Johannes Volkner bid farewell to his chances of survival. By the second, he could feel Flash of Inspiration's warning pounding heavier and louder in his head, as if the upcoming situation was going to be the most dangerous thing yet. He watched as Aylin and Martin shared a quick hug before they parted ways, and part of him wished that he could feel the weight of this knowledge no more.

  Martin slowly walked Wilhelm's way, his voice raising enough to be heard from more than just the closest to him. "With the scouts setting off, is there anything you need? If we're preparing to receive a group with Spirits..."

  He seemed more eager and alert than usual... Still carefree and apologetic, but more active. Johannes couldn't help but wonder if Martin could feel the same warning that Flash of Inspiration was giving him.

  Soon after, two of the three scouts returned. Sasaki was nowhere to be found, seemingly entirely hidden... But the long-awaited party arrived. Johannes poured magical energy into Beissende Hunde, not to attack but to use the rune of Kenaz. The rune of a torch, which illuminated distant and hidden things, allowed him to get a better look at them from afar, even as Flash of Inspiration screamed at him not to.

  At the center of the group was the main Spirit, and Johannes felt his jaw drop as he locked eyes on them. A feminine man stood before them, tall for the location and with shoulder length, deep silver hair that almost mesmerized him to look at. Though a porcelain mask covered the top half of his face, what Johannes could see was so beautiful that he could not look past him to the seven figures around him, two of which he could at least recognize as Aylin and Yoshinaka.

  Even the texture of his hair and skin couldn't be said to be the same as ordinary men and women. His hair seemed unfathomably soft and yet coarse, as if every strand of it were just rigid enough to demand your attention, without being rough or an annoyance to the senses. As for his skin, it seemed even more soft than that of a baby, innocent and unblemished by the world. It was as if he was carved from the palest of yellow-white jade.

  Johannes couldn't help but find himself entranced, even through his own protections. He could still think, but it was obvious this was a beauty of the highest caliber. If he had to compare it to something, it would be like a form of mind control. If he was feeling like this, even through the defensive array in his armor... What the hell would it do to the rest of Heliopolis's forces? Would they all fall entirely under this Spirit's control? Worse yet, he didn't even seem to be of the Binah class... He was a Tiferet!

  Tiferet class was one that had immense power... Because it was unendingly versatile. It could be used, typically, to swap between the specialties of other classifications. In other words, it was a total nightmare for him to even try to start fighting against, especially if several of your allies refused to fight or even tried to stop you from fighting them. Truly, this combination of effects could be considered the worst case scenario, especially if this Tiferet became heavily displeased with their group.

  Quinta simply huffed, as if he had seen the group at the same distance Johannes did. Yet, he seemed far less affected, simply crossing his arms. "...Joan, go see what the situation is. I'm not one hundred percent confident in deflecting a direct Spirit attack with my barrier. If you deem it dangerous to the well being of the Callers, and still have your right mind, feel free to attack them."

  ...Johannes couldn't help but linger on Quinta's words. Was he really looking to risk his own Spirit? He seemed totally unaffected by the charm, but surely there was no way that he didn't understand its existence! Johannes was gritting his teeth, wondering if he should say something, as Joan simply muttered and started to lazily walk on. If nothing else, she didn't seem bothered by it yet.

  Johannes moved forward as well, willingly leaving the protective spell that Quinta and Aylin had constructed. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, or wasn't aware of the fact that a Spirit could cut him down in a near instant... Rather, he wanted to get out ahead of all this, even if it meant risking his own head. It wasn't Flash of Inspiration that told him to do this, but a choice of his own making. He nodded once to the Spirit, and began to speak, using animated gestures to try and prevent showing how nervous he really was.

  "I'm glad that you could make it here, Sir! You don't seem to have hostile intent... You could have easily drawn your blade on our forces by now, but you came along to say hello. I... Don't suppose I could know your allegiance? For instance, if you're being hunted by the crown?"

  Johannes couldn't help but feel glad that his whole face and expression were hidden behind his helmet and visor. This man's charm was too great. While Johannes had managed to shrug it off thanks to prior protections, the rest of Heliopolis... If this man turned up the charm even slightly, he could easily dominate the conversation, or cause entire conflicts of interest with only a sentence. He could see that several of his companions were transfixed, the mature blonde woman most of all.

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  Still, the mysterious, beautiful Spirit tilted his head slightly as if the only thing out of place was Johannes himself, before bowing once with a sigh. "My name... Is Kim Suro. I am the former king of Geumgwan Gaya, and one of the Spirits of Joseon. I was sent here by King Gyeongjong, who has been expecting you, to bring you to the palace."

