Chapter 8: Source

"I think we might be getting closer" Cassor mentioned, noticing the thickness of mana in the air. It was a seemingly overwhelming feeling, but at least that gave them something to trace.

"Meanwhile, Yuu...your a mage right? Shouldn't you, you know, stand at the back?" James asked.

"Lyo watches the back. I can use magic and fight up close, as you know".

Although they seemed to be chatting, there was no doubt there was tension between the two still. So it was the same as usual.

It was true though that a lot of mages stood in the rear lines, however Yuu did not trust anyone else to be the vanguard. Lyo might have been stronger then him, quite a bit stronger actually, but he was better with a bow then a blade.

Either way, there was a good chance things would get hectic.

After all, something was making monsters of various types work together.  The undead was also weird, for a lot of reasons.  As a result, Yuu was on guard more then ever as they began to reach the cave they felt it coming from.  Or at least, what looked like a cave.

However, as they looked inside, the ground became smooth, made of stone bricks, with pillars and such as well as depictions of dragons and wavy lines.

"Erm...what is this?"

"It looks like it was made by some cult that worships Ancient Dragons as gods themselves.  Additionally, I feel magical leylines flowing underneath the ground for some time now".

"Wait, so that isn't normal?"

"Definently not Yuu...those things dont just exist anywhere.  It looks like this temple was likely built to harvest it...and its probably still active".

"So the readings are coming from here then?" Lyo asked, drawing his bow.

"Yeah" James said, readying his sword.  "And these guys...really liked their traps..."

The wind passed by, as everyone narrowed their eyes.

Suddenly, several flaming arrows came flying out.  Garron repelled them with a wind barrier, while James charged forward with Yuu right on his heels, and the other warriors coming from behind.  In front of them, there were two golems with slots on their arms and backs, which fired flaming arrows.  Yuu snapped his fingers, and created a sonic burst that fired in front.  It reduced part of the golem to dust, and James slashed at the other one.  Despite his power and strength, even he could not defeat a sturdy golem in a single hit.  However, he was damaging it with a simple greatsword.  And so, it soon fell to his might and power.

"Ridiculous...so that is the power of an A-Ranked Adventurer".

Argen lamented on his own lack of strength and ability as they pushed forward, watching James take out things while he simple supported and guarded from the rear.  

Like this, they managed to clear up the vanguards without too much trouble, although it was clear that if these were just the entrance guards, it would get tougher as they went.

"Seriously though, golems...to think those tough opponents would greet us at the start..."

"...I already feel mentally drained".

"Tsk.  Unreliable..."

Yuu muttered that, and those words were still heard by the warriors.  Their pride a bit hurt by being called unreliable by a seven year old, they seemed to stand up with renewed determination.

"We cant let ourselves retire over something like this though!"

"Yeah, its too important!"

Lyo meanwhile was just smiling as he walked next to Yuu.

"You said that to motivate them right?  See, you do care about people".

"Shut up...I just didn't want to lose cannon fodder".

Although there were some that thought Yuu might be acting tough, the coldness and tone of voice said that likely was not a lie.  Even Lyo didn't reply to that, though he did keep smiling in such a childish way.

No no, in the first place, they had been going strong for awhile now, but for some reason the youngest two, not even double digits in age, were feeling tired, which was odd in its own right.  They felt like they have the strength of upper C or lower B rank adventurers.  Incidentally, normal C or B ranks often got special treatment and could even be considered nobility in some places.  Meanwhile, there were A-Ranks who just had overwhelming outlandish power that would make even Yuu and Lyo seem like normal children.   Then then there were S-Ranks, who had the skills and abilities to be considered legendary heroes.  Its not odd for them to be treated nicely by royalty and nobles.

As they pushed on, they saw more and more ruins.

"What do you think all of this says?" Garron asked.

Wait, they can't read it?  Yuu thought to himself, as he was able to somehow read and understand it perfectly.  It occured to him it was weird, but not as weird as what was written.

It appeared this temple was used for some sort of ceremony or ritual, involving sacrifices and using the power of the leyline to strengthen one's magic.  There was also talk of gaining the power of Dragons, and unleashing the great force.  It was rather cryptic and weird, but that was what Yuu made out.

Of course, he didn't tell anyone this.

He didn't trust them after all.

Suddenly, Lyo hugged Yuu and pulled him down as a giant axe fell down from the ceiling and swung in a path, nearly cutting them apart.  Normally, Yuu would not be distracted with his own thoughts to miss the activation of a trap, but...

I didn't feel anything trigger mana wise, nor did I hear anything trigger.  Even Lyo only reacted to the sound of the axe falling, not any pressure plate...was it triggered manually?

"We might not be alone here" Yuu warned them as he and Lyo got up.

"Yeah...I didn't hear or sense anything activate that trap...which means it was done manually".

"But...I dont hear or sense anyone".

