After being dropped off by an airship Florence led the group through the dense woods as the Omen took the rear further back and Sable and Bryson were close to the front. It started to make more and more sense why Florence was chosen to join the team. They had to be back to get picked up by the airship by the end of today and they were tasked by their parents to navigate the forest both to and back from the city.

Florence lived in the contaminated zone for a number of years and survived while looking perfectly normal. If anyone would be a good guide around contaminated zones and remembering trails, it would be her.

“How much longer before we reach the city?” Bryson asked Florence.

“Not long. Only an hour or so.” Florence said, looking around, “This area is usually the path that Staghornes take, but they only roam around closer to the evening so we’re clear of any potential beasts.”

“Have you visited ruins like these before?” Sable asked.

“A few. They can be either extremely safe or the most dangerous area to be in a contaminated zone.” Florence replied looking back at them.

Bryson while looking at Florence realized just how much taller she was to him; he barely reached past her chin. Having turned fifteen right after the tournament with Kristel, she was two years older than Bryson and had this sense of professionalism and maturity over him, not just physically but mentally as well. She was barely younger than Gilles but acted far more adult-like his brother. Bryson didn’t like to admit it, but Florence was definitely the most responsible out of the trio here. Bryson quickly turned away, worried that he was staring too much.

“How does that work?” Sable asked.

“They are either great sources of refuge or infested with monsters and beasts. The prominence of old magical artifacts also makes the place valuable.” Florence said.

“Though most of the magical artifacts are only magical because they’ve been soaking in the contamination for however many years. The one we’re getting is an exception to that.” Bryson reminded her.

“Right. It was a holy artifact that was corrupted by demonic gods back when the ruins were still a city. But we still don’t know what it does. It might be useless.” Sable said.

“As long as you two are able to procure it, it doesn’t matter what it does.” Florence said evenly.

“Still, how special could it be if the logs say that it was stored in a public museum? Clearly it was safe enough to have families gather around and poke at it.”

“I suppose not. But maybe that’s a good thing.” Bryson said nodding his head as he looked back at The Omen.

“What’s wrong?” Sable asked as she noticed Bryson’s troubled look.

“Nothing… it’s just that I feel weird with that thing near me.” Bryson said as he suddenly found himself in a staring contest against the walking suit of armour.

“You were the one who came up with the idea of using that thing.” Sabel pointed out.

“I know that and I still think that’s a good idea, it’s built for something like this. It’s just… I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling, that’s all.” Bryson said with a shrug.

“Why? Do you not like the idea that I have sole control of it?” Sable teased.

“Please, I’m not vain.” Bryson scoffed, “Honestly, I’m glad that you have control of it and not me. I don’t think I want to interact with it. Seriously I swear it’s looking at me.”

“Well hopefully it won’t be needed.” Sable said looking amused at Bryson’s paranoia.

***

“So this used to be a city eh?” Bryson said as he stood on what remained of an old road.

“Yes. This city seems to be in better condition than some others.” Florence said with a nod, “It at least seems unlikely that any sinkholes will appear or buildings will fall.”

“What about monsters?” Sable asked.

“None so far, there might be nests in underground tunnels and more dilapidated buildings, but there won’t be anything roaming around the place right now.”

“Good. Because we have to go pretty far into these ruins to find the museum.” Bryson said with grunt as he looked at the map of the ancient city.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Be careful, even if the artifact itself isn’t dangerous the building is likely to be occupied by something.” Florence reminded him.

“Which is why we brought The Omen… is it getting more agitated or is that just me?” Bryson said staring at the magical armour.

“Huh? I don’t think so.” Sable said looking over at The Omen, turning back to Bryson she asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

“Hmm. Your eyes and temperature are normal.” Florence said suddenly right next to Bryson as she put her white-gloved hand on his forehead.

“Gaah!” Bryson said lurching backwards, “You’re wearing gloves! You shouldn’t even be able to tell anything from that.”

“I am very experienced.” Florence said simply before leaning down to examine him.

“What?” Bryson said feeling uncomfortable under her stare as they were a couple of finger lengths away from one another.

“Is it your powers acting up?” She asked in a small whisper barely audible for Bryson only to hear.

