< Strange Omen in the Land of Sorcery (Part 1) >
The land around the Heavenly Power castle was raised high up in the sky in a cylinder shape. The castle was about three hundred yards from ground level. It was not going to be easy to climb up to the castle.
"Such a weird terrain," Ramphil thought aloud as he looked at the high wall. The way the castle was high up in the sky seemed supernatural.
"There is a reason why the castle is called 'Heavenly Power' castle."
Leona looked up at the castle in amazement. The name of castle seemed to indicate how great the castle was, but Leona didn't know the meaning of the castle's name.
The castle looked formidable because the whole ground around the castle was raised high up.
"I am amazed how a land could be shaped like this." Ramphil wondered how a castle could exist on a weird terrain like this. Ramphil and Leona knew that there were many strange thing that could not be explained, and they thought that this castle was out of this world.
"Yes, this is something unusual, and that's because the environment was created with sorcery," Zin told them.
"Sorcery?"
"What?! Something like this is possible with sorcery?"
Ramphil and Leona were questioning the possibility. Leona had witnessed the power of sorcery, and Ramphil thought that sorcery was performed as part of shamanistic ceremony by people in the wilderness. They knew that the power of the sorcery existed through Zin, but they couldn't believe that someone could change the terrain by performing sorcery.
But Zin talked as if it was not a big deal. "The land was raised by a high-level sorcerer, this is not a hard job for that sorcerer."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I am referring to a sorcerer who has reached the highest level."
"Why did he create such an environment?" Ramphil wondered why a sorcerer would need to do this.
"This is a place where the Immortal is sealed, and it would not be good to be easily accessible by people."
The Heavenly Power castle was set up to be a place people could not easily attack. Ramphil thought that such work would be impossible for Wargrave to pull off.
"The world… is full of strong people." Ramphil was amazed that a single sorcerer could pull this off. Wargrave was an organization that didn't care much about what was going on in the world. Ramphil wondered if Wargrave should be more aware of what was going on.
Leona brought up a question, "So, how are we getting up there?"
"… Hmm, good question."
The vehicle would not be able to climb up, and there were no stairs leading up to the castle. Zin pointed at the wall without hesitation.
"We are going to climb up. We'll leave the vehicle down here."
"… What?"
"It's not that hard, you know?"
"Well, I don't think it's a matter of easy or hard…"
Leona was terrified, and Ramphil was astonished at Zin's suggestion.
"The castle was built so that it is not easily accessible. It would be stupid to expect a gate to be there."
A couple of minutes ago, the team was marveling at the scene of the castle, and now they were dreading about the thought of climbing up the wall.
They were not able to take the vehicle with them. Leona was worried, and she looked at the vehicle.
"Can you put the vehicle inside the void storage?"
"You are not making any sense."
"What if someone steals the vehicle?"
"There is a password lock. Someone could smash the vehicle, but they cannot drive away with it."
However, it meant that if someone smashed the vehicle, the team would lose their means of transportation.
"The main purpose of the vehicle was to take us to this castle. If we lose it, so be it."
Zin tapped his hands as he walked towards the cliff. He did not any equipment for rock climbing, but it was not going to be too difficult for Ramphil or Zin to climb up the cliff. Zin put most of his items into the void storage, and wrapped his black coat around his body.
Leona and Ramphil were surprised at what Zin was doing.
"I don't like doing this either. Now get on my back."
"Oh, Okay…"
Leona piggybacked on Zin and held on to him. Ramphil and Zin were able to climb the cliff, but Leona was not able to. So, one of them had to carry Leona. Zin was wearing a coat that could be used as a strap, and Leona was dangling on the back of Zin like a baby.
Leona seemed to be in good mood, and laughed, "Wow, this is so convenient!"
"You will regret what you have just said. Let's go."
"Alright."
As soon as Zin and Ramphil grabbed the rocks, they started to climb up the cliff. Leona laughed for about a minute while hanging on the back of Zin, and then she became astonished when she looked down below.
"This is crazy…"
They were moving further away from the ground. Leona grabbed the neck of Zin and murmured, "M-Mister. This is toooo scary!"
Leona was terrified. She was being carried by Zin, who was climbing up the cliff without any safety equipment. As Zin continued to climb up the cliff like a spider, Leona felt like she was going to faint.
"Can you go slower?!" Leona was screaming in fear, but Zin and Ramphil continued to move up. After about five minutes, Leona closed her eyes and held tight to Zin. She couldn't even speak anymore.
