The familiar warmth of the morning sun broke through the gray haze left by the night’s battle, painting the frost along the walls in a faint shimr. Mia stood at the foot of the portal’s towering arch, her breath curling in the cold air, waiting for the one person who could match her resolve in monts like this.
She didn’t have to wait long. A ripple of holy mana brushed against her senses before Alia appeared, walking with the sa calm grace that she had always carried since childhood. The Saintess’s white robes trailed slightly behind her, catching the breeze, and her golden hair glinted faintly under the pale light. Despite the weariness in her eyes from her journey, Alia still carried herself like the pillar of faith she was ant to be.
(This is exactly the opposite to her personality but in public she had been trained to maintain the perfect image of a saintess and couldn’t express her true emotions)
"Mia," she greeted softly, her smile warm and genuine, as if the war was a distant storm rather than a shadow pressing in from all sides.
Mia’s lips curled into a faint smile of her own. "Alia. Took you long enough. You almost missed the excitent last night."
"I heard," Alia replied, her eyes scanning the portal’s fra before resting back on her. "No casualties. That’s rare in a devil raid... you’ve been keeping them alive."
"Not alone," Mia said simply. "Seraphine, Nock, Hiro... everyone did their part." She paused, letting the noise of hamring barricades and shouting captains fill the mont.
Alia chuckled faintly, the sound light against the tension in the air. "It wasn’t that long ago. You were still trying to convince that Zero was—" She cut herself off, the faintest flicker of hesitation crossing her features. "...never mind. We can talk about that later."
Mia raised an eyebrow but didn’t push. The ntion of Zero was enough to stir sothing in her chest, but she buried it beneath her composure. "Let’s just make sure you don’t get dragged into the front lines more than necessary."
"That depends on what the Authority and the church expects from ," Alia said, her voice lower now. Her eyes turned back to the portal, its surface swirling faintly with a muted glow. "For now, I’m here to make sure this thing holds."
Without another word, Alia stepped forward, her hands lifting slightly as a circle of golden light unfurled beneath her feet. The mana around her surged, wrapping her in a mantle of radiant power. Holy inscriptions—delicate yet firm—spiraled upward along the portal’s edges, embedding themselves deep into the stone.
The air grew warm, almost uncomfortably so, as her magic layered itself onto the ice-and-holy barrier that Mia had created the night before. The cracks and flaws in the surface sealed completely, the glow intensifying until it pulsed with steady strength. When Alia finally lowered her hands, the portal’s fra was no longer just a defense—it was a fortress in itself.
"That should hold against anything short of a Devil Lord," Alia said quietly, stepping back beside Mia.
"Good. It buys us ti," Mia replied, her tone approving.
They shared a brief look, one forged from years of friendship —spoken words weren’t always necessary.
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By midday, the commanders and captains had gathered in the central eting hall, the war table spread with maps of Delta Outpost and the surrounding territories. The air slled faintly of parchnt, steel, and the ever-present burn of torches.
Mia stood at one end of the table, arms crossed, listening as Nock and Seraphine laid out the night’s reports. Hiro was beside her, silent but attentive, while Alia remained just behind, listening more than speaking.
The conversation shifted quickly to the portal.
"It’s not just a breach," one of the senior captains said, tapping the map where the portal’s location was marked in deep red ink. "The devils built it deliberately within our periter. That ans they intended it for more than raids—it’s an anchor point."
Seraphine’s expression hardened. "Which ans it could connect directly to their main camp... or worse, their headquarters."
"That’s exactly what I’m thinking," Nock said, his shield resting against the table’s edge. "If we could pass through and confirm its destination, we’d have the advantage. We’d know their base layout before launching the main attack."
Several voices rose in caution, others in support. The risks were obvious—portals worked both ways, and even with Alia’s reinforcent, opening it would give the devils a window to strike. But the potential gain was too great to ignore.
After a long pause, Commander Seraphine made the call. "We send a small, elite team. The fewer people, the easier it will be to stay hidden once we cross. And we choose those who already work well together."
Mia already knew where this was going.
Her eyes flicked to Hiro, and his faint smirk confird it before Seraphine even spoke. "Hiro’s team will go," she announced. "Mia will accompany them. They’ve proven they can operate behind enemy lines and adapt to sudden changes. No one else has the sa coordination."
There was no room for argunt. Even the dissenters fell silent under Seraphine’s sharp gaze. Imdiately, they sent a request for approval to the Authority with an explanation of the decision they ca to after the eting about the portal.
Outside the hall, the cold air returned to greet them, biting sharper now that evening crept closer. Hiro stretched his arms casually, though Mia could see the calculation behind his eyes.
"Looks like we’re going in first," he said, his tone almost casual.
Mia’s eyes followed the faint shimr of the portal from across the courtyard. "Let’s just hope it’s worth the risk."
Behind them, Alia stepped up, her voice calm but firm. "I’ll hold the portal from this side. Whatever happens, make sure you co back—preferably with information we can use."
Mia smirked faintly. "We always do."
They didn’t linger. Preparations began imdiately—checking equipnt, lightening their loads for stealth, and reviewing hand signals for silent movent. Every detail mattered; in enemy territory, one misstep could an the difference between a successful mission and a death sentence.
By nightfall, the courtyard around the portal had emptied except for guards and the Saintess herself. The swirl of light within the portal seed almost to beckon, but Mia knew better—it was not an invitation, but a trap waiting to be tested.
And tomorrow, they’d be the ones to step through first.
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