The Beginning of the End of Magic

Grimoire 01 - Chapter 04 - The Might of the Empire [Part 05]

Finn and Gaheris bolted down the passageways.

The clacking of hurried steps echoed throughout the entire premise as they made their way through the concrete maze. At times, they would pass by walls smeared with splashes of red. At times they would pass by unmoving bodies. More so than anything however, they could not stand the heavy metallic taste in the air.

Even so, they kept on running. Onwards, without ever once looking back.

They knew that that was their only choice at the moment.

At the same time, perhaps they were lucky, or perhaps it was designed as such, but they've yet to encounter any guards patrolling the interior of the Research Laboratory. With their speed, they made steady pace.

"How far now?"

"Take a left here, then the next right, and it should be on our far left... now."

The one who asked was Gaheris, and the one who replied was Finn. As they held their conversation, they navigated their way through the facility. In less than a minute, the both of them slid across the floor, to a stop.

Right in front of them was a large metallic door, akin to that of a vault, or perhaps more so like an airlock. The locks were chunky and heavy, and complicated beyond measure. Situated right beside such a door was a simple digital interface with a sliding mechanism and a number pad.

"Seems to be it."

Finn said as he retrieved the Access Card he received earlier out from his pockets. He immediately reached for the interface and with the card, he slashed it through the scanner. Upon recognition, the small LED turned from red to green. Subsequently, the locks on the doors disengaged and within the next few seconds, the door was unlocked.

Finn and Gaheris waited with bated breath as the doors slid open. The light from the passageway poured in, revealing a little of the pure white floor, before being engulfed by the interior lighting that lit up automatically via sensors.

Only to reveal nothing.

"...Huh?"

The both of them took a step inside and noticed something peculiar. The room was eerily clean and seemed to be enveloped in the small of disinfecting alcohol. But there was absolutely nothing in the room. No furniture, no windows, no apparatus, nothing. It was literally bare.

"Did we get the wrong place...?"

"I can't confirm that... but I don't think so..."

The two of them scoured the empty room, looking for any clues that they possibly could. The scrutinized the walls, the floors and even the lighting, but no matter how hard they searched, there was nothing of particular to note.

Naturally, when a group of people were to search an area, it would be much more effective to split up and search separately. This ensures that manpower was fully maximized and also vastly reduces the time needed to search a particular area.

Thus, that was the instinctual thinking that the both of them arrived upon.

Thus, that was the natural movement of the duo when they started their search.

Thus, that was the trigger of what was to come.

With Finn and Gaheris on opposite sides of the room, it activated.

"Wha?!"

Two intricate magic circles formed from thin air, covering both the ceiling and the floor, splitting the vast room equally in half. One was positioned right below Finn, while the other was positioned right below Gaheris. The magic circles covered every inch of the space, leaving no space to run. They two of them instantly knew they were in danger.