Spell 5: Help

“Haha… I'm going to shit myself.”

Astrea couldn't help but feel nervous. She did not mind taking risks, for once she took the  perilous decision she had been holding off on, she would have no other choice but to go through with it. No matter how much crying it involved. She did not know she would be meeting the emperor so soon. Originally Astrea had thought she might have to break into the palace in order to find any clues about the history of the moon or the moon goddesses.

It was obvious that the only commoners in the room were Astrea and Lain. And thus, they did not understand the decorum of nobility. Well, At least Astrea did not. Lain couldn't see them to be aware that they were required to show a certain courtesy. The blond noble frowned at the two and Astrea's grip on Lain’s sleeve tightened. She gulped and immediately bowed her head. She whispered towards Lain to bow with her.

“Greetings to the Sun of the empire! It is an honor to be able to help the empire and his majesty.”

Astrea raised her head when the emperor waved his hand, signaling that it was alright now. “The honor is all ours to be able to receive help from a moon witch and her aid.” Emerson smiled kindly as he exchanged pleasantries. Astrea couldn't help but feel slightly flushed at how sweetly the emperor spoke to her. The emperor seemed to like her at the very least, unlike the noble man standing beside him, very much like a guard.

The emperor got off his throne and gestured towards the blond man. “You both may not know him since he hardly makes any public appearances but he is my younger brother, Raynold Di Callestian. The prince of our empire as well the Duke of the northern region, Azulerizth. Raynold plays a crucial role in this mission so I trust the both of you get along.” Emerson expressed with kindness in his eyes. Unlike Astrea, Lain was not enchanted. He could tell that Emerson's gracious introduction was actually a command but he probably cannot be harsh with Astrea since witches hardly ever co-operate with non-witches.

“Come, they are waiting for us to join them. We can discuss things further with everyone else.” Emerson graciously led the way with the duke a step behind him. Astrea and Lain followed behind the two royalty. Soon enough, they were led to a spiraling stairs that descended into an empty quarters underground. The walls were no longer made of Jade, it transitioned from jade to rock bricks. Something Astrea was not pleased about. The group came to a halt when they stopped in front of a room. Raynold opened the room to reveal two men standing- two non-human men standing inside.

Two more men? Why not any women? Sexist much?

Astrea couldn't help but feel a ping of irritation. It did not phase her to see men of different species, she was used to interacting with different species but it did bother her to know that these were possibly her teammates and none of them were women. “They are not human, are they?” Lain bent down to whisper, asking Astrea if he was right. Astrea sighed and it confirmed Lain's suspicion. 

He frowned.

The door closed behind them and Raynold gestured them to take a seat on the velvet couch. The room had esther crystals glowing as their source of light, Astrea could also sense a sound proofing spell in the room. She took a note of it. As though ying and yang sign had split into two, the two non-humans were practically opposing in terms of aesthetics. The shorter male between the two had snow-like white skin. Horizontal dark stripes ran down both his arms, perhaps his whole body too. Astrea couldn't tell because of the sleeveless ivory changshan on his person. He was more on the chic side with how despite being a mystic his clothes were embroidered with gold, addition to that of the gold bell anklet on his ankle.

That was not even the most eye-catching thing about the mystic. This mystic had tiger-like ears on top of his head and a thick white tail that wrapped around his waist. Before Astrea's eyes could move to the taller male, she heard soft snoring noises. The man beside the mystic was-

He's sleeping?!

“He's sleeping. I can hear it in his breathing.” Lain commented. Raynold clicked his tongue while the mystic sighed. It seems it was not the first time he had done that. His slashes were long, dark as the night sky. Purely on the basis of his corpse-like grey skin, Astrea assumed that he was a devil. The species known for being deceptive. His long flowy charcoal hair worked like curtains to hide his face. Unlike anyone in the room, the devil was dressed like a knight rather than a noble. Dark shades of grey working as his shirt and waist, a black cape hanging from the pads on his shoulders and knee high boots. He was not a commoner nor was he a noble. He was a knight, as simple as that.

Emerson noticed Lain’s very visible frown, something told Emerson that despite his lack of sight, he could tell that none of the new arrivals were humans. He resisted a delighted chortle. Emerson liked Lain. He liked him for being suspicious of the devils that deceives everyone but being the most deceptive one in the room. The emperor cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention. “Ahem. I think introductions are in order. Meet Noah, The Terror. He is the right hand man of the tiger clan’s head.” Noah flashed a toothy smirk, a glint of mischief in his eyes as he ran a hand through white hair. The stripes of charcoal in his hair brushed together.

