Magister Lampronia was very pleased to focus on her job instead of discussing the morality and ethics of necromancy with an Aesdes, so it did not take long before a strike team of Legion soldiers and Necrotorum mages was assembled. She was less pleased when she realized she would be leading those mages and traveling with the Aesdes, but as the Magister Mortalitus it was her duty to manage the Banshee’s Cove. Besides, since the Necrotorum only supervised in the Southern Empire, they were a bit short-handed, and so every available mage was needed for the assault.

She was even less pleased that Vassenia escaped as the Pale Academy took up the defense.

In any case, the group was now assembled aboard a smaller Imperial warship, and set sail into the cove. Beyond the Empire’s sea-wall was a large sea cave with the dungeon’s entrance as its opening. The sea water flowed in and out of the entrance so the group sailed in.

Once inside, they found themselves in a dark cove, with an endless night overhead. The stars provided very little light, and dark clouds cut off even that. Instead, the walls of the cove were lit by pale greenish-blue flames hovering over the water, barely illuminating the waves with their dim light. The flames flickered in and out of existence, and vanished if the ship approached. They heard a faint wail in the distance.

At least until another ghost ship sailed from deeper in the cove. Before Magister Lampronia could issue an order the Aesdes leapt into action. Her glowing wings lit up the cove as bright as midday, overwhelming the glow of the flames. The group could now see clearly through the water around and below…and found very little there, to their surprise. Meanwhile, Light and Holy Beams cut across the surface of the water, cutting the ghost ship in two. Its halves fell to either side and started to fade away even as it sank. Her companions dealt with the skeletons leaping into the water. The Melusine wrapped her tail around the warship’s railing and extended her body to its full length, impaling skeletons with her spear while remaining out of the water. The strangely familiar human man launched arrows wrapped in Holy mana.

Magister Lampronia’s eyes widened, however, as the Dobhar woman and wolf-kin boy jumped off the ship.

“Wait! Don’t touch the water!”

Indeed, many an aquatic dungeon diver had made the same mistake. The water of the Banshee’s Cove was filled to the brim with Dark attribute mana, with a specific Death Magic leaning. Any who fell into the water would have the very life sucked out of them.

At least until the Dobhar was surrounded by Holy mana-infused Water Magic, and the wolf-kin boy was surrounded by a shroud of Dark mana…which apparently was also Holy-infused. Both of them swam through the waves with no apparent issue. The wolf-kin boy’s shroud was even absorbing the Dark mana from the water and growing larger.

Magister Lampronia decided she would just be quiet and let them do as they pleased from now on.

Magister Lampronia took a deep breath. It was time for the Aesdes and her party to take a break. Which meant…it was time for the Legion and the Necrotorum to get to work. She glanced back at the Aesdes several times, but she said nothing.

There was nothing to do but carry on with her fell spells and hope the Aesdes would tolerate her. Magister Lampronia gulped. But she was not the Magister Mortalitus for nothing, so she steeled her heart and got started on her magic circle.

At that moment, the Aesdes began to glow. Magister Lampronia winced and prepared to beg for her life. But the Aesdes’s mana struck before she could get a word out, filling her veins with fire. She was about to scream…

But then, she blinked. The mana…did not disintegrate her as it had done to the minions of the Banshee’s Cove. Instead, it empowered her, increasing the density and responsiveness of her mana. It surrounded her magic circle, assisting her with her cast.

She was so surprised she stopped casting her spell and her magic circle faded away. The Aesdes frowned.

“Is something wrong?”

Magister Lampronia quickly shook her head.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“N-No! Everything’s alright…apparently.”

With that, the Magister got back to work, and casted the Necrotorum’s signature Decay spell, creating a barrier which no normal undead could cross safely. Under normal circumstances that was.

In the current circumstances, her spell was reinforced with Holy mana, golden and silver light highlighting the dark purple glow. Any undead that touched it faded away, even their ashes purified as they crumbled to dust. Magister Lampronia blinked…and felt moisture well up in her eyes. After all this time, after a lifetime of fear and doubt, a lifetime of holding herself to the strictest of standards…she found that the Aesdes did not secretly want to destroy her after all.