“Uh… no. I’m not sure… maybe… but it isn’t malicious.” Bryson whispered back momentarily caught off guard by her question before. His glowing eyes while not a tightly kept secret was still something Bryson felt sensitive about. The less people who knew about it the better as Bryson while finding them useful also felt inhuman when using them. Even Viola who had seen his eyes turn bright white was never able to get the full details of what he could do with them. Primrose and Pinop were polite enough not to inquire about his eyes either for that matter.

“I’m not sick okay! Stop looking at me like I’m your patient.” Bryson said louder, looking annoyed at Florence.

“Hmm. I think Bryson just doesn’t like the thing for some reason.” Florence said looking back at Sable.

“Huh, well you’re going to have to suck it up because it’s the best piece of protection we have with us.” Sable said.

“I know that.” Bryson snapped, “Let’s just go already.” He said in a huff.

While amused by the sight, Sable made no argument against it and the four continued down the road. As they walked through the rubble of perhaps what was once a great city Bryson found appreciation for his magic abilities.

Thanks to enhancing himself with mana his natural walking pace was that of a normal person going on a run and wasn’t nearly as tired. He wasn’t the only one who had this benefit. Both Sable and Florence used similar methods to move around and The Omen could move however Sable wanted it to.

It didn’t take long for them to find the museum; it was in decent enough shape. There were parts of the roof that had fallen in on itself over time, but the main frame of the building stood strong.

“You said something might be living inside that thing right?” Bryson asked Florence as he stared at the building. He was too far away from the thing to see anything but the unnatural mana emanating from the area due to the contamination zone.

“Yes, likely something if not multiple things. It is a large building and should have a basement under it as well.”

“Should we send in The Omen first?” Sable asked.

“Can it tell you what it sees?” Bryson asked.

“No, but it can make a lot of noise and attract attention away from us and it can fight whatever it encounters and we can then scout around the place.” Sable pointed out.

“That works.” Bryson said nodding.

With that The Omen began to lumber its way towards the museum. Its heavy armoured plates clanged along as it marched forward. Reaching the door it slammed it open and marched further in. The trio then waited for a few moments as The Omen began to search the entrance hall before following behind it.

Entering the hall they could see what used to be the entrance to the museum. Old broken furniture littered the place. There were dilapidated paintings and display items about. As they looked around the place a sudden crash caught their attention.

Looking for the source they found The Omen was already clashing with a human-sized mutated raccoon. Very quickly the metal automaton crushed it beneath its feet.

“Eugh.” Sable said making a face of disgust as she looked at the corpse of the beast, “How do things wind up like that?”

“The mana here infects and infects all things in the area. If we didn’t have naturally high mana ourselves we would have been ill long ago.” Florence explained.

“Would it mutate us into monsters?” Bryson asked as they checked a section of the museum and found nothing special.

“No. We would need to live in this area for a long period of time in order for it to affect us and that’s if we don’t have high mana thresholds.”

“And normal people get sick and die after too much exposure most of the time.” Bryson said nodding his head, recalling his lectures.

“Yes. Which is why all these creatures are so big. It takes a lot to survive the infection and those that do are changed.” Florence said as she noticed Bryson stop, “What is it?”

Bryson stopped at one section of the museum and stared for a moment, “I think it’s here.”

“How do you know that?” Sable asked.

“I’m pretty good at spotting magic items. Primrose taught me a few methods to identify magic.” Bryson said as he entered the room.

“Are you sure the thing is going to be here?” Sable asked looking unconvinced.

Bryson didn’t blame her, this place seemed to house simple ancient silverware, or potterware to be more precise. Now with the lack of care for the items, they were in ruins. But in the corner of the room there it was. Brimming with magic that Bryson had never seen before, it wasn’t anything impressive but definitely different.

“There.” He said pointing at the glass display case that was cracked but still intact. In it was a simple clay bowl with some kind of pattern barely engraved at the bottom of it, barely visible.

“That’s supposed to be magic?” Sable said unconvinced.

“Yeah… I think. But it’s not very impressive looking.” Bryson said looking disappointed at what was before them.

“Still, I guess it’s in decent shape compared to everything else. So its magic might have something to do with it. But still, that’s all what a demonic item is?” Sable said as she peered through the glass.

“Oh dear, have you never been told to not judge a book by its cover?” A malicious voice said.

The three of them immediately turned around to see a magic circle form in front of them and out rose a seven-foot tall red demon with gnarled horns and black leathery wings. The demon’s sharp tail whipped around as he gazed upon the three.

“Greetings, bold of you to try to steal from me.” He said with a wicked grin.