Grow Up

Fast forward a little in time, inside the prison chamber in the southwest of the royal castle, Reyna Elena, Prinsesa Alena, and the three heroes are forced to put their backs to a wall as Rea, Agatha and her men continued to try and aggressively break free from the handcuffs that are keeping them from attacking the heroes and the others.

With her daughter in her embrace, Elena kept a poker face while watching over Rea, Agatha, and the others. And as she does, Elena had a thought.

'Even if the handcuffs are draining their mana, Agatha and her men should still have the strength to break free even if it means losing an arm or two, considering their very aggressive behavior.'

Elena couldn't fathom the reason why, but she became assured of one thing.

"There's nothing to worry about," She stated loud enough so the panicking and frightened heroes could hear her. "They will not hurt us."

"Eh? How can you be sure about that?" The female hero worriedly asked?

"I don't know how, but for some reason, they are keeping themselves from breaking out of their handcuffs," Elena answered without hesitation, showing her confidence with her claim. "This is the work of the one who possessed Uruk, an Anino. Judging by what's happening, it could be that the Anino is fighting someone."

"T-Then what should we do?" Another one of the three heroes inquired.

Elena let go of her daughter as she stood up and reached her hands for the cell bars. "We wait until help comes."

Right at that moment, Elena picked up a faint, muffled voice at the entrance and exit of the prison chamber.

"There are people!" She said in surprise.

"People?"

"Is it help?"

Before long, a Malaya, whose name is unknown to the three heroes, appeared right in front of the cell and Elena. He panted heavily as lightning charges surrounding him gradually vanished. After taking a deep breath, he turned his head to his right and came face to face with Elena.

"Kael? Is that you?"

"Reyna Elena," Kael answered. "It's a pleasure to see you again after so long."

"Kael?!" Alena stood up as soon as she heard the Malaya's voice, a slight blush is visible on her face. "Is that really you?"

Right in that second, Aran also arrived.

"Reyna Elena, Prinsesa Alena?" He looked at them in confusion. "We were told by the Hari, or rather the Anino that you and Uruk fought so you had to return to your hometown along with Prinsesa Alena."

"I would never have such a quarrel with Uruk," Elena answered. "Also our hometown is the capital itself."

"Before everything else, let us break open the door, Prinsepe Aran," Kael suggested.

"Yeah."

Following his reply, Aran told Elena and Alena to take a step back. Kael's rapier turned into a blade with his Shockblade, Aran's golden sword began generating a swirling water current around its blade.

"Ha!!"

"Haa!"

With a powerful swing, the jail cell gate was torn to pieces.

"A-Are we saved?" Wondered the female hero, attracting Aran's attention.

He approached the three youths, and they looked up to him in complete silence.

"Are you the heroes?" For some reason, Aran gave them a doubtful stare. 'Are you serious?'

"We are, apparently." One of the heroes answered reluctantly.

'Even if the anti-magic cuffs might be suppressing their magic abilities, why does it feel like they're nothing more than normal people?' Aran thought to himself as he approached them and cut off the chains connected to their cuffs. 'I can't sense any semblance of them being a hero.'

Behind Aran, Kael also went and cut off the chains connected to Elena and Alena's cuffs. The moment he did, his Shockblade flickered before it reverted to a rapier as he fell on his knees, panting.

"Ah!"

"Kael!" Alena worriedly and hurriedly approached the Malaya. "Are you all right?"

All this time, Kael was pushing himself to move forward that his body gave up on its own after finally getting to meet Reyna and Prinsesa of Kruule, as well as the heroes.

"I'm all right," He replied to the worried Alena. "I can still push my body further."

"I can tell you've gone through a lot ever since you came to the capital and here," Elena interjected as she offered Kael a helping hand. "It looks like your body has become a lot more accustomed to the lightning current you're generating. You've grown up."

"Thank you very much," Kael said in reply as he held onto Elena's hand, letting her pull him up.

