“This isn’t my home. Don’t joke with me.”
Iyue followed Yan Wei Fu across the covered bridge suspended in the air, heading toward the spiral staircase at the center.
She intended to go up, but Yan Wei Fu stopped her.
“Let’s go down first. If we go up now, we’ll run into others. If you plan to hide your identity, you’ll need to change into a disguise first.”
“Disguise?”
“It’s downstairs. Just follow me.”
So Iyue had no choice but to follow him downward. The deeper they went, the dimmer the lighting became.
Because the soil beneath the Sea of Trees was rich with moisture, the air was thick with a heavy dampness and chill.
The sound of their footsteps on the stairs seemed swallowed by the boundless darkness, echoing nothing back.
Iyue suddenly felt as if she were standing at the edge of a bottomless abyss.
The staircase grew narrower the further down they went… yet still hadn’t reached the bottom.
Yan Wei Fu led her past another covered bridge similar to the one before—it ended at a large door embedded in the earthen wall.
It was terrifyingly dark here.
The only illumination came from a single torch embedded in the wall.
Its flame burned a bluish-green, eerily silent.
This faint light revealed the outline of the door, as well as the mottled scars covering its surface.
Yan Wei Fu took the torch down from the wall.
“Why aren’t you using the torch you had before?”
“Because that kind of torch won’t light on this floor. The only light source allowed here is this torch.”
“Can’t you use magic?”
“This floor doesn’t welcome magic either. Feel free to try.”
Even if he hadn’t said it, Iyue intended to try.
She chanted a spell, attempting to summon the Radiance Spell she most often used when exploring dark places.
After years of ruin exploration, casting this spell was as natural as breathing to her.
But her magic power did not respond to the prayer initiated by the incantation… Nothing happened.
There was no place or substance in this world devoid of magic power.
So as long as one required magic power and understood the principles of the art, one should be able to release a spell.
This phenomenon could only mean that some force had blocked the prayer process during casting, preventing the magic from responding to the caster’s will.
This was a terrifying silence that nullified all spells. And in response, memories surfaced—
One of the Seven Demon Dukes, the Demon Spirit Duke’s unique spell, “Silence.”
That spell had nearly the same effect as the specialty metal “Anti-Magic Silver” that nullified magic.
The Brave’s Party had suffered greatly in their battle against him back then.
“What is this place? Why does it need to block magic?”
Iyue raised her guard slightly. Her hand habitually reached for her holster, but found it empty.
She only then remembered she had left her gun at her lodgings.
Yan Wei Fu, whose back was to her, didn’t notice this. He pushed the door open and held the torch inside.
“This place… if I remember correctly, it should be a prison.”
“Prison?”
Iyue followed the light of his torch inside. In the firelight, she indeed saw iron prison bars.
And these weren’t simple holding cells for short-term detainment—they were fully equipped real prisons… Inside each cell were basic furnishings for eating, drinking, and relieving oneself.
Apart from footsteps, there was only one other sound here… the dripping of water.
Iyue had heard it since entering, and it continued at fixed intervals of a few seconds without pause.
Just hearing that sound made Iyue feel an indescribable restlessness inside.
She even felt a secret urge to rush forward and find where the sound was coming from.
She could hardly imagine what kind of torture the people once imprisoned here had endured.
“These cells look like they’ve been abandoned for a long time. Weren’t you taking me to change into a disguise?”
“That’s exactly where I’m taking you.”
Yan Wei Fu fumbled around, then led her into a side room.
This was clearly a guard’s rest area—a worn wooden stool stood in the corner, and on the table lay a half-cracked candle.
Against the wall stood a complete suit of armor: helmet, breastplate, arm guards, all present.
But the metal had lost its luster, and thick dust had accumulated in the gaps.
“This is the family’s armor.”
“Yes. And it’s a ‘masterless’ suit. Perfect for your disguise.”
The armor of the Nelf Family’s guards was no ordinary thing… It was forged from a magical metal.
This metal responded to the user’s magic power; if someone who hadn’t signed a contract wore it, the temperature would skyrocket immediately, turning it into a red-hot branding iron.
Iyue had learned this lesson the hard way.
During one of her early attempts to infiltrate the Giant Tree as a child, she had gone through great trouble to ambush a guard, strip his armor, and try to sneak in disguised.
But the armor had burned her, nearly costing her life.
“This armor is too dirty. I don’t mind putting it on, but anyone who sees me will instantly know something’s off.”
“I would never make you wear something this grimy. I’ll clean it with magic. But I can’t do it here.”
Yan Wei Fu picked up the armor stand and led Iyue out of the prison.
They walked back to the platform of the spiral staircase before leaving the area where magic was nullified.
“Please wait a moment.”
After setting down the armor, he took out a cloth handkerchief.
After chanting a spell, the cloth floated into the air, glowing faintly as it began cleaning the entire set of armor.
Under that faint light, Iyue watched as dust silently peeled away from the armor’s surface, revealing the intact patterns and crests beneath.
The cleaning was completed almost in an instant.
The armor regained its proper luster, even the metallic edges appearing sharper, glinting with a slight cold light.
“Alright, please put it on. I’ll walk up a few steps to avoid offending you. Don’t worry—the inner lining has been thoroughly cleaned as well.”
“…That’s a complete set of spells. You developed an entire spell just to clean armor?”
Iyue frowned at the armor. She knew well that a simple Water Magic cleaning couldn’t achieve this effect… This spell was designed specifically to make armor look brand new.
“You’re right. Because I’ve had similar work to handle in the past.”
Saying that, Yan Wei Fu tucked the cloth away and walked up the stairs.
‘Don’t waste time on trivial details. I’m here to steal.’
Despite her curiosity, Iyue didn’t waste time pressing further.
She approached the armor, lifted the breastplate to gauge its weight, and examined the inner lining of the helmet.
The armor was a bit oversized but could be worn; once the visor of the helmet was lowered, it would be hard for anyone to identify her from appearance.
As Iyue put on the armor piece by piece, the coldness of the metal and leather lining against her skin reminded her of her days as a Guard Knight.
Back then, she had treated armor as a second skin—wearing it meant gaining power, meaning nothing could ever harm her again.
That weak girl who had once been pinned down by the family’s guards would never repeat that mistake.
But now, putting on something similar only reminded her of the duties she had abandoned in the distant past… It made her feel an indescribable sense of guilt and shame.
“Where’s the relic?” After donning the armor, she held the helmet in her hand and questioned Yan Wei Fu.
Once she had finished changing, Yan Wei Fu came down from above.
He raised his eyes; those ever-smiling eyes now seemed serious and earnest.
“I’ve already located it. It’s in Lady Nephtalia’s treasure vault. That’s not an ordinary warehouse, but a room on the top floor of the family residential area.”
“There must be heavy guards there… Are you sure we can sneak in?”
“No. There aren’t any. Because the door to the treasure vault can only be opened with Lady Nephtalia’s key. So you’ll actually need to go to her room first and steal the key.”
“Go to Nefi’s room… and steal the key?”
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