The Survival of an Inferior

Death Again

Many armies of people zoom past the heaps of mountains, some magicians flying.

A massive clash and explosions follow. I did not stop to look back at the "fireworks" display.

By the time I return, almost the entire squad of the BOV is missing. I assume they have gone to The Church of Axis.

The child from before walks up to me. "Officer?"

"Oh, hello. We can have a chat later alright? There's somewhere I need to go." I say.

"Wait..."

?

"I have a feeling that The Church of Axis purposely let me escape." the child says. "I've previously tried countless times but failed. I don't understand their sudden lax surveillance and security. I think...they are luring you and the other officers to the church."

...

I squat down to the child. "Any idea why?"

The child shakes his head. "But...recently in the past, I've been hearing lots of noises from the basement of the church. Please be careful."

I nod. "Alright."

There is only one church in the entire Clamore. Approaching the church allows me to see a large group of followers and children gathered outside the church. A few officers question the followers and keep an eye on them.

Inside the church, the officers spread out to inspect the area. Behind the church are several more buildings such as dormitories and a school.

I ask a fellow officer about the current situation. So far they found nothing out of place except one thing. The officer guides me to the back of the church where a set of stairs reveal itself below a small hatch door. We walk down the stairs to see a small room with shelves of documents. There are various boxes in the corner and Audrey is rummaging through those.

At the end of the room is a large black eerie door. Melissa and several others are trying to get it open.

Melissa gets up when she sees me. "Arsto...what was that?" She asks. "How did you even agitate that ancient being?"

"By attacking it."

She raises her brow, doubting my words due to how weak I am. She might have underestimated the centipede's ability.

I walk to the door and touch it.

------------------
Sealed Blackizan Door

Durability: 2883/10000

A door that can be unlocked by a specific mana injection pattern.

[Unlock]
------------------

Sometimes, I can unlock locked doors or barriers and arrays if my mana control and magic statistic are strong enough. The "unlock" option will then be available when inspecting it.

I press the "unlock" option and my hand touching the door gleams brightly. My consciousness is ejected out of my body into another space as if someone hit my head with a bat.

...

Everything went dark.

...

What happened?

This...ugh...

In the void, a sudden string of mana lights up. The light runs down the string of mana to the far horizon, lighting a single string.

Am I supposed to follow that?

Simply thinking about that, I follow the string of mana. The dim blue light reveals my current state, my body is translucent white.