Elliot glanced at her. Vanessa might usually seem dull and quiet, but once a fight started, Elliot had to hold on to her card for dear life to keep her from charging straight in.
She was actually extremely reckless.
Vanessa took a deep breath, accepted the Pale Bone Flute, brought it to her lips, and blew hard-toot-toot-toot-
The shrill, off-key flute notes, utterly devoid of rhythm, abruptly tore through the silence of the ruins.
Elliot gripped his pistol with both hands, watching their surroundings warily.
-Dead silence.
"Hey, is anything wrong on your end? What price did you pay?"
"It seems... none." Vanessa spent a long while carefully checking.
Only then did Elliot relax. The Difference Engine really wouldn't screw him over. If no price was listed, there was none.
The earlier [Secret Art · Trigger] had specifically listed its price.
But neither of the abilities gained upon advancing to the first rank, [Spirituality Pressure] and [Insight into Weakness], had listed one, and neither required a price.
Having no price was all well and good, but what did it mean that there was no effect? What kind of relic was this?
Just as Vanessa hesitated over whether to blow it again,
a faint tremor came from the solid ground beneath their feet!
Elliot's eyes instantly widened. Could there be... some enormous creature underground?!
Soon, the ground shook harder and harder, like the pounding of drums! The three hurried back, clearing the space in the middle.
Amid tumbling rubble and flying dust, a strange creature burst out of the ground!
It was comparable in size to a sturdy pony, its main body resembling a giant octopus, though its tentacles were much shorter and thicker. Its rounded head had neither eyes nor mouthparts nor any obvious sensory organs.
After emerging from the