"I will not answer any questions until I know why you are shirking your duties and are here instead," the man responded, brandishing a wand with two horns on its handle.
This time, the teacher was in combat mode, and Kasyaira could sense it well. She tried to hide the flow of mana within herself so that Professor Hambalang wouldn't detect a threatening aura that might justify self-defense, even against a student. After all, in this situation, she and Ihatra were in the wrong.
"Don't come any closer! I need your explanation! This is not the time for games!" he warned.
"Professor, what do you think will happen to the prisoners in De Poena Camerae if we all lose and those monsters from the past end up taking over the world?" Kasyaira asked.
As long as his students didn't attack, he had no right to use harmful magic. If he recklessly did so, he could end up in prison himself. "We will not lose, and whatever happens to the prisoners is none of your concern!"
Hmm, a very reasonable answer. "But wouldn't it be better if we could utilize them to get through this threatening situation? Besides, not all of them have been proven guilty, right?" she asked again.
"Do you mean you're here to free the prisoners of De Poena Camerae?" the professor asked in disbelief. "THAT WILL ONLY MAKE THE SITUATION EVEN MORE UNCONTROLLABLE! YOU BOTH MUST BE PUNISHED FOR THIS INSUBORDINATION!!!"
Cklek.
"Syaira, the door is open!" Ihatra shouted, overjoyed that he had managed to unlock it.
Taking advantage of the moment when the man's concentration was slightly diverted, Kasyaira leaned close to Professor Hambalang's ear and whispered softly, "Princeps memoriam."
Bruukh. His body immediately weakened and fell to his knees. Kasyaira quickly caught him and propped his body against the wall. Then she ran to Ihatra.
"You really are dependable," she praised as they ran down the corridor inside De Poena Camerae, searching for a specific place.
Ihatra replied, "I can't believe this ability actually came in handy."
"You are too naive."
After a short run, they reached a crossroads. On the right and left were rows of prison cells, each holding a prisoner. Rumor had it there were no less than ten thousand cells in this place. Who knows which cell held the person they were looking for.
"HWOAAAAAAAKKKH!!!"
"Hiiii," Ihatra screamed in fear, instinctively hugging Kasyaira when he heard the scream. "Is this place some kind of hell?" he asked.
"De Poena Camerae is not an exaggeration if considered a hell for the Magaidh in this school," the girl responded calmly as she kept walking.
"I'm good at unlocking locks, but not at finding my way. What should we do next?"
Kasyaira sighed again, huffing. "How could you come here without knowing where he is?"
Ihatra replied, "I have a principle that we shouldn't overthink when we want to do something. If our goal is right, someone will come to help us."
So naive. "Whatever you say." She opened one of her palms and directed it forward, chanting a spell, "Monstra nobis ubi Dirga sit." A small, glowing creature appeared before them, floating in the air.
They followed the glowing creature as it led the way.
"What is that? How do you summon it?" asked Ihatra, who, after this incident, vowed to be more useful so that he wouldn't be bullied anymore for his weakness. He swore to study and train harder!
"It's a navigation fairy," Kasyaira explained. "Because of its crucial role, Magaidh need to use a substantial amount of mana to summon it. Alternatively, a Magaidh can make a pact to offer the fairy a tribute once its mission is complete."
"Wow, the magical world is much more advanced than the modern world. I have so much to learn after this."
After a while, they arrived at the door of a cell.
"Thank you," Kasyaira said, handing the fairy a small bag of candies before it disappeared.
"Is he really in there? I don't want to risk opening the wrong cell," Ihatra asked hesitantly.
Kasyaira reassured him, "Don't worry. The accuracy of the navigation fairy is far better than any technology in this world."
Ihatra peered through the keyhole, though for the average human or even a typical witch, nothing would be visible. Ihatra could understand what was needed to unlock it. "I can open this, though it won't be as easy as the previous door. But before that, Syaira..."
"What?"
"Can you knock on it? Just to make sure he's really inside."
"You really don't trust easily, do you?" Kasyaira replied, switching places with Ihatra. Knock, knock, knock. "Dirga," she called out. There was no response. "Maybe he's asleep. Just open it already!" she ordered, stepping back to switch places again.
Ihatra placed his hands, forming a triangle, in front of the keyhole. This time, he didn't chant any spell. "..."
"Are you okay? We can't stay here too long. This isn't a study tour."
"For some reason, I suddenly have a very bad feeling. I'm worried about what might happen if we open this door."
"Fine, let's just go back," Kasyaira said, annoyed, as she grabbed Ihatra's wrist to leave.
Kasyaira's assertiveness strengthened Ihatra's resolve to save Dirga. "...paringana kula berkah kagem penglihatan kangge ndeleng sedaya kunci ing donya. Bukakna!"
Cklek. The first lock clicked open.
Suddenly, a sound came from inside the cell, "Hhhhhrrrgghh..."
"Huh? Was that Dirga's voice?" Ihatra asked, panicked. The sound seemed more like a monster than the Dirga he knew.
Kasyaira urged again, "Just open it! We won't know if we just stand here."
Ihatra focused all his mana on manipulating the remaining locks. Cklek cklek cklek cklek cklek cklek cklek cklek cklek sklek cklek cklek!!!
"Wow, there are so many locks," Ihatra said, slightly exhausted. He pushed the door, and as the view inside became clearer, an unimaginable reality unfolded before their eyes.
What will happen next?