Lyana and Ed walked down a long dark hallway. There was barely any light illuminating their way, and they didn't use any spell to make it any brighter. "I can't believe it, that Vivi!" Lyana complained.
"Well, I wouldn't blame her. We have to pass through the Sewer to get here, and you told me she almost died during her last visit there. No wonder she doesn't want to go." Ed replied.
Lyana stomped her feet on the rock floor. "I almost died too! And we're here to help her boyfriend. We're here because of Theo told us to." She observed Ed's hand, it was shaking. "And look, you're scared, but you still come here."
"I-I'm not scared!"
"Yes, you are!" She put her hand on her waist.
Their conversation was cut short when they reached a metal door. "Is this the entrance to the secret dungeon?" Lyana asked.
Ed took out a map that Theo gave him. "It should be here. Though the map is rather....unclear." Ed pushed the door, and like Theo told him, it was unlocked. They were greeted with rows of empty cell to their left and right. "Yes. This is the place."
Suddenly, the sound of a person running reached their ears. It was followed soon by the appearance of a woman running towards them. The woman froze when she saw them.
"That's the Princess, right?" Lyana asked Ed.
"I think so.....wait, yeah! I met her once before."
"So we just need to catch her?"
Aria turned when she realized that Lyana and Ed were not on her side. A man and a woman appeared from the hallway which she came from. They were armored and armed.
Seeing their huge stature and their weapon, Ed was shaking in his boots. "Just wait if you're scared." Lyana said. She cupped her hand and fire erupted from it.
"N-no way! I come here to help Theo, there's no point if I chicken out now."
"Then d-" Lyana was interrupted by the twang of a crossbow string. She flicked her hand, causing the bolt to explode in the air. "Do something!"
Spear of lighting formed in Lyana's left hand and fire in her right. She threw the lighting at the man who charged toward them.
The man took the lighting spear head-on. He didn't flinch nor did he slow down his charging. "What the heck are you doing?" Ed shouted. "Steel Armor is a conductor, the lightning will flow to the ground without damaging its wearer!"
"SHUT UP!" Lyana yelled. "Help me before complaining!" Lyana threw the fire in his right arm to the same man. The man raised his shield and blocked the fire without slowing down.
The man swung his sword at her. She barely dodged it. She then extended her arm towards the man's face. "[Greater Combustion]" Fire exploded from her hand, and the man flew into the wall, cracking it.
A bolt flew to Ed's face. With another flick of her wrist, the bolt exploded. "Don't just stand there!" She shouted at Ed who only stood back and watched.
"O-okay!" Ed took a deep breath then exhaled slowly. His body was still shaking. "[Dragon Aura]" Blue colored air came out from Ed's mouth and whirled around his body, creating a layer of air around it. The layer was like armor.
The man from before moved again, ready to slash Lyana. But Ed's fist struck him first, sending his body into the wall again. And again, and again, and again, until the steel plate on his chest bent inward.
"What the hell?" Lyana asked herself.
Ed was a mage and looking at his small body, it was obvious he was weak. She flicked her wrist, blocking another bolt.
Ed's fist was bloodied. He held his hand together. "Auuu~" He crouched down in pain. Lyana could see tears forming on the edge of his eyes.
Lyana moved her gaze to the woman who kept shooting crossbow bolts at her. Lyana countered with a powerful lighting spear. The spear was too fast for the woman to dodge.
The woman screamed before her body fell to the floor.
"What the hell was that?" She asked Ed, who was still crouching down from the pain he inflicted on himself. He didn't answer. Lyana tilted her head."Are you crying?"
Ed turned his face. "O-of course not! I'm a man!" Tears were clearly forming in his eyes.
Lyana rested her hand on her waist. "Okay, then what the hell was that?"
Ed wiped the tears. "It's my unique skill. For ten minutes I can't use magic, but all my stats are doubled, and all my resistances are increased." He held his hand again. "But my pain and physical resistance are shit to begin with."
The man Ed pounded moved again and swung his sword at Ed's neck, who was facing away from him. Lyana swiftly shot an ice spike, aimed towards the slit of his helmet. The ice stabbed him deep in the eye, killing him.
Ed slowly turned his head to look at the man.
He jumped away from the dead man. He was horrified, disgusted, and shocked. His body trembled when he saw the ice pierced the man's head.
