Estevan met the sword aiming for his mother — as if he would let such a thing happen. He poured mana into his blade and lightning engulfed around it. With every swing at the enemy came a small blast of electricity, pressuring his opponent. When an opening appeared, he wasted no time to exploit it. At close range, he unleashed a powerful wave of lightning, ultimately killing his enemy.

Once that was done, he promptly stepped back to protect his mother. He momentarily glanced at his allies. Rogan was protecting Eleden, and next to them was Lucious, who was willing to face down anyone who gets close.

The butler, Vernon, charged directly at his enemy, his punches crushing armor and breaking bones. But his priority was protecting the one he was assigned to. The other Wisterian knights were keeping the perimeter.

They should be moving to meet with their main forces, but they were waiting for someone, for the other royal.

Vernon, after snapping the neck of an enemy, moved back to the inner circle.

“Vernon, where is she? Aren’t we supposed to meet here?”

It has been a few minutes since they have been here. Just to wait for her arrival. Estevan was willing to wait as long needed, but with the current circumstances, they wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.

“I don’t know.”

That was all the answer he got. Estevan couldn’t particularly blame him, he only received orders from her mistress. Even so, it was infuriating that they didn’t know where Estelia was.

“... I should have gone and grabbed her.”

“I know, Your Highness. But I doubt she would appreciate that.”

Estevan clenched his sword tighter. The number of enemies was increasing by the moment. He could use his larger scale magic, but if he constantly does it, he would run out of mana before it ends. If that happened, he would be completely useless. It was too risky to do something drastic.

One knight approached Estevan, panting heavily. “Your H-Highness. We can’t keep this up. We need to join with the rest of the knights.”

“No! We wait for Estelia!”

The knight pursed his lips, even he didn’t want to abandon the Princess. No, they would never even dream of it. No one would. But the situation was just becoming dire.

“Yes, sir.”

And they held on for several seconds. Two Wisterian knights perished. And then, Rogan noticed a pair sneaking by the enemy rear, going for the least number of enemies. One was familiar, and the other was cloaked. The former was Mera, and considering her, then the other one must be the Princess.

“There they are!” he shouted.

Estevan immediately turned towards where he pointed. He gestured to a knight to aid him, and they immediately rushed towards the two, piercing through the enemy. Estevan grabbed the cloaked one by the hand, and pulled her into the protective circle while keeping enemies off. With some assistance from the other knights, the four of them reached safety.

Estevan frantically grabbed her by the shoulder, and when she looked up, it was the face of his sister.

“Estelia!”

“B-Brother, don’t just shout my name.”

He smiled. “Great, you’re here.” He faced his forces. “Time to move out! Go!” He turned back to Estelia. “Stay close with everyone, okay?”

“Okay.”

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As Estevan moved to guard, their mother, Meliya, rushed to Estelia and hugged her tight.

“My Estelia, I’m glad you’re alright.”

“I’m relieved to see you safe, sister,” said Eleden.

“Yeah, great relief you’re here.” Lucious sighed.

“Y-Yes.”

They began their slow march to reunite with the knights of Wisteria. It was not easy, but with their progress, more and more friendly knights arrived to help them. Some from the direction of the palace, but mostly from the barracks.

It was increasingly difficult and tiring to hold out that Estevan was breathing more heavily. More and more, he had to rely on his magic. But still, he had to be mindful. With every ally that arrives though, the more weight was lifted off his shoulders.

And with everyone’s efforts, they have become a bit distant from the palace. Halfway, they’ll arrive at the barracks. But then, a single knight suddenly came charging at Estevan, holding a greatsword.

“Wisterian Prince!” His sword raised, he violently and swiftly brought it down.

Even Estevan was surprised by his sheer speed. And all he could do was cast his barrier to block it. Flames erupted on the other side, and his shield cracked. “Wha—?!” He immediately jumped back just as his shield shattered, the enemy’s sword hitting the ground.

