章 65: Labyrinth Order
"There's a manifold in front of us."
Kukulkan's statement caused Ritsuka to pause while Zvezdnyy said the thing on everyone's mind. Her Kapitana stared ahead at a seemingly invisible thing, she was entranced.
"My Kapitana, what is a 'manifold'?"
Zvezdnyy stood at the barely visible line that divided the beach from the dense trees of the island's interior. She turned around to face her Kapitana, who only stopped hovering when her feet touched the dirt-covered ground from which the jungle sprouted.
"I could see magical energy flowing, intertwining with the smallest spacetime. The way gravity slightly bends around the edge of this distortion. You can think of it as mirrors. A region of severed spacetime where if you try to enter you'll only loop back around on the other side." Kukulkan said as she neared the supposed edge of this 'manifold'.
Then, her Polk— Kapitana simplified it, "Usually it traps people within a confined stretch of spacetime. It can also prevent entry, case in point the manifold in front of us. Of course, whoever made this manifold clearly hasn't taken me into account. I can easily break it."
"That sounds like something only a Holy Grail can do," Ritsuka added.
"Drake did say the one who possesses the Grail that we seek is a pirate with a metal claw or hook, Senpai. That this… it must require a titanic amount of magical energy to sustain such a powerful Bounded Field."
The teen sighed, "Right. But there are so many pirates with a hook for a hand that it's like saying the water we're looking for causes stuff to get wet."
Mash giggled while Zvezdnyy's lips curled upward into a smile. The young girl then proclaimed, "Let's move! The treasure is clearly guarded by this manifold, and what a magnificent prize it must be for such formidable defenses to be put in place."
Her Kapitana made a face that screamed protest at what Zvezdnyy wanted to do, yet she didn't voice any of it. Was it perhaps due to the conversation she had with Iskander last night? The conversation about letting a child's curiosity guide them to wherever they may go.
Breaking the manifold didn't result in a shifting of environments. The jungle inside the invisible manifold remained as it was— a vibrant, untouched wilderness that promised treasure in the eyes of Zvezdnyy. More than anything, the trees were the largest the girl had ever seen. In person at least.
Oh sure, there were plenty of pictures depicting what the Amazon was like when it wasn't a vast field of rotting meat, but right now, all around Zvezdnyy were the genuine items. A real-life antediluvian jungle, larger, more wilder than even the trees on that port island.
Oh, what treasures it must hide! Swooned Zvezdnyy internally. Her eagerness to run and leave the group searching for more treasures was only kept in check by how close her Kapitana was to her.
Eventually, the group stumbled upon the entrance to a giant cave. The entrance looked like it belonged to the maw of a great beast. It was so large that Zvezdnyy was pretty sure a Santisima Trinidad devoid of its masts could just barely enter.
"There's another Bounded Field inside. Possibly a Noble Phantasm." Her Kapitana suddenly said. She then flew up into the precipice of this cave. "You guys should stay back. I don't know what sort of esoteric effect this enclosed spacetime can have on you guys. And I don't want to find out."
It was so sweet of her Kapitana to worry about those more fragile than her.
"My Kapitana, you underestimate me! With but a thought, I can conjure an invincible suit of armor, impervious to any arcane alterations this cave might unleash."
Zvezdny could see the Goddess's eyes growing distant as though she were remembering something. Given how her Kapitana said something about 'Noble Phantasm', Zvezdnyy wondered if it had any relations to the Longinus enemy her Kapitana fought in the previous Singularity.
Oddly enough, a weird feeling blossomed in her chest whenever she thought of that spearman.
"No. I allowed this to happen, assuming we wouldn't encounter anything like this." Her Kapitana pointed at what was inside the cave. She was adamant about not letting Zvezdnyy in, greatly confusing the girl.
"But… but consider the untold riches that could await us! What if we're forfeiting mountains of gleaming gold coins, buried just beyond our grasp?" Zvezdnyy stubbornly held on, "More than mere gold coins, my birthday approaches swiftly. The greatest gift I desire is the thrill of venturing into this mysterious cave!"
