CHAPTER 69: MISSION BRIEF

Hermes sat down in the lobby with Lance to the right of him. He had his feet propped up on the coffee table, waiting for Mason to start the mission brief. Even though the tension was palpable, Hermes was more concerned with the side glances Merlin was giving him. He tried to ignore them, but her hawk like gaze continued to penetrate through his clothes. Keeping a stoic face, he sighed inwardly.

'I have a feeling that Angelica would become her best friend if they met each other...'

Mason finally got back to the lobby with a new cigar in his hand, which he quickly lit up, blowing smoke all across the lobby. Judging by how everyone didn't react, Hermes assumed that they were probably used to him doing this. He sat down next to the man sleeping on the couch, who Hermes didn't recognize.

He looked at Hermes and smiled. "Do you still not want a cigar from me? You can ask for one whenever you want."

Hermes shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but no. I value my health."

Mason crossed his arms and clicked his tongue. "You have no idea what you are missing out on. These are authentic Silva Cigars..." Hermes was familiar with that name. This was a city located in the western border of the Marcia Empire. They were well known for their vegetation and crop production.

Hermes decided to humor him. "Maybe one day I'll take you up on the offer."

Mason nodded and shifted his attention to Lance, who held a bored expression on his face.

"Lance, prepare the projector screen."

Lance nodded his head slowly at the order and pulled a small metallic box out of his pocket. He propped it down on the coffee table and pressed a button on its side. Before Hermes could analyze it further, light sprung forth from its top, forming a crystal-clear hologram. His gaze became frozen in awe as a full 3D model of Astrum Aeternum materialized before his eyes. It was truly mesmerizing....

From the towering spires, to the entirety of Librarium Celestium and its glorious obelisks, everything was in plain sight. Mason, ignorant of what Hermes was feeling, slowly shifted his hand across the hologram, rotating and scaling it down to a single street. Everyone's eyes shifted toward what Mason was showing.

"Alright, let us first begin this mission brief by outlining some objectives. Due to our contract with the Valencourt family, and more so, the Lysange family as well now, we were requested to carry out a protection mission. One that will or may not be extremely dangerous."

Merlin shifted her gaze away from Hermes and crossed her arms. "I see. So, who are we supposed to protect here?"

Mason nodded, "Our goal is not to secure certain individuals, but an object. More specifically, a Stellar Artifact."

Hermes was waiting for this. Ever since his conversation with Lucien, he had understood what his role will be in the upcoming operation. However, not everything was disclosed. He was told that Mason and his crew were also involved, but he had no idea what they were being tasked to do. Lucien had specifically told him to go to their HQ and to receive the information directly from Mason.

Hearing Mason's answer, Lance decided to speak up. "It's exactly as the captain has said. Our goal here is to protect a certain Stellar Artifact that is being stored safely by the Lysange family. The relic has currently been moved away from the Lysange family home due to certain complications that I am not entirely privy to. It is currently being secured here," he pointed at the large hologram. Displayed was a 3D model of the Valencourt house.

He quickly zoomed into a small empty room that Hermes had never seen before. The only thing visible was a large, full body mirror that was leaning against the wall. Intricate woodwork made its frame, but Hermes couldn't tell any of its color since the projection was all entirely cyan. Still, he could at least appreciate its beauty. The mirror looked more like a piece of art than a normal bedroom mirror. The attention to detail from its craftsman was undeniable.

Merlin observed the mirror and frowned. "What exactly am I supposed to be looking at? The mirror? Are you telling me to look in the mirror because I am ugly or something?"

Lance almost choked on his words. "No, I am saying the mirror is the Stellar Artifact. It's being secured in the Valencourt house for now."

She leaned back on the couch. "You called all of us here for some random mirror? Stellar Artifact or not, this seems like a waste of time..."

Anticipating her line of thinking, Lance grinned. "Will you still say that if I mention that it's Halcyon-tier?"

The room went silent. Merlin gathered her thoughts back together, but still couldn't figure out what to say. "W-what..."

Hermes pushed his glasses up and tried not to let his jaw drop. He remembered his conversation with Dorian. A Halcyon-tier Stellar Artifact was equal in power to a Stage 9 Celestial. Entire factions would fight wars just to get their hands on one. And yet, here he was, staring at exactly that, being leaned against a wall in some random storage room.

Mason nodded in confirmation. "Indeed, that mirror is called the 'Boundary of Two Worlds.' Though it's a Halcyon-tier artifact, its powers are utterly useless without its sister mirror. According to what Lucien told me, this mirror facilitates the transport of living things through the Spirit World. Once a person steps inside, they're transported through the mirror's link to its counterpart, enabling two-way transit through this Ethyric realm, even for non-Knowledge domain users."

Merlin was left in complete awe. "Incredible... To think something like this exists... I thought only Librarium Celestium held a connection to the spirit world like this... How come it's being placed in such a decrepit room, completely unsecure?! Did that old-fart Lucien turn senile?!"

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Mason smiled while exhaling smoke. "That is because it's completely theft proof. The artifact holds a special mark that only the Lysange family holds. Stealing the artifact is completely useless, as it will simply teleport back the moment the lord of the house calls for it. Its Halcyon-tier also grants it immense power, making it resistant to most attacks."

He pointed at the walls of the room on the hologram. "Look here Merlin, what do you see?"

She squinted her eyes. "parchment paper? Wait..." She looked back up at Mason, "is that a runic talisman formation?!"

Mason nodded. "Correct. You see, because of its direct connection to the spirit world, the artifact can become highly unstable at times. This is especially so when dimensional storms occur. Or in some cases, a rogue spirit could discover the connection and try to use it to invade the real world. I am sure you already figured all of that out, though."

Merlin rubbed her chin and nodded. "Interesting... So even dimensional storms can cause quivers to occur in our space-time reality..."

