I.

Madoka's clothes flapped in her face as she descended, but what stung more was the slick mud that covered her from the battle peeling off her skin. Her mind began to focus out of her distracted spiral. The thing inside of her Storage talisman was the Vale Bá, right? It was large and has a red core inside of it.

The tube the lift was ascending inside of opened fully into a transparent window, no longer assaulting her eyes with flashes of alternating darkness and daylight. Outside, the fog had cleared completely, revealing the entire scope of the cave-like world she was in. She even could see multiple holes in the walls like the ones they entered here through.

New ruts ran in sections of the cavern like new internal wounds, carved by the massive relentless limbs jutting out from the Harp spinning along its lower shaft. The pit below was pleasantly devoid of mud. It was all drained out, leaving a flat tract of paved ground, though it was still stained with fallen debris, dead creatures and sludge. Madoka could only pray to the kind gods that they would not have to step out onto that dirty floor in order to leave this place. Her eye suddenly surged with magic.

The princess was alive! And she was awake!

Audrey was looking around frantically, clearly in a state of panic at her current situation. Madoka could only await her next bewildered intentions, worrying that Her Flusteredness's state would lash out and cause great damage in her distress. The eyes could only move, but she could not move her hands. Worry overtook the maid, but it appeared that Audrey had resolved to just rest inside her metal chamber.

Before Madoka could truly fall into a helpless despair or bask in a wave of relief, the lift hissed and slowed its descent. She knew that it was going to land soon. Everything was quiet. Only the turbines' endless spinning echoed out. The exotic world full of life, had fallen into hiding, it seemed.

Madoka could only pick up quiet thoughts from birds high above, outside of the cavern they were in. It appeared that light filtered from an apparent opening way above the harp. Without the scent of death and muddy earth clogging her nose, she would have assumed things here had always been like this: Quietly working for a long time. She suddenly felt a little guilty for solving such an odd request from the Harp.

Plaetrolsis, she thought as loud as she could.

The Harp remained solemnly silent, continuing its work without any words left. Madoka wanted to probe the voice more. The ancient one who left that epigraph before transforming into such a massive machine. What caused him to resort to such a drastic measure? How hopeless was his situation back then?

She wondered what would happen if they never were directed here. Madoka knew that there were greater forces at play. Ceghinort has not contacted them at all ever since they set foot in his Capitol. The hiss of the lift finally ceased, and her stomach flipped. Her steps faltered as she stumbled out of it.

The peculiar metal box that Madoka created around the princess was still there. She thanked the kind gods silently, and hurried over. With a quick pull of the Knotting strands on its side, the magic holding it together untangled. Audrey was still lying there, but her eyes were now looking at her.

Madoka knelt down next to her, inspecting Her Highness head to toe. "Audrey?"

"I— I don't feel any pain, but I can't move my limbs," the princess said, but her tone was more frustrated than terrified. "I think one of the plant creatures in this place got me with some kind of nerve agent."

"Nerve… Agent?"

Audrey's body stiffened, but she groaned when she realized she could not move. Her eyes had a slight excitement. "Yeah. But things are more quiet now. The building seems to be alive, and the jungle isn't trying to murder us! W-What happened to you, Madoka?"

Madoka frowned. How could she be focused on such things when she is the one in great danger? Her own eyes fell on the girl, who lay in her arms. Helpless. Tempting. Something in her stirred, blurring her senses as she locked onto the girl's shoulder. A small hole poked through the fabric and a red circle bloomed on her skin. It was a tiny pinprick, but it presumably was the cause of Her Highness's unexpected paralyzed state. The sight of her skin, however, made Madoka's mind wander again.

"Mad?" Audrey's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. The nickname made her feel like her head got yanked out of water. Her name was Madoka, dammit! "W-Why is your face turning red? What is going on in your head?"

"I destroyed the Vale Bá," Madoka reverted back to her calm tone, though her face still felt like a small flicker of heat was wiping its licks across her cheeks. "I think."

"Y-You think?"

Madoka shrugged, then unfolded her arms and held her wrist holding her storage talisman out for Audrey to inspect. The princess cleared her throat. "Oh, right. Can't move your arms. Well, allow me."

Madoka took Audrey's cold hand and placed it directly on top of the stone magical artifact. The princess gasped at the massive one-winged corpse, which was split in half. Madoka took the time to inspect what she chopped up with her.

