Rayleigh remained beside the sealed Knossos gate while Merek examined the control device they had confiscated from Valletta's men.
The mechanism had been badly damaged when Shinsō tore through its operating lever, but most of its internal components were still intact.
Several copper tubes connected to a central magical regulator, while a collection of thin metal plates had been fitted around the housing to control the flow of energy.
From the number of replacement parts, Rayleigh suspected the machine had been repaired repeatedly rather than built all at once.
Merek removed one of the plates and turned it over beneath Fels's magical light.
"Whoever assembled this had access to old Daedalus schematics, but the construction is much newer. These components weren't designed to open Knossos by themselves. They were sending signals through the existing mechanism and relying on someone inside to operate the emergency release."
Rayleigh looked toward the sealed door, remembering the masked woman who had watched him through the narrow opening.
"So Valletta provides the equipment and access from Orario, while the people inside handle the actual locks. That explains why she could get this far without the Daedalus Orb."
"It also means destroying these machines won't necessarily stop whoever is already inside," Fels added. "They may have access to other exits we haven't identified."
Rayleigh was well aware of that possibility. Knossos had been expanded over generations, and even the Guild's accumulated maps contained enormous gaps. The last thing he wanted was to spend another year searching tunnels while Valletta moved her people through passages nobody knew existed.
"Then we deal with the people supplying the machines first. We caught three operators here, and the equipment had to come from somewhere. There should be enough material to work backward."
Merek continued examining the regulator while Rayleigh checked the unconscious prisoners being secured by the Guild escorts. One of the men had been carrying a leather pouch containing replacement crystals, two small tools, and a folded maintenance slip covered in numbers.
Rayleigh passed the slip to Merek.
The former reader studied it for several moments before reaching for the old drainage map.
"These are collection references. The first number identifies the gate, and the second identifies the supply station responsible for maintaining it. This one was serviced by Station Six."
He found the corresponding location near an abandoned industrial canal east of the main drainage network. A large pumping house had once controlled the water passing beneath several dye works, but most of the equipment had been left unused after newer channels were constructed.
Rayleigh examined the route leading toward it.
"Can they move supplies through the old canal?"
"Yes. There's a freight lift connected to the lower service tunnels, and the original drainage channel runs beneath the pumping house. They wouldn't need to bring anything through the public streets."
Shakti's voice came through the communication crystal before Rayleigh could ask another question.
"We've finished questioning the prisoners from the warehouse. One of the transport workers confirmed that a collection was scheduled tonight, but he only knew it involved machinery. He was supposed to report to the old canal district after sunset."
Rayleigh looked at Fels.
The mage was already reaching for his communication device.
"I'll have the Guild place watchers around the surrounding streets. Shakti can coordinate Ganesha Familia's response, but we need to move before the collection team realizes its operators have been captured."
Rayleigh handed the map back to Merek.
"I'll take the pumping house. Keep the prisoners separated and have someone check every confiscated device for additional references. If this station is still operating, I'd rather capture whoever is running it before they start destroying records."
Cassandra had been listening nearby with Yumeutsutsu resting against her hip. She approached as the others began gathering their equipment.
"My dream hasn't changed again, but that doesn't necessarily mean the danger is gone. I only stopped seeing the figure moving toward the door."
Rayleigh understood her concern.
"Stay with Fels and help Merek examine the remaining records. You found the route we needed, Cassandra. You've already done your part tonight."
She looked as though she wanted to object, but after considering the instruction, she nodded and returned to the table.
Rayleigh left the tunnel with the first group of Guild adventurers, contacting Ardi and Shakti as soon as he reached the surface.
...
The old pumping house stood beside a narrow industrial canal, surrounded by abandoned workshops and warehouses whose owners had long since moved their businesses elsewhere.
Much of the building had fallen into disrepair. Rust covered the iron walkways, several windows had been boarded from the inside, and the enormous waterwheel attached to the western wall no longer turned. Despite its appearance, Rayleigh could sense more than a dozen people moving inside.
Two were stationed near the entrances, while the others were concentrated around the lower machinery room.
