533 - - 16-12 Old Facilities
"...... father, I'm sure you'd like to see it for yourself."
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Reiko muttered in front of the hatch.
Jin, who was on Horai Island, agreed inwardly.
"...... First, when the hatch is opened, wait for one minute. Then you will go ahead of us."
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Anne explains the plan.
I'll take care of it.
If there's no immediate danger, we'll get on board.
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Yes, I understand.
We don't have enough information to say more than that. But I can say that we would like to proceed peacefully.
No one objected to that either.
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"Okay, I'll open it."
Anne operated the lever. As she had guessed, it was an opening/closing device, and the hatch slowly opened upward.
The diameter of the gaping hole was about the same as the hatch, about 2 meters in diameter. No lights seemed to be on.
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The three of us stood about three meters away from the hatch and watched. But nothing happens, and nothing comes out.
"It's been a minute. I'm off."
Reiko, with Momoka on her back, quickly disappears into the hole.
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Two minutes passed.
"So far there seems to be nothing wrong. Let's go, too."
"What? Still no word from Reiko?
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Alexus wonders. However, Reiko and the old man are communicating with each other by manacam, and the same is true between the old man and Anne. Therefore, it is natural that Reiko and Anne can communicate with each other via the old man.
"I and the lady can keep in touch with each other.
Anne only answered him.
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Without further questions, they jumped in through the hatch that opened.
The vertical hole was about five meters long. A simple ladder was attached to the hatch, which was probably an emergency doorway.
"Or perhaps an air intake shaft: ......"
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The two quickly descended the ladder, from which a passageway extended to the left and right. The interior was brightly lit with what appeared to be ether luminescent (AL) lighting.
Reiko can be seen at the far end of one of the corridors. It seems that she is going in the direction of the destination.
...... But what is this passage? The floor, walls and ceiling are made of metal. ......"
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Alektas whispered.
Anne went silently to Reiko. A short time later, Alectus arrived.
"There's no sign of anyone at all. The magical response is coming from down the road. ......"
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Reiko's explanation made Ann nod her head. And her next words astonished even Alectus.
"I have never seen this metal ...... before."
Reiko touched the wall for a moment and then gave the results of her analysis.
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"What?"
"I suspect that your father has never seen a metal like this either."
"Even the Magecraft Meister doesn't know about this kind of metal?"
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"That's what I mean. I wonder who made it.
Anne answered Alectus' question. And almost at the same time, Reiko shouted.
"Stop!"
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"What?"
Right in front of the three of them, a door slid out from the wall and blocked their way. At the same time, the back side of the room was also blocked by the door.
"I'm trapped!
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"It's not hard to break through a door like this. ......"
Reiko muttered as she lightly tapped on the door. A yellowish-green gas drifts up from the ceiling. Reiko instantly judges it.
"An! You and Alectus, set up a full protection ward!"
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At the sound of her voice, Anne, without hesitation and without questioning why, put up a full protective ward. It is an impermeable barrier against all gases, liquids, and solids. Therefore, it should also shut out poisonous gases.
On the other hand, there is a limit to the amount of oxygen inside. For Anne, but for Alectus, time was limited.
"...... sounds like a poisonous gas."
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Reiko muttered after
"......It is definitely chlorine gas."
Chlorine is an element with atomic number 17, which irritates the mucous membranes of the eyes and respiratory tract, causing coughing and vomiting. It is a poisonous gas used in World War I. It can also cause death from respiratory failure.
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It is heavier than air, making it deadly to soldiers holed up in trenches.
To neutralize it safely, we need sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3), also called hypo, but we don't have such a substance here (hypo is a dealkalizer used to keep goldfish and tropical fish in tap water. Therefore, Jin knew about it and so do Reiko and Ro-kun).
"The vent is ...... that one.
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Reiko, calmly assessing the situation, first melted the vent and sealed it. Next was the chlorine in the air.
"......"
She contacts the old man, and plans countermeasures.
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"Chlorine gas is absorbed by water. I see, ...... please."
Reiko took the advice from the old man and expected his help. Immediately a huge block of ice was transferred.
"You are indeed an old man. First of all, let's melt this ice. ......<
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The ice, about one cubic meter in size, melts and becomes water. Reiko heats it up further. Steam is rising in the air.
This air-filled steam absorbs chlorine gas and becomes a mixture of hydrochloric acid and hypochlorous acid. This mixture is highly acidic.
Reiko then pulls out a peach blossom and thrusts it deeply into the floor. The unknown metal on the floor was only as strong as a piece of cardboard before Reiko's force and Momoka's strength, and she was able to make a hole easily.
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The highly acidic water flowed out through the hole, and soon the air inside the sealed room became harmless.
"You are not to be underestimated. Let me open this door first."
Reiko, with Momoka at the ready, fired a series of four blows. Twice horizontally, twice vertically.
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The metal of the door was sliced open like paper, and a square hole was created. Fresh air rushed into the room.
For the first time, Anne had released her protective wards. Alectus is stunned, unable to comprehend what has happened.
"The poisonous air was flowing, so I asked Anne to protect me with her warding, and in the meantime, I made the poisonous air harmless.
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Reiko explained very simply.
"Ha,ha,...... as expected of the Magecraft Meister, an automata of the Magecraft Meister. ......"
"Anyway, let's move on. Let's just move on... with more care.
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And so the three of us continued down the passageway.
At the end of the passage was a vertical hole with a spiral staircase leading down.
"I guess we'll just have to go down there."
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Reiko probes with the built-in magi-detector. Although it is a simplified version, it is practical enough to detect the presence or absence of magic power at a short distance.
"There doesn't seem to be any magical traps.
Saying this, Reiko takes the lead this time and steps into the spiral staircase.
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This time it was only a four-meter descent to the next floor. This floor was also brightly lit by etheric luminescent (AL) lamps.
For the moment nothing happened, so Reiko called Anne and Alectus.
"Another passage, isn't it, lady?"
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"Yes. It seems that our destination is a little lower down.
"Does that mean it's deep underground?"
That's what I'm saying.
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After waiting for a minute and nothing happened, the group stepped into the passage that stretched out in front of them.
After about 15 meters, the passage turned to the right.
There was not a single door on the way.
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Please stop!
Reiko, the leader of the group, called out.
From that point on, the floor changed color. The floor had been gray before, but now it was painted purple.
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"What do you think is there?"
I don't think it's just a landmark. It is reasonable to think that it indicates some kind of meaningful boundary.
"Lady, shall I throw something?"
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"Yes. Okay then."
Reiko's body has a function to process, solidify, and store food. It can be used as a kind of weapon.
But in this case, I decided to use it just for research.
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A ball about one centimeter in diameter was ejected from Reiko's mouth. The ball fell down to the purple floor in a parabolic line, and as soon as it touched the floor, it was .......
!!!!"
A blue spark shot out, and the ball turned black and scattered on the floor.
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