Magician in Type-Moon

Page 357

Instead of answering directly, he first sighed softly, "Your statement makes you sound more like the magician of the clock tower than I do."

Chapter 401, Second Floor, 4k

Before the conversation could be finished, an unexpected change interrupted it.

Monarch Mayastia took a pocket watch-like device out of his pocket and looked down at its display screen.

It was a special terminal used for communication. In the ruins of the Great Library of Alexandria, ordinary means of communication were ineffective; only the meticulously designed device of the Atlas Institute could function properly here.

He frowned as he glanced at the display on the terminal, then looked up: "It seems the excavation of the second layer is nearing completion."

Matou Ike raised an eyebrow slightly: "So fast? Wasn't it originally expected to take longer?"

“Indeed.” Meastia’s tone revealed a hint of doubt and wariness, “but it seems that something unusual has happened.”

After saying that, he put the terminal back in his pocket and gestured for Matou Ike and Medea to follow.

When they arrived at the scene, they saw two alchemists standing not far from the main entrance of the Great Library of the Ruins, surrounded by fine dust.

The two men stood on either side of each other; one was a thin man, and the other appeared slightly plump.

"Quart and Giuseppe," the two introduced themselves one after the other.

A large section of the wall in front of them had been cut out, revealing an irregular gap.

Matou Ike's gaze fell on the excavated area, and he frowned. It was a strange and incongruous method of hollowing out, as if it lacked any skill or plan, and had simply hollowed out a part of the area arbitrarily.

Some parts were cut so smooth as to be like a mirror that they could reflect a faint light, sparkling like glass that had been scorched.

“Oh my, Your Highness Princess Colkis.”

Giuseppe turned around and bowed in their direction.

"This is a rare opportunity, and I was hoping to show you my handsome side... Unfortunately, it's Quarter's turn now!"

"........."

Matou Ike was somewhat speechless, only feeling that the people of Atlas Institute had a strange attitude towards Medea.

The man with five-colored hair beside him remained silent—the wall began to collapse from where Quarte touched it.

It became as sticky as sugar that had absorbed water, losing its firm shape.

"Hey, the rest is up to you."

Quarter took a step back, shifting his gaze to the side, a hint of impatience in his tone.

"Okay, okay."

Giuseppe responded with a slightly exaggerated tone, his voice like a magician on stage, his movements as dramatic as the Genie's. He slowly walked forward, his fingers suddenly extending as if to light some invisible switch.

A miraculous sight occurred instantly—the melted parts of the wall began to evaporate rapidly, steam rose up, and even brought a surge of scorching air.

"The melting point of the rock is around 1,000 degrees Celsius."

Matou Ike watched the part of the wall disappear rapidly, muttering to himself, his eyes full of scrutiny.

"The walls of this Alexandria Library must have a melting point far higher than that of ordinary rocks."

Medea added, her gaze lingering on Giuseppe's slightly reddened fingertips.

"Istario's family trait: Molecule Face."

A clear and confident voice broke in; Latio had appeared beside them at some point.

“A computing mechanism that maximizes the use of the skin’s surface area,” Latio continued. “This technology has developed a unique byproduct over long-term use—Quart excels at dissolving, and Giuseppe excels at generating heat.”

Upon hearing this, Matou Ike and Medea exchanged glances, both seemingly intrigued by this unexpected explanation.

This technique and magic are like the two poles of a magnetic field.

“In other words,” Latio paused, as if intentionally creating a dramatic effect, “their skin itself is a weapon.”

Latio's gaze swept over the steam marks on the wall, and he continued, "Walls that Quarte couldn't melt, Giuseppe melted; walls that Giuseppe couldn't melt, Quarte dissolved. In the end, the walls were breached."

"The efficiency is astonishing," Matou Ike commented softly. "The most perfect combination in the excavation and investigation."

Simply breaking down this wall is something everyone present should be able to do.

However, this method can preserve the contents of the ruins to the greatest extent possible.

This explains why craters form like sandpits dug by children.

Although two members were trapped, the excavation and investigation team did not show any signs of anxiety, which was due to the characteristics of the team members.

The ever-expanding crater swallowed the figures of Quarte and Giuseppe.

