Saintess Summons Skeletons-Chapter 627: Look at me look at you

Sofia slid a hand in her helmet, scraping off some of the blood she had been forced to smell as she ran, and smeared it messily on her side. She then ran up to the knight guarding the shrine, and stopped just out of reach of his blade, huffing and puffing under her closed helmet.

The knight’s helmet turned to look in her direction, but he said nothing.

I can’t just enter, can I?

Sofia forced her throat to make her voice a bit deeper, “W- What are you waiting for?!” she asked, her tone accusatory, “We need to help them!”

“But, the lab…” the knight answered, conflicted feelings clear in his voice.

“We can worry about that if the city survives whatever this is!”

“You- You’re right, we must protect the city!”

Sofia nodded, “Go first, I got hurt by a flying debris,” she explained, showing the blood on her side, “I just need to catch my breath. I’ll be right behind you.”

The knight answered with a silent nod, gripped his sword with two hands, and after a second of pause, ran in the direction of the maniacally laughing fairy in the distance, who broke through wall after wall like a wild cannonball.

One fewer obstacle.

I hope Pestle manages to find the others.

Tearing her eyes off of the knight running to his death, Sofia turned to the open gates of the Queen’s rest, or as the knight just called it, ‘the lab’.

Entering the building made of polished white stones, Sofia noticed something near the entrance, engraved directly into the walls. Looks like some kind of ritual circle. Too bad I’ve no time to memorize it, but at least I can be sure it’s off since there’s still no mana. She thought as she ran past it.

The entryway into the building quickly led to spiraling stairs going down, and Sofia ran down them as fast as she could with all her armor on. At the bottom, she unsheathed her sword and scanned her surroundings. The room the stairs led to was quite vast. It was silent and calm compared to the chaos outside. Strangely it was only lit by two braziers near the back wall, leaving most of the room in complete darkness, but already Sofia could see her target: a white crystal coffin, on a shrine like pedestal at the very back of the room in between the lit flames.

I can’t see much, but It sounds like there’s no one.

Sofia opened her visor and took her first step into the room, and discovered that the floor was more than a bit wet. Her boots were splashing into a liquid she couldn’t see, like stepping into a shallow puddle.

The floor looks dry near the braziers… I should have brought that guy’s torch instead of snuffing it out when I was done putting on the armor…

Sofia took a deep breath in, “HELP! HELP! WE NEED HELP OUTSIDE! IT’S A CORRUPTOR!”, she yelled, faking distress, before shutting up and focusing on the sounds. Her voice echoed in the building’s main room and halls, and there was absolutely no response.

Alright. Looks like there’s really no one left inside.

Sofia walked through the darkness in a straight line, going toward the coffin. The liquid covering the ground got deeper as she went, seeping inside of her boots.

Finally Sofia stepped into the light, walking out of the pool of liquid, and she observed with horror as shimmering blood of the deep seeped back out of her boots, splattering all over the ground near the brazier.

“Oh shit…”

The coffin was made of completely opaque white crystal, but now that she was closer, Sofia could see the tiny holes made near its bottom on the side, from which thin streams of the colorful blood flowed out, following grooves carved into the pedestal to fill the pool in the middle of the room.

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Sofia thought back to the hand impaled on a small tree she had found in the light world village’s obelisk. She feared what she might find within the coffin. The lid was heavy but it wasn’t sealed, wedging her sword under it, she used it as a lever. The lid opened slightly, slid to the other side, fell from the coffin and crashed on the ground with a deafening noise, shattering on impact like a sheet of ice.

Sofia gave the contents of the coffin a glance.

She immediately stepped back, teetering, she fell to her knees and threw up on the spot.

When she finally managed to stop retching, Sofia stood up, still wobbly on her feet, and turned around, not giving the contents of the coffin a second glance. She would probably never forget the nightmarish vision she had witnessed on this day, of the ‘Queen’s’ brain, eyeballs and heart, floating in their shimmering blood, only linked together by a bundle of raw nerves.

The heart was still beating, and when Sofia had looked at the eyes, that had looked right back at her.

Almost mindlessly, Sofia walked out of the main room, there were side rooms, and though the corridors linking them to the main room were in total darkness, the distant rooms were not.

There the notion of the ‘Queen’s rest’ being a laboratory started to make sense.

What the fuck were they trying to do…

Dead or dead-looking, badly injured small animals, mostly bats, floated in tubes full of transparent liquid. Above each of them were glass balls fully to the brim with shimmering blood, slowly dispensing drops of the blood one by one into the tubes.

On a table against the back wall, she found a handwritten journal, to her surprise, written in a language she could perfectly understand: Draconic. Only the last few pages remained, hundreds of them before having been ripped off at the seam.

KEL 16th, 31963

Luviria has developed a strange sickness. It seems magical in nature, yet I fail to find a way to heal her. She is a weak human, I fear for her life. We have suffered heartache enough these past years.

KEL 19th, 31963

Luviria’s sickness is worsening, she is feverish, and her skin is starting to turn unnaturally pink. Erna pointed out that Luviria was the first one to discover Her Majesty on the day of her passing. She believes the curse that killed our Queen must have spread to her. I, for one, know that no mere curse could have bested our Majesty. I fully believe that her departure was a choice, but still, Luviria sickness and her discovery on that day might not be unrelated…

KEL 24th, 31963

Luviria is no longer the only affected. Circa, Her Majesty’s other royal maid is now also starting to show early symptoms. It could be due to their proximity between themselves, we have to assume this sickness is contagious, if so I am almost certainly affected.

I fear not for my life even in this human shell, but our kingdom could be in grave danger.

I have placed all of the palace’s internal staff in containment in my quarters for now while I work on a remedy.

KEL 33rd, 31963

The pink patches on Luviria’s skin are spreading, they have taken on a slightly slimy texture. After careful examination, it seems to me that this sickness is fungal in nature, but none of my efforts so far have managed to control the spread. We have had to stop bringing wet towels to manage her fever, as it only seemed to make the affliction worse. Hopefully there will be a breakthrough in our research soon.

REL 7th, 31963

It is certain now, everyone who has been unfortunate enough to come into close proximity of her Highness’ deceased body during the day of her passing has contracted the fungal plague, myself included. I should easily survive this, nevertheless, our subjects do not share my lineage, research must continue.

REL 14th, 31963

Luviria has succumbed to the fungal plague, the fungus has spread to her bloodstream and is eating her from the inside. It was a gruesome sight. We have burned what was left of her, which did seem to get rid of the fungus.

I cleansed myself by fire, but I still need to save the others. Circa does not have much time left…

REL 18th, 31963

Circa is on her last leg, I am desperate, and, I think, starting to hallucinate. The walls are talking to me. I first thought of a prank in bad taste, but I felt no magic. My mind must be sick.

REL 23rd, 31963

The walls keep speaking.

The blood is the key.

Circa was burned, it’s Ivan next.

REL 25th

The blood. Blood flows, never ending. I am sorry, my queen.

Ivan has drunk.

REL 28th

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Ivan is still alive.

REL 29th

Ivan’s infection is slowing. It’s great news. Truly great news. The blood is endless.

Fungus is spreading. Everyone must drink. Everyone.