Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?-Chapter 1479: Underground Barracks

^Alright, I think this is deep enough. I'm going to take your blindfolds off now.^

^Finally!^

It took a solid twenty minutes of being blindly escorted until the guy leading

Alice, Harriet, Olstenna, and Antonio felt comfortable enough to finally let them remove their blindfolds.

During that time,the group had gone up several slopes, down several slopes, through several several turns, and even a route that felt as if they were walking on the ceiling for a brief moment.

As such, by the time they were allowed to remove their blindfolds, they had no idea where the hell they were. Granted, there was a certain trio of figured that memorized the route for them.

...

[Did you guys remember to transmit the route back to the curators?]

[Obviously.]

[Good.]

...

^Is this really the place?^ Alice asked, as was appropriate for the leader of a mercenary band. ^Because it feels as if you have lead us into a trap.^

Surrounding the group at this point in time was nothing but a massive chamber that was filled with a strange mix between artificial and natural tunnels.

The natural tunnels showed signs of being dug up by a strange variety of creatures ranging from the clear work of giants to showing signs that thousands of tiny creatures had dug through the earth and dirt like a fucked-up drill of a thousand bodies.

As for the artificial tunnels, they were all clearly done in the style of Dozing Salamander's architecture, but they were from entirely different eras and civilizations.

Some showed signs of being made during a time where the Crimson Orthodoxy ruled the continent, while others showed signs of being made during the Age of a Thousand Embers.

In a way, this chamber was a literal checkpoint for all these discordant points in history.

Of course, only those who were well-informed about such things would appreciate such construction...and realize that there was something deeply wrong with it at the same time.

"Wait...these tunnels..." Harriet paused as the history lessons both she and Alice had to learn while at the academy finally proved to be useful. "Rainbowden was only founded about two to three centuries ago, right? Then how come some of these tunnels seem even older than that?"

"If you're talking about the dug out ones, I remember seeing some old maps mark that this place used to be home to couple of vicious aether beasts once upon a time," Olstenna answered. "At some point, there was even a giant ant nest."

"I'm not referring to that," Harriet replied while pointing towards one of the artificially made tunnels. "I mean that some of these tunnels are done in architectural styles that predate Rainbowden by a thousand years or so."

"Oh...huh. That is odd."

A majority of historical records in relation to Rainbowden all agree that the city used to be a village some odd two hundredish years ago, and wasn't anything of note until the Rainbowsmith was born, went on a journey, and came back to build the place up into the city of artisans that exists today.

However, like every historical record in existence, there were some points of contention and contradiction.

The catacombs under Rainbowden had been a part of its history since the city's very beginning, that much was undisputed.

The people who came to study these catacombs, though, couldn't help but notice some...oddities.

As Harriet had pointed out, some of the tunnels were older than the city itself, which led to people to speculate that, perhaps, there were other cities, other civilizations in the past that existed where Rainbowden currently stands.

The only organizations that could provide a definitive answer on this matter, though, were all rather tight-lipped with sharing whatever information they had with the wider world.

As for the one group that would definitely have an answer, the one group that was currently having real time information transmitted to them via a trio of strange little figurines hiding in the shadows of the tunnels, they were stumped as well.

Not because they didn't have the records on hand, but because those records were under multiple locks.

...Say what?...

<Okay, I know our memories are partially sealed, but what the fuck? Why do we have five different memory seals on these particular records?>

=It was actually seven not too long ago, but our current Lord apparently unlocked those when he broke through not too long ago and when he brought the Damned Drunkard back to the library.=

<Speaking of him, where the hell has he been? I get that he can't leave the library and has been moody about it, but still...>

=I don't know, and I don't think we should care. Especially since one of the groups it about to make contact with the nemey barracks.=

<Right.>

...Alright, back to the main focus...

Regardless of this historical oddity, the subordinate in charge of leading Alice and her friends wasn't here to discuss historical records.

They were here to discuss mercenary business.

^This way now, ladies and gentlemen. Our barracks is down this tunnel.^

^Huh...^

The tunnel in question was one of the artificial made ones and had an entrance that reminded Alice and her group of how the [City of Mirrors] looked, albeit, with significantly less glass involved.

Lining the inside of the tunnel were a series of torches that were being lit with the power of aether, and they were illuminating not just the path downward, but a series of hieroglyphs that decorated the place.

If a certain Otherlander was with them, he would point out that these hieroglyphs resembled the three Tezcatlipocas that were bumming out in the library.

^And...we're here. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Underworld of War.^

^Whoa...^

After exiting the tunnel, Alice and her allies were expecting to enter an even more questionable looking underground chamber that was smaller than one they had just left.

Instead, they were greeted by the sight of an elaborate and well maintained indoor barracks.

The group had entered through the front entrance and into a dirt training ground. From their position in the training ground, they could see that it was further connected to two additional rooms.

From one, they could hear the clamor of people eating and talking.

From the other, silence.

If Alice had to take a guess, the former was connected to either the mess hall or the dormitory, while the latter was probably the armory.

^Miss Addison, would you like to introduce yourself to the warriors that you and your cohorts will be training now, or would you prefer to have a lay of the training grounds and make preparations?^ the subordinate asked, going beyond his initial duty of simply guiding Alice and company.

Alice didn't even need to think about her answer for too long.

^The latter. If I am to actually train these warriors of yours, I need to make sure I have a proper battleground to test them.^

After making this statement, Alice crouched down and ran her hand over the packed dirt ground.

^Feel free to inform the warriors that training will be delayed by another ten minutes. I can finish my preparations in five, but I get the feeling that your men require a little more time. Or at least, are only disciplined enough to be fashionably late if given the chance.^

^That...is an astutue observation,^ the subordinate praised Alice for her insight. ^Many of our warriors have been recruited through...unorthodox means, and may be more...rowdy and defiant than what you are used to handling. Very well, I will make sure that the men will be ready in ten minutes.^

^Good.^

Alice, Olstenna, Antonio, and Harriet kept a close eye on the subordinate as he exited the training grounds, waiting for the man to get out of earshot before discussing their actual plans.

"..."

Once he was gone, they made doubly sure to release aether to not only cloak their voices, but to actually examine the training grounds.

"Okay, so far so good," Alice opened the topic. "Not going to lie, I sincerely thought that these guys were going to immediately attempt to sacrifice us or jump us while we were blindfolded."

"Even if they did try to jump us, it wouldn't end well for them in the slightest," Olstenna added. "If that subordinate was anything to go off of, everyone in this chamber is probably weaker than us by a large margin."

"That, or maybe the know how to use you-know-what," Antonio pointed out. "We can't use normal logic whenever that stuff is involved."

"Non. I distinctively remember Smoking Mirror's aura from the wandering ruin. Neither that subordinate nor anyone beyond that door feel even remotely similar," Harriet retorted. "But something about this entire place feels off to me."

"Hmmm. I think I know what you mean..."

Aside from the fact that this barracks seemed impossibly large for a chamber in the catacombs, there was this weird aura of uneasiness that made everyone feel on edge.

If they were the same people that they were several months ago, they would assume that the catacombs were just creepy.

But now that they were aware of [Chaos], they couldn't help but to notice it's presence.