Alice was panting, struggling to recover from the shock the barrier gave them. Kazius had bared the brunt of it, but it seemed that did not spare her from the impact. Surprisingly enough, Eve looked fine. Then again… The barrier was likely put up by the Church… Maybe she had such a high Holy Magic affinity that it did not affect her? Kazius had no clue nor any time to think about it.

“You two alright?” Kazius would ask.

“Somehow… I have no clue what we should do now though.” Alice stated, sounding strained.

“That was fun! Everything was sparkly!” Eve exclaimed giddily.

“Well for starters, we need to get rid of them… Then we can figure out where to go.” Kazius stated, determined.

They were so close to freedom…

The situation was hopeless… But he refused to give up now.

It was then a Knight would interrupt their conversation by aiming an attack towards Alice. Alice would, surprisingly enough, react in time to dodge the blade. An even more impressive feat considering how drained she sounded after their shock. Confirming she at least had some combat training.

As this occurred, more Holy Knights made their way up the wall. As many as the space they were in could fit. There was a total of 10 blocking their way each direction… Below the wall there were even more… Then came the barrier on the other side… They were trapped.

Kazius may have been a former Holy Knight Lieutenant, but 10 Knights at once was crazy… So, 20 with the 3 of them was a tall order. Still… He would save his friends…

Kazius refused to give up.

He would kill his first Holy Knight if he had to.

“Eve, do your best to make as many barriers as you can, Alice, cover me.”

“Got it!” Alize exclaimed, sounding determined. It seemed she was not giving up either.

“Yes, sir! Hehe… I always wanted to say that.” Eve would giggle with a clumsy salute.

Eve seemed to have a good amount of mana, able to make multiple small barriers that would circle them in a spiral… The magic itself was not of Holy Nature though, but that was far from an issue. Any Holy Magic or crossbow attacks sent their way would be stopped by them regardless.

Kazius was shocked at the fact she could manage something like that. He mentally took back all his thoughts about her being inept. Such a feat required enormous concentration.

Then again, was this possible for her because of her contract with Azanor?

His comrades were not done surprising him though.

What Alice would do next…

There was only one family that could use such a power. This fact confirmed Kazius’ suspicions from before.

It was like it had happened in slow motion. Alice’s hood would be sliced open, revealing a large broad sword that was much wider than any of such type of sword.

It was not just any broad sword. It was The Sword of Legend tied to the history of Ratier. The Hero’s Promise, the sword handed down along the Royal Family for generations to the next in line. From the golden engravings and the red hilt… It was exactly as depicted in the stories.

The sword would fly out from her back and impaled through the armor of the Knight right in front of Kazius. The impact was hard, causing blood to splatter as the sword would go fully through the Knight before landing on her hand…

That ability… It really was Sword Levitation…The ability to make a sword fly with your mind… What Ratier Layton had used in his campaign against Demons. The ability of the Royal Family…

Of course, the Knights were more shocked than he was at what they just saw.

‘It really is her…’

As if to dispel any last doubts… With her hood shredded… The return of the sword created a wind that knocked what was left of it down…

Due to this, Kazius would spot the woman’s face for the first time… Or rather… The first time in a long time.

There it was… Her dazzling pink hair, that was now cut short… And sparkling violet eyes. She was as beautiful as he remembered. The Princess. She really was alive… And unlike last time he saw her… Her previously sad and defeated looking eyes now held a fire like no other.

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“Wow, Alice, you have a face!” Eve exclaimed, genuinely shocked.

Her words would snap Kazius out of his shock. Now was no time for sightseeing.

Kazius’ blood rushed through him… Not out of fear though… But excitement…

‘We can do this… Together…’

At this thought, a small smirk began to grace his features…

He once considered the idea of the Princess being alive to be impossible… To be proven wrong like this… It lit the hope within him that had been extinguished before.

They would win. He now believed that with all his heart.

He also wouldn’t be outdone.

Now that he had a sense for his own power source… It was like a limb he never realized he had until now. He was going to use what he learned from his battle with the Orcs and from Azanor. He would try and focus the energy on his hand. He encased it in shadow, creating a shape that was like a large spike that could extend and even curve about.

The trio would find themselves working quite well together.

For Kazius, the battle began to evolve into something more than just protecting his teammates… After all, he had a bone to pick with the Holy Knights. It acted like an outlet for all the frustration, hopelessness, and fear he had felt before. Not just from the past two days, but from all the way back to his days at The Orphanage. He was letting it all out, because he refused to let it stay within him anymore.

He had been running for so long… From the truth and from his fate… But… He wouldn’t run anymore. He would embrace this part of himself… And it paid off… Because they were running through the Knights like a meat grinder.