After telling the three heroes to get out of the cell, he inquired Elena and Kael, "What should we do about these guys? Should we knock them out or just leave them be?"

Aran pointed his thumb at Agatha and the others who continued to scream Uruk's name whilst forcefully trying to pull themselves out of their cuffs.

"I think knocking them unconscious would be for the best," Elena suggested.

Right then, Kael made a side comment.

"Oh, they are the ones who tried to assassinate Lyrica while she was trying to escape from Kruule."

"Huh, do you know who that maid is, too?"

"Her name's Rea," Elena interjected. "She's the one that allowed you guys to learn that the heroes are here in Kruule by spreading a rumor throughout the kingdom."

Elena shared with everyone what happened to Rea before she was imprisoned.

Rea was one of many who got taken from their families to work for Uruk in his royal castle after committing a massacre on the former workers and knights who did not obey him.

Not long after a mysterious incident in Kabba occurred, where the whole town was seemingly leveled by a huge storm, Rea, who was appointed in taking care of Elena and Alena, was given another task of taking care of three more people. At the time, Rea didn't know, but those three youths are the heroes that Reilaea summoned.

One day, while she was on her way to deliver meals to the Reyna, Prinsesa, and the three other prisoners, she overheard voices coming from the throne hall. A squad of Malayas came to Kruule in search of the four heroes.

When Rea heard the leader of the Malayas asking Uruk about the heroes, she started questioning herself. Rea once heard the three youths and the Reyna talking about them being a hero. At first, she didn't believe them. At the time, no one in Kruule would dare defy the Hari, so it's unlikely that they were summoned to save the people of Kruule. She also doesn't see any other reason why heroes would be summoned in the first place.

However, as she continued to eavesdrop on the conversation between the Malayas and Uruk, the Hari made a blunder. Out of a sudden, she overheard Uruk saying, "The heroes are here! They are inside the prison chamber! I've imprisoned them!"

Hearing him say that right after he denied that he knew nothing about the heroes confused both Rea and the Malayas. But the one clear thing is that the heroes are indeed in Kruule.

The Malayas started backing off slowly but surely. They knew they cannot confront Uruk and the kingdom, so their best option was to escape and tell the news to Amaya and Aran. However, the Hari who brought himself to a corner panicked and massacred everyone by burning them to their deaths.

"Reilaea must never know, no matter what!"

Rea ran to the prison chamber in a hurry, thinking about what to do.

"Rea once told me that she wanted to see her family even if that's the last thing she could do before she die." Elena worded. "But two days after witnessing what happened to the Malayas, she decided to do one thing that could've ended her life without getting to see her family again."

Rea stood at the edge of the plateau, facing north. And then, she shouted, "The heroes have been summoned!! They are real!! The heroes will save us all!"

Uruk's soldiers immediately came to apprehend her, but she did not stop screaming, hoping that someone would hear her voice and pass on what she had learned. Rea's brave act worked and rumors began spreading rumors around the kingdom. Until it reached Reilaea.

"So if not for her, we would have missed them," Aran stated.

"Rea wanted to see her family again, but she doesn't want to see them suffering either. So she decided to sacrifice herself for them."

"Then how did she live?" Inquired the Malaya to Reyna Elena.

"The Anino that possessed Uruk was smart. Its goal was to get stronger by feeding on hatred, so for three years, it never touched anyone in Kruule unless they truly pissed the Anino off."

What Rea did had enraged the Anino, that's for sure. But because of what happened in Kabba, the Anino realized it can't keep decreasing its food source. So instead of killing Rea, the Anino imprisoned her instead. The same thing could be said to Agatha and the others. If not for the people of Kabba who died that day, Agatha and the others would have been killed instead.

"I see, so that's what happened." Aran approached Rea and stood in front of her. "You have my gratitude, Rea. If not for you, we might not find the heroes till it's too late."

Aran swung his fist into Rea's face.

Pow!!

"Agh!"

"Excuse the violence." Aran caught Rea before she hit herself on the ground. "When you wake up, I hope you get to see your family again."

