"You're not wrong. If the cloak was working properly, you would have seen that we used it many times," Sonata replied. He then used his ability, Steal Mind, to copy Alto's unique power and pulled Vanay into the wall, following Alto before the guards arrived.
The castle had magic to detect intruders who used magic or illusion devices. It seemed that someone had tried to use the same method to infiltrate the castle in the past. However, as long as no one could stop Alto's special ability, it was difficult to prevent Sonata from entering.
They quickly broke through the troops trying to apprehend them and ran down the corridors of the castle. Although the castle was complex and extensive, it was not a problem as they could pass through walls freely with Alto's ability, called "Infiltrate," when necessary.
"Arrest," suddenly, a high-ranking priest appeared and cast a spell at Alto. The spell took the form of a chain of light that swept around Alto's body before he could even dodge it.
"Hmm," Alto looked at the priest with cold eyes.
The chain of light had vanished, even though it was meant to bind him tightly. The incident caused the priest's face to blanch in shock.
"Why? Arrest magic always works!" he exclaimed. He was convinced that the other party hadn't used magic to protect themselves from his spell.
"It's called Spell Immunity," Sonata replied. "Magic is ineffective against Silencers."
Sonata was not entirely truthful. While a direct effect spell like the arresting spell used by the priest would not work on Silencers, the spell's side effects still remained. The Fire magic might not have been able to directly harm the Silencers, but the intense heat could still cause damage.
After defeating the priest and a large group of knights who had joined him, Sonata discovered a secret passage to the dungeon beneath the castle. He descended through it and then turned back to slash the wall and use his power to destroy the ceiling, sealing the passage to prevent anyone from following him.
The dungeon was far more extensive than the map provided by Cerise's spies had suggested. Ceilings soared as high as a three or four-story building, and many rooms were divided into districts and filled with guards.
"Be careful. There are paladins among the guards," Vanay warned, but she was too late. A paladin approached Sonata from behind.
"Hand of Heaven!" the Paladin shouted, slamming his palm. It was one of the highest-level moves, capable of dealing massive damage, but it also consumed the user's life force. However, with the power of the Paladin God Servant, the move did not inflict strong repercussions on the user.
"It's so close," Sonata breathed a sigh of relief as he narrowly escaped once again, thanks to his imitation of Alto's abilities. As the paladin's hand passed through his body, it struck another enemy and sent them flying with the force.
"I told you not to be careless," Alto scolded him, sounding exasperated.
Alto then leaped into action and kicked the paladin who had caused the incident. Though the man raised his arm in defense, Alto's kick thrust through it and smashed into his face.
"Hand of Heaven", this time Sonata used some of the Paladin's ultimate moves. He perfectly imitated the move he had just seen once, and with his genius talent, Sonata executed the ultimate move flawlessly, even better than the Paladins who had trained for years that he had just copied.
Vanay and her fairy companions provided full support to the two young men.
Some fairies had not only healing powder but also poisonous powder that could induce numbness, burning pain, blurred vision, and even confusion. While each fairy's powder had only mild effects, repeated poisonings could prove fatal.
Before the guards could realize that they should target the weak fairies before the human intruders, they were all poisoned. When the paladin realized there was no chance for salvation, he decided to use suicide bomb magic, hoping to take the horde of fairies with him in death.
Boommm…
The magical effect had significantly impacted dozens of fairies, scattering childlike figures with wings throughout the area. Despite the frightening scene, Vanay remained calm and collected.
"Fairy Carnival," she cast a healing spell with confidence.
This spell was unique, and only Vanay, who had gained the trust of the fairies, could use it.
The scattered figures reassembled, and the instant damage vanished as if it had been an illusion. The spell went beyond healing, resulting in a complete revival of the squad, but its practical effect was limited to fairies.
"Oh, how interesting," Sonata's eyes lit up, feeling a little guilty for having secretly doubted this new friend's combat reliability.
"It's too early to praise me now," Vanay laughed before planting her staff into the ground and chanting another spell.
