Inside the weapon factory in the eastern sector of Kruule...
"Hurry! Give them to our soldiers! Don't let the enemies and rebels take over the entire country!"
The weapon suppliers are making haste into supplying the unarmed soldiers of Kruule their weapons. Until...
Crash!
"Huh?!"
"What was that?!"
Jinrah bashes his way inside the factory.
"Sorry. Those magic weapons are confiscated!"
Jinrah, with a menacing aura, dashes towards the enemies in front of him.
"Intruder! Stop him!"
One of the captains commanded the charge to intercept the red-haired man. They all attacked him in sync, thinking they have the advantage in number and strength. Well, that's what they thought.
The one soldier that was ahead of everyone served as an example to show them the strength of Jinrah's fist.
"Gack--!"
Jinrah punches the soldier with his powerful fist and sends the enemy along with the two others that got dragged by colliding with his body to the other side of the room.
"What?!"
The captain was taken aback while looking at the three who looked like they're a portrait painted in a wall. Unaware of everyone getting knocked out one by one, the captain turns around, only to see Jinrah already standing next to him.
"Eek!!" The captain got startled, he let out an embarrassing squeal that made Jinrah almost burst out laughing.
"D-don't hurt me!" the captain plead.
"I- I will hurt you so bad you'll end up like those t-three in the walls. Unless you show me the place where swords are hidden and being made..." Jinrah ordered the knight while trying to suppress his laughter.
The knight obediently complied with Jinrah and showed him the way to the place where magic weapons are being made. There, he sees workers or blacksmiths, crafting magic swords, spears, bow and arrows, shields and other weapons of war.
Jinrah made a head-turning entrance by smashing one of the tables in the wall. The people that were working was shocked by the sudden sound of a table hitting a brick wall violently.
"Hey, you guys! Your job is done, get out of here!"
Seeing the captain alongside Jinrah with the look of complete fear on his face, the workers followed the red-haired man's orders and leaves the room in haste.
"Help me destroy those weapons."
"Y-yes!"
The two proceeded to do the deed. The same thing happened in the storage room, after making the guards leave, Jinrah and the captain of Kruule soldiers make work with the magic weapons they piled up and destroyed one by one inside the storage room.
"This is the last one."
Down to the last magic sword, the last magic weapon left to be broken by Jinrah. The man easily crushed it into pieces. He then turn left to the captain.
"Do you wish not to get hurt?" Jinrah asked the Knight as naturally as he look while cramping the pieces of the magic sword into a ball with his bare fists.
"Yes! I will turn a new leaf! So please spare me!" The Knight plead once more.
"I see. Then follow me to the cells in Reilaea."
Jinrah accomplished his orders together with the captain who surrendered to him.
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In the western sector, where a facility used by alchemists to manufacture a variety of deadly potions and poisons, as well as well as healing substances that can cure the victims are being created...
"Hurry up and destroy everything. Or I'll suffocate all of you not to lose consciousness, but to your death. Oh, and don't forget to gather the healing potions that'll help the people back in our country to me."
The elven woman is about done to accomplishing her own task. By exercising her tremendous power of wind to the alchemists, she forces them to do the work for her by destroying all their tools and the things they created, as well as bringing Lira the cure that'll help them bring the people in Reilaea that had fallen deep asleep back into their consciousness.
Before long the alchemists have finished demolishing everything and got rid of the last of the deadly poisons they manufactured, as well as delivering Lira the last cure they have.
"T-that's all the cure we have manufactured, we are also done d-demolishing everything like you said." The alchemist stuttered while trying her best to speak to Lira in a respectful manner.
"Oh? Good work."
Lira proceeds to lift herself up along with the healing potions by controlling the wind as though it was a bucket full of bottle of flasks. While looking onto everyone gazing back at her, she extended her left arm up towards the tall ceiling and in the blink of an eye, the wind she gathered on her palm busted a huge hole in the upper wall.
The debris that are falling are being repelled by the wind barrier she placed around her and the healing potions. And without delay, she ascended further up to the hole she created.
"Thanks for the good work, you're all free. Good bye."