"Damn… Crazy… Son of a bitch…" With her eyes closed, Leona was spitting out all the curse words that she knew.
It took about an hour for them to climb up the cliff. Zin and Ramphil were dusting off their clothes as if they had done routine exercise.
Leona fell down on the ground as soon as Zin unstrapped his coat. She couldn't stand up for a while.
Leona slowly talked as she was out of breath. "Ah… I think I peed my pants…"
"!" Zin was surprised and touched his back. His back was warm but it not wet. "Eh, it's just sweat."
Zin sighed with a relief. Carrying someone on his back was not easy, but being carried by someone was not easy, either. Leona crawled away from the cliff, and could barely stand up. She was having a hard time walking, as she seemed to be out of it.
"Wow… the castle looks very different up here."
From the top, the castle was in a basin area. There were several wooden houses lined up on the grass area.
The village looked very peaceful and calm. The people seemed to be without fear or sadness as they walked around the fields. Nobody seemed to be armed.
To be exact, it seemed to be a point rather than a castle. The people seemed to be living in a point where there were no outside threats. Leona was amazed at the scene.
The wooden houses were not built in a straight line, but they were looked beautiful with the plants in the background. There were many plants growing, and people did not seem to have any issue growing food. Zin started walking ahead.
"Let's go."
"So there are no guards or gates here?"
"I don't think they would need them."
"I think they will be on guard."
"We just need to explain our situation. Follow me."
Zin led the way, and Ramphil and Leona followed behind. The people of the Heavenly Power castle did not seem to realize that some outsiders had arrived. In the forests that surrounded the basin area, there were even animals. There was nothing special about the basin, but there were squirrels, cats, pigeons, and other small animals in the area.
"Something… feels odd."
Leona felt strange that the area was well maintained. Although the place was vast, nobody could get into the place or get out of the place. She was amazed that such an ecosystem was preserved. She figured that all of the area was man-made.
After they passed the forests, there were many farmlands where people were growing food. Many plants were growing in the fields: bean, barley, rice, potato, and many other plants.
And as the three went through the forests, they came across a woman. It wouldn't be strange to see the woman get scared of outsiders, but she smiled and greeted them.
"Hello, visitors. It looks like you have climbed up the wall to visit us. The Heavenly god must have protected you."
Ramphil and Leona were taken aback by the way the woman spoke, and stood still. Zin started to walk towards the woman.
"The way of the Heavenly Power seems to be in full force. I thank the Heavenly god. And please pardon my rudeness for disrupting the peace of the castle that touches the sky."
"It is rare indeed to see a visitor who knows the way of the Heavenly Power. What brings you here?" The woman was smiling all the time. Even though she wore clothes that were old, her posture and language suggested that she was not an ordinary woman.
"I would like to ask the lord about the seal."
When Zin mentioned seal, the woman became serious. It looked like she did not have the authority to talk about the matter. The woman bowed and said, "I will not be able to assist you on that subject. The lord is in the great temple right now."
After finishing talking, the woman went back to the fields to work. Zin signaled Ramphil and Leona to get going. The three carefully walked past the fields without stepping on the crops, and headed towards the center of the Heavenly Power castle.
"What did you two talk about?"
"I don't understand, something feels funny about this place."
"They are people who don't panic in any circumstances. The woman we met is a trained person."
"I don't understand what you are saying. What kind of place is this?" Leona was surprised to see that all the people were too calm even though they were seeing Leona, Zin and Ramphil for the first time.
"Hmm… you could think of them as monks who are training in the temple."
"Are these religious people?" Ramphil couldn't think of a better way to describe them. Religions still existed around the world.
"It's similar to a religion. Their main goal is to train their inner soul."
"It sounds like they don't care about living?" Zin laughed at the way Leona described the people. The people of the Heavenly Power castle passed them, and simply greeted the team with a smile.
However, Leona and Ramphil still felt uneasy about the way the people acted. Ramphil was especially uneasy about the atmosphere.
"Hmm… well, they are not weird people. They don't only train their minds and souls."
"What do you mean?"
"We refer to them with a different name." Leona and Ramphil stared at Zin as they wondered what the name was, and Zin sighed, "Sorcerer."
"What?!" Zin was saying that all the people of the Heavenly Power castle were sorcerers?! Leona was astonished, she couldn't believe it.
"If you think about it, this land was lifted up into the sky by a high-level sorcerer. Wouldn't it be strange for ordinary people to be living here? Wouldn't you expect sorcerers to live here?"
