"DAMMIT! Where the hell is he?!" I exclaimed as I looked down at another palace guard that I had cut down. Iris gritted her teeth as she closed a door to one of the guest rooms.
"This Palace is enormous. He wasn't in his room, and the guards stationed there weren't there either, which mean they have to have him." Iris replied. I scratched my chin them frowned.
[Bone can you see him anywhere?] I asked.
[NO boss! I'm sorry! This place is too big. I don't think we've even covered half of it!] Bone-lasher replied.
I sighed and looked out a window, Titania was still flying around the palace and raining offensive spells and frozen scales one palace guards as she found them. The military had stopped trying to attack Titania at least and were now helping her hunt down any palace guards they saw.
"Could he be somewhere too far away to be seen by Bone-lasher's vision?" Iris asked.
"Too far…or maybe too deep!" I exclaimed. I suddenly remembered my out of body experience with the Necrolymth.
"Are there any underground storage places in the palace, specifically near the ballroom?" I asked. Iris narrowed her eyes and scratched her chin.
"Yes, there are a series of interconnected tunnels and warehouses that were decommissioned after one of the tunnels collapsed! Gods, why didn't I think about it sooner!" Iris exclaimed, then started running towards the royal garden. I hurried after her.
Iris and I reached the remains of the royal garden a few minutes later thanks to Iris taking shortcuts. Bellial, Bone-lasher, and Alpa'nagia had really done a number on the place. There were massive pillars of ice jutting up all over the garden. The ground and flowers were scorched and burned, and many bloody imprints were left in the ground where Bone-lasher or possibly Fours slammed mercenaries into ground. "Thor's breath…" I mumbled as I looked around. "Imagine how we all felt having lived through your evos rampage." Iris said. I frowned when I suddenly had a bad feeling. [Boss! We're surrounded!] Bone-lasher exclaimed and shared his vision with me. I groaned as I saw that there were at least twenty guards that were hiding amongst the wreckage of the garden. I skidded to a stop and grabbed Iris while channeling mana into my void pocket enchanted ring. I quickly grabbed Iris and mine's mana-lock and handed Iris hers. "We're surrounded!" I warned her and aimed the mana-lock at the hiding place of the closest guard and fired a lightning bullet. The bullet struck the ice pillar that the guard was hiding behind and shocked the guard and knocked him unconscious. As if someone yelled go every one of the guards jumped from behind their hiding and started to attack us. Iris turned and fired her mana-lock multiple times, firing fire bullets at five guards. The bullets struck their targets and incinerated the guards. I fired more bullets and ducked behind some debris for cover as the guards started firing spells at the two of us. I growled and started to summon Bone-lasher. I flung his crystalline structure behind the line of guards and let it shatter, releasing him. "Bone kill 'em all!" I ordered. Bone-lasher roared and lunched at the nearest guard. "Iris, call your evos and use them to take care of them!" "I…I can't!" Iris exclaimed from her cover. "My evos were all killed by the mercenaries once they captured me, and I tried to escape." My eyes widened, and I looked to Iris, I saw more pain in her eyes. I gritted my teeth and summoned Bellial's crystalline structure and flung it out, too. "NO SURVIVORS!" I ordered as Bellial's crystalline structure shattered. "YES, SAVIOR!" Bellial roared as he pounced on the nearest guard. I ran over to Iris and grabbed her hand, then ran deeper into the garden, letting my evos take care of the guards. "Why didn't you tell anyone that all your evos were killed?!" I exclaimed as we ran. "Considering everything that was going on, their deaths seemed a little less important…" Iris said, trying her hardest not to sound sad. "Your pain is important." I said softly. Iris gritted her teeth and looked away from me, then suddenly pointed at a half demolished gazebo. "There! That's an entrance to the underground storeroom and tunnels over there!" Iris exclaimed. She turned and rushed toward the gazebo. I followed after her and stopped at the steps of the Gazebo. Iris knelt down in front of the steps and pressed an ornate looking insignia on the side of the steps. A loud click was heard from beneath the gazebo, and a set of stone slate stairs lowered beside the gazebo. Iris looked to me and held her mana-lock at the ready. "This way! Can Bone-lasher send you the scans of the underground from outside your crystal?" Iris asked. I nodded. "He can use my body to sense electromagnetic and translate the data for me." I told Iris. Iris nodded, then started down the steps and into the tunnels. I followed after her and started channeling flash attribute mana into my eyes to illuminate the path ahead for both of us. We both ran through the tunnels, Iris, letting me lead since I was the light source. We were running blindly, hoping that Leon would stumble into Bone-lasher's search radius. We managed to get lucky, and I finally sensed a group with Bone-lasher's vision. I skidded to a stop and looked towards the west. He was in a massive store room that looked exactly like the one I got Astral projected into with the splicer of that Necrolymth. He wasn't alone either. "Found him." I announced. "Is he alive?" Jane asked. "Yes. And Iscara is with him. They're both tied up with about thirty guards watching them." I said. Iris eyes widened, and she grabbed me. "Iscara! But she's injured! She should be in the medical wing!" Iris exclaimed. I slapped her hands away and frowned at her. "I know! I can see her missing arm. They still have her and Leon." I said sternly. Iris gritted her teeth