In addition to the presumed Vale Bá, there were a lot of the flying bat-like beasts. Both variants were inside there, black and striped, but their hideous faces made her skip over them. There were also seven of those gargantuan Elwatcher flower monsters. The volume of monster corpses stored inside of her storage talisman's once-pristine portal made its disconcerting space more apparent to her. Madoka shifted her gaze back to her recent prize.

Its torso was vaguely shaped like the golden wyvern, which Madoka forgot was even inside there. It slender and shaped like a salamander's body, but it did not have a tail. The golden flying beast was not as large as the Crystal Lizard, so she missed it tucked away behind it. However, the new massive creature's top half did not have wings and looked like an elongated, giant person covered in jet black scales. The Vale Bá's bottom half had a hollowed out stomach was, where she was able to swing her axe through like a grisly and slimy tree trunk.

Knocking the red core out of it was a nice bonus, she thought grimly. The only thing not tarnished by blood and mud was its singular wing growing from its back. A gasp came from the girl in her arms. Madoka quickly looked down, only to receive Audrey's scrutinizing gaze.

"W-What did you do to its other wing?"

"Nothing!" Madoka blurted. "I didn't eat it. I mean, it wasn't there for me to eat. I mean… It only had one wing."

The princess looked at her as if she grew a single wing herself, then she glanced at Madoka's stomach. Had she not had her hands busy supporting Audrey, she would have covered her tummy from her view. The princess cast her a suspicious glance, but did not argue further.

"What a strange creature, but I see the red core," Audrey murmured. "That means that this thing was indeed the Vale Bá. Right?"

"I was wondering that, too," Madoka pondered aloud, more to herself than to the princess. "There weren't any other big creatures to slay here, so…"

"Yeah," Audrey guessed. Unable to ascertain whether the fetid creature inside the portal was the Vale Bá, the two fell silent for a brief moment. Then she laughed softly to herself. "I can't believe you put me in a box."

"Audrey," Madoka whined. "It was the only way I could assure your safety."

She omitted her desire to stuff the princess in her storage talisman, instead putting on a show of pouting as if she was the one paralyzed.

"T-True," the girl murmured. "Last thing I remember was doing that One Wave Trick… And then my vision got blurry. I think the culprit was one of the big flower head monsters."

"The Elwatchers," Madoka felt uneasy about a beast capable of disabling someone like the Princess so insidiously. Her mind had stretched outward across the interior of this massive cavern, finding that the place was devoid of animal and monster thoughts alike. Only the hum of the Harp's machinery whirred above her head.

Madoka shifted uneasily. Her legs felt a bit stiff from sitting in the same position for this time. Daylight was streaming from above and through the broken spot she initially barged her way into here. The princess seemed to be ignorant over her aching knees, content with lying on her like a cat, but she was not bleeding.

"Can you move? Or shall I carry you out of here?" She finally asked. She felt a finger drum her wrist, and the princess's body stiffen in an attempt to move.

"Nope," Audrey sighed. "How am I the one always hurt in combat scenarios? Damn, being a glass cannon is tougher than I thought…"

Madoka ignored her mutterings and scooped her up, shifting Audrey unceremoniously into a piggyback position. She was light and her body was flexible enough to hold onto herself, though the maid was sure the princess was being lazy and could actually move but chose not to. Once she shifted slightly, Audrey's arm slipped off her shoulder and fell limp.

Madoka scolded herself for such impudent thoughts, and made sure to secure Her Highness close to her back. The extra weight made little difference to her, so she marched out the torn down hole in the wall to the great Pnaumic Basin. Cold rose from the ancient stone slabs she stepped onto. She took in the sights.

The daylight above was swallowed by the fog once again, though she could barely make out the outline of Ceghinort's statue. Madoka realized that this must be outside of the mountain's cavern, considering that its overgrown walls were narrow where they were, but was widening further up like a half opened book. This bowl she stood on was indeed constructed by ancient hands, as Audrey suggested. Though natural rocky outcrops have jutted over the sheer length of time that had passed over this place, the sink still had most of its polished form exposed. Now that the sludge was gone, the area was suitable for her to walk on now.

