Angela chuckled as she stuffed tobacco into her pipe. It was almost complete. Those damn Kirzat bastards wouldn’t dare prepare the Great Magic Force. Clean and precise.
“What about our great knight?”
“The last message was that he made contact with Shaksisi’s informant.”
“Keep an eye on Mosat. When the signal fire rises, we start immediately.”
“Preparations are perfect, Captain. Don’t worry.”
“Ah, ah. Brandon, Brandon. Don’t say that. I hate the word ‘perfect’ the most.”
Angela pressed the tobacco firmly and flicked her fingers. A spark ignited. She carefully puffed on her pipe. Thick cigarette smoke flowed with her breath.
“Hoo, nothing is perfect. There’s always a variable.”
“Who could prepare such a level of magic without prior arrangements, Captain? Outside Kirzat’s Great Magic radius.”
“True.”
A large-scale magic prepared by forty skilled mages. If they hadn’t prepared in advance, and if the target was an entirely unexpected location.
There’s no mage in this Material World capable of stopping a magic that’s already been activated. Angela slowly crossed her legs and exhaled smoke.
The thick smoke dispersed in the air, forming a strange pattern. Like the lingering echo of destruction, wrapped in explosive smoke.
“By the way, will the Church just sit still?”
“What can they do? The ones who lent it were them, and we even announced in advance where that saint would go. And Vaitas, how honorable would it be for the War Saint to fall on the battlefield?”
Angela laughed darkly.
‘Is it smoke?’
-Or maybe just nonsense.
At Faijashi’s words, Fernandez chuckled. Sadia skillfully avoided the filth as she walked through the dark underground waterway.
“When did you say your comrades would arrive?”
“They’re not far. Kirhas went, so they’ll be here soon.”
“I hope they’re useful. The Conclave… I never thought I’d be the one to break that seal.”
Thinking of Abel waiting at the rendezvous point… Fernandez forcibly suppressed the flood of emotions rising within him. Her gentle eyes, warm voice, and bright smile.
These were extremely sentimental, yet not his own memories. Showing such emotions would be disrespectful to Abel. Fernandez even felt a sense of guilt for imposing someone else’s feelings onto her.
“She’s strong enough.”
“I hope the level of strength matters. Now, be careful from here.”
Sadia shrugged and placed her hand on a crevice in the deep underground waterway.
-Kurrrr…
The bricks shifted, and a cloud of dust rose. Soon, a long staircase appeared, leading deep into the unlit underground.
Sadia swallowed a mouthful of saliva and raised the lantern.
“Welcome to the underground world, young Imperial. I hope we can survive together.”
The passage leading underground seemed endless. The deeper they went, the wider it became. Now, it was spacious enough for ten people to walk side by side.
At some point, a gloomy green light began to shimmer on the walls. It was the trace of magic stones embedded in the earth. Fernandez felt dizzy from the dense magical aura.
“Just so you know, don’t recklessly use attack spells, mage.”
“Because of the explosion risk?”
“Yes. It’s a common accident near unrefined magic stone veins. You wouldn’t want to die like that.”
It wasn’t particularly useful advice for him. Fernandez chuckled. He glanced at Sadia’s stiff profile. She wasn’t the Shaksisi he had imagined.
“I’m surprised you’re more human than I thought.”
“The Inquisition Office is one thing, but those Iron Side guys are way too inhuman. We’re all just people living here.”
“What about the Immortal Battalion?”
“Haha, already trying to gauge our strength? A fine spy’s attitude. Well, the Immortal Battalion feels more like combat dolls than humans.”
Sadia smiled as if to ease the tension. The lantern’s flame mixed with the eerie green light on the walls, creating a strange atmosphere. She stopped at a stair landing marked with a red sign.
“Now, from here down is definitely Necropolis territory. See that over there?”
“Hmm. Isn’t that a seal?”
“Not a seal, a test. A qualification test. Three of our agents died trying to pass that door.”
About 5 meters ahead, a stone door blocked the staircase. On the tightly shut door, a skeleton in ornate armor and another in ancient priestly robes were carved in relief.
The priestly…
