On the outskirts of Whitage city, a few kilometers from the nearest farm, stood a carriage, pulled behind a tree to let the horses rest. A yellow light blanketed the surface of the carriage with a silhouette of a shadow moving across it as if dancing.
Someone's voice cut through the silence of the night:
"—There are several high-level knights and things called Shadow Demons patrolling the city, even more than the last time you were here, Milady. Infiltrating will be difficult by normal means so I understand now why you brought along all your artifacts, your most prized possessions."
1A reported his findings to Celeste. She was sitting at the campfire, drinking hot soup, with no one else acting as escorts.
A young woman being alone out here is dangerous since anyone would be able to spot the flame of the campfire from far away. Then again, she's not any ordinary young woman as she has the power of magic items on her side to fend off any uninvited company.
But since Arnold's knights patrol these lands during the day, bandits and the like never dare to lurk near the city, even during the night. This gives travelers a safe haven to camp. In fact, Celeste's carriage past by several small camps that were set up on the outskirts of the outer settlements.
No other city offers this kind of security, even to outsiders that aren't its citizens. It's only a matter of time before nobles from all around the country begin to seek this sense of security by hiring Arnold's armies.
"Anything else we should be worried about?" she answered, already confident they can deal with those things.
"There are several anti-magic barriers that prevent any assassins from going into the important locations, like the palace, Branding Centre, and prison. The demons can apparently also sense mana so before we can even get close enough to pull Hessinia out of there, they'll surround us in an instant."
"Al's advisor seems to know all the tricks people like us use to infiltrate. If only the Republic weren't so against magic, then they could have delayed their inevitable demise for a bit longer." Celeste took off the blanket around her shoulders and threw her soup into the fire, killing it.
"Milady, if I may ask, I was under the assumption we are here to kidnap Princess Wistorina." 1A spoke with his head bowed, not daring to meet her eyes.
"That was my first intention, 1A. I was ready to betray my beloved just to fulfil my role as a Cadre. But I have a different objective—which you know of quite well."
There is always a third option.
"…I just thought you wanted to use this opportunity to let all the cards fall into place without you doing anything."
"It would be too late if I continue to remain an outsider." She smiled wryly.
"Enough talk. Let's go."
1A said it wouldn't be possible by normal means but when do they ever use normal means?
He nodded then took out a talisman.
"Perform the ritual."
This little tool is an artifact that can summon a "False Eclipse". Well, it's not any tool, but a Star-Class artifact they found in a relic tomb. The Leader typically rewards their Cadres with treasures that are found in dungeons or relic tombs. This is what Celeste received as well.
What's the purpose? An eclipse can weaken the mana in the atmosphere. This also affects arcane spells that are cast during the eclipse, making the spells either unstable or breaking them completely.
The shadow demons are spectral creatures so they need the mana in the air to be stable in order to maintain their bodies. But during an eclipse, they're useless.
There may be countermeasures put up to deter these methods but for now it isn't so obvious. Just yet, that is.
If the demons are dealt with, the knights should be easy to avoid.
**
Celeste had made her decision. You could say she's in quite a hurry, given the fact that the Leader is already setting their ultimate goal in action—ruling the mortal realms.
Why would an ordinary human aspire to reach such a grand goal?
This is what all her predecessors have wondered for generations.
The night sky suddenly lit up, revealing the sun that should not have been up at this hour. But a mere second later, that flash of light vanished, replaced by a white circle.
A low hum echoed across the lands, carrying a strong wind that seemed to silence all wildlife and pause the rivers from transporting water. Even the ocean far from this land no longer had waves once the eternal darkness swept over the land.
The false eclipse swallowed up everything except the burning torches and lamps.
At that moment, a shadow demon that was standing in an alleyway, overlooking a group of shady individuals watching a woman's house from afar, stopped moving and then exploded with a silent puff. Soon after a scream could be heard coming from that house… with no one to respond in time.
The sudden eclipse panic, of course. Arnold was the first to react to the strange event, immediately singling out 1A's signature when he revealed it. Of course, had he used his artifact then it wouldn't have been so exposed but Celeste had him deliberately lure Arnold out.
