VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 126

As they backtracked to the first door, Mosu found himself to be in somewhat of a similar situation. Either hall was mirrored, six rows of doors down a hall, with the large set at the end, blocked by magic. It was this instance that allowed Mosu's more common yet versatile SOUL to shine. Drawing out his blade handle, the blade extended as a white light, not unlike a lightsaber, projected through his magic.

The monsters watched on as Mosu walked to the door, and rammed his blade down the middle. Immediately, the pale light began to shift into a sage as it absorbed the magical barrier. Despite this seeming like a simple act, Mosu notably winced. His exertion of magic over the last few weeks was definitely starting to take a toll on him.

After a few moments, the barrier was down, and Mosu slid his sage-colored blade into the scabbard, narrowing his eyes.

"What's that smell?" Dogamy gruffed, sticking his nose in the air. Greater Dog and Dogaressa followed suit, all three sniffing at the air for a moment.

"Smells like . . ." Dogaressa began.

"Woof," said Greater Dog. The others agreed.

"No whey." Aaron flexed.

Mosu pinched the bridge of his nose.

The monsters didn't recognize the scent for obvious reasons—they'd never been exposed to it before, it seemed. Mosu, on the other hand, had plenty of experience, especially since his former opponent, Witch, could manifest it with her magic. It was the stench of gunpowder, and having reached the same conclusion as Frisk's group by now, Mosu wasn't looking forward to whatever traps had been laid out for them. If they set even one of them off, it would risk this entire tunnel collapsing in on them, and Mosu wasn't sure if he or any of these monsters could survive such a crude burial.

"We have to be careful," Mosu told them sternly. "Keep your eyes out for wires, switches, anything—one wrong move and we are worm food."

"Worms don't taste bad, actually," Dogamy pointed out, but shut up when his wife jabbed his side. Mosu grasped the handle of the door, paused a moment in anticipation, before he yanked it open. A metallic screech was let out as the door slid against the floor as it moved.

The group winced at this, and Mosu let go of the door. They stood there in silence for a moment, and he poked his head through, glancing about.

"Let me know if the smell gets stronger anywhere," Mosu added. "We must avoid those areas."

"Woof," Greater Dog nodded. Sliding through the door, Mosu glared about, checking the immediate vicinity for traps, though found nothing upon initial inspection. He'd entered some kind of mess hall, cafeteria tables lined out in front of him, the ceiling much higher than it had been in the hall. This place was more than an outpost, it may have very well been the original headquarters before it was upgraded to the bowels of Obatech Industries.

Another screech sounded as Greater Dog yanked the door the rest of the way open just so he could squeeze through it, his armor getting in the way. Mosu winced again at the sound, but his eyes remained attentive. No danger, not initially at least. Where were the others?

Well, Frisk's group was . . . struggling a bit. The search for the key was ongoing, and just as Frisk had stated earlier, the place was laced with traps, confirmed the second they'd opened the first door and seen dozens of wires all around the room. They'd opted to skip that one and come back to it later.

Rian had already cleared two rooms, as had Frisk, who'd just narrowly avoided getting her skull bashed by a falling chandelier, while Alphys kept an eye on the door to make sure it didn't do anything unpredictable.