Twisted Wonderland Book 6: The Watchman of the Underworld

Chapter 40: Uncharted Territory

"What? Was there something else?" Idia asks.

"You're forgetting Vil's skincare products," Rook answers, holding up the case, "Could you please make certain he gets them.

Idia sighs and says, "K. I'll pass 'em along as soon as all the tests are done."

"Merci, Roi de sa Chambre!" Rook says with a smile.

"Could you at least TRY to read the room?" Idia says, somewhat annoyed, "Ugh, you are so exhausting..."

Soon, everyone follows Idia, Ortho, and the Styx soldiers to a few black hovercraft that seem to have black wings, and propellers. It seems to be a mixture of a hovercraft and a chariot. Idia and the soldiers walk in the hovercrafts and they fly it away.

Epel and the others are amazed.

Epel says in surprised, "Whoa! What was that thing he took off in?! It was super rad!"

"Yeah. It looks so cool," Jasper adds.

"That was a Styx-made technomantic vehicle. We call them Chariots," Ortho says. "Most of the island residents don't live in the ancient city here on the seabed level. They reside in the residential block of Oceanus, which is the outer wall covering the island. We've got maglev trains and elevators... But flying machines are still the most efficient way to get around."

"That's very interesting," Tanzanite says with interest.

Epel remembers, "Right, the outer wall... It just looks like sky up there, but I guess we ARE underwater."It's wild seeing the sky at the bottom of the ocean...

"Humans receive remarkable physical and mental benefits from natural light," Ortho says. So we use all kinds of advanced technologies to emulate life on land as much as possible. In addition to the inner wall's artificial sky, we also have different weather and seasons. There are forests and rivers too."

"Well Ah'll be," Epel says, impressed.

"That's impressive, " Sereia says.

Trinket nods his head in reply.

"What marvelous technology. I can hardly believe we're on the ocean floor myself," Rook says.

Ortho giggles, "Heh heh! know, right? It's much more pleasant down here than it is on land!"

Then Rook, and the others look around to see the structure of their location.

"And speaking of marvelous, I cannot help but marvel at the beautiful architecture around us," Rook says, "Those columns are very distinctive. They remind me of ones in the ruins in the Kingdom of Heroes."

"From what I understand, the Island of Woe used to be part of the Kingdom of Heroes way back when. The buildings here in this ancient city are vestiges of that time," Ortho says.

Rook is very impressed, "My word! So these buildings are historic relics? They've been preserved remarkably well!"

"Amazing. We're walking around ancient ruins, and yet, the place looks like it's been preserved for centuries," Tanzanite says.

Soon, Epel and Sereia notice a very tall white pillar in the center.

"Ortho, what's that giant pillar in the middle?" Sereia asks.

"That connects to the Oceanus Gate, the entrance you came in through," Ortho says. "It's Styx's headquarters.

"Styx's headquarters?" Jasper questions.

"The column goes down through the island and then waaay deeper," Ortho says.

"Waaay deeper?" Jasper questions.

"Um define 'waaay deeper'?" Tanzanite asks.

"There are a bunch of Phantoms buried beneath that pillar," Ortho says in a serious tone, "They're currently asleep and frozen. Facility But still, don't go wandering over there just because you're curious. You wouldn't want to end up like me." and remains silent.

Hearing that statement 'wouldn't want to end up like me' catches everyone's attention.

"End up like you?" Sereia asks, confused.

"What do you mean?" Jasper says, confused.

Then Rook asks, "Monsieur Marionette? What's the matter?"

But Ortho changes to a chipper mode, "Nothing! Point is, there are many dangerous areas on this island, so don't go wandering about like tourists. Now, let's get going. Follow me."

Sereia and the twins look at each other with confused looks. Even Trinket is confused by Ortho's statement.

Sometime later, everyone arrives in the training facility.

Ortho happily says, "Thank you for signing the NDAs. And I appreciate you telling me about how you got here and what your motives were. Admittedly, your story is so peculiar that I question whether this data would be useful for disaster prevention."

"Oh, really? I thought our motives were perfectly reasonable," Rook questions.

Ortho turns to Rook, "One of you came to deliver skincare products to a subject."

Then turns to Epel, "One was just mad about losing a fight."

Then turns to Sereia and the others, "And the rest of you wanted to speak with two of the subjects."

"They have names you know," Jasper says.

"But yes, that's correct. We want to see Briar and Grim," Tanzanite says.

"Humans behave in such incomprehensible-| mean, unpredictable ways," Ortho says. "But what really surprises me is how you got here. Rook Hunt's signature spell, Arrow Afar. As soon as you gave me this information... I immediately understood why you asked to see Vil and the others. You were going to use your signature spell on them so you could find their location, weren't you?"

Rook chuckles, "Heh heh heh... You have me dead to rights."

"I knew it!" Ortho happily says. Then says, "Idia was right-you can't take your eyes off Night Raven College students for a second!"

"Had Styx been doing something terrible to them..." Rook says, "I was fully prepared to take drastic measures. But now you've given me a proper explanation, Ortho. I knew the medical mages on Sage's Island had treated them after their overblots... But I feel much better knowing Styx is giving them special exams and blot treatments."

"Actually, I'm curious about something," Epel says, "Why did Styx abduct them like that? If you weren't going to do anything bad, you could've just explained things before taking them."

"I'm sorry about that," Ortho apologizes, "Most of the time, our subjects aren't exactly the type you can reason with. So we prioritize securing the target first to minimize damage all around. Then we conduct our investigation. That part's non-negotiable. Overblotted mages are essentially monsters a incapable of reason, just a mass of hunger and delusion. They're dangerous creatures that will do anything to get what they want."

Everyone remains silent about it.

Plus, consider how many people have overblotted in a such a short timeframe. It's practically unheard of. Along with someone who was able to heal those who have been overblotted. Styx had to cover their bases. Fortunately, we've now been able to verify that they've all returned to normal. But we had to be prepared for the worst. There hasn't been a single death among the overblotters OR the people around them. You guys are really lucky!"

"I suppose you're right; we have all been truly fortunate," Rook says. "Sometimes I have nightmares about the day Vil overblotted and wake up in a cold sweat. I thought I was watching him more closely than any of his five million Magicam followers, and from a closer vantage point than any mirror. But what did I truly see, when I stood at his side?