Siegfried Fors
"They have already adapted to your Time Magic."
As the words left Mother, she surged forward, her axe whistling through the air as it carved a silver path through the cluster of Goldkins. Uncle Erik and the knights followed her lead, diving into the fray with a synchronized ferocity. Ashar and Aifa stayed behind with me, their weapons ready.
Next to me, Lady Serena was murmuring to herself, her eyes darting across the battlefield with a frantic, analytical light.
"...Time Halt isn't something darkness can adapt to so easily. According to my calculations, I would need to deploy it at least three more times for the darkness to even begin to perceive the logic and adapt to it completely."
"Are you just going to blabber to yourself?" Mother shouted, her hands locking around a massive Goldkin's ring. The creature thrashed, claws scraping uselessly against her grip.
Suddenly, Lady Serena's eyes widened, a flash of revelation crossing her porcelain face.
"It is your doing!" she cried out, pointing her staff accusingly at Mother.
Mother's brow furrowed in a deep frown as she shattered the golden ring of the creature in her grasp. "What nonsense are you talking about?" she snapped
"You are the one who showed the darkness how to counter a Time Halt. That is why its adaptation has accelerated so violently… No, it is more than that. Without having an 'authority' of its own, it would be impossible for raw darkness to achieve this level of resistance."
Mother stopped fighting for a moment, appearing back in front of us in a blurred streak of silver.
"You mean to say someone with an 'authority' is controlling this darkness?" Mother said, her face set in a grim mask of seriousness.
Authority? What are they even talking about?
I struggled to keep up with the conversation. Granny had mentioned before that the darkness adapts the more we fight its minions, but this "authority" thing was entirely new.
"Ugh, if I knew this would happen so fast, I would have captured some when the time magic was still effective." Lady Serena ruffled her hair in frustration, her usual composure fraying at the edges. "No choice. Elara's daughter... your name is Valka, right? Grab a few of those Goldkins for me. I can use them to track the path to the source."
"Will this work?" Uncle asked as he appeared beside us, one arm locked around a Goldkin whose lower body had already been torn away.
"Good. Red." At Lady Serena's command, the red orb came swirling through the air. Uncle turned toward it, and as the orb drew closer, the Goldkin was suddenly sucked into the sphere in a single, violent motion.
Huh?
Uncle stared at his empty arms, then at the orb, his expression mirroring my own confusion.
"Yummy!" the red orb chirped, vibrating with a disturbing sense of glee.
"Keep feeding him," Lady Serena said without hesitation.
As the grim process of feeding the red orb began, even Lady Serena joined the fray. I moved closer to Ashar's side while Aifa provided precise long-range support, her arrows pinning the faster enemies to the stone.
"Ashar, what is this 'Authority' they were talking about?" I asked, keeping my voice low amidst the sounds of clashing steel and dying hisses.
Ashar remained in thought for a second. "I don't know much myself, but from the tid bits I know of, having 'Authority' means you draw power directly from a specific Concept. A person needs to have an ideology deeply rooted in that concept or believe in something so greatly that they can tap into it. The moment they do, they gain an Arcana related to it. The best example would be the Followers of Aethelhum, who gain an Arcana depending on the strength of their faith… Also, It is a well-known fact in certain circles that Lady Valka holds the Authority of War/Conflict."
So that is how it works. Supernatural Arcanas reflect a person's inner self, their will, and their very nature, but Mother having an ideology tied to war feels so distant from the woman whom I know. Lady Serena also called her a Paradeus of War/Conflict.
I watched Mother cut through the enemies like a silver storm, every movement deliberate, every strike carrying weight. This was not just mastery of the axe. It felt closer to inevitability, as if conflict itself bent around her presence.
War…
"So what exactly is a Paradeus?" I asked.
Ashar shook his head slowly from side to side.
"I don't know anything about that. I heard that word today for the first time."
He didn't look like he was lying…
"I am done dissecting them, my beautiful lady~" the red orb announced with a cheerful chime.
"Blue," Lady Serena called out, turning the last of the Goldkins to ash with a flick of her staff.
The blue orb drifted closer to the red one. A thin beam of light connected them, flowing from red to blue. As I watched, there was a strange sense of motion within that light, as if something unseen was traveling through it.
"Data transferred, my lady~"
Data transfer?
My gaze lingered on the orbs. From what I have seen till now, they really did feel like separate systems working together. Blue looked like storage and was for analysis, while Red dissected and collected raw data. Yellow had yet to show its purpose. That beam of light felt oddly familiar, like watching a cable link two devices and move files between them.