After that, he and Kael proceeded to knock the rest out of their consciousness.

"Kael, I'll entrust Reyna Elena, Prinsesa Alena, and the heroes to you. I'm gonna take the lead and create a path so you can get everyone out of the plateau. After that, I'll join with Lyrica and fight the Anino."

"But Prinsepe Aran..."

Aran and Kael's eyes meet, and immediately the Prinsepe knew what was on the Malaya's mind. He said it right in front of a lot of people. He doesn't want to die because he has something to protect. Aran wants to be with his Ina for as long as he could.

"Until now, I've been contemplating whether I am selfless, selfish, or both. But now I realized I have the wrong approach." Aran turned around to face Kael. "It's not about what I think I am. It's all about doing what I think is right, whether or not it makes me selfish or selfless."

Aran puts his golden sword in its sheath as he started going forward. As he does, he thought to himself, 'What the Anino said earlier was both right and wrong. I still hate selfless and selfish people. Only this time, I'm now ready to understand my and everyone else's actions.'

Without him knowing, Kael was watching his back with a proud smile.

'Miss Rea did inspire him. But for the most part, it's all Lady Lyrica.'

When Lyrica and Aran were having a one-on-one conversation just before Lyrica left to show herself in Takkot, Kael was quietly listening to the two and heard everything Lyrica said to Aran.

Kael thought Aran would act stubborn like he always did. But then, he saw him heading to the town, the place where he thought was a trap set up by the enemy.

'I'm sure Lady Lyrica did more than what I saw and heard, even if it's not intentional. But, I am certain. Lady Lyrica's influence helped Aran grow up.'

The Malaya averted his gaze from the Prinsepe and turned his attention to everyone else.

"Everyone, we will follow Prinsepe Aran's tail. I'll stay behind everyone to protect you all from the enemy. Whatever you do, don't stop runn–"

DOOOOOOOOOHHHHMMMM~~!!!

Everyone was put to a halt, even Aran. They all sweat out of horror as they felt an ominous pressure all around them.

"I-It's the same thing we felt earlier...!" Aran stated as he felt his leg like they are being squeezed by something against the ground. "I-It's stronger than before!"

"I-I feel like I can't breathe!"

"What is this gravity!"

"What on earth is happening?!"

The heroes complained.

"Ina!"

"Alena!"

Unsure of what to do, Alena came to Elena's embrace.

"The Anino... What's going on outside...?"

***

At the plains of the plateau not far from the royal castle, Uruk's body was lying on the ground, unconscious.

Grrrrrr...!

A beastly growl resonated.

"You..."

A shadow with a humanoid upper half and a face made of black fire revealed itself under the evening moon. Ominous, dark energy was pouring out of the entity. It had no mouth, but somehow it looked like it was making a beastly smile. Its red glowing eyes full of bloodlust trembled restlessly with anger and excitement.

"...You've come, at last." It spoke with a horrifyingly eerie voice. "...Blue Rose!"

In front of the shadow was Lyrica lying on the ground, seemingly powerless and terrified at the same time. In front of Lyrica are four people.

"Hey, hey, we are here too, you know!"

One of them was a goofy man, seemingly around his late 20s, with red hair and one arm.

"I knew the day would come where I'd get to use these."

Another is a man with a blank expression on his face, as well as a green, long hair tied in a ponytail. He took a white bead from the pocket in his pants before crushing it as it transformed into a bow and arrow made of light.

"I will not let you harm anyone again!"

The tall, big and bulky fellow standing in between the bowman and the other with one arm spoke with a deep voice as he gave the shadow a stern gaze.

"We will kill you this time for sure."

And lastly, a woman with long, snow-white hair stood in the far right next to the bowman. She summoned a white staff with blue roses from the palm of her hand.

At first glance, she seemed like a cool-headed person. But Lyrica's ability to read people did not let the woman's outward appearance fool her. Lyrica could tell even from behind how the woman was trying to hold her rage and vengefulness against the entity in front of them.