"I mean, yeah that makes sense…" Leona wasn't surprised that all the people in the castle were sorcerers. It was just that expected sorcerers to wear skeleton necklaces and walk around with staves decorated with strange ornaments. However, the people that Leona that met all looked ordinary.
"This is pretty amazing." As Leona talked, Ramphil nodded in agreement. "What a crazy place."
Ramphil and Leona were learning that there were many strange things in the world.
Most of the buildings in the castle were made out of wood. The people drank rainwater and ate the crops that they farmed.
"It is peaceful in a different way than the fortress."
"That's because the standard for abundance is different."
Fortresses had an abundant amount of resources, and there were many facilities to improve the quality of life. Life in the fortress was very comfortable. Life in the Heavenly Power castle was perfect in a different way.
Leona thought that while the fortress had all the necessities, people in the Heavenly Power castle seemed to be content with what they possessed.
There was no abundance of resources, yet there was no shortage of resources. People looks relaxed with peace of mind, and Leona thought that this was a good place where people were mindful enough to act nice towards strangers.
In that sense, the Heavenly Power castle seemed to be a good place compared to the fortress.
Leona thought that even if the world was a crazy place, there were still places where people were nice.
"Now that I think about it, I see things that are related to sorcery!"
Leona exclaimed.
"… I have no idea about that," Ramphil said.
"Look! Look at those things over there." Leona was able to figure out that there were items related to sorcery around the castle. However, Ramphil who didn't know anything about sorcery, didn't understand what Leona was saying.
There were golden chains around the doors, and there were items shaped like lions around the door knobs. They were objects that were related to sorcery.
"I don't get how those items mean anything…" Ramphil shook his head as he didn't recognize how the signs and items were related to sorcery. Zin was amazed that Leona was able to spot objects that were used for sorcery.
"I never taught you about sorcery in detail, how did you pick it up?"
It was possible that Leona was sensing energy from those objects because she was a witch.
Leona laughed and said, "They look so out of place. So it probably means that they are there for a reason."
"… That's an interesting point of view. I suppose you are right!"
Zin laughed, amazed at how Leona came to that conclusion.
< Strange Omen in the land of Sorcery (Part 2) >
"… You are a quite smart girl… you know… I feel so dumb…"
Ramphil felt stupid as he couldn't think what Leona was able to observe.
And, Leona thought that the objects that were out of place were sorcery items. And they were in fact items used for sorcery. The objects were used as charms to protect against evil spirits.
While the team was amazed what Leona was able to observe. The three kept walking towards the grand temple in the middle of the basin.
The temple was a three storied wooden building, and even though it didn't look fancy, it was built with sorcery in mind. There were four doors in the four directions, and statues of the four guardians were placed on each door. At the corner of every roof, there were statues of the phoenix. Leona was amazed as she looked at the statues of the four guardians - Azure Dragon of the East, Vermillion Bird of the South, White Tiger of the West, and Black Tortoise of the North.
"These all look so pointless and useless. But they really put some effort to carve these statues. I guess they are all important sorcery objects?"
"You are correct."
Leona was so good at figuring things out, and Zin thought that she could pose as a fake sorcerer. But as soon as he imagined this witch performing sorcery as a fake sorcerer, he became terrified.
He imagined Leona performing simple sorcery and causing havoc.
Leona laughed and said, "I think I am very talented, right?"
Yeah sure…
Zin didn't reply to Leona's comment. As they went inside the temple, there were kids who were sweeping the floor. The kids were surprised to see visitors. The kids were probably not trained enough to handle unexpected guests, but Leona felt more comfortable seeing kids who reacted naturally.
The oldest kid ran inside the temple, and the other kids stood still and kept on looking at the team. Shortly after, the door of the temple opened up, and an old man with grey robe started to walk out.
He had a long white beard that touched his stomach, and he had a very polished look. He appears to be a wise man or a master. He was old and seemed to have trouble moving around. But he looked very calm with poise.
Zin looked at the old man, and the old man continued to walk slowly towards the team. He moved very slowly and gracefully.
The old man started to speak.
"… The Heavenly god must have allowed us to meet for the second time."
"I am surprised that you became a lord, but I am more surprised that you are still the lord."
"That is because the Heaven still wants me to serve the people. It appears that you haven't aged since last time we met, master hunter."
The old man and Zin seemed to know each other, and they continued to talk. Zin stretched out his hand that didn't change in appearance for years, and the old man stretched out his skinny and wrinkly hand.
"Long time no see, lord."
"Long time no see, master hunter."