I need to ask her about this later.
"Going through all the recorded authorities..." the blue orb announced. "Searching... Searching... Searching... Match found: Entropy."
"Entropy!" Granny's voice rang out, sharp with shock, as everyone gathered back together.
"This just became infinitely more annoying," Lady Serena muttered, her brow furrowed in deep thought.
"What is Entropy?" Mother asked, constantly tapping her foot, her posture radiating a restless energy.
"Entropy is the cosmic law that ensures all things must eventually end, rot, fade, or transform. It is the price of existence. But do not think of it as the same thing as Destruction or Chaos. Those are violent and sudden. Entropy is slow, patient, and inevitable." Lady Serena paused, her gaze turning distant. "Entropy is the law that says even gods must kneel to time. Not as a punishment, but as a balance."
That's a great explanation by this world's logic.. In my previous life, I understood it as the measure of how disordered and unusable energy becomes over time. The universe naturally moves toward states that are more probable and less structured. Even the Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system always increases over time or remains constant in ideal conditions.
I once read a research paper on it at the university: 'Entropy gives time its direction. The past had lower entropy; the future will have higher entropy. This is why we remember the past, not the future.' But in the end, it's like Lady Serena said: 'Entropy is not destruction. It is inevitability.'
"If it is Entropy, then it is no wonder it was able to shatter the Time Halt," Granny explained, her voice gaining a hard edge. "Entropy dictates that time must move forward. With Valka showing the darkness how to break the stasis, the dungeon simply applied that method and adapted."
"No... that is not the worst part," Lady Serena said, her voice dropping into a dangerous register. "If that demon reaches the source of the darkness before we do and ends up devouring the being that holds the Authority of Entropy..."
"He might become an even bigger pain in the ass to kill," Mother finished flatly.
"Excuse me," Aifa stepped forward. "The Young Lord and I saw the source of darkness earlier, but there was nothing there other than the source itself. Just that black void beneath."
At her words, a memory flashed through my mind.
"No!" I spoke up before I could stop myself, drawing every eye to me. "Aifa, remember when I said I saw something moving in there? Deep in that black source, there was something shifting. It was like something was slithering."
"That confirms it," Lady Serena said, her expression snapping back into a mask of cold command. "We need to move now. Blue!"
"I have pinpointed the coordinates of the source, my lady," the blue orb announced.
"Lead the way." As she spoke, the yellow orb moved closer and grew significantly in size. To my amazement, she simply sat atop it, crossing one leg over the other with practiced ease.
"Wow, how did it do that?" I asked, genuinely surprised.
"A special material that can expand," she replied, a smug curl to her lips. "Come here~. I will give you the honor of sitting next to me."
"Really? Thanks." I jumped up without hesitation and settled beside her.
"And the rest of you, try to keep up," Lady Serena called out. In the next heartbeat, we were surging through the tunnel with incredible speed, the blue orb darting ahead to guide us. I glanced back and saw everyone flying a short distance behind us. Mother was glaring at me, her arms crossed and a storm cloud practically hanging over her head. Aifa was also frowning, her gaze fixed on me with a look of deep displeasure.
I think I might have made a massive mistake by accepting this ride. The air back there is definitely colder.
"Brace yourself," Lady Serena warned. I looked forward just in time to see another shimmering Time Veil. We shot straight into it. Usually, I would have expected the crushing headache and the sickening wave of dizziness that always accompanied these jumps, but this time, nothing of the sort happened.
"Feeling alright?" Lady Serena asked, her amber eyes flicking toward me.
She must have done something.
"I am fine. Thank you," I said, offering a small nod of gratitude.
I surveyed our new surroundings, but the area didn't look much different from the previous time period. The others began to filter through the veil, looking a little wobbly and pale, with the exception of Mother. She floated toward us, her expression still hard. "How far is it?"
"The closest path goes through three more time periods," the blue orb answered.
"The boy and I are going to scout ahead at a slower pace," Lady Serena announced casually. "I am leaving Blue behind. Bring everyone along when they are feeling better. The dizziness must have worsened now that the darkness has taken control of the dungeon."
Before Mother could even get a word of protest out, we started moving forward again. Lady Serena gave a dismissive wave of her hand without looking back. I caught a glimpse of Mother raising her axe, her face flushed with anger. "V-Valka!" Granny's sharp call was the only thing that stopped her from charging.
I looked back one last time to see the knights leaning against the damp walls to steady themselves. Only Uncle Erik remained upright, hands on his waist, slowly shaking his head as if trying to get rid of the dizziness.
