"That's some really complex magic," Melina muttered, examining the suitcase from each angle.
"Can you dispel it?" Elowen asked.
"It'll be difficult, but I think I can do it. The wards seem to adhere to System guided skill. While it is complex, it is systematic and predictable," Melina said. "Trigger spells are actually a bigger issue. If you try to force the wards down, then the suitcase will react, although I'm not sure in what way. It might attack or it might self-destruct. It might even teleport away."
"Do you need something?" Alistair asked.
"If I had somebody who hold the trigger spells while I deal with the wards, it'd be ideal…"
"Nobody here knows such complex magic," he finished.
"No…" Melina sighed. Leon and Adrien should be able to do it with enough training, but they were both beginners. Perhaps, even Mango would be able to do it—she already has amazing control over magic. But that would come later.
"I can help by brute forcing my mana, but I'm afraid I won't be able to sense these trigger spells, you mentioned," Elowen offered.
"I'll take any help I can get. Alistair, make sure nobody disturbs us," Melina said.
"Of course," he nodded and went to stand by the shed entrance.
"Alright, let's begin. I'll hold the trigger spells, you try to push past the wards as far as you can," Melina said.
Elowen nodded, and they began. She guided her mana to the suitcase, and isolated the more concentrated area of mana—the trigger spells. She was blocking their ability to sense that something was prodding at the chest. Almost like covering somebody's eyes and ears.
Elowen meanwhile, mercilessly tore into the wards, destroying them with his own mana. The wards were powerful, and Melina could see how his eyebrows furrowed and his forehead beaded with sweat.
"T-These are really tough," he muttered, going as far as trying to guide his mana with his hands. This broke one layer of wards. Melina felt an unpleasant push from the trigger spells. Even with her trying to keep them calm, they wanted to react.
"Triggers are very sensitive…" she muttered, suppressing them back.
Elowen tore at the next layer of wards. This one was just as tough as the last. Melina held the wards, and also partially helped Elowen push past the wards. It was difficult, even for an experienced mage like her. Whoever had laid this wards was definitely at a very high level.
But slowly, one ward at a time, Elowen and Melina broke them all, while keeping the trigger spells calm. That had taken them a good chunk of their mana. Melina was thankful that the work day, she wasn't sure if she could make any magical pastries properly after this.
"It can be opened safely now," Melina announced, exhaling a breath of relief.
Alistair came back inside the shed. "Should I do it?"
"Go ahead," Elowen prompted.
Alistair carefully opened the suitcase. Melina observed his every movement, worried that there might be some hidden triggers. She kept a close hold on her mana, ready to intervene if something did get triggered. But thankfully, it appeared that she and Elowen managed to dispel everything successfully.
Inside there was a flurry of various folders, letters and documents. Each of them reached inside to grab one of them. Melina took an unsealed envelope with a letter inside. She carefully took the letter out, and scanned its contents.
It could be described as a status report to the Church. The spy told them that Melina was reopening the bakery, and included previously seen magical pastries and some new ones as well. It was obvious that the letter hadn't been finished yet, but there was still something worrisome in it. Namely, that he referred to Melina as the "Traitor Archmage".
"This isn't good…" Melina muttered.
"No, it really isn't," Alistair nodded, pointing to the stack of papers in his hand. "He has written down profiles of everyone who has ever interacted with you. Me, Elowen, Remi, Milo. But the most worrisome profile is this…"
Melina took the paper and saw that it was Grandfather's profile. They referred to him as "Traitor Knight" and it clearly explained his connection to the Church and how he used to be a Holy Knight. The spy had meticulously catalouged his activities, including the part that he had used Stone of Sacrifice. How did this guy even find that out?
"This is bad… He knows that Grandfather used the stone," she grumbled.
"I'm not sure how he found that out, but is it a problem? The stone disappeared that moment it was used. It's not like they can take it," Alistair shrugged.