Lyana was confused seeing Ed's reaction. "W-w-why? W-why do you have to kill him?" Ed asked. He was trembling.
"He was trying to kill you, and he's an enemy. What's wrong?"
"You are the wrong!" Ed shouted. "Y-you don't have to kill him." Ed covered his trembling mouth. His other hand grabbed his stomach.
Lyana's eyebrows twitched. She had just saved his life, and instead of being thanked, she was being shouted at. "Oh yeah?! Then try to save your life next time you're in danger!"
"I-I'm grateful you saved me, b-but this..this is.... Y-you can just scare him away, or knock him out!"
"What did you say?!" She yelled. She positioned her body in such a way that her shadow covered him. It was a posture to intimidate.
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Instead of pursuing Aria, they ended up arguing over whether it was correct to kill your enemies. On top of some other thing.
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Alex lay on the roof. The rain still poured as hard as before. The raindrop hit his armor and created a strangely relaxing sound to his ears.
Sir Arslan sat on his chest, holding Forlorn and the iron training sword he brought. "10 years, and I still don't know how you can use Forlorn. Using a sword as massive as this isn't about strength anymore, it throws your center of mass around, how can you keep your balance?"
Sir Arslan turned toward Alex. The two red dots in his helmet slit were not moving, staring directly at the storm cloud. "20 years ago, It was pouring just like this."
Sir Arslan looked at the storm above. "The day you were saved by Aria?" There was no answer from Alex. "Why didn't you advise her against this plan. You know what will happen if she succeeds, you know how many lives will be lost."
"I'm just a sword. A sword doesn't question its master."
"Actually, BloodRite question my every decision, but anyway, you're a sword, huh? A tool that will be thrown away when it became dull."
"If The Princess wishes it, then so be it."
"Is that what you really want, Alex, to be thrown away when the Princess deemed you unnecessary?"
Alex shook his head. It was a slight movement that would be unnoticeable to most people. But Sir Arslan was not most people. "It doesn't matter even if you stop me now, Sir. The Princess plan can't be stopped now, It's too late."
"Of course. The thing that has happened, the disappearance of some noble families can't be undone, and there will be effects and repercussions. But I can still prevent a more major incident from happening."
Alex chuckled. "Even the best team you could gather can't get into Wrath's base in the sewer."
"Well, but that wasn't my best team yet."
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"Is everything ready?" A huge man asked. He wore a full jet black military uniform with a black cape fluttering behind him. A huge mustache covered his lower face. He was Barnabas Yoss, the General of the Ape Army of Amaryn and the Supreme Commander of the Royal Armies. And Amaryn strongest hand-to-hand combatant.
In front of him were four other people. The first one was a lean man named Ander Larson, Amaryn best archer. He was muscular, but not bulky. On his back was a small light bow and a quiver full of arrows.
The second, a woman with the name of Lune Peregrine, the general of Turtle Army and Amaryn best defender. Her body was tall, huge, and imposing, a contrast to her kind and mother-like face. Her thick Titan Steel armor made her bulky body even more space consuming.
The Third and the fourth were Emilia and Alvin Dryden, the Court Mage. Despite the lack of recognition for Mages in Amaryn, those two were considered to be on par with the Royal Guards in term of battle prowess.
"Yes, the designated enemy base is around here." Ander answered. He circled his finger on the map laid in front of him.
"Okay. Lune you will be our vanguard. Emilia, you set up a detection field around us. Alvin, you prepare for reactive spells. Remember, don't use fire, we're in the Sewer, and the last thing we wanted is for you to choke us to death. Ander, you will be our main attacker. And I will cover our flank." He clapped his hand together. "Okay, Sir Arslan personally asked u to do this job. That alone speak the difficulties of this mission. Don't let your guard down even for a second. Let's move."
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Aria ran through the hallway with Natalie beside her. Sweat soaked her nightgown. Her heart beat rapidly, and her head was hot. 'FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!' She cursed Theo inside her mind and her heart. If only that man didn't intervene, if only that man didn't come to Redmound, if only that man didn't exist, her 15 years of hard work wouldn't have gone to waste. All that learning politic, economy, learning how to lie, how to manipulate people since she was still an 11 years old girl.
Fuck that man, fuck him and his whole existence.
She almost grasped her dream to put those piece of shit Nobles in their place. To take revenge on those Nobles who hurt her. To make them pay for what they did to her and her mother.
