" Mira, over here."
Lin Yuan's voice rang out again.
This time, they switched to the left fork in the road, but their tone and pauses remained unchanged.
Mira looked at Lin Yuan beside her. "You sounded pretty convincing."
"It wasn't me."
"I know."
She picked up a pebble and threw it into the side path. The pebble struck the rock wall several times, making a few crisp echoes.
A moment later, the same impact sound came from the right. The order was exactly the same, but no stones rolled out.
Neither of them chased after the sound; instead, they retreated to the spot where they had found the carriage.
The footprints beside the wheel, which seemed to extend only into the depths of the canyon just moments before, now reveal several distinct differences upon closer inspection. The driver, wearing worn-out soft-soled shoes, had his footprints abruptly veer to the left at the fork in the road ahead; while the two guards, wearing iron boots, stepped onto the right side, one after the other.
Several sets of footprints remained in place, spinning around, before eventually heading down three different roads.
"They didn't act together." Mira crouched down, brushing away the dust around the edges of the footprints with her fingertips. "And what they heard was different too."
Lin Yuan looked at the empty carriage.
The caravan was not attacked. Everyone assumed they had found someone they had to pursue, so they voluntarily left the wagon.
He drew the Nameless and tapped the wheel three times with its hilt.
Thump, thump, thump.
The sound traveled far along the canyon.
A dozen or so breaths later, the same three muffled thuds sounded ahead. Then came the sounds from the left and right, with more and more wheels rolling from the side roads, as if several unseen caravans were passing by at the same time.
Mira stood up. "The rock wall remembered the sound."
"It will be sent elsewhere."
Lin Yuan closed his eyes and pressed his spatial perception into the nearby rock strata. The ordinary rocks presented a stable and continuous outline, but the crystals embedded in them formed many tiny cavities. As the magic passed through the cavities, it vibrated continuously, sending the sound he had just recorded in different directions.
Those crystal-replicated human figures should also be based on the same principle.
The two followed the driver's footprints into the left fork in the road. This time, no matter if there were cries for help ahead or footsteps behind them, they did not change direction.
After walking several hundred meters, the footprints disappeared in front of a rock wall.
Mira stretched out his hand and tapped the stone surface. The sound was dull, and it didn't seem like there was emptiness behind it.
"The person is inside," Lin Yuan said.
His senses couldn't perceive human features, but they could discern outlines within the rock strata that weren't made of stone. The figure was curled up, its chest still rising and falling very slightly, surrounded by slender crystalline veins.
Mira took two steps back, and just as her dark red magic began to rise, Lin Yuan raised his hand to stop her.
"Smashing it directly might hurt the people inside."
"Then peel off the outer layer."
Lin Yuan pressed the tip of his sword against the rock wall and slowly moved along the cracks he sensed. The sword blade was not covered with magic; it relied solely on its sharpness to pry open the surface layers of rock bit by bit. Mira, on the other hand, held the cracked stone slab firmly in place, preventing the rubble from falling inward.
After the rock wall was removed, a layer of grayish-white crystals was exposed inside.
A man clad in leather armor was encased within, his face pale, yet a search and rescue badge issued by the Northern Chamber of Commerce still hung at his waist. Dozens of hair-thin crystalline threads were attached to his arms and neck, each gleaming faintly.
Lin Yuan continuously struck with his sword along the point where the crystal threads converged. When the last thread broke, the entire crystal quickly lost its luster.
Mira smashed the outer layer with her fist and dragged the man out from inside.
The other person was still breathing, but she couldn't wake him up no matter what she did. Mira took out a water bag, poured a little water on his face, and patted it hard twice.
The man coughed violently.
He opened his eyes and saw the lingering dark red magic behind Mira. He panicked and shrank back, crying, "Don't come any closer! You're not her—"
" Fairy Tail, Mirajane." Mira slapped the mission sheet against his chest. "Read it carefully before you shout."
The man stared at the guild seal for a long time before his rapid breathing gradually calmed down.
"Where are the others?" Lin Yuan asked.
"They've all been taken down there."
The man recounted what had happened in fits and starts. After the six mages entered the canyon, they soon heard the cries for help from the missing caravan. They followed the sound and found a guard who was supposed to be missing, but the guard said that the others were trapped ahead.
After reaching the fork in the road, the guard turned into crystal sand.
Then, they saw themselves.
"I cast a message True Magic, only managing to write 'Wrong way'," the man said, rubbing his forehead. "Then the group was scattered by the sound. The last thing I saw was another version of myself standing beside the rock wall."
Mira glanced at the small red mark on his neck. "The crystal before was draining your magic."
The man's face darkened further. "There are still many people down there."
Lin Yuan stood up, his senses following the severed crystal threads deeper into the rock strata. All the crystal veins tilted slightly downwards, eventually converging into a deeper area beneath his feet.
Mira helped the man up and handed him a nail engraved with a number.
"Follow the marks we left back to the carriage. Do not respond to any sound, and do not follow anyone."
"And what about you?"
Lin Yuan looked towards the end of the fork in the road.
Deep within the rock wall lies a narrow, downward-sloping cavity, its entrance concealed by a thin layer of crystal. Dozens of faint humanoid silhouettes are gathered at the very bottom of the cavity.
Go and bring the others back.
He cleaved the crystal in two with a single sword stroke.
A path leading underground appeared before the three. From the depths of darkness, more familiar voices echoed.