Promise

Mithril Terra Mine

As the highest leader at the time, Afar established two major guardian warrior groups during Terra's early formation: Crimson Knight and Lazuardi Sword. The orichalcum sword facing upwards is the emblem of glory for Lazuardy Sword, whereas the orichalcum sword facing downwards is the symbol of glory for Crimson Knight.

At that moment, the tasks of Lazuardy Sword and Crimson Knight were clearly divided by Afar. Crimson Knight will only operate outside Terra, with their headquarters in the city of Vorkuta, located in the Komi Republic, Russia. Their main task is to protect and ensure the safety of the witches who have lived in harmony with humans. Meanwhile, Lazuardy Sword has a narrower scope of power, which is to handle various issues concerning witches that occur in Terra. Lazuardy Sword has its headquarters in two major cities in Terra, namely Filanesia City and Andrea.

There has never been a significant issue that forced these two groups of guards to be antagonistic toward one another in their nearly 750-year history. When one of them succeeds in solving the case they are working on, there is typically just mild envy. Although there are occasionally small arguments among the members, the competition is actually good within fair bounds. Thankfully, it has never resulted in any significant issues.

…

Anthonius and Omar were able to cross Lake Nyos with the assistance of Dima. To meet Alyosha and the others, the three of them traveled west toward Fort Solfini rather than back to the City of Filanesia. Every member of the main investigating team assembled at Fort Solfini's southernmost gate at precisely noon. Located next to the Kruber Crystal Cave, this fortified citadel was previously used to guard the region surrounding Lake Fareh, the now-dead city of Thori, and Terra's lone mithril mine.

Anthonius revealed the black dragon's scales, which he had successfully brought back from the temple, to every member of the main investigative team. "I bring terrible news for us... and also for all our families in Terra," Anthonius remarked quietly. "For now, I have sealed the Dark Dragon Temple with rank S illusion magic. The never-ending labyrinth will deceive and perplex anyone who visits. Without a strong mental, they would even be guided directly to their demise!"

Vanity Fair, Javier, and Alyosha all stayed mute and gazed at Anthonius with perplexed looks. Omar and Dima, meanwhile, dared not speak to their teammate and simply stared down.

"The dragon of darkness owns the black scales I showed you. The strongest dragon Zu has ever brought to Terra, and one of the forerunners of doom. It is even claimed that the dark dragon was the primary cause of the massive catastrophe that struck Terra a few hundred years ago. Even Meuz feared the fiercest dragon, but he was never able to defeat it. The dragon is no longer alive." Anthonius cautioned the main investigating team members not to share this unfortunate news with anybody, not even their relatives.

Javier questioned, "What do you mean by that?" Anthonius's words appeared to have taken Javier by surprise. Javier even believed that his brother was deceiving them. Javier remarked, "Don't joke around! Even Meuz couldn't subdue that dragon, so... what kind of creature managed to kill it?!"

Alyosha caught Anthonius's attention. Alyosha realized what Anthonius was referring to at that same moment. "I can guess what you have experienced in the Temple of the Dark Dragon. Although I have only dealt with that creature once, I can tell you that its attack differs greatly from that of many other monsters that the Magic Association on Terra has deemed hazardous. Monsters that we have encountered thus far include the Dark Seraphim, the Jauzhar Fire Dragon, and others. That beast can readily breach shields or even magical barriers composed of pure orichalcum with a single assault. I think his attack magic is a little bit like Afar's. Defensive magic or even a magical shield cannot stop this absolute attack magic."

"The dark dragon is dead... and the creature that killed it is currently roaming free out there?" Vanity remarked, her face blanched with fright as she gazed at Anthonius. "Aside from that... the murder case of the witches in Terra remains unresolved. "How many more things must we conceal from the Terran people?" Desperately, Vanity asked.

With a smile, Dima caressed a dried daisy pendant that was constantly attached to his armor. "I don't mind being trapped here for the rest of my life, even if I have to be on the battlefield for the third time in my life alongside you. But let my daughter get away from Terra and hide in the safest spot possible!" Anthonius, Dima's longtime colleague from their time in the Crimson Knight, was the target of his plea.

Anthonius did not respond to Dima's plea with a yes or no. Anthonius said nothing, gazing at the members of the main investigative team in front of him one by one.

"I believe that I have treated the other people of Terra unfairly. If only I could... I would take the most precious person in my life to hide in the safest place outside Terra, but I cannot do that. Even after the witch purge in Western Europe, we are the only witches left after the great catastrophe, and we have decided to remain on Terra. Thus, when Terra needs us, we shouldn't flee and hide," Anthonius replied.