The alchemist let out a sigh of relief, the others who are sweating profusely at the background finally got time to catch a breath as Lira then disappeared from their sight.
"Well, that's a lot easier than I thought."
After accomplishing the task given to her, Lira makes her way back to the northern sector in the barracks.
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.
"Hey, it's an enemy!"
"Intercept him!"
In the case of Sieghart...
"He did say to go to the royal castle and help rescue the rulers. But I guess fighting these guys is something I need to think of myself."
Sieghart is making his way up towards the royal castle, until a bunch of enemy soldiers appeared before him on the road.
The soldiers made a defensive line and attempted to stop Sieghart on his tracks.
"Beezelbub, make way for me."
"All right."
As a response to their defense, he pulls out his sword in front of the enemy as Sieghart demanded Beezelbub to make way for him.
The sword heed its wielder's order as Sieghart exposes the crystal-like eye at the center of the blade to the soldiers in front of him.
One of the soldiers took a glance at the center of the blade of Sieghart, and since then his eyes were glued onto the crystal. He tried to avert his gaze onto the eye but he couldn't do it. It's as if something is forcing the soldier to look intently at the blade.
Soon after, as the soldier's eyes were locked onto the crystal, the orb that looked like an eye of the beast gave a cold gaze back to the Knight.
"...!"
The knight felt a horrifying uneasiness crawling all around him. The knight begin to breath rapidly as he started to sweat in anxiousness. His hands started shaking, to the point that he lost his grip to his spear. The sound of the spear hitting the ground causes everyone to get distracted from watching Sieghart inching closer to them.
Beezelbub orders the Knight to get out of Sieghart's way by asserting her and her wielder's dominance in strength through her cold gaze.
Measuring one's strength to another is a way to determine the outcome of the battle even before it began. Those who posess strength that dominates the other is almost certain to win the fight. Knowing that they do not have the upper hand, many forfeit fights to avoid inevitable defeats.
Inside the soldier's mind, he realized the big difference of his strength to Sieghart and Beezelbub's. And just like many who avoided their inevitable defeat, the soldier surrendered by backing away from Sieghart's path.
His actions causes a chain reaction to others around him. Seeing the soldier fleeing with fear, it hit them that they, too, had no way of stopping Sieghart.
Their line of defense crumbled, the path towards the royal castle had opened. Sieghart went passed them without starting a fight.
"Alright! Let's keep on going like this!"
Sieghart resumed his path towards the royal castle.
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"You're the woman who sent one of my dragons away with your fiery magic."
"And you're the Princess of Kruule."
Both Christa and Celestine recognized each other from the battle in Reilaea, at the top of the plateau in the royal castle.
"I was expecting the coward and incompetent princess of Meleia to come along with Edle instead of a mere adventurer."
"I'm sorry, I'm not a Princess like you expected. I hope you don't mind taking your time here with me." Christa replied to the Princess with an awkward laugh.
"Not at all. I believe you'll entertain me more than that elf." Celestine fired back with a sly smile.
"I see... If that's the case, would you mind taking away your living chains circling around me?" The awkward look in Christa's face suddenly changed into a stern, serious one in a matter of seconds. "Otherwise, it wouldn't be all that entertaining for both of us."
Celestine let out a brief chortle.
"Interesting~ so you can really see them even with concealing magic."
Just as Celestine mentioned, Christa can see the spearheaded chains surrounding her like a group of snakes measuring the size of their prey before going for their meal. Celestine honored her enemy's request and retracted her chains back to her arms and between her legs and ankles. At the same time, she removed the concealing magic on her chains, revealing its true form with the naked eye.
Celestine, manipulated the shape of her chains into that of a chair. She then sat comfortably as she levitates up in the air. She told Christa to follow her by looking at her in the eye.
As a show of respect for retracting the chains surrounding her, Christa followed Selene further south of Kruule.
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"Elena wake up!"
Elena was thrown to the other side of the chamber by Tiyana's fist. The punch caused the Queen of Elena to feel disoriented on her surroundings.
Bam!
"Ah...!"
Only after hearing Francis and the others desperately calling her back into reality that she was able to lean down left to avoid Tiyana's another punch.
"Ha!"
