As the sun rose the next morning, the four knights along with Carlos, Ducan, and Dhruv were already in the castle hall.
"You must remember, whatever happens, you must stick together. Never listen to anything that could separate you," Ducan explained, walking around with his hands folded behind his back.
They all nodded in respect. Then they simultaneously said, "Yes, master."
This time it was Carlos who looked at them with a melancholic gaze. They were truly Carlos's wards whom he brought to the castle with affection.
Carlos couldn't bear to see his students harmed. "The other teachers and I cannot accompany you. The situation is still unstable, the wolf clan may still attack. Someone must stay here while you go."
Hearing this, Darius nodded obediently. "We will handle this, Elder. You don't need to worry."
Suddenly, Dhruv approached Isaura and stood in front of her. "Isaura, you are the only one different here. You are the last wizard remaining in the universe. And a precious asset to a wizard besides power is their wand. Therefore, whatever happens, never surrender Vegas to anyone. Vegas must stay with you no matter what." The teacher looked at Isaura with confidence.
Isaura was mesmerized and immediately nodded firmly. "Don't worry, teacher. I will always protect Vegas like my own life."
"In that case, go. We don't have much time. If this is indeed a conspiracy, we cannot give them much time to plan further," Carlos explained.
After bidding farewell, the four of them left the academy. This was actually the first time they had gone far and for an indefinite period.
And here they are now. In the Darkvale forest, where they last battled Xander.
Isaura sniffed the ground as they walked, trying to discern any clues. But so far, she hadn't found anything.
This did not escape the sight of a man in black who was now watching them from a floating magic mirror in the air. The figure laughed contentedly. "Do you see that, prince? They don't even know they've fallen into my trap just to find you. They truly are fools! They won't find anything about your death because you're still alive."
Meanwhile, behind bars, Xander could only bang on the iron to get out and correct this misunderstanding. And to reveal the demon king's evil plan. "You won't be able to do anything to Isaura while they're together."
After a long silence, a voice was heard. "You're right. I must separate the wizard girl from her friends."
Before Xander could protest, the man in black had disappeared. Leaving behind the mirror that was still Xander's only view.
Meanwhile, Isaura continued to sharpen her sense of smell until she closed her eyes. She didn't realize she was at the edge of a cliff. Until a large root, whose origin was unknown, began to pull her feet until she slipped into the abyss. "Darius! My leg!"
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Darius, who was a few meters away from Isaura at that time, ran and jumped to reach Isaura's hand. "Got it! Hold on a little longer, don't let go of my hand!"
But as Darius's body also fell, they could only scream loudly. "AAAAA!!!"
"Darius! Isaura!" Evelyn turned around upon hearing the screams, accompanied by birds suddenly emerging from their hiding places.
Eliot hurriedly approached Evelyn, who was still looking back. "We need to find them now." Apparently, he also heard Isaura's scream.
The girl nodded and then walked towards the edge of the cliff. But once there, they couldn't find what they were looking for at all.
While Evelyn looked distressed, Eliot noticed the disturbed ground. He crouched down and sniffed it. He closed his eyes briefly before speaking. "It seems they've gone into the abyss."
Eliot's words only made Evelyn feel more panicked. "The Darkvale Abyss is the deepest chasm in Mythoria. None of us know if this abyss has an end or not."
What Evelyn said was true. But if they didn't do something, Isaura and Darius might be in danger. Therefore, Eliot stood up and looked at the girl in front of him seriously. "We have to descend. Whatever happens, Elder Carlos warned us not to be separated."
"But how can we fly in the darkness? Moreover, the deeper we go, the thinner our flying power becomes."
"I've thought about it. We have no other way. A little delay could mean anything. Besides, you're a fire fairy, we can use your fire as illumination down there."
Actually, Evelyn didn't agree with Eliot's statement. But considering that Darius and Isaura are their friends too, they couldn't just stand by. So the girl looked at Eliot seriously and nodded firmly.
It took them a few moments to prepare, and then they flew to the edge of the seemingly endless abyss, with a flame held by Evelyn in her hand as illumination. The location of Elvendria, which was a floating plateau, made them unaware of how deep this abyss they were approaching truly was.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Darius had just blinked his eyes. He felt his whole body shattered after falling from a height whose depth he didn't know.
But as he opened his eyes, he was once again faced with his existence inside a spherical object made entirely of dead roots. Both of them were imprisoned inside a round cage made of dead roots. And to make matters worse, they were hanging on an ancient tree with not a single leaf left.
Darius grabbed one of the roots and looked down. He felt it getting worse because below them, there was a river of lava. If they fell, they would turn to ash within three seconds.
The long-haired elf then looked at the girl beside him who was starting to blink her eyes. Slowly she got up and immediately sat down as she saw the scenery around her. "Darius, where are we?"
A resigned sigh came from Darius. "It seems we've just come out of Mythoria."
"Out of Mythoria?"
Darius then turned around and leaned his back against the dead root bars. He closed his eyes for a moment. "We're in Demonhold, the realm of demons."
Those words made Isaura's eyes feel like they were about to pop out of their sockets. Her body suddenly felt weak. "Oh my, what are we going to do now? What will happen to us? Darius, we can't die before uncovering Xander's death. Or the name of Elvendria will be forever tarnished in the universe."
"Stop talking, Isaura. Do you think I want to die? Panicking is not the solution; we need to think of a way to get out of this cursed place. And to think, we need to try to stay calm," Darius explained.
It's undeniable that Isaura is prone to panic. And in her panic, she could act foolishly like when she chased Xander before.
But this time, Darius had to calm Isaura down. If the Wizard were to do something foolish again, not only Isaura's life but his own might also be at stake.
Isaura's melancholic gaze shifted downwards, where the lava flowed with its turbulence. Occasionally, it looked like waves in the ocean as the fire began to hit some rocks on the edge.
The girl forced herself to swallow her saliva and then slumped even more with her gaze fixed on the fire. "Darius, why don't we destroy these roots and fly down under the tree? That way, the fire won't be able to destroy us."
"Isaura, I've told you we're in the demon world now."
Isaura raised an eyebrow. "So?"