The sound of rushing wind pushed and shoved by the whirling blades around the bottom made it impossible to fly up without damaging the Harp. She also could hear chirping songs in the distance, from birds and insects alike. It seemed like rest of the forest had decided to tentatively come out of hiding, now that the commotion was over. The iron smell from dead creatures mixed in with the wet earth, creating a rather pungent smell.

Madoka scrunched her nose in disgust, and scanned her surroundings once more. There were Sixth Form symbols, indicating warnings about falling into the canal. But there was no sign about exits or any way out of the basin.

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"Do you see a way out of here?" She asked Audrey.

"I can't move," the princess groaned. "It's mighty inconvenient."

Right, Madoka sighed. She decided to circle around the Harp's foot, when she came across a large green mass of flesh smashed onto the ground. It was an Elwatcher, or what was left of Audrey's macabre work. The creature looked over them motionlessly, its eye stalk practically fused to the smooth stone's surface in a bubbly, curdled mess. A gasp came from Audrey, and then the princess started gagging.

"Audrey? Are you alright?"

"Y-You can't smell that?"

Madoka shrugged. Perhaps it was a blessing that she could not detect whatever Audrey was smelling. But she hurried around the corpse and quickly plugged her nose.

"That was definitely the thing that knocked me out," Audrey murmured.

"Hm? Are you certain?"

"Yeah," Audrey stated.

"And we're giving such a poisonous creature to the apothecary?" Madoka was asking nonchalantly.

She felt a certain animosity towards that Faragor fellow. It was his commission that brought harm to Audrey here, and it also occurred to her that he was also responsible for getting them into trouble the first time, too. The first Secret Garden, their first meeting with Ceghinort, and the damn Crystal inside of her chest— all of these factors were because of him. Inadvertently or not, this apothecary was the source of all of House Dalion's problems.

"Madoka?" Audrey's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "You're tensing up. What's going on?"

"O-Oh, I was just thinking about that commission," Madoka explained.

"It does seem rather suspicious that he would want the Elwatcher's extract, rather than the creature itself. It probably doesn't taste good, I suppose. I wonder if he truly wants to help the Afflicted. I wonder if that's why Armor had sent us here."

Madoka did not put much thought into that, though she considered that things were better off for other people. Her head was focused solely on getting out of this place that smells like sewage and bad memories. With the fan blades of the Harp swinging above her, flying was not an option. She continued her circular path around the base of the massive Harp. There were more glowing hold spheres embedded in inverted domes in the canal, but they did not contain any large creatures. The structure of the Harp was all ancieng metal and slender curves, but its strings were now silent, and several of the arms that lined up the structure were frozen in mid motion.

The sunlight drifting down still kept the place relatively calm and visible, despite the fog clinging to certain sections above them between the layers of those swinging turbines. A gleam caught the corned of her eyes, close to the wall. There was a group of strange moss covered outcrop of stones ahead, seemingly growing out of the mountain walls. Knotting magic swirling all around them, drawing her in.

Without thinking, Madoka had already approached the stone. When the Knotting magic parted ways for her, it revealed a gathering of shiny red gemstones peeking at the tips of each outcrop. They were not as brilliant as the gem Audrey created, but seemed valuable.

"Ah, loot for our troubles," Audrey said. "Put me down and give it a wack!"

"Mm," Madoka said absentmindedly, before what the princess said finally registered in her ears. "I— I just thought they were pretty. Surely we can't—"

Her hands had already set the princess down before she could complete the sentence. It seemed that the allure of shiny things was more appealing to the maid than Madoka thought.

"Maybe there's an entrance hidden behind here," she muttered, pulling Magnolia II out of the storage portal. On second thought, she might as well make one!

"Wait," Audrey said, resting on the ground. Madoka froze mid-swing. It appeared that the effects of the Elwatcher's flower were fading, albiet slowly, since she was able to prop herself up with her arms. "P-Put me over there before you do your swinging thing."

She gestured over to a spot a considerable distance away. Madoka dropped the axe, which crashed to the ground with the force of a comet. Audrey fell over, but was scooped up by the maid's efficient hands before she could experience a full face plant. When she reached the spot to set the princess down, Audrey tugged her sleeve again.

"O-On second thought, put me a little bit further away."

