The Challenge of the Masters

⊱⊰ 41: Enemy's Territory ⊱⊰

A relaxing sound met Arisa's ears, making her open her eyes.

As she rubbed her eyes and sat properly, she heard a voice greeting the passengers and apologizing for interrupting their nap, if some of them were having one. The voice continued filling the atmosphere, saying that they would cross the portal to another world soon.

"Then that means it's time to put on our disguise again," said Kazuya as the announcement stopped. "Just in case."

Arisa gazed at the young man sitting opposite to her. From the looks of it, Kazuya spent one hour and a half of the trip reading the few magazines and books the train offered.

"I'm already set," teased a voice by Arisa's side.

Arisa turned around and saw a girl with long wavy dark hair sitting by her side. The bangs covering Thelma's forehead awarded her face a different shape. The large glasses that turned her dark eyes into hazel colored ones, made her look unrecognizable.

Arisa blinked. "I still have to get used to your new appearance."

"This isn't much compared to the appearance of you three," said Thelma with a quick laugh. "One moment I'm with you and the other, I find myself with an Indian princess, a European boy and a young man of mixed origins."

"At least you don't have to worry about losing your strength while in disguise," said Garoh, his voice hoarse.

Arisa gazed back at her front and saw Garoh stretching himself by Kazuya's side. From his messy appearance, Arisa guessed that he ended up taking a nap after he tried to perfect the rune of disguise. Kazuya had told them that since the Lunarian Force requires magical energy to be summoned, Garoh could use the rune.

Looking at the Lunarian, she could tell that he didn't sleep at all in order to perfect that spell the previous night. Even though he had told them he wouldn't have difficulties since the rune looked a bit like Lunarian writing.

"Yeah." Thelma broke the quick silence. "That's the perks of not having magical energy. We have to be creative to disguise ourselves."

As quick laughter joined the atmosphere, Arisa couldn't help but be amazed by how Thelma disguised herself. On the opposite of them, who had to use a rune, Thelma only used hair extensions, a pair of glasses that could change her eye-color and a bit of make-up. Despite Thelma's method being simple, she really looked like a different person.

She remembered the long process her friend went through to disguise herself. Thelma spent part of the previous night braiding her hair before she placed the wavy dark brown extensions.

"We should activate our disguise before we cross the portal," said Kazuya, washing away Arisa's thoughts. "Who knows, maybe Taurus is inspecting all transports crossing his Empire in order to find you."

Arisa released a deep breath, hoping that Kazuya's theory would be wrong. But knowing that the Eterian King and Taurus worked together, it could be possible that he had requested the Guardian to look for her in his Empire.

"You're right," said Garoh, shoving his hand in his bag, looking for something.

As Kazuya started writing the rune on his palm, Arisa grabbed the bag by her side and looked for her pen.

As soon as she found it, she carefully drew the complicated looking symbol, remembering the events of the previous night. After the Royal and Imperial families visited as many victims as they could, the Emperor gave a speech. Arisa remembered him thanking the soldiers for doing their best to save the people of Lunara and that the country would do everything to recover and not allow such attacks to happen again.