Arion's closed eyes opened slowly. Dizziness immediately attacked his head, making his vision unable to focus for a moment.
After the dizziness disappeared, Arion's consciousness slowly returned fully, 'Where am I?'
Realizing that he was trapped inside something yellow with lightning, Arion's eyes immediately opened wide, 'What is this thing?'
Arion didn't want to risk getting shocked if he touched it, so he stayed where he was. He tried to see the situation outside his cage.
Arion's eyes widened in shock, 'That...'
He could see his brother, Eric, along with Noam, attacking a large man he remembered as the intruder who was hit by Nova's lightning barrier until he was severely shocked.
Herris grinned broadly, "Come on, kids! Is that all you've got? This is disappointing!" He parried their sword attacks with ease.
Noam jumped back with Eric at his side. His face had a very irritated look on it, "Shut up!"
"Focus, Noam!" Eric warned him sharply.
As Herris attacked them with his punch, the two quickly jumped to the side to dodge, leaving a hole from the impact of Herris' punch.
Unlike his other two comrades, Herris did not use any weapons. He relied solely on his fists. But it seemed like his blows were even strong enough to crush their heads.
They were lucky that the swords they used didn't shatter easily after repeatedly using them to deflect Herris' monster blows.
Not far from Eric and Noam, Zane was seen attacking Hans, with Rose helping him from behind. Hans managed to dodge Rose's arrow attack and withstand Zane's sword attack at close range.
Hans whistled in admiration, "You guys are really good together. I almost thought you had fought together before."
The two did not answer as they concentrated on continuing to attack him. But the strength and power of all of them was not comparable to that of adults. They began to tire.
Arion found his older sister, Hana, standing still with a worried expression on her face. She stared anxiously at her brother and his friends as the battle grew more intense by the minute.
Arion frowned, 'Why doesn't she help the others?' He thought confused. He saw the crossbow in his hand. Did Eric intentionally not let Hana join the fight or was it because she was afraid to join the fight?
Arion looked around and saw the other 3 lightning bolts, 'Are we being held hostage?' He thought in horror.
If that was the case, no matter if they defeated the invaders or not, as long as there were babies being held hostage, those children would be unable to do anything, especially if the invaders used the hostages as a threat.
Arion searched for the person who created the lightning ball that trapped them and found a person dressed as a servant whom he remembered very well. He looked at him with disgust.
Emily glanced at Dean who was standing next to her, "You're not going to join them?"
Dean hummed, "No. Watching is more fun."
Emily snorted sarcastically. Feeling someone's gaze, she turned slightly and found Arion staring at her intently.
Arion gasped in surprise as their eyes met, 'Damn!'
Emily paused and looked back forward, pretending not to see anything, "What about Nova?" She asked calmly.
There was no sign that she was going to tell Dean that Arion was awake. Either she did it on purpose or she didn't.
Arion blinked in confusion as the lightning ball that trapped him moved away from Dean, 'Why is she covering me?'
Dean blinked a few times as if he just remembered something, "I just remembered her. Looks like Hans and Herris left her where they were before. How careless." He snorted slightly, but expected it.
Arion gasped when he remembered Nova, 'Is Nova okay?' He thought worriedly. Since Nova wasn't here and these enemies were attacking these children freely, did that mean that something had happened to Nova?
"Don't you want to check?" Dean asked, looking at Emily with a suspicious smile.
"No."
Dean chuckled amusedly at her flat reply, "Then I'll check. Keep an eye on her for me."
Emily snorted, "Needless to say, I will."
Dean smiled amusedly, "What a submissive woman. No wonder the boss chose you for this mission."
Emily's eyes narrowed as she glared at Dean, "Shut up."
Dean shrugged indifferently and walked away, "Take it easy. If tonight goes well, the boss will definitely keep his promise. You and your family will be free to live happily ever after."
Arion frowned, 'They have a deal?' He thought suspiciously.
"Get lost." Emily hissed angrily, but made no expression. Her hands were clenched so tightly that her fingernails dug into her palms and bled a little.