Eve’s protection, his shadow weapon’s slicing, Alice’s flying sword…

To Kazius it was like a show of the harmony between him and his new friends… He was grinning… And out of the corner of his eye… He could tell his friends were too.

He killed his first, second, third, and even fourth Holy Knights… And the number was only increasing. It was fun, the heaviness of the action simply evaporating…

But…

From the perspective of the Knights though, the 3 party members having fun and getting carried away… They would look like quite the group of terrifying Monsters, something from their deepest nightmares. A looming evil force.

A maniacal giggling mad Elf woman.

A traitorous Princess that had come back from Hell.

And a malicious Shadow Monster that had been hiding among their own ranks to study his prey.

Before they knew it, only 2 Knights remained on the wall. The others below too stunned to join them… Or perhaps too afraid… They would scramble, attempting to run. Kazius managed to bring 1 down, but he was not fast enough to get the remaining one.

He would pant, sweating from the effort he put into battle. He was still exhausted thanks to the zap they had gotten…

He would shake away such thoughts, happy with the outcome of the fight at least.

“Will it be alright?” Kazius asked while looking at Alice, pointing at the fleeing Knight… After all, he didn’t quite understand her situation, how she had survived or if it was fine for others to know she was alive.

“Yes, it is fine… I am done hiding from those bastards.” Alice stated with a content grin, looking quite proud before looking a bit bashful.

“I am sorry… For Hiding who I am.” Alice would add in shame.

“You clearly have your reasons for doing that.” Kazius admitted with a small smile of understanding.

“Anyway, I would love to talk about this more, but we should try and get out of here and figure out-” Kazius began to add only to be cut off by clapping.

Surprised, the group would turn towards the source… It was Azanor. Surprisingly enough, he had not made a run for it.

The Demon was grinning widely, his expression twisted into a malicious satisfied look.

“Bravo! Bravo! 100 points! Oh, that was beautiful… I quite love watching those liars die. Almost brought a tear to my eye. You shattered them like glass… Except glass in useful.” Azanor mused in delight, floating midair while in a lazy sitting position. He played with his old cane a bit once he finished clapping, his grin turning into a genuinely happy smile.

“Azanor!” Alice exclaimed in surprise with a frown.

“What? Did you miss me? I didn’t know I had already become your best friend. Sorry to disappoint, but Eve is closer to my best friend if anything.” Azanor teased.

“It’s true!” Eve exclaimed happily, looking quite proud and even smug. She really did never learn… It was clear they could not stop her from being friends with The Demon.

“I’m surprised you didn’t leave and go burn down a village or something.” Kazius admitted with a sigh.

Azanor scoffed at this.

“Give me some credit. I told you I would meet you on the other side… How many times do I have to say it? I don’t lie.” Azanor would remind them.

“Besides, is that anyway to thank me?” Azanor added, making a smug and snobbish expression as he looked up. He crossed his arms after saying this as well. His expression practically shouted, ‘go ahead, praise me’.

“I do suppose I should thank you properly for helping me with my powers… Thank you.” Kazius admitted awkwardly, but his words were genuine… It was just strange… To be thanking a Demon out of all things.

“You’re welcome, at least you realize I helped you… But you actually already thanked me for that. I also wasn’t talking about that.” Azanor stated, his smile turning into a satisfied grin as he motioned around him.

Confused, Kazius stared at him… Then it hit him. The area Azanor was hovering above… It was where the barrier had been…

“You… You got rid of it?” Kazius questioned in shock.

“Why?” Alice questioned, just as surprised at his help.

“Yay! Thank you!” Eve exclaimed happily, not even questioning it.

“Why?” Azanor mocked, his expression twisting into a smug smirk.

Kazius and Alice both looked at him expectantly, wanting an answer.

“Of course, it is because…” Azanor began, making sure he had their attention.

“It is too bad, I won’t tell you that for free.” Azanor teased playfully, laughing once he noticed the disappointment in their faces at his answer.

“Oh, don’t make that face, come on already. Let’s leave, I am more than tired of this kingdom.” Azanor stated, still snickering a little as he landed on the wall with them.

Kazius sighed. He really did not understand him at all… Still, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t grateful. Azanor so far had truly not lied once and had been nothing but helpful.

‘I really am doomed to have weirdos as friends, aren’t I?’ Kazius would wonder to himself mentally in defeat. Honestly warming up to Azanor some. It was hard not to. After all, he was quite strange himself.

“Alright… Well… Thank you, Azanor.” Kazius admitted, using his shadows to get them to the other side of the wall…

As this occurred, Alice was silent. Clearly, she had some mixed feelings about this… Especially due to her lineage.

“Yay! Let’s go!” Eve exclaimed happily, literally jumping with joy.

What was beyond the wall… They were about to finally find out.