A man, looking as if he were in his mid-twenties, stood facing him with an amused expression. The man approached Ashen and grabbed his arm, then, in a swift motion, returned to his original position, still holding Ashen's arm.
An old man, dressed in plain white robes, held a wooden staff in his hand and spoke calmly.
"Where were you, Sico? And who might this young man be?"
Sico, still gripping Ashen's arm, replied:
"I found him spying on us from the cliff, and judging by his body structure, he seems to be from Earth. He might be a spy sent by other factions."
The old man stroked his long white beard as his gaze settled on Ashen.
"He doesn't seem to possess any power," he said slowly. "His body is that of an ordinary human. How could someone like him be a spy?"
A soft, feminine voice interrupted them.
"Now, now, did you forget I am here? I can make him spill out the truth."
The owner of the voice was an old woman, also wearing plain white robes.
The old man, looking displeased, replied:
"He is a kid, Helen. How can you think of torturing him?"
"Hey, grumpy old man, did you forget I can just ask him directly, his origin and purpose using my eye-bewitching skill?"
"...Ah. Right."
Ashen, still confused about everything that had been happening to him, just stared at the two old people with eyes full of confusion.
'A spy? Eye-bewitching? What are they even talking about?' His gaze drifted towards the battlefield, where the fighters were barely standing. 'And shouldn't they be helping those guys? They seem to be having a tough time.'
Ashen was right; they were on the verge of collapse. They looked as if their very life force had been drained.
Before he could gather his thoughts, the grip on his arm was loosened, and then Helen stepped closer.
"Hey, kid, look at my eyes."
With no way of resisting, Ashen reluctantly looked at her eyes. Helen's eyes started to turn purple as she gazed into his eyes. Soon, Ashen's eyes turned purple as well. Her eye-bewitching skill had worked. Without wasting any time, Helen spoke.
"Are you a spy?"
Ashen, still mentally conscious, wanted to speak, but his mouth moved on its own.
"No."
Though that's the answer he would have given even if he were not under the spell's influence, it still made him worried.
'Please don't ask about my search history.'
Continuing her interrogation, Helen asked:
"Then why are you here?"
"I was teleported here by a mirror."
"Yeah, yeah, everyone came here through the mirror, but why are you here? And, since we don't recognise you, which planet's mirrorway did you use?"
'Which planet? Mirrorway? Why are these old folks asking such absurd things?'
"I was teleported here by a mirror. I don't know what a mirrorway is."
Ashen had repeated the phrase with an answer to the new question. All three of the masters looked confused, and the old man spoke up:
"Undo the spell."
Following his command, Helen undid her spell. Ashen regained his ability to speak and move. Before he had the time to react, the old man approached him and rested his hand on Ashen's shoulder.
"Looks like we have a lot to discuss, young man. Before that, Sico, kill the beast. Those fools have learned their lesson."