I hope Mother doesn't decide to count this ride against my training hours later.
"If I am correct, you have a Master Alchemist Arcana, correct?" Lady Serena's voice pulled my attention back to her.
Huh? How does she know? Did Granny tell her?
"Yes, how do you know?" I asked, trying to read the expression behind her sharp amber eyes.
"One of my various talents," she said with a wink. "Is Elara teaching you?"
I nodded in response. Even with the chaos around us, thinking of Granny's lessons brought a small sense of calm.
"Hm." She hummed softly, as if fitting a distant memory into place.
"To think little Ellie is a teacher now. She is a big woman now!" The yellow orb beneath us vibrated, its voice sounding almost teary with a strange, parental happiness.
The sentiment was cut short as a massive Goldkin lumbered into the path, dragging a large, jagged sledgehammer that scraped against the stone with a shower of sparks.
They really do not stop coming…
I reached for my wand, but Lady Serena calmly placed her hand over it.
"Hm. They really do come in all shapes and sizes," she said with an amused smile.
She thrust her staff forward in a sudden, blinding motion. Even from a distance, the force of the strike blew a gaping hole straight through the Goldkin, causing its form to crumble into dust.
Wow. What was that? That wasn't a spell. That looked like a spear technique. I looked closer at her weapon. The purple stone at the top was flanked by two large, curved blades that formed a wicked point.
"Is that a spear or a staff?" I asked, thoroughly confused as I stared at the weapon.
"It is a Spaff!" she declared with absolute confidence. "My original invention. Have you not seen it before with Elara?"
"Huh? Granny? She is a long-distance mage. I have never seen her fight using a spear," I said, the image of Granny wielding something like that feeling entirely wrong.
"Oh? It seems she has forgotten her roots then,"Lady Serena mused, her smirk widening. "Or perhaps she just realized that being a 'long-distance mage' is much better for her aging joints."
"What are you dawdling for? We don't have time." Mother's voice cut through the air from behind us. I turned back to see the rest of the group finally approaching, their faces set in grim lines.
"Please, you people are the ones dawdling," Lady Serena countered with a playful, effortless smile.
The blue orb continued its forward path, its mechanical voice sounding almost impatient. "Please keep any discussion for later. We need to keep up the speed."
"Ouch!" Aifa's sharp cry was suddenly accompanied by a chorus of confused shouts and the heavy sound of bodies hitting the stone.
I turned my head to see everyone collapsed on the ground, with the exception of Mother and Uncle.
"Ma?" Uncle hurried to help Granny up, his eyes darting around for a hidden enemy.
"The magic suddenly…" Mother muttered, staring at her own hand in disbelief.
"The darkness must have adapted to the 'Gravity' aspect of the Force magic," Lady Serena declared, her voice losing its playful edge. "You people must have been using it to fly around quite a lot."
She's right. Ever since we entered, we've been relying on it to bridge the gaps and move faster.
"With an authority behind it, the adaptation speed is insane," Mother said, sounding both irritated and deeply unsettled.
"Is it stopping us?" Granny asked as Uncle steadied her.
Lady Serena jumped down from the orb, and I followed her lead. "It is. We can't allow the darkness to completely adapt to us before we reach the source." She turned back toward her floating orbs. "Disengage."
At her command, red and yellow orbs vanished into thin air, leaving behind blue orb.
"From here on, we walk," Lady Serena said, tapping her staff against the ground.
Everyone nodded in agreement as we started moving. The silence didn't last long. A low, thunderous rumbling echoed from behind us, and we turned to see a tide of Goldkins surging through the tunnel in a state of sheer madness.
"These things!" Uncle Erik growled, raising his hand to manifest his spell.
"No, wait. We cannot afford to fight right now. Just run!" As her words ended, the group was already in motion. Before I could even take my first step, a strong hand swept me upward. Mother lifted me effortlessly, her arm wrapping around me as she sprinted.
"Left!" the blue orb announced as the path ahead split into a fork.
We veered into the left tunnel. Lady Serena spun around mid-run and pressed her palm against the cavern wall. A brilliant golden light, the unmistakable glow of mana alchemy, spread from her touch across the rock. The walls groaned and shivered, shrinking inward and sealing the passage shut behind us, completely blocking the path of the pursuing Goldkins.
Transmutation… on this scale? I have only ever practiced that with Granny on spoons or small trinkets. To reshape the very foundation of the earth so casually... she really is a monster.
We collectively sighed in relief, maintaining a steady pace until the shimmering surface of a Time Veil appeared ahead.
