Holding a hand cannon as thick as Pazu's arm, Dola stepped out of the darkness, a half-smile on her face.
Seeing this, the two children tried to turn around and run away, but two beams of flashlight shone from behind, blinding them.
Before the two could adjust to the bright light, several burly arms forcefully pressed them onto the cold, damp ground.
" Pazu!"
"Let me go, you rapists— Waaah!"
Soon, their hands and feet were tightly bound with ropes, and they became complete prisoners.
Pazu struggled, but Kong stuffed a wad of cloth torn from his tattered suit into his mouth.
"Behave yourselves, or I'll separate you and throw you both into the well."
Dola sat down on the overturned barrel with her arms crossed, and the other air pirates also found places to sit and rest.
From hijacking the passenger airship last night to the search, the pursuit, and all the way here, they haven't even had a proper chance to catch their breath.
Being a robber is tiring too.
Moreover, those people in the military certainly won't let this go easily, so it's best to lay low for a while.
A few hours later.
The old oil lamp was placed in the center of the cave, serving as a temporary light source.
Dola was holding the necklace she had taken from Sheeta up to the light, examining it closely.
The translucent, deep blue gemstone is slightly larger than a quail egg and has an overall teardrop shape.
The center of the gemstone is inlaid with a gilded pattern, resembling a winged building or some kind of flying creature.
( The Levitation Stone Necklace appears to contain some kind of intelligent technology.)
She had been looking at it for hours, but still couldn't figure out what was going on.
If she hadn't personally experienced that incredible power, even if she had just thrown this thing on the roadside, she—well, she probably would have picked it up anyway.
But to be honest, she has several gemstones in her jewelry box that are much larger than this.
"Little girl, how do you use this thing?" She looked at Sheeta, who was sitting next to Pazu.
Sheeta turned her face away, kept her mouth tightly shut, and resolved not to speak to these "evil" air pirates.
This kind of conversation has happened several times, and each time it ends in silence.
Dola wasn't in a hurry, and patiently asked, "Do you know who those people in black suits are?"
"The Kingdom's Intelligence Department, the Queen's most vicious lackeys."
"Silencing witnesses, kidnapping, torture—with the royal family backing them, they'll do anything. Those guys have a much worse reputation than us sky pirates."
She held the necklace up to the girl.
"We're only looking for treasure, gold, and those valuable things left behind by the ancients."
"But what they want from Laputa is hard to say."
Hearing this, Sheeta finally turned her head, revealing a stubborn expression. "I don't know anything! Take the stone, let me and Pazu leave!"
Dola was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, laughing so hard she almost cried.
"Haha! Silly girl, if just having stones was enough, why did those people go through all that trouble to bring you out of the snow mountain? They could have just stolen the necklace, wouldn't that have been enough?"
"Do you think I'm stupid, or do you think those guys are stupid?"
After she finished laughing, she stood up.
"They've been searching for so long, they should have given up by now. Let's take them back to the ship; we have plenty of time."
The negotiations reached a stalemate, and Dola gave up trying to persuade her, deciding to leave first.
Just as everyone was about to make a move, the flame in the oil lamp flickered without warning.
Immediately afterwards, the fire went out completely, and the entire cave was plunged into darkness.
One of the air pirates pulled out a flashlight, but Dola suddenly raised her hand to stop him.
"Etc."
She turned her head to the side, her ears twitched slightly, and her brows furrowed.
"It seems like there's something there----"
Before he finished speaking, the entire cave lit up.
Scattered blue spots of light seeped from deep within the rock face, appearing and disappearing in the darkness, constantly flickering.
At first there were only a few scattered spots, but then more and more appeared, and soon they covered every rock wall of the cave.
The entire cave transformed into a sky full of stars.
The air pirates all gaped, staring blankly at the incredible spectacle. Pazu and Sheeta forgot to struggle, their faces filled with shock.
Dola seemed to remember something and immediately took out the Levitation Stone Necklace she had just put in her pocket.
The moment she took out the necklace, the light inside the cave suddenly intensified several times, as if the bright moon had risen into a sea of stars.
Blue light radiates from the gemstone necklace, resonating with the entire "starry sky".
Dola's hand holding the necklace trembled slightly.
" Volucite —these are Volucite veins, and they're resonating with this stone! So the legends of ancient people possessing refining techniques are true!"
She immediately understood the connection between the stone in her hand and the light spot in the mine.
In fact, these glowing mineral veins are not uncommon, but few people associate them with legends.
It now seems that the ancient story of purifying Volucite from natural minerals is not a legend at all, but a fragmented piece of history passed down from ancient times!
Now, more than ever, she was certain that the stone would lead them to the treasure.
Mu En was also awestruck by that blue sea of stars.
Although I've seen this scene in movies, experiencing it in person is a completely different feeling.
"Ugh! Ugh ugh ugh"
Suddenly, Pazu, who was tied up, made a restless sound and struggled desperately to attract attention.
Following the boy's gaze, the blue light spot on the ground in the center of the cave suddenly began to turn purple.
Soon, the purple color spread like a plague.
Wherever it passed, the blue starlight was tinged with a magnificent yet eerie bright purple glow.
Even more bizarrely, streaks of purple electricity began to flow across the surface of the rock wall. As more and more arcs appeared, a purple electric grid quickly covered the entire cave.
"What... what is this thing?"
"These mineral veins seem to have rioted!"
"Mom, shouldn't we run away quickly?"
Dola's expression turned serious as she warily scanned the surrounding rock walls; she had never heard of such a phenomenon before.
However, a turbulent storm was brewing in Mu En's mind.
Those purple arcs of electricity, and the faint fluctuations that distorted the air—like him, they shouldn't have appeared in this world.
This is clearly a characteristic of Gravity Sorcery in the world of " The Elden Ring "!
This script is wrong!
Which fellow villager is performing magic here?
Mu En's question was quickly answered.
Boom!
As the purple light in the mine reached its peak, the central ground suddenly exploded, and the debris and dust forced everyone to cover their mouths and noses.
Resembling the mouthparts of an antlion, its massive jaws, made of dark rock, easily tore through the rocks, allowing its head to emerge.
Then, the owner of the giant jaw leaped out of the cave and crashed heavily onto the open ground.
The entire mine shook violently as the fall occurred, and several air pirates lost their footing and fell to the ground.
The monster pawed at the ground, raised its head, and let out a low, booming roar.
With this roar, the surrounding purple light intensified once more, illuminating the entire cave and allowing everyone to see the monster's true form.
Judging from its physical appearance, the "creature" resembled a bison enlarged several times over.
However, it has no eyes, its head is almost entirely occupied by its mouthparts, and its body is covered with mane and shell made of multifaceted black crystals that resemble magnetite.
Its slender tail rose from behind, ending in a cluster of sharp, rocky barbs.
Sharp, ferocious, hard, strong—all the words used to describe minerals and behemoths seem to fit this creature perfectly.
Fallingstar Beast.
One of the terrifying alien species from the dark, shadowless starry sky that destroyed the " Eternal City ".
( Fallingstar Beast )
When Dola saw the monster turn its head to look at her, she finally snapped out of her shock.
"Silly children, run!"
Enjoy