Overcoming this obstacle proved surprisingly simple. Lacerta just needed to channel the suppressed strength into his legs and execute a single, powerful leap.
Thankfully, it wouldn't demand his absolute maximum effort.
He was grateful for this, as he'd never actually tested his top speed. Attempting it now, without practice and within the confines of a cave, would likely result in a spectacular collision with the far wall—and unconsciousness.
Yes, he was that confident in his potential speed.
But he wouldn't need anything close to his full velocity to bypass traps like these.
Lacerta: ["I'm curious. How do the guards I disabled manage to get past this?"]
Spoon watched, head tilted, as Lacerta dropped into a sprinter's starting pose, one knee deeply bent.
Spoon: ["They've memorized every single step."]
Lacerta: ["...Them? I find that incredibly hard to believe."]
Spoon only offered a shrug.
Spoon: ["As unlikely as it sounds to you, you'd be surprised what people can achieve when failure means certain death."]
It was a fair point. While the guards—particularly the first two at the entrance—were far from exceptional and could even be described as inattentive, anyone truly valuing their life would meticulously memorize every required movement to navigate the trap.
Doesn't that mean Spoon knows the steps too?
He sighed and shook his head. He knew Spoon was toying with him, playing some elaborate mind game, and it was irritating. Though he no longer required the assassin's services now that his objective was clear, he still hesitated to eliminate Spoon.
Why was that? He wasn't generally in the habit of leaving potential threats alive after neutralizing them. What were the odds they'd return for a second encounter later all?
It was too much to think about.
The instant Lacerta shifted his weight forward, the ground beneath his foot cracked, leaving a deep imprint where he'd pushed off. He utilized just enough speed—not too little, but not his limit either.
And then he was gone, a blur too swift for Spoon's eyes to track.
He reappeared on the far side of the cavern just as a barrage of traps activated. Although he'd cleared the pressure plates, they were evidently triggered by other means. A storm of arrows and a volley of assorted weapons filled the air, impacting the cave walls and the ground behind him.
Lacerta: ["Hm... that wasn't so bad."]
Turning from the chaos he had triggered—a sharp scent of ozone rising from shattered mechanisms—he looked toward the bend in the cavern and sighed.
Spoon navigated the wreckage with a practiced calm, his steps weaving through the very traps Lacerta had just obliterated. He came to a stop beside him without a single misstep.
Spoon: ["I suppose that's one way to do it. But when a guard comes to check on this, all they're going to find is... this mess."]
That wasn't a problem for Lacerta—he didn't care how many guards discovered what had happened here. A problem for the guards, Lacerta thought, not for him.
Lacerta: ["Regardless, how do civilians get past something like that?"]
Spoon shook his head.
Spoon: ["Most of them don't. The few who make it through only do so because others have triggered the traps before them. Basically in effect, once you're in, there's no getting out."]
Lacerta: ["Then what's the point of a 'password'?"]
Spoon: ["That's typically for non-civilians. For other guards and people like me."]
Spoon continued down the cavern, and Lacerta fell into step beside him.
Spoon: ["I have reason to believe Logically, there are other entrances into this place... Though if it is true, they seem to be well hidden, likely reserved for a select few."]
Lacerta considered that. If this main entrance to the underground area collapsed, who among them could force their way out?
The presumption was easy, and the name came to him unbidden: Vola Dardain.
This was why the possibility of other exits and entrances was so high. Lacerta believed he was the only one within the 'feast' group capable of such a feat. However, it all hinged on whether the information he'd heard about Vola had been exaggerated or not.
————————————————————————————————
The pair maintained their silence as they continued their trek through the underground. The only difference now, after having navigated a variety of different traps, was the unsettling lack of guards. While the guards were, as Spoon put it, mere 'decoration,' their presence usually signaled that no one had entered undetected.
Spoon: ["So he knows.... I'm not too surprised by that."]
Lacerta didn't respond, but his silence conveyed the answer—though not in words.
Instead, his eyes remained fixed on the giant gate looming before them... The monolith was large, though it didn't rival the entrance to Guaral. Yet it was an impressive sight, standing several meters tall—especially considering it was reportedly held aloft by a single person's magic.
Spoon: ["Beyond these doors, I can't say what will happen. Just getting that out now."]
Lacerta merely sighed and continued his approach.
There's most likely a trap waiting... but what else can I do? This is the only entrance we know of.
His top priority, of course, was still saving Caro Mendin. Whatever had happened to Rusk and Glenn would have to come next—presuming they were still alive.
Lacerta: ["——!"]
He couldn't contain his surprise as the massive doors began to slide apart, revealing the 'Great Hall's' interior.
Spoon: ["Huh. Not the approach I was expecting Dardain to take..."]
A pair of guards stepped out from the entrance. These ones looked far more formidable than the ragged men he had taken down before, covered head-to-toe in polished armor and wielding weapons of vastly superior quality. His hand shot to the hilt of his katana.
Hall Guard: ["Prostrate yourself and consider yourself grateful, child. Lord Dardain has permitted your entry and wishes to see you."]
Lacerta's eyes narrowed. His hand slid away from his katana as the two guards gestured for him to follow. He shot a glare back at Spoon, who remained quiet, then fell in step behind them.
The interior was night and day compared to the damp, trap-riddled cavern they had passed through. Though not as opulent as the Velin Estate, it was well-made, with smooth stone walls and a red carpet draping the floor. It was a straightforward corridor, yet it seemed absurdly long, stretching toward a massive door at the end with no one else in sight.
Spoon: ["Confused, Lacerta? I suppose some sort of... event is going on. Hence the lack of people."]
Based on the emphasis on 'event,' Lacerta just sighed. Of course, he'd already guessed it was a trap waiting after all.
Guard One: ["Yes... Lord Dardain's benevolence knows no bounds. Instead of letting us slice you into thin strands, he allows you to breathe in his vicinity—even to lay eyes upon him."]
Lacerta didn't bother to respond. Instead—
Guard One: ["——Haghk!?"]
—he drove his blade through the first guard's heart with a single, brutal thrust from behind. Piercing the armor with nothing more than monstrous strength before, in a spray of blood, he yanked the katana free and arced it toward the second guard, who was still raising a weapon in shock.
Though, they were far too slow to react to Lacerta. The blade bisected them just like the first.
Spoon: ["Well... that was unexpected."]
Swiping the blood clean from his katana, Lacerta stepped over the bodies and continued toward the massive door that seemed to grow larger with every step.
Lacerta: ["This was going to devolve into a fight anyway. Can't you feel it?"]
The sensation of dread—a raw lust for blood from the monster behind that door—washed over him as he walked. He remained unshaken.
Spoon: ["—I suppose my senses aren't as acute as yours."]
Spoon shrugged. It didn't matter; although he couldn't visually perceive the bloodlust like Lacerta, the chilling sensation was still there, causing all the hairs to stand on the assassins body.
Lacerta raised his leg as he stood before the door, reeling it back and taking a deep breath.
Lacerta: ["Let's just get this party started already."]
He drove his foot into the giant door's surface, blasting it open as if it weighed no more than a feather.