Not even ten seconds after the eclipse swallowed the sky, a powerful rumble shook the lands, as Arnold confronted 1A.
'You are the only one to know about our ambitions. Please stay alive to carry the torch if I ever fail my mission, 1A.'
That's the only reason why no one else was by her side but him and why they had brought their entire arsenal of artifacts just to have a chance at pulling their plan off.
Panic erupted in the streets. Normally it would be bustling with people even at night but—as if on instinct—they ran towards their homes and barricaded themselves.
Celeste, now equipped with a cloak possessing an invisibility skill that can even block that powerful ocular power that the dragons possess, made her way towards the middle of the city where the prison was located. It wasn't that far from the palace so she should expect reinforcements from the palace to get there in mere minutes.
The eclipse may even end a bit sooner than that.
That means she doesn't have a lot of time.
Like a streak of lightning unseen to the naked eye, Celeste travelled through the city, donning another artifact that increased her speed and made her steps silent.
She donned the very best artifacts—not even seen on the market—so nothing should be an obstacle for her right now, even if she's just a below average spell caster.
As expected, the prison was surrounded from all sides. Not only red-armored knights, but the knights who came to the city recently, were also among the individuals crowding the prison. They must've received a special type of training to be ready in case of emergencies like this.
But that doesn't matter as Celeste slipped right past them.
Once she was inside, she took off the invisibility cloak and glanced around the prison.
She's not a warrior so she can't sense signatures as well as the average soldier so she has to check each and every cell in the short time she has.
"Father… Have you come to save me? Why… Why did you take so long…? Kill… Kill that bastard Arnold… for me…" as her steps echoed down the hallway, closing in on one of the cells, she heard faint mumbling. It sounded like a boy and not some hardened criminal who deserves to rot here so she checked the cell.
A red-haired eaded boy was sitting in the middle of the cell, the candlelight casting a depressing shadow over his already dejected self.
Tyran von Ayried!?
She almost blurted the name out.
'What is Tyran doing here…?'
He didn't seem to be beaten or dead but he was devoid of the will to resist or escape, his twitching fingertips being the only signs of life.
But Celeste doesn't have time to think about him right now. She's sure he was deservedly thrown in here, as he's known to be a troublemaker.
She continued down the prison, examining each cell, until finally she reached her destination.
Using her artifact gauntlets, she ripped the gate open and stepped inside. But not before using another artifact to cast an illusion to make it seem like Hessinia was still behind the barrier, by her lonesome as per usual.
"…Huh?" it seems that even though there was a commotion going on outside, the sound of the cell door being broken was what disturbed her from her slumber.
"I'm glad to see you are unharmed, Hessinia." Saying so, she dropped her disguise and took out a green crystal and tapped the barrier with it, easily destroying it.
"Cadre Celeste…? Where is… Miara?"
"Miara may be in the process of gathering a force strong enough to take on this city's knights. But that will take some time, so I have chosen to act independently to rescue you."
She said a half-truth.
It's true that Miara is gathering reinforcements. But Celeste isn't here to rescue her. Nor is she here to keep the organization's secrets, well, hidden. She cares very little about those secrets being leaked.
However, what she does care about is Hessinia as she will be an important piece in her plan.
"I don't see anyone else with you…?"
"I meant it when I said independently. None of the other Cadres know I'm here and I intend to keep it that way."
"But why?"
"We don't have time to discuss my motives right now." Celeste took out a dagger then cut apart the chains binding Hessinia.
"…Yes, Cadre Celeste. I shall follow you. My magic is still a bit unstable from that barrier so I can't teleport us out."
'Hm, I heard Hessinia is quite a hot-head but she's very respectful.'
She did not dare meet Celeste's eyes and acted very timid.
It's clear that she knows who to obey and will never step out of line if the purpose given to her is important enough. That works for the partnership that she intends to foster.
But this fierce sense of loyalty will be an obstacle as she wouldn't treat every one of her superiors the same.
Celeste gave her a spare cloak and after that, the two blended into the shadows of the night.
'…I hope I can make it through the night. I still have to meet with that Denise woman.' She thought bitterly as the two ran.