After the goblin guards were drawn away from the field of monster cages, Vaan easily made his way to the rock mountain lair undetected.
He passed various caged creatures along the way, including kobolds, lizardmen, wyrms, and basilisks.
While the cages were only made of rank two black iron, stronger creatures like Rank 3 Earth Wyrms and Rank 3 Lightning Basilisks could easily break free from their cages.
However, like other creatures locked in their cages, they were all injected with sedatives, keeping them weakened or asleep.
Shortly after reaching the lair’s entrance, Vaan scanned the path ahead with Omni-Sense before he proceeded with caution.
Although he had never personally explored a Fallen Witch’s evil lair, he had read about them; they were riddled with traps.
It wasn’t easy for intruders to reach the lair’s core area.
Vaan was prepared to deal with the hidden traps and dangers within the evil lair. But as he advanced, the lack of obstacles made him doubtful.
‘Unexpectedly, the security of the lair itself is non-existent,’ Vaan thought with surprise.
Before he knew it, he had arrived in the core area of the lair.
Nevertheless, he could roughly guess the reason. After all, the Fallen Witch had the entire pocket realm to herself.
If the Fallen Witch had installed any traps at all, they would all be in the first stratum to keep others from reaching the second stratum and discovering the existence of the pocket realm.
Besides the terrible rotting stench of flesh and blood that made the already heavy air suffocating, the core area was filled with treasures in Vaan’s eyes.
Tables and shelves filled with hundreds of potions and various solutions distilled from the Gehenna plants could be seen.
‘Don’t mind if I…’
After rechecking the core area of the lair for hidden traps with his Omni-Sense, Vaan immediately started pocketing all the flasks and potion bottles into his Heaven-Swallowing Space.
In a short time, he cleaned out the entire area, looting everything he deemed of value to him, including jars of monster organs and special flesh.
They were all usable ingredients in potioneering.
Afterward, he made his way to the next area, which was the place where the Fallen Witch conducted her live experiments.
It was also where all the mana-filled antimagic spores were flowing towards.
Vaan had found out the lair was divided into four main areas: the Fallen Witch’s sleeping quarters, dining area, research and ingredient storage space, and the experimental area.
However, he ignored the other two areas for the time being.
Rumble…!
The rock mountain lair suddenly shook from a powerful impact in the area, causing Vaan to pause his steps briefly.
‘That impact just now was…’
Rumble…!
The area suddenly shook again before Vaan became certain of his doubt.
‘It must be Headmaster Astoria producing those impactful attacks. The Fallen Witch’s screeches must have helped the punitive expedition group find their way to the second stratum,’ Vaan figured.
The region continued to shake more frequently as the battle outside reached an all-time high between the punitive expedition group, the wolf-men, and the goblin horde.
Given the situation had reached such a stage, it was unlikely for the Fallen Witch to remain on the sidelines and watch Headmaster Astoria and the others do as they please in her territory.
‘The Fallen Witch should be making her move soon. That said, the punitive expedition group arrived quicker than I anticipated. Therefore, I will also need to hurry up with my objective,’ Vaan thought.
Time was of the essence.
He quickly entered the Fallen Witch’s experimental area, which was visibly larger than the other main area.
‘Found her!’
Vaan’s eyes quickly locked onto the Plant-type Abomination in the experimental area’s center, trapped within a cylindrical cage.
The Plant-type Abomination had the appearance of a human who failed to transform into a forest dryad completely, causing all of her skin, flesh, and muscles to be ripped and stretched apart.
‘So this is what Lady Aeliana looks like as a Plant-type Abomination…’ Vaan inspected her body.
All her half-wood, half-fleshly limbs and tree roots were all impaled and bound by black iron spikes, completely sealing all her movements.
At the same time, a large vacuum device was installed right above her, sucking in all the mana-filled antimagic spores before they could return to her body.
The mana-filled antimagic spores were transferred to water tanks via a tube, where the mana was then extracted from the antimagic spores and used to power various instruments and formations.
Roar!
The tremors from the big battle outside even reached the experimental area, causing Lady Aeliana to growl in pain and anger.
If Lady Solana hadn’t been softhearted and let her daughter run free, Lady Aeliana wouldn’t have suffered so much pain and misery over the years.
Vaan used Magic Vision on Lady Aeliana’s half-wooden body and saw the complex bundle of knots that had become of her magic circuit.
Even he found it hard to imagine the extent of soul-tearing pain she endured over the years in such a gloomy place.
Anyone would have long lost their sanity.
Vaan wasn’t confident he could bring Lady Aeliana’s mind and body back. However, he had to try—No, he had to succeed.
Her success would determine if he could also save Eniwse.
As Vaan approached the cylindrical cage in the center, the Plant-type Abomination locked on him with its vengeful eyes filled with destruction and wrath.
Even his light footsteps caused it to be visibly infuriated and hostile towards him.
Nevertheless, he continued to approach it before he placed his hand on the black iron cage and reduced it to black sand with Earth Transmutation.
Grrr!
The Plant-type Abomination simply growled at him despite their proximity.
It didn’t want to attack as forcefully moving against its restraints would inflict greater pain upon itself.
“Don’t worry. You won’t have to suffer for much longer,” Vaan calmly assured, despite not knowing whether his words could reach Lady Aeliana.
Shortly after, he took out his Rank 4 Purple Sword and sterilized it with heating by using Kinetic Energy Manipulation.