Madoka groaned, and simply pulled Knotting strands into a box around Her Paranoidness, complete with a little slot in it for her to watch. She had no idea why Audrey was so nervous— it wasn't like the princess had not witnessed her smash things before. Even as she effortlessly ripped Magnolia II out of the ground, upended an entire section of the basin in a thunderous explosion of concrete and earth, winded up her swing with practiced precision, set up the storage talisman portal behind her to catch some of the debris inside of it, and infused some of her power into the strike she still could not figure out why Audrey's exaggerated unease.

The outcrop, once a formation of ancient blood red gems, now was reduced to powder. In face, the wall behind it had also become cloaked in dust, presumably now opened up for them to escape this do-called dungeon. It was a satisfying, earth shaking, and thoroughly rambunctious swing, Madoka thought as she clapped her hands together. The job was done, the mountain felt a tiny bit of her wrath.

After glancing towards both the princess and the box she put her in were indeed intact, she checked the storage portal. It was a little disappointing, only three of the larger gems survived the destruction. The other miscellaneous useless rocks and dirt she tore out herself. In hindsight, Madoka realized she should have secured a pickaxe from the Gladeban mines for situations like these. There was always a next time.

Droplets of water was coming through the cloud of dust, and the faint dark maw of Madoka's improvised exit began to reveal itself. A stream upward, she determined, hooefully it led back to where they came from. Otherwise, more excavation would be required. She would tear the mountain apart and fly back to the Truth Guild herself if the mess got any worse.

Madoka assisted the princess to her feet. Apparently, she was getting better and feeling had returned to her legs. Remembering how dizzy she felt when she was exposed to the strange poison before her battle with the Vale Bá and how quickly she recovered, she figured the sickness was indeed a temporary thing.

Audrey was a little shaken and, even worse, was dusty. "You really didn't hold back, huh," she limped tentatively, "that was a hell of a golf swing."

Madoka considered the swing. This iteration of Magnolia was a lot heavier than the first axe, and though a small fragment chipped off somewhere in the Harmosis Harp Major chamber, it still took a bit more effort to wield. "Actually," she quipped, "I did hold back a lot."

The look on Audrey's face was a fascinating shade of white and awestruck confusion. It was not pale, so Madoka dismissed any notions that the poison came back. After running a dozen questions on Her Highness's health, she felt a little more confident that she was better. So, she focused on the larger task at hand.

"Where to next?" Madoka asked.

Audrey, a bit bewildered by Madoka's insistent questions, recovered. "Well," she said. "We should head to the Truth Guild. Now that we have a piece of Carl and the core thingy from that big creature, we can get you sorted out."

Madoka helped her inside the cavern she created. Sure enough, her strike proved favorable, exposing an opening to a new tunnel that resembled the entrance they came from. There were no thoughts from plants calling her good looking or other such strange things, so she deemed the path suitable for a quick exit. Her boots landed on soft wet earth, splashing. She crinkled her nose, and guided Audrey in.

"I still can barely move my legs, Madoka," Audrey sighed. "Why can't I be as strong as you?"

"Audrey," Madoka said, her voice softer than she intended, steadied her. "You're a lot stronger than me."

Madoka felt the girl stiffen in her hands. Audrey had closed her eyes, focusing inward. Then, she stepped forward, lurching slightly. Madoka's heart leaped into her throat and lunged to keep her from falling into the mud, but Audrey stuck out a hand and stopped her.

"Let's see," Audrey said. "I'll be right back, Madoka."

She tilted her head and seemed to be looking up at something, but her eyes were closed. Madoka dared not to pry into her vision, but felt her heart, which was in her mouth, sink back down to her chest with a heavy thud. Magic was coursing through this part of the sewers, making her skin crawl and itch, magic that only Audrey could create. The hand she used to stop Madoka from approaching suddenly raised into a fist above the princess head, then she shot it down to her chest.

The crackle of magic made her flinch and cover her ears. Madoka recovered, recognizing the spell Audrey used immediately. Damnit, she cursed in her head. Audrey's faint Wind magic still made the air shimmer where she was standing, however, she was nowhere to be seen. Teleportation, Madoka folded her arms. She felt a little indignant. Did Audrey really just leave her down here?

She allowed a strand of Knotting magic into her blue eye, but found that her Shared Vision didn't work. She merely saw nothing but darkness through the eye. That only made her worry more. Audrey said she would not use such a dangerous spell, yet she had used it a handful of times after she promised. The only question remained: Where was she?

