Safehouse

Elsewhere, Ten Dawn Nassandra, the younger sister of Freon, was squeezing a towel dry. Her petite hands replaced the warm towel on her brother's head. Her eyes flashed with concern. Freon was still unconscious from the severe damage during the fight with the Third Hand. Although the Third Hand tried stabilizing his injuries through emergency medical aid, it was simply not enough. The boy kissed the face of death a little too intimately. In fact, his condition was not too different from Elizabeth. Elizabeth suffered a tremendous backlash due to facing Lord Wenmord's peak Rank 3 spell head-on. Thanks to a mysterious intervention, most of the attack was reflected, thus creating the Lannisail explosion. However, as a result, her body met near-death and her Core nearly exploded, which would have killed her normally!

In Freon's case, because of an unexpected 'reaction', his Channels and Core were facing the same situation. Albeit it was not to the extent of self-detonation, it was not an exaggeration to say it was close to that. His backlash ruptured from within to the body, inflicting horrible and grievous wounds. If Protector Avin had not intervened then, Freon would have died. There was no question about it. It was a certainty! Fortunately, because of Protector Avin, the worst was averted. Instead of conventional medicine, using the power of Magic Energy, his spells were able to stabilize Freon's condition. This was like how the Sword King helped Benedict. It was a magnitude stronger than any operation, capable of healing wounds people would deem incurable!

While this was true, Protector Avin was not omnipotent. A Blue Depth Arcanist or a Rank 3 existence, neither of these guaranteed that his power reached heavenly realms. He was not a god nor a miracle worker. He could heal the body through a powerful Recovery-type Arcania, but the lingering wounds in his Channels and Core were not something he could treat. It required a far more delicate and experienced touch to diagnose, much less rectify, something that he lacked. The best person for this would undoubtedly be Ten Dawn Iris Cisvernia, otherwise known as the White Healer. She was the foremost expert in magical injuries and treatment throughout the entire world! Unfortunately, because of their sensitive situation, Protector Avin could not enlist the help of the Zino Kingdom. More importantly, the woman herself was in Algard presently, tending to Elizabeth. She would not return for some time.

This created the current situation. Freon's physical health was returning to normal; however, the invisible, his Channels and Core remain untreated. In theory, this should not create problems in awakening, unlike Elizabeth. Of course, the obvious problem was that his magical ability was nearly crippled. If Freon used any magic, straining his Core a little too much, it might self-destruct! Without resolving the underlying problem, his future as an Arcanist was basically over.

Freon groaned and his eyes peeled open. His first sight was an unfamiliar ceiling. This was obviously not his home nor was it the Arkfell estate. In that case, where was he? His thoughts churned when the voice of her sister entered. The boy struggled to turn his head, unaware of how paralyzed his movements were. The second he saw Nassandra, relief flooded his being. He thought that everything was alright if he could protect her. That was the dignity and pride of the elder brother, of Freon Adnire! The girl cried tearfully and whispered incoherent words. It was obvious how happy she was that Freon finally awakened.

"It's alright, Nassandra… I'm here," he said. He could not say he was fine, because it was clear his body was heavily wounded. Seeing the unfamiliar surroundings, a sense of foreboding crept in. Asking quietly, "Where are we?"

"We're safe," she said, much to Freon's relief. "Our uncle explained that this was a secret safehouse from the Arcellius Family."

"I see… So, our uncle saved me." There was a mixture of emotions in his voice. Even after rejecting the man, he still helped. Freon had to look at Protector Avin in a kinder light.

According to her sister, this was one of the remnants of the Arcellius Family, lasting from the time of their fall to the present day. This was no lie and Protector Avin had no reason to hide this. In truth, this was not the only safehouse in the Zino Kingdom. There were many similarly constructed to preserve the family in the event of their 'demise'. From this, it could be seen that the Arcellius Family was an extremely cautious family, fully aware of the enemies they were creating everyday. Sage Serana, the former matriarch of the Arcellius Family, had plentiful wisdom and predicted such a future. However, when push came to shove, ultimately, their demise was too sudden. The entire family was erased from existence! Therefore, this safehouse were left unused until now.

Besides the lack of windows, the underground bunker was surprisingly cozy and well-furnished. The overall structure and room design likened it more to an underground mansion than a dingy basement. There were bedrooms, a kitchen, dining hall, meeting rooms, study rooms, and even meditation rooms. From this, it could be seen how wealthy and influential the Arcellius Family was in its heydays. They were not the most powerful Engelsheft Family without reason! Moreover, the safehouse was guarded not by people, but by the numerous Magic Arrays!

Fixed Magic Arrays, or in other words stationary magical circles, allowed one to carve a Magical Circle onto a surface and use that as a medium for spell activation instead. This technology was already being implemented in the Alzar Kingdom's Sky Towers and the Zino Kingdom's experimental fleet. However, the progress in this field was in its infancy. They were far from matching the level of Twelfth Descent or Lord Wenmord who could create and sustain hundreds, if not thousands, of arrays simultaneously. Nevertheless, the Arcellius Family made substantial progress behind the scenes and one fruit of their labor was the armor that Protector Avin once used to withstand a direct magical attack.

There was a total of ten Magic Arrays in this safehouse ranging from presence suppression, enemy detection, structural reinforcement, and others. It encompassed a wide range of utilities from defense to reconnaissance. Designed in a way that a single person could operate everything, it was undoubtedly suitable to protect the possibly fleeing Arcellius Family. There were downsides, of course, that prevented it from becoming a true fortress. Otherwise, every fortress in the world would use the same strategy.

For example, the spells could not interfere with one another. In better terms, only one spell could be active at a time. The Magic Arrays created in Twelfth Descent or by Lord Wenmord avoided this issue because they could skillfully isolate the arrays while compounding their effects. This allowed their simultaneous activation. Conversely, the Arcellius Family had yet to reach that level of control, making it 'one or the other'. Most importantly, the noise created when a spell is invoked formed a heavy level of interference. This chaotic storm of World Energy would actively resist transformations inside its domain. More and more powerful Magic Energy would be required to successfully activate the spell, rising to such a point that the spell may overlord and backlash or the load would exceed the Arcanist.

Nassandra heard all of this from Protector Avin when he had to calm her frantic nerves over Freon's condition and her new surroundings. She did not really understand anything that was happening nor why. Honestly, the poor girl was scared out of her wits. Everything was happening too fast for her and without her brother, she felt alone. As a Ten Dawn, her Magic Perception allowed Nassandra to see the bottomless power of Protector Avin. It was like he was a stranger… No, that was not quite right. He was more like a monster! Nassandra had never been more terrified over his seemingly infinite abilities. The past week where Freon was unconscious stressed the poor girl to her limits. She was really on the verge of snapping.

"You don't have to worry…" Freon read her thoughts and put on a weak smile. "I'll take care of everything for you."

She nodded her head obediently and smiled cutely. "Of course, you're my big brother after all!"