The array that defended Sanctuary was a forty-nine point array, with twelve points in each of the four cardinal directions and the last array point in the centre, namely in the club itself. It was a combination of both western and eastern numerology and magic that Ciel knew his father liked. By combining both, it made it difficult for any pure faction to perfunctorily grasp Sanctuary’s weakness, as they would be unable to find the basis of which the magic came from. Those from the west would only think that this was a combination of four arrays with twelve points, never realizing the last one that linked all the other forty-eight while those from the east would not know that the arrangements of the twelve array points in each of the cardinal points were based on a western design, making it harder to crack. It made the array devious and flexible and a big pain for all because it needed someone with knowledge of magic from both the east and west to destroy it. This held true for Gin’s children when they had to learn the principles of the array so that they could help defend and repair it.
Ciel had hated those lessons but at this moment in time, he was thankful that his father had decided to frustrate everyone, his own children included by showing off how smart he was. Reaching the fifth array point on the eastern side, he was shocked by the number of dead spiders around.
“Yeah, sorry, we haven’t gone around to cleaning this up, what with all the commotion we came back to after that…” Dominic, who was part of George’s team said.
“Doesn’t matter. Thyia, take the amazons and other archers to assist the front and hold them back as long as possible. Have a few scouts report to us on all the array points that need our attention.” George said, his body taut with tension and his voice commanding. After receiving an affirmation from the amazon, he nodded at Ciel and motioned for him to begin.
Ciel at once put his hand on the gnarled, cobwebbed tree and was transported into a tiny independent space. What had been the dead tree was now a beautifully carved column of jade, dotted with energy crystals at certain points. Ciel gave a wry smile at the carvings. While it was done in runes to confuse eastern array masters, the runes were a pure transliteration of eastern spells, guaranteed to confuse western spell masters. He wondered if this had been his father’s idea of a practical joke. Never mind, he would ask his father when this was done.
A quick scan revealed that several of the crystals had cracked and one or two had even shattered. He quickly replaced the crystals and restarted the array with a spell and an injection of his mana. Outside, the cobwebs on the tree disappeared as if burnt to ashes and the dead tree seemed to be bursting with life, like a slumbering tree awakening to spring. When Ciel emerged from the space, he saw George and the guards outside breathed a sigh of relief.
“Let’s go.”
He followed the guards, all of them vigilant for any unexpected ambushes while they went to the next array point. Orithyia had radioed back to inform that of the twelve array points on the eastern side, eight of them were in need of repairs and there would be a scout on standby by each of them. The rest had gone to the barrier front to control the beast tide. It seemed like besides the three points located within sight of the club's exit, all the other points had been targeted. Ciel frowned, the implication of the infiltration from the enemies frighteningly evident. This would explain why there had been dread hyenas that managed to breach the barrier, despite how low their levels were.
They arrived at the next point and the archer who had been waiting for them gave a nod before leaving to reinforce the front ranks. Like before, Ciel entered the independent space and began the arduous task of removing the broken crystals and replacing them. As the column was tall, there were areas where he had to use magic to reach. After injecting his mana, Ciel felt better when he saw that the array point started like normal and injected its energy to the battered barrier.
It was relatively smooth until they reached the seventh broken point. The guard who was supposed to be standing by was not there and George and his team became even more alert. They were closer to the barrier edge now, and Ciel could hear the roars of beasts along with the clashes and explosions as the guards initiated attacks against the Arnitikós. He didn’t want to imagine the types of creatures that were attacking and prayed for the safety of all the staff who were fighting in the front. He took a look around and finding nothing there, he nodded to George and the others before he went onto the independent space.
Instead of the empty space with a lone jade column that Ciel was expecting, he was horrified to find the inside of the space covered in webs and a large spider with a woman’s face and naked torso resting on strong sticky webs halfway up the column. He could see the scout lying on the floor near his feet.
“Shit”
This was serious. Unless they had Gin’s blood, they were not supposed to be able to intrude into the independent space; this was why he had let his guard down. Thinking of how the spider demoness had managed to enter the space had Ciel worried that he would not be able to handle her alone and decided to retreat first. He could not determine the condition of the scout but rather than risk his life, he had to make the calculated decision to leave her there for now. He stepped backwards, wary of turning his back to her. He was halfway out the exit when his hand was caught by a strand of strong, sticky web.
“Shit!” he cursed again. While the web looked like a delicate string of silk, it was stronger than the thickest of ropes and Ciel could not pull it apart like he had hoped. The spider woman gave an evil smile and gave a tug; Ciel could feel himself being pulled in, losing his balance and falling. At the last moment, Ciel felt an arm around his waist and he was pulled back, crashing into someone’s warm chest as the thread of webbing was sliced off. He didn’t need to turn around to guess who it was. All at once he felt safe.
