Chapter 15: The Bishops Swarm

The day before the festival—

Many of the palace’s soldiers were scattered across the kingdom, making final preparations for the celebration.
This gave Tina and Everett a prime opportunity to infiltrate the lab deep within the palace.

“We’re almost there. It’s just ahead.”

The two slipped past sparse patrols, arriving at a garden.
Tina learned from Everett that this was the royal garden, accessible only to the king, off-limits to all others.

That’s why they’d built the lab beneath it—hidden from prying eyes.
“Rune, that sly bastard. If I didn’t have my micro-sprites, he might’ve fooled me,” Everett said.

“Speaking of, is the king really not in the palace today?”
Tina felt their plan was going a bit too smoothly.

“I checked. He left early this morning. But we can’t rule out him doubling back, so we need to move fast. This is our best shot.”

They followed a path through the garden to a wooden cabin at its heart.
As soon as they stepped inside, a nauseating stench hit Tina, nearly making her lose her breakfast.

“This is awful!” She covered her nose.

“It’s the smell of carrion beasts. They’re often used as biological material.”
Everett grew more certain the lab was nearby.

“Let’s look around.”

After scouring the place and enduring the reek, Tina stumbled, nearly collapsing.
But her misstep caused a crisp sound from the floor, with an echo beneath.

“A hidden passage?”

Everett knelt, prying open the floor along its seams.
A stronger wave of “fragrance” surged up.

“I can’t do this.” Tina recoiled.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a spell to purify the air.”

Tina followed Everett into a circular barrier he conjured, descending a dim staircase.
The deeper they went, the more unease she felt.

The aura below seemed almost tangible, threatening to engulf them.
“We’re here.”

Everett gripped the door handle.
As it opened, a massive magical array etched into the floor came into view, adorned with blood-stained skulls, prepared biological and mineral materials, glowing eerily in the lightless space.

“This is their hidden scheme?”

The lab was empty, with stacks of notes half a person high on a table.
They read:

[Special-grade array crafted by three Mistmoon Cult bishops. With the right rare materials, it can unleash its magic to the fullest.]

[Today’s preparation: 10g of starshine dust, awaiting delivery.]

[Tomorrow…]

[Entries spanning nearly a year showed the array’s meticulous construction.]

[All materials gathered, save for the key magical scroll. Activate the ritual at the upcoming festival to control everyone in the kingdom.]

Everett used a recording crystal to capture the lab’s contents, including the notes they read.
“That scroll—you brought it, right?” Tina glanced at Everett.

“Yeah. Should we destroy it and the array?”

“The scroll… can I see it first?” Tina had an idea.

Taking the black-bound scroll from Everett, she began reading.
Before infiltrating the palace, she’d learned the Mistmoon Cult’s symbols from Tyr, anticipating a moment like this.

Now was that moment. She understood the symbols and the activation sequence, and with the array right in front of her…
“You’re not thinking of using it yourself, are you?” Everett saw through her.

“It’s legendary magic! For someone like me who can’t cast spells, the array’s the only way. It’d be a waste not to try.”

Tina knew her body in this simulation had no magical ability, with an intelligence stat of just 3.
“How would you use it?”

“Hm—targeted control, maybe? Seems tricky.”

“Tricky? Let me teach you then.” A flurry of footsteps echoed from the door.

Before they could identify the intruder, a throwing knife pierced the scroll, its force nearly pinning Tina to the wall.
“!”

Everett raised a shield, barely blocking a second knife.
“Why isn’t the shield stopping these weapons?”

“Hahaha, guess why?”

A green-haired man blocked the doorway, his tattered cult robe adorned with various weapons.
Behind him stood a silent silver-haired youth.

“Rune? An ambush…”

Everett realized too late that the magic he’d been gathering in his palm was draining toward the array’s center, barely enough to cast even a basic spell.
Trouble—the array disrupted magic flow.

The knife-wielding man had come prepared. In a magic-suppressing environment, facing a physical-combat specialist was a mage’s nightmare.
“Tina.” Everett pulled out a crystal pendant. “I know you’ve got something up your sleeve, but it probably comes at a cost. I’ll hold them off. Take the recording crystal and go.

Don’t worry—Rune’s here. He won’t kill me.”

“Alright. Once I get the evidence to Her Highness, I’ll come back for you.” It was the best option. Tina sensed this man wasn’t an ordinary cultist but someone on Uri’s level.

Simple tricks wouldn’t kill him easily.
Relying on the system like last time was an option, but passing out in the palace would likely get her caught by soldiers.

So—
“Now!”

Everett raised the pendant, its purple crystal erupting in a burst of magic that lit up the lab.
Everyone but Tina slowed to a crawl under its terrifying pressure.

“Didn’t expect that, did you? I’m no sitting duck.”

…

Squeezing through the door, Tina sprinted toward the underground district. The pursuers were still slowed by Everett’s pendant but were breaking free.

Her priority was finding Althea and the others, securing the evidence, then returning with Phyllis and Tyr to rescue the Great Sage.
But when she reached Everett’s shop, the street was eerily quiet.

“No way…”

She touched the door, and it collapsed as if unhinged.
The shop was in ruins—bloodstains, scattered papers, dust, and traces of magic everywhere.

A relatively intact piece of paper landed on Tina’s head.
Scrawled in hasty writing: “Flee, outskirts, cave.”

The worst possibility had come true.
They were in trouble…