  He came up from his bow, his face slowly turning to gather in all of the group. Kim Suro was said to be an ancient and powerful Korean King, the Iron King who could be likened almost to an eastern King Arthur. For him to reveal his name, and thus his power and weaknesses, showed his obvious confidence... And unnerved Johannes even more. Johannes could feel the man's presence shift, as if his powers were literally changing before their eyes, before he continued.

  "Despite this, it seems that you were prepared for conflict. If you were to be expecting my King to be your enemy... Then that would make you my enemy, as well. In fact, it would mean that all of you were, for instance... Hunted by the crown." With those words, Kim Suro put a hand to his sword, unsheathing it calmly and slowly. Making a statement, rather than immediately attacking...

  Wilhelm was the first to notice and immediately react, chiming in with words of his own. "Don't be daft, Kim Suro. We have little information as it is, so it's only fair that we'd be on the defensive in a land we have little knowledge of. As far as we know, a rival party could have been sending a group to annihilate us before we could even get our start, or a trap could be laying in wait for us. We do not see your King as an enemy, but we also do not have the information to verify his intentions are good. Now, sit down and calm yourself, the Doctor can be touchy about hostility."

  Kim Suro's masked face tilted once more, as he mumbled something about 'that Doctor'. Still, he did loosen his grip on his blade somewhat. "Then, you can tell that to your friend here, Caller of Yoshinaka. Loyalty is something I prize. And... Don't worry about the barrier. I know how it works, and I wouldn't step into something I did not know."

  As his foot stepped across the threshold, Johannes could feel the spiritual barrier shatter under its impact.

  "Then, will you follow me back to the city of Hanyang?"

  Suzuka, who had been relatively silent until now, audibly scowled and growled almost like an actual animal. The stern look on her face did not leave, accusing Kim Suro with only her gaze. She pressed closer to Johannes, and gently whispered to him, giving her thoughts.

  "Johan... Whatever you do, don't look into his eyes. I don't like to say this, but if they're anything like mine... No, like, it's got to be something even stronger. I don't like it. He's just, so perfect. There's got to be some kind of totally lame lie here..."

  Johannes had taken a step back by this point, eyes widening as the situation had quickly become tense. Suzuka hadn't told him anything he didn't already know, but even she was clearly feeling the effects of the charm. Still, he could understand why Kim Suro had given away his intentions so quickly and easily. He was luring them into their home turf, one which could be rife with all sorts of enemies and traps.

  "Suzuka... This is pretty heavy to ask, but if he tries to turn up that charm any more, please take my helmet off and replace it with your own. My helmet's visor doesn't block out things like that, but arguably does almost the exact opposite. I'd much rather be charmed by you than him."

  Despite his whispering, and his terrified demeanor... Johannes knew that they also would need to salvage the situation. Wilhelm had given a good start to clawing some kind of standing for them, but he needed to build off of what Wilhelm had done. He bowed his head and took a knee, showing subservience as he spoke more directly.

  "Kim Suro... It may be possible for us to accompany you, but I ask that we have time to eat together first. Should we sit down and have a meal together, we may be able to better show our good intentions to you. If you would prefer to leave earlier, however; I do not think any among our number would be totally adverse to leaving early as a show of good faith."

  Kim Suro looked directly down at Johannes, but said nothing for several swords as his sword seemingly changed form entirely, becoming a long, wooden staff with a dragon's figure coiled around it. There was a dim, yet warm glow in his chest, before he snapped his fingers, and a table appeared before all of them. He casually sat at the head of the table, as if there was no issue with the incredible and bizarre feat of magic that he had so casually performed. All of the foods seemed to be rather common and traditional foods from the era, yet...

  "The meal is prepared. Hurry and eat, please, I don't wish to keep my king waiting."

  Suzuka whispered over to Johannes once more as they all took their seats. "You really think I'd let some lame-ass twink take you away? I would never let that happen, so it's not a 'heavy ask' at all, 'kay~? That being said, seriously, invest in charm protection! I'm not the only person with a pretty face - It might not even help here cause like, I don't know what we're up against! But, I wouldn't want you to get charmed or petrified or hurt or worse by some hussy with a pretty face!"

  Of course, she kept those words between the two of them, light enough that Johannes could only hear it through the fact that he had some ten Ansuz Runes literally carved into his body. A useful side effect, if nothing else... Soon enough, everyone had taken their seats at the table, and the real 'battle' could begin. Flash of Inspiration was only continuing to scream, growing louder by the second.

  Johannes had the worst feeling about all of this.