Explaining from the beginning how he got his ring took way longer than he thought, totalling to five minutes. And that was with him speaking fast and clearly to an audience that quietly listened and uttered not a single word. Apart from Igneal, their faces displayed a range of emotions, including shock and even pity. The fact that they pitied him was something he disliked, as he interpreted it as them perceiving him as a weak victim—an impression he was determined to distance himself from.

Once he was done speaking, Tyrus expected them to ask even more questions, especially about Wanderer. Naturally, he only brought up the part where she rescued him from Scourge, leaving out everything else. Until he could be certain that the memories he had were genuinely authentic, he decided to keep them to himself. After all, he couldn't see any benefit in sharing them. He failed to understand how they would be of any assistance to him.

Igneal and Tyrus locked eyes for a moment, and the Lockhart subtly nodded his head and said, "If a Scourge ring opened up a door with Lethos' emblem, then that means they've infiltrated a restricted zone. They've been using underground tunnels connected to the sewers to travel around the city to carry out whatever illegal operations they're conducting."

"A secret base, perhaps?" Fiona mumbled. "Those heartless criminals tried to kidnap Tyrus, didn't they? It's highly likely they steal unsuspecting children away and sell them off. Aunt Selena would warn me about those types of freaks years ago. To think they would try that against you..."

Tyrus felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced up to see Grant looking back at him, this time with pinched brows. "Thank you for telling us, Tyrus. It must have been hard bottling that experience in until now."

"It's nothing at all," Tyrus muttered. He went through far worse, but he wouldn't tell them that.

"We must retaliate and deal your pain to them thrice-fold!" Fiona said with a raised fist. "No one messes with Tyrus and gets away with it. I don't care if they're some criminal group or whatever! If they're beyond this doorway, then so be it."

Fiona willed her wisp of light forward, illuminating the dark entranceway. More descending stairs appeared, leading to a tunnel that changed directions to their right. All around them, what used to be rocks and dirt that decorated the path, slabs of stone stitched together took their place. The place looked relatively nice, aside from the bones, webs, and green ooze drooling over the walls. There were even thick roots bursting forth from the low-hanging ceiling and the walls.

Grant tapped the wall with his fist and grunted. "The area seems to be stable, for now. It would be best to tread carefully, though, seeing as we have no idea if this structure will withstand what is to come. Keep an eye on any cracks or trickling rocks from above."

"Isn't it odd how we haven't come across any rats or slimes yet?" Fiona said. "I'm not saying you're a liar, Tyrus, but are you sure that runaway slime came through here?"

"There were traces of it leading up to the door," Tyrus replied. He took a quick sniff and gagged. "And the rotting smell is stronger than ever. Do you guys not smell it?"

Reo shrugged. "Barely, but who's keeping track? Let's get this over with so we can get out of here. Death by falling debris isn't exciting, you know."

And so Fiona advanced, guiding the wisp in front of the group. They turned the corner, weapons ready for any sneak attacks, and came across a surprising sight.

Like the shelves of a grandiose library, the walls were packed with skulls and ribcages, and beyond them was a chamber teeming with glowing mushrooms, much like the ones at the cave where he saved Ivy. And what was revealed inside the light-filled room were stone coffins lined across the ground, placed on either side and against the wall in even groups.

Few of the coffins were slightly ajar, and Tyrus spotted a skull peeking out from one of them. Dread settled within his gut and formed into an uneasy sensation that weighed his body down, so he looked elsewhere to ease the feeling. At least the sewer smell was gone and replaced by an earthy aroma. Sadly, there was still that rotten stench that clung to the stale air, and it was coming from a corridor to their right. When he peered closely, he spotted more coffins at the far end. Alongside bones, dust, and cobwebs were rat carcasses surrounded by dry blood.

"Where in Sthito's name did we end up in?" Fiona murmured, dispelling her magic.

"The Imperial Catacombs, perhaps?" Grant said. "My father has spoken about this before. During The Grand Conquest, a massive burial site coordinated by Emperor Alvis was built to store the bodies of hundreds, and more have been added as the number of bodies grew. If I'm correct, then we are possibly on the first level, reserved for the foot soldiers."

Fiona tapped a nearby coffin with the butt of her staff and said, "Yeah, definitely the first level. Not enough gold or gems to be considered the resting place of the elites. Though I hate to admit it, it was smart on Scourge's part to use the tunnels here. Bet you no one has come down here in years, let alone decades. What better hiding place can a bunch of evil creeps find but here?"

"It's also quite risky," Reo added. "I'm almost certain that previous emperors and important figures are buried elsewhere. That means a groundskeeper probably comes by once a week or month to maintain the place or something. So why would they bother themselves here when the second level holds much greater value?"

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Igneal chuckled. "A tradition worth keeping note of. Once I'm the family head, I will enact this custom. Burying figures that have helped propel the Lockhart name further are worthy to be buried in Lockhart territory. Wouldn't you say so, sister?"

Fiona rolled her eyes, ignoring her brother's words as she stepped forth into the next room."Looks like that terrible stench Tyrus was smelling was coming in here. Still no sign of the—"

Her voice trailed off as a jarring noise assaulted their ears. The group quickly turned, weapons poised, in search of the source. Their eyes fell upon one of the coffins in the distant corner, slowly opening on its own. A skeletal hand emerged from the lid, causing the top half to tumble onto the floor. And there it was, a skeleton stumbling out of its resting place and collapsing to the ground.

