it’s not working properly. Perhaps the distance is too far, or maybe some other magical effect is interfering with communication.”

Neither was a good sign. Russell shrugged, thinking about the damp mana that filled this passageway.

“Then there’s only the third option left.”

“Oh, usually the third option is the best option.”

“We go to the end of this passageway. If the magic circle that transferred you here didn’t just break down, your ancestor will be here. And there’s a good chance it’ll be useful.”

“That’s reasonable. Russell, are you really a mercenary? I’ve never met a mercenary who was so logical, although I haven’t met many to begin with.”

“Let’s just say it’s my unique charm. Shall we go, Your Highness?”

“Julia.”

“Excuse me?”

“Call me Julia. There are only two of us here, anyway. Princess, Your Highness, I’ve heard those for so many years that my ears are starting to rot. It’s annoying. So just call me by my name.”

Russell looked down at her in the light. She was just barely tall enough for her chin to reach his jaw. The light danced with her silver hair, cascading like a waterfall. Calm golden eyes. The belt at her waist held an elaborate plate armor and a jeweled scabbard. Russell said,

“Julia.”

Julia closed her eyes for a moment, savoring Russell’s voice as if it were something she was tasting.

“One more time.”

“Julia.”

“One more time.”

“Let’s go.”

“Ack! Wait for me!”

Russell walked straight into the darkness. As he moved away from the light, darkness naturally began to wrap around his body like a curtain, and Julia hurriedly moved her legs to stay by his side.

“How hard could it be to call my name one more time?”, “I called twice”, “You can also call three times!”, “There’s a rock ahead.”, “Ouch! Hey, where are you touching?!”, “It’s just the armor.”, “That’s my waistline!”

The darkness soon engulfed the sound of their conversation, leaving only silence and darkness.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“Aagh!”

“Stop screaming and swing your sword!”

“Aagh!”

Julia followed Russell’s words halfway. She didn’t stop screaming, but she did swing her sword.

She cut the giant bug in half sideways, its head raised in the radius of her sword, its circular teeth bared as it closed in on her. Even after severing its head, the giant bug attempted to crawl closer, prompting Julia to scream once more and extend her palm towards it.

An intense wave of light energy erupted from her palm like a shell. It didn’t explode with heat or sparks like a real shell, but it carried a destructive force that shattered the bug’s head into pieces.

In return, green bodily fluid splattered everywhere. Russell swung his greatsword, feeling one of the drops hit his cheek.

The claymore, which was longer and wider than a regular longsword, sliced through the bugs’ waists as it swung horizontally.

Normally, creatures with eyes would have been frightened or hesitated at a sword strike. These creatures, however, lacked eyes, just like creatures that lived deep underground.

So they charged forward, oblivious to their comrades’ deaths (they might not have thought of each other as comrades or family). They died just like the ones before them.

Not long after they entered the aquiduct, monsters appeared. Giant bugs loved the moisture and dampness of the aqueduct and fed on the dark mana.

They had long, pointed thorns all over their skin, like a centipede, but they were the size of a human torso. And as if to prove that they didn’t just feed on mana, they also had rows of circular, saw-like teeth that could crush the skulls of small children.

It was a sufficiently disgusting appearance, and Julia screamed as Russell dropped the honorific for the second time.

The giant bugs made the dense thorns on their skin ripple like waves as they swam, then shot them out. Russell, curious why bugs would have such an attack technique, extended his empty hand, the one that didn’t hold a sword.

Mana surged, replicating on a smaller scale the shockwave Karugon had unleashed when he first appeared. A bang pushed out the air, causing the thorns flying towards them to lose their momentum and fall to the floor.

‘Tring, ting!’ The thorns hit and fell off Julia’s armor without even scratching it. A helmet now encased her head, completely covering her face.

Russell grabbed his broadsword again and charged forward. His blade slashed down the swarming bugs.

Ten minutes later, they were leaning against the wall, taking a break. Dozens of bug parts and sticky bodily fluids covered the floor, making it impossible to sit down.

Julia used mana to burn away the debris on her armor. Her expression was sour because of the nauseating smell. Russell flicked away the sticky fluids on his cheek and greatsword.

“Are you afraid of bugs?”

“I hate anything with more than six legs. And don’t you think even people who don’t necessarily fear bugs would be terrified by this sight?”

“I have no argument.”

“Just talk to me normally.”

Julia glanced at Russell as he looked at her, then flicked her sword and sheathed it.

“It’s a waste of energy to add a long ending to every word in an urgent situation. Talk to me normally.”

“I’ll drop it if you drop it first.”

“I’m just comfortable with this way of speaking.”

Russell didn’t say anything. Whatever made her comfortable.

“Hmm. Then do you have anything to eat?”

The princess looked flustered.

“W, Well, no.”