Cassor sighed.  "I am trying to expand my mana to use it as a radar, but...this area is too dense.  I cant properly do it".

"Same" Yuu agreed.  That was actually a lie, he could do it, but only in a short area, about twenty feet, around himself.

"Do you think its more monsters being manipulated?"

"Probably..."

As they said that, they could feel the heat in the temple increasing the further they went in.  Everyone was sweating, and a few people were dressed more lightly then before, putting their armor on after taking off a shirt or jacket.  Even Lyo and Yuu, who had temperature modification enchantments on their clothes, were feeling the heat.

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As they entered the next chamber, it was becoming easier to understand.  There was magma flowing through some ducts and tunnels, clearly designed that way.  It appeared that the temple was built into a volcano, so the deeper in they went, the hotter it would get.

However, there was also more cryptic writing and design.  Garron looked intrigued, stopping for a moment to look at it.

"I wonder what all these diagrams mean..." he said as he took a step forward, and triggered a trap.  Suddenly, the floor underneath Lyo, Yuu, James, and a few others opened up.

Lyo and Yuu immediately used their Ripcords and attached them to the ceiling, pulling themselves up.  James caught onto a nearby ledge with one hand while using his free arm to grab the other two that fell down with them, hoisting all three of them up with his pure strength alone.

...what a monster.... Yuu retorted in his mind.

"Sorry!  Are you all okay?!"

Garron asked this, but he didn't dare move another step and risk triggering a trap.

"Yeah...it seems fine right now" Yuu said as he and Lyo touched down on the ground, and the floor resealed itself.  If they didn't have the Ripcords, that would have been bad.

"Okay, clearly we need to be more aware and conscious of traps" James said.  "Where are those two archers?  They should have rejoined with us by now".

"They are the best at dealing with traps?"

"Yeah, I thought they might have gone up ahead to scout for traps, but...its been too long".

"Well, we should be getting close.  I feel a great amount of magic power in the next room" Cassor mentioned.

"Yeah...even with all this density, its painfully clear that its the source of all this".

Hearing that, the group decided to push forward.  The mages felt a bit weird as the amount of mana was suffocating, but eventually they made it.  Inside was a sacrificial alter.  And lying there, on that alter, was the corpse of one of their archers.

"Cedric?!"

The group said, but as they walked into the room, a magic circle appeared underneath their feet, and everyone, including Yuu and James, lost the ability to move well.  Yuu was just barely able to turn around...and watched as the man plunged a blade right through Lyo's heart.

That man...was Garron.

"Bastard!" Yuu said, showing more emotion then he ever had before as Lyo fell to the ground bleeding from his chest, unmoving.

"Seriously, that annoying wood elf...to think that he was able to sense and dodge that trap at the last second" Garron said, wiping the blood off the blade.  "Ahhhh....but to see your face cry out in pain like that was well worth it, little boya".

Yuu grimenced, but although he could move his head, the rest of his body felt like it was encased in concrete.  The man made sure to avoid getting close to Yuu, as he was wary of Yuu's magic.

"Garron!  How could you?!"

"How could I?  Well, its very simple really.  I am tired of all this bullshit!" he shouted.  "Having to risk my life day after day.  At first sure, the sense of adventure was great, but I was always getting treated like a tool, traded from party to party!  And whenever rewards come up, for some reason the warriors get the best gear, while I have been using the same staff for several years now!"

"The...hell?  You betrayed us for that reason?"

"No...its because this alter has built up so much power.  Finding it with my previous party was interesting...but learning what it could do, harvesting the power of the Ancient Dragon and the Leylines to empower mages?  Oh....its so beautiful".

As he said that, the other Archer came out of hiding.

"Crass?!"

"Sorry, but not really.  Iv got some debts to pay you know, and this place has a lot of treasure...plus, I can sell all of your equipment.  He gets the mana, I get the money, it was a very easy offer".

"So anyways...without further adue..."

With that, he snapped his finger, and the magic circle underneath them all glowed brightly as they all felt painful strikes at their heart.  Some sort of death spell, everyone fell to the ground instantly lifeless and unmoving as the circle disappeared.  Meanwhile, mana began to flow out of several bodies and into him.

"Wait..."

Garron only had a second to realize it as James got up and charged at him, slashing at him.  A golem of lava got in his way, parrying the blow, but the force was felt and nearly knocked them over.

"I suppose an A-Rank adventurer like him would have a trick or two to survive that" Crass mentioned, when he suddenly had to block at his side.  That was because there was a swordsman there, and a competant one at that.  It was Argen Reese.  And not just him, but the other members of his party were up as well.  All of Daysparrow was alive, and yet they should not have had the strength to do so.  Their hearts should have been stopped.

And of course, he saw Yuu getting up as well, mana swelling around him.  Garron saw that as well, and he summoned a large scale lava monster.

