Under Raindrops

A faint light of a blue magic circle appeared behind the distant clouds. Bukit Unsu

It was a brief sight, whether anyone noticed it or not. But once the magic circle vanished, a gathering of gloomy clouds began to form over the vast of Unsu Hill.

It didn't take long before raindrops began to fall, one by one. 

At this moment, the soldiers patrolling Unsu Hill gazed up at the sky. They witnessed the overcast clouds, which soon released a heavy downpour.

Rain on Unsu Hill. Only on this hill, as it didn't extend to Heijo since it would require too much mana to make it rain over an entire city.

Kirana, feeling the sprinkles of rain moistening her body, smiled. She closed her eyes and concentrated on feeling every raindrop, sensing everything it touched.

Humans, plants, monsters, animals, even rocks and earth—Kirana could sense it all. In her mind, a three-dimensional map seemed to materialize, and she felt all the movements within the rain-covered area.

Kirana herself was amazed at her newfound ability. She never expected that the same incantation used for watering the garden could now be used as a detection sensor.

"Hm?"

Amid Kirana's awe at her newfound technique, she discovered a peculiar point in the western region of Unsu Hill, where the rain seemed to touch an unusual structure.

The building was roughly three by five meters in size. 

Kirana couldn't see inside the structure because the rainwater didn't penetrate it. However, according to the reports from Green and Logan, there shouldn't be any buildings on Unsu Hill, no matter how small.

'Did they overlook this building?'

Kirana wondered, opening her eyes and then moving towards the structure. 

When she arrived, she was taken aback because she didn't see any building. Instead, she found a dry patch of ground in the midst of the rain. Its dimensions matched the building she had sensed.

'Camouflage?'

Kirana reached out to touch whatever was on the dry ground, and indeed, her hand encountered a smooth wooden surface.

Kirana was certain that this was the wall of the building she had sensed earlier. Her question was, why couldn't she see it?

Kirana looked around. "Is this a formation technique?"

Formation techniques, like the one Cien used to protect Arcadia, were rare in Kastia. 

This was because the knowledge of formation techniques was only passed down in a few select families, and it was closely guarded, limiting access to learning them.

How had Cien learned it? That was a mystery to Kirana, but she didn't want to dwell on it. 

Now, she was faced with another formation technique, one designed to conceal something. 

Not understanding how to deactivate a pre-existing formation, Kirana had no choice but to manually search for the entrance to the invisible building.

Fortunately, the building was small, so it didn't take Kirana long to explore the surface and find a door handle. 

She opened the door and entered an empty room, illuminated by two faint lamps. The room was empty, but there was a staircase leading underground.

"..."

Kirana stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Using her water manipulation, she dried her clothes and body.

She descended the stairs slowly. Upon reaching the underground level, she found two paths, one to the right and one to the left. 

Kirana didn't overthink it; she chose the right path. It didn't matter which direction she took since she had no knowledge of either.

If she made the wrong choice, she could always retrace her steps and explore the other way.

Time passed, and Kirana continued to navigate through the tunnel-like corridors that resembled an ant's nest.

It made her feel as though she might lose her way, so, as she realized that the underground chamber was complex, Kirana began to mark each path she took with sword notches on the side of the wall.

Kirana felt like she had been circling the underground passages for hours. Luckily, she didn't encounter any wandering soldiers inside. 

This was probably because the soldiers would likely get lost in this labyrinthine place.

A few moments later, when Kirana started to feel like there was nothing in the underground chamber, she finally found a door adorned with unfamiliar inscriptions.

Kirana pushed the door open and found what seemed like a temple hall.

'Which deity's temple is this?' she wondered.

Kirana asked herself as she scanned the entire room. 

A moment later, her two eyes fixated on the empty altar in front of her. But it wasn't the altar that surprised her; it was the man crucified behind it.

"Whoa, I didn't expect to really find him here. The First Prince of Westya, Prince Langris."

Kirana walked closer, observing the unconscious Prince. 

His upper body was bare, showing his emaciated form, indicating a lack of nourishment. His high-quality pants were now tattered and torn in places.

His hair was disheveled, and his face was pale. 