Elena pushes Tiyana's frail body back away from her. She then jumped towards the sword she dropped after being swept to the corner of the room by Tiyana moments ago.
After taking the sword in her arms, she is shocked at by the sight of Tiyana after kicking her earlier.
"Q-Queen Tiyana...!"
Elena was so speechless about how fragile Tiyana's body was. It was only one kick, but it looked like Tiyana took a really powerful blow in her stomach.
"Elena! Are you alright?!" Francis called onto Elena and asks her condition out of concern. The Queen of Reilaea shifted her gaze onto the King of Loisiln and nodded in response.
"I'm alright. But..." Elena looks back at Tiyana and continues to speak. "...Queen Tiyana's punches are undeniably powerful, but her body is as fragile as a corpse."
Tiyana's body is so weak that even a kid that have the basic skills in combat could bring her down and kill her.
"So, is she really alive still?" Queen Dina asked.
"Yeah... At the very least, her fist aren't as cold as a real dead body."
"Damn that Castile! He's the one that said Tiyana's clinging to life to keep the slaves from being drained alive by the magic weapons he created! If Tiyana really dies, not only her, but the people of Kruule she's been protecting this entire time will also get killed! Did that man have any idea about her well-being?!"
Though the way he speaks is still the same as a mild-mannered King of the elves, his exasperation against Castile is clearly visible in Athlante face. And it would only get intensified after hearing what Elena is about to say.
"He knows."
"What?!"
"Castile knew about Queen Tiyana's weak body. That is why he wanted me to fight her, so I could kill her."
"But that's..."
Tiyana is slowly getting back up on her feet as the Queen of Reilaea and the King of Meleia continue to speak to one another.
"Castile doesn't give a damn about the people he enslaved. Either they die by the enemies' hands, or they die by their own weapons along with their Queen. What matters to him is to revive the late King and Queen of Kruule and kill us all one by one."
Angered, she hardened her grip towards her sword. She exhaled. "He also knew that I would hesitate onto killing Queen Tiyana. And when it comes to that, It will be me that'll be killed."
Athilia who is watching Tiyana stood up sees her creating a white magic circle on the ground and a long sword made of bones was conjured.
"Elena! Tiyana's coming!"
Alerted, the other rulers and their children looked at Queen Tiyana who is standing in front of the Queen of Reilaea menacingly with the sword in her right hand.
"What's that?!"
"A bone sword?!"
Tiyana dashes forth against Elena.
"Tch...!"
The Queen of Reilaea tried to clash swords with Tiyana. But the moment their swords collide with one another, the only weapon that was given to Elena by Castile broke into pieces.
"Ah...!"
Tiyana followed her assault with another powerful punch that dragged Elena down to the ground with its force.
Elena tumbled back up, only to see the blade of Tiyana's bone sword terrifyingly close to her face. She quickly take a step aside to move away from the path of the sword.
Queen Tiyana's attack crushed the ground.
"I need to fall back..."
Elena tried to get a distance away from Tiyana. However, the Queen of Kruule follows her right away every time Elena dodges her attacks.
"Damn... If only I could strike without worrying of killing her!"
"This is bad! Tiyana won't let her get away!"
The tension rises as they watch Elena barely dodges almost every attack of Tiyana.
Elena couldn't fight back because she's worried of accidentally killing Tiyana, which would also result in a mass death for the people of Kruule, her countrymen. And if thar happens, she's going to blame herself for everyone's death until she dies.
King Athlante knows it as well. But he couldn't do a thing with the deadly chains wrapped around his arms.
"If only I could get myself out of these chains, I could use a bead of the tree of life to bind her movements..."
There's nothing he or the others could do but to hope that some miracle would happen that'll save Elena and them.
The King of Meleia eventually stopped thinking and decided to just pray on Elena who's trying her best to avoid Tiyana's assault. Although it really pains him that it's the only thing he could do to support the Queen of Reilaea. But some time later...
"..."
Athlante wordlessly watch the fight go on. He thought Tiyana's attacks were really powerful just like Elena mentioned earlier.
"..."
The way it pulverized the ground, the way the floor was crushed by a single swing of Tiyana's sword.
