049 THE GARDEN OF ROSE

049 THE GARDEN OF ROSE

"Why do you want me to summon rain?" Leo asked Yun-Yun.

"When the Rose Demon wakes up, we'll be long gone. Rain won't stop her," Dassa added.

"The rain won't affect her," Yun-Yun replied, "but it'll turn the ground to mud for much longer. That will slow her down. She doesn't know how to fly."

"Genius," Leo said with a grin.

"While we're at it, I'll slice her heels," Dassa added.

With the rain summoned and the heels sabotaged, they left the village swiftly, carrying Lillsa, who was still drunk from proving the wine wasn't poisoned.

They made their way to the wagon they'd stashed nearby, the only one for miles, and soon were headed back to Gomora City.

As they arrived, Kasshyek stood ready, his soldiers armed and waiting. "Good timing," he said to Leo. "The army is ready."

"Perfect. Time to invade the Rose Demon's lair," Leo replied as they entered the magic portal beneath Bagnio la Pleasures.

They emerged into an expansive garden of roses.

"I never imagined walking into a place like this," Kasshyek said, marveling at the mystical landscape.

"Stay alert," Dassa warned. "Avoid the roses. The thorns are enchanted and could be dangerous."

Torches in hand, the soldiers began setting the roses ablaze, leaving a trail of ash and smoke.

Suddenly, unicorns emerged, charging toward them, ready to defend the garden.

"Father! It's me—I came to rescue you," Dassa cried out to the unicorns.

The unicorns paused, and one came forward.

"Dassa, what have you done? You must leave now," he said, looking pained.

"No, all of you are free. The Roses are gone, and Madame la Rosa won't be back for a day or two. This is your chance to escape," Dassa pleaded.

The unicorns conferred briefly. "We can't leave. Our bodies are cursed," Father replied.

"We'll find a way to lift the curse," Leo urged them. "For now, just get out of here!"

But they hesitated, fearing Madame la Rosa's wrath.

"We don't have time," Yun-Yun pressed. "She'll return soon."

"What are your orders, sir?" Kasshyek asked Leo.

Leo looked at Father and nodded. "Take him away by force if necessary."

"What are you doing?" Dassa demanded.

"Saving him, your friend Father," Leo said. "We're not here to debate. This is not a fucking democracy."

"What about the others?" Kasshyek asked.

Leo's expression hardened. "If they won't leave, start with this one." He conjured a magic stone and launched it at a random unicorn, killing him instantly.

"Your magic control has improved," Yun-Yun commented pleased with his progress.

Shocked, the entire herd froze.

"Either you come with us alive, or you leave as ashes in this garden. Decide, now," Leo barked, preparing another spell.

Frightened, the unicorns began to move, herding reluctantly toward the soldiers.

"See? Not so hard," Leo said sharply.

"But you killed one of them! That is a human in there," Dassa exclaimed.

"That one life saved hundreds," Leo replied coldly, his tone commanding the attention of every soldier.

"A worthy sacrifice," Yun-Yun added.

Kasshyek saluted Leo. "Aye, sir," he said, herding the unicorns away from the enchanted roses.

Behind them, the soldiers attempted to burn the rose garden, but their flames wouldn't ignite the flowers. "Sir, our torches can't burn these roses," one of the soldiers called out.

"What the heck?" Dassa muttered, frowning.

"The Rose Demon's garden is infused with her magic," Yun-Yun explained. "It can't be destroyed so easily by ordinary flames."

Leo turned to Yun-Yun. "Then how do we destroy it?"

"Try magic," she suggested.

He extended his hand over the flowers. "Sparkling Flame!"

A shimmer of magic illuminated the roses—but the flowers remained untouched.

"Damn it, we don't have what it takes to burn these cursed roses," Dassa grumbled.

"The essence of Madame la Rosa's magic is still here," Father noted. "It shields the garden."

Leo looked to Yun-Yun for guidance. She thought for a moment but shook her head.

"If I had my full magic, I could consume the entire garden in one spell," she said finally.

"Consume it?" Dassa asked, surprised.

"It would be a waste to simply burn away all the magic the Rose Demon has stored here," Yun-Yun explained.

Leo mused, "If only these roses were blood, my demon sense would greedily take them."

Dassa scoffed. "What nonsense are you talking now? The Roses cannot bleed."

But Yun-Yun's eyes lit up. "Wait—that might work! If you could alter the Rose Demon's Scepter's outward characteristics, you might change the rose essence here into something your demon senses recognize. Blood."

"Is that even possible?" Leo asked, though he didn't wait for an answer.

He began scanning the magical codes of the garden, trying to find a way to reshape its essence. But the complex enchantments were like an endless tangle of codes.

"Come on! The Rose Demon could return any minute," Dassa urged, frustrated. "We should have ended her when we had the chance."

Yun-Yun placed a hand on Leo's arm. "You don't need to transform the garden's essence completely into blood. Just something close enough for your demon senses to respond to them."

A memory came to Leo—the time he had developed a data model for a vaccine that reconfigured DNA, tricking a virus into ignoring its host cells. Maybe the same principle could work here.

"I'll need… a bit of lust," he said, concentrating.

Dassa raised an eyebrow, then stepped in, catching his gaze with a smirk. "Allow me," she whispered, brushing closely to heighten his arousal with her sensual touches.

The surge of lust in Leo brought a newfound energy in him driving him forward.

Finally, Leo found what he was looking for, a box marker within the roses' essence:

"Item: Roses. Quality: Deadly."

"Maybe I can change this," he murmured to himself. He channeled his will, rewriting the codes. Slowly, the roses' designation shifted.

Item: Crimson Blood. Quality: Deadly.

"Did it work?" Dassa asked, watching as the garden began to darken.

Leo nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. "I think so. I could only change the name description. Hopefully it works."