He watched from the roof of a neighboring warehouse as Ardi and Shakti approached through separate routes.
"Thirteen inside," Rayleigh reported through the communication crystal. "Most are ordinary adventurers, but at least three have enough spiritual pressure to be experienced fighters. There's also a larger concentration of Magic beneath the main floor, probably the equipment they're preparing to move."
Shakti answered from the southern street. "My people have secured both ends of the canal. Nobody leaves by boat, and we've cleared the nearest occupied buildings. Ardi will take the eastern entrance while I move in from the freight yard."
Rayleigh glanced toward the canal.
"Keep the water route blocked. The pumping equipment still works well enough that they could flood the lower passages if they wanted to destroy evidence."
Ardi's voice followed immediately.
"That's why I'm here. If they try anything with the canal, Nejibana will handle it."
Rayleigh was satisfied with the arrangement.
The Ganesha Familia had spent years maintaining order throughout Orario, and Shakti knew how to organize an operation without announcing it to every criminal within hearing distance. Her people moved into position quietly, with several adventurers occupying the surrounding rooftops while others covered the abandoned streets.
Rayleigh waited until Shakti gave the signal.
Then he disappeared with Shunpo.
He landed behind the two guards stationed near the upper entrance, catching the first man's wrist before he could draw his sword and striking the second across the side of his neck with the edge of his hand. Both went down before either could shout a warning.
Rayleigh bound them with Bakudō #1: Sai! and entered the building.
The upper floor contained little more than empty offices and storage rooms, although fresh footprints in the accumulated dust revealed that people regularly crossed between the stairs and a concealed doorway near the western wall.
Rayleigh reached the doorway and opened it.
A narrow metal staircase descended into the machinery chamber, where several workers were loading reinforced containers onto a freight platform. The containers were surrounded by magical insulation, and a series of copper cables ran from the platform toward an operating control board.
One of the workers noticed the door opening.
He looked up and immediately reached for a bell hanging beside the stairs.
Rayleigh raised two fingers.
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa!"
A yellow rope of spiritual energy wrapped around the man's arms and pulled him away from the alarm before he could touch it.
The other workers reacted at once.
Two drew weapons, while another overturned a nearby table to provide cover for an alchemical launcher.
Rayleigh descended the stairs without rushing.
The first swordsman attacked from his left, using the narrow passage to limit Rayleigh's movement. He was competent enough to keep his blade close to his body and avoid an unnecessarily wide swing, but that only made the difference in ability more apparent when Rayleigh caught his wrist and redirected the attack into the handrail.
A sharp strike to the man's shoulder forced him to release his weapon, and Rayleigh followed with a kick that sent him crashing into a stack of empty crates.
The second attacker tried to circle behind him.
Rayleigh stepped backward, caught the man's sword against Benihime's guard, and drove the pommel into his ribs before throwing him across the landing.
A glass projectile struck the railing beside Rayleigh and burst into a cloud of green vapor.
He immediately recognized the smell.
The same paralytic compound used against Akari during Monsterphilia.
"Bakudō #39: Enkōsen!"
A circular barrier appeared across the landing and prevented the poisonous cloud from spreading toward the upper rooms.
Rayleigh used Shunpo to appear beside the alchemist responsible and knocked the launcher from his hands before the man could prepare another shot.
He caught the man's collar as he stumbled backward and pushed him against the wall.
"Drop the rest of your equipment. I've already spent enough time dealing with your poison this week."
The alchemist glanced toward the glass capsules hanging from his belt, apparently considering whether he could reach one before Rayleigh reacted.
Rayleigh tightened his grip slightly.
The man raised both hands.
"Sensible choice."
He bound the alchemist with Sai and continued into the lower chamber.
By then, fighting had broken out near the eastern entrance.
Ardi had entered through a side passage and was facing three armed men near the freight lift. She had drawn Nejibana but kept it sealed while fighting between the delicate machinery and the reinforced containers.
Rayleigh could see why.
Several crates bore warning marks indicating volatile magical materials, and the largest container was connected to the pumping system through thick copper cables.
One careless attack could destroy the evidence they had come to recover.