"The stone never disappears. When Stone of Sacrifice is used it disperses in the air, however, after a while it'll reform again in a place rich with mana. The Church will most definitely search for it," Melina said.
"A place rich with mana? Wouldn't that be near one of the passageways to the Monster Realm?" Elowen guessed.
"Yes, that is almost certain. But it could also reappear in the Monster Realm. It is not bound to the Human Realm," Melina explained.
"But that makes things harder for them to find, no?" Alistair said hopefully.
"It does, but they have tools to determine the areas densest in mana. It would only be a matter of time before they found it," she explained.
The three of them share a glum look, then Elowen pointed to the notebook he'd been looking through. "This one describes Sunglow and the surrounding area in great detail. It has a detailed map, most commonly encountered monsters and it goes into great detail on the inner workings of the Adventurers Guild."
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"This guy sure has been busy…" Melina growled, then pointed to the letter. "It appears that they are aware that I used to be Archmage and refer to me as a traitor."
"They know?! How?" Alistair exclaimed.
"Heiliger must have remembered. I can't think of it being anything else," Melina said, an unpleasant knot forming in the stomach. It was obvious that she remembered the past after the priest had been sent after Adrien. But this meant that Heiliger also remembered Melina herself, and considered her an enemy.
"That is bad… If she remembers how the events play out, she will definitely take advantage of them. Twist them to suit Church's needs," Alistair said.
"Then we have to stay ahead of them. We got Adrien in our care, perhaps, we should push and find that other Archmage candidate that hasn't awaken to the System yet," Elowen suggested.
"If they haven't gotten to her already…" Melina muttered, and looked into the suitcase.
There were detailed reports on Melina's activities, detailed with almost everything she did. The spy was aware of Mango and Sienna and their abilities. He knew she was training Adrien and Leon to control magic. It's like he had been standing somewhere in the shadows the whole time, watching her every move.
"We need to get rid of this guy," Alistair said darkly, reading through the report.
"Agreed. He knows too much. And all of this needs to be destroyed," Elowen agreed.
"It's likely that he's been sending these reports to the Church through letters already," Melina said.
"Not to this detailed degree. This guy has been watching your every move! I can't let this slide," Alistair said, his expression filled with dark anger. "He has to go. Now."
A cold chill went through Melina's spine. It was clear what he meant, but Melina didn't want to resort to murder. Not anymore. She had plenty of that in her past life. But she couldn't let the spy bring all this information back to the Church either. Burning the papers wouldn't be enough. He could easily rewrite them.
"We won't kill him," Melina said firmly.
"Melina! He's a danger to everyone in Sunglow!" Alistair objected. Elowen nodded, agreeing with him.
"I didn't say we should just let him go. We need to capture him. Capture him and get information out of him. He likely knows a great deal not just about Sunglow but about the Church as well," Melina said.
Alistair calmed. "That's valid. You're right that we need to capture him."
"But we need to do it fast. The moment he sees his suitcase is missing, he'll likely bolt back to the Church," Elowen said.
"And we need to be careful when we catch him. Spies like these are trained to destroy any evidence that could incriminate the Church, including themselves," Melina said, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "I think it's best if I do. I can prevent any suicide methods, using my magic."
"Let's get going then. Phoenixflies won't keep him occupied forever," Elowen said, rising to his feet.
Melina nodded, and put everything back inside. She'd take the suitcase to the Guildmaster later. But for time being, she decided to entrust Gilbert to put in his room of valuables. The old baker did regard her with scrutiny at first, but once she told that it involved the Church, he quietly took the suitcase.
She decided to bring Sienna with her, just in case, but to leave Mango with Leliana again. The girl was delighted, taking the fox with much delight, but she did look suspicious when she saw that Elowen was going with Melin and Alistair.
"Whatever you guys are doing… Be careful," Leliana said, holding Mango in her arms.
Melina nodded and motioned Alistair and Elowen to go. Elowen muttered something to Leliana before they left. It got Melina curious, exactly how close those two had gotten. But it wasn't her place to pry. Not to mention, that it wasn't the right time anyway.
