Chapter 47: Charms

  Another week passed and Shade and Red Flag was called into the captain’s office. It was Monday, the night had a cold wind sweep through the streets.

  “You called for us Captain?” Red Flag said calmly.

  Red Flag had gotten used to calling Rouge as Captain. She has been acclimating to the relaxed mood in the Southern Aurel Branch temple.

  “Yes. I have a mission for the two of you.” Rouge passed a folder to Red Flag.

  While Red Flag inspecting the papers inside the folder, Rouge continued talking.

  “I have my hands full investigating Gourmet and the church of fire and flame. Mr. Zephyr and Ms. Astral are currently investigating the two other churches here in Aurel.” Rouge said with an exhausted voice.

  “Which two are the other churches?” Shade asked shamelessly.

  Red Flag looked up from the folder and Rouge narrowed his eyes while looking at Shade. The two of them wanted to say things like: You have lived your whole life in Aurel and don’t know which churches has temples here. But they held their tongue.

  “The other two are the Church of Stillwater and the Church of the Lost. You have spoken to the mystics from the church of Stillwater” Rouge answered after coughing.

  Shade nodded in acknowledgement. Red Flag continued to look at the papers in the folder and then handed it over to Shade while Rouge continued talking.

  “I need you two to investigate the people in that folder.” Rouge spoke while massaging his temples.

  Shade looked at the papers in the folder. On the papers was information on the targets that Rouge wanted him and Red Flag to investigate.

  Shade skimmed through the information in his head… Charlie Westcot, 32, blond hair, blue eyes, believer of the church of fire and flame, lives in an apartment near the docks. Daniel Meyer, 21, brown hair, brown eyes, believer of the church of fire and flame, has a house in the northern district.

  Magician was the first to react to the information in the folder… Interesting. Shade, notice that the two of them are believers of the church of fire and flame. Are they mystics? I don’t see any information on that subject. Why would he tell you and Red Flag to investigate those two? If they aren’t mystics, then once again, why would he spend precious manpower on investigating those two?

  Shade thought for a moment. Magician was right, why would Rouge send Shade and Red Flag to investigate Charlie Westcot and Daniel Meyer… Is it because he wants us to confirm whether these two are mystics.

  A mystic is practically indistinguishable to a normal person if they aren’t using their characteristics or spirituality. Even the most powerful mystics has trouble recognizing another mystic.

  Why investigate believers and not priests that had a higher chance of being mystics. Shade felt a nudge from his side. Red Flag had pushed him slightly as to get his attention.

  “Young Master. What do you think?” She whispered.

  “I doubt that they are mystics. Maybe civilian employees.” Shade whispered back.

  “I think that too.” Red Flag added while whispering.

  “The two of you know I can hear you right?” Rouge whispered, feeling left out.

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  After confirming the mission details a second time, Shade and Red Flag walked out of the office and decided to gather their equipment. When walking on the left bridge from the central platform, Shade and Red Flag noticed that Zephyr was walking towards them.

  “Mr. Zephyr! Greetings! Have you returned from your investigations?” Red Flag spoke with energy.

  Shade and Zephyr greeted each other before Zephyr started explaining his return. “Yes, but it’s not for the reason you may think.” Zephyr said after sighing.

  Zephyr looked exhausted. The black circles beneath his eyes were large and it looked like he didn’t have the time to bath for the past 4 days.

  “Ms. Astral had no choice but to use a lot of charms in her investigation. I am the one that usually makes them, so I returned to stock up in case someone needed them.” Zephyr spoke with an exhausted expression.

  He looked at the two Entity Invokers in front of him and noticed that they were walking towards the armoury.

  “Why are the two of you walking towards the armoury?” Zephyr asked, looking at the younger mystics with a suspicious tint in his eyes.

  “We were told to investigate two believers of the church of fire and flame.” Shade answered calmly.

  Zephyr was rather surprised when he heard Shade’s words. Just as he was about to become angry about the fact that Rouge assigned Entity Invokers to that mission, especially after knowing what he and Rouge know, he looked at Shade, and something clicked in his mind.

  His thoughts didn’t show on his face… Mr. Magician did win in a fight against Bloody Mary. While it was with the help of the Saintess, a win is a win. If they meet a mystic, then they should be more than capable of running away.

  Still not satisfied with the abilities of the mystics in front of him, Zephyr started thinking of what he could do to help them. A thought popped up in his mind as he exhaled because of exhaustion.

  “Why not take some charms with you?” Zephyr said with a pained smile.

  Zephyr’s smile wasn’t fake. However, he dreaded the amount of overtime he would have to do to resupply the armoury with charms.

  “Charms? Do you mean the hunting bullets?” Shade asked.

  “If you want some of them then sure, take them. But I had other charms in mind.” Zephyr said after shaking his head.

  Red Flag got excited and took a step forward. “Which ones did you have in mind?” She asked energetically.

  With a smile, Zephyr turned around and walked them towards the armoury. The armoury was equipped with a working bench and special equipment for refined charm making along with numerous weapons and ammunition.

  The room had hundreds of bullets in quick loading units. Silver cards lined the walls with intricate symbols on them. Zephyr picked out three charms with different design and presented them to Shade and Red Flag.

  “This one is an anti-divination charm. It does the same thing as an anti-divination characteristic does but for a limited time. Most charms do the same thing as characteristics, but they are often time limited and weaker than the actual thing.” Zephyr explained.

  He was holding up a silver card that had masterfully carved symbols on it. The card was just a little thicker than an actual playing card and the symbols had noticeable parts that were hand carved.

  “Mr. Magician, this one is practically useless for you. If it wasn’t for Red Flag’s presence, I wouldn’t had noticed you that easily.” Zephyr said while laughing awkwardly.

  Zephyr gave the charm in his hand to Red Flag and then took out another charm in the form of a card. “This one though, it should prove to be very useful for you. It is a fire charm. It is a bit weaker in all areas of use because its function should mimic the use of a fire spirit characteristic once. But I think it is better to have more options in a fight. Don’t you agree?” Zephyr said with a smile.

  Both Shade and Red Flag nodded in agreement. Zephyr took out the third and last charm. Just like the others it was made of silver, but instead of a card it was a rather thick coin with a hole in it.

  Shade’s confusion was understandable but Red Flag was also confused. She had never seen a charm like the one Zephyr was holding in his palm.

  “This charm is a Zephyr original. I call it, the coin attack charm. No, that doesn’t sound cool…” Zephyr expression turned from proud and happy to one of deep contemplation.

  While Zephyr was thinking of what to name his original charm, Judgement was quick to speak… Charms are difficult to make and making a functional original charm without a spirit or demon as a blueprint is even more difficult. His charm making skill should be applauded.

  Judgement gave high praise even without hearing what Zephyr’s charm could do.

  “I got it! Silver Seeker! I will call it the silver seeker charm. It is simple to use. Throw it towards your opponent, if it hits it will be the same as getting stabbed by a knife. But if it doesn’t hit, simply scream, Return!

  The coin will stop mid-air if necessary and then return the same way it came from, do remember to get out of the way. It sees no difference between the caster and the target.”

  Left amazed by the charms, Red Flag and Shade were allowed to choose their equipment and charms.