The walls are over one meter thick.

Nevertheless, the inside was finally visible—in that very instant.

A shadow flew out from the inside of the wall.

"Uh!"

Quarte's reaction was somewhat slow.

But it's okay, Matouike reacted quickly.

"distortion"

The spiral shaft was already fixed in place, and the invisible red and green substances began to pull in opposite directions.

Matou Pond did not directly destroy what appeared.

Instead, they pulled the two alchemists from the Atlas Institute who were being attacked to a safe distance.

Then, Medea waved her hand, and a beam of blue-purple light flew from her fingertips, quickly wrapping around the flying shadow as if it were alive.

"Restraint."

Her tone was calm, and the beam of light froze instantly, fixing the target firmly in mid-air.

"Thank you." Quarte, still shaken, thanked Matou Ike and Medea, her voice tinged with lingering fear. "We were really fortunate to have had you by our side, otherwise we would have been done for."

Giuseppe also recovered from his astonishment and nodded in agreement, "Yes, when that thing first pounced out, I thought we had unearthed some kind of terrifying ancient curse."

Matou Ike did not respond, but only glanced at Quart before looking at the shadow that had suddenly attacked.

It was a strange mechanical scorpion.

However, the upper body was human. It was a figure that looked like it was made of a complex combination of metal plates, with multiple gears meshing together on its face.

"The caretaker of the Great Library of Alexandria..."

Latio whispered.

Medea's gaze fell on the mechanical scorpion-man, and after examining him carefully, she said:

"This design is more like the sacred beast of Mesopotamia, Pabisagh, than the Egyptian style. It seems that the cultural scope of the Atlas Institute has never been limited to any one country."

At this moment, Kirito asked Latio, who was standing to the side:

"Wasn't it supposed to be that infiltrating the second layer wouldn't cause any problems? Do you know what's going on here?"

"As far as Latio knows, there are no such guardians on the second level."

"Latio looked down at the mechanical scorpion-man and said."

"This is not the second level, but the third level—the guardians of the forbidden library."

"I see, no wonder it's so hard."

Matou Ike nodded. You have to understand that this monster was killed by the two Atlas Institute alchemists who were able to melt the walls of this ruin.

Its armor hardness alone is comparable to some defensive conceptual weapons, and it is close to the strength of some Noble Phantasms.

At this moment, Monarch Meastia asked Latio with slight hesitation:

"So, what about the two people who stayed inside..."

Latio's gaze was calm, but his words were merciless:

"Well, in the worst-case scenario, they're already dead."

Is there any use for this thing?

Matou Ike paid no attention to the increasingly chilly atmosphere around him, his eyes fixed on the mechanical scorpion-man.

"Maybe it will be useful."

Latio's answer remained calm: "If this is the guardian of the Forbidden Library, then its existence is perhaps directly related to the library's defense system. Destroying it might trigger a chain reaction, while capturing it might serve as a 'key'."

Medea then added, "But we can't rule out the possibility that it's just an isolated defensive device, and leaving it behind might cause more trouble in subsequent operations."

Matou Ike chuckled lightly, his tone relaxed yet tinged with sarcasm: "So, are you gambling on its value, or just getting rid of it now?"

Monarch Mayastia frowned, looking at the complex structure of the mechanical scorpion-bodied man, seemingly assessing its feasibility:

"This creation may contain important data, especially its core driving force."

After pondering for a moment, Matouchi finally made a decision: "In that case, let's take it with us and see if we can crack its control system."

Matouchi turned around and continued forward, heading towards the excavated hole.

It wasn't dark inside the cave.

Like the outer perimeter, the second layer was also filled with a faint light.

Many enormous hexagonal prism-like crystals cascaded down. It seems that each crystal functions as both a reading terminal and a recording device.

Next to the entrance to the cave is a hemispherical building, which is clearly different from the library.

It appears to be some kind of refuge.

It is grayish-brown and has been cut multiple times.

Suddenly, cracks appeared on the surface.

It spread out like a spider's nest, and suddenly cracked open in an area that covered 60% of the hemisphere.

Two figures emerged from the inside, where snowflakes had scattered across the ground.

"Father!"

In this great library, Latio spoke aloud for the first time.