Chapter 75.3

The towering but broken spire told of its tragic story silently. Its chambers and halls with crumbled platforms were filled with memories and longing, as well as howling winds.

The one who once dwelt in that lonely tower was no more. The murmuring winds that shrouded the desolate city told the most ancient of stories, which no mortal now remembered.

They told of their erstwhile master, the nameless wind sprite, and the chorus that caused the tower to quail…

***

*Crack*

The wind barrier erratically shattered against Venti's slender frame into tiny little pieces.

With some difficulty, Venti managed to open up the first part.

The silent night sky loomed over as the dark masses of clouds blew fiercely through the grove.

Its old trees released an eerie green glow, looming high over them, as the darkness of night was illuminated by the glowing green, which came from the multitude of leaves falling upon his arms.

Barbatos shook the leaves off of him and gave his companions a reassuring smile.

"Done!"

"Wow! It actually opened! You aren't entirely useless, Tone-deaf Bard!" Paimon spoke from within Lumine's clothes, still warming herself up, only a tiny head peeking out of her pocket.

The party could now, indeed enter the lair.

But they were far from finished.

There were still a few steps remaining.

In order for them to get into the heart of the lair, where the trounce domain was located, they first had to break three seals.

This was a disaster served on too many shocking realizations.

Each seal was broken by collecting several constellation pieces called Guiding Light Piecares which would then be used on the so-called Light Actuator altars, which would then in turn give them full permission and control of the area.

There was one seal to the east, one to the north, and one to the west.

The seal to the east had two Guiding Light pieces on the top of coliseum-like ruined pillars, which required them to make use of their gliders.

Yomite was hesitant at first, because he wasn't really that great with utilizing the fake wings, but it turned out to be fairly simple.

They just had to find an upwards gust of air to be able to fly onto the pillars.

The two pieces of Guiding Lights were located near the central pillar.

After that, they headed to the northern seal and collected three Guiding Lights this time around.

The last one was the West Seal which also needed two pieces of the Guiding Lights in order to function.

Along the way, they picked up a few treasure chests, and Lumine stealthily left the group on several occasions and approached a few of the teleporters to activate them for later use.

And just like that, they were finally done.

In the distance, they saw a staircase.

They climbed the staircase leading to what appeared to be a tower. Their footsteps echoed within the structure that was long abandoned.

Walking up, the group was met with a startling sight.

Remains of a large robot were leaning onto one of the pillars supporting the tower. It was half-kneeling, half-lying on one of the edges of the stone support, with its back to the opening.

There was a wide, metallic splinter of a catapulted stone stuck in the back of its head, which reassured the party of it's functionality.

The robot wouldn't move for sure.

"A Ruin Guard? So deep into the Stormterror's lair? Weird…" Jean mumbled.

While others certainly did not expect this sight, Yomite was the only person truly confused on what this thing even was.

He had yet to see something like this roaming the outside world.

(I want to know.)

———————

Name: Ruin Guard

Title: The First Field Tiller

Occupation: Field Tiller

Description: An ancient humanoid war machine containing the Eye of the First Field Tiller. The land is not to be tilled with farming tools, but rather is to be fought for with steel and blood of its invaders.

———————

Jean noticed that Yomite was staring at the machine absentmindedly and called out to him, "Is something the matter?"

"Ah, no it's nothing. I just haven't seen something like this before..."

His answer, however, left her stumped.

"Is that so...I thought there were sightings of them in every part of the world, but I guess I was wrong. Legend has it that these machines were combat automatons created by a long-destroyed nation... They now wander ruins and ancient detritus, attacking adventurers, but nobody really knows what they truly are…"

"I see...Thanks for the input, Jean."

"No problem." Jean smiled. She was always glad to help.

Venti's gaze lingered on the robot for a few moments before he followed the group upstairs.

(Deep wounds, ought to be forgotten.)

As they reached the top, they looked out to the horizon. The wind above blew with violent force, making it hard to see further than ten meters.

They could see no shadows of any birds in the sky. The same air rushed past them, ruffling their hair and clothing. It was hot, dense and acrid.

"Huddle up. We are about to enter...The real Stormterror's Lair."

Venti called out to them and they all stepped forward, forming a small circle.

Soon after Venti touched the device, a white light enveloped them all, followed by an almost immediate flash of horrible stinging pain that made them all wretch.

Simultaneously, the white light which had arrived moments ago, vanished and was replaced by a blue glow that covered the dark skies.

They have successfully entered the Trounce Domain, The True Lair where Dvalin rested.

Yomite heard ringing in his ears and his head felt woozy.

He didn't know why, but this teleport wasn't as comfortable as Lumine's instant transportation.

Others seemed out of it as well, but Fischl and Lumine were the one's struggling to keep a straight face the most.

The teleportation machine made them pretty sick and they had to sit on the cold floor for a while to make sure their dinner wouldn't come out.

Rain dripped onto Yomite's face as flock of crows flew overhead.

He heard a loud swooshing of giant wings coming from the distance, keeping time with the pattering drops.

He could smell the foul breath of the dragon even from afar.

It was time for the final showdown.