and then looked to me with resolve. "What's the plan? How are we getting them out of there safe?" Iris asked. I stood and thought about it for a minute while analyzing the room that Leon and Iscara were in. There was only one way inside the room and one way out. The guards were watching the entrance and the exit. While I was certain we could get past them with invisibility magic, there were a couple of guards among the ones watching the two of them that gave me pause. They had special helmets that looked like a set of binoculars that were taped to it. "There are some weird looking guards there…" I said aloud. Iris brows arched. "Helmets with binoculars on the front?" Jane asked. I nodded, and she frowned at me. "Shit! Veil watchers! We can't use invisibility spells. Veil watchers have ancient enchanted items that allow them to see through the effect." Iris explained. "Fuck…brute strength is all that's left…" I muttered as I scratched my chest and then suddenly remembered an enchanted item I had that would work perfectly in these dark tunnels. "…unless we get psychological on them." I opened my void pocket again and pulled out the Shadra-giest clock enchanted necklace and quickly put it on, then channeled mana into the necklace and started casting an axiom spell sigil. The shadows of everything around me started to stretch towards my shadow, then coiled inside it and draped over me like a cloak. The look of shock and slight recoil from Jane told me that I was now fully transformed into the Shadra-giest. "What the hell is that form?" Iris asked. "Shadra-giest. It's what's going to get me into the room with Leon and your sister without being seen." I said. The odd ghostly tone of my voice made Iris's hair stand up on end and shower slightly. I smiled at that, not that she could see it thanks to the spectral look. "I'll sneak in and cause a distraction. When that happens, run in and grab Leon and Iscara. Get them out, and I'll deal with the guards." "That seems like too much for you. Do you have enough mana to fight if you run into trouble?" Iris asked. The concern on her face was clear. "I'm at about fifteen percent right now…a little low for my tastes, but I also have Alpa'nagia and Fours with me. I'd things getting too hairy." I replied. Hearing that the worry on Iris face lessened a little. "Be safe…I've lost enough people I care about today." Iris said. I nodded, then melded in with a nearby shadow on the wall and used it to travel the length of the hallway. Traveling through shadows, it only took me a few seconds to get to the doorway of the storage room that the guards were keeping Leon and Iscara prisoner. They had the both of them tied up in the center of the room with half the guards watching them and the other half watching the entrances to the room. The veil watchers were part of the ones watching the door. Fortunately for me, they only had torches and minor light utility spells to light up the room, so there were still plenty of shadows for me to sneak around in. As I jumped from the shadow in the doorway to the shadow in the wall, I half expected the veil watchers to notice me, but none of them even flinched. I took the shadow up the wall and merged into the shadow on the ceiling. From there, I had a clear view of everyone. While half of the guards looked like they were stationed to watch the hostages in truth, only about four actually were. The rest seemed to be watching an argument that several guards were having. "We need to get out of here! Forget what the captain promised us and just leave!" The youngest looking of the guards yelled. "Calm down, Prekit! We're safe here…." The oldest of the guards commanded. Prekit scowled at him. "Safe! SAFE! You heard Delta squads last report! A unknown evo is tearing through the other squads, the military has turned against us, Chase Kingston's monsters are out and rampaging in the garden again and no one has been able to get in touch with Captain Rowad or Lady Aziza!" Perkit snapped. He turned and motioned to Leon and Iscara. "Let's let them go, and maybe We won't get ripped to shreds like those mercenaries at the ball!" The oldest guard drew his sword and pointed it at Perkit's throat. The young guard froze, a fear drowning his eyes as he looked down at the blade that could end him in a flick of a wrist. "I will not tolerate such talk! Your cowardice is unbefitting of the new royal guards that will serve under Queen Aziza!" He proclaimed. He was about to silence Perkit permanently when Leon suddenly managed to get the gag off his mouth. "Queen Aziza? Ha! Don't make me laugh!" Leon exclaimed. All eyes turned to him, particularly the oldest of the guards. "Silence boy! Before you join your father sooner than planned.!" He snapped and pointed the blade towards the young prince. Leon remained unfazed by the gesture. "You honestly think my father would die so easily! He's the pharoh! The man all of you swore an oath to protect!" Leon proclaimed. "Shut your mouth, you pampered brat!" The oldest guard yelled as he stormed over to Leon with his blade geld high. Iscara screamed through her gag at him while Leon gasped and fell back. I started to peel out of the shadow to try and stop him when Perkit drew his sword and stabbed the other guard in the back. A look of shock and confusion clouded his face as he tried to turn and look back at who stabbed him only to collapse a few seconds later. Perkit looked stunned by his actions as well but he quickly snapped out of it and then dashed forwards and slashed at every guard he passed in quick succession before skidding to a stop in front of Leon and Iscara and standing protectively over them. "Traitor!" A bunch of the guards yelled as their co-conspirators fell to the ground. Perkit quickly cut the ropes that had bound Leon and Iscara's feet and pointed to the door. "We're