"If I were to punch one of those towers, what would happen?"
Asura planted his hands firmly on the table's edge, leaning in as he examined the intricate structures that outlined the city. The question left Aliza with worried eyes, blurting out her answer quickly,
"It's pretty delicate, so you would ruin it."
The ogre backed away and stood upright like a stack of cards wobbled before him. He rubbed his four hands together nervously,
"Well, it's a good thing I wasn't thinkin' about doin' it."
Asura watched as every human shook their head in unison as if a part of the same mind.
"How's it work?"
Rose stared into the city, looking for any signs of the witch, her eyes darting throughout at rapid speed. She replied with her usual monotone voice as if talking to a child,
"We use the pillars that rebuild the structures as a pylon for mana detection. They are spread in a sort of web that will sense specific mana fluctuations."
Asura's eyes drifted over the white sand, awaiting something to change within the plain color.
"So what are we looking for?"
The team positioned themselves at various angles, examining every detail of the city for any hint of change in the white sand. Aliza replied without shifting her gaze.
"Any color."
Asura tilted his head as if it would suddenly make a color appear,
"Color?"
"Yes. The mana observed is displayed with a color. We have found dragons produce a color relative to their element. Faeries appear as green. Giants are a bright red or frosty blue. Fallen are black. Succubi are purple. And lastly, the Beasts are brown."
"What about ogres and shadows?"
The ogre expected a color like black to be used for the shadows or purple. The rest of the colors made sense, reflecting the quotidian mana they used due to their distinct species qualities. Aliza responded as if the comment left her perplexed,
"We can't observe shadows, nor have we seen an ogre since... maybe a hundred years ago? You are certainly the first I have ever seen, and since you don't display any sort of mana other than holy, you won't appear."
Asura glanced up at Aliza's face, noting the sorrow etched into her features, deepening the wrinkles on her skin. She seemed troubled by the thought of seeing only one ogre as if she knew he was the last of his kind. The pain that one would feel living is the last of its kind. There were no others who resembled him or understood him.
He smiled, assuring her with a joyful smirk. Her face relaxed as she returned the smile, but behind her eyes, it remained. The ogre blurted out as if declaring to the world,
"The ogre color is lavender."
Everyone turned to look at Asura, their eyes filled with confusion and curiosity. Mel asked with an eyebrow raised, her tone mocking,
"Lavender? For your kind?"
Asura nodded, and with a single shrug of his shoulders, he answered,
"Yup."
They all waited for clarification, but Asura seemed uninterested in continuing. Instead, the ogre leaned close to the table, studying the alleys and crevices created between buildings. He thought to himself, "You would like our color to be lavender, wouldn't you, Brontes? You and Askin were obsessed with the flower color."
Suddenly, Rose pointed, her arm stretched far to a building on the other side. She shouted loud for all to hear,
"Look. It's green."
Asura stood and followed her pointing finger, his gaze locking onto a dark green splotch. It glowed unnaturally as if someone had spilled color onto the sand. In the perfect white oasis that was the replication of the city, it stood out—a blemish, an undeniable mark on the purity of the human realm.
The ogre understood immediately as he stared at the green sand they sought. It was a witch of elf descent. It was as if he could smell the resin mixed with a deep piney undertone he remembered from the faerie world.
"It's an elven witch."
Tristen leaned against the table with one arm and pointed at another area.
"Looks like it, and it looks like there are several of them."
The group followed his hand to another green splotch painted in the white sand on another building. Mel crossed her arms and asked with a tone filled with curiosity,
"Didn't it ask for one? Where is the halfbreed?"
Suddenly, Aliza called out in surprise,
"There's another over here."
Gabe called out right after with wide eyes,
"There's one here too."
They were all caught off guard as they realized the amount of green spots spread throughout the city. Asura counted eight spots as he combed through the city diligently. "Eight half-blooded elves?" The idea of eight half-elves left Asura with doubt.
"Ain't no way there's eight elven witches."
Mel raised a brow,
"Why do you say that?"
"Witches don't like hanging out together in groups, especially not with those who have the same quotidian mana."
"We've had many witches in the same city before."
Asura shook his head with a deep frown,
"No. You can have lots of witches in a city, but you won't find eight of the same race like this. Their mana mingles, and it's hard to hide it."
Tristen looked to Asura, confidence in his eyes with his brows slightly raised,
"So what do you think this is?"
Asura flicked his gaze toward Rose as if passing the question to her. But when he turned back, he found Tristen's eyes still fixed on him, unwavering.
"Oh... You're askin' me?"
Tristen nodded, his curly hair bouncing as he pointed at the multiple splotches,
"Yeah. You seem to know about witches. If there aren't eight witches, why are there eight spots?"
Asura hesitated before responding. There was no fear, no prejudice against him for his race, nor even a trace of distrust. Tristen simply looked to him for an answer, fully prepared to trust whatever he said. The absence of judgment in Tristen's gaze reminded Asura of Wain, stirring up a deep sense of longing for his friend.