As she was swimming in new theories, Hermes decided to raise his hand and ask a question. Mason saw this and nodded, "yes, Hermes?"

Hermes adjusted his glasses, "I am wondering, what exactly are those runic talismans you spoke of?"

"Ah, it's a kind of ritualistic magic. Unlike the ritual we encountered out in the desert that seeks to summon an entity, runic talisman formations tend to be used for securing a specific area. You can think of it as a large casing or shell, which blocks anything from coming out of it. In this case, it tends to work effectively well against spiritual entities."

Hermes furrowed his brows. "If it's this hazardous, why were you hired by the Lysange and Valencourt families to ensure its safety? Most people will probably hurt themselves before they can even try to touch it..."

He nodded, "good question. The reason why we were given this task is fairly simple. Although it's completely theft-proof, it is still prone to being destroyed if a fairly powerful person wanted to try to do so."

Hermes tilted his neck to the side. "Destroy? Why would anyone want to do that?"

"I am not sure, but judging by how unstable it is, destroying it won't simply just remove its functions. No, the most likely scenario would be its cosmic force collapsing on itself, forming a large explosion that could take out a portion of Astrum Aeternum in a single second."

The air turned icy cold as everyone began to contemplate such a scenario occurring. Hermes looked to the ground, as his skin turned ashen white. "When you say a portion... How big are we talking...?"

Mason took a puff of his cigar. "I can't say for sure. But it will definitely be massive. Halcyon-tier artifacts are no joke. The same can be said for Stage 9 Celestials. At that level, a person's Dimensional Suppression can become so compressed, anyone below a certain threshold will become at risk of having their brains blown to bits on the spot."

Recovering from her reverie, Merlin nodded. "I see... So what exactly do we need to do? Just protect it? Is it indefinite?"

Mason grinned and looked over at Hermes. "That's where he comes in." Everyone shifted their attention toward him.

Hermes gulped a mouthful of saliva and began to remember what Lucien had told him. He cleared his throat and began to speak loudly for everyone to hear him. "According to Lucien, an operation that is separate from yours will be conducted in the same period. Your task will only last until that operation is finished. And judging by the fact that I now know what the artifact you guys will be protecting is, I can sort of understand the logic behind this decision..."

Mason gazed at him curiously. "Yes, it seems Lucien thought this meeting out very well. He probably knew you would figure out the whole picture once I explained our side of the operation. Now then, could you tell us what he is planning? It seems very big..."

The atmosphere shifted once more. They had all known something big was going to occur. After the news of what the Angel of Repose had committed, it was hard for them not to associate a link between the different families with that massacre. Obvious changes to the stock market and the continuous shift in policies have made it fairly obvious that some kind of conspiracy was brewing in the background of it all. Whatever mission Hermes knew of, definitely had something to do with it in their minds.

Noticing the stares he was getting, Hermes took a deep breath before explaining the situation. "From what I know, a joint operation between the Valencourt Family, Lysange Family, Césaire Family and the Saint-Clair Family will be conducted tonight."

Merlin's eyes widened. "By the grace of the monarch...."

The people in the back of the lobby shifted uncomfortably as loud whispers began to be heard. He decided to continue, "You have all heard of the 'Witch of Calamity', correct? The mission we are conducting will be in order to rescue her. She is currently being held prisoner inside Librarium Celestium."

"..."

Mason almost dropped his cigar. "Save the 'Witch of Calamity?' Did Lucien really go senile?"

Lance crossed his arms and frowned. "Well, I'll be damned... I didn't think we would end up being hired by a revolutionary army... Four noble houses going against the church... Who the hell could have expected that..."

Mason stroked his beard. "It all makes sense now why Lucien danced around this subject so keenly... He waited this long before sending Hermes to tell us.... I can't say I fault him for doing it this way... I would have done the same... As for the artifact, I am assuming that it will somehow be utilized in the rescue operation, so having us stand guard will make sure nothing happens until the mission is completely..."

Hermes nodded at his assessment. After learning what the functions of the Artifact are, he connected the dots immediately. Lucien was planning to utilize it to transport their rescue forces inside Librarium Celestium, bypassing the majority of the Church's security.

"Sigh, it's a good thing I told Emily to leave the capital... I made the right call..." A voice came from the left of the lobby. Walking slowly with a wrench in his hand, John used a towel to wipe away the ash sticking to his face. Frederick was right behind him. Hermes had wondered where he had been; it turned out he was helping John repair the hover tank all along.

Merlin began to rub her temples. "Ugh, that old-fart... Isn't his family close to being bankrupted? How does he have the time to plan shit like this out..."

Hermes sighed, "It's not that simple. This mission holds a lot of importance to the entirety of the Noble faction, not just the Valencourt family. Elizabeth Lysange, also known as the 'Witch of Calamity', has crucial information that could change the course of the empire itself. That was why the church accused her of heresy. It was to silence her and make sure whatever she knew would not make its way to the public."

Mason frowned, "what the hell is the church doing... That bastard Linarias has truly messed things up. All the progress his grandfather has made is slowly being reversed... His incompetence has reached completely dangerous levels; because of him, a civil war is going to breakout..."

Hermes nodded. "I agree. Lucien suspects the king is somehow being manipulated by the church faction. The noble faction will soon collapse if they do not act."

Merlin leaned back against the couch and gazed into Mason's eyes. "So, what will it be, boss? Will you chose to continue this mission, or will you call it off?"

Mason stood silently for a minute, taking puffs from his cigar as he contemplated his options. After thinking about it for a bit, he smiled and looked back up at Merlin.

"We're doing it. I've been itching for the perfect chance to shove a stick right up an Inquisition Knight's ass. This is bloody perfect."

End of Chapter