[Eldion Empire Capital]
Days have passed since that incident that happened within the castle, the perpetrator Kaido lost all prestige and reputation from the empire and all the kingdoms in the human continent, for that reason he was branded by the empire as a wanted criminal on the run
This the Empire sent spies to other countries to search for Kaido's whereabouts
During the passing days guild master Barton have vanished without a trace, not even his staff not the frequent Adventurers knows it's whereabouts that caused distress to the populace
Ever since that day when the hero suddenly got stronger and changed for no apparent reason, the King Emperor disbanded the hero's party for he deemed it unecessary for the current hero, this I'm turn greatly surprised the hero's party that they even insisted on acquiring the reason of disbanding the legendary party, but in the end the empire shut them out as they shove them away
Many things changed after that, not only did the empire change, even the hero and the Empire's officials changed in which non can comprehend
To discuss about this Lily sent messages towards the former hero's party members to gather inside a pub and discuss about the matter at hand
With Lily wearing a hooded cloak that was enchanted with hidden or identity cloaking magic, she proceeded towards the discussion, the first one to talk however was alda who somehow chugged a glass of beer as he was really frustrated
"Gah!... . . I still can't believe we got disbanded that easily... . . I mean what did we ever did wrong?" He pointed out
"We never did any... . . We were just deemed unecessary, the hero is getting stronger as the day passes before this but now... . . He's already like I'm a different realm... . . Even Kaido who once defeated him never stood a chance since he's changed" replied Luke as he look disheartened
"But still... . ."
As both girls listened to Alda's ranting Mia asked Lily about something that got the boys attention
"What about you Lily? Are you okay?... . . Have you somehow inquired with your father?" Asked Mia as she puts a hand on her cheek to support its head
In reply Lily simply shook her head
"I haven't... . . Or to put it I can't... . . He shut me out and locked me up on my room like some precious princess... . . That's the reason why I'm in this cloak talking to you guys" she answered
Hearing that Alda raises an eyebrow
"Lock you up? Then how come your here? Aren't there any guards inside the castle?"
"True... . . But for some reason the door in my room is always unlocked and the guards that were supposed to usually guard some places were not there, heck I didn't even see any knights along the way outside the castle gate... . . It is as if someone is helping me" she replied
At that they were all surprised
"Looks like someone sympathize you" commented Alda
"Still what are we gonna do now?" Asks Luke in worry
At that the whole place around their table became silent as they pondered some answer when suddenly...
"I want answers... . . And I can't get them from my father, nor can I trust the Empire's officials, and especially the somehow unknown Hibiki that had completely changed its attitude towards the party whom he once cherished like a family... . . This left me no choice but to choose my last option"
At that mention the others became shocked as they realized what she's about to say, the first one to react was Mia as she washer only female friend
"Impossible! Do you mean you plan to acquire information by going to that guy?" Reacted Mia as she slams her hand on the table
"You know he's branded as a criminal now and even thought we have no reason to say that his crimes were correct but... . . Somehow I'm quite confused whether to correct him or not" pondered Luke
"But still... . . He's the only person that knows something about this matter other than the empire and the hero himself... . . He has the answers, and for that I'm willing to leave the empire and search for him" insisted Lily
"But... . . Alda! Say something!!!" Demanded Mia as she try to dissuade Lily from her intentions but unfortunately Alda said something that quite surprised her
"Alright! I'll help you, in this matter I'm more on Kaido's side rather than Hibiki and I can boldly claim that Hibiki became a jerk... . . Rest assured I'll help you get out of this Empire's walls" decided Alda as he gave a serious look
In reply to that Lily bowed in appreciation
"Thank you"
With that said Luke also accepted the fact and decided to join Lily in search for answers which left Mia as the sole remaining decisionist
"Uuuuhhhh!!!! Fine! I give" she finally conceded
With that Lily hugged her and thanked everyone for this, thus it is concluded that they will carry out the escape plan during the night where the security is lacked
**************************************
When night falls at around ten o'clock in modern time, the darkness within the night thickens as the guards became lack of security, using this chance Alda sneaked up towards the princess room inside the castle unnoticed
When he arrived he slowly opened the door only to realized how Lily was correct that the door seemed always to be open as if someone was helping her
When he got inside he saw Lily donned on her cloaking robe with a garment ready for battle in case something happened
"What about your thing?" Whispered Alda
"Rest assured" said Lily as she tapped the storage bag
With that Alda led Lily outside and dashed pass the corridor unhindered
As they passed the hallway, corners, and possibly anything that should be guarded, they were surprised that somehow the guard were not there at all, this in turn eased their burden of being found out
When they arrived near the castles gate Alda adruptly stopped on its place as he unsheathed his sword, this in turn followed by Lily as she positioned herself
In front of them was Raguel who was inside Hibiki's body, standing firm as he cocked his head sideways
"Where are you going in the middle of the night princess? And isn't sneaking inside the castle something that is deemed as a crime?" Asks Raguel
At that Raguel released a heavy aura that pressured Alda greatly
Following through Alda whispered at Lily
"Hey! When I start the battle... . . I want you to dash forward and make your escape... Mia and Luke are already waiting outside with the horses, tell them I can't come since I'm going to hold back this guy" said Alda as he made the necessary sacrifice
"But if you stay... . . You would die!" Warned Lily as she begun to panic between leaving him or going
In reply to that Alda shouted
"We need answers... . . And in this moment a sacrifice is needed, at least let me do this much if you want this to succeed"
With that Lily hesitatingly nodded as tears begun to swell up in her eyes
Seeing that Alda begin his move
"Sword Saint Manifestation!!!"