Dean raised his hands in surrender, but a frivolous smile was still on his lips, "All right, all right. No need to get mad."
After making sure that Dean was gone and the other two were still occupied by Eric and the others, Emily looked at Arion who was still looking at her intently.
"Forgive me, Your Highness." She whispered softly. She had a slightly sad expression on her face before she returned to a flat expression.
If Arion didn't see it, he would think he was looking at the wrong thing. And also, Arion thought, there was a sad tone in her whisper.
'Why is she apologizing? Why does she look sad.' Arion thought, not understanding.
Was she forced to do that? Was she threatened? Is that why she looks so sad and sorry, even if it's just for a few seconds?
His thoughts were interrupted when someone approached Emily. Arion could see Hana approaching Emily and stopped a few meters away from her. Her expression looked annoyed.
"Tell me why you're on their side, Emily?" Hana asked sharply. She seemed to be running out of patience as her questions continued to be ignored.
Arion blinked in confusion, 'She knows this servant? Did they have a relationship in the past?'
He could see that Hana was very reluctant to point her weapon at Emily. Either that or she was just afraid of hurting someone. She was still a 5 year old child.
Eric, who saw his sister starting to act on her own, immediately shouted loudly, "Hana! Stay away from her!"
As he tried to approach Hana, Herris immediately aimed his punches at Eric. With no time to dodge, Eric held him back with his sword.
But his strength was no match for Herris, causing him to be thrown back slightly. Fortunately, Noam managed to catch Eric's body before he was thrown any further.
"Eric!" Noam cried worriedly as he helped the grimacing Eric to his feet.
Herris snorted dismissively, "How stupid."
Emily just stared at them for a moment before looking back at Hana with a flat expression, "I told you, I have my own priorities."
Hana gritted her teeth in annoyance, "Then what does that have to do with taking her side?"
"It's none of your business."
"Is someone precious to you being held hostage by them?"
Hana's question immediately silenced Emily. Emily's silence made Hana think that what she had said was the truth.
Arion looked at Emily, 'So she threatened.' He looked back at Hana with a furrowed brow, 'Was she trying to help him?' He thought unhappily.
Whatever the reason, the servant was still a traitor. Arion hated traitors. He hated the feeling of being stabbed in the back.
Emily clicked her tongue in annoyance, "No matter what my reasons are, it's none of your business."
Because of her changing emotions, sparks of lightning shot out of her body. This spark also affected the lightning ball she was controlling.
Arion gasped in surprise and unconsciously made a small noise. Although it sounded very small, Hana could hear his voice at a glance.
Hana gasped in shock and stared at the lightning ball trapping her brother with wide-eyed shock, "Arion?"
She could see that her brother, who had woken up, was only silent with a terrified expression, especially after some lightning sparks also appeared in the magic ball that trapped him.
Hana gave Emily a sharp look, "Return Arion to me." She hissed sharply, very much like her brother. She didn't look like the happy little girl Arion was used to seeing.
Arion swallowed nervously, 'Don't worry about me! Stay away from her!' He thought a little desperately, as if he could guess that his sister would do something reckless.
Emily returned Hana's sharp look, "You should try to get him yourself." She said calmly with a few sparks of lightning focused on her hands.
Hana paused before taking a deep breath. She picked up the arrow on her back and stared at it for a moment, "Brother told me that in the end I have to choose between you or them."
Her voice sounded somehow resigned and sad. But Arion could also detect the determination that was beginning to gather there, overpowering her sadness.
Emily's gaze softened for a moment before returning to sharpness, "You seem to have made up your mind."
Hana sharpened her gaze as she began to aim the crossbow at Emily, "Let Arion go."
Her words sounded so cold that even Arion almost flinched. There was only a cold, sharp look on her face. There was no trace of warmth or sadness. Somehow it made Arion's heart feel a little sick.
He bit his lip lightly, feeling frustrated, 'What am I going to do now?'