Emerson tapped the devil's shoulder to wake him awake. He fluttered his eyes open, revealing a pair of eyes hollower than the abyss. His eyes had no life in them, as if he was seeing Astrea but right through her. She couldn't believe that in a world where eyes like Lain’s existed, eyes as dead as this devil’s also existed. “This is Levi ArcKnight, he used to be the lieutenant of Valhalla. He'll be joining you both along with Noah in this mission.”

Before Emerson could wait for them to interact, Lain had interrupted him. “Pardon me, your majesty but before anything else, I would prefer for us to be informed on what the mission actually is. The recruitment poster hardly had any explanation. As you can see, before we go too deep into this we would like to know if it's within our capability to tackle.” Lain was firm but also respectful. Astrea had wished to intervene, she knew Lain was simply looking out for both of their protection.

But still…

Noah observed and Levi simply blinked at the sudden interjection.

Emerson didn't nod or disagree, his majesty simply turned his back on the group and walked towards the pinned map on the wall behind them. The map of the three realm, the gracefully drawn veil that separated the realms, in the center, the point that connected three realms stood the dungeon: The Lunar Punishment. Emerson reached out his hand and circled the dungeon with the tip of his finger, crimson circle formed around the touched parts.

“That is a simple question to ask. You all will be going inside. Why? Because the dungeon contains scriptures that we are unable to bring back by the hands of a normal platoon. What do we need those scriptures for? It happens to be our only clue to progress forward to find a solution to this problem. What is the problem we are facing?

The Lunar Punishment resides inside the borders of Gehenna and our forces are not prepared nor are they strong enough to contain the monsters the dungeon keeps releasing. You may be wondering as to why we have suddenly grown incapable of containing the monsters after managing just fine all these years? Well. The monsters have evolved. Both in strength and in intelligence.

We do not have much time before their forces decode all of our battle strategies. They do not understand our language nor do they have any intention to communicate with us. It is as though they are programmed to cause destruction. If we fail, those monsters will not only invade Gehenna, they are likely to spread to the other realms too.” Emerson paused, his eyes glaring a hole into the image of the dungeon. He was no longer smiling. “Does that answer all of your questions, Scholar Valentino?”

The mere thought of entering the dungeon was terrifying but to have the weight of such expectations on his shoulders.. Lain did not know if he was capable of it. His mind was spiraling. What if he is incapable of deciphering the scripts they retrieve? What if they aren't even able to survive inside? What if- Astrea took his hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“That still does not answers our question. How are you certain we are fit for this job?” Astrea inquired. The ears on top of the mystic's head perked up. “Ha…” Noah audibly exhaled before locking eyes with the witch. “We have been inside the dungeon 67 times. None of our highly skilled epigraphists or paleographists were able to decipher the ancient scriptures inside. We tried to copy the contents inside and bring them back with us but they disappeared the moment we stepped outside the dungeon. Some didn't even survive. We have tried everything and now? We are out of options. We had tried reaching out to as many high ranking witches as possible. However none of them were a moon witch. Neither did they offer a helping hand like you did. I understand your concern for your own well being, for your lack of abilities- if that were the case. But we do not have anyone else to run to.”

The feline-like mystic's voice was vulnerable, as if a cat had showed up at Astrea's door during a rainy night. She felt pity for the group. Well, you already know how I feel about cats... Lain still appeared to be doubtful about the whole ordeal. He was not an extraordinary man. He was not even ordinary, less than normal if he was honest. He won't be able to survive inside the dungeon, let alone protect Astrea. He'll fail and he'll lose his only friend in the entire world. The anxiety in his heart caused him to chew the inside of his mouth. Levi, who had once again fallen asleep in the middle of the important discussion, opened his eyes.

“Do not worry, Lord Valentino. We'll make sure you survive and stay safe.” Levi assured as if he had read Lain’s mind. Miraculously so, Levi's assurance had worked, Lain’s mind stopped racing. With curiosity booming in her heart, Astrea had been waiting for the sign from Lain to agree. And she received it when Lain sighed a sigh of relief and nodded in her way.

“Will you and your friend help us, miss moon witch?” The emperor asked once again, slightly worried. Fortunately for the emperor, this moon witch loved doing anything that would bring her a thrill.

“Of course.”

They didn't tell us why need a witch...