The Royal Treasury - II
<High Human Castle>.
<Archmagus Daimyuon> was meditating, watching as a group of six prickly individuals advanced sneakily through the castle he was tasked with guarding.
Judging from their behavior, they didn't seem to be there to kill anyone: They weren't a group of assassins aiming for the king's life. Instead, they were clearly a bunch of greedy adventurers who sought the kingdom's riches.
To be honest, Daimyuon was pretty used to strong people trying to steal from the kingdom's Royal Treasury. This wasn't the first time a group of adventurers made the attempt.
Therefore, after many years of this, he learned that it was better to address this issue with peaceful techniques. Instead of dealing with them in a very hostile manner, he had devised a plan that used the fact that this was an opportunity to form relationships.
Yes, he wanted to do some talent scouting!
Not many people were aware of this, but a few of his students, were in fact, hot-blooded thieves some years ago.
Therefore, instead of creating future enemies with powerful individuals, Daimyuon would instead reward any set of adventurers capable of entering the treasury.
He would absolve them of their crimes as long as they took only a prescribed amount of resources. If they misbehaved, then that was fine too.
It would boil down to battle either way.
It was an investment, in a sense, and the kingdom was capable of making such arrangements.
...If Aventine expended some mana to hear Daimyuon's thoughts, he would surely make a snarky remark.
"Cheeky old fox,"
***
Unaware of the watchful eye, Heaven's Grasp eventually arrived before the doors to the Royal Treasury. The gilded double doors standing several metres in height bore down upon them with the gaze of carved, golden lions.
The scent of wealth seemed to seep out from the seams.
"From here, we will have to face three guardians. Luckily, due to their size and power, they are usually sealed in the three rooms leading into the treasury. If we fight them and win, we can finally get that."
Ella checked the magic circle installed on the doors.
"Are you guys ready? We'll be facing some powerful monsters."
Feura scoffed, "Just activate the circle, Ella."
"Formalities are important. We need to be—"
Lila cut in between the potential start of a squabble.
"Stop wasting time. Let's go."
Meanwhile, the three men glanced at each other, communicating through their eyes. Laurence signed,
((Shush. It is better to stay silent.))
With an outstretched hand, Ella activated the array formation. Mana erupted from within her body, moving towards a certain portion of the array. The low hum of energy buzzed in the party's ears.
With the influx of mana, the party of six suddenly disappeared. Pulled into a spatial vortex and transported elsewhere, they would soon realize that the giant, golden double doors seemed to be there only for display.
***
Unbeknownst to the members of Heaven's Grasp, there was a seventh person engulfed by the magic circle.
'...Are these guys dumb?'
Even without [Absolute Awareness], Aventine could tell that something was off about the entire situation.
'Or are they too conceited to notice?'
Perhaps they were disillusioned by their extremely detailed plan, because as of this moment, it seemed like they were being led by the nose. Whoever designed the castle's security set it up so that any competent thief would end up unknowingly engulfed by the undercurrents.
Aventine couldn't help but reel in surprise. The intelligence required to set something up to this degree...
'Only an <Archmagus > could do something like this.' Aventine's eyes flashed as he had this thought.
Human mages with collections worth centuries of knowledge.
Unaging monsters with at least a hundred years of recorded existence.
That was what a true <Archmagus > was.
Those who have reached the archmage status, on the other hand, weren't truly of that level. The title of archmage was merely a title bestowed to humans by other humans.
An <Archmagus > however, would be recognized even by the high elves and ancient dragons. A being who usually exists only in legends.
A chill ran through Aventine's spine.
'How reckless of me.' He lamented.
However, he knew for a fact that even an Archmagus could not sense his presence directly. The combination of <Power of the Sky> and <Power of Death> in the darkest hours of the night yielded such results.
The only hint of his existence was the number of targets that the magic circle had been able to warp...
"Ah..."
Speechless, Aventine could only remark this as an expected occurrence. A certain gaze had noticed him as he moved through space.
'I've been discovered.'
Although the <Archmagus > could not see him, Aventine knew that they had noticed the discrepancy he caused, promptly activating a spell. Although he felt no hostility emanating from the spell, Aventine still felt a great amount of unease.
'Weirdly enough, it seems like this mark is used to keep track of spirits. Did the <Archmagus > assume that I was one? Or is that what invisibility inherently did to physical bodies?'
Aventine noted that down. He would confirm it later when he had mana to spare.
For now, he stayed hidden, spreading his senses out like a net.
It was an awareness that spanned dozens upon dozens of possibilities.
Heaven's Grasp now faced a Hydra Hound — a Cerberus with more heads, corrosive breath instead of a fiery one, and scales instead of fur. It was a monster that stood at a terrifying twenty meters tall, dwarfing any human being present.
"Formation G!" Lila commanded as she unsheathed a pair of identical bronze swords. "Avoid contact with its breath and make sure you don't lose your footing!"
She then spoke with a grim tone. "Sacrifice what you must."
Lila breathed while the Hydra Hound roared, shaking each member of the party to the core. Their skeletons rattled against their flesh. Their minds were hammered upon by the sheer force of sound.
Yet none of the humans present faltered.
"Charge!" Their leader boomed with boiling blood, and the entire party stormed forward in unison.
Leaving the observer behind.