She did not have to wait long. A loud hissing noise manifested directly in front of her, right where the foggy haze of Audrey's Wind magic floated. Then, a blindingly white silhouette of a person flashed, making Madoka flinch and illuminated the tunnel. A crashing noise, resembling crackling lightning, pierced her ears. She ducked instinctively. "Audrey?"

Her vision swam. Despite her eyes being closed, Madoka could see trembling hands that were not hers and the muddy path before her. Slowly, she lifted her head and looked up. Audrey was there, breathing hard, but fully there. The magic had dissipated, and Madoka hoped she would never see it again today.

"Audrey?"

Audrey stood still like a statue, then snapped out of it, far from the limping girl a few moments before. She was shivering, and to Madoka's surprise, the cold aura surrounding her had returned. She wondered if that had to do with her health. Or her hearts.

"Brrrrr!" Audrey shook her legs and arms all over, as if she was a wet dog. "God, I hate, hate, hate! I hate doing that!"

Madoka frowned. She was beginning to understand why she teleported her, but she just had to warn her as she had always done before.

"Audrey," she said sternly. Audrey once again froze mid motion, turning slowly to her. "Well?"

"I, figured," Audrey said. "What if I teleport and… You know what, nevermind. Point is, doing that let me remove the poison from my body."

"You destroyed your body to do that?" Madoka resisted the urge to raise a palm to her forehead. Then, her exasperation faded. Audrey was here. She was whole again, in her completely annoying self again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think," Audrey said, her voice now a shining chipper tone, "I think we're good to go. I don't think I could heal myself or anything like that, though. The reconstruction requires… certain things."

Something dripped on her shoulder. Mud. The tunnel looked like an inky throat. One they were going to have to travel up to, thanks to the massive fans.

"Let's get out of here," Madoka said.

Before she could move, she sensed something moving from above. It was intent, but whether it was hostile or not was something she did not want to risk. She pushed Audrey behind her and immediately through her Crystal barrier out in front of her.

"Ack. Madoka, I think they're the good guys." Audrey stumbled.

"Quiet," Madoka hissed.

Shadows of people were heading directly to her. The cold green jade glint of an Adventurer twinkled in the darkness. Madoka still held the shield up, and also had pulled out Magnolia II out of the portal. After their last run in with a group of these fools, she did not want a confrontation. A female voice came through to them.

"I should have known, that the Song of the Mountain had played because of you two."

It was Lady Theonys. The intent was gone, but Madoka still stood on guard.

She glanced at the barrier and then to the massive axe Madoka was holding, her face, illuminated by its golden glow, had a raised eyebrow. Six other members of the Truth Guild were behind her, along with another familiar face. Sir Drezgor. He had a look of knowing on his face, and downright amusement. The members of the Truth Guild, some Cherish people and Sovos, looked utterly bewildered. However, Lady Theonys seemed just as unbothered as Sir Drezgor

"May we pass through, and have a chat?" Lady Theonys asked.

It was then Madoka noticed that she was not armed, but the Sovos's arms were wreathed in red light. Domineering magic, intense like Blue Hair, that Sovos woman Ikushi, they fought in the forest. Lightning magic, she noted, but she was as calm as a still lake.

Madoka glanced at Audrey, who still seemed star struck for some reason by Lady Theonys. She elbowed the princess in an attempt to pull her back into reality. "Well, what do you think? We have matters to attend to, don't we?"

"What? Right." Audrey's eyes scanned the Truth Guild members for something unseen, then dismissed them. "These aren't the ones. We'll be on our way."

Madoka nodded in agreement, glancing at the formidable Guild Master. Lady Theonys did not move at first, causing the two parties to fall in an awkward standoff. Her eyes bore down on Madoka, but she did not move. Instead, she held her axe up. It was a silent declaration that someone on the other side of her barrier should move— or else. Finally, Lady Theonys took her up on her suggestion and signalled her people to move out the way.

"Follow the straight and narrow way upward. You will be back on the Adventurer's District's inner plaza, where you first entered."

The bewildered Truth Guild members, along with a few other parties, quickly parted out of the way for them. Madoka shoved Audrey in front of her, draped a cloak over her, slung Magnolia II over her shoulder nonchalantly and marched through. Only Drezgor gave her a silent look of approval as she passed by him, obviously having been used to their antics already.

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