Into the Land of Amethyst

A moment later, the four boys eventually regained consciousness and found themselves in the middle of a vast greenery.

"Why does it feel like I just rode on a roller coaster?" Zeke started, sitting upright while caressing his aching forehead.

"You're not just used to magic yet. This is nothing to us, actually," Hal replied before lending his hand to help him stand.

True to his words, Hal, Allen and Noah were already on their feet, looking around and surveying the foreign surroundings.

"So, they're really inside the faculty room. It seemed like they didn't want us to be there so they immediately opened the door for us," Hal thought out loud, voice low and gruffly.

Realizing that they're inside the Realm, the young heir immediately recalled what they're here for. With that, he suddenly made a dash to a hump and cupped his mouth before bolting out, "Ms. Claes, are you in here?! Where are you?! Ms. Claes...!"

The others swiveled around to find him stirring up a racket once again. Allen only facepalmed at this while Noah and Hal just mustered a deadpan look.

"Hey, idiot! Stop making a commotion! You're going to get us killed!" Noah retorted with a straight face, much to Zeke's annoyance.

"Shut up! Can't you see I'm busy?!"

The two then started another round of banter, ignoring the fact they're inside a villain's lair. Hal and Allen, on the other hand, just let them be and continued their search around the grassland. They're able to make out the shapes of abandoned edifices and shambles from the distance. Throng after throng of gargantuan flowers were also in sight.

"This villain's really into gardening, huh..." Hal quipped, unamused.

Glancing at his direction, Allen could see how his rigid face was slowly contorting into a burdened one. It's not everyday that their leader showed this side of him. In every battle, he always did a good job in controlling his facial expressions no matter how exhausted or anxious he was. Scrutinizing his frame, the red head then smiled knowingly as he somehow saw through his tough leader façade.

"We'll find her, Hal. Don't worry," Allen assured him with a smile.

Hal was a bit surprised at this, but he only mirrored his grin before slowly nodding. In reality, he wasn't aware that he's worried until he pointed it out. He also didn't know that his uneasiness had been seeping through his front this much. Then again, he'd always been restless when it came to his assistant. For some reason, he'd unknowingly lose his cool like this whenever she got herself into peril.

At first, he knew that it's just because he's truly worried for her. Although there's also that feeling of being responsible for looking after her, Hal is now starting to sense a foreign and conflicting emotion.

"Just what are you doing to me, Eli...?"

On the other part of the Realm, the person in question was having a blast while striding through the sky, not noticing she'd been goofing around for some time now.

"This is the best...!" Eli enthused, raising both her arms upwards as a gust of wind wafted through her.

She was still riding on the butterfly carriage, drifting zestfully above a sea of purple. The scenery has been chaging colours for a while now until it eventually settled on this particular hue. Eli felt like she's going deeper and deeper into this land of unknown, though she seemed she really couldn't careless.

Soon enough, the knights and their guest finally arrived at their destination. Realizing that her fun time had finally ended, she decided to brace herself and put on her mask once again as a group of knights escorted her back on the ground.

Looking ahead, Eli was awestruck upon being greeted by a wondrous view.

An enormous, palatial fortress sits upon a gigantic tree that's ornamented with fully-bloomed flowers and leaves of various shades of purple. The most conspicuous ones among these adornments are the vining plants with cascades of blue to violet, hanging spectacularly from the pergolas and archways. Eyeing them closely, she was able to recognize the blossoms as the ever charming wisteria.

The sight was downright enchanting that Eli didn't notice the commander approaching her. Turning around, she's taken aback when he and the other servants bowed in front of her.

"Milady, we welcome you to our Realm, the Amethyst Falls," they greeted in perfect sync before paving way for her.

At this, Eli tried her best to conceal how nervous she was and mustered another devilish grin as she strode, but only to appear weird and awkward again. But then, as she continued pacing closer to the fortress, she found herself slowly gawking, completely stunned and drawn in, as she set eyes on a stupendous waterfall that materialized beside a gate made up of pure gold.

A spacious garden of wisteria, filled with sumptous statues, was also present. The one that stood out the most was the beautiful, golden sculpture of a woman in the middle. Her features and frame had her tilting her head quizzically as they somewhat rang a bell in her. She seemed to be someone she saw bafore, but then again, she may have been mistaken.

To sum up this experience, she'd say that this was her first time witnessing such luxury in her entire life.

But then, not everything was always what it seemed.

Eli was too wonder-stricken when she entered the Realm's sanctuary that she failed to prepare herself for what's coming. As soon as she stepped inside the fortress, a grandiose stair, glossy marble floor, huge glassless windows, and a luxurious chandelier came into view. However, not even these were able to distract her from the fright and apprehension she's feeling at that very moment.

On the centre of this dream-like setting was an unconscious body, helplessly tangled up in a gigantic spiderweb.