"Wait a second." Lady Serena tapped her staff against the ground, and a tingly sensation washed over my skin. She stepped through the veil, and the rest of us followed close behind.
We emerged into a massive, vaulted cave, and the scene before us was almost unbelievable. The demon was already there, caught in the middle of a brutal struggle against a relentless group of Goldkins.
"Ugh, not him again," Mother muttered, her expression saying she was completely done with this dungeon.
"We meet again," the demon rasped, its voice echoing off the high ceiling as it crushed a Goldkin between its massive hands.
My hand instinctively moved to my eyepatch, bracing for the familiar, searing agony, but luckily the pain didn't come.
"Having fun?" Mother asked, her tone dripping with mockery.
"You just found me in the middle of what you humans call a diner or a crunch, or whatever it is," the demon said. It snatched one of the smaller Goldkins and bit off its entire upper body in one sickening crunch. It turned its gaze toward me, licking its lips with a slow, deliberate motion.
Its eyes shifted to me as it licked its lips.
A chill ran through me, and I stepped back without thinking.
Just why? I wanted women to look at me that way—with that kind of soul-piercing intensity—not some ugly ass demon whose only desire was to chew my internal organs.
A streak of silver light sliced through the air toward the demon. There was a violent clash that happened too fast for me to track, and suddenly Mother was standing where the demon had been. The monster was shoved back several paces, a large wound on his shoulder already beginning to stitch itself together with sickening efficiency.
Then I noticed Lady Serena, she was already standing directly behind him. The demon threw a brutal backhand at her, but his fist passed through her.
Mother was upon him again with her fist pulled back, and Lady Serena thrust her weapon forward at the same heartbeat. Both attacks landed simultaneously. The demon's body exploded into fragments, leaving nothing but his head to thud against the ground.
"You guys can come over now," Mother said, looking back at us while she wiped a splash of dark ichor from her cheek.
"Won't it just regenerate and lunge at us again?" Uncle asked, his axe ready.
"I can slow its regeneration, don't worry," Serena replied.
We moved closer, though I slowed my steps, drifting to the back of the group. Even as a severed head, the demon's eyes remained fixed on me with a terrifying intensity.
"Why don't you just die and stop dragging this out?" Mother growled.
The demon laughed, the sound muffled by the dirt. "And why don't you stop dragging this out and let me eat him?"
Mother slammed her foot onto the demon's face, effectively shutting him up. She looked at Lady Serena. "Me killing it has the danger of blowing a hole in the dungeon. Can't you do it?"
"I don't have much practice killing an immortal either. I might also end up blowing a hole through the dungeon and causing a total collapse," Lady Serena admitted, her voice laced with rare hesitation.
Mother smirked, her eyes glinting. "So you aren't all that special after all."
"Don't look at me like that! How am I supposed to practice? It is not like I come across beings with complete immortality every other day. The last time it happened was a hundred and twenty years ago," she countered with a frown.
So she is at least a hundred and twenty years old.
"Damn, you are old," Mother said bluntly.
"You humans certainly love to talk," the demon hissed. Two large, fleshy arms suddenly erupted from the sides of its head, but before they could even fully form, they were obliterated by a fist and spaff.
The demon let out a light groan. I peeked from behind Ashar's legs, catching sight of that twisted grin directed right at me. I couldn't help but tremble as the weight of his hunger pressed against me
No. We have to kill it. We have to.
But the logic was a cage. If they used enough power to end him, we might all fall into the void of the time stream. I was trapped on both sides by impossible choices.
"So the problem is that you both will end up making a hole in the dungeon if you use too much power?" I asked, forcing myself to look anywhere but at the demon. "Can't you just concentrate it on him to kill it? He's just a head right now."
"The problem is that the power required to kill an immortal is incredibly volatile," Lady Serena explained, her tone uncharacteristically patient. "Think of a time dungeon like a house of cards. If I, or worse, she, uses that kind of power, if it disturbs even one card and the whole thing will come down on our heads."
That sounds beyond problematic.
"So that is what you are worried about."
The demon's laughter was a jagged, horrific sound that echoed with a terrifying sense of triumph. Its eyes, still locked onto mine, glowed with a sickening, final intensity.
"Let's move to hell together!"
The moment the words left it, a blinding light erupted, consuming my vision.
Heat, pressure, and a violent pull wrapped around me all at once. My body felt weightless and unbearably heavy at the same time, as if space itself had lost its sense of direction.
Mana screamed around us, warped and distorted, time twisting into something I could not understand. Everything felt like it was being torn apart and dragged somewhere else.
The explosion swallowed us whole.