“Me neither. We’ve already skipped breakfast, and soon it will be lunchtime. If we stay here any longer, we might end up staring at things we never thought we’d consider eating with a troubled expression.”

Julia didn’t look down at Russell’s gesture towards the floor. She already knew what was there.

“. . .Can’t we just say let’s go quickly?”

“Just a warning for the reality that might come knocking on our door.”

“Shutup.”

And so the two wandered for another two hours through deep darkness and hordes of monsters. The underground’s evil and damp mana, the humid environment where no sunlight reached, had attracted numerous monsters.

Moreover, the monsters Karugon had gathered and controlled, along with the resentment of the humans who had fought and died against those monsters, further accelerated the process.

Mud monsters born from the sewers, goblins that originally lived in caves, and even the walking corpses of mercenaries who had set foot in the labyrinth, fascinated by the treasures it held, and died screaming.

Surprisingly, there were no spiders. The underground is free of spiders. Russell tilted his head, but Julia didn’t question it and was simply happy (because they had eight legs!).

The monsters of all colors charged at the intruders with their claws and weapons, but they weren’t ordinary intruders.

The passageway didn’t just continue straight ahead, and they came to a few forks in the road.

However, Russell chose the path with lower mana concentration rather than relying on his eyes. Wouldn’t your gaze gravitate towards the shorter of the five straws? There wasn’t much else to use to determine the direction.

Julia, who had been crawling through the crevices, was relatively clean thanks to her full-body armor, but Russell, who hadn’t been able to get his hands on a leather armor to protect his upper body, was wearing just his clothes and bare skin.

Russell’s violent movements had torn his white shirt in various places, and the blood of the monsters had stained it, making it dirty. Russell ultimately had to remove the rag, more fittingly referred to as a rag than a shirt, and discard it.

“Wow.”

“Watch where you’re going.”

“Whoa.”

“I said watch where you’re going.”

“There must be something more spectacular than what I’m looking at now. . . eh what is it?”

“A serpent? It’s awfully big. I’m not sure.”

“Huh?”

Only then did Julia look away from Russell’s muscles and look straight ahead. They had reached the end of the passageway. It was located in a slightly elevated area, allowing them to look down on the five-way intersection below.

Gray stone, appearing solid, adorned the high ceiling and walls. An intersection and a junction were located in the center of the intersection, which was as big as a small training ground. Julia spotted a huge creature occupying about half of the intersection.

The creature has a sharp, triangular head, with sharp horns protruding outwards like a crown above it.

The creature had a thick, dark green-scaled body that extended behind its head. The body’s length was unknown.

Only after it had curled up a few times could one see its barely discernible tail. It was an incredibly long and large snake. Russell perceived a colossal serpent, yet Julia appeared to harbor a more terrifying vision.

Julia stared at the sleeping monster, her face pale and bloodless.

“. . .It’s a basilisk.”

“Basilisk?”

‘I think I’ve heard of it.’

“One of the ancient dragonkin. . . You must never look it in the eye. That monster has a petrification curse in its eyes that turns living things into stone. Look over there.”

Russell looked in the direction Julia was pointing. There were oddly-shaped stone statues standing or lying down. All of them were in a failed attempt to cover their faces with something like an arm.

“Are they dead?”

“I don’t know. And that’s what’s more terrifying.”

Julia shivered.

“A basilisk with the evil eye of petrification. A monster that only appears in legends, why is it in a place like this?”

“Because it’s a place like this. Didn’t they say it was a dragon’s lair? One would anticipate the presence of a basilisk in such a location. No, it would be strange if there wasn’t one.”

Julia cursed her own lips, which were incapable of arguing.

“Let’s back off quietly. . . . Even you, Russell, can’t fight a monster like that.”

“Then the dragon is fine?”

“Ugh! Stop nagging and go back! Which way is it?”

She was getting more and more comfortable. Russell chuckled and pointed a finger. Julia’s expression turned to despair. The basilisk blocked the passageway.

Just then, Russell turned away from Julia and looked back. His keen senses had detected something.

His mana-infused eyes pierced the darkness and scanned the passageway they had come through. A smile came to Russell’s lips.

“It looks like we’ll have to fight after all.”

“W, What are you talking about?”

“It’s a crocodile.”

Translator’s Blog

Blog

• Light Novel Addiction: How One Hour of Sleep Loss Can Ruin Your Day (and Your Life)
• How to Deal with Your Cringey Otaku Classmate (Without Turning into a Weeaboo Yourself)
• Who’s Your Waifu? Why Choosing Your Anime Spirit Animal Is Deeper Than You Think (And Who I’d Pick)
• The Social Isolation Speech Impediment: How Being a Shut-In Can Make You Sound Like a Robot
• Yo, Millennials: This TikTok Dictionary Translates Gen Z So You Don’t Sound Like a Boomer