A Story of Evil

Chapter 205: The Summoners' Archives

Lumina was informed of the queen's intent as soon as she returned back to the castle along with the members of Shadow. There was no objection on her part since it was Reoul who asked her but, that doesn't mean she wasn't annoyed by it. Because she was. Extremely so at that.

However, there wasn't anything she could do about it but to follow. And that she did.

After everyone had their dinner and, have returned to their own rooms, Sol and Lumina finally headed out. With the girl leading the path to it.

"To think that the queen would allow you to enter the archives, I don't know what she sees in you." Lumina turned to an alleyway. As soon as the people saw her, they immediately hid inside their houses. Forcing Lumina to put up her cloak's hood and hide her face.

"That's something you should ask the queen herself. I'm just as clueless as you are in that matter." Was Sol's reply, doing the same thing as her.

"Well you should've at least picked another time to do this. Don't you even go to sleep?" Lumina asked; her head constantly looking at the left and right.

"I do but, seeing that our time here is limited, I need to make sure that I make every second count."

"Hmmmm...you're a lot more mature compared to your allies huh."

"I would've loved that compliment if not for you subtly degrading my companions." Sol said, knowing that it was only Hendrickson who's maturity still lacked.

Lumina didn't say anything more after this. She kept silent and Sol didn't mind, nor did he find it awkward. They were both there for their own reasons after all. So, this passing silence lasted for a while. Until they reached the entrance to what seems to be a small forest inside the domain.

"Here." Lumina said, throwing a roped to Sol which she tied to her waist.

"Normally it's easy to get to the location of the Archives. But since it's already dark out, the fog, as you can see, has already spread."

So used his [Analysis] on the thing covering the whole encompass of the location. Surprisingly, there was a detailed set of information on it which Sol found convenient.

[Name: Mist of the Lost]

[Information: The mist has a property which dulls all the senses and creates hallucinations. Making it difficult to navigate through it.]

"So this mist works to make a person lost." Sol said.

"Impressive. So you have a skill allowing you to see information like that?" Lumina said in reply, with not much shock at that.

"I do. Although it still has limited information on the mist." Sol said, wondering how it is that Lumina could navigate through such a place.

"Well you at least have the gist of it so I don't have to bother with explanations." The girl said, not bothering with any explanations on how she herself could navigate through it.

"Come on now, I don't plan to pull an all nighter with you." She added, pulling on the rope and motioning for Sol to move as, they finally entered the mist.

Just as the information stated, Sol began feeling the effects of the mist work on him. Sol began hearing and seeing things through the mist. The tail of a dragon. Gleaming red eyes following their every step. Hooting of owls mixed by the noises of ravens and, the seeming running of wild beasts that occurred multiple times over.

Normally, a person would be fazed by this. But because of [Cold Blooded], Sol remained calm nonetheless knowing that all of these are just tricks of the mind. Something which was an undeniable fact because, there is no hostile creature inside the domains. All of these have been secured by the barriers and, nothing has ever broken past these.

But this didn't mean that his senses weren't dulled out. Sol was completely within the mercy of the mist and it is because of this that a question weighed heavily on his mind:

"How can Lumina navigate through this?"

Sol didn't know much about the girl. He didn't know a thing about her summons except for the imp. But what he does know is that, Queen Reoul probably chose Lumina to be Sol's guide for the night specifically because of this obscure ability of hers.

Sol decided not to prod the girl about it. But his curiosity wasn't gonna go without any answers. That's why he decided to add her to his agenda. To know what he could within the time that has been given. A thought that was momentarily cut short because, they finally arrived at their destination.

"We're here." Lumina announced, stopping in front of a hazy image which slowly turned into a giant tree.

"Is this going to be the same as the doorway to the castle?" Sol asked.

"You're sharp." Was Lumina's quick reply as she summoned her imp once again. The creature floated in front of it and, soon enough, the wood twisted its shape. Turning into the same type of doorway as in the castle.

"Let's go mister Shadow Commander." Lumina added; proceeding inside, with Sol following just behind her.

The scenery changed in the blink of an eye. All of a sudden they were in a properly lit room. With a large crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling. There are two floors to it, entirely filled by books. But the most amazing part about this is how, the whole room is twice the size of the library Sol entered.

"Like I said, I don't plan to stay up with you all night so you better begin." Lumina said.

"How are the books arranged."

"You can find the ancestral families on two isles. That's where you should begin. All the other households are placed alphabetically on shelves. There would be multiple repetitions of course, say for example two Pendragons."

"So how are they differentiated?"

"We use the first name of the father of the house. Then we proceed from that."

"I see. That's a good way to do it." Sol said, knowing that it was a bit more difficult to arrange humans categorically since, families branch out to other families without any rule being followed.

Lumina thought that Sol would be overwhelmed with the number of books. What he wanted to happen was impossible after all. But he heard no complaint from the young paladin. Instead, Sol proceeded to do what he came there for. Moving to one isle immediately and grabbing as many books as he could.

He stacked these books on top of a table and, didn't stop there. As if he knew every book in the archives, Sol began taking out the books. This being systematically done through the use of [Analysis].

"This guy is an even bigger weirdo than those six." Lumina thought to herself as, she saw the tower of books finally finished stacking. With Sol taking off his cloak and, rolling up his sleeves as he began to read through his pile. One book at a time.

"Well I guess he doesn't need my help." Lumina added, deciding to sit on an area where she could clearly keep watch of Sol who, was already on his second book.

"Wait, wasn't that too fast?"

"Weren't you the one who asked this to be finished as quick as possible?" Sol said, his eyes following every line on the book as he changed pages in less than a second.

"Just sit there Lumina. I'll call you when its needed." Sol added, finally catching Lumina off guard for the first time. Making the girl sigh as she followed the paladin's instructions.

Unlike most citizens of the ten domains, Sol has spent most of his time reading books. This being one of his ways to pass time when hunger strikes him. The inquisition of knowledge was enough of a distraction for him to forget about his hunger altogether. This drive was greatly complemented by his photographic memory. As time passed, his analytic ability as well as his reasoning developed in an insane speed. Turning him into the person which Lumina was witnessing. A boy who could easily devour half of the knowledge inside the Archives if he was given time until morning.

Unfortunately this wasn't the amount of time which Lumina offered him. He needed to make do with what he had. And so, the boy also had to rule out summons and family names, deducing them from the list of books which he would take out next as he thinned out his reading list exponentially.

With this the night silently passed for the both of them. In fact, it was almost too quiet because Sol didn't engage in any conversation with her. To the point that Lumina found it weird. 

Compared to his allies, Sol decided to talk with Lumina only when it is needed. This isn't because of indifference or hostility but, because he didn't want to bother her much. Plus, Sol is already a very capable person so, he doesn't need any coaching or guide, especially when it comes to books.

Without any conversation going for them, sleep slowly got the better of Lumina. She struggled to keep her eyes open but, it was no use. The overall feel of the Archives calmed her body so much that, doing nothing would naturally cause sleep. And that is what Lumina fell to. With her eyes being forced open after every second until, she finally surrendered to this. Falling into the depths of sleep, with the image of the reading Solomon being the last thing she saw.