“Are you all right?” came a voice at his ear. His heart felt warm and his ear ticklish at the warm breath.
“Yes. I don’t know about the scout though.”
“We’ll worry about the scout later. How did she get in?”
“I’m not sure. Only those with my father’s blood should be able to enter.” He saw a cracked crystal on the column. By chance, the crystal was the one that controlled the entrance to the space. Well, that was one mystery solved.
“She must have damaged the crystal what functions as the key to the space. Keep her busy and I’ll replace crystal. Hopefully that will repel her out of here.” He indicated to the broken crystal.
“All right.” The grip around his waist tightened. “Be careful” and then, the man behind him was gone. Ciel watched as George ran forward, sword at the ready. With a leap, he slashed at the spider demon, narrowly missing. The demon shrieked at her and started to manipulate strands of silk to attack him. Wasting no time, Ciel ran forward, arriving at the array column. The crystal needed to function as a key was slightly different as he would need a different spell as well as some of his blood. He started chanting, eyes focused on the task at hand while trusting that George would keep him safe.
Just as he was almost done, however, he was tackled and he felt himself crashing to the ground, there was a second impact and Ciel heard George grunt in pain. He looked in shock to see an arrow sticking into the back of his shoulder.
“George!” partially covered by the fallen knight, Ciel looked up to see the scout standing a few feet away, pulling another arrow and aiming at them. Her eyes were glazed and Ciel was sure she wasn’t conscious. He looked at the spider demon and noticed her fingers moving, as if manipulating something. He guessed that she had controlled the scout using her webs, like a master puppeteer. Gritting his teeth, he launched a fireball at the scout. She immediately caught fire and fell, as the flames severed the demon’s control over her. The flames also followed the threads back to the demoness and she screeched as the flames started to burn her and the webs she was standing on. While she was distracted, Ciel managed to push George off him and examined his wound.
“I’m fine. I can’t reach, pull it out for me”
Ciel eyed the other man but said nothing. He closed his eyes, reached out and tugged the arrow out in one smooth motion. There was a hiss of pain but nothing else. Ciel opened his eyes to see George stand up, as if he had not just been shot.
“It will heal in a while” George said, noticing his look. “We need to get rid of that thing first, I think.”
Ciel nodded and got up, fireballs at the ready. He looked at the downed scout and cast a spell on her, enveloping her in a fiery glow. He hoped that this would prevent the spider demon from taking control of her again. Ciel didn’t want to get caught in friendly crossfire. He looked at the spider who was still halfway up the column, too far for George’s sword to reach. Then he saw the man draw his revolver out. So this was why he packed it.
“I hope you’re a good shot.”
“I’ve practised a few times. Ready?”
At Ciel’s nod, George started to fire a few shots at the demon. His aim was good as none of them missed. Instead of launching his fireballs directly at the spider, Ciel aimed them at the webs instead, hoping to remove her footholds. The strategy worked as they caught fire and started to sway, causing her to lose her balance. The demoness screeched and cast an evil glare at him. George smoothly fired a few more shots, aiming at her face. While she tried to protect herself from the enchanted bullets, Ciel continued to erode her webs and finally, the threads could no longer support her and she crashed to the ground.
George took this opportunity to launch himself at her with his sword and Ciel surrounded the two of them in a ring of flames, restricting her movements. At the same time, he used his magic to clear away the remnants of the cobwebs off the column and started to replace the broken crystals. It was difficult trying to perform the repairs and keep an eye on the melee at the same time but thinking about the skirmish going on outside, he needed to get the array going to make sure that everyone would be a little safer and to relieve the pressure on his father.
Just as he completed the repairs to the array, Ciel saw the demoness give a mournful shriek and crashed to the ground, George’s sword through her torso. She looked terrible as she had two of her spider limbs cut off along with other injuries. She gave them a resentful look as George emotionlessly pulled out his sword and sliced off her head.
Ciel gave an involuntary shudder when he saw that cold look. The heart said one thing and his instincts said another. But now was not the time to think about it; not when there were so many things at stake. He saw George move over to check on the scout.
“She needs help fast.” His face grave with concern.
Ciel ran over to her. Realizing that she was poisoned, he pulled a vial of antidote out of his ring; he needed to conserve his mana so this was the next best thing. After gently propping her up, Ciel passed the antidote to George, who poured it down her throat. They were relieved when they saw some semblance of colour return to her face.
“Take her out and seek proper help first. I’ll follow after I clean up and repair the crystal that protects the entrance.”
George gave a nod. With one arm over his shoulder, he half carried half walked her out the entrance. Ciel watched them leave before he used fire to incinerate the demon’s remains. Then he bit his thumb, smearing his blood on the crystal in his hand, muttering the spell. When he was done, he placed it in the designated groove in the column and at once, the atmosphere in the space felt different. Seeing that everything was done, he left. One more array and the east side at least, would be safe.
