The moment Lumine stepped on the alarm trigger—
The entire castle became a prison filled with murderous intent.
The word "security" ceased to exist. The ceiling, the floor, the decorations, the walls—everything in the castle turned into a deadly switch ready to activate an instant-kill trap.
"This is way too much!"
Lumine trembled as she spoke.
The scale was different.
The intensity was different.
The killing intent was on another level.
In the ancient ruins she had explored before, there were always safe zones for people to rest.
But Leon's mechanical castle existed for one purpose only: to kill intruders!
No exceptions. By any means necessary. Leave no trace of life behind.
Safe zones? What a joke. Why would he create a place where invaders could recover?
Lumine realized she couldn't move—because aside from the spot she was standing on, a turret trap had already been triggered.
Traps were everywhere. It would be understandable to step on one by accident. But stepping on a trap knowing it was there? That required a suicidal amount of courage.
Paimon: "Okay, okay! I'm glad I can fly. I heard from the Adventurer's Guild that people who can fly are immune to at least three hundred types of death."
Lumine: "Is it too late to teach me how to fly? I can't even move now!"
Now, only two options remained.
The first was to charge forward recklessly, stomping on the ground and diving into the sea of traps.
The second was to stay put. Her current position, which had triggered the mechanism, was likely the only safe spot left in the entire castle.
Lumine hesitated for a moment.
Then resolutely chose the latter.
Lumine: "Even if I die of starvation here, I'm not taking a single step forward! Only a fool would walk into a minefield like this!"
However…
A purple mist was released from a statue behind the screen—a specially formulated neurotoxin that induced dizziness, nausea, sharp pain, and seizures.
Leon's mechanical castle wasn't kind enough to let people survive by simply staying still.
If you don't move—you die.
"Kyaaaaa!! Run!!"
"Wait for me, Lumine!"
As the poisonous gas rushed toward them, Lumine and Paimon turned pale. Their only option was to run.
Lumine: "Yes! I can use magic to clear a path and dispel the poison!"
A sudden stroke of genius—she could use wind magic to blow away the toxic gas or create elemental constructs to forge a way forward.
Lumine: "I'm such a genius!"
Leon: "Hehehehe~."
Lumine: "What? I can't use magic!"
Leon: "Oh~ As expected from my sister and Eta. They activated the ancient relic [Rose of Desire] so quickly."
While in the Kingdom of Knights, Leon had obtained an ancient relic capable of absorbing magical energy in the surrounding area and amplifying his own power.
At that very moment, the relic was being used as part of a mechanism within the castle, turning it into one of the traps that drove intruders into utter despair.
Unless you were granted permission—
No one could use magic inside the castle.
At the same time, Lumine's movement triggered even more mechanisms: a rain of bullets, flying saw blades, collapsing walls, and countless other lethal traps now targeted her.
Lumine: "There's seriously no way to survive this!"
Luckily, she wasn't some useless noble relying solely on magic. She was incredibly skilled at dodging traps—but dodging one only triggered five more.
Soaked in sweat, Lumine kept running, dodging and enduring. If she stopped for even a second, she'd be crushed, shot, or poisoned.
As for Paimon's earlier claim that flying was safe—well, not in this castle. Killing intent filled every inch of the air, not just the ground.
As she floated past a statue—
"Szzzzzzz!!"
Lumine: "Paimon, watch out!"
Paimon: "Waaah!"
The statue's eyes fired red lasers.
If Lumine hadn't pulled Paimon down in time, she would've been skewered on the spot.
Paimon: "What is WRONG with this castle!?"
Lumine: "Paimon, ahead! Look!"
Lumine turned her pale face forward—
The floor in front of them had completely disappeared, and dozens of meters below, the pit was filled with glistening spikes. The other side looked at least 20 to 30 meters away.
There was no way she could jump that far.
So she held Paimon tightly and let her fly them both across.
Paimon: "Okay, okay—so heavy~!"
Lumine: "My food intake is only a third of yours!"
Paimon: "Traveler, do you want me to drop you right now!?"
Lumine: "How do you expect to survive in here without me, Paimon!?"
Paimon: "Waaahhh!!"
They even had time to argue midair—which showed that, despite the danger, they were still holding up fairly well. In other words, the dozen-meter flight was relatively easy for them.
But their optimism was short-lived.
They still didn't know just how inhumanly cruel Leon truly was.
"Kyaaaa!! My butt!!"
Lumine: "Hey, hey! Are you okay!?"
Paimon: "Something hit my butt!!"
Lumine, eyes brimming with tears, hugged Paimon tightly.
Then she reached back and yanked out several sharp needles, before pouring an entire bottle of powerful healing potion on Paimon's injured behind.
There was no real scientific logic behind it—
But Leon had anticipated that intruders would try to fly over the traps.
So he designed a mechanism that launched spikes upward during flight.
Unfortunately for Lumine, she triggered it.
Lumine: "Who the hell designed this trap!? It's lethal and completely inhumane!"
Paimon: "Who do you think...?"
Lumine: "Damn it! Leon, the second prince, and I are totally incompatible! We have to expose his true nature!"
Paimon: "Lumine, can we survive first!? Wuwuwu~ this place is way too scary!"
The two kept moving, struggling through a new frenzy of traps—flames to the face, lightning striking the floor, freezing water, exploding grass seeds, rolling boulders, and more.
After a harrowing journey through the labyrinth of the first floor, they finally reached the path to the second.
Paimon climbed the stairs, gasping for air.
Yes, she was literally climbing the stairs.
They had nearly died over a dozen times back there. In fact, they were surprised they hadn't died.
However, the second floor was drastically different.
The first floor had been a complicated maze full of traps. But when Lumine opened the door to the second floor, what she saw was a vast, empty platform.
The passage to the third floor was right ahead.
It was an obvious trap.
She could bet anything that approaching it would trigger something fatal.
Lumine: "We have no choice but to move forward."
She gritted her teeth and stepped ahead.
Because staying still meant death.
The poison gas had already filled the first floor and was now spreading to the second. If she didn't move, she would be gassed to death.
Sure enough—
BANG!
The door behind them slammed shut.
Lumine and Paimon pressed on, trying to reach the passage to the third floor—but were stopped cold.
"What is this!?" x2
They both screamed.
The ceiling of the second floor opened up—and three giant robots dropped from above.
Each was five times Lumine's height, with massive mechanical arms and ultra-hard metal bodies. Every step they took made the ground tremble.
Leon: "In the ruins of the Wind Dragon, an ancient robot was discovered. Though it's far inferior to the ones my sister and I built, its power is on par with a weak giant."
The robot had been discarded initially, but Eta later mastered the technology after disassembling it. With Leon's support, they managed to reproduce it.
And he gave it a very childish name—N.A.N.I.
What does it stand for?
Nano Armament of Nonstop Impact...
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."