The Final Protectors

Underground Palace Part 1

Early in the morning, Jel, who had a habit of waking up at this time for a jog, faced a note in the living room with scrawny handwriting and mostly misspelled words, with a pained expression.

The information on it was very simple:

Granny, Uncle Jel,

Good morning. We are going to have an adventure with John at the Temple’s Underground Palace. We’ll be back at noon, because Jel — my stupid brother did not prepare enough food. Also, John said there’s no human-eating monsters in the underground palace and even agreed to give us a tour of the Creepy Museum — even if he can’t promise he knows the way. Don’t worry though. We will have lots of fun.

Yours,

Lily

A big troublemaker, bringing along two little troublemakers… Jel’s face was completely numb, his temples twitching painfully.

Wait! Archbishop Aldo was still in the Underground Palace, and he did not have the time to inform him of this Cleric from the past!

Jel slapped his forehead, grabbing his jacket before he ran out without even a look back.

In the Temple, Underground Palace.

A new spell circle had been casted around the Barrier’s Core before anyone noticed. The two had resonated with each other, allowing the heart of the Abyss Dhole to be taken out perfectly without any blemish. They put it in a crystal and hung it above the spell array.

Aldo sat beside the coffin in silence, eyes closed. If it was not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, others would have thought he had died again — the entire tomb room was silent without a sound, so quiet that it could send someone mad.

Right at this time, a light ‘clank’ came from the corner of the room. Aldo opened his eyes and noticed a dim light coming from a small, unnoticeable spell at the corner. It flickered and vanished.

It was a small defensive spell someone accidentally activated when they intruded the Underground Palace.

Aldo furrowed his brows, but immediately relaxed.

Back in their time, the Underground Palace was not this secretive. Someone would frequently visit to maintain the spells. Students who excelled in spell-casting would also be permitted to have first-hand experience in the Underground Palace nearing their graduation. Though, to newly enrolled children, this was still forbidden ground where only mischievous imps would dare to come in to “explore”.

But although children were curious creatures, their destructive ability was limited. Normally, they would not produce too severe an aftermath. Aldo was aware that the current Archbishop, Mr. Good, was in the Temple at this moment. So, he would leave these trivialities to him.

Yet, at this moment, a tremble shook through his heart. Aldo knitted his brows together, surveying the spells in the entire tomb room. There was not a single thing amiss. But all of a sudden, his entire body broke into quivers. He lowered his head in disbelief. The rose hung at his collar wilted at a rapid rate — the glamourous, brilliant petals were curling up, revealing the deep-colored veins inside. It was an aged appearance of an object about to reach the end of its life.

The dry petals fell to the ground one by one. At last, only a bare stem and core were left, falling into his palm.

It was like something had rammed straight into his heart.

“Impossible, this… this is impossible…” The man stood up staggeringly. The stone door of the tomb room swiftly opened in front of him.

Who was the one who entered? Where was he? Where was he?!

The Underground Palace was in complete silence, as though that person who triggered the defensive spell earlier never existed. Aldo frantically ran through every tunnel, and examined every spell. That heart, dead for a thousand years, seemed to wake up as if it was splashed with cold water. Then, right at the moment when he was the most sober, a thorn full of pricks sharply penetrated through the heart… The pain was sharp enough to leave him numb.

He did not know how long he searched for, but it was fruitless. Aldo collapsed on his knees.

Why did they have to give him such an illusion?

It had been so many years now… Even if he had committed that unforgivable mistake, was all those years of punishment still insufficient?

The most cruel thing in the world was to give the slightest hope to a man in despair, and then crush this hope right in front of him.

Long ago when Karlos was still an ordinary disciple in the temple, the forbidden Underground Palace was like his backyard. He would run there for fun when he was bored, and could even discover the secret tunnel leading to the outside of the Temple.

It was all due to Mike’s mischief. He had just looked away for one second and Mike already had one foot on a small defensive spell. Karlos hurried to pull him out by the collar. “Careful there. What did I say?”

Mike shrunk back. “Follow you, and not to run off.”

“This is the Underground Palace. If the Archbishop finds you, you’re dead!” Karlos spooked him.

But surprisingly, Mike sniffled without any fear. “It’s not like I’m a kid. I’m not scared.”

Karlos turned stern — this expression was a little difficult for him. “So, you don’t want to be enrolled in the Temple for studies in the future?”

Mike wilted. Like a good child, he put his little claws into Karlos’s hands, and followed him obediently with that hilarious little backpack of his.

　 Other than all sorts of spells, the Underground Palace actually was not much fun at all — especially to these two imps who had to rack their brains just to write a memo. After just a short while, Lily lost interest. She did not want to walk anymore, and opened her arms for a hug. Once snuggled against Karlos’s neck, she said, “John, we’re still going to the Creepy Museum right?”

Now, this was a difficult problem for Karlos. To him, to be able to grab a cab from Midmountains to the Temple with two children in the early morning was already an impressive feat.

Although he was familiar with the Temple, his knowledge was only limited to the Underground Palace which had not changed for a thousand years. As for the outside, the tourists come and go. Renovations were done not just once. How the hell would he know where the “Creepy Museum was?

But, he couldn’t bear to reject the soft little girl in his arms.

“Fine.” Karlos pondered and relented in the end after all. “Let’s find the way out, to the front entrance of the Temple.”

