Chapter 30: Ruins Guardian.

As the echoes of Elisa and Nia’s fall into the abyss faded, the vast circular hall sank into a deathly silence.

The gravity-balance mechanism had reset; the floor lay flat and smooth once more.

Everything that had just happened felt almost like an illusion.

Only the bottomless black fissure remained, silently testifying to the fact that two companions had been swallowed whole.

“…Let’s go.”

Hill stood at the edge of the crack for one final look. When she turned away, her eyes were faintly red, but her expression had hardened again.

“There’s no point lingering here until we find the control room or a path to the lower levels.”

Phyllis was still sitting on the ground, shoulders shuddering as though she hadn’t yet recovered from the guilt of causing her teammates to fall.

Hearing Hill’s words, she wiped her tears with the back of her hand and tried to stand—but her legs seemed too weak. The moment she straightened, she staggered.

“Careful.”

Hill caught her at once.

Because of the chain of light binding their hands, the supportive motion caused Phyllis to tip forward; her entire weight hung from Hill’s arm.

“Thank you… Hill.”

Phyllis’s voice was thick with congestion.

Her pitiful, fragile appearance would have stirred pity in anyone who saw it.

She pressed herself tightly against Hill, as though trying to burrow inside Hill’s cloak—like it was the only safe harbor left in the world.

Beside them, Marius coldly adjusted his monocle; the lens flashed with icy light.

Watching the two cling to each other, he showed no sympathy—only a deeper, colder scrutiny.

“Let’s move.”

The scholar lifted his magical lantern and walked toward the passage at the far end of the hall.

“Our time is running out.”

…

The three of them proceeded down the corridor leading to the deepest part of the ruins.

The walls here were no longer carved reliefs but rough natural rock; the air carried the stale, incense-like scent of ancient ash.

Without Nia’s scouting or Elisa’s heavy footfalls, their footsteps sounded unnaturally loud.

Each echo struck against already-taut nerves.

“Miss Phyllis.”

Marius, walking ahead, suddenly spoke. His voice was calm, betraying no emotion.

“There’s a small academic question I’d like to ask.”

“…What is it, Mr. Marius?”

Phyllis shrank behind Hill; her voice sounded timid and small.

“At the moment the floor tilted earlier…”

Marius turned without stopping—walking backward so the lantern light illuminated his sharp eyes.

“As a high-tier mage specialized in wind-attribute support, why didn’t you cast Levitation on yourself?”

Hill froze for a second.

Marius continued.

“Even if panic left no time to cast on your teammates, a mage’s instinct is usually to protect themselves first. If you had floated, the weight of that chain wouldn’t have burdened Captain Hill. Perhaps… she could have pulled Elisa back.”

A precise analysis.

With pure logic, he tore away the thin veil of “accidental slip” covering Phyllis’s excuse.

Hill’s steps faltered.

She looked down at Phyllis.

Right… Phyllis can fly.

Back in the mine, she had floated the entire time just to avoid dirtying her shoes.

Why hadn’t she flown earlier?

Faced with this malicious question, Phyllis did not refute.

She only trembled once; the hand clutching Hill’s sleeve suddenly tightened, her face draining of color.

“I… I don’t know…”

Phyllis bowed her head; fresh tears fell, splashing hot against the back of Hill’s hand.

“My mind went completely blank… I only wanted to hold onto Hill. I was afraid Hill would fall too…”

She lifted her tear-streaked face and looked helplessly at Hill.

“Is Mr. Marius blaming me? Is it because I’m too useless… If the old abbess were here, she would have handled it so much better…”

“No, I’m merely exploring one possibility—”

Marius pressed forward relentlessly.

“Enough!”

Hill cut him off sharply.

She stepped in front of the crying Phyllis, shielding her completely.

She stared at Marius, brows furrowed, displeasure clear in her eyes.

“Mr. Marius, hindsight proves nothing. In that kind of sudden crisis, who can guarantee they’ll make the perfect choice? Phyllis was a victim too.”

“Captain Hill, your judgment has been clouded by emotion—”

“And moreover…”

Hill’s gaze turned icy.

“If we’re really assigning blame—as the employer, you had no obligation to act. But you were the only one floating safely in midair the entire time. Why didn’t you use wind magic to catch them?”

Marius faltered.

“I am a scholar, not proficient in reactive combat magic—”

“Then be quiet.”

Hill’s protective instincts flared.

In her previous life, she had always despised those who, after a comrade fell, stood back analyzing whose mistake it was.

All it did was add pressure—never helped the team.

Even if mistakes had been made, the one who made them understood their own failures far more painfully than any detached spectator ever could.

“Phyllis is mine. Her mistakes are mine to bear. I don’t need you standing here making snide remarks.”

“…”

Watching Hill stand like a lioness shielding her cub, Marius fell silent.

But the suspicion in his eyes did not fade—it only deepened.

To this extent already…

Completely brainwashed.

It seems…

I must separate them before we reach the source.

Marius said nothing more. He turned and resumed leading the way.

But beneath his sleeve, the hand already gripped a silver cross engraved with binding runes.

…

Behind Hill.

Phyllis pressed her face against Hill’s back; in the shadows, her lips quietly curved.

How wonderful, Mr. Marius.

Thank you for your questioning.

