A prison cell surrounded an elder down beneath the temple's passageway. He had a short white beard and was malnourished. He wore worn clothes with scratches and filth on his body, and his skin was progressively losing its mass. He stood there watching the plate of food on the floor, avoiding eating it, but having no qualms about doing it. Ira, who had a key to the cell, stepped through the door shortly after.
She immediately inserted the key into the hole and opened the cell when she got to the front of it. The man, also known as King Artemis, never looked her in the eyes and sat in silence, waiting to learn why she had come.
"Look in the mirror. Down here in the temple's cellar, a man previously known as king has devolved into a complete shrimp. Your skin has become dry, and you've lost weight all over your body. It's incredible how tenacious you are to still be alive after all this time."
"You're not even going to eat the food I cooked for your lousy smug. If you are handed anything, accept it rather than staring at it with sorrowful eyes. Now is the time to get up. I'm taking you to the top of the temple's clock tower lookout. Lord's orders."
The king rose up straight and strolled through the cell silently. He was promptly bound and began being dragged up the stairs through the room. The plate of food remained on the floor behind him as Ira locked the cell, then pushed the king forward.
"Get a move on. It's not our fault you've been avoiding food."
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Elliott raced through the now-isolated kingdom, fully forgetting that he was being kidnapped by attractive young women fleeing the center. Despite understanding that returning to the others was the best option, he couldn't find his way out and continued getting stuck in dead ends, repeating the same cycle.
Elliott was being pursued by a group of bandits who had entirely lost sight of him and were running straight between a crossroads. To their astonishment, Elliott returned to the crossroads from several directions. He gazed into them, trying to find out how to get back to the others, but despite the vast temple being behind him, all he did was glance in another direction, forgetting that their job was to confront Byron, who was fighting Tim in the meantime.
"When I try to move in the direction of the temple, I always end up back here. If this town wasn't a mirage, how else would I find myself in the identical location every minute? Or perhaps I'm being deceived."
He decided to run one last time in the direction of the temple, hoping to catch up with the others, but he didn't expect to see somebody so soon. Marienne, who had been scanning the air for intruders, came into view of Elliott, who was jogging in the proper direction. Elliott was taken aback when she slid her finger against her jaw.
"Oh, dear. He must be one of the intruders about whom we were warned. To be honest, I expected him to be taller and more handsome, but I shouldn't allow my imagination run away with me. I guess I should "welcome" him. After all, the Lord had given me directions."
She giggled as she looked at Elliott and plummeted flawlessly from the sky directly in front of Elliott, who immediately shifted his focus to her. His eyes glowed pink and beat with hearts of passion and sincere feelings the instant he saw her. "I've struck it rich! What a stunning lady! I must be in the afterlife!"
He studied Marienne from the tips of her toes to her waist, chest, and finally her face. As he felt the jolt of love, connecting his mind with romance and seeing the beautiful woman before him, his heart nearly burst out of his chest. He coughed and stood in front of her swiftly. He bowed forward and greeted her with love and passion, all while smiling.
"Lady, I'm honored to have crossed paths with such an angel. My name is Elliott, and I must say that you've done an excellent job of maintaining your physical fitness. Would you mind showing me your true passion of love, that sexiness that floods you all the way to my romantic conviction, if it's not too much to ask? I'm sure we can find a place to sit and talk over a cup of tea."
Elliott was utterly taken aback when Marienne giggled in response to his flirtation. He turned into a living stone, immobilized on the spot while maintaining his demeanor. He softly raised his head to redirect his sight to Marienne's face and felt his heart begin to race. He was instantly smitten by Marienne's calming voice.
"Oh, dear. I wasn't expecting to meet someone like you. It's quite thoughtful of you to complement my appearance. You're a fascinating individual."
As he began to smile, Elliott's eyes exploded into hearts. His nose bled as he nearly fell over and barely kept his balance. He paid close attention to what Marienne said and quickly realized that it wasn't something that he agreed with.
"But I'm afraid I won't be able to accept your offer. Have you noticed a group of intruders roaming through Wasakona's capital? I've been looking for them, and I'm sure a lovely man like you wouldn't let a young, curious, and lost girl down, would he?"
As another wave of love paralyzed Elliott's body, his hearts bulged out from his chest. He started nodding back and forth without pausing to respond. "I'd be thrilled to produce something so nice for such a lovely lady as yourself. I am one of the intruders, so don't worry. Let's forget about it all and go for a walk. I'm sure it would look great on your relaxed and attractive face!"
"It sounds nice, but I'm afraid I'll have to turn down that offer as well. Would it be okay if I asked you for another favor, my sweet little pooch?" Elliott nodded quickly as the burns on his cheeks and nose continued to bleed. He eagerly decided to accept her favor and became giddy with anticipation.
"Of course. Whatever you'd like, my sweet little angel."
