| ARC V | Chapter 2: Through All Means

 After Luna and Noel got off the airship, the team assigned to her included two mages and a swordsman. One was a druid who specialised in support magic, while the other was a high elf who specialised in offensive magic. The swordsman was a beastman from a descendant of the frost wolves.

 "Princess… is that?"

 "Yes. He's coming with us. Be sure to keep him safe, or you'll be forever hated by The Hero."

 At her words, the three of them gulped. "O-Of course… we're a trio of misfits! We can afford one more!" the high elf said.

 "….."

 The other two silently averted their eyes from Noel and Luna—their elf friend was… an odd one, to say the least—still, she was a capable mage.

 "A-Ahem…" the beastman cleared his throat. "My name is Jinga. The strange high elf over there is called Kriska, and my druid friend here is called Hethel."

 "Heya!" Kriska chopped Jinga on the arm—only to recoil due to the metallic armour. "Ouch…" she whimpered softly.

 "What did you expect, Kriska?" Jinga rolled his eyes.

 "What…are you two doing?" Hethel inquired with a calm expression. She turned to Luna and Noel, bowing her head. "I truly apologise for these two, Princess and Sir Noel." She turned to Kriska and Jinga. "YOU TWO! SWITCH GEARS!" she demanded sternly.

 "Y-Yes, Ma'am!" both Jinga and Kriska stiffened.

 Watching their interaction, Noel sort of zoned out. He turned to Luna, who hid a soft smile behind her palm.

 (Honestly… I'm confused. Luna has been smiling a lot recently, but that was only when she interacted with us—but seeing her smile cutely like this toward others… it's quite nice, too, I guess?)

 "Hm? Noel, what's wrong?" Luna noticed his warm gaze.

 "Oh, it's nothing; I just found you cute, is all."

 Luna raised her brow, inquiring, "Do you ever learn…?" in a soft tone.

 "Huh? I mean, I'm just saying you're cute as a friend."

 Luna rolled her eyes. "Well, thanks," she grumbled with a slight blush. "But look at those three over there."

 Noel followed her gaze and found the trio in a circle with arms around each other's shoulders.

 'Hey, hey! What do you guys think the relationship between them is?' Kriska whispered.

 'Friends, right? I mean… isn't Sir Noel supposedly Hero Chely's lover?' Hethel added. 

 'That's right! Won't he be dead when we get back!?'

 (I didn't think Hethel would join in on that…)

 "See? Even if I don't misunderstand—it's not like it's the first time you've said things or done things that'd be misleading, but to others not in our friend group, it is."

 In response, Noel grinned playfully and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

 "It's a small payback for what you did to me up there."

*Sigh*

 "Look, I don't know what came over me that time, alright?"

 "Even if you say that… did you see the look on Elly's face? I'm going to lose my life when I get back!" he shuddered jokingly.

 "Fine… sorry for teasing you; I'll apologise to Chely as well."

 "Phew. Right, let's hunt cultists, shall we!"

 (Sometimes, I fail to comprehend this guy.)

 …

  …..

 …

 Having failed the mission, the dark-armoured priest Hishem found himself in a bind. The ground previously shook unbelievably, and many paths in the underground tunnels had collapsed. Trapped in a large chamber of crossroads, the earthy mud clung to his feet, and the scent of rot from monsters' prey lingered still. The unpleasant foul odour itched his nose, and the water dripped from the ceiling, echoing loudly in his ears while the dim luminescent crystallised fungi hazed his eyes.

*Iiiiaaaaaaarrhhg!*

 In an outburst of rage, Hishem pulled his hair and clenched his fists so hard the dull shriek of bent metal echoed as it tore through into his flesh. He hit the wall beside him, cracking it up and making the chamber shake as loose rocks fell down on some of his wakened subordinates. Blood dripped from the cold, dark steel, and his subordinates began shrieking due to his random outburst. Still, they walked up to him to heal his wound.

 "…Lord Hishem, we've checked all the pathways… but all of them are heavily blocked; we can't reach one of Chimera Lab's facilities like this… and a few of us have been crushed," a hooded walked up to him to report.

