Before another word could be spoken, they vanished. They reappeared in the City of Ancient—the 900-year-old capital and the heart of the Southern Threshold.
...
It was called that name because it was one of the first cities created by the first emperor of the southern threshold almost 900 years ago. Thus, it was still as strong as the first day it was created. This city was the Capital of the Kingdom until they moved far to the mountain.
At the eastern gate or eastern fortress—the gate for leaving the ancient city to the eastern city, still part of the Southern Threshold—inside this thick fortress was a long and straight space. Lucian and Everett appeared at one of the dark places where the lantern light was difficult to reach; it was deeper than the entrance.
Everett looked around and asked, "I'm confused. I thought our location was at the gate. Why are we inside the fortress?"
Lucian replied, "Stop muttering, someone might hear us. Come, follow me."
Lucian and Everett moved deeper. Frost settled in the cracks of the stone floor, turning the air into a biting mist that clung to his lungs. Every footstep rang out like a hammer strike against the silent, frozen walls, while the few torches offered only a pale, flickering light that failed to cut through the deep, numbing chill. Then, they reached stairs leading underground.
Lucian moved closer to Everett and whispered in his ear, "We're here. We need concealment; there are so many guards here."
Everett said in his deep but silent voice, "What do you mean concealment?! That was the highest mana spell! Your container isn't enough for that spell?!"
Lucian smirked. "Don't worry, I have my way." Then he started his incantation: "The Concealment's Virtues, The Miracle of Humanities, The Blessings Herself, and The Divine Envoy of Planets. Please let your grace fall upon us. Let our body, mind, and presence be hidden... Grant us your protection!"
With that incantation, particles of small light started to fall above them, touching their bodies and making them slowly vanish. Their presence was slowly decreasing, and their minds were starting to get clear. Their appearance started to vanish, slowly… then in a moment, they disappeared from their place.
…
Walking down the stairs, the underground was so deep that it required a long staircase. The two didn't even get exhausted. After walking for a while, they saw a bright light coming from an open door on the left.
They reached it and peered at it, until Lucian realized, "Wait, we're under the spell of concealment. Why do we have to peek?"
By saying that, Lucian confidently entered the place.
It was a vast space capable of containing hundreds of guards. There, they were noisy and moving like they were dancing. Barrels of wine were scattered everywhere, along with food and flipped-down tables. Lucian said in surprise, "Wow. Aren't they supposed to guard the gate?" He then looked at Everett.
Everett's face was a map of confusion and unspoken questions. Lucian noticed his hesitation and asked, "Are you alright?"
Snapping back to reality, Everett replied, "What do you think? I'm furious! They were supposed to guard the eastern gate. And how is it that I didn't know they had an underground here? Are they abandoning their post?!"
What Everett was worrying about wasn't actually a major security flaw. The eastern gate was the safest route and arguably didn't need guards at all. However, due to the raid on the Altair family—and their extensive connections to hidden groups that might decide to attack—a strong military presence had been maintained there. But after three years of peace, the guards had grown complacent, some even abandoning their roles. Given Everett's own massive contribution during the raid, their negligence only made him more livid.
Lucian tried to calm him, saying, "I might not know what happened here, but could you please lower your voice? It might break the blessing she gave us... and we need this concealment if we're going to go any deeper."
Hearing these words, Everett steadied himself, closing his eyes and taking a long, deep breath.
The two continued to walk, led by Lucian. They pushed through the loud, dense crowd until they reached a hallway where the noise finally began to fade. "We're close," Lucian said without slowing his pace. "The reason I brought you here is because I'm not much of a close-quarters fighter. Besides, I'd rather not have anyone holding a grudge against me."
Everett already had a suspicion about their target but kept it to himself. He simply replied, "I think I know who we're after, but why would anyone hold a grudge against you?"
"Meh… Who knows?" Lucian said with an indifferent shrug. "I heard they were the type of family who lived and died by their names. Oh—look, we're here."
They came to a halt before a towering arched door, twelve meters high and carved from the redwood of the Great Mountain. By the flickering light of the wall lanterns, the craftsmanship was plain to see: a polished gold handle and three elegant, wavy lines etched into the wood at varying heights. A fist-sized sphere sat near the latch, acting as the anchor for a white-gold spiral that coiled around the door's frame.
Everett studied the design, his expression unreadable. "Isn't this the emblem of the Sigil family?" he asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.
Lucian said while looking at the door, "By the look of this door, I think behind this was an entire house floor… The problem was… How do we get in without getting noticed?"
Then they heard footsteps coming from behind them; the closer they got, the louder they became. After a moment, they finally saw the person. Lucian said, "Oh, speak of the goddess." Then he stopped for a second and continued, "It looks like he's lower ranked."
From their perspective, this guard was the captain knight of a lower section. His clothes were colored green with a white pattern everywhere, which is the color of this ancient city. A bronze badge on his left chest symbolized his rank as a captain.
The knight took out his brown badge from his chest and placed it in front of the emblem on the door. The door opened.
Lucian shrugged, "It seems like it's not a problem anymore." Everett nodded in agreement.
The knight entered the door while the two moved along with him. The inside shocked the two.
It was a room with a very large space. The door was located in the middle. To the right, you could see a set of sword shelves with a sword on it and a room across it. To the left, a vast space of training ground with a few targets. The entire space was 15 meters wide and 8 meters tall, covered in brick and stone. The training ground was filled with sword marks.
The knight entered the second room from the right, and of course, the two followed him from behind. The door opened and the three stepped inside.
The inside was just a small room enough for two people. As the door was in the middle, on the right part was an office table, a single long couch, and a normal table across it. At the left area was a bed covered in curtains, and in the side corner were bookshelves.
At the office table, there was a man in his thirties sitting while drinking something.
The knight spoke with a loud voice, "Greetings General Roland! It is I, Captain of the bronze faction! Rheyy Schorriano! Here to speak with you!"
General Roland replied with irritation, "What do you want… Schorriano?"
Rheyy, noticing his irritation, couldn't help but lower his tone, "T-The thing that you are supposed to receive this day… is… is delayed. I just received a report from my underlings… that the merchant road from the western city to our city was covered with large trees from the mountain, so they took a different route, and it turned out that their route would take two days more to reach here…"
General Roland, with his deep and dark eyes, looked at Rheyy. Their eyes meet. By their eyes, Rheyy knew that he would be held accountable for the sudden delay.
Then, he heard the deep voice of the general, but instead of a loud voice and angry tone, he heard a calm but authoritative tone: "Alright. I understand. Just make sure that the ingredients arrive here safe and complete. If not… I'll kill all of your underlings all by myself!"
By those words, Rheyy was completely shattered. The person he looked up to had this side. The person who always helped, who always had a reason just to help, was now filled with depression and anger, obsessed with that strange stone that he ordered. He looked down and replied with a low tone, "Yes… Understood. I'll definitely do whatever I can to deliver it safely."
Then, he tapped his chest three times as a form of goodbye and respect and left the office. Rheyy was already filled with negative thoughts.
Meanwhile, the two who were following and spying were at the left corner. After Rheyy left, the silence between them broke. Everett spoke with a tone of confirmation, "Oh, that's why."