Marienne drew her hands to her chest and closed her eyes. Elliott's gaze shifted to her chest, which wobbled left and right as she grabbed for the jacket and unzipped it. He had never had such a profound romantic shock before and had been waiting for his chance to finally have the time of his life. Marienne dragged a slender rod from between her jacket and jabbed forward slowly. The rod suddenly stretched into a long spear that pierced Elliott's shoulder and caused him suffering. As he listened to Marienne's next message, he bled and came back to his senses.
"Die for me..."
He rapidly gained distance by leaping back and quickly sought for his wound by pushing his palm against it, feeling betrayed. He realized he had been tricked into coming to a halt so he might be easily slain, but he managed to stay alive.
"What an incredible reaction time. Your instincts could be your lifesaver. I guess I've failed to do so this time, but don't worry. I'll accompany you to your next death, which will occur shortly. Especially because you broke your commitment by stating you'd help me."
"You certainly know how to fool a man into thinking you'll ask him for something useful. It turns out you merely wanted to kill me in the end. I assume you're one of the Byron's "subordinates" referenced by Irenne. Then I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to stop your bloodlust. It appears that I must first get through you before rejoining the rest of my friends... Although I normally avoid wounding women unless absolutely necessary, this time it may be crucial. I'm no pushover, especially when I'm not being seduced by a lady."
"Hm-Hm, that's right. Oh, dear, I guess I accidentally revealed my identity to somebody such as yourself. What a clumsy girl I am."
"Do you ever stop smiling and laughing? It's getting kind of annoying every other second. There's nothing funny to laugh about."
"Hm-Hm-Hm... Don't be so rude. I wouldn't laugh at someone's injury, for example. Please don't pass judgment on me too harshly. I'm only concerned about a dashing young guy like yourself chevaliering Lord Byron. I wouldn't want to lose a man who is still alive."
Elliott's eyes froze into hearts once more when he came to a halt, as expected. He blushed profusely and bled from his nose, but after scratching the tip of his nose, he swiftly came to. "Your seduction is no longer effective on me." He swung his right arm to the side and drew a pen from his belt pocket as soon as he replied. It was rapidly converted to electricity, which produced a long blade. It emitted electricity, indicating that he was ready for a fight.
"Well, there's no way talking out of here. So, prepare for battle."
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Tim kicked the sole into the wide sky, sending him hurtling through the air toward Byron, who instantly swiped his right arm in front of his chest. The sand, which had become stuck on the floor, began to float in the air like water and shortly confronted Byron's floating body. It was a way to protect Tim from being attacked. Regardless, Tim yanked the blade from his hips and swiped it forward with both hands. He let forth a wave of searing fire, slicing the sand in two and clearing the way for him to close in on Byron, who was floating still.
Tim thrust his sword forward, slicing through Byron's body, which burst into sand. Byron's body reconstituted itself, and he lunged forward with a sandy palm, aiming for Tim's head. Tim quickly shifted his weight to the side, allowing Byron's palm to merely brush across the tip of his sleeve. The sleeves decomposed into sand upon contact. Tim realized at that instant that if he was touched by the decaying hand, his body would quickly decay. He lit his sword on fire and slashed at Byron's body, which rapidly dispersed into sand before the sword could cut him, and then materialized behind Tim.
Tim's body was compelled to react when Byron punched him in the back. Tim ducked and lost his balance in the air to avoid the hit. He dropped to the ground and slashed the sword upward in the process. "Slash! Flame!" He let off a thin, long blade of fire that flew at Byron at breakneck speed.
Byron descended after Tim and flew beneath the slash to avoid the cut, then flew at Tim, who was unable to regain his balance due to the pressure wind blowing on his face. Byron extended his arm forward and buried his palm in the sand, yet another attempt to decompose Tim's body.
"Damn it! If I get hit by that, I'm done for! I gotta think of something!"
Before he could think of a better way to protect, he discovered that he had drawn the blade in front of his chest, and Byron's deteriorating hand had immediately collided with Tim's sword. The sword's blade began to rot at the tip and spread throughout the sword's entire body, all the way to the hilt.
Tim knew that retaining the blade would only cause his body to rot, so he let go of it right away. Tim's blade turned to sand and began to fall to the earth the following second.
His eyes trembled in response to viewing something so horrific, and Byron moved his torso backward and prepared his leg the next minute. Tim crossed his arms in front of his chest and felt the impact of Byron's kick pressing into his body, sending him flying toward the earth, which cracked and hurled the sand in the air.
Tomomi and Kou, who were watching from the room, were taken aback, and Tomomi's hand began to gently disperse. With Kou's suspicions mounting, she immediately hid her hands behind her back to not frighten the others. He discovered that she wasn't as tranquil as normal, and that something was disturbing her.
She was starting to sweat a little and even gulped, her eyes quivering slightly.
"Tomomi? You're shaking."
Instead of answering, Tomomi just smiled and shook her head and answered with a calm and soothing voice. "I'm fine..."
The battle continues...