Natalie raised an arm, signaling her to stop. She checked the corner, it was her job to make sure every corner was safe. Before she could, however, a fist slammed into her stomach.
Her body crashed the nearby wall, then it fell, unconscious.
Aria turned back and started running, but she tripped and fell. No, a hand grabbed her leg and caused her to fall. She turned her head. Theo was standing behind her. "Helo there, Princess."
She gritted her teeth. "Fuck y-AHHHHH!" She screamed when Theo pulled her hair.
Theo looked left and right, ignoring the screaming Aria behind him. He dragged her by the hair until they reached a particular cell. Theo grabbed Aria's neck and raised her. She slapped, punched, spat, and kicked him. There was no effect of course.
Theo chained her until she was hovering in the air by the chain on both of her hand. "FUCK YOU!" She thrashed around, but the chain held her in place. Theo punched her in the gut, hard enough that she coughed blood, but not enough to make her faint. It silenced her.
Theo grabbed her nightgown and ripped it apart. "You...Mother Fucker! So is this what you want, raping me? You trade this country future for this?!"
Theo slapped her, again and again until both of her cheeks were red. Then he forcefully kissed her and sucked the blood in her mouth. "Sweet, sweet blood." He said. He held her cheek to force her eyes meet his. "I really, really, want to kidnap you out from this country. Make you my personal slave so I can torture and rape you every single day and night!" He punched her stomach, causing her to cough more blood. "You threaten My Mary! You sent assassin and spy to kidnap her! You told Wrath to get her! Now his men are going to knock on her door and make her life worse! BECAUSE OF YOU!!" He punched her gut again.
He walked around and examined the room. "I just want to rip you apart, turn you inside out. Maybe take some part to make a souvenir for Fergus. He loves tender meat like yours." He took a whip from one of the racks inside the cell. "But Sir Arslan saved me earlier today. It made me remember why I'm fighting you in the first place. You should thank Sir Arslan after you escape from this dungeon. So for the sake of yourself and for the future of this country." He whipped the air, creating a crackling sound. "Scream your lungs out, princess. It might alleviate some of my anger."
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Lyana ran through the hallway of the secret dungeon. There were many branching paths, and she took the wrong turn three times already. She met a few enemies along the way but dispatched them without much effort.
She looked at Ed behind her. He was disgusted, terrified, shocked after seeing her killed some people. Though it was a typical reaction for someone who has never killed before. It was actually pretty amazing he didn't throw up and didn't give up mid-way, considering how brutal some of the death he saw.
They were met with another branching path, one to the left and one continue forward. "Damn it!" She had wasted so much of their time when she picked the wrong turn. Add that with the time she spent arguing with Ed, The Princess might have escaped right now.
A scream came from her left. She instantly ran to the source of the sound.
A woman was lying on the ground, with a cracked wall behind her. A line of blood flowed down from her mouth and the back of her head. Another scream erupted from a cell not too far from there. Lyana ran there and turned to see what was inside the cell. She was baffled by what she saw.
Whip marks covered the Princess' body. There wasn't a single spot on her body that wasn't red. There were traces of blood near her mouth and between her legs, bruises on her stomach, red cheeks, and tears flowing down both of her eyes. Aside from a few small cuts, there were no open external injuries, though god knows how many internal injuries she has. She was weeping, but her voice was too small to be heard clearly. Even as her enemy, Lyana felt sorry for her.
"Ed, don't come here. Just, wait there!" She prevented Ed from seeing what was happening inside. It was better for him to not see. "Theo, I think that is enough."
Theo turned his face towards Lyana. It was red, still brimming with anger. He nodded and took a deep breath to normalize his breathing.
He punched Aria in the stomach three more times before giving her a hard backhand slap. "You fucking cunt!" He would have punched her more if not for Lyana stopping him.
"Theo, enough! You'll kill her!" She yelled.
He walked away from the now unconscious princess and threw the whip in his hand to the floor. "There's a change of plan. Pack your things. We're going to Ketu Theocracy as soon as we can."
Lyana didn't reply, it was not the right time to ask about his reasoning. "What about the Princess?"
"Fuck the Princess! Fuck the kingdom! Fuck the succession war! My Mary is in danger. I need to meet someone in Ketu Theocracy as soon as possible." He pointed at Natalie. "That person there, she will wake up in half an hour or an hour. Right now, we need to get out from here."