Chapter 143: Goodnight

So… a spell that can clear the corridors and the entire tunnel without killing anyone or damaging the infrastructure.

Now that I think about it, it almost sounds like a miracle.

Good thing I was never short on miracles.

Besides, this was a good chance to show off my light magic again after a few days of neglecting it in favor of profaned magic.

[Light Manipulation]

Spell circles wrapped around my body, each one focused on dispersion and spread. Whatever I was about to cast, I would make it travel through light itself.

As for the specific spell…

Maybe a highly condensed sleeping fog would work.

[Nocturnal Temptation]

I really had way too many spells in my arsenal… I’d barely even used ninety percent of them yet. Thank god for my photographic memory.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you want to look for the Shadow Society in the first place?”

“For Evelina, obviously,” I answered without hesitation.

“Hmm, I see~.”

Fiona rocked slightly on her heels, pretending my answer hadn’t stung, but to my surprise, she took my blunt answer better than expected.

If anyone understood the reality of my relationship with Evelina without me ever spelling it out, it was her.

She would, considering she was a stalker.

I guessed she’d already trained herself to expect disappointment.

“Say… maybe we could be close friends instead?”

“Talk to Evelina about it,” I replied bluntly again.

“Why can’t you just answer me yourself?”

She frowned and crossed her arms.

“Would you like to get killed by a D’Arclight?”

Replying to her while focusing on my spell was definitely annoying, but I couldn’t just ignore her. Worse, she might try something rash just to grab my attention.

“Fine… maybe I can talk to her…”

“Good luck with that.”

“Don’t underestimate girl-on-girl talk!”

She pressed a hand to her chest, confidence incarnate.

I didn’t share that confidence; I doubted she’d be able to convince Evelina to let her get close to me. Even Vivianne was walking a thin line when interacting with me.

“Get ready with the guns.”

“You’re already done?”

“Yeah.”

Fiona nodded and scrambled off to grab the steam assault rifle I’d handed her. “What do you need me to do?”

“Just watch out for anything that gets drawn in once I unleash the spell.”

I rolled my shoulders once, letting the last circle lock into place.

Light gathered at my fingertips—not bright, not flashy, but soft. Almost gentle in a way.

Then I snapped.

The circles flared.

A thin beam shot upward, striking the ceiling before splintering into dozens of smaller threads. Those threads slithered along the walls, seeped into the cracks of the storage room door, and bled into the corridor beyond.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—

A faint mist began to spread.

Not dark. Not ominous. Just… pale. Like early morning fog drifting through a sleepy town.

“Is that it?” Fiona whispered, seeing the faint mist filter below the hole under the door.

“Give it a second.”

The fog didn’t flood violently yet; it just flowed slowly. It clung to surfaces, rode the ambient light embedded in the corridor lamps, and slipped through ventilation shafts like it had somewhere to be.

Because it did.

Every light source in this underground hellhole was now my delivery system.

Industrial panels flickered as the fog brushed against them, but instead of triggering alarms, the spell simply dispersed thinner, spreading further. Harmless and passive.

Or well… tempting.

Somewhere down the corridor—

Thud.

Another.

Thud.

Fiona’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

Muted clatters echoed from both directions outside. Metal boots scraping. Weapons hitting stone.

One by one, the signatures I could barely sense through the interference began to dip… then flatten.

Not dead.

Just asleep.

“Damn…” she muttered. “That’s actually kind of terrifying.”

The fog continued to travel, slipping through door frames, climbing stairwells, and drifting into the rail tunnel itself. Anyone breathing would feel it eventually. A gentle tug on the mind. Heavy eyelids. A suggestion to rest.

Even steam engines weren’t safe.

The enchanted and mechanical lights lining the tunnel pulsed faintly as the mist rode their glow straight down the tracks.

Fiona adjusted her grip on the rifle. “You sure this won’t knock us out too?”

I glanced at her.

“You think I’d cast something without filtering it?”

“…Fair point, but you don’t need to use something like that to knock me out.”

“Explain?”

“You alone can already knock me out~.”

“I see…”

“You’re no fun…”

“I’m loyal, there’s a difference, you see.”

I just laughed her off, continuing to layer the spell to recognize our signatures while focusing on its spread. Anyone marked by it would be ignored.

Everyone else?

Sweet dreams.

A distant crash echoed through the tunnel, my recently healed ears picking up on it easily—probably someone trying to stay upright before losing the fight against their own body.

“Okay,” Fiona said slowly, peeking past the barricade, seeing a knocked-out assassin just like the one I’d dropped earlier. “I think it’s working.”

Fiona then shivered. “Damn… now knowing that we were being watched the entire time actually gives me the creeps.”

“Glad you weren’t wearing something weird now?”

“Thanks to you~.”

I extended my senses again.

[Soul Sense]

Still distorted beyond the storage unit… but I could feel that it was quieter now. The sharp pricks of hostile intent were fading into dull embers.

The underground fortress had just taken a collective nap.

“Well,” I exhaled, letting the circles dissolve around me. “That should clear most of the fodder and annoying pricks around.”

Fiona stared at me for a long moment.

“You really are deserving of my affection.”

She hugged me suddenly. This girl really has no grasp on personal boundaries…

“Yeah…”

She nudged one of the swords with her foot. “So what now, babe?”

I walked toward the barricade, resting a hand on the metal shelf.

“Now we move before someone important resists it.”

“You think someone can?”

“I’d be disappointed if no one could.”

I shoved the shelving unit aside.

The fog hung lazily in the hallway outside, soft and harmless-looking. A masked guard lay sprawled against the wall, steam rifle resting uselessly in his lap. Likely sent to investigate the sudden appearance of the fog.

Fiona stepped out beside me, rifle raised.

“…Do I still need to use this?”

“Not really, but we can’t be too careful.”

“Okay, got it!”

I stepped over the first unconscious body.

“Let’s go meet whoever’s at the top of this little train set.”

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