all traitors…the way I see it now, I have two choices: die like a coward being torn to shreds by those monster evos up top or die like a royal guard protecting the prince! I chose option two!" Perkit exclaimed. The closed guard growled and rushed Perkit, blade drawn and ready to kill. I flew out of my hiding place in the ceiling and popped my claws, driving them straight through the skull of the guard as I pushed him straight to the ground. "You know…I'm getting really tired of people calling my evos monsters…" I growled as I stood up straight. Everyone screamed as they looked at me and jumped back. Perkit pointed his sword and me and stood in front of Leon. I undid the Shadra-giest spell and stretched. "CHASE KINGSTON!" Leon bellowed. I looked over my shoulder at him and shook my head. "Seriously? Why can't anyone in your freaking families save themselves? I'm getting tired of saving you and your sister from danger." I quipped looking between Iscara and Leon. "This is the first time I've been in danger!" Leon snapped. His eyes suddenly widened, and he motioned behind me. "Look out!" Two of the guards had taken the opportunity to run and try and stab me while I wasn't looking like Perkit had done to that old guard. I simply channeled freeze attribute mana into my foot and sent a freezing wave along the ground that froze them all the way up to their torsos. I looked back over to the two guards and shook my head in disappointment. The blades of both were about six inches from my neck. "Seriously?" I asked, then channeled incinerate mana into my finger and snapped them. A spark flew from my fingers and landed in them. In an instant, they were engulfed in flames that quickly reduced them to ash. They only screamed for a split second before their vocal cords melted. "Fuck…we're dead…" one of the veil watchers whimpered in the back, causing panic to spread among the remaining guards. "Yep…" I confirmed, then summoned Fours and Alpa'nagia's crystalline structures and threw them so they flew at each of the entrances to the storeroom. They both emerged with loud hisses and blocked the guards' only way of escape. "…Aziza and Rowad are dead. Jane is working with the military and my evos to kill the remaining traitors. All that's left is to save Leon and Iscara." Alpa'nagia and Fours both snapped their wings open and roared at the guards. Most of them cowered and dropped to their knees while a few drew their blades and hidden firearms to fight. "Wait! We surrender!" A couple tried to yell. "That's fine, you'll die without putting up a fight…" I said nonchalantly. They all recoiled at that and looked even more terrified. "…did you honestly think I was going to let you Fuckers live after you killed one of my best friend's brother!" I channeled shadow attribute mana into my fingers and snapped them sending a wave of darkness that consumed the light spells thar helped illuminate the room while Alpa'nagia and Fours flapped their wings and sent powerful gusts into the room that blew put the torches submerging the room in complete darkness. Then came the screams. Alpa'nagia and Fours descended on the terrified and blind guards, tearing them to pieces. The sounds of tearing flesh, snapping bones, monstrous roars and hisses filled the room in a thunderous concophony until suddenly there was nothing but silence. I bit my finger and traced a few runes in forearm in the dark, using Bone-lasher's vision to help me write then channeled mana into that arm and cast a utility spell sigil. A wave of clear light cascaded over the room and lit it up, revealing the massacre that had taken place. The room was covered in blood and gore. The eviscerated bodies of royal guards flung everywhere, staining the stone red. Alpa'nagia stood in the corner wiping the blood from his nails and mouth. Fours stood by the entrance to the room with a guard in his clutches, still alive but not for long, he had bitten into his neck and was quickly draining him of blood. The light quickly faded from the guards eyes as Fours drained him dry. The only ones alive beside me and my evos were Leon, Iscara, and Perkit. All three of them looked at the scene in front of them in horror. Leon even gagging and then throwing up. Iscara quickly composed herself and and leveled me with her gaze. "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to untie us?" Iscara asked. I shrugged then walked over to her and cut the rope that kept her one good arm tied to her side and then cut the rope around Leon's wrists. "You…you slaughtered them…" Leon gasped. "They helped do the same to Yurkid and so many of the guests at the ball." I said plainly. I glanced over to Perkit then down to Leon. "What do you want to do with him? He's one of the guards responsible for the attack, your kidnapping, your dad getting injured." Leon looked up at Perkit and wiped his mouth before standing up. The young prince looked conflicted as he looked at the guard while Perkit was scared out of his gourd. His eyes kept darting between Fours and Alpa'nagia. "He tried to protect Iscara and I…it might have been because he feared death at the hands of your evo but I feel he redeemed himself enough to deserve a punishment worse than death…" Leon said. I was about to say something until I heard the sound of running footsteps behind me at the entrance to the storeroom. I looked over at the door and saw Iris running towards us. "ISCARA!" Iris bellowed as she ran into the room. She rushed over to her sister, completely ignoring the mess around us and tackled her sister in a merciless hug and started crying. "OHTHANKGODYOU'REOKAYIWASSOWORRIED!" Iscara hugged her sister back with her one arm and cried as well. I watched the touching reunion for a second then felt like I was intruding then looked over at Leon. "What did you mean…a punishment worse than death…?"