"You've been here so long, do you know what's different?"
Shirley asked Alice.
"Yes."
After thinking for a moment, Alice gave an affirmative answer.
"Great, then take us there now." Shirley snapped her fingers, feeling even better.
Everything was going smoothly, this was the rhythm that Her Highness Shirley should have!
Luna, however, furrowed her brow at Alice.
She felt like she had forgotten something, perhaps from a long time ago—something that hadn’t seemed important then, but now felt connected to this mysterious Alice.
But she truly couldn’t remember.
As for the architectural style of the ruins, she was beginning to recall a bit.
It indeed had the style of thousands of years ago, but she wasn’t sure which country it belonged to.
After all, in that era, it was the age of humans, and they, as different races, could only hide in the shadows.
Moreover, her role as the head maid kept her busy, so she rarely ventured out, knowing only general details.
Regarding this girl, she would probably have to ask Yuri and the others...
Following Alice, they walked a long distance.
Each section was similar: an empty square room filled with exploded bodies, then a tunnel, repeating endlessly...
"Did you kill all these creatures?" Shirley asked Alice.
Alice nodded.
"Wow..."
Although it was an expected answer, Shirley was still quite surprised.
Many body fragments had visible marks that she could identify.
They were mostly powerful creatures described vaguely in books.
This girl is something special...
The reason Shirley invited Alice was that she sensed the girl was different.
If possible, she didn’t want to be enemies with Alice, having her as an ally would be the best choice.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
But she was unsure why Alice agreed to her invitation.
Upon reflection, maybe it was just her charisma...
Finally, while each of them had their own thoughts and Karina was only thinking about food, they reached the end.
"Is it... this?" Shirley exclaimed.
As they passed through a black curtain, the scene before them opened up.
A dust-covered staircase led upward, with torches burning as if they would never extinguish, and in front of them...
Stood a massive gate!
It was truly large!
Just by looking, it was evident that the gate was several dozen meters wide and over a hundred meters tall!
Moreover, the surface of the gate was engraved with grand and strange patterns, not only Shirley, but even Luna didn’t know what those patterns meant.
"Princess Shirley, there may be danger behind this gate, it’s best to be careful," Luna warned cautiously.
Karina nodded in agreement.
"Do we need to push this gate?"
Looking at the imposing gate, Shirley hesitated.
What were those who built such a large gate thinking? Was there a dragon trapped inside?
But speaking of dragons, Shirley had never heard of "dragons" existing in this world.
Neither her mother’s stories nor the books she read mentioned such a creature.
"It won’t open."
Alice said at that moment.
"Really? Then should we try?" Shirley looked at Karina and Luna.
After all, practice is the only test of truth.
How could they know without trying?
However, the result was that they were all exhausted; whether they used brute force or magic, nothing worked.
"At this point, we can only use our last resort. Alyssa, go!"
Even Alyssa felt she couldn’t open the gate, but in front of Shirley, she seemed to have no choice.
Reaching the gate, Alyssa used all her strength, but the gate didn’t budge at all.
Seeing this, Shirley held her forehead, looking frustrated, and said, "Silly, use your blood! Let your blood drip on the gate, then push."
This was the most reasonable idea Shirley could come up with.
If that didn’t work, they would have to activate the battle armor and try one last time.
Using a knife, Alyssa cut her palm, and when she pressed her hand against the gate, as Shirley expected, something happened.
Alyssa’s blood spread along the traces on the gate, making the patterns more vivid.
It seemed that the amount of blood on the gate far exceeded the total blood in Alyssa’s body, yet she felt no discomfort.
"Just as I thought. But we should back off a bit now, in case something unexpected happens."
Facing such an extravagant and ancient gate, Shirley was unusually cautious.
When the patterns on the gate were completed with Alyssa’s blood, the entire gate began to shine brightly.
A deafening roar filled the space, the ground shook violently, and the unextinguished flames began to dance wildly.
"Be careful."
Shirley wrapped everyone in magic as a first line of defense.
Luna and Karina stepped forward, protecting Shirley, who was the mage of the group.
And Alice, the new member, stood with them.
Everything in sight gradually was replaced by brilliant light.
Alyssa suddenly felt her body float uncontrollably.
However, she didn’t feel panic or discomfort.
In fact, she felt very comfortable and secure...
Could it be that she truly had ancient noble blood?
Alyssa thought to herself with a hint of self-mockery.
She had magical blood but had been a beggar for over a decade, and now was being captured by vampires...
But thinking back to the disaster in White Horse City, besides Delia, only she and Eileen had survived.
If it weren’t for this bloodline, she wouldn’t have been chosen by Princess Shirley and would have perished...
Moreover, she felt no resentment towards Shirley, if she weren’t being drained, she actually thought being by Shirley’s side was quite nice.
The place she lived was good, the food was good, her life was so much better than before...
Her mind wandered, and her appearance gradually began to change.