He flashed Tristen a grin, his sharp teeth glinting in an almost menacing way. But the question of why there were eight spots remained unanswered. Asura shifted his focus, trying to find the spots. Yet, when he looked again, they were gone—replaced by the untouched white sand.
"They're gone..."
They all furrowed their brows in confusion, quickly scanning the area for the spots as if questioning whether Asura had lied. But before them lay nothing but the flawless white oasis.
"How-"
Then, they all reappeared. The green spots returned to their rightful spots. Gabe stared at the one closest to him, his eyes refusing to move from the spot as if it would disappear again,
"It's back! Wait-"
The green spots vanished swiftly after. Gabe glanced at the others for answers but found they all wore the same confused expressions. Mel scratched her head with one of her guns.
"What's happening?"
The green spots returned. Then, before anyone could speak, they left again. They all waited, the heavy silence in the air, full of anticipation. After a pause, the spots reappeared, lingering briefly before disappearing just as swiftly as before. They waited once more. Then, they reappeared for an extended period.
Gabe opened his mouth to speak, but Rose interjected before a sound could be uttered,
"Stop. It's a code."
The flashing persisted, the light fading and reappearing in a pattern that seemed to loop endlessly. Rose's eyes flicked between each blink, observing how the lights synced together. However, one remained out of place, flashing in a quicker pattern.
Rose was not certain until the loop returned to the beginning, but as it began to repeat itself, she was sure of the message.
"The lights flashing in a code. Seven of them are in the pattern of D-E-C-O-Y. Decoy."
She reached forward to point toward a building far from the cathedral. Asura observed underneath her finger the final green spot flashed distinctively, separate from the others. What had been difficult to discern before now seemed almost comical in its contrast. Rose spoke with certainty,
"This one is in the pattern of H-E-R-E. Here."
Although it was crafted from white sand, the level of detail amazed Asura as he studied the building's texture. The green spot blinked atop a large brick structure with three triangular glass panel roofs. It almost looked like a large factory, but the triangular roofs stretched down the entirety of the top as if designed to allow for the most sunlight to shine through.
Asura looked to Aliza for an answer,
"What is that building?"
She furrowed her brow as she studied its location, comparing it to the other buildings and the distance between them.
"I believe it's a greenhouse."
He nodded, with eyes that told Aliza he had already expected the answer.
"She's there 'cause she's an elf. She can use the vegetation there as a sort of security. The elves do like their greens."
Mel nodded as if the idea resonated with a past memory,
"It makes sense. They are made of trees."
The ogre looked at her in disbelief,
"No? They honestly look like humans but are taller and have pointy, long ears. I guess they are paler, but duskfae aren't."
The brothers asked with a curious tone,
"Duskfae?"
"Yeah... They're like elves but just darker skin. Look, elves aren't tree people, and I don't know why you guys think that. I mean, I know we've only seen tree folk, but they are just servants of the faeries."
The idea that all elves were treefolk had always unsettled Asura. The elves were a beautiful, compassionate race, yet humans often referred to them as beings made of trees. That couldn't be further from the truth. The elves resembled humans more than any other race. Their pointed ears, pale skin, tall stature, and the glowing blue tattoos they adorned themselves with were the only features that set them apart.
Though the elves had created the treefolk, they were not the same. Judex had crafted the elves during the fourth cycle of creation, not the treefolk. Those the elves created were devoid of will, unlike their creators, existing only to follow the commands of their master. While the Faeries, Elves, and Duskfae cherished the treefolk, they were ultimately nothing more than puppets, lacking the free will that defined the living.
Asura couldn't recall the last time he'd encountered an elf. As the days passed, a troubling realization lingered. He couldn't remember why they mattered to him, the memory buried somewhere behind a veil in his mind. Yet, despite the fog that clouded his thoughts, the feeling remained, gripping his heart, and the emotions tied to it continued to surround him.
The troubling feeling left Asura lost in thought, only being brought back as Tristen spoke with wariness in his tone,
"This might be a trap."
He furrowed his brow, causing wrinkles to form as he pressed the middle of his forehead together.
"There should be no way the witch knows we are watching. So how come she sends the code now?"
He continued as he leaned back and away from the table,
"We should have been able to track her due to her mana this entire time. She's hidden herself perfectly with a spell but now breaks it? The demon could easily find her now. None of this makes any sense."
Asura studied the Paladin, understanding his wariness. The skepticism was warranted, leaving him hesitant as well at first. However, the recent events left him sure. Asura answered,
"She knows she's screwed. The moon outside can definitely be seen within this circle or even outside. There's no escape."
"But that doesn't answer the fact the demon can find her now?"
Rose shook her head, her short hair bouncing and swaying with every turn,
"That's why there's eight points. All eight have enough mana to appear as a registered cluster of mana. That means there's enough mana to draw the demon to each focal point."