As the aura around Alda became higher, he begun his assault as he stepped forward and engaged Raguel in a deadly fight,this turn was the signal for Lily to move, thus Lily begun to run towards the exit to make use what Alda has given in exchange for his life
Seeing Lily ran towards the exit, Raguel started to catch up to her when suddenly Alda cuts him off his track and brought down upon him furry of attacks
dadadadadadadadada!!!
With each strike from Alda was heavier than the last, with this Alda successfully caught Raguel's attention as the latter retaliated and brought down his own furry of attacks to counter Alda's furry of attacks
At their exchange wind begun to storm up around them that served as a reminder on how fierce the fight was ongoing
With a slash Alda quickly spins around as he goes lower and attack with a kick on its sides, when suddenly Raguel blocked his quick attack with his knee
Using this chance Raguel punched Alda so hard on his elbow that shot him off his feet and came landing few meters far from him
"Is that it?" Taunted Raguel
Taking that as an offense Alda flipped his sword as he dashed forward
"Crisscross!!!"
"Hyper Rush!!!"
"Sword of light!!!"
With this series of spells Alda manifested dozens of swords as he turned blurry from how fast his going
Without stopping Alda attacked Raguel in three different directions in one breath as his own swords of light followed after him
Taking action Raguel also Completely blocked all the attack in one breath too, thus stunning Alda
As the latter slid away, the former however dashed ahead and brought down one heavy attack that brought Alda on his knees and the floor beneath him cracked and smashed from the pressure
"Kuh!"
Brandishing his sword Alda tried to retaliate but was instead sent flying away causing him to crash against the wall and spitting out blood
"Guhah!"
Quickly he ducked below in order to dodge Raguel's initial follow up and made his counter only to see that the latter was also expecting this
Kicking up Raguel made a spin and used it's wings to smacked Alda away with such force that that it produced a smacking sound that vibrated the air, this in turn made Alda almost somehow lose his self from the power it used to smack him away
At the same time by enchanting herself with different boost Lily managed to arrive before Mia and Luke, which in turn gave a worried look as they didn't saw Alda
"Where is he?" Asked Mia in worry
In reply to that Lily shook her head gave her answer
"He... . . Sacrificed himself to stall Hibiki, I'm afraid... . ." Paused Lily as she saw how Mia suddenly was crestfallen
She knew that Mia somehow has feeling for Alda, but she was worried that Mia might broke down if she decided to continue thus she paused her words
Seeing the dire situation Luke made a decision
"Let's go! Let's not waste anymore time... . . If we stay here then Alda's sacrifice will be in vain"
At that mention Luke urged his horse forward while assisting Lily up to position herself behind him, but as for Mia she glanced back towards the castle and saw that a fight was currently happening
Gritting her teeth Mia made a firm decision
"I'm sorry..."
"Mia?" Asks Lily
"I can't leave him... . . He's that important to me" after that Mia made a dash with her horse towards the castle and left Lily in the hands of Luke
This turn shocked Lily all the more as she realized that she will lose her only friend
"Mia!!!!!!!!" She shouted but to no avail Mia was nowhere Insight
******************************************
Back inside the castle walls Alda was bleeding nonstop as he stood bravely against Raguel who in turn was standing imposingly infront of him
"Feeling... . . Almighty eh!" Stated Alda In his tired breath
"Feeling? You must be mistaken, I'm already the Pinnacle of what you call almighty" replied Raguel
Clicking his tongue Alda noticed a rain of arrows landing against Raguel, this in turn shocked him which made him turn his head around only to see Mia standing brave on the pile of rubble that resulted from his fight against Raguel
"You idiot! Didn't I stall for time? Why are you here?" Shouted Alda
In reply to that Mia also shouted back
"Your the idiot! Didn't I promised you? We promised that we'll have each other's back since we're still kids back then... . . And that didn't change till this day! If you die, I'll die together with you" stated Mia as she gives a longing smile with her teary eyes
Hearing that Alda gave up on his notion and smiled
"That was an old promise"
"An old but important promise!" Replied Mia
Giving an applause for their bravery Raguel spoke up
"You guys are brave indeed, but since you dare point your sword against the symbol of Justice and good,then consider yourself as an evil criminal who wants to disrupt the greater good"
With that Raguel raised his pressure even more that caused the tides to tilt on his favor thus endangering both of them
As a huge light illuminated from the distance Lily and Luke was already on the road when they saw a huge explosion coming from the castle
Unbeknownst to Lily the time she departed from Alda and Mia was the last time she'll ever get to speak to them, that brought her so much despair from the events that will happen afterwards later on the story
Author's Notes:
We're close to the ending of 2nd Arc and about to enter the 3rd Arc, I hope you can continue your support
P.S
If your wandering if the story for this book is already almost at it's climax or almost at the middle
I hate to break it to you but if we compare this story including it's ending sequel to an ordinary book then I can say that we haven't even left table of contents... Meaning we still have long way to go before this story will end