He expected that the areas opened for tourists would just be the outside halls and rooms provided for travelling guests a thousand years ago. Based solely on memory, Karlos led the two children through the Underground Palace, and unwittingly came to Aldo’s tomb room.

“Hm?”

What was this? Was it newly built? Karlos fumbled around the stone door, and found a spell that controlled the door. He carefully imbued a small amount of mana in.

The stone door in front of their eyes gradually rose. The vast energy of the Barrier and the blueness as vast as the ocean immediately poured into the three’s visions.

“Wow—“ Awed, Mike and Lily gasped in unison.

Mike could not even resist taking a step closer to grab at the blue light. But Karlos pulled him back.

“Don’t move, sweetie.” When he turned serious, the man exuded a strength that demanded compliance. Surprised, the mischievous Mike did stop moving. “This isn’t a place where children can just run about.”

The energy from the giant magic circle was like the ocean that carried the world—with millions of threads linking to the whole Temple and the whole world. Based on the structure, it was likely a form of defensive spell. Yet, it exuded a deep enmity and pressure.

Above the small spell beside it floated a crystal. Karlos immediately realized that an Abyss Dhole’s heart was sealed inside. A certain energy was irrigated ceaselessly into the giant magic circle as if providing nutrients.

Could this… have something to do with the legendary “Barrier”?

Immediately, Karlos’s gaze landed on the ground where an empty crystal coffin laid. The lid was pushed aside, with a wilted flower beside it. It seemed like someone was just here.

Was it Mr. Good? Karlos thought to himself, or was it the current Cleric?

They were absent. It was highly probable that they had been amending the Barrier when they were alarmed by Mike’s accidental triggering of the defensive spell. So, they probably left to look around the Underground Palace.

Karlos cautiously closed the stone door, scratching his head. He got the feeling that he had made trouble, and rather guiltily carried one of the children in his arms as he silently darted out from the secret tunnel at the side.

Just as they left, Aldo walked out from another hidden tunnel soullessly. Karlos, who had already hid himself away, finally sighed in relief upon hearing the sound of the stone door behind him. He pinched Mike’s cheeks, and whispered under his breath, “We were nearly found, you little mischievous imp.”

But Mike was still wallowing in his disappointment. “What? Is Santa Claus going to catch us?”

“Santa Claus lives in the North Pole.” Karlos carried him in his arms too as he walked out of the hidden tunnel, correcting the small, dispirited Mike. “The Underground Palace only have the scary Archbishop and the even scarier Mr. Cleric. If we disrupt their work, your little butts would definitely be beaten into ruined tomatoes by your granny when you get home.”

What?! Mike miserably held his own butt, immediately finding the Archbishop and Mr. Cleric extremely awful — they would actually complain to his grandmother!

Just as Karlos was about to stealthily escape with the two imps, and then walk around the front halls of the Temple before going home, Jel had rushed here in a flurry and informed Archbishop Good.

“A child at heart… Alright. I have to say though, that that distinguished self is truly a child at heart.” Mr. Good sighed and yawned. He had just changed out of his pajamas before he hurried to the Underground Palace entrance with Jel.

“Yes. Forgive my digression, but it’s as though I have another nephew.” Jel laughed wryly, mentally panicking slightly. He had dashed here and frightened even Roy. The new Cleric had woken up early to prepare for a class. But before he even took off his glasses, his ears caught wind of such an unbelievable matter, so he had no choice but to come along.

Roy ruminated for a long while before he finally said, “The style in which that man does things is truly extremely… unique.”

Mr. Good sighed again, calling out at the Underground Palace entrance. “Your distinguished self, your distinguished self, are you here?”

His call rang throughout countless spells. Like a stone thrown into a pond, it spread throughout the entire Underground Palace.

Mr. Good’s term of address was truly too vague. This call was heard by both Karlos and Aldo.

Karlos stopped his footsteps. He laughed awkwardly and told Lily and Mike, “What now? We’ve been caught.”

Lily thought sternly for a while and answered as if she was an adult, “Then, we should go out ourselves and admit our mistake.”

This time, Mike agreed with his sister, wilting. “We should be honest, and try to be let off lightly.”

Having intruded the Underground Palace numerous times without being caught, he really did not expect that, a thousand years after graduation, he would be caught at the very end. Karlos’s face fell. He found it a little humiliating, but he still believed Lily was right. As a man, he should own up to his mistakes.

As if he was long used to doing this, Karlos opened the side door, letting Mike jump out before he followed him out with Lily in his arms. He awkwardly faced the three people silently looking at them at the other end of the corridor, and gave an embarrassed smile. “Ehe, uh…”

And right at this time, the door in front of Mr. Good was pushed open. The white-robed golden-haired man had already adjusted his expression. With his usual icy cold demeanour like a stone sculpture, he asked monotonously, “Did you need me for some…”

Then, utterly unprepared, he saw that emerald-eyed man carrying the little girl. The morning sunlight made his skin seem almost transparent, and it danced along the long, soft, chestnut-colored hair. The brilliance of the smile on his face did not diminish a single bit.

That sight was too beautiful. One that never even once appeared in the dreams that he could not bear to part with.

“…thing…”

Aldo did not know how he finished this sentence. He was already stupefied from shock.