"I will leave that to you....with this state....I will go outside and absorb the power of the leylines itself from the air, and you cannot do anything to stop me!"

Bragging like that, he flew out, leaving Crass to the mercy of the Daysparrow party.  Naturally, as one archer against two warriors, an archer, and a mage, he was knocked out by a shield to the head rather quickly.

James however was fighting off the lava monsters, while Yuu was in tears and headed towards Lyo, whose body remained still as his blood spread across the ground.  He was upset, incredibly upset.

"Yuu...its..."

"No!  I wont let him die like this!  This moron...he still has to repay me for annoying me so much!" Yuu shouted, taking out a potion.

"There is no way Lyo will be able to drink that...and a normal potion...wait, huh?"

That was when Cassor noticed, the power he felt from the potion Yuu was holding.  That was not a normal potion, or even a high quality potion one could find in stores that catered to rich and nobility.  That was a potion beyond anything he had ever seen.  He wondered if Yuu was some sort of alchemical genius too.

However, it had nothing to do with his genius.  It had to do with the immoral human experimentation he did on the murderous and rapist bandits that he had captured and used as test subjects, testing to see if he could make better potions.  While there were plenty of people who would go great lengths to develop better potions, very few would experiment on humans.  So while Yuu's intelligence did have an effect, his bizzare methods had a major hand.

"I cant believe you are making me do this Lyo...well, I was never the romantic type anyways".

There was a lot of retorts to a seven year old saying that, but none of them were said aloud.

Yuu then drank the potion himself, and then kissed Lyo, forcing the potion down his throat.  He couldn't just pour it down his throat, as much as he wanted to.  He had to make sure Lyo would not cough it up or what not, so he had to keep Lyo's mouth sealed so none of the potion got out.  He had to be ready to cover his nose too, just in case.

Of course, there was also a second reason.  Yuu had survived the death spell himself, but it had severely hurt his lifeforce and energy, so by doing this method, the potion would also restore his strength a little, while still making sure that Lyo recieved most of the effects.

"But...Lyo was stabbed in the heart...wait..."

Indeed, although Lyo had been stabbed through the heart and his blood was spilling everywhere, they could see his body recovering and healing, and color returning to him.  His heart was clearly being regenerated by the potion, but that required him to be alive in the first place.

But of course, Lyo had heard it from Yuu.  About the bandit that had stayed alive after Yuu had put an icecle through his heart.  Using mana to keep himself alive, and his blood flowing.  And Lyo, who trusted and cared for Yuu, believed that Yuu would save him so long as he kept himself alive.  And so, focusing all of his energy, unable to even move a finger, he had focused entirely on using mana to keep his blood flowing.  And so, the Lyo who should have been dead, was brought back to life.

If it wasn't for the fact they were two seven year old boys, it would probably be a romantic scene of true love's kiss.  But they were just best friends, who would do anything for one another.

As Lyo woke up, Yuu finally pulled away.

"Sorry...to worry you..."

"You moron...I told you not to trust him".

"Not to trust him...wait, you knew he was bad?!"

"I had an idea" Yuu said, sighing.  "But, I couldn't be sure if it was him, or you, or one of the Archers.  Well, I had really ruled out you, but I was being careful".

"Yeah" James said.  "it was the Lich that made it weird.  A Lich is an undead that can use magic, generally speaking you see them when an entire group of adventurers gets wiped out.  That is because if the vanguard gets wiped out, the rest of the party usually flees and heads back into town.   So to see a Lich with no other warrior zombies, it was an immediate red flag.  I don't know what kind of power that guy has, but it seems he sacrificed other members of his first party to gain power...he basically went power mad".

"But...how did we survive?"

"its because of the genius Yuu of course" Lyo said weakly.

"Yuu did?"

"Ah...it likely has to do with my death rings I forced you all to wear" Yuu said, pointing at the rings.  "It appears that because my magic already had a grip on your heart, it superceeded the magic circle and prevented your hearts from stopping.  I good bonus, I would say".

In other words, Yuu's insurance policy against them betraying him caused it so they did not die to  the death spell. 

However, rocks and pebbles began to float around Yuu as magic power radiated from him.

"Argen, take Lyo out of here, get to the surface.  James, deal with those lava golems".

"Hold on, are you..."

Yuu's eyes shined brightly, especially his right eye.  That eye glowed unnaturally bright, as he seemed to fly out overflowing with power and emotion...no, it was more accurate to say that power came from his emotion.  But before he could get far, a rock hit the back of his head.  He turned around and looked at Lyo.

"Yuu...fight smart...and dont die.  I will help you".

As Lyo said that, while he seemed unstable, he was able to stand a bit now.  He pulled out his bow.

"Also, there is a weird magic circle over there...I think it might teleport us to the surface".

Yuu was aware of how good Lyo's instincts were.  While James would deal with the lava golems, the others fled to the surface...to fight the traitor Garron, and stop this madness.