Ardi knocked aside a spear thrust, stepped inside the attacker's reach, and struck his jaw with Nejibana's guard. As he fell, she twisted around another man's sword and drove her heel into his knee, forcing him onto the floor before he could reach the control board.
The third attacker abandoned the fight entirely.
He ran toward a large lever mounted beside the freight platform.
Rayleigh recognized the mechanism immediately.
"Ardi, stop him!"
She turned, but the man had already reached the control board.
His hand closed around the lever.
Rayleigh vanished with Shunpo and appeared beside him, catching his wrist before he could pull it.
The man immediately drove a concealed knife toward Rayleigh's stomach.
Rayleigh shifted aside and struck the inside of his elbow, forcing the weapon from his hand before slamming him against the control board.
"What does this lever do?"
The man grimaced and refused to answer.
Rayleigh looked at the machinery.
Several pressure gauges were connected to the canal's flood-control system, and the lever would release the main water gate beneath the freight platform.
He understood.
They had prepared to flood the entire chamber if the operation was discovered.
Ardi stepped beside him and examined the gauges.
"That much water would wash everything in the lower rooms straight into the drainage tunnels."
"Along with anyone still standing here," Rayleigh added.
He restrained the saboteur and began disconnecting the cables attached to the release mechanism.
Unfortunately, the fighting near the southern entrance had already attracted the attention of someone who knew exactly what was happening.
A heavy impact sounded above them.
Rayleigh looked up as an armed adventurer dropped from the upper catwalk and landed on the freight platform.
The newcomer was a large human man wearing reinforced leather armor beneath a dark coat. A broad sword rested across his shoulder, and several metal cylinders had been fastened to his belt.
Rayleigh immediately noticed the man's spiritual pressure.
'Level Four, most likely.'
The swordsman surveyed the restrained workers before turning toward Rayleigh.
"So the famous Yōtōsai decided to visit personally. I was hoping Ganesha would send another squad of idiots instead."
Rayleigh rested Benihime against his shoulder.
"You're welcome to surrender while the building is still standing. I'd appreciate that, actually. It's been a long day."
The man smiled and drew his sword.
"I've heard you prefer taking prisoners. That makes this much easier."
Before Rayleigh could answer, the swordsman threw two metal cylinders toward the crates behind Ardi.
Rayleigh moved immediately.
"Bakudō #81: Dankū!"
A transparent wall formed between the cylinders and the volatile containers just as they exploded.
The blast struck the barrier and spread across the freight platform, scattering metal fragments and sending a wave of heat through the machinery chamber.
The swordsman charged through the smoke.
His broad sword struck Benihime with enough force to break several loose boards beneath Rayleigh's feet, but Rayleigh absorbed the impact and redirected the weapon toward the railing.
The man recovered quickly, turning the failed strike into a horizontal sweep aimed at Rayleigh's waist.
Rayleigh stepped inside the swing and struck his ribs with an elbow.
The armored plate bent under the blow.
The swordsman staggered but continued attacking, driving his shoulder forward in an attempt to force Rayleigh toward the open freight shaft.
Rayleigh caught the charge with Hakuda, hooked one foot behind the man's leg, and used his momentum to throw him across the platform.
The swordsman crashed through the wooden railing and landed on the lower walkway, recovering into a crouch with his sword still in hand.
He was clearly experienced.
Rayleigh could appreciate that much.
The man reached for another cylinder.
Rayleigh raised his hand before he could throw it.
"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō!"
Six golden pillars slammed into the swordsman's torso and stopped him in place.
His eyes widened as he struggled against the restraint.
Rayleigh used Shunpo to reach him and removed the remaining explosives from his belt.
"You're good with a sword, but throwing explosives around a warehouse full of magical reagents is a terrible habit."
The swordsman attempted to force himself free.
Rayleigh struck him across the temple with Benihime's guard.
He collapsed unconscious.
Ardi approached while securing the last of the workers.
"That looked easier than the Silverback yesterday."
"The Silverback didn't carry explosives."
She glanced at the damaged freight platform and grimaced.
"Fair enough."