Zin remember the young man's face as he looked at the old man's face. The old man looked at Zin and realized how Zin hasn't change much. Although an eternity had passed, it seemed like only a season passed for the master hunter in front of him.
Leona and Ramphil didn't join the conversation of the old man and Zin. Zin looked at the temple as he was recollecting memories.
"Has it been fifty years…?"
"Yes. And fortunately, the previous lord had lived a good long life."
"Right."
There was no better blessing than living a life to its fullest. In that sense, the previous lord was a lucky man.
"Is it too greedy for me to expect that this meeting will bring more good fortune?"
"Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to meet your expectations. Let's go inside and talk.
"Yes. Please bring out some tea for us."
"Yes, my lord."
The kids started to move around, and Zin, Leona and Ramphil followed the lord into the temple.
—Pzztt! —
Ouch!
But as Leona tried to walk inside the temple, a blue light sparked, and Leona was thrown away from the temple. The lord became startled at the scene.
"Hmm? What is going on…?"
"Ow… That hurts like a mother… damn!"
Leona felt a brief pain, and she became teary in pain. There was a blue curtain of light drawn around the temple. Then, Zin finally realized what he was forgetting about.
"Oh, I forget. Lord, please deactivate the temple's energy force."
"What is going on? I don't understand why the force field would react…?" The lord was puzzled.
Zin pointed at Leona and said, "That kid is a witch."
"What?!"
The lord who was rarely shocked by anything shouted out. Zin's statement was shocking for the lord.
"What, what did you just say?
And, Ramphil who heard this for the first time also was in great shock.
The temple was surrounded with a high level force field that prevented any evil being entering into the temple. It was not a surprise that the force field reacted as Leona as entering the temple.
The lord of the Heavenly Power castle was able to understand Zin's story about the emergence of the new witch, but the lord was not able to accept Leona.
If Zin was not present, the lord would have captured or killed Leona. But Zin was in control of the situation.
"I don't know much about the devil as you do, master hunter. I believe you have a reason for travelling together with her."
The lord knew about Zin very well, and he trusted that Leona was not going to be a threat.
But more than anyone, Ramphil was shocked about the news. Ramphil was in pursuit of the white witch, and he couldn't believe Leona was a witch. And he wondered why Zin kept this as a secret all this time.
"Why did you keep this as a secret all this time?"
"You never asked."
Ramphil remained speechless at Zin's response. Leona felt guilty and she didn't know what to do. Zin tapped Ramphil's shoulder and said, "It was a tricky matter to explain to you in detail. Anyways, I'm sorry about it."
"Phew… okay, fine."
"Let's go in." As the lord waved his hands, the blue colored force field disappeared. Ramphil was shocked that Leona was a witch, but he was more shocked that a force field could be created without the help of technology. He never imagined that such power would exist without technology. He was witnessing a non-technical power for the first time.
"I am not even sure what I should ask at this point." Ramphil seemed to be puzzled, and he followed the lord and Zin into the temple. Leona also slowly entered the temple.
Everyone took off their shoes and walked into the temple. The temple had a high ceiling, and there were scrolls and altars inside. It had a very mysterious feel. Zin found the place very messy and unorganized, but the rest of the team thought that the place looked very mysterious.
There was burning incense that smelled good, but Leona seemed to be uncomfortable.
"I don't feel good…"
"You are an unclean being, and it's natural for you to feel uncomfortable when you see these items."
"… Hey, that is not very nice of you to say."
Leona became very angry because Zin referred her as an 'unclean being.'
And as usual, Zin smiled and said, "That was on purpose. If you were upset by it, I apologize."
"You are pissing me off even more!"
Leona was yelling at Zin, but she couldn't do much about it. As the lord watched the two interact, he wondered what their relationship was.
Zin was the most persistent, nasty and cruel devil hunter of all. Even though the lord had not seen Zin hunt down devils, he heard many stories about Zin slaying devils without mercy.
Zin was a humane person, but he did not show mercy to the monsters and devils. The merciless hunter was fooling around with a kid whom the hunter referred as a witch.
The lord found the situation very strange.
The kid must not be dangerous.
The lord was observing Leona carefully, and he drew that conclusion. The kids brought hot tea to the four people who were sitting down.
"If there is one joy about the Heavenly Power temple, it is drinking tea. Let's drink some tea and talk."
The people of Heavenly Power castle enjoyed drinking tea. People of Wargrave drank different type of energy drinks, but they did not drink any tea. Heavenly Power castle was the only place on Earth where people could drink tea.