Zvezdnyy knew she had won since birthday presents were something incredibly precious. To be honest, if her Kapitana had continued rejecting Zvezdnyy's wish to go on a pirate adventure, the girl was ready to invoke the 'birthday present' card right there. However, invoking it here seemed appropriate given how obviously the cave ahead was filled with hidden treasure.
"You probably won't even find anything in there…" Her Kapitana weakly protested.
"I want to enter and explore regardless."
"..." Then her Kapitana whispered to herself, "God dam— ang it. You're too smart sometimes."
Zvezdnyy preened under what she perceived as a compliment. "Hehe~!"
"We're leaving on the first sign of trouble."
With apparent permission acquired, Zvezdnyy turned around and faced the cave's entrance.
"My Master and I will stay out here." Archer said, "It's much safer that way."
"Archer! Kukulkan, don't worry I'll come with you—"
"It's sweet, but I agree with Archer that it's safer that you're out here."
She took a few steps before stopping at the precipice, her jaws dropping as she saw what was inside.
It was something out of this world. It was like a person had twisted an ancient Greek monument around like a Rubik's Cube. Stairs that led to nowhere. Stairs that had steps on both sides. Platforms that existed in varying angles, some so slanted it was easy to mistake them for walls it if weren't for the stairs that led to it.
It was an impossible labyrinth—an Escheresque-scape that defied logic and physics.
"It's probably for the best. I'll stay with Zvezdnyy as she explores this cave."
Zvezdnyy was captivated by the sight. The fascination grew and grew and grew.
"I question your willingness to let her manipulate you like that."
Her Kapitana's lips thinned, "She's a kid. Besides, her birthday is practically the day after tomorrow. I was always going to give her a present. This simply removed that need—"
"I'm going in!" With that, Zvezdnyy teleported inside.
"ZVEZDNYY!"
The girl teleported on top of an archway not far from the entrance. Her body turned partially around and swung her arms rotating, a gesture of 'come here', "Come on, my Kapitana! The treasures await for no one!"
Seeing how her Kapitana flew after the girl, Zvezdnyy decided to make it into a chase.
"Catch me if you can!"
She teleported once again. This time, she was standing on the ceiling, head facing down at the floor as though gravity was reversed.
"Arrrgh! You are so grounded after we return!"
This chase continued through the illogical labyrinth.
Up. Up. Down. Down. Left. Right. Left. Right. There were a thousand different ways that Zvezdnyy could go, all eventually leading to what simply must be a treasure. The girl wanted to go through all of it.
"Gotcha!"
Her Kapitana's arms wrapped tightly around the girl's relatively tiny shoulder. "Grrr! Why do you have to run off like that huh?"
"I knew you could catch me. I was never too far, always in visual range."
"No excuses!"
Her Kapitana squeezed, and Zvezdnyy realized just how serious she was, "Ow ow ow! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for running off!"
Eventually, her Kapitana's arms released the girl.
"You're grounded when we return. No more adventures like this one for the rest of the Singularity!" She looked around at the brick walls that surrounded the two. Occasionally, plates would be attached to hooks coming off the walls— places to put candles on.
"What? Why?"
Her Kapitana ignored Zvezdnyy's questioning and was more interested in how bright everything was. There was not a single ounce of shadow anywhere even though they're deep in the labyrinth. It was as though light covered every inch of this hallway, this whole labyrinth. Even in the corners, in the tiny cracks in the walls—
Darkness no longer existed.
"Normally darkness of visual light doesn't affect me at all since I can see infrared. Did you do something to the darkness?"
"I merely banished the very essence of darkness from this labyrinth, ensuring its shadowy grip could no longer exist within these walls," Zvezdnyy said, returning to her dramatic way of speaking.
Secretly, she hoped this would be enough to impress her Kapitana and maybe weaken the grounding to only a few days instead of the rest of the Singularity.
"Huh," Her Kapitana merely mumbled to herself as she stared down the hallway they found themselves in. Her foot left the ground as she began to float.
Tracing where she was staring, Zvezdnyy found large markings on the walls at the end of this hallway.
