BEFORE the assassin could launch an attack. Izora shouted. “A portal led us here!” “A portal, you said?” The assassin took a deep breath. “How?” “Iridessa sent us here.” Kafle swiftly answered. He could still remember how this assassin knocked him down easily in just a split second. Knowing he couldn't fight him in his current condition, he questioned why all of the places they could be sent, but ended up here. “You’ve seen Iridessa?” The assassin seemed to doubt. “I didn't think she was the real deal. Only a few people know that the liberalist chief is a fae, and I'm one of them.” Kafle’s eyes were still fixed on the assassin's dagger. The usual cold face of the assassin seemed to soften. “My house is not an orphanage!” Kafle was confused, but he didn't say a word. Just in time, a huge shelf moved, and a doorway was shown. Two men came out. One of them was the person they'd been looking for. “Hey, Kafle?” “Ethros!” Izora ran toward him. “You’re alive!” “Grandma, it's
JIE finally met several members of the Akatasuna Guild for the first time. Three guild officials attended, along with around twenty other members who were in Vatre during that time. He and Kafle were introduced to them; some were welcoming, while others seemed disappointed since they got into the guild easily. Unlike the normal members, they'd need to survive the life-and-death feats to be accepted. “This is the first time the guild has accepted honorary members,” said one of the guild members. A young woman named Krecia. She was a mage but was assigned to be a spy. Jie learned that she was the Intelligence Head. “The chief never gets wrong,” said the other. A middle-aged swordsman, Govi—the Raid Head Officer. Ryker was the one presiding over the meeting since he was the Ambassador of the Guild Council. They were inside the great hall underground, sitting on a long, rectangular table. “Our main agenda is to retrieve the child from the high mage’s tower. They cannot have the Luo
THE guild meeting ended abruptly. Krecia used her staff to create a circular projection to oversee what was going on outside. Everyone saw Commander Semme frantically searching inside the library. “He’s using mana detection…” Krecia muttered. “We'll see if he can find us.” “What if he does? That man is cruel! I have a score to settle with that bastard.” Ethros gritted his teeth. “If he finds us, then we'll kill him,” Uzzo said, as if it were not a big deal. Govi tilted his head in agreement. “Yes, that's the best choice. Even if it meant declaring war with that empire.” Everyone motioned their hands, and a circular blue energy danced in their palms, while Damien’s arm suddenly crawled with thorny vines with small white flowers. The other remaining members were positioned behind the guild officials as they drew their weapons out. “What are those?” Jie asked Kafle. “That's Aguanum, the basic defense for fire magic. I'll teach you that when I'm released from the impeding sha
THE rear palace was lively when the night of the banquet came. Royalties coming from the seven houses were invited. These were the influential families who had been great supporters of the empire. They were wealthy merchants and powerful wizards. Ryker represented the House of Vaughn. Although his name always stirred in the Vatre Empire, they could not ignore him since he had the highest magical orb produced. Those were essential for Ankhe City to thrive in comfortable weather. Even at a young age, he had shown everyone what he was capable of. As Ryker entered the rear palace, he immediately scanned every face present there. However, his companions couldn’t hide the excitement in their eyes—Bryce and Ethros, who were positioned behind him. Lucius was on his side, and Damien was on the other. He only kept a few so they wouldn’t attract attention, unlike other aristocrats, who had at least ten chaperones. “Behave yourselves.” Ryker reminded the two. “Apologies, my lord.” Bryce ra
AS A young man, Jie’s body reacted when the princess started tempting him. But he was old enough to restrain himself. He inhabited a seventeen-year-old body, and taking advantage of the situation could get him killed.Jie stayed focused and looked at the situation positively, letting the princess’ aggressive hands linger on his neck. He felt her warmth, yet he firmly stood his ground.“Tell me what you want, I’ll gladly give it to you.” She teased him even more.“I have questions,” he swallowed hard. Knowing the next words he’d say could alert her and get him decapitated.“Spill it!” She bit her lower lip.“Is it true that the high mage’s tower is impregnable?” He prayed that the princess would stay under the influence of alcohol.She paused. Jie’s heartbeat pounded, but he breathed in relief when Princess Tzeitel giggled.“Are you interested in the Luominen, too?”Jie cleared his throat. “I'm just curious.”“Don’t even think about it. Would you believe that even a royal like me is fo
THE light mood inside the silver house suddenly turned tense when Lucius came in a hurry. It was already past midnight. All of them were in the library except Krecia, who had already left earlier that day. They were discussing their upcoming plans for their journey to Cape Madura when they were interrupted.“My lord, I just received news from our network in Herex, the empire decreed a Death Horde in the Aolien Village, and soldiers are already approaching. Semme accused them of supporting the insurgents.” Lucius looked worried.Jie didn’t know what was going on. Every ear was alert to Lucius’ words. Ryker seemed to be the most affected among them. He got up to face his attendant.“Lucius, are you certain? A death horde is the harshest punishment given to a certain village.”“I couldn’t be wrong. Some of the guild members are there.” Lucius was turning pale.“So, the death hor
