As the suction reached its peak, Li Ye and the others finally saw what was approaching—
It was entirely pitch-black, with complex inscriptions visible to the naked eye flowing with a faint glow, like ouroboros serpents coiling around one another!
At the center of the Automatic Defense Device, an immensely powerful vortex of air had gathered, still endlessly devouring the atmosphere!
"This thing feels seriously bad. Mr. Holmes, do you have a way to deal with it?"
Li Ye could sense a dense aura of curses from the Automatic Defense Device. Clearly, this device was not of the same model as the ones he had encountered before.
Setting aside whether his previous combat methods would work, the curse alone gave Li Ye a bit of a headache.
After all, it was an alchemical device made by the Atlas Institute, the institution that had created weapons capable of destroying the world. It was completely different from the Crusaders' remnants Li Ye had encountered before.
Li Ye had been able to block the Crusaders' petty curses, but this thing before him made him feel genuine danger!
Avoid contact as much as possible—
"Mr. Li Ye, the device is equipped with Rune Magic. It is likely a Norse curse that weakens the human body. Miss Nitocris's familiars can serve as the main attackers—"
Holmes, who had begun observing the Automatic Defense Device the moment it appeared, spoke rapidly.
"Use your Noble Phantasm, Miss Nito!"
Almost at the same time, Li Ye made his decision.
Like Holmes, Li Ye wanted Nitocris to act as their primary source of damage, but he intended to take it even further.
He wanted her to use a Servant's strongest trump card directly!
According to Li Ye's memories, although Nitocris's Noble Phantasm, "Mirror of the Netherworld," was classified as an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, Nitocris herself had claimed that it was a mirror capable of reflecting the Underworld—or rather, the form of a dark otherworld!
Its method of attack was not an overwhelming flood of magical energy over a vast area. Instead, it used the Mirror of the Underworld for summoning, calling forth great numbers of undead to attack!
That meant the Mirror of the Netherworld could still be used even within this narrow tunnel!
Hearing him, Nitocris immediately understood Li Ye's intent and unfolded the Mirror of the Underworld. "I need time!"
"Leave it to me!"
Clang—
Sword in hand, Li Ye stood ready, positioning himself between the Automatic Defense Device and Nitocris!
"Mirror of Corpses, Mirror of Darkness—"
Her soaring chant was accompanied by surging magical energy. Rays of light wound around Nitocris's body, while a shadowy black figure faintly emerged behind her!
Buzz!
The instant Nitocris began chanting, the Automatic Defense Device immediately launched its attack!
The vortex compressed to its limit suddenly reversed, spewing out everything it had swallowed, carried along by an invisible curse!
With a terrifying force like mountains collapsing and seas overturning, it was about to engulf Li Ye and the others in an instant!
Screech—
His clothes snapped in the gale. Holmes stood beside Nitocris with his pipe in hand, yet his attention was not on the Automatic Defense Device. Instead, he raised a brow as he watched someone's back.
That blooming Crimson Lightning rose alongside Dragon's Might.
The ever-extending blade surged upstream!
It forcibly tore apart the cursed wind!
The cursed wind howled past both sides of Li Ye, crashing against the tunnel's bluestone walls without leaving so much as a mark.
By then, Nitocris's chant had also reached its end!
"Become a gate, and draw terror to this place.
—Mirror of the Netherworld!"
Nitocris finished her impassioned Noble Phantasm invocation, and a tall figure silently appeared behind her.
Its form was pitch-black, yet it wore incomparably noble metallic ornaments. A jackal's head wreathed in Divine Power.
Li Ye's gaze caught sight of that sacred being known to all in Egyptian mythology—
Anubis!
Above Anubis, a Golden Mirror emerged. Its wings spread one after another, and an aura Li Ye found all too familiar poured forth.
Is that the Underworld beyond it?!
Before Li Ye could marvel at it, undead surged from the mirror and howled past his side!
They charged straight toward the Automatic Defense Device!
Yet the curses surrounding the Automatic Defense Device were unable to affect those undead, who crashed relentlessly into its body!
While the Mirror of the Netherworld remained deployed, Li Ye suddenly stepped forward and drew back his right arm.
He actually used his longsword as a javelin, hurling it with all his strength!
The sword shot forth like racing thunder, unstoppable!
Boom!!
A blast of air rolled outward as the blade, wrapped in immense magical energy, pierced straight through the center of the Automatic Defense Device!
In an instant, Crimson Lightning raged, causing the tunnel's temperature to spike!
Clang!
The heavy sound of the Automatic Defense Device falling seemed to signal the end of the battle.
But Li Ye did not dare relax in the slightest. Staring intently at the now-dull Automatic Defense Device, he asked in a low voice, "Mr. Holmes, what are the chances that its curse will leak?"
"Zero, Mr. Li Ye. This sort of curse is realized through inscribed Rune inscriptions. It does not store curses before releasing them. Unless its magical circuits run wild and cause the Runes to overload, curse leakage normally will not occur. That is common knowledge."
Holmes smiled.
Only after receiving Holmes's answer did Li Ye finally relax.
Nitocris also ended the deployment of the Mirror of the Netherworld, and the sinister magical energy surrounding her dissipated.
"Are you making a Pharaoh fight for you?! You insolent wretch!"
Nitocris shot Li Ye a glare.
"This is all King Ozymandias's mission—"
Li Ye had already found the best way to communicate with Nitocris: whenever anything came up, bring out Ozymandias.
"You insolent wretch!!"
As Nitocris cried out in anger, Li Ye shoved the door open.
Though it was extremely heavy, brute force still pushed it aside.
"It isn't locked, and there aren't any corresponding mechanisms either—"
The moment he opened the door, Li Ye felt a wave of heat and a strange smell rush toward him.
"This is not something that should exist in this era, Mr. Holmes."
After opening the door and seeing the scene inside, Li Ye could not help but laugh.
Beyond the door was a room with a distinctly modern feel, filled everywhere with daily necessities and alchemical materials.
Most of them were utterly ordinary objects, vastly different from the forbidden weapons Li Ye had imagined.
Still, it was within Li Ye's expectations. According to Holmes, the weapons made by the Atlas Institute had basically all been sealed away. No matter how he thought about it, they could not possibly have been left in a place like this.
Especially not without any protective measures.
"Yes, Mr. Li Ye, these truly are not things that should exist in this era. Yet it seems Mr. Li Ye is quite familiar with them as well—"
Holmes walked beside Li Ye with a smiling expression.
When Servants were summoned, they were granted knowledge to help them adapt to the current era. But Li Ye was not a Servant. As one of the living, he should not have known such things.
Tch—
Li Ye smiled without betraying anything. "Mr. Holmes, there is nothing strange about me knowing these things. You were able to cross a Singularity and come here, so others can accomplish similar things too."
Holmes halted. Rather than follow Li Ye into the room, he remained outside the door, watching Li Ye's back.
After successfully entering the room and swiftly looking around, Li Ye turned to Holmes outside the door. "Mr. Holmes, is there something you wish to ask?"