I quickly check the condition of the altar. The curse power maintaining the hole is already gone, and the conducting wire it was using as a path has been cut.
“What does this mean?”
“…It’s no good, it’s not closing. The connection has been cut, but…”
Suddenly, a hunch crosses through the back of my mind.
“…!”
I quickly take out the bottle where the homunculus should be, but it’s empty.
This leaves me even more anxious. I activate as many scrolls as I can, take the glove off my right hand, and cover my arm in curses all the way to the elbow.
I carefully look around where the hole is.
“We may have been had completely. Both the magic elements and the curses, everything I set has been cut. But then what is providing the energy to maintain this phenomenon? It’s like…”
“Master Rust, in a way that I understand.”
“Yes, sorry. But I still don’t have a clear picture of what’s going on. I’m thinking there are two possibilities. The first, is that it’s something close to a natural phenomenon. Something like fire. People can start fires, but it won’t go out as long as it has things to burn, right?”
“So we need a way to put out the fire?”
“Yes. The other is more serious. Something from that world has completely taken over this phenomenon in a way that I don’t understand.”
“…Let’s move assuming it’s the second.”
Declares Roa with a grave tone while raising her spear.
I look to where it’s pointing, the hole.
I don’t know when it appeared, but a being made of pale light is standing there.
That homunculus that’s several times the size of a person casually raises one arm.
“Watch out!”
Yells Roa, who jumps into me while I’m standing near the hole.
I feel an impact on my side, and we fall away from the hole
The hole is rapidly enlarging.
It passes through where I was standing, and it’s almost like its rim is ripping through space, as it carves the ground.
“Thank you Roa. Ah, your spear.”
I thank Roa for helping me, and it looks like we’re both all right, but…
My eyes then move to Roa’s hands, and I see that Roa’s dear spear has been severed cleanly from the middle of the handle.
It probably got caught by the expanding hole.
“It’s fine.”
“No, but…!”
“That’s more important.”
Roa says while pointing.
The hole that we had to hunch over to go through is now the size of half the room.
I can see the white room beyond it.
The homunculus is comfortably sitting on the chair where we found Taula, with its face supported by its hands. It’s looking right at us.
There’s no expression on its face made up of pale light, but somehow, I can feel it’s enjoying itself.
The giant homunculus raises its hand towards us again, and snaps its fingers.
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