Mysterious Knights

The entrance hall was built of solid stone in decay like the whole structure. The paved floor was covered with debris from wall, ceiling and pillars. 

Many of the pillars in the entrance hall were broken. It had an adjoined room separated from the main room only by two pillars. 

Furthermore, two corridors, one to the right of the staircase and one to the left around the staircase, led to different parts of the building. 

Besides the stairs stood two large stone statues of knights similar to the ones in the cathedral-like structure.

"Hmm?" Kiara narrowly dodged the swing of a statue's sword. In the chaos, she failed to evade the second statue's blade, which severed one of her arms. A scream of agony pierced the air, catching Calli's attention.

With a surge of urgency, Calli quickened her ascent. Each step felt like an eternity as she called out to her companion, "Kiara, what's happening? Kiara~!!!" But there was no reply.

Kiara, wholly absorbed in her fierce battle, paid no heed to Calli's urgent warnings to defend herself. Her sword strikes proved ineffectual against the statues, leaving nothing but superficial scratches on their unyielding forms. 

For each assault Kiara launched on one statue, the other retaliated with deadly precision, injuring her grievously.

Even her fists proved futile against these nearly invulnerable statues. They did little more than inflict pain upon her, her attempts at damaging the statues or disrupting their balance resulting in her own hands being shattered.

Kiara's regenerative abilities enabled her to persist in the fight, but it wasn't long before one of the statues opted to employ its nearly indestructible fists to bring about her end. 

A single blow was all it took to utterly obliterate Kiara's internal organs, rendering her immobile and teetering on the brink of death. She crumpled to her knees and then onto the ground, motionless.

Desperation coursed through her as she tried to call out to Calli, yet not a word escaped her powerless lips. Many thoughts raced through her mind at that moment. 

She had once held disdain for the reaper, even boasting of her phoenix powers. But now, as she lay helpless on the ground, she could only hope for Calli's intervention.

It was at this critical juncture that the statues prepared to deliver their final, fatal blow. They raised their massive legs to trample Kiara beneath their combined weight. 

However, instead of sealing her fate, the statues abruptly ceased their movements. A mace had shattered a nearby door, allowing gusts of stormy winds to rush into the chamber, rendering the door 'opened'.

The statues turned their attention away from Kiara and began to pursue two women who had entered the hall through the newly opened entrance.

A female knight, her silver hair flowing and her eyes gleaming green, strode into the building. She was clad in a brown cloak fastened with a crescent moon and sword emblem pin. 

Beside her was a half-elven archer, similarly attired in a brown cloak held together by a crescent moon and sword emblem pin.

The knight, her voice stern and formal, declared her title, "I am Shirogane Noel, Leader of the Order of Shirogane and renowned dragon slayer," as she disintegrated one of the knight statues that had been a formidable adversary for Kiara, with a single, decisive blow of her mace. Simultaneously, the other statue met its demise from the arrow of the half-elf.

As Kiara's body slowly regenerated, she clutched her sword with determination in one hand and summoned a shield in the other, preparing herself for the next round of battle. 

The knight approached, her swing so swift that Kiara had no time to react. The powerful blow sent Kiara sprawling to the ground, causing her to cough up blood. 

In her rapidly weakening voice, she called out, "Calli~," just before losing consciousness.

The half-elf questioned the knight's forceful action, saying, "Was it necessary to strike her to the ground? You didn't even know who she was!"

The knight replied in a stern yet somewhat amiable tone, "That's precisely what makes her so dangerous."

Meanwhile, when Calli reached the chamber's entrance, she discovered Kiara unconscious on the ground, along with the two women who had entered the room through the broken door.

Hastening to Kiara's side, Calli attempted to rouse her. "Kiara, Kiara~" she repeated anxiously. Kiara's eyes fluttered open, and she managed to say, "Calli~," just in time to warn Calli of the impending mace swing. Kiara used her own hand to block the blow, resulting in her hand being shattered once again.

"Noel~," the half-elf shouted as more statues advanced toward them. Noel turned to face the approaching statues, providing a momentary distraction. Seizing the opportunity, Calli hurriedly retreated with Kiara into the corridor on the left.