“WHO is that?” Jie asked, looking at the old man in a handcuff.“Based on the crest in his clothing, he must be Magistrate Golvig.”“I see. I hope nothing bad happens to him.”Damien heaved a sigh. “I highly doubt it.”Jie silently followed Damien as they made their way to the public square, where Mareo was mercilessly killed. They crouched and hid at the base of the ledge of the fountain.“Goodness gracious! What did he exactly do to be punished that way?” Jie immediately shifted his gaze since he couldn't let himself stare at the gore.“The empire had the most severe punishment for treason. Look around you; even the villagers who had nothing to do with Mareo are brutally murdered.”At a distance, when the commander motioned his hand up to the dragon riders hovering above, the monsters suddenly halted their onslaught.The magical leash mounted on every monster’s neck glinted as it served as the controller for their movements. The beasts around them paused and remained still, as if in
DAWN was approaching, and Jie shivered in the sudden gush of cold wind. There was a blackout in his mind again that he could not recall after chanting the Mizuagua Conjuration for the second time. He was perplexed as to why this was always happening to him.“Oh, please. Not now.” Jie blinked hard when his eyes slowly became blurred. He fought hard not to lose consciousness.Ryker ordered his men to disperse after ensuring all the survivors were retrieved.Liv was still silent, trying not to shed tears again. Magistrate Golvig was always beside her and always motivating her, even though the old man also needed urgent medical care.“Magistrate, the burn marks on your face must have hurt a lot,” Damien said. He used his earth magic to produce an herb and carefully rubbed it on the magistrate’s burned cheek. “This is just first aid. You’ll need a skilled healer since this wound might be infected if left untreated.”“This is nothing compared to the lives we lost here.” Golvig gazed down.W
CRISTON’S dumbfounded expression turned into awe as a series of flickering blue lightning countered the attackers. It was not long until it was revealed that a platoon of military elves consisting mainly of mages was positioned in proximity of the border for defense.“Indeed, the military might of the Southern Hanum is state of the art. Look at that? In just a blink, the aggressors retreated. That’s the famous Starlight Regiment, stationed on the borders. Their sole task is to kill all enemies on sight.” Xylas shook his head as he chuckled, and he added, “General Ibri is surely ruthless. Rumors had been circulating that he secretly trained private elite armies of mages defying the order of the late queen.”“That’s why Advani remained untouched. General Ibri is the head of the war council after all. The Supreme General of Hanum. We’re lucky; even though they vetted on us, General Mord did everything so we could have easy access in this territory.” Criston stared at the magnificent view
ON THE rocky shore of West Advani, Pearlie crawled with her severely injured body while carrying Nyssa on her back, while Damien remained unconscious near them. The huge waves had helped them reach the island.The dawn was breaking, but the sounds of the night insects could be heard around, along with the turbulent splash of the waves and lightning piercing from the sky.“We are safe now.” Her tears kept falling from her eyes and turned into pearls as she recalled Tiedus’ heroic sacrifice for everyone to reach the shore of Advani.“Captain, wake up. We’re here,” Pearlie whispered through her dried throat. She felt her body was on fire.Pearlie fought hard not to lose consciousness, knowing they might meet their demise with the wild animals around if no one could rescue them. Fortunately, as her vision started to get blurred, she witnessed two gigantic birds—a falcon and a raven hovering above them.“It’s them!” said the man riding the giant falcon. It was Criston holding his golden gr
AS TZEITEL scurried to return to her villa to check on Izvern, she was not expecting to see his brother waiting on the entrance without his usual two guards. Agni seemed agitated.“Brother, what are you doing here? I thought you left since I haven’t seen you in the banquet hall.” She turned to her ladies-in-waiting behind her, headed by Marina. “Leave us. I need some time alone with my seventh brother.”“Yes, Princess.” Marina stepped back before she turned along with the other four maids.“What are you up to?” Agni stared at her eyes as if he saw through there the dangerous things she did.Tzeitel looked down. “What do you mean? Come in. So many prying eyes around.”“Do you think I will not notice how restless the imperial armies are around the estate? I sneaked to the nearest military camp; everyone seemed to be in chaos searching for something. I know how schem
