Chapter 46: Bypassing the High Alert Matrix II: Submission at the Gate
Three hundred elite iron-clad thick women of war stood guard at the Southern Gate of the capital city, holding spears that were infused with magic capable of crushing a dragon’s scales.
Feathers drifted between them as giant white eagles flew above their heads, sending their wails through the sky above the gate.
Every living organism walking far away caught their sharp gazes with every blink while they guarded the massive walls with absolute dominance.
A metal-crunching sound erupted as the senior commanders of the holy, capital city walked to the front and hung a massive crystal in the air, the Aegis Eye.
The floating artifact immediately scanned every spiritual frequency that was five hundred yards away and beside it.
A finger-tapping sound echoed as Isabella stood at a far distance from behind the guards, hissing, "No way in!"
Her shoulder relaxed as she swung her slender, fluffy robe onto her shoulder and turned. Her black hair sliced through the air like time’s blade and sparkled like mini-stars as she walked toward the Duke’s isolated tower.
Three women of the elite guards shifted their gazes toward the crystal when it began to pulse with a violent, purple light.
Dust plummeted at the perimeter line as Levi and his group approached and crossed the boundary line.
Mother Beatrice tapped on Saintess Lilith’s shoulder when she felt the Aegis pressure from a distance.
With a single tap of Saintess Lilith’s fingers, a white, transparent dome rose up from her and covered everyone in a second.
Levi’s eyebrow furrowed as he turned toward Lilith and frowned. "What was that?"
Mother Beatrice stepped forward, blocking Levi’s view of Lilith, then went on one knee. "Master."
She lowered her head and closed her palms in plea. "That’s the defense mechanism the Central city uses to wipe out any anomaly that tries to cross the five-hundred-yard boundary."
"A mechanism to wipe out an anomaly?" Levi’s neck snapped back as he shifted glances between the wall at a far distance and Mother Beatrice’s face.
"So, why this dome?" Levi sighed heavily and folded his hands on his chest.
A cloth-rustling sound echoed as he tightened his posture.
Dusty gravel got blessed with holy grace as the hems of Saintess Lilith flashed on them when she moved a step forward. "I should have told you before acting, Master."
Her face dulled as she saw the burning look in Levi’s eyes, then she lowered her head with guilt. "I’m sorry, master."
"It’s okay," Levi said in a calm voice, then laughed once. "I didn’t say you did something bad. But you blocked me from seeing how the Holy capital’s defense mechanism actually works."
Warmth lanced through Saintess Lilith’s spine and caused her cheeks to redden with calm when she lifted her gaze and saw the smile on Levi’s face.
The graced gravels all got pushed back into the earth as Senna Drae moved forward and slammed her boots on the ground.
A metal-to-skin slapping sound echoed as she slammed the blade of her dagger into her palms as if seeking a fight. "Master, next time send me to clear the path."
Levi looked at her for a second, then winked at her. "Maya."
He shifted a cold gaze toward the crimson-winged beast and the carriage, then inhaled once.
The front beasts all lowered their heads and lowered themselves and the transport downward. Maya Sirius pushed the obsidian door open and stepped out, channeling the silver key’s authority like her lifeline.
Her wine-colored hair swept through the warmed air as she threw the hood of her cloak back and lowered her head slightly. "My King."
Levi’s mind raced back to the sweet moans that came out of her as he devoured her in her own carriage, but he composed himself. "You know what to do, right?"
The center of his trousers kept on throbbing with every gaze that lingered on Maya’s exposed neck, where he had kissed her with warmth. "Do it without a mistake."
"As you wish, my King." Maya kowtowed once to Levi, then straightened herself. A cloth-shuffling sound erupted from her as she pulled the sleeves of her cloak a bit backward and took in a deep breath.
Soft thuds echoed as she walked out of the transparent holy dome of Saintess Lilith. Strands of Maya’s wine-colored hair waved upward as a sudden wind from the Aegis Eye’s kinetic strike blasted against the air.
Maya’s neck lifted upward slightly as she followed the moving, colorful light from the gate and smiled when she saw it blasting in the sky as the first warning shot. "Same as always."
Dust and dirt clung onto her tongue as she inhaled through her mouth and closed her eyes. In the depth of her mind, she saw herself standing in a spinning wheel of crimson binding lights while the scanning crystal stood at her front.
"By my blood, soul, heart, all in one." The void she stood in began to shake, together with the ground she stood on at the front of Saintess Lilith’s holy dome. "Be one with my Aether, Aegis Eye."
A translucent, concussive wave dashed through her chest and vanished into the dusty ground beneath her feet. It waved through the ground like a desert snail and crawled up the walls of the city.
Debris rained from the right side of the wall as a crimson Aether vibrated through the walls and dashed into the Aegis Eye crystal.
The sharp purple light pulsed as the defensive matrix began to process the Sovereign signature that had penetrated through it.
Two guards caught sight of the purple glow changing but shifted their gazes from it when a sharp, howling sound tore through the front of the land and caught everyone’s attention.
The moment the ancient mechanism recognized the signature to be the very frequency that had helped construct the Capital’s defenses two centuries ago, it loosened its high mechanics.
A calm, welcoming golden hue shimmered once in the crystal when the crimson Aether vanished from the core and dashed back to where it came from.
The massive iron portcullis began to grind upward when the golden hue replaced the purple glow completely.
A chain-shingling sound erupted as the chains of the portcullis began to rattle against the stone tower wall.
The senior elite guard’s eyebrows furrowed when she turned and saw the Aegis Eye glow change to a golden hue. "This can’t be possible."
A metal-clicking sound erupted from her when she stumbled a step back with a thin line of sweat snaking down her forehead to her chin. "The Empress said the Sovereign..."
She gulped and began scanning through her squad as if wanting to find a traitor among them. "...The Crimson Sovereign was captured by the servant..."
Before her lips could close, a flying, sparkling dark blade dagger shot right through her skull. Shunk!
Senna Drae appeared like a spirit without a soul and began tearing through the guards like a beast facing ants.