OH! My Lady |FAIRVERSE Book - 2|

Chapter ♦ 12

EURAZANIA.

Soldiered up with anti-magic spells casted upon them, the five invaders from the Orphic world along with the enthralled Halcyon, entered the magical realm of Eurazania. And when they did, they saw that the space was distorting itself right in front of their eyes. In a swirl of blue, green, and red, everything around them was going haywire.

"Wha-What is HAPPENING!!!" Lorade shouted in panic while the other three of his crew could not stop themselves from screaming their lungs out in alarm.

Edmuris was just like a mute calcified doll, as a confused him watched space wrapping itself around him in a mad flurry, a bit nauseated maybe, but otherwise, he looked fine.

For the lot of them, it felt like they had been going through this fanatical enfolding of time and space for about an hour, when in actuality, it had only been a mere few seconds after stepping into the doorway entrance of fire and light.

When they finally thought that they would go crazy while being stuck in this loop of time and space distortion, their eyes were finally graced with a scene they couldn't even come to fathom as their feet found stability.

A gate, the size of a mammoth welcomed their bewildered sight. It was nothing they had ever seen before during their puny mundane lifespan. Even through the gate was narrower than typical gates, it could roughly be summed up to be the height of a skyscraper, almost seeming to touch the altitudes of the Heavens above. This epic structure was made from unadulterated wood, a sundry of tall, tall trees and varied tendrils, wrapping and winding itself into the shape of this intricate impressive gateway. Even if one were to ignore this gigantic and obscurely sophisticated making of the gateway, the lush jade glow emanating from this structure told one that it was indeed a genius work of convoluted set of earth magic put in together by ones whose powers could hardly be fathomed under this sky.

The five infiltrators stood at the entrance of such a majestic gateway with their bated breath.

"Wow!!!" One of the quislings exclaimed in marvel, for that is all he could master to let out at that moment.

".... So...what now? Should we go forth and enter the gateway?" It was Ophelia the pimp, who voiced out everyone's quandaries this time. It's not that she was not enchanted by this magnificent gateway, it was just that she was unsure of if they should step forward and take the courage to cross this second entrance as well. Her worries were not unfounded though, for the other side of this gateway was shrouded by a cloud of dense fog, making all else invisible to the naked eye.

Stepping into uncharted magical territory was not their forte, and it was a risk they were unwilling to take.

Edmuris knew that well; So, he spoke up to reinforce the otherwise timid team's morale, "Do not fret, my mates. I assure you, all of you will be just fine as long as you follow my lead." The light wilful smile was still daubed to his fine-looking face, making all his companions feel as though he had the entire situation under his control. That was one of the nifty qualities of Edmuris, the Royal Sorcerer. He had a perfect grasp of the mentalities of the people he dealt with, and he knew how to appease them into trusting him completely and utterly, no matter the situation.

Frankly, at the moment, even Edmuris was not sure what awaited them on the other side of this gateway, but after coming this far, he was not one of those who would just give up because they were unsure of what dangers lurked up ahead. He knew you had to take risks when the stakes were high. It was through countless risks and wagers that he had obtained the power and status that he held now amid the nobility of Zeldereth. To gain something, you must stake something of equivalent worth. That is the nature of things in this unequal world. That was something Edmuris knew all too well. Hence, even if he knew that he had to plunge into unfamiliar waters, he was willing to pay the price considering the return.

"Come on my dear comrades, we have a dragon egg to capture." He grinned confidently, even though he was not feeling very confident inside.

The people around him could feel the confidence, though fake, oozing out of him, and thus in turn, they too felt their tiny bit of courage rising with the momentum that Edmuris had built up.

"Yeah! We can do it! After all, we have come this far. What else should we be afraid of with Lord Edmuris by our side." One of them bawled in his conceited confidence.

"True. As long as we stick together and help each other out, there should be nothing that's stopping us anymore." Another joined in.

"Of course. I told you guys earlier, with Lord Edmuris around, there's nothing that we ought to worry about."

"I agree as well!" All the four of the infiltrators chimed in consent, their voices brimming with new-found conviction.

Edmuris smiled brightly at the outcome of his well-calculated manipulation of the four quislings. "Well then..." He looked at the still enthralled Halcyon beside him and queried in a commanding demeanor, "Tell us! What lies on the other side of this gateway?" But to his and the other's dismay, the hypnotized Halcyon kept mum, as though he had not heard Edmuris's question at all.

Edmuris frowned in dissatisfaction and questioned the Halcyon once more, but only disappointment graced him from the other side.

"What's wrong with this guy? Why won't he speak?" Ophelia knitted her brows in irritation. She didn't get why the otherwise faithful Halcyon, did not bent to Edmuris's will this time, but Edmuris had a faint idea of what was going on with this hypnotized Halcyon.

".... It seems, someone is capsizing my magic over this man all of a sudden." He could feel the obstruction in his magic waves as he was probing this Halcyon's head.

"(Sneer!) It looks like the security of Eurazania is much stricter than I had originally predicted." Edmuris felt not just his mind-manipulation magic was being nullified, all kinds of magic that he was trying to cast was being cancelled as well. "Now that my magic is not working on this Halcyon anymore, he is of no more use to us." Edmuris said with a mild hint of annoyance in his tone.

The other four by his side, having already tripped over a stumbling block, bit their lips in exasperation and distress.

"Then... what should we do now?" Lorade asked with a troubled look.

"Keeping him alive any longer will spell trouble for us." Edmuris mouthed with a slight leer, his meaning evident in his gentle-flowing words.

"..... You mean to say...." Rudy made a slashing-his-throat hand gesture to cue what Edmuris's words actually meant, looking a bit uncomfortable in the process. He was, after all just a petty thief from the slums, not a murderer.

The others were not that opposed to the idea, after all they knew what Edmuris said was reasonable. But they were still hesitating a little because killing was not what they were being paid for. Some of them even thought, if they knew there would be killing during this mission, they would have charged higher for the services.

Edmuris could almost guess what each of them was pondering about. So, he spoke to further solidify their wavering resolve, "I too am troubled with the idea of taking a life, but you do realize that if we leave this man be, he will be the death of us, right?"

This sudden declaration made the lot of them startle out of their skin.

"Wha-What does that mean?" Cuffled stammered.

"What I mean is, this is a Halcyon we are talking about. He is far stronger than me, and I'm not confident enough that I'd win against a Halcyon in a one-on-one fight." Edmuris spoke in a grave tone.

Everyone knew what Edmuris meant. He was the backbone, the pillar of this team, their umbrella of shelter under dire situations. But, if he were to lose and die in a battle against this Halcyon, they didn't need to think to know what would become of the rest of them. And thus, the decision was made.

The three of the burly men in the team grabbed the still petrified Halcyon and dragged him to finish him off before the last of Edmuris's magic wore off.

Even if the young Halcyon was a healthy, sturdy man, a defenseless petrified man was vulnerable enough for the three stalwart men to end him with ease.

And thus, that was the end of the eldest prince of the realm of Eurazania.

TO BE CONTINUED..........