Edward took another careful look around the corner with his little mirror. Seeing no sign of danger, he got up and led the other two over.
Edward cautiously lifted the glass visor on his helmet. There was no strange smell, which meant the corridor was well ventilated.
He lowered his head and examined the ground carefully. The viscous fluid trails that had followed them along the way had nearly vanished in this brightly lit corridor. He spotted just one drop by the edge of the tightly shut door. There was a good chance the monster had chased Monica through it.
He looked up at the Magic Lamps on the ceiling. None of them shone very brightly, but they were arranged densely and neatly overhead, casting a soft, bright glow that let them see everything around them clearly.
The door ahead was unlike the one they had passed before, which had descended like the Dragon-Slaying Stone in an Ancient Tomb. This one consisted of two panels that met in the middle. It was made of stone, and the panels fit together so tightly that not a sliver of light showed through.
The doorframe was also a simple stone structure, and its pillars were carved with unfamiliar characters. The writing before them was much clearer, though.
In fact, Edward had lied to Andrea earlier. He had deciphered some of the Ancient Wizard Script and Ancient Elf Script, but only the numbers, since those characters also appeared in the Transmutation Circle.
He could recognize one character from the Ancient Wizard Script on the Folding Fan Door. It stood for "zero."
Edward went up to the doorframe and felt around it, then tapped various spots with his little hammer. He found nothing.
Now they had a problem. There didn't seem to be any mechanism