Clad in a rusted cap, a blue and white surcoat, and dirt-stained gloves, the skeleton rose to its full height and stood before the stunned party, its body rigid. Frozen in place, the party watched as more coffins crashed to the ground, skeletons bursting forth and brandishing their worn-out weapons. Soon, the rooms were crammed with dozens of bone knights, marching relentlessly towards the party.

"Group up!" Fiona screamed, rushing toward the others, but a few skeletons lunged in her direction and thrust their spearheads her way. She yelped and jumped out of the way just in time. Grant pounced toward the soldiers, ramming through one with his shield and lopping off the heads of the others. After a moment, the skeletons regathered themselves and rose into a fighting stance, sustaining little to no damage.

Tyrus released a Lightning Bolt at a swinging skeleton, hoping that'd do something to them. Arcs of lightning traveled across its body, and the skeleton spasmed from the power. Yet it seemed that it did nothing more than tickle it, and the skeleton charged straight at Tyrus. Fortunately, Grant intercepted, deflecting the skeleton's crude cut and smacked it away into its friends, causing a lot of them to fall backward.

"Killing them will require greater strength," Grant remarked. "Simply slashing or smacking them won't be effective unless we pulverize them into a paste with a hammer or a similar tool. Unfortunately, there are too many of them to attempt that approach. Furthermore, we don't have any blunt weapons other than my shield at our disposal. Our best bet is to rely on magic."

Reo delivered a swift kick at a skeleton aiming for Fiona's backside. It flew into a nearby wall, exploding upon impact and scattering pieces everywhere. Its limbs, head, torso, and arm, twitched as if wanting to reconnect, and the pieces rose in the air as if guided by invisible hands. Soon, the skeleton reformed, good as new. Reo clicked his tongue at the sight and continued fighting. As for Igneal, he stood on top of a coffin, raining motes of fire and slashing at skeletons who got too close to him. Sweat dripped down his cheeks, and frustration seeped into his expression as he continued to mow down his enemies one after the other. But they continued to rise with no sign of stopping. More pouring inside by the minute, possibly from other rooms they had yet to see; the rattling echoing around the room grew to an ear-splitting cry that had Tyrus wincing in pain.

"Fall back!" Fiona shouted. "Grant, Reo, create a pathway for us so that we can head back to the tunnels. It'd be better to funnel them inside there, as opposed to fighting all of them head-on here!"

Mana encased Grant and Reo like a protective shield, and they charged for the tunnels. Both razed their way through, sweeping rows of skeletons and crushing their comrades underneath their might. Then, at the mouth of the tunnel, the duo awaited for the others to retreat before continuing with their fight. Tyrus took a deep breath and crouched fast enough to use Lightning Snare.

Thick tendrils erupted from his fingers, lashing and wrapping around the feet of five skeletons. Not knowing what he had done, they tried to shamble forward but merely tripped; the tendrils acting as a restraint. As soon as the opportunity came, he, Fiona, and Igneal sprinted toward the newly created path. All five of them turned the corner and climbed the steps, stopping just in front of the door.

Fiona whirled around and lifted her staff. "Stand behind me unless you want to lose a few fingers."

Not a second later did the swarm of skeletons appear from the corner, trampling and mashing up the bones of the ones that were hit. Watching dozens of skeletons march from the end of the tunnel and shuffle straight for them made a shiver crawl up and down Tyrus's spine. Their numbers, the rattling, and the crunching made for an unpleasant symphony, and he silently hoped that whatever Fiona had planned would work.

Tyrus watched Fiona close her eyes and take a deep, quivering breath. Sweat accumulated and fell off her face as she went. Immediately, mana all around them clung around her like an unseen mist. She sucked up that mana, absorbing it into her body while guiding it toward the tip of her staff. When Tyrus exhaled, a fine mist exited his lips, and his skin pebbled with the slightest tinge of cold. Was it always so cold down here?

That's when it happened. With a swift, sweeping motion of her staff, a torrent of frost shot out from the tip and raced towards the tunnel, transforming the skeletons into frozen statues in a matter of seconds. The walls, the ceiling, and even the floor became encased in a solid sheet of ice, a stark contrast to the usual mucky clay walls of the sewer. A white blanket now covered everything before them. What was insistent rattling now disappeared, reverting everything into a still silence.

"W-We should b-be okay," Fiona said, hugging herself. "They can't move anymore, thanks to the Ice Coffin."

Tyrus blinked twice and inspected their surroundings. He tapped his foot against the now icy stairs. "Everything turned to ice this fast? You really are strong, Fiona."

Fiona smiled and laughed. "Thank you for the compliment, but this is nothing. You should see Erza in action. She'd do this with a snap of her fingers with little to no prep time under the hottest of suns."

She shifted her attention to the frozen skeletons and said, "In the meantime, we should destroy them now before they somehow break out of it. After that, we can continue on from there and figure out why they attacked in the first place."

"The true cause, eh?" Reo murmured, carefully maneuvering down the steps. "I'm pretty sure you set them off. Scourge probably set a few traps in case of intruders."

"Correct you are, little boy," said a voice from behind.

Everyone turned on their heels and spotted a group of armed men gathered at the wheel door. With their weapons already brandished, Tyrus noticed each of them wearing a ring with a green gemstone. Leading the forefront was a man he recognized, wearing a silver necklace around his neck and shoulder-length hair.

The man frowned as he locked eyes with Tyrus. "We meet again, Demi-human scum."