"Ah...!"
Before long, King Athlante's green eyes widened in shock as an idea on how to break free from the chains comes to his mind.
"Elena!!"
Elena and the others looked at Athlante as he called the Queen of Reilaea's name.
"Bring Queen Tiyana to me!"
"Huh?"
"Eh?!"
"W-what are you planning, dear?!"
"Ngh...!"
Elena dodge another of Tiyana's sword attack. And while looking rather confused at Athlante, the rustling sound of the chains as the King of Meleia makes his arms waver violently helped Elena understood what he's planning to do.
Dina, Aura, as well as the others watched Elena running towards Athlante to bring Tiyana to him like he said.
"Elena!!"
"What are you two planning?!"
"Everyone, duck!"
Before they realized it, Elena is already with them, with Tiyana who followed Elena with her most powerful sword swing yet.
As Tiyana is about to swing her sword, she immediately tumbled out of the way of Queen Tiyana. Athlante ducked just like he told everyone, the others did the same out of reflexes.
By bringing Tiyana towards Athlante and the others. The King of Melia and the rest finally broke free from the shackles after being sliced apart by Tiyana's sword.
After getting freed from the chains, Belfionne watched the ceiling with lightning circulating around it. It can never hurt them like Pina with the chains on their arms no longer connected to the other half.
"Now, King Athlante!"
Athlante did not let the chance slipped out of his hands. He quickly took one of the emerald crystals attached to his crown.
The thing that is attached to his crown is actually a bead that is created from the tree of life in the Kingdom of Meleia. It's shiny emerald green color made it seem like a real crystal.
"By the power given to me as the guardian of the Tree of Life, bind the poor Queen of Kruule with your essence!"
The bead in his hand glows bright as he throws it into Tiyana.
"Binding Magic: Bead of the Tree of Life!"
Tree trunks and branches grows out of the bead like tendrils and spread all across Tiyana's body, only leaving her face to be able to breathe. Athlante succeed onto sealing the Queen of Kruule's movements.
"You did it, King Athlante." Said, the King of Loilisn.
"It's really keeping her from moving an inch." Belfionne added.
"Yeah." Belfiore followed.
Elena walked closer to Tiyana to take a look just like the others.
After that ordeal, Athlante immediately went into Pina's care together with Dina and Aura.
Pina slowly regained consciousness. She opens her eyes slowly and sees her family close to her.
"Aura...? Mother and Father, too...?"
"Sis!"
Both King and Queen of Meleia were relieved to see their daughter well.
"What now?" Athilia asked Francis and Elena.
Athlante, stood up and called everyone. All of them broke free, and he managed to stop Tiyana's rampage. While Castile aren't present inside the chamber, it is the perfect time for them to escape. And that's what Athlante suggested.
"We should escape while we have the chance. Let's bring Tiyana with us and sneak out of here."
Francis and the others agreed to his suggestion. However, not all of them agreed on the same thing.
"I'll stay."
Elena's words halted everyone.
"Elena, what are you...?"
The Queen of Reilaea looks at Athilia.
"I need to end all this."
Dina tried to insist onto Elena that once they all escaped from Castile, it'll be their victory against the Kingdom of Kruule. Which is true. However, Elena has been waiting for this very moment for years.
"There's so many things I wanted to ask of you and King Athlante, but, this is the moment that I've been patiently waiting for years. I married Castile to find out what happened to Edel, only Castile can tell me if Edel is alive or..."
Elena looked down with despair before continuing to speak.
"Forgive me. But just this once, I want to be a selfish Queen."
Elena tread her path towards the door. Until...
"Can you kill him?"
Elena stopped moving after hearing the question she doesn't want to hear.
"You're no longer the Knight you once were, you know that."
Elena clenched her fist as she desperately gave Athlante an answer.
"I will! If I have to do it... I will not hesitate to end his life. I'm sorry."
Elena runs to the door and takes her exit.
"Human... Once they set their eyes onto something, they'll do everything to get it."
Athlante sighed.
"What foolish beings."
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Back at the southern sector of Kruule, Christa is following Celestine on her way somewhere far south. While leading the way, Celestine is actually investigating the whole southern district.
