A girl with long silver hair and eye coverings appears before them. She was led and guided by a white and then a black creature behind her.
The gray creature put Hidelga down near the emperor, and Leon carried her in his arms.
The number of crawlers still increases.
So she spoke, "Ego, ID," she uttered and the black creature behind her, together with the gray creature, attacked the enemy.
"I told her a lot of times to leave this place but she's so stubborn that she stays, so I let you enter just to convince her to leave; however, it all went to this," Maraya said.
"You already knew and had the chance to leave even though you failed to convince her at first, but you persisted, and I guess I am glad that my decision was right," she continued.
"Ricka," she called and Ricka appeared from behind her.
"Led them out," she said.
The young lady was standing behind, hiding herself, and then she came forward and took the introduction.
'This is unexpected,' Leon thought. So, there are still other real people aside from them.
"Wait," he called to Maraya. "I disrupted the disruptor because I wanted to talk to you," Emperor Evan said.
"Why?" she asked,
"I am the second son of the pioneer of this empire," the first time he introduced himself.
"I need to get my empire back," he continued.
She turned to Ricka and then back to him. "So you are the insane 2nd son of the ambitious emperor? (According to what she heard), she asked.
Emperor William is an infamous conqueror; all the lands and countries know about him and his ridiculous ambitions.
"Since we are done with the introduction, who the hell is that one?" He pointed to Ricka.
Ricka smiled. "I'm glad you're finally interested in learning more about me, your Highness," she said.
"I am Rickazelya; I am the eternal threader of Nullus Valla," she said. The sacred weapon tamer.
Nullus Valla is different from the other tamer sacred weapons because it is a weapon for suspension; that's why she is with Maraya. That also explains how she can tame the whispering paradox inside him.
"So why is she not doing her job in taming you?" Leon asked.
The silence seems to provide him with the answer, and it's because the mind weapon in front of him is untamable.
"As you can see, eternal weapons retain their power and form all these years, however. I am different; I lost the ability to use my sacred weapon yet I stayed with her and am responsible for the information and connections outside the forgotten city," she said.
This place has been here for centuries and it blends and takes its place in the land.
"Allow me to come with you, you're Highness, if I regain the power of my sacred weapon. I can tame Maraya once again and you can bring her to your side," she said.
Leon smiled. "What a good offer but... What do you want in return?" he asked.
"I want a son from you," she said unhesitantly.
There is a short pause and out of that silence. Alas commented, "How can you come up with that condition? Aren't you that desperate?" he said.
"I am not taking back my plea," she answered.
An earthquake was felt throughout the place and the ground cracked open. A dark vine suddenly appeared from those cracks and attacked them. It reached Leon's foot, which made him lose his balance and fall to the ground.
It leads him off-guard and those vines pull Hidelga away from him and into the mouth of the earth.
"I'll bring her back," Maraya said, volunteering.
6 feet below the ground, she goes to where the vines went and it wanted Hidelga to be buried alive. She managed to get rid of the vines and take Hidelga. She was about to touch her face when she opened her eyes. She regains her consciousness. It is an underground nest with crystal minerals. It's like a pool of parasites in a treasured chest.
"You always forget who is in place of commanding, she muttered. She successfully retrieved Hidelga.
Hidelga tried to speak when she regained consciousness. "You are... Maraya, aren't you?" she asked.
The poisonous vines attacked them but Maraya blocked it with her own body. She crooks in pain.
"This is now too much. I hate it," she cried. She is fed up.
'The heavens are too much,' Hidelga thought. Hidelga's tears flow seeing the same scene she witnesses when her family dies.
'Why do things happen again and again?; she thought.
"I won't die, silly," she said and smiled, comforting her.
"But you still feel pain," Hidelga said again.
Maraya smiled. Hidelga removed her eye cover and discovered that she was not blind.
It has been so long that maybe she forgot about what colors look like.
They went out the crack and handed Hidelga to Leon.
"Run towards the port. I made you a ship," Maraya said. "Both of you must escape," she emphasizes.
Hidelga doesn't want to comply with her plans.
"Thank you," she said, patting Hidelga's head. She was grateful for her.
Then the atmosphere shifts into a much more solemn mood. Maraya turned to Leon and sent him a message telepathically. She had already given the instruction needed. They must leave.
When they reach the location, there are other creatures guarding the ship so they can depart safely. When they have already made it on the deck, humans appear like people who seem to be traveling along with them (like the ghost of the Titanic). Then everything that was devoured by chaos has reset.
Now they are sailing to the most neutral part of the empire, the temple. However, she likes to be at the edge behind the ship while gazing far away from the place they have been. 'It feels like there is something wrong, like something is missing,' she thought and sighed but she could not recall anything.
Hidelga's memories are not only erased but replaced. Replaced by scenarios of them leaving the forgotten city peacefully.
'Yet she retains your memories," Ricka told Leon.
"She doesn't want to hurt Hidelga," he said.
When they reached their destination, the ship sailed back, gathered nobody, and then the giant ship disappeared in the middle of the ocean. It was a ghost ship all this time. The people who arrived with them went their way, and without anyone noticing their existence, they disappeared into thin air like a small light of fire that was blown by the wind.
Ricka is now a new comrade. However, she clings too much to Leon every time and always competes with Hidelga when it comes to cooking, assisting, taking care of Leon, and so on.
Troubled by the suffocating pressure. Hidelga always went for a few minutes of break and there she relaxed herself a bit.
She flinched when strong arms wrapped around her waist and a chin rested on her shoulder. She can feel the warm breath in her ears, neck, and nape. She turned around and then tried to free herself. When she recognized who it was, she quit struggling.
"Forgive me," she stated.
'Why is this guy so infatuated with her?' she asked herself.
"Ricka might," she said yet abrupted. Worried that it may start a ruckus.
"What? She might what?" he asked. "She is not your master," he added.
"Me, I'm your master," he continued.
"I don't know why I agreed to go with you," she said.
Leon took something from his side. A dagger and in the dagger a name is written.
"ORAN!!' Hidelga exclaimed.
"H- how?" She stutters.
"Will this persuade you?" He stated. "Your brother is still alive. I can bring you to him if you go with me; along the way, I'll convince you to be my wife," he said.''
There was a short pause, then she muttered, asking, "Why are you so obsessed with me? I-I'm." She was not able to finish her sentence when Leon stated. "I'm going to make you my wife," he answered shortly. "So never lower your head to another woman," he said.
"Why didn't you tell me the first place when we were in the other house?" she asked.
"Because I don't have that dagger yet," he explained shortly.
"Where is he? How is he? Where is he staying? Is he alright? What happened to him all these years?".
Leon remains silent because of her uprising questions. He is sure that he doesn't need to answer all of it.
He is waiting for her to calm down.
She broke free from his embrace and held his hand as she kneeled on the floor. "How can I thank you enough, my Lord?" she said.
He came closer to her and tried to kiss her. She pulled away. They might kiss a few times; she is still slightly avoidant. She hesitated because of the trauma.
"I'm so-sorry. I really can't, not yet. I'm not ready or maybe I am afraid," she whispered. It takes a lot of practice for me to do a kissing scene in most of the theatrical plays and a lot of mind-setting for a simple intimate touch.
Leon understood her situation and pulled away. The disappointment was obvious but enduring. He holds her chin gently to raise her head. "Well, then I'm going to leave."
He was going to kiss her; he stopped midway and asked her, "Can you open your mouth slightly?"
She heeded and his mouth met with hers.
The sensation is a little more deceiving than before. It was more alluring than the first other kisses.
The struggle of fear and delight collided and brought her comprehensive emotions.