A tense atmosphere gathered in the hall shrouded in dim light. The air itself seemed to have frozen beneath its weight, while the low hum emitted by ancient equipment deep within the hall seemed to come from an impossibly distant place, carrying an unreal, dreamlike quality to Asalina's ears—but even after this tension had lasted several minutes, nothing happened in the hall.
The magical light spheres raised into the air still floated there. Their appearance had not "provoked" anything. The door leading to the corridor stood wide open, yet the light spreading in from that direction was suppressed by some unknown force, confined to only a few meters beyond the doorway, where it formed a hazy gray-black phantom mist behind the exploration team.
Other than that, there were no piercing alarms, no awakened guards, no indescribable things leaping from the darkness—aside from the bizarre surroundings, there seemed to be nothing at all in the hall.
"Maintain alert status." Alice RS-6's cool voice broke the suffocating tension. As she issued orders to her soldiers, she looked up toward the shadowy structure deep in the hall that resembled a "giant tree." A slit suddenly opened across the Ironclad Commander's smooth forehead, and some kind of artificial crystal extended from within. This delicate sensor projected a flickering curtain of light. Though the darkness quickly swallowed the light itself, its scanning field swiftly completed a scan of the surroundings. "No active targets in the environment. No energy traps or active spells."
The accompanying Deep Sea Ally Vanguard Team members began moving as well. Maintaining their intimidating "combat forms," they split into pairs and walked toward the edges of the hall. Scales, tentacles, and hard carapaces produced scalp-prickling "footsteps" across the alloy floor.
Asalina watched these Deep Sea Allies gradually approach the darkened areas, feeling