"Fairy Walk," Vanay cast the spell, causing her and all the fairies to disappear, leaving only a magic staff with dark blue gems behind.
If one looked deep into it, they could see forests, a village, and Vanay struggling due to the excessive use of magical power.
"Give me a break," Vanay's tiny voice emitted from the magic staff.
"Wouldn't it be fun to let the enemy take her staff?" Alto laughed hysterically.
***------------------------------------------------------------------***
The path Sonata used to enter the dungeon had been closed, delaying any reinforcements the enemy might have sent to follow them. With this advantage, Sonata, Alto, and Vanay had plenty of time to explore the dungeon. They defeated the guards and freed several prisoners. Vanay, now revitalized, emerged to continue drawing patterns, but she didn't know who the prisoners were or where they came from.
However, they soon realized that the prisoners they had released were not just any ordinary inmates - they were likely important figures, given their imprisonment in the castle's dungeon.
"We only saw prisoners. Where are the weapons?" Sonata exclaimed as he ran ahead, stopping abruptly in front of a wall. Though there was no visible entrance, he could sense something beyond it. "There's something behind this wall."
"Could it be a treasure room?" Vanay attempted to search for a mechanism to open the wall, but her efforts were futile.
She found it hard to believe that a treasure room would be located in a prison.
"How could there be a treasure room in a prison?" Alto was about to argue when he suddenly considered the possibility that it might be located on the same floor, but with no apparent connection to their current location. "Perhaps there's no mechanism on this side of the wall."
To prove his point, he used his unique ability to transport Sonata and Vanay through the wall.
The wall was several meters thick, clearly not designed to connect to any other part of the prison. Moving through walls of varying thickness presented different levels of difficulty, so Alto had to be cautious while using his ability.
After taking more than ten steps, he led them into a dark room.
Vanay used her magic to create light in the new space they had just entered. Sonata and Alto's palms radiated light, revealing a room much taller and wider than the previous one.
The most striking feature was the glittering golden light reflecting off piles of gold coins, crowns, diamond necklaces, treasure chests, and countless other valuable objects.
The center of the room was stacked with so much gold that one could easily be buried if they were to fall.
"There really is a treasure room!" Vanay exclaimed loudly, while Alto shook his head in disbelief.
Sonata and Alto were stunned, experiencing a mix of excitement and apprehension.
"Quiet," they both whispered in unison, sensing a strange presence lurking in the darkness. Sonata recognized the sensation from when he was on the other side of the wall, but he didn't believe it was human.
Suddenly, a massive monster appeared before them. It was not as tall as Mantodiavas, but it was still enormous, with pearly white scales covering its body and wings spanning almost ten meters. Its face protruded, revealing a mouth full of sharp, white teeth, and two horns that curled in the middle before pointing outwards to the side.
"A Dragonian! No, just a regular dragon," Alto muttered, realizing his mistake in assuming it was a highly intelligent creature.
"Regular? Since when is a dragon regular?" Vanay's mind raced as she recalled a picture from the hermits' legacy about a prophecy involving a dragon. Though the details of the prophecy had faded from memory, the image of the creature and its name remained clear. "The Chronicle Dragon."
***--------------------------------------------------------------------***
Vanay was warned to stay out of range, but Sonata and Alto bravely approached the dragon at close range, determined to fight it even though they could have fled.
Sonata had heard rumors that the dragon was a secret weapon, but he didn't believe it. He was eager to end the dragon's life so that he could explore the treasure room and discover any special souvenirs.
"The dragon possessed a force field that was nearly impenetrable," Alto said, his tone becoming serious. He had discovered that even ordinary bullets were unable to penetrate the dragon's tough skin. Even with his ability to 'Infiltrate,' the dragon remained unharmed.
In addition to its incredible defense, the Chronicle Dragon was also incredibly strong. Its strength rivaled that of Sonata, who had ripped off Mantodiavas' head with his bare hands. Its long, sharp tail possessed devastating power, and its jaws could not only crush an entire elephant but also emit scorching heat waves.
...The Chronicle Dragon appeared to have no discernible weaknesses, or at least none that they could identify…