Kirana almost thought that Prince Langris had lost his life. Fortunately, though weak, she could still see his chest rising and falling.

"Hmm, now... what should I do with you?"

*** 

Morning in Heijo. Southern military headquarters. 

Gyo woke up and prepared for his duties for the day. He dressed in the servant's uniform of the Grenhall Family and walked outside to oversee the morning assembly of all military personnel in the headquarters.

Although an unexpected incident had occurred yesterday, it hadn't stopped the plan to attack Edenia. 

Especially after learning that the prisoners had escaped to Ethyria. Gyo felt it was only a matter of time before they were recaptured there.

As for the prisoners of Heijo citizens themselves, Gyo wasn't too concerned. They had been captured for wandering around Unsu Hill. 

However, they likely didn't know the reason for their arrest. So, Gyo wasn't worried that the information about the First Prince's presence in Unsu would be revealed.

What concerned Gyo more was the presence of the Fire Knight, who had yet to be captured. 

The motives and goals of this sword-wielding fire user remained unknown. What did they want by releasing the prisoners? Gyo truly didn't understand.

Gyo worried that this individual would become a stumbling block to their plans. 

Unfortunately, Gyo's concerns were realized sooner than he expected. After the morning assembly, the patrolling units in Unsu Hill returned to the headquarters.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, as this was a routine occurrence in the morning. 

Gyo didn't pay it much attention. He even intended to return to his room, but as he passed by the soldiers reporting to Ethyria's Military General, he overheard something that puzzled him.

"Did you find anything suspicious?" the General asked.

One of the soldiers replied negatively. The situation on Unsu Hill was as empty as usual. Even the residents were reluctant to visit due to the numerous cases of people disappearing on the hill.

"Alright, go clean up and rest. You'll head to the northern headquarters this afternoon! Sigh... why are you all so dirty like this? Don't tell me you were playing in the mud?"

"No, General. It's just because it rained last night."

"Rained? Oh, I didn't know it rained last night. Well, go on then!"

"Yes, General!"

"Wait!" Gyo then halted the departing soldiers.

Gyo was somewhat surprised to hear the word 'rain' mentioned. 

Because, to the best of his recollection, he had been up late the previous night, and he didn't recall any rain falling in Heijo.

Gyo inquired with the soldiers and indeed, there had been rain on Unsu Hill for about half an hour.

A nagging feeling grew within Gyo regarding this rain. He then instructed the General to summon those who had been patrolling all over Heijo and the gatekeepers in the eastern and southern parts of the city.

Upon hearing that there was no rain in those parts of the city either, Gyo furrowed his brow.

"It can't be. [Rain] spell?"

"[Rain]? I doubt it. Why would someone used the [Rain] spell to water just a hill? I think this might be a natural phenomenon. There's no need to overthink it."

Gyo shook his head. "No. It's very odd if the rain wasn't caused by the [Rain] spell. The rain only covered the area of Unsu Hill precisely. Something is strange. Could it be?...!"

Gyo immediately realized the worst-case scenario. He promptly instructed the General to accompany him to Unsu Hill, bringing along a few other soldiers. 

He headed straight for the entrance to the underground temple.

Navigating through the winding corridors, when they arrived at the temple, his eyes widened as the worst-case scenario he had feared became a reality. 

There, in front of him, was the empty crucifix.

Seeing the empty cross, Gyo erupted in anger.

"FU*KKKK!!!"

BAM!

Gyo's anger was so intense that he immediately struck one of the soldiers who had been patrolling Unsu Hill the previous night. 

The force of the blow sent the soldier crashing into the wall of the underground temple.

When the dust cleared, those standing beside Gyo could see that the struck soldier was lifeless. There was a large hole in his abdomen and chest.

The other soldiers quickly backed away in terror at the gruesome sight. 

Only Ethyria's Military General remained, gazing at the empty crucifix and then patting Gyo on the shoulder, urging him to calm down.

"Now is not the time for you to lose control. We need to be ready; Langris will show himself sooner or later."

Gyo, still panting heavily, muttered, "Haaa... haa... aaaah, this is so frustrating. Bastard! It seems we need to expedite our plans."