Even the Princess who governs the said sector is perplexed by the strange silence. Before long, Celestine reached her destination - A pit.
She slowly descends to the large hole. Christa then followed her descent.
Christa is astonished by how big and deep the pit is. The pit seem to have three different levels surrounding the hole.
By what Christa can see, the land close to the ground level had a lot of broken prison cells and torture areas. The middle part also has torned prison cells but are evidently bigger than a normal cell that humans use. There's also an open area that reeks of a very disgusting smell. Any normal human would pass out just by getting close to it.
And then, there is the deepest part of the pit.
There is nothing much going on in this part of land. There are no prison cells, no torture areas, no nothing.
"..."
At the very least, there is one giant cave behind Celestine. What's more, there are gigantic footprints of a huge four-legged beast that Christa saw before she landed. That pretty much tells the Crimson Eye that there is a beast lurking inside that hole.
"It's awfully quiet... Don't you think so?" Celestine breaks the silence. "This place is supposed to be brimming with people's screams of agony, thundering roars of dragons waiting for their human meal to be served. But now, it is nothing but a ghost town. You. What do you think about this place?"
"Me?" The Crimson Eye answers "It looks like a peaceful plot of land. But filthy."
Celestine stares at Christa while keeping her calm look in her face. She open her mouth once more.
"Oh heavens, how are we going to entertain ourselves without my agonizing and gluttonous pets? It's like serving a full course meal without the appetizers to start!"
"So you're not making a move without them?" Christa draws her blade. "I figured that the poison I got from grabbing that thing earlier won't wait. So if you're not gonna move first, then I will."
"Ah, that's right."
Christa leaped towards Celestine. She tries to hack down the Princess with her wooden sword, but was stopped by the chain that hardened to a shape of a spear to defend Celestine against her.
"You saved the Prince's life in the nick of time by stopping my cobra's attack with your hand."
The crimson eye proceeded to attack by smashing the spear with her wooden sword. But the chain's resistance kept Christa away from Celestine as she continue to speak.
"But in return, the poison inside the spearhead entered the wounds my cobra made in your hand."
Christa jumps back and pointed her index finger towards Celestine to shoot a fireball. But the chain that hardened to become a spear started spinning with great speed to act as a shield from the fireball.
The fireball quickly dispersed the moment it hits the chains.
"You don't have to be so hasty and get the cure to your poison inside the Kingdom. I have them." Celestine pulled another bottle in her chest. "Drink this, and you'll feel good as new."
"Sorry but, I'm not being hasty about getting the poison cured." She says to the Princess. "I went here because I want to see you fight."
"Ha?"
Christa's remark bewildered the Princess.
"I didn't manage to see how you fight back in Reilaea. The moment I saw you, you're already falling to that thing called Gate."
Christa recalled the moment where her fiery leg almost hits Celestine, if not for the Gate which she jumped back on.
"My Master told me to train after we parted ways. But I don't know how else I'm going to improve, so I figured I have to fight monsters. And if monsters' aren't enough, then someone who can take me on in my full power will do." The Crimson Eye says to the Princess. "I managed to find someone who I think is powerful enough to make me draw my full power, but I can't have a duel with him unless we determined the right time on the right day and I don't know when will that happen."
Christa referred to Sieghart.
"I'm feeling antsy waiting for that day to come. That's why I decided to find someone else who I can have a duel with while waiting for the other one. But it's really hard to find someone who is actually strong in Reilaea. But until that moment. The split second I could've slammed your face with my shoe, your smile as you barely avoided me got imprinted into my mind. It's a smile of someone who isn't terrified about receiving my attack."
"Eh...?"
"I felt disappointed about your disappearance, but at the same time, I feel extremely curious. For someone to have that smile in the face of harm, only those people with remarkable skills in combat can show off that kind of confidence! That's why..." Christa points the edge of her wooden sword to Celestine's head. "Show me your power! Fight me seriously!"
Celestine was speechless up until now. She couldn't find the time to stop her from speaking. And she was unamused.
