saiki

52

Our group assembled at the threshold of the boss room.

The building tucked away in this side street was unlike any we'd encountered before; an imposing edifice of stone that, judging by its size, might have once served as a warehouse.

Like the decrepit structures we'd passed earlier, this stone building's entrance was blocked by a hefty iron plate. Or rather, it had been.

"Something... appears to have broken the seal and burst out," Lucas carefully examined the gaping breach in the iron plate.

Quite literally, the iron plate sealing the entrance had been blown open from the inside.

Clearly, the seal hadn't been particularly effective.

I gestured towards the building's gloomy interior.

"This appears to be our path. We need to venture inside."

Immediately, the faces of our party members whitened. Specifically, Damien and Evangeline appeared none too pleased with this plan.

"Do... do we have to?"

"Let's... perhaps retreat..."

"Silence, youngsters. We can't come this far and not even catch a glimpse of the boss monster."

I gave Lucas a reassuring pat on the back.

"Onward!"

"Alright."

Lucas, swallowing hard, moved towards the entrance of the stone building and pushed against the door.

Screeeech-

The rusted hinges creaked unpleasantly. The broken, half-hanging door reluctantly gave way.

We maintained formation as we ventured inside.

Contrary to the foreboding atmosphere outside, the interior was surprisingly unspoiled. Of course, 'unspoiled' was relative; it was still a disaster.

'It's expansive and towering.'

Inside was a vast, warehouse-like space. The breadth was striking, and the ceiling reached astonishing heights.

It appeared to be roughly the height of a three-story building.

Yet there were no goods in sight that one would expect to find in a warehouse.

The wooden shelves that likely once housed stored goods had mostly rotted away, with only a few standing defiantly intact.

Lucas, examining a grotesquely warped shelf on the ground, narrowed his eyes.

"The floor, walls, and furniture show evidence of water damage. It appears this place was submerged for some time. After that, it was abandoned... Was there a flood?"

"Well, we're beneath a lake. It's hardly a surprise it's waterlogged."

I responded dismissively, shedding light on our surroundings with the lantern in my grasp.

"But more importantly, we're already in the boss room. Don't delay inspecting the area."

"Prince, over there."

Damien clutched at my sleeve. I glanced down at him, perplexed.

"What is it, Damien?"

"Over there... it's there."

"What is?"

"......"

With a trembling hand, Damien pointed into the warehouse depths. Seeing what he indicated, I held my breath.