They looked like they were made with a blade…
Zvezdnyy focused on the markings some more. A chill ran down her spine as she realized they were made with massive blades that were easily larger than Zvezdnyy's own body. They carved into the walls, creating crevasses large enough to sleep in.
"Well, that's ominous." Her Kapitana commented as she reached the end of the hallway, revealing it to be nothing more than the middle of a T-intersection.
The wall was filled with them. They were like the death scratches a person might make when they're locked in a burning, brass bull. Crude. Random. And desperate.
*VZZZZ*
Zvezdnyy felt like she was suddenly thrust into the summer's sun as a ray of blinding plasma erupted from a spot next to her Kapitana.
Once the light subsided, the girl could see an ax glowing red hot at the end of the right hallway. The one who wielded the ax was… a humanoid thing possessing the head of an ox.
"A minotaur…" Her Kapitana lowered her upper body as though she was about to serve a volleyball.
A not-human. A subhuman. A monster who must be defending the treasure. Zvezdnyy quickly pulled out her cutlass, now sharpened instead of as dull as a toy.
"ARRRR! Could this be the guardian of the fabled treasure? My Kapitana, I beg you, do not vanquish this beast too swiftly—I wish to join in the battle as well!"
"What?"
Her Kapitana whipped her head around to face the girl.
Just then, the beast raised his head and let out a deafening roar, kicking up clouds of dust that settled on the floor of this labyrinth.
Faster than a fighter jet, the minotaur used the cover of the dust and launched himself forward. He hoped for a surprise attack since one would not usually think a beast as large as himself could move so quickly.
It was a fatal error that led to many deaths of those who sought to kill him in life.
He was gravely mistaken.
*Whoosh*
*CLANG*
Like someone shooing away an annoying fly, her Kapitana backhanded the minotaur in the head, diverting his charge into the wall.
*Boom*
A large section of the wall comparable to suburban houses collapsed. Rubble fell upon the minotaur. Debris covered his fallen form. He was unresponsive.
"You can't fall just yet beast! Our epic battle is still waiting to unfold! Get up."
In an instant, the minotaur felt foreign energy surging into him. His eyes underneath the rubble snapped open.
The pile of debris coming from the broken wall detonated like a bomb. Countless shards and clumps of bricks shot out as the bull-headed beast awakened. Her Kapitana stood in front of the pre-teen, intercepting any debris that could hit Zvezdnyy.
Now devoid of the metal helmet, the minotaur unleashed another roar.
"I will protect—"
Yes, yes! Zvezdnyy excitedly thought as she peeked over her Kapitana's form and saw the horns on this human-like beast.
Humans don't have horns, so this thing cannot be human no matter how much he looks like one.
Come forth, you not-human beast! Defend that treasure you hold so dearly!
With a single thought, a dozen barrels of 16th-century cannons appeared around the minotaur, each about the length of a dinner table. They hovered in the air as though held up with invisible strings.
They were replicas of Santisima Trinidad's own guns, the twelve-pounders to be exact.
It was clear from who Zvezdnyy learned this move.
"FIRE!"
*BOOM*
A fireball enveloped the minotaur. Zvezdnyy felt a flash of heat wash over her.
Yet a single moment later, a roar emanated from the minotaur, instantly dispersing the black remnant of the fireball that veiled his form. He looked unharmed by the barrage.
Unknown to Zvezdnyy, the cannon she conjured fired actual cannonballs that didn't exist in the prior moment. As such, they were like modern weapons and possessed next to no Mystery. Without Mystery, a Servant cannot be harmed.
"Stop!" A voice loudly proclaimed before the minotaur could do anything else.
From the corner that the minotaur walked out of came a purple-haired girl in a white, jewel-studded dress with a cut on one leg revealing her inhumanly soft thigh. She had twin ponytails running down her back, further emphasizing that child-like appeal.
She was the very picture of purity. Her dress and jewelry seemed to only exalt that factor, extolling just how untouched by the world this girl was.