 Hishem grinned sinisterly while wrapping his arms around her shoulder. The gesture caught the attention of the other members around—he never acted buddy-buddy with anyone—something was wrong.

 "Didn't think you'd get caught, did ya? Don't play dumb. I know you weakened the walls around these areas—but neither of us would think we'd be stuck here—you're buying time, aren't you? The only way out is the way we came, but…"

 "…What are you talking about—"

 "Hey, did you notice you've been assigned way too many tasks for one member to keep up with? It was great for intel gathering, wasn't it? Too bad you won't be going back to report," Hishem playfully chuckled.

  Sweat ran down her back, but she tried to maintain her composure. (…Since when did he find out? I carried out the tasks as other members—I wasn't even slightly suspicious!) She cried in her mind.

 "Those lives you've taken for a greater mission, those you made suffer… how does it feel to know it was all for nothing? You were caught the moment I laid my eyes on you, sweetie—how you may ask? Well, it's simple, really. You did not seem to believe in our cause despite the hideous things we commit."

 By the time she realised she'd been fully exposed, she tried to escape but couldn't. As much of a crazy maniac as she knew Hishem to be—she underestimated his craftiness. The moment he wrapped his arms around her, he'd painlessly pierced a mana needle inside her, spreading dark binds inside her body—restricting her mana and movements.

*Gasps* she suffocated in the paralysis.

 "I do admit, you're quite powerful, but what can you do when your insides are…slightly…messy."

 Hishem's murky purple eyes peered deep into hers, making her shiver but unable to act. But Hishem maintained his calm and sparked dark, corrosive flames. He let go of the binding, letting her suffer for the others to see. Her agonising screams echoed through the large enclosed underground chamber as the others watched with saliva stuck in their throats.

 Hishem turned to his other subordinates. (Such weaklings.) he remarked in his mind.

 "So? Do any of you have anything to add? I hope you don't spout shit I already know as this damned spy did."

*Gulp*

 (He was aware of this and allowed a spy among us!? Why the hell did grand bishop assign us under this psychopath!?)

 A tall, gaunt man stepped forward—he was one of the mages who specialised in incantation magic. He said, "Lord Hishem, we are still in the restricted zone… and many of us do not have enough mana to counter break the city barrier to open a warp gate…worse than failure, it could…"

 "So what if we get trapped in the mirrored realm? We'll just fight our way out. What other options do you have in mind, huh?" Hishem snide before grabbing the mage by the throat. "Did you notice the airship during the retreat? The ground is probably filled with guards and soldiers—if we head back, we'll have no chance at all. Ugh, if they'd told me earlier that the damned Hero would be in Lea Nor—let alone Velen Lon, I would've been more cautious…! And that damned otherworlder! How can he use such magic even though that stupid fucking Den almost killed him!?"

 He threw the mage on the ground before silently telling his other subordinates to start a chant to intervene with the city's barrier system so they could open a long-distance warp gate. This would likely cost a few years of their lives due to their incompatibility with void magic, but it was either that or they would die here and now.

 But as they were about to begin, a barrage of bullets quickly seeped through the air; some instantly used their mana armour to negate the attack, but some of the mages dropped with a wet thud on the ground, groaning in pain.

 In the distance, the wet echo of rapidly approaching footsteps rumbled throughout the cave, but amidst the distantly fast steps, a single girl slowly walked toward them calmly. Her eyes were as cold as her silver blade, yet her expression was filled with grace. The mages shuddered as soon as they realised who she was—Luna Ilifel, The Red Moon, or so they twisted her original title.

 With an unchanging demeanour, Luna pointed her blade at them. "This is a warning; let go of your weapons and lower your magic," she bluntly said.

*Tsk…* Hishem clicked his tongue and frowned.

 (The imperial princess herself, huh? What a pain…)  

 She closely observed them while waiting for those behind her to catch up. The swordsmen positioned themselves beside her and the mages behind. One already channelled support spells, and the other held onto offensive magic.

 "What are you doing, idling?! Attack!" Hishem cried viscerally.

