An Understated Dominance (Maria Vittori) novel Chapter 2001

The symbols on the bronze door abruptly stopped rotating, as if caught in a jam. It swayed back and forth with an unsettling creaking sound.

"Huh? What's happening? Why did it stop moving?"

Everyone exchanged puzzled glances.

"Captain Wilder, what's going on?" Grace furrowed her brow in unease.

"Ms. Linsor, calm down. After all, it's been over a thousand years, and it's normal for the mechanisms to show some signs of aging. Just give it a moment, and it'll be fine," Garrett said with a faint smile.

He had encountered similar situations before. In the past, he had dealt with traps that, even when triggered, remained inactive due to years of neglect.

As he examined the bronze door's material, he felt assured that its internal mechanisms were likely undamaged, albeit possibly less responsive.

Given the earlier smashing and explosions, he reasoned that there must have been some impact. Then, the symbols and characters, which were initially rotating clockwise, suddenly began to turn counterclockwise.

"Ah! It's rotating again!" Silva exclaimed in relief. Just a moment ago, she had feared something went wrong, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

"Ms. Linsor, you see? Everything will be okay soon—" Garrett began to smile, but his words were abruptly cut off.

In an instant, symbols on the bronze door sank, revealing rows of thumb-sized dark openings.

Simultaneously, countless golden steel arrows shot out from these openings. The flurry of arrows, swift and unexpected, took everyone by surprise.

Garrett, who happened to be standing closest to the door, found himself becoming the main target.

"Captain, be careful!"

Silva acted quickly, shoving him aside and shielding him from the barrage of arrows. As a result, she took hits to her shoulder and arm from the golden steel projectiles.

If it weren't for her selfless intervention, Garrett, who was reveling in his victory, could have been fatally struck then and there.

"Silva!" he exclaimed upon spotting her injuries. His expression changed as he hurried over to check on her.

"Captain, I'm okay. It's just a scratch," she reassured him, forcing a smile.

"Here, take this sanguine tablet quickly!" Garrett urged.

He retrieved a red tablet from his pocket and handed it to Silva. As he swiftly wrapped a bandage around her, he felt a sense of relief—it wasn't a critical injury. With the sanguine tablet, he knew she would recover in a few days, but it might temporarily affect her movements.

"Captain, what happened? Everything was fine a moment ago. Why did the mechanism trigger unexpectedly?" Silva asked, looking puzzled.

"Most likely, there was a malfunction in some internal components, leading to a misfire in the mechanism," Garrett explained, furrowing his brow.

It was rotating clockwise and then suddenly switched to counterclockwise. Clearly, something was off.

"Captain Wilder, the rune on this door has stopped rotating. Can it still be opened?" Grace asked. Her heart raced from the sudden turn of events.