"The treasure is a little girl?" Zvezdnyy blurted out as she tilted her head to the side in a display of confusion. Her tone didn't even have any inkling of dramatic flare. "But… there's no dragon…"
"Why would there be a dragon?"
"Dragons always kidnap princesses. It's why knights come and rescue them."
"What sort of fantasy land have you been living in, little kid?"
"This is… supposed to be my adventure! Where is the hidden treasure guarded by this inhuman beast?"
The girl looked pensive as if debating on a life-changing decision.
"It's… me. I'm the treasure you're looking for! I am the treasure Asterios is protecting! And he's not an inhuman beast! How rude."
"Eur—yale—!" Asterios groaned as he tried to move between her and the other two. He stumbled forward akin to a drunk man until Euryale caught the comparably giant thing in her tiny, dainty arms.
"Uh? Humans don't have horns. Humans have two legs, two arms, two hands, two eyes, two ears, and two feet. They also have a nose, a mouth, and five digits on their hands and feet."
"Then by your definition, I would be a human." Challenged Euryale.
Zvezdnyy looked up and down Euryale's body, looking for anything that didn't fit in with her idea of 'humans'.
She found nothing.
"You are, are you not?"
"..." A shadow overcast Euryale's face. Stillness consumed her form like the yawning maw of a great whale, motions fleeing as if they were krills.
"What? Just how rude can you be you little twirp! I am no mere human! I'm a Goddess!"
Slowly, like a grindstone processing wheat, Zvezdnyy's eyes looked at her Kapitana, then back to Euryale. To her Kapitana. To Euryale. To her Kapitana. To Euryale.
Euryale was getting increasingly annoyed by the second. She was a pot just waiting to boil over—
"You… don't look like one. Don't act like one either. You must be a princess, and this minotaur—"
"His name is Asterios!" Euryale exploded.
"Okay, okay." Her Kapitana cut in. She physically flew in between the increasingly closer Euryale and Zvezdnyy.
"I can tell things are more complicated than I imagined. Originally, I thought this labyrinth was the creation of a Noble Phantasm powered by a Holy Grail. However, I can see that it's not the case." Her Kapitana looked at the minotaur, "I'm vaguely familiar with Greek myths, but I know there's the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur. You are that Minotaur, right Asterios? Son of that King?"
Asterios grasped his horns, covering them. "Yes."
He's a human born with those horns? Zvezdnyy thought astonishingly. But… then he simply needs to be turned back into a human!
"I guess your Noble Phantasm is this labyrinth." A finger extended upward. Upon receiving a nod, her Kapitana retracted that finger into her chin, "It's obvious you guys don't have the Holy Grail. And that manifold can definitely be explained away if a Goddess had made it…"
"Do you want me to turn you back into a human?" Zvezdnyy asked hastily.
"Hah? And how would you go about doing that?"
"Like this—"
"Zvezdnyy."
"Right!" The girl's back suddenly became as straight as a cutting board, "Can I turn you into a human?"
"Yes." Asterios's answer is short, unlike his actual size. His eyes betrayed a tiny bit of amusement. He didn't believe Zvezdnyy could do anything about his condition.
Zvezdnyy snapped her fingers.
That amusement quickly died when Asterios realized he was suddenly no longer three meters tall. He no longer had to bend his neck he wanted to gaze upon the pretty thing known as Euryale. He only had to dip his chin slightly.
""Huh?""
Both Euryale and Asterios expressed befuddlement at what had just occurred. Asterios reached up and touched his head, his heart skipped a beat when he felt only hair where his horns should be. His mane is reduced, now looking more like a beard rather than something that wouldn't look out of place around the neck of a lion.
Tears welled up in Asterios's eyes. His cursed features… the cause of his torment and ostracization… it's finally gone.
"Thank you…"
While Asterios was enjoying his newfound humanity, Kukulkan tried hiding the ugly grimace on her face. As something that looked like it belonged at a funeral, it shouldn't be a part of this happy atmosphere.
Kukulkan was extremely displeased at this turn of events.
____
AN: give me some comments pls, I am motivated entirely off your comment.
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