 His subordinates, who were previously disarrayed from the barrage of bullets, got their act together. The supports enhanced the front lines like Hishem, with barriers and physical enhancements, while others continued to chant spells. 

 "Kriska, Hethel, Jinga, you know what to do. Noel. Try to keep up—" Luna calmly said but was interrupted by Hishem closing the distance.

 In a flash, Luna dashed to counter Hishem's attack; lightning illuminated the whole chamber as Moon Fracture clashed with the priest's dark blade; the metals shrieked and crackled.

 "Not half bad for a Princess!" Hishem said, pushing Luna's blade away.

 "How rude, I gave you the option to surrender and—"

 "Shut up, shut up! You're just as arrogant as Saint's Boy!" Hishem blasted a dark wave of flames.

 Unfortunately for him, Hethel had Luna's back as she surrounded her with a strong protective barrier that absorbed all the corrosive dark flames. He glanced over at his subordinates.

 (Useless! Useless! Useless! Are they still exhausted from the last encounter? Pathetic—)

 But a shiver was sent down his spine suddenly; Luna managed to get behind him, and as her lightning-fast blade seeped through the air, Hishem managed to avoid fatal injury by a single strain of hair as her blade effortlessly cleaved through all the magical armour, and through his dark armour.

 (Shit! She can use void magic?!)

 Hishem used the momentum of his dodge to counter with a kick inbound with dark magic, making Luna falter backwards. She was aware that the dark magic would slowly eat away at her mana armour by slight contact. Luna weighed her options.

 (…Noel should be fine against him; he's better at wind magic than I am—and I'm more used to fights against multiple enemies.)

 "Hey! Hey! Put more mana into the magic armour; she can use void magic, and I don't need physical enhancement against this little girl—!"

 "Noel, switch!"

 Right outside of Hishem's provisional vision, Noel exploded towards them, and his blade seeped through the air like a sharp, piercing whistle. Hishem blocked the attack with his arm, and a loud boom erupted, disorienting him and his subordinates. 

 And as Scorching Tempest was stuck in the man's armour, Noel released his sword and pulled away—Hishem's mana burst into dark flames, slowly eating away at his own armour.

 "Fucking brat—"

 But before he realised, Luna was already slicing down the mages one by one as the swordsmen tried to fend her off. As for his other subordinates, they tried to eliminate Kriska, who tore through their armour and constantly annoyed them when they were trying to get through Jinga to reach Hethel and shut down the source of the group's defence.

 (Shit, they're all useless! Not only did the other brat disrupt my internal mana flow with some strange magic, but I now have to deal with the damned princess of all people, and who the fuck is this guy!?)

 Meanwhile…

 (Phew, I almost lost a limb or two there… and Luna is…actually murdering them one after the other—wait, I don't have the time to be shocked. I expected this when I asked to tag along, didn't I?)

 As Noel observed, while recovering from the mental recoil from the heavy use of mana, he noticed that the dark-armoured cultist was more exhausted than expected…

 (We've only begun, but they all seem exhausted… did Al really—wait, I doubt, it was probably Hilos that exhausted most of their resources… I wonder if he personally fought Al. He did mention Saint's Boy; I want to ask, but…we're here to capture as many as possible—)

 "So? Who in the fallen ash are you? A bird in a cage exploring the real world for the first time?" Hishem asked condescendingly.

 "….."

 "Tch, how boring. As you can see, I'm damned exhausted—so are the damned animals behind me. Why don't we talk a little—with our firsts!" he cried as he dashed toward Noel with a fist filled with corrosive flames.

 (He's more slow than he was with Luna) Noel thought.

 Surrounded by strong winds, Noel guided the flames away as he steered Hishem into a position to counter, blasting the cultist away and tearing down the weakened armour with shredding winds.

*Cough, cough* Hishem began to Cough blood.

 However, despite Hishem's weakened state, Noel was able to re-materialise his divine weapon [Scorching Tempest].

 (Around twenty seconds this time, not bad—but it should be faster…)

*Cough, cough*

 "You fucker, be a little more gentle, won't you…can't you tell I'm about to die?" Hishem growled resentfully.

