The exit was lit, and Sonata kept telling Genevieve not to leave his side. They walked to the end of the path and found themselves in front of an arena.
"Oh, Undead like to watch people kill?" Sonata tugged on Dark Jester.
The arena had no seats for spectators, except for three seats that were raised and separated from the stage area. All three seats were taken by a clown dressed in black, a pale-skinned vampire with smooth and full hair, and a large skeleton with a crown on its skull.
In addition to the three leaders in the highest position of Revarent, Sonata and Genevieve were also surrounded by thousands of soldiers wearing armor with no bodies. Each soldier stomped their feet, held a sword, and hit a shield, clearly intending to threaten.
The front of the armored army was undoubtedly Heartless. Its shape was as if Sonata had heard it. Its armor was a deep purple color and was about a fifth larger than the other armor. It was holding a giant bow and sitting on a horse armor that was bigger than a normal horse.
"It's not the first time someone has dared to invade Necropolis, hee hee hee," the black clown began to say.
"Why are there only these ghost armors? Shouldn't Revarent have a bigger army here?" Genevieve asked innocently.
"You," the Vampire Lord pointed towards Sonata, "you imitate any magic, but you don't think we're going to give you a chance to use the power of a magus or bring in a shoddy Undead to steal control?"
"Don't waste your time talking to it, Heartless! Deal with it," the Skeleton King ordered, and the brawl began.
Sonata sensed that the three Revarent leaders had spells for him to imitate, but all three were outside of Steel Mind's range. Furthermore, the armored soldiers would not allow him to easily break through to them. He had to fight while keeping Genevieve behind him.
Clang! Boom! Thud!
The sounds of punches, kicks, and guns filled the air, but the enclave that had expanded for a moment was forced back into a new one. The armor with no bodies that was shattered by a gun could not be recovered, but those that were smashed by Sonata to the point of destruction did not vanish, and it didn't take long for them to be replaced and fight again.
Genevieve's dagger could not be of any help. She did not have the strength to use it to slash through the enemy's thick armor. Synthetic sunlight also did not affect these ghost armors.
...Not be any more of a counterweight to Sonata, even if they were to kill me…
As if guessing that the girl was going to give her all to help with a counterattack, which was tantamount to renunciation, Sonata hurriedly shouted to stop her.
"Don't do anything stupid."
"But if it's like this..."
"I made the mistake of underestimating them and putting you at risk. It's not necessary at all."
Genevieve was taken aback by his words. It was not true that he blamed himself. It was Genevieve who stubbornly asked to follow him from the beginning, even though he warned and warned again.
"You didn't make a mistake," Genevieve struggled, gritting her teeth and tears in her eyes. Now they both deal with their enemies with their backs turned against each other. The ghost armors continued to push in from all sides, but the grunt kept Genevieve standing.
"Stop!" shouted Sonata, waving to the Dark Jester. "Give up, stop!"
The three leaders took turns looking at each other. They were sure that this man would not give up easily. He definitely had some plans.
"Catch or kill," laughed Dark Jester. "But it's better to kill them. They are dangerous."
"It would be insulting. He may think that his companions could come here to help," Markel calmly analyzed.
"I suggest we torture this guy to extract information about Atezia and Prewood, and then kill him," Kronox proposed.
Dark Jester was hesitant about the idea of arrest due to his paranoia, but when Markel and Kronox agreed to it, he could not reasonably argue. He nodded in agreement with the others' opinions, thinking that he would do anything to make Sonata regret having come to the City of the Dead.
Dark Jester intended to kill Sonata anyway in the end.
**——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-**
Genevieve was almost desperate to survive when her grandmother, the only family member left, passed away. She could not see a future in a kingdom ruled by a tyrant like Baldrick, and even if she were to survive a case of conspiring with the rebels, the worst possible outcome would likely be becoming the concubine of a bipolar man like Kurik.
Genevieve's last ray of hope is Sonata.
He was a man who had the courage to confront everyone, even the followers of the Foolish King, and he had the strength to triumph. Furthermore, he was so gentle that she could not take her eyes off him and kept admiring him.
...I want to follow this man…
If going with him, it would give her a new chance in life and the opportunity to be with a dear friend, Vanay.
She had no hesitation in choosing to follow Sonata, even if it meant facing danger, being far from home, or even traveling to the future where Sonata came from. Because of that, she insisted on following him to Revarent to prove to him that she was determined to follow him.
But at this moment, Genevieve deeply regrets her decision.
Not because she is stuck in a stinky little cell, or because she might be tortured or killed in the next few minutes, but because of her selfishness and rebelliousness, which causes the man she has feelings for to suffer.
…He would not have given up without me…
"I believe you must escape," Genevieve had convinced herself that Sonata had to choose that path. He knew that his life should not be at risk by helping her out with him. He would easily escape if he went alone.
She peered through the bars, hoping that he, trapped elsewhere, would find a way to escape.
"It sure is," a familiar voice rang out from the shadows. Genevieve was so happy that she almost accidentally exclaimed loudly. The man in the shadows approached so closely that she could see him clearly. He was Sonata.
"Oh, you can come out, you can escape," she said.
The girl could hold back her tears, and she kept her mouth shut so that no sound could be heard. The man's gaze scanned her body to make sure that she was still in good shape and was not injured or crippled from being attacked.
"They put me in a magic prison, and they also put magic handcuffs on me, but I escaped anyway," Sonata explained.
"I'm really glad you're safe," said Genevieve, her tears starting to flow uncontrollably. Now that she could see his face clearly, she was so relieved and happy that she could not describe it in words.
Sonata continued, trying to relieve the tense and shocked atmosphere caused by Genevieve's tears. "The handcuffs that they put on me act to suppress the casting of spells. If I were a mage, it would be bad. But they didn't know that all Silencers have a power called Spell Immunity, which means that the handcuffs can't stop me from using my powers. Spell Immunity also makes it possible to disperse the magic in the magic cage, so I escaped with ease."
Genevieve was not sure if she understood what Sonata said, but it did not matter. She was just happy to see that Sonata was safe.
She reached her hands out to touch him through the opening of the bars and lowered her hand to grab his hand, holding it tightly. He brought her hand to his cheek and looked at her while sobbing. Now she did not know anything else, only that she did not want to let go of him at all.
"Step back a bit. I'll break the cage for you," he told her in a low voice.
"Not yet," said Genevieve. Her mouth spoke what she had carefully thought out. "Taking me out now would be a vain burden. You can continue your plan here without me. You should go ahead and complete your original plan."
"The keys or the city's weaknesses aren't as important as your life." Sonata glared at her, and she stared back at him.
Genevieve kept quiet, still smiling at him. Sonata was always concerned about her as one of his friends, and he probably could not consider her to be in another way of relationship, but that was enough for now.
"Just by hearing what you think of me, I'm not going to regret my life."
When Genevieve insisted with a strong voice to him to let her go for now. Sonata decided to do as Genevieve asked. He intended to leave her alone just for a while to search for more information.
"Then I'll be right back. Keep this," Sonata said, handing her something.