Bliss

"Here, Prinsepe Aran!"

"Yeah!"

The two found themselves hiding in a random hallway after entering through the northern entrance of the royal castle. But although they managed to lose the ones chasing them from before they entered the north entrance, both ends of the hallway are full of people in a state of madness due to the Anino's curse.

After taking a short breather, Aran stated, "If there's one place in this royal castle where the Anino can hold people without putting a curse on them, it'll be a prison chamber. Aran exhaled. "We just have to find it."

"Understood." Kael sheathed his rapier, electrical charges began manifesting at the palm of his right hand. "I shall make our search easier."

"Wait, Kael!" Aran held the Malaya on his shoulder from behind. "This place is quite big, are you sure you have enough mana and stamina to trace the entire castle?"

"There's no need to worry about my mana and stamina." He reassured Aran as his eyes panned around the vicinity. "However, tracing the whole castle might take some time."

"Uruk!!"

"So that's where you're hiding!"

"Kill him!"

They heard angry voices from both sides of the hallway being directed at them.

Alarmed as the knights and maids that saw them started charging forward, Aran asked Kael, "How long will it take exactly?"

"20 Seconds!" Kael approached a nearby wall. "I'll get to it!"

"All right!" A sphere of water began building up from Aran's left palm. "I'll hold them off until then!"

Kael placed his electrocuting right hand onto a wall before closing his eyes and then he uttered, "Trace!" The flow of electrical charge began stretching from his hand to every nook and corner of the royal castle.

Trace, unlike Kael's Chain Lightning and other offensive abilities, can only travel through inanimate objects that he wants. Even if there are people or other living things around Kael, the lightning current will simply ignore them as if they were insulators and would continue stretching outward for as long as Kael willed it. Kael created Trace for the sole purpose of understanding the layout of his surroundings in case he finds himself in a tricky environment or situation.

"Uruk!!"

A Kruule knight came closer to Aran, prompting him to let loose of the water magic he's been building up from the start.

Splasshh!!

A flood sent the knight and the others behind him back to where they came from, all without harming them just like Aran intended.

"Die, Uruk!"

A maid approached Aran from behind.

"Ha!"

"Aghk!"

Aran used the pommel of his golden sword to hit the maid in her gut, just strong enough to immobilize her for a split second and then tackle her away.

After that, two knights with swords came to attack Aran from the same direction where the maid came from.

"I will kill you!!"

"Uruk!!"

Clang!!

With a loud bang, Aran's golden sword clashed with theirs.

"Hm?"

But at that moment, something caught the prinsepe's notice. Something that baffled him at first.

"..."

Clang! Bam! Clackle!

But after swinging their blades with one another, Aran finally figured out what baffled him.

"So that was why..." Aran continued to swing the sword, parrying the two knight's attacks. "...Despite the dull and quiet tone in her voice and the dead calm expression on her face, I could see her glare filled with intense irate, as well as that indomitable aura oozing from her."

At that moment, Aran admitted to himself that he, a prinsepe, was terrified of Lyrica.

Exactly fifteen seconds later, a knight and a maid slipped off from Aran as they charged at Kael who is currently focusing on tracing the entire royal castle.

"I need to stop them!"

After a couple of swings, Aran shoved the two knights away and ran for the ones coming for Kael.

"Wait!"

He threw himself onto the knight's back, sending him down the surface.

Crash!!

He then immediately came after the maid, pulling her from behind with her dress, keeping her grasp away from Kael. However...

"Uruk!"

"Uruk!!"

"Die!"

The ones Aran sent back using a flood has now returned with their eyes all on Kael.

"N-Not good!"

Aran pulled the maid further behind him. But the moment his gaze returned to where Kael was...

"Chain Lightning!"

The Malaya already Zap his way through everyone and hit each one of them with Chain Lightning.

Kzzzz-zzz!! Crackle!!

Aran, exhaling in relief, asked Kael, "Did it work?"

"Yes," Kael replied, panting heavily. "This way!"

The Malaya pointed his finger to the west, where the two knights came and attacked him.

"Lead the way, Kael."

"Right."

Ignoring the ones who are chasing them, the two ran and reached the west end of the hallway. They then found themselves in an intersection. One path leads to the northwest guard tower, and the other leads further south.

"In here!"

Kael directed Aran to the path leading further sound.

"Did you figure out where the prison chamber could be?"

Kael replied with a firm yes, "I've traced a chamber right underneath a great hall that's being used as a courtroom! That could be where the heroes are being held."

"And that woman heard their call from that far?" Aran commented in disbelief before averting his gaze from the Malaya, directing his eyes forward. "She must have such an incredible sense of hearing."

A knight stood in front of them and tried to halt their advance, but was almost instantly dragged out of the way by Aran and his water magic.

"Let's hurry, Kael!"

"Right!"

While the two tried to pick up the pace while making their way to the prison chamber underground, outside the northern walls of the capital where the fight between the forces of Reilaea and Kruule...

"What is happening?"

"Where did these things come from?"

Out of a sudden, blue roses began permeating the battlefield. Such a weird occurrence brought everyone to confusion and wonder. But also...

"Ina? Ama? W-What are you two doing here?"

"Romalyn? How are you..."

"Anak...!"

They felt a sense of bliss, as if they were living in a dream, or rather an illusion. In truth, what they are seeing with their own eyes was the work of the blue roses that bloomed all over the land. It recreates the things that an individual values the most, such as their loved ones. Not only that, the sweet, floral scent coming out of the blue roses creates a dream-like atmosphere around the affected individual, making people feel like they're actually inside a dream.

These two combined brought the soldiers of Kruule who were once under an unrestrained madness into a state of solace with a mix of blissful tears and smiles.

"I need to go follow the others in the capital, so I'll let you guys take it from here." A gentle voice of a woman resonated around the battlefield, or more precisely, a field of blue roses. "Make sure you restrain them before my magic loses effect."

"R-Right!"

Her elegant strut with her slender thighs hidden under her black stockings attracted the Malayas' attention. Her long snow-white hair along with her dress that's adorned with blue rose petals bouncing with her each step made everyone freeze in awe. Fluttering her dark-blue eyes under the evening moon made people realize how beautiful the woman was more than the blue roses around her. Combining these traits, they finally realized who the woman was.

"It's her!"

"One of the five adventurers who fought and captured the Anino from thirteen years ago."

"The Blue Rose... Roselia."