Ramphil didn't really care about people drinking tea.
And Leona looked at the things prepared and asked, "What is tea?"
"You add hot water to the tea leaves and drink."
"Is it good?"
"It depends on who you are."
The lord picked some tea leaves, and he was getting prepared to brew some tea. Zin was amused as he looked at the lord.
"It would be great to see how much the Heavenly Power temple's tea ceremony has improved."
"Haha… you are putting me on the spotlight, master hunter."
—Drip—
The green tea was brewed, and the lord poured tea for everyone. Leona blew air out of her mouth to cool the tea.
—Gulp! —
Ramphil didn't think much and he drank all the tea in one gulp. Ramphil was a cyborg so he didn't get his mouth burned, and after drinking all the tea in a second, Ramphil looked at Zin.
Ramphil always gave out his honest opinions, and he also provided his opinion about the tea.
"It's interesting."
"… Hey, you don't drink tea like that. You need to drink it slow, and enjoy it."
"I didn't know at all."
"Wargrove people are such dorks."
Ramphil was mocked as a "dork" for the first time, and he stared right back at Zin. But as Ramphil how the lord was drinking the tea, he had to admit that he was acting like a dork.
The lord laughed and poured another cup of tea, and this time, Ramphil slowly took a sip.
"…Interesting." Ramphil answered exactly the same as before.
Leona also drank a sip, and she shook her head with her tongue sticking out.
"It reminds me of the poisonous dog meat. It's… not that great."
Leona didn't know how to express the bitterness of tea, and she expressed the taste that way. Both Leona and Ramphil did not seem to like the taste of tea at all.
Zin smiled and said, "My lord, please excuse them. They are not sophisticated enough to drink tea."
"Haha… People have their own preferences. As long as they are open-minded to try a new thing, that's good enough."
The lord was not particularly disappointed at them. Zin took another sip as he smiled. Zin enjoyed the aroma of the tea, and then he put the cup on the table.
"It feels good that some things don't change even after many years. It's good." Zin was praising that the tea tasted better than the last time.
The lord smiled and said, "That's a great honor."
Zin finished drinking his cup of tea. Even though the civilization was regressing, there were other things that were improving. It was just a cup of tea, but Zin was happy to see what some things were getting better.
Leona finished drinking her cup of tea, but she couldn't understand why Zin was enjoying it.
"It's like alcohol."
"…It is very close."
Leona remembered the times when her hometown's villagers drank cheap and smelly alcohol. She was able to figure out how valuable the tea was. At least, the tea didn't smell bad like alcohol, and it smelled pretty good.
Leona was right in a sense that the tea and alcohol were items of personal preference. Zin slowly looked at the lord in order to start to talk him.
"This conversation will take a while."
"A long conversation is more than welcomed in this solitary place where life is peaceful."
Leona thought that the way the lord spoke was strange, but she also thought that it was cool as well.
Leona had only seen old men who were addicted to alcohol and drugs and lived painful and meaningless lives. And most of the men died before getting old. Leona was amused at the old man who acted like a gentleman.
Zin started talking to the lord, but he was also intending to tell Ramphil as well.
"Couple of months ago, at Ard Pointe, a small village in the Korean peninsula, I received a request."
Zin started to tell his story from the beginning.
Zin started talking all the things that happened.
He talked about how he received a request at Ard Pointe, and how he met Leona at the city of Zado. How he left Ard Pointe, and came back. How he left Leona, met Charl, and then came back to Ard Pointe.
Leona could not take her eyes off Zin, as she was amazed at Zin who was talking every single story about Zin and Leona.
Ramphil was also listening carefully to Zin's story. Ramphil was astonished to hear about the relationship between Zin and Charl, and how the White Witch was created.
For the first time, Leona learned that the White Witch was created by the Central Asia Division, and that Leona was probably the offspring of the prototype that escaped from the laboratory. The lord, Leona, and Ramphil learned about new facts after listening to Zin's story.
Zin explained the powers that the White Witch possessed, and what power he was lacking while fighting against the witch. And he finished talking after explaining the trip to the Heavenly Power castle.
"…I can't believe that the White Witch was a Wargrave experiment…"
Ramphil did not know about the truth. Leona had an idea that her mother was a witch, but she was shocked to learn about the story about her mother.
She remembered the conversation she had when she met the White Witch for the first time.
Kiddo. Did you know that your psychowave is very loud? I'm getting a massive headache.
Is Elle… dead?
Leona was finally able to understand what the sad White Witch was meaning.