"Oh? So you're actually able to talk quite a lot. And the way you speak stings as well. No matter." Celestine raises both her arms overhead to lift all 9 of her spearheaded chains behind her. "So you want me to fight seriously? I apologize but I can't let someone with a big mouth like yours to die an instant death. You'll end up more useless than a living human plaything."
Christa retracted her arm holding the sword back.
"But if you really insist on fighting me, I'll give you a chance to make me change my mind."
"A chance, you say?"
Snap!
The sound of Celestine's fingers snapping echoed through the quiet, dark pit. Then behind the Princess, where the cave is located. A giant three-headed beast comes out of its lair.
"This is the a mythical beast that we have captured. A cerberus."
"..."
6 beastly eyes from three different heads are glowering at Christa. The way their saliva drip out of their fangs looked like they are really hungry and wanted to jump onto the Crimson Eye. The sound of their growl is much more terrifying than a normal hound. And its tremendous size... Its heads were big enough to swallow five human bodies all at the same time.
It is indeed the mythical creature, Cerberus!
"If you manage to kill my cerberus, I will show you my power just like you wanted."
Celestine's malicious smile is all over her face. No one in this world can kill a mythical creature like a cerberus alone. If one were really planning to fight one, they have to bring the most skilled fighters and make the most organized strategies they could muster to take down a mythical beast. They also need to prepare to lose casualties or even get wiped out.
She looks at Christa whose making a darkened face.
"Heh, her face turned black. She knew she couldn't fight this mythical creature alone. You may be have a big mouth, but you also have a limit with your strength. Now then, let's see how you're gonna respond? Are you going to fight? Or are you going to make a run for it?" She chortled. "It's not like you have much of a choice. My cerberus had sets its eyes on you. You're definitely a meal in its eyes, it will follow you wherever you go, it will never stop chasing you until you're right inside its mouth. Just make one wrong step and--"
"So you're still not going to fight me?"
"Huh?"
Celestine was left speechless by hearing the words Christa spout to her.
"I don't mean to sound like a jerk but, are you scared?"
"What?"
Celestine's eyebrows perked up after hearing a question no one has ever asked her.
"Me? Afraid of her? This imbecile?" Those words ran through her thoughts. Why would she be afraid of a lowly adventurer? Celestine has never been scared of anything. Even seeing someone being killed in front of her as a child, nothing in this world scares her.
"All this time, the only thing you're doing is talk this and talk that. You never once tried to attack me head on. Are you afraid of confronting people face-to-face? Are you afraid of fighting me?"
Unaware of what Christa's words were doing to her mentally, Celestine's usual calm temper is slowly fading. Instead of being amused by this plaything she find interesting, the girl is making her feel more and more annoyed.
"Me? Afraid of you? I have no fear of anyone or anything. I am merely extending your life by a couple of minutes. But if you really wanted to die, then I shall give it you."
Celestine snaps her fingers, it's the signal the cerberus has been waiting for so long to attack. Finally getting the permission to strike, the three-headed beast lunges towards Christa.
"Let's see how you can talk after my Cerberus make work of you in seconds!"
With her own to eyes, Celestine watches her tamed beast shred the girl's body into pieces. At least that's what she projected to see inside her head.
"What?!"
Before her eyes, the cerberus had stopped moving. And then, one of the heads mysteriously disappeared. Or rather, get bitten out by something.
The remaining two heads let out a painful cry. The three heads are sharing with one body, so if one of the heads gets hurt or gets cut off, the other two feels it, too.
"You. What did you do?" Celestine was agitated. Just like what Christa expected as she makes a playful smirk.
"I thought you said, you're going to eat it whole in one go?" Christa speaks, as though she is talking to someone beside her. Then a voice answered her.
"Well, now that I tasted it, dragon meat's much better." Out of nowhere, the missing head of the cerberus dropped beside Christa, at the same spot where she seemed like she's talking to someone.
"The Cerberus...!"
"Ah, I'm sorry for your friend. Mine thought she'd had have a taste of that Cerberus but then regreted it afterwards. Titania, show yourself."
"Okay."
Titania released her concealing magic, there she revealed herself slithering around Christa. A 23 meter long giant serpent with her body full of dragons she ate not long ago, appeared before the Princess's eyes.