 ("Never let your guard down, Noel,"—or so she said. Elly's right; I can't trust any of my enemy's words—I almost lowered my guard to go capture him. I better have Luna or one of the three—who's more experienced do it.)

 "—Huh…?"

 Suddenly, Noel's right arm became dull, and he'd almost lost all sense of touch. But with a firm grip on his sword, he moved his left hand and put it on top of the numb par, beginning to cast cleansing magic infused with light, alleviating the effects of the dark paralysis.

 "Shit… you can use light magic too?" Hishem dryly laughed. "Well…to bad…I don't even have enough mana to paralyse you fully before you could cleanse it…" Hishem said as his wobbly legs gave up, falling down to his knees while continuing to cough blood.

 (I didn't even let my guard down, and yet… this still happened. But aren't they coming to help their leader—never mind, Luna is tearing through them. Jinga and the others also distracted them…)

 "Ahaha…shit…I…can't believe…I'm losing to a guy…like you…" Hishem complained breathlessly.

 At the same time, when Noel was keeping an eye on Hishem. Luna tore through their mages one after the other; they were slow to respond, not only due to exhaustion but also mainly due to Luna's tempo.

 Even if she wasn't as capable of destruction as Alum nor Noel, let alone Chely, Luna was one of the most flexible. As her blade clashed with the vanguards, running her blade along theirs, the screech of metal was visceral as she followed it. Later, she created an atmospheric wind ball in her left palm and pushed it against the cultist to instantly collapse their mana armour, followed by an ice blade underneath her sleeve, piercing through them right after she shattered their armour.

 Despite the cultist's attempt to hinder her and bind her down—an almost impossible task because she moved incredibly fast, even when she was halted to a place by the swordsmen defending them—she'd move instantly to the next one.

 (Aah…what are you idiots doing? Just clump together, you morons… can't you see their attack mage is busy helping their swordsman defend a cluster of you other fools? Then again…they'd just hit each other with their own swings and spells… Ugh…they're all so pathetic… Incompetent.) Hishem sighed at the sight.

 But to Hishem's dismay, one of them managed to bind Luna down momentarily—only for her to pull out a gun from the void and shoot a bullet through a space connecting the barrel and the mage's skull.

 (Really, now? I didn't think someone as strong as her would resort to cheap magi-tech—well, it's about time.)

 Suddenly, some of the cultists began to suffer from convulsions simultaneously, falling one after the other. Parasitic chimeras began to jump out of their chests, cracking reality like glass, making Hishem fall through into the mirrored realm—the incantation spell had failed, but it was better this way, Hishem thought, and a smile was carved onto his face.

 Taken aback, Noel tried to jump after him, not to let him escape, but Luna quickly noticed what the bizarre space was and escaped the vanguard and mages that weren't affected by the parasitic chimeras to grab Noel and dashed to Kriska and Hethel.

 "Wh-What wrong, Princess?!" Kriska inquired at the sudden retreat.

 "Jinga, retreat! Noel, Kriska, Hethel! Get as far away as you can from the centre of the bizarre space!"

 "Yes!" they replied, not truly understanding the nature of what was happening.

 Still, Jinga tried to retreat but noticed the solid ground was no more.

 "Huh?"

 Noticing that Jinga had failed to escape the rapid expansion of the bizarre mirrored space, Luna made a lasso out of water and pulled him toward them before he fell down the void. Screams from falling cultists could be heard after the other, but along with Jinga, Luna managed to snag one of the cultists who'd been severely injured and unable to fight.

*Gulp*

 Everyone in Luna's group was at a loss for words. They'd never seen something like it before—it wasn't terrifying because they'd just fall down—it was terrifying because Luna panicked so much.

 "Let's go. We don't want to be close to this failed void rift—it leads to the mirrored realm; all void magic used around it also connects directly to it, so we have to walk," Luna spoke calmly but shuddered at the thought. "We got one alive, at least," she added.

 (If Hilos hadn't shown me what a failed yet active void rift was—I'd never believe such horror could exist if he hadn't taken me there a brief instance.)