DESPITE the current predicament of the Elsher Estate losing their precious captive, the marriage alliance between Cariux and the third princess still pushed through. The noble feast was held a day before the wedding, and several members of the imperial family had come to Kaitseri, including King Malik.Princess Tzeitel pretended to warmly welcome her family. Her two older sisters came to her just to assert their dominance since, just like her, they were married off to the powerful families to support the empire.“I can’t believe our youngest legitimate sister is getting married now,” Princess Gweyr giggled. She was the first princess. She came along with their second sister, Princess Eletha.They were in the receiving hall, and all the ladies from aristocratic families had gathered there, and some of them showcased their music skills. The festive sounds reverberated around.Eletha playfully touched Tzeitel’s hair. &ld
SURV Elsher gathered all the members of the family in the private hall of his residence to discuss their current dilemma. His old face was fuming in anger and scolding everyone.“Father, calm down!” Lord Filus tried to pacify the Elsher patriarch. “It already happened. An ordinary person could not even set foot in this estate, let alone abduct our source of healing power.”“What are you trying to say, Filus? If you were not so lax around here, this would not have happened!” Surv pointed his finger to his eldest son. “If that creature managed to return to Hanum, how would we answer to the empire?”“We control a military might in the North, we have the strongest armies. Who would dare to provoke us? I heard the intruder used an advanced technique of portal magic. Only Iridessa is capable of doing it.” Lord Filus sounded calm.Surv gritted his teeth. “A mere rebel dared to trespa
TZEITEL observed the three of the Elsher siblings gathered in the courtyard of the main house, drinking in celebration for the upcoming wedding, which would be held in two days. Using her portal magic, she could hear their conversation from a distance. Hidden on the roof of her villa, she prepared to return to the forbidden dungeon.“How’s the feeling of tying the knot, little brother? I heard Grandfather punished you the other day for having a tryst with your lover. How brave you are to disobey our elders while you're with the third imperial princess!” Fenton laughed as he teased Cariux. He raised his wine glass and clicked it to Halix’s glass.Halix chuckled upon hearing the words of their oldest brother. “I can’t believe you’re this immature, brother. You're carrying this duty, a task specifically given to you. You can’t mess this up.”Cariux chugged his wine. “Am I not fulfilling my du
TIEDUS reinforced the water bubble while Pearlie tended to Damien, who was still unconscious. They were traveling southward, holding out not to use their last resort to swim, as it could easily lead to their demise. “Captain Winward will kill us if he finds out we left the lieutenant to die,” Pearlie’s body trembled, remembering Hisila’s sacrifice. “The dead will remain dead. Why would we drown ourselves in regret? It’s useless! This is war, Princess. Thousands of lives will be the collateral. And now we have no choice but to cross the Lightning Sea. Maybe it’ll be our turn to die next.”“I know,” Pearlie gazed down. “Perhaps I’m too young to understand these things.”“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you reach Advani safely.” Tiedus strengthened his resolve, knowing the very low probability of survival. Crossing the Lightning Sea was a suicide.The water bubble came to a halt for a moment as they witnessed the sudden change of turbulent rift in the water from a distance. The roar of thu
BAHARINI quickly checked Hisila’s pulse, praying that she could feel even a faint throb, but there was none. It was difficult for her to accept that the lieutenant had already passed away. Silently, she blamed herself for her immaturity; had she heeded Kafle's advice to avoid wasting time in the pit, she might have avoided capture. This tragedy may not have fallen on Hisila if they had followed their plan.“She’s gone,” Baharini’s voice cracked. “It's my fault.”Kafle did not say a word. He looked around to check if he could find Damien and the others, but they weren't there. “We need to keep going,” Kafle said as his face was void of expression. Baharini turned to wipe her tears. She gazed down at Ethros, who seemed frozen on the ground. “Can we give her a proper send-off?” The princess suggested. “I'm afraid we don't have time. Our enemies are approaching. I can't risk your life.” Kafle had to make a hard choice, knowing time was of the essence.Jie finally came to his senses. H
ISLAND OF ASTRAEAIRIDESSA kept pointing to the island of Kaitseri on the map as she conversed with her deputy chief inside the war room. They had just finished discussing war strategies with other officials a while ago since the grand fleet of the Empire initiated an attack on the West Astraean shore.“Aren’t you worried we might lose this main base?” Nacht mused. He crossed his arms as he studied the cold expression of the liberalist chief.“You’re not helping, Nacht.” Iridessa heaved a sigh.“Take it easy, Chief. We’ll find a way to save your adoptive daughter.” Nacht teased her again.Iridessa rolled his eyes. “Tzeitel can fend on her own. I’m just waiting for her report.”“Her wedding is approaching. With the Elshers keeping her hostage, how can we guarantee her safety?”Iridessa scoffed. “Worry about your kids, Nacht. If you are not too foo