Meanwhile said Aesdes was watching the Necrotorum’s mages cast their spells with great interest, the artifact ‘over’ her eye flickering rapidly….

The group carried on in their frightfully uneventful dungeon assault. Under normal circumstances, diving in the Banshee’s Cove was one of the least pleasant experiences one could ever face. The dim light in the Cove would do very little to illuminate the surroundings, particularly in the parts covered in fog. The diver wouldn’t be able to see into the depths below them, couldn’t see the obstacles ahead, and struggled to keep track of their position and bearing. In fact, the light made things actively worse, playing tricks on the eyes, giving glimpses of terrors in the deep. And the deadly nature of the water below meant no mistakes could be permitted in the operation of the ship.

In the midst of this situation, ghosts and skeletons and undead aquatic creatures would ambush the invaders before disappearing back into the dark. One could never be certain when exactly they would attack, only that it would come the moment any vulnerability was displayed.

As such, any visitors to the Banshee’s Cove had to be on guard the entire time they were there, a situation that grated on the nerves. Trips into this dungeon were made as short as possible.

Or, at least, that’s how it normally was.

In this situation Ateia was keeping the dungeon fully illuminated with her wings of light that pierced through dark waves and eerie fog with equal ease. The dungeon was apparently not nearly as deep as anyone thought. Ateia also blessed the strike team with Holy mana whenever it was their turn to take the vanguard. Not only did this allow them to strike down the undead without effort, the Holy mana also protected anyone who fell overboard from the water below. Not a single sailor had lost their life on this journey, a new record that grew with each passing moment.

And even beyond Ateia’s efforts, the dungeon was not acting as it normally did. The group was faced with a steady stream of monsters approaching them directly. No care was given to concealment, and the monsters weren’t even attempting to set up ambushes. They just rushed forward at maximum speed, without any apparent thought at all. The Legion and Necrotorum forces were not surprised by their appearance even once. And that’s not even mentioning the cyborgs’ advanced sensors giving them forewarning.

The intense aura of the Imperial strike team slowly faded away. Amulius was currently sitting at a table with a cup of tea in his hand. He frowned.

On the one hand, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy at the increasing lack of discipline. All of his experiences told him never to fully relax inside of a dungeon. It was never safe to do so, no matter how powerful he was.

On the other hand…the tea was very refreshing.

He was just heaving a sigh and shaking his head as Ateia entered the room. She sat down across from him. She opened her mouth, then frowned, then furrowed her brow. She shook her head, then opened her mouth again, then paused once more.

Amulius tried to think of something to say, but his mind went blank. He had no idea what she wanted to say, or what she was thinking, despite the obvious expressions on her face. His heart sank.

He didn’t know his daughter much at all at this point. She had changed dramatically from the little girl he had left behind. She had gone through so much recently, so what could he even say? Beyond that…because of his choices, she had largely grown up without him. Even if nothing dramatic had happened in the recent months, she would still be a different person than the one he remembered. And that was on him.

So he could do nothing but wait for her to speak. And fortunately…she did. Her face settled on a combination of sorrow and resolve.

“Dad…can you tell me about my mom?”

Amulius froze at the question, and his heart began to pound. He…had not thought about Aedinia in quite some time. He had avoided thinking about her, if he was honest.

But he had not forgotten her. Not even a little. Memories came back to him, and pain spiked through his chest. The strength drained from his body, and the world spun around him.

But then he locked eyes with Ateia. He looked into those eyes that held far too much pain for their age. Those eyes filled with longing and anticipation. He knew this was a request she had not made lightly.

He took a deep breath.

“Ok.”

She nodded and fell silent as he began to recount his late wife. He started from the beginning, when they had met, when he was just a broke Exploratore and she was just a naive town girl. It was hard at first, and he had to bite back tears with every word. But Ateia hung on every one of those words, so he kept them coming. Soon, they began to flow out from him. He even cracked a smile or two.

Until, eventually, it was over. He dropped his head at that moment. Tears began to stream down his face.

“I’m…I’m so sorry, Ateia. I wish you could have met her. I wish…”

Ateia didn’t say anything, but stood up and walked over. Amulius’s eyes widened as she gave him a hug. A moment later, he returned the embrace as his tears began to flow.

Amulius swore in his heart that he would never leave his family again.