We all rappel down the rope into the temple proper. As we reached the far end we kept an eye on the flames but nothing happened this time. These things could do with handy cool-down timers above them, but it seems this is beyond even the prowess of translation function-san. I suppose it’s likely that there is no set timing anyway, right?

Behind the dramatic altar is another skeleton knight, already defeated, its skull literally shattered into fragments.

Aria whistles in awe.

"That was a serious impact. Some kind of warhammer?" I say.

"Could be." She nods.

Further beyond here is a single majestic archway. It is an obvious choice, but Kaede stops me with an outstretched arm, her eyes squinting and brows showing frustration.

She throws a loose piece of masonry into the arch. It lands squarely in sight, rolls once, and a 'ka-chunk' sound resonates.

From the dark, a giant shafted spiked mace swings down with terrible speed and power. It stops with a bang about two feet in front of us. The whoosh of the shockwave is still enough to make me jump.

"Kyaaaa!! What the heck!! Which fool puts these things in a tomb?" Rishya cries, staggering back.

"Nobody, in fact." Seria states, matter of factly with her arms crossed.

"What?" I ask in surprise. There is 'ka-chunk' noise, and a rattle as the mace retracts back to conceal itself in the ceiling.

"Fufufu... think about it, boy. When these places are frequented by mercenaries and knights for training, why leave a trap without disarming it?"

I gape like a fish. She... she is right. Re-spawning monsters is one thing, but...

"The spirits again!?" I exclaim.

She nods.

"Metal and earth in this case. Both can be somewhat vindictive. But this is exuberated in the presence of Void spirits, probably due to the grudges of the dead they carry."

"So no effort is spared in Void spirit containment for this very reason." I ponder.

She gains a creepy shark smile and slaps me on the back. She almost shines with happiness when I solve my own problems, it seems.

Still, this is pretty weird. It is easy to think of spirits as being just mindless apparitions of magic and power, but clearly they have wills of their own, and this goes beyond any kind of mischievousness and goes straight into honest to goodness malicious intent. I’m fairly certain that mace could have easily just taken my head off and ended my adventure in an instant. And did it destroy the skeleton with the smashed in skull as well? Internal disputes too?

I look down and pat my own stomach uneasily. What about the thunder spirit she says I've taken inside?

Seria goes wide-eyed, and then realises my chain of thought. She advances to me, and pulls my head straight to look at her, running a finger along my cheek seductively.

"Don't worry boy... it won't hurt you. It is a... a kind of symbiosis. They do not harm their host, in exchange for your energy."

She steps back, letting go of my face with a sigh.

"But yes. Given time... perhaps you will come to understand it as well."

"Ahem! You should listen to your heart! Ahh... it is your partner!! Is that not correct, Michael!" Rishya adds, banging her own chest with a bounce and a smug expression.

Hehe... I see. Such a classic ojou-sama. I feel a bit bad about thinking Rishya was silly for naming her staff.

"I see. I think I understand. It's easy to understand when Rishya says it that way."

She nods, still smug. But then goes wide eyed, blushes, and looks away.

"It! It's not like I was saying it for your benefit! Hmmph!"

Also a classic tsundere of course.

"Hohhh? Is that how it works?" Aria just looks confused.

Well, she was said to be different due her godly blessing or whatever. She's just a weird prodigy that skips steps and probably the whole logic and imagination section to arrive at the result. No wonder that’s a bit of a cheat to people of this world.

I guess all this is coming together in my head. We think about the things the spirit is interested in, and it senses that, expressing its power. Its little wonder a person can become attached to that. I wonder if I should name the spirit inside of me as well?

Raijin? Taranis? Leizi? Wakinyan? Hmm… maybe it’s a bit chuuni to use the names of thunder gods I can remember. I’ll think about it a bit more.

Ahem! In any case... more importantly, what should we do about this mace?