In another part of the fortress, Calli and Kiara continued to flee from the pursuing knights. "I can walk, I promise, I'm fine!" Kiara insisted, though blood still stained her lips. 

Nevertheless, Calli carried Kiara over her shoulder, and they continued their escape for some time until Calli decided to gently place the phoenix in a wooden crate due to the strain her human body was enduring.

"Sit down and rest for the moment until you're fully regenerated and I'll look around okay?" Reluctant at first but after hesitating for a moment Kiara agreed.

Calli proceeded down the corridor until she reached a corner, where she paused briefly. Apart from a few stacked crates, the corner was relatively bare. 

A shield bearing the phoenix coat of arms, the same emblem that adorned flags scattered throughout the dungeon, and a lantern for extra illumination were part of the modest furnishings.

However, the most striking sight that captured her attention was the profusion of missing persons reports and cautionary notices affixed to the wall. 

These reports detailed the disappearances of children, women, and men, serving as a somber reminder of the ceaseless anguish experienced in this place.

Among them were dire warnings from those who had seemingly descended into madness, exhibiting symptoms of irrationality, self-harm, and a complete loss of sanity. 

The decrees proclaimed that any individuals displaying such alarming behaviors were to be promptly reported to the authorities.

Continuing her survey of the area, Calli noticed deep scratches marring the walls of the corridor, their unusual orientation appearing nearly horizontal to the ground. 

Calli ran her fingers over the marks, pondering their origin. "What could have caused these, and how did they end up at such a peculiar angle?" With caution, she continued on her way.

Rounding the corner, Calli was confronted by a barred door. "Not that it would stop me," she muttered, delivering a forceful blow that sent the door crashing from its frame. She descended a flight of stairs that led to a long cell block, illuminated by flickering torchlight.

Calli's body twitched as she heard a half-life man moaning in agony from one of the cells to her left. His body was decomposing, yet he clung to a semblance of life, albeit having lost his sanity and the appearance of a normal human.

But he wasn't the sole inhabitant devoid of sanity. Upon spotting Calli, many of the imprisoned figures reached out for her, pounded their cell bars, or growled in ravenous hunger. Others simply gazed vacantly or resorted to self-inflicted harm against the cell walls.

Unease gnawed at Calli. "What happened in this fortress?!"

At the end of the cell block, Calli's gaze was drawn to a partially open door from which light seeped through the cracks. She approached the door cautiously, summoned her scythe, and inched it open slowly. Suddenly, a sickening 'splat' echoed through the room.

"Ahhhh!!!" The person behind her clutched the wound and screamed in agony, as blood sprayed from the injury.

Startled, Calli spun around, her eyes widening in shock. She had inadvertently severed one of Kiara's arms, who had approached her from behind to play a prank. "Ohh. Oh. Oh, sorry, Kusotori, Gomen~!!!" Calli panicked momentarily.

Kiara, however, calmly retrieved her severed arm from the floor and reattached it to her body. "No problem, Calli," she reassured her, though Calli remained apologetic.

"If you're really sorry, you could give me a hug," Kiara suggested, expressing her forgiveness with enthusiasm. Calli, however, declined the invitation and proceeded into the room without hesitation.

The room closely resembled the other spaces within the fortress, constructed from stone and illuminated by scattered candles. A cupboard with four doors, two large and two small, stood inside, one of the large doors slightly ajar to reveal shelves filled with books.

To the right of the door, there was a bed and a crate that served as a makeshift shelf for towels, keys, and a lantern. Calli took the lantern, while Kiara claimed the keys.

To the left, a small wooden table was accompanied by a chair on which a skeleton was perched. Kiara promptly pushed the skeletal remains to the floor and seated herself at the table. "How unpleasant!" she muttered before sifting through notes and scrolls and using one of the keys to unlock a book.

"Calli, come take a look!" Calli had been engrossed in examining the room and flipping through books when she was interrupted by Kiara.

"What is it, Kusotori?"

"I've found something intriguing! Some manuscripts from one of the guards."

"In that case, let's have a look!"