Estevan fired a pair of arcs, but the enemy fought them off with his magic coated sword. He recognized him, he heard he was one of the elites among the empire ranks that came along in Wisteria. He never saw him fight before, not even during the spars.

The enemy knight came at him, and their blades met. Sparks flew, with each of their swings spewing magic all around. Estevan found it hard to believe, but it was almost like they were on par.

He let one hand go and gathered mana into it. Afterward, he unleashed a bludgeoning force, hoping the enemy would lose his balance. But the enemy knight released the same thing. So both their magic crashed and canceled each other out.

Estevan gritted his teeth.

“How disappointing. Is this all you can do, Prince?”

Estevan didn’t respond.

“More of our elites are coming. But I’ll be killing you.”

“Not if I kill you first.”

“Hahahahahaha! You can try.”

And they traded blows again. Estevan was managing fine, but then the enemy flicked his sword against Estevan’s. And then, the enemy thrust his fist into Estevan’s stomach. The prince gasped as he was blown away.

Giving no time for him to recover, the enemy promptly swung his strike. It was sure to hit Estevan, and it would certainly be fatal. At the same time, Estevan noticed multiple balls of fire about to come down on the inner circle — coming down on the rest of the family. Rogan, Vernon, and a few others quickly cast their shields. He was worried. Despite the blade coming at him, all he could think of was his family.

But then, someone deflected the enemy’s sword. The confused Estevan quickly rose to his feet and saw a Wisterian elite.

“Alzen!”

The one-handed knight.

“Your Highness. Your reinforcement has arrived.”

Estevan couldn’t help but grin widely. “Yeah! Glad to have you here. Finally!”

“Let me help you with this guy.”

“Of course, sure. I need it.”

The enemy knight grunted. “Come at me then.”

Together, Estevan and Alzen engaged the enemy. Alzen sprinted to the side, while Estevan charged straight ahead. His and the enemy’s sword met, the impact was so powerful that it caused the wind to blow around them.

Alzen promptly attacked from the side. The enemy noticed it instantly, and he cast a barrier with his other hand. Seeing that chance, Estevan quickly gathered mana in his left hand and blasted a bludgeoning force at the enemy. Of course, unguarded from such an attack, the enemy staggered.

With that opening, Estevan swung a slash of light right next to him.

“Ggh!” The enemy’s armor was cut through.

Alzen took the chance to land a heavy swing on the enemy’s back, cutting all the way to the flesh. The enemy shouted in pain and he spun around, sending an arc of light in all directions. Both Estevan and Alzen backed away while deploying a barrier for themselves. Estevan was surprised by the sheer force of the attack that he was pushed away as his barrier cracked. Fortunately, the attack dissipated before it completely broke it.

Immediately, both Estevan and Alzen sent multiple magical slashes at their enemy. The enemy tried blocking them, but a couple got through his defenses.

“Gah!” He got wounded all over. “I’ll kill you all!” He began limping as he went after Estevan.

Alzen engaged from behind, while Estevan attacked head on. They exchanged attacks, defending when necessary. But eventually, the enemy tired out. And both Estevan and Alzen plunged their swords into the enemy.

Estevan panted, relieved that his opponent had finally been defeated. He pulled back his sword and watched the surroundings. More Wisterian knights have gathered to fight off the enemies. However, dust flew around the center of the defense as magic spells bombarded upon them.

“Put additional defenses!” Estevan shouted as he rushed back to his family.

Multiple knights joined in to defend them. But then…

“Where’s Estelia?”

That shivering question came from the Queen.

Everyone looked at where she was supposed to be. They couldn’t believe it. She was gone.

“W-Where did she go? Since when…?” Rogan muttered, dumbfounded.

“Impossible!” shouted Eleden. “There’s no way anyone could have taken her.”

Estevan took in a sharp, nervous breath. “Where is she…? How?”

Everyone searched around the battlefield. But the Princess was nowhere to be found.