"How are we going to pass by this? Trigger it and run by?" I question.

"Not advisable. Tricking a trap often makes it behave unpredictably, yes? We must find the mechanism so I can correct it." Kaede shakes her head.

Well that sucks. But if the mace is effectively alive, she's right. Who knows, it might suddenly swing sideways or something? How troubling, but apparently it's a sucker for traditional methods like a rogue-type person disarming it?

"Fufufu... leave it to me. Metal spirits appreciate brute force methods." Seria interrupts.

I wonder what she means... but of course... it's easy to forget she deals with electromagnetism as a whole... and it’s a big wad of metal... so I guess...

Seria dashes forwards suddenly, a magic circle forming around her hand as she chants something under her breath.

"Wait! Stop! H-how are you going to brute..." Aria cries urgently, tensing up to probably jump tackle Seria out the way.

But I grasp her shoulder and shake my head as she looks back incredulously.

Seria reaches the trigger with a click, and the mace descends once more, but halfway down in its swing, there is a crackle of sparks, and it stops with a bang.

The shockwave is still enough to make Seria's hair and cape billow.

"Go... now!" She shouts, grimacing, with her palm open and arm still outstretched.

I react immediately, and dash past her, giving her a thumbs up and a smile as I do. She responds with a toothy grin.

Weirdly, as I pass underneath the mace, I can't help but feel some voice snicker in my head, and almost the impression that something else is howling in frustration.

The others wake up shortly after and run to join me on the other side.

Suddenly, from behind us, one of the necrofires of the altar we passed flares up, and another Skeleton Knight leaps forth, brandishing a pair of longswords. It wastes no time in running towards us.

Seria goes wide eyed, and just as Rishya jogs past, herself jumps into a forward roll and opens her hand. Her assembled magic circle shatters, and the momentum of the giant steel club suddenly appears to return all at once.

Just in time to slam into our new pursuer with a crack.

Its entire top half explodes into fragments and the remains sail twenty feet away with a 'BOOM!'.

But most scarily, the mace seems overpowered now, and with a huge snap, breaks its own shaft and goes shooting off in a spinning swath of destruction, smashing the altar in an explosion of bones and putting out the remaining necrofire before rolling to a stop.

Then, most peculiarly, it's like thousands of years pass by for the broken mace in an instant. It rusts away and disappears into a fine dust. What a spectacle... if a huge violation of health and safety laws...

Well, if I had any doubts before, there would no way to refute it now. That... the mace was actively ~angry~ at us. Furious, in fact. And likely a co-conspirator with the Void and its necrofire once it realised we might evade it.

I shake my head, but as the other standing girls are still gobsmacked, I give Seria an outstretched hand. She looks mildly exhausted and wide eyed, breathing heavily, but recognises the gesture.

"Nice job!" I compliment.

"N-naturally! Wh-wh-what are you doing, boy!"

I pulled her into a hug as she rose upwards. Sneak attack!

I pat her back as she squirms.

"Y-you get ahead of..." she whines.

"Nice job. Thank you, Seria." I repeat.

She settles down promptly, so I squeeze her tightly, and then release her. She has tinged with a slight blush and looks incredulous.

"I thought you must have been scared." I say, shrugging.

She creases her brows.

"That is beside the! ... nggh!" She facepalms, muting herself.

I laugh to myself as she glares. She gets an eye twitch.

"T-This is not acceptable behaviour for an apprentice!!" She pouts, stomping her foot.

The other girls burst into laughter behind us.

Besides everything, I'm glad she can sometimes still act like the maiden she appears to be.