As soon as they were out, Sienna turned to her big form. Melina got on her back, and Alistair was about to do the same, when Knight emerged from Sienna's shadow, inserting himself right underneath Alistair.
"Wow, where'd you come from?" Alistair exclaimed in surprise.
"Seems he wants to help," Melina noted.
"I certainly won't say no to a nightmare helping out. Can you phase through the shadows with him?" Elowen asked.
"I did it once," Alistair said.
"Then perhaps you should stick to the shadows. I'll take the front and Melina and Sienna will remain as backup," Elowen instructed.
"I'll do the damage control. Make sure he doesn't attract anyone from Sunglow," she agreed.
With a rough plan ready, they took off. There wasn't much time. Who knows if the spy hadn't noticed the missing suitcase already?
Thankfully, Sienna and Knight were fast as was Elowen. They took the route through the park and then through the beach, instead of the town so as not to scare too many people. Their destination was the port.
Coming closer, a few phoenixflies flew past them, their bright red glow dull. The insects looked tired but satisfied. Melina didn't know how she knew that, but they did appear to have that smug aura. Maybe it was worth checking exactly what Remi was doing with these bugs.
But at that moment, her mind was focused on the pier. There was a small crowd gathered on the far side of the promenade. It didn't take much to deduce that it was likely the spy, probably fighting off the last of the phoenix flies. Elowen rushed ahead, meanwhile Melina decided that the best thing she could do was draw the crowd away.
She guided Sienna on the promenade, then called out loudly. "Hey, everyone! Does anyone want to have a short ride on Sienna's back?"
The crowd's attention instantly shifted. The kids came to her screaming with delight and begging to go first. Their parents looked apprehensive, asking whether it was safe. Melina assured them that it was completely safe and allowed one of the children onto Sienna's back.
She could feel that the wyrm wasn't exactly fine with it, but was willing to endure it.
"The first few chillies might be ready in the garden. I'll let you have some later," Melina offered.
This put her in a positive disposition and she took the kids on a short ride around the promenade. The crowd that was gathered around the spy with burned clothes left him alone and instead came to check out Melina instead.
She kept a sharp eye on the situation and saw that Elowen swiftly grabbed the man, and pulled him into one of the streets. Melina was itching to follow them, but she also couldn't just leave the crowd alone with Sienna.
Suddenly she felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked and saw Remi standing by her side. "I'll take care of this. Follow them!"
Melina nodded, leaving Sienna together with Remi, and ran into the side street. Elowen was trying to grab hold of the spy, but it appears that they had decided to spot playing games. The spy drew daggers from somewhere and threw them at the elf.
It was easy enough for Elowen to dodge, and he tried to close the distance between them. But the spy was surprisingly agile, even with his burned clothes. Or rather a burned layer of clothes. He began to discard upper layers of his clothes, revealing a tight fitting black suit underneath.
Melina could tell it wasn't just any suit. It had endured the burns from phoenixflies without any problems. This man had come ready for a fight. Before long, all of his outer layers were discarded, leaving the flexible suit underneath. It was almost as if boosted his agility.
If previously Elowen had the upper hand, then now the spy was weaving around him, keeping one step ahead of the elf and trying to slash him with his daggers.
Unfortunately for the spy, Elowen wasn't alone. Knight and Alistair emerged from one of the shadows cast by the building, going straight for the spy. The man faltered from the sudden attack, just as Alistair attempted to slash him with his sword.
The spy deflected at the last moment, but couldn't run further as Elowen was closing in on him from the other side. It appeared that the two of them would catch him. But then the spy disappeared.
Elowen and Alistair looked around in confusion.
"He's still there!" Melina yelled. She had no doubt that he had used
Elowen jumped back while Knight along with Alistair disappeared back into the shadows. But her yell came a moment too late. Blood sprayed from Elowen's shoulder as an invisible blade dug into it. His arm went limp and the sword fell from his hand.