The more you attack me with cold, logical accusations, the more firmly Hill will stand by my side.

This is what they call… being ruled by emotion.

So foolish.

But I love it so much.

Phyllis subtly extended a finger toward the anti-demon sachet at Marius’s waist and lightly flicked it through the air.

A thread of faint mana slipped inside, activating the powder within.

…

Ten minutes later.

They arrived before an enormous bronze door.

This was the deepest level of the ruins… the Sealing Chamber.

Grotesque images of demon gods were carved across its surface.

Even through the thick metal, a heart-palpitating pressure emanated from within.

This was the location of their mission objective—the guardian of the ancient ruins.

“Here we are.”

Marius stopped before the door without immediately opening it.

He turned, set his lantern on the ground.

“Captain Hill, before we enter—for safety’s sake—we need to perform a purification ritual.”

From his robes he produced a pair of silver manacles.

Not ordinary cuffs—these were mana-sealing shackles.

Once worn, all mana flow within the body would be completely blocked.

“The guardian inside possesses mind-control abilities. To prevent us from turning on each other if controlled during battle…”

Marius raised the cuffs.

“We must wear these. Only physical attacks will remain.”

He looked toward Phyllis.

“Especially you, Miss Phyllis. Your magic is the strongest. If you were controlled, the consequences would be catastrophic. Please cooperate first.”

The dagger revealed at last.

This wasn’t protection against the monster—it was to seal Phyllis.

Hill looked at the cuffs; an instinctive discomfort rose in her chest.

“Is this really necessary? If Phyllis wears them, how can she heal me inside?”

“I’ll handle support. I’ve prepared tools.”

Marius advanced toward Phyllis, cuffs in hand.

“Please extend your hands, Sister.”

The air grew razor-sharp with tension.

The aura unique to a Heresy Inquisition enforcer finally stopped hiding—cold, merciless, ready to make an arrest.

Phyllis stared at the cuffs.

She trembled violently, clutching Hill’s arm desperately and shaking her head.

“No… no… those look so painful…”

“Mr. Marius, what exactly do you mean by this?”

Hill’s hand settled on her sword hilt, blocking Marius’s path.

“Sealing your own teammate before the fight even begins? What kind of tactic is that?”

“It is necessary insurance, Captain Hill. Unless…”

Through his monocle, Marius’s gaze cut like a blade.

“…you have already been so thoroughly controlled by her that you’ve lost even this much reason?”

“What are you implying?”

Hill’s eyes turned completely cold.

Just as the standoff reached the breaking point—

Boom!!!

A deafening explosion erupted from behind the bronze door.

The massive doors did not wait to be opened—they burst outward on their own!

A tremendous shockwave carrying dust and debris slammed into the three people standing at the threshold.

“Watch out!”

Hill shouted and—instinctively—turned to shield Phyllis behind her rather than defend first.

Marius reacted swiftly, throwing up a magical barrier.

Through the smoke and rubble, a gigantic shadow slowly emerged.

A monster formed of rotting flesh fused with rusted metal—only half a head remaining—dragged an enormous executioner’s axe.

Abyssal Butcher.

Its single eye did not fix on Hill, who stood at the forefront.

It locked instead… on Marius.

More precisely—on the anti-demon sachet Marius had kept pressed close to his body.

The high-frequency pheromones hidden inside smelled, to the monster’s nose, like an irresistibly fresh slab of meat.

“ROOOAR!!!”

The creature bellowed and—completely ignoring Hill—raised its axe and charged madly toward Marius.

“What?! It locked onto me directly?!”

Marius’s face paled in shock.

As a mage-type scholar, being rushed at close quarters by a pure-power boss was a nightmare.

Behind a pile of fallen rubble.

Hill steadied herself while protecting Phyllis.

“Marius is in danger!”

She instinctively moved to rush forward and help.

“Ah! Hill, my foot!”

Phyllis suddenly cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.

“I think I twisted it just now… It hurts so much… I can’t move…”

The golden chain of light still bound their hands.

With Phyllis collapsed, the chain pulled taut.

Hill’s forward step was once again brutally halted by that loving shackle.

Hill looked back—at the injured, immobile Phyllis—then at Marius, who was being chased in frantic circles by the monster.

An impossible choice.

“Hill… don’t worry about me…”

Phyllis weakly pushed at Hill’s hand—but her fingers never touched the release clasp on the chain.

“Go save him… Cut the chain… Don’t mind me…”

Cut the chain?

That would require using her sword to sever the mana-infused light cord—not only time-consuming, but risking a backlash that could injure Phyllis’s hand.

Hill looked at Marius—the man who had tried to cuff and seal Phyllis—then at the fragile, injured partner in her arms who had shielded her with her own body.

The hesitation vanished from Hill’s eyes.

She turned and wrapped her arms around Phyllis instead. She neither cut the chain nor rushed out.

She chose to stay by Phyllis’s side.

“I can’t leave you here alone either.”

Hill said in a low, firm voice.

“Give him a shield first. We’ll support from here depending on the situation.”

“Hill… mm, alright.”

Phyllis buried her face in Hill’s chest.

Listening to Marius’s distant screams and the monster’s roars.

The corner of her mouth curved into an extremely cruel smile.

Support?

Of course. I’ll support him very well.