Dima simply hangs his head now. He seems remorseful for what he had just said.

"All the inhabitants of Terra have people they want to protect, and perhaps they even want to protect themselves. We are military personnel. Furthermore, Meuz has specifically selected us to be the main investigative team working on a case on Terra that we haven't even finished yet. A soldier should never desert their duty or even run away from the tasks they have been given. That is absolutely not what a soldier would do." Even if Dima was acting selfishly for his daughter, Anthonius cautioned him against it.

"Don't you think there's a possibility that the creature that killed the witches in Terra is the same one that killed the Dark Dragon?" asked Javier. Javier assumes that the creature Anthonius and Omar encountered in the Temple of the Dark Dragon might be related to the case of the murdered witches they are handling.

Omar paused for a moment. He then said quite confidently, "I don't think so. The creature did not leave behind shards of amethyst crystal at the scene, but rather a metal blade that was even sharper than a mithril sword.”

"But...," Anthonius seemed to remember something related to the banshee-like creature.

"The creature said something before attacking. Something about blood witches," explained Antonius. "Isn't that group of witches long extinct? Even when Mother and Father were still alive, stories about them existed only in a few books. The book was even banned from circulation in society on Terra. I know this because the first case I handled was related to the withdrawal of that book from the market." Anthonius asked the main investigation team members. He hoped one of them knew about the existence of the blood sorcerers who once lived on Terra.

The main investigative team is currently dealing with a new problem pertaining to the death of the Dark Dragon, in addition to their primary problem of the murder of the witches in Terra. If everyone on Terra discovers that a creature, perhaps even more powerful than Meuz, is out there and could kill more people, then there could be a great deal of upheaval. Just like the Dark Dragon did hundreds of years ago, this creature might easily wipe out all of Terra's inhabitants in a few short hours, but what it is doing today may be far more horrific than that.

"I will return to Filanesia to meet Meuz. I will report this so that the Dark Dragon's death issue can be resolved right away. I want you to remain committed to your primary responsibility of helping the victims and escaping as soon as you can. Alyosha will temporarily assume my leadership role until I return to the city, and Dima will lead you to the location of each victim. In order to prevent what occurred to Omar and me from happening again, I suggest that you stay with the group." Anthonius communicated it and then left. Alyosha and the others would conduct the subsequent evacuation in Euhron, which is roughly a two-day travel from Fort Solfini, while he walked alone to the east towards the salt traders' camp, or the Kelana field, to return to the City of Filanesia.

…

Anthonius reached the City of Filanesia after traveling from Fort Solfini for three days. One of the crews from the Lazuardy Sword, under the leadership of a moon fairy named Arutala, returned at the same time as Antonius arrived. At the city entrance, Arutala and her group greeted one another as they passed ahead of Anthonius. Even though he could obviously hear the Arutala members disparaging him in whispers, Anthonius made an effort to ignore it.

"They just came from the mithril mine," one of the guards informed Antonius. "I heard there was a problem there. Before starting a winter season like this one, Meuz ought to have rebuilt the mine a few years ago because it's so ancient," the guard remarked.

"Has that place ever experienced a landslide?" Anthonius, curious about the guard's words, then approached the guard. Anthonius hoped for more information regarding the only mithril mine in Terra, which had been rumored to collapse for the past 10 years.

"3 years ago, my cousin died at that place. Because the eastern part of the mine experienced a landslide during the excavation process. His body was found 2 weeks later, buried under support beams. The eastern and western sections of the mine have indeed been somewhat unstable since the beginning of the construction process. The soil in that area is indeed soft clay, which is very different from the main mine," explained the guard while handing over Anthonius's city entry permit card that had already been checked.

"This autumn has had more rainfall than last year," said another guard, who wished to join Anthonius in the discussion. "The Faresh Lake reportedly overflowed, and even the surrounding areas were submerged."

Now that they were well away from the main city gate, Anthonius went silent as he observed the clothing of each member of the Lazuardy Sword. Their clothing, which was a mixture of deep brown and dark green, characteristic of mud, was obviously filthy. Anthonius started to think that maybe the guards were telling the truth. that this year's summer and late fall saw so much rain that the lake flooded. Anthonius says the likelihood is fairly high; the old mine construction would undoubtedly be in grave danger if the lake overflowed.