Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 126 - Toward the End

"Damn! This place is like a maze!"

Medrauta's blade leapt through the air rapidly as she decapitated the heads of four soldiers who barred their way, all of them dissolving into clay and liquid instantly. Unfortunately for Medrauta and Viviane, Isadora didn't exactly have much guidance to offer when it came to navigating the castle's interior, and though the knight had intended to capture and interrogate one of the guards, they hadn't run into a single human as of yet.

Perhaps I should've put more effort into breaking Dame Marilyn out of that damn trance, Medrauta thought for a moment before shaking her head. There was no time for regrets now that they were in the belly of the beast. The survival of the soldiers and knights who fought bravely outside now depended on her success, and there was no way she'd allow them to die simply because she couldn't find a single person inside a castle. Despite that, the fact that there wasn't a single human guard roaming the halls was incredibly frustrating.

Continuing down the hallway they were in, Medrauta led the way around a corner. She turned carefully, ensuring that she would be ready to counterattack even if there were a homunculus lying in wait to ambush her. Thankfully, there was nothing of the sort. In fact, the sheer emptiness of the hallway they stared down was eerily unsettling especially when compared to the heavily patrolled sections they'd just emerged from. As artificial beings, homunculi didn't exactly have much presence to speak of, but Medrauta's finely tuned instincts could still sense if danger laid ahead.

Strange... Medrauta frowned, her eyes flickering from door to door as she progressed down the hallway with Viviane close by her side. Though the noblewoman's bow was unslung with an arrow already nocked and ready on its bowstring, Medrauta doubted that it'd be much use in close-quarters. She'd seen Sakura pull off some incredible feats of archery even from a near point-blank distance, but she doubted Viviane could do the same at the moment.

"Okay! I think I've got it!" Viviane said abruptly, completely derailing Medrauta's train of thought and causing her to whirl around in surprise. The noblewoman beamed at her knight, pumping her fist in a gesture of victory that only served to intensify Medrauta's moment of confusion.

"What? Got what?" Medrauta asked, thoroughly perplexed. After exiting the secret entrance, Viviane had fallen quiet even after their encounters with several homunculus patrols. Although Medrauta initially thought her lady's silence had been brought on by exhaustion or deep contemplation, Viviane's current expression told her otherwise.

"It was quite difficult, but I think I've got the hang of it now!" Viviane announced. "As it turns out, people are pretty easy to sense, especially knights since they've got so much more energy around them, but homunculi are kinda... Not there? It's hard to describe, but it's like you're looking for something that's absent instead of looking for something that's present!"

"Huh." Medrauta blinked, not knowing how she should respond. She understood the basics of what Viviane was trying to convey, but she didn't truly understand its magnitude or how it functioned. "That's, uh... That's really awesome, Viviane!"

Of course, her lady acquiring a new skill made Medrauta happy, especially when Viviane had mentioned that ki sensing had been one of her weaknesses, but she wasn't exactly sure how to praise Viviane due to her complete lack of knowledge on the subject. While she could sense killing intent and sometimes the presence of individuals attempting an ambush, she figured it was a much different sort of "sense" compared to what Viviane was describing. Based on the snippets she managed to pick up during her lady's conversations with Sakura, the knight surmised that Viviane and Sakura could actually "see" an individual using this ability whereas Medrauta could only feel their presence.

Despite the pressing situation they were in, Viviane couldn't help but giggle at Medrauta's half-baked reaction. "Basically, it means we're done running around like headless chickens. I couldn't really get the hang of it no matter how Lady Sakura tried to teach me, but I guess having so many homunculi around helped. When you know what it feels like to look for something that isn't there, it's much easier to look for what is!"