279 THE TEMPLE OF HERA
"Something is not right, this spell is the key to open the gates to the temple", Sujira said worriedly.
"Maybe they changed the locks", Petunia suggested.
Leo quickly opened his control panel. The walls turned into rows upon rows of programming codes.
"Can you break the lock?" Sujira asked.
Leo paused for a second. "Show me your key again."
Sujira quickly cast her spell. A magical spell was cast upon the walls. But nothing happened.
However, under Leo's control panel, Sujira's spell became codes. Codes that could unlock the gates.
Leo finally understood.
"Your keys are not wrong… although the lock is changed", Leo said.
"Damn… I forgot. The Temple would rotate the keys from time to time. The lock has been changed. What should we do now?" Sujira asked.
Leo compared the spell on Sujira's key with the codes on the walls. Obviously there was a mismatch. Luckliy for them, there was commonality between Sujira's old key and the new key for the walls. They adhere to the same type of encryption.
"I can try to make this wrong key work", Leo said as he went to work.
Working quickly with his mind, codes began to form. Sujira's spell rotated and parts of its codes attached to the walls as it was thought to.
But that wasn't enough to open the gates.
"Hurry up before someone comes over", Petunia hurried them.
"I'm doing my best", Leo said as he tried to connect Sujira's key to the other locks on the walls. Only by connecting all the correct magic nodes, would the walls respond.
"Vroooom…"
Loud horns were heard from a far. The demon invasion was breaching into the city. Soon, even the assassins inside the temple would be triggered to defend the city. And their only exit was through the walls.
"What if the assassins come through now?" Sujira asked worriedly.
Suddenly, the walls shook and trembled, and the growth parted to reveal a concealed magic gate.
"This is it", Sujira said.
Without hesitation, they stepped inside.
-----
Beyond the gate, they entered another realm—an expansive domain filled with hundreds of training arenas. This was where the Temple of Hera honed its assassins.
"Who are you intruders?" a voice demanded.
Their presence in the Temple of Hera was instantly discovered by several assassin guards on patrol. Although there were fewer assassins here than usual, there were still plenty on duty.
It was impossible to avoid them.
"Do we have to fight them?" Petunia whispered to Leo.
Leo looked at Sujira. "Sujira's got this covered."
Sujira suddenly pulled back her black veil. "It's me, Sujira. I'm back."
The assassin hesitated before recognizing her. "Sujira… You've been gone a long time." Her gaze shifted to Leo and Petunia, both clad in black assassin garb. "And who are they? I've never seen them before."
Sujira produced a token. The air above the magic token suddenly became alight with a strange symbol.
The assassin's eyes widened slightly before she stepped aside. "Ah, the order of the Godmother. Go ahead. I won't stop you."
The token Sujira carried was Dassa's—something the assassin recognized immediately by its unique magic.
Sujira had explained to Leo beforehand that possessing this token granted unquestioned access to the Temple of Hera. Leo crafted a perfect replica of the token from her descriptions.
Every time he had a chance to get close to Dassa, the Godmother, he was searching for the token on her body, but she didn't carry the token with her all the time. When she finally carried it in his presence during one such time, he quickly copied its magical signature with his control panel.
Upon returning, Leo imbued the fake token with the same magic codes as the original. Though merely a replica, it was convincing enough to fool even the temple guards.
Moving quickly and unhindered, they continued their journey deeper into the temple.
"Whew, I thought we'd have to fight our way through those guards," Petunia sighed in relief.
"We planned this for a long time. Did you really think we'd come here unprepared?" Leo smirked.
"Yeah, yeah, you're a genius," Petunia retorted smugly.
"We're here," Sujira suddenly announced as they arrived at a large fountain.
"Why are we stopping here?" Leo asked.
"The Giga Codex must be hidden inside the portal within this fountain," Sujira explained.
"Another magic portal?" Leo groaned.
"Yes, but I don't know how to open it. I once saw the Godmother vanish into this fountain, so I suspect this is the temple's secret vault. If the Giga Codex is here in the temple, it must be inside," Sujira said.
Leo opened his control panel and studied the fountain. As he suspected, a powerful magic signature emanated from it, resembling that of a magic gate.
"There's another magic gate here, but I don't have the fucking key this time," Leo complained.
As they thought of a way to enter the vault, Petunia had an idea.
"Use the bloody token," Petunia suggested.
"The token is only a replica. It shouldn't be able to activate a magic portal," Sujira cautioned.
Nevertheless, she waved the token at the fountain, testing her luck. Nothing happened though.
"See, it doesn't work", Sujira said regrettably.
Suddenly Leo's mind lighted up. "Wait a minute… continue to project the token," he asked.
Sujira raised the token again. The symbol of Hera materialized over the mountain.
Leo quickly went to work, bringing up his control panel. Leo had some experience with the temple's magic defense after figuring out how to unlock the entrance to the temple. The magic vault was more complex but they operated within the same scope.
Suddenly, to their astonishment, a shimmering portal materialized before them.
"How did you open the magic vault's entrance?" Sujira asked with surprise.
"Told ya, it's the token," Petunia said smugly.
"Its me.. I linked the magic of the token to the entrance, turning the token into a key", Leo boasted.
Shaking his head, Leo stepped into the portal, followed closely by Sujira and Petunia.
------