Her red eyes locked onto the greenhouse with unwavering focus, gazing down at it with the intensity of a cat eyeing its prey,
"She's set up a one-in-eight chance of being caught. That means there's no way she can get out of this without our help."
Gabe sucked in air sharply as if to muster up the courage, or to some, preparing for the worst as he asked,
"So what now? We can't let the people outside suffer..."
His eyes were a mix of fear and determination as if he was ready to risk everything to save those within the city. The corner of his mouth twitched nervously,
"We have to go to her, right?"
The question lingered in the air for what felt like an eternity. Aliza longed to respond instantly, eager to protect those she had sworn to defend when she took charge of the cathedral. But the haunting thought of everyone perishing caused her doubt. If they left, the chances of the demon catching the group of Paladins would be far greater than their survival. With the ever-watchful gaze of the moon hanging above, the threat felt impossible to escape.
Their deaths would not be quick. As Asura had warned earlier, the creature lurking outside thrived on suffering. A demon of agony, it reveled in the pain of others, drawing strength from their torment. The older woman cast a side-eye glance at Tristen and Gabe as if not to get caught. "These children have already been through so much, Judex. Please, do not make me send them out, " she thought as she subtly hung her head.
Asura let out a sigh as if he hated the answer he would give next,
"Yeah, we have to. If we don't, then we're screwed anyway, right? We either wait here until someone realizes we are unresponsive to any messages. Or die due to starvation."
He shrugged,
"Unlikely. More like, die to the demon somehow breakin' in. Which is also something we can't do... There's a ton of people in the city. We can't let them die while we hide in here."
Asura's expression transformed from his usual playful demeanor to a more serious, steely gaze. When the others met his eyes, it felt as if they were staring into the soul of a man who had steeled himself, his weary eyes reflecting the depths of the worst life had to offer.
The expression left Mel stunned. She found the appearance of her brother-like friend irregular. Although she had known him for only a few months, it felt at times that he had been with her for years. They had fought many battles together at Stoliagate and back home. The ogre always wore a playful expression during each encounter with cultists and monsters.
Yet, when his demeanor turned serious, it reminded her just how little she knew about him. His past was as secretive as the holy texts hidden within the Library of Eden. Despite her attempts to uncover it, she didn't even know his age. The ogre often joked about being older than Mark, using their lack of respect for their elder as a bit of humor.
Asura spoke again, bringing her back to the topic,
"The demon will likely follow us the moment we leave, even if it's preoccupied with one of the decoy spots. So we have to book it for the greenhouse."
To his surprise, Rose agreed with a nod. She continued his words,
"After locating the witch, we will perform an exorcism there if needed. If Asura uses Uriel's incantation to bind the demon, then we can use Michael to contain it. Mel will cast the incantation since she had the most mana between us all."
Rose turned to Mel, pressing a finger into her shoulder as if to put more weight onto her words,
"There will not be a physical attack on the demon unless I say so."
Mel's never averted her gaze. Instead, she met Rose's adamant glare with her own,
"I won't shoot him unless you command it."
"Good. I want you to carve it into your heart to remember that when you want revenge."
Rose looked to the others who stood around the table, shifting her gaze from one to the next,
"We must leave right now before the witch gets caught. So prepare yourselves mentally if you need to. There's no turning back."
Asura chuckled at her monotone voice and walked toward the door,
"You would sound cooler if you had emotion in that dead voice of yours, ya know. Time to kick some demon ass! Oops...
The ogre turned to find Aliza staring at him with motherly anger,
"Sorry."
A faint smile tugged at her lips. Her voice, laced with pain, was soft yet carried clearly through the room.
"I can't go with you... Please be safe, children."
The barrier she placed on the cathedral to protect those inside felt like a cruel prison, restricting Aliza from taking their place. She would throw herself at the demon to protect the people before her if allowed.
Yet, if she left, the barrier would fade, and those outside would be slaughtered in mass. It was the lives of thousands over the lives of her family. Her heart ached with the pain of a mother bear losing her cubs.
Asura channeled fire into his fist, which exploded with white flames, coating his arm as it dripped downward.
"Don't worry. Uriel and I won't let that scumbag hurt your sweet little baby angel Gabe and Tristen."
The playful, teasing words embarrassed Gabe and Tristen as Asura laughed at their shy shuffle. The sight left Aliza giggling as she rose and folded her hands. She spoke softly as she stared into Asura's eyes,
"I worry about you too, Asura, Rose, and Mel. Please be safe."
As if avoiding her comment, Asura shot back with a shy smirk, turning his back toward the door as he walked away.
"The only thing you should be worryin' about is the demon—once I've beaten the hell out of it and sent it back to whatever hole it crawled out of. It'll be praisin' Judex after I'm done layin' these holy hands on its skull."