“Are you certain the Zeva would be alright?” Kiera asked.

  “Are you worried about her?” Henry returned the question.

  “Shouldn’t you be?” the Magus served it right back to Henry.

  “I am but I also believe in her.”

  “What happened in the room… we—”

  “We were caught off guard. No one saw it coming. She would be ready this time and those Dark Syers would not be her match. As embarrassing as it is for me to say this, but Rayne fights better than I. I only have my raw power and natural versatility to my abilities. She has experience and wisdom. She would be fine.”

  Kiera tutted. “If you’re not worried, then I have nothing to say.” She sat back down with her arms crossed.

  Yu was snickering. “If you’re worried, you can just say so, Kiera. You can be honest. You’re among friends now.”

  Kiera gred at Yu. “Don’t start.”

  Yu continued to giggle but said nothing else. She shrugged and turned away.

  Kiera scowled but she also kept her silence. She turned her attention forward. Her expression shifted when she saw the approaching view in front of them.

  A series of tall buildings that were annexed together. In their glory days, they must have been quite the spectacle and wonder but now, that couldn’t be said for certain, as holes were bored into the buildings and smoke was rising from pretty much everywhere on the estate.

  “That’s the Royal Keep,” said Kiera. “It’s… in ruins.”

  Ani could only nod silently in agreement. They had flown past many simir sights and scenes. At this point, she had mostly gotten used to it, though it still stung her heart whenever she saw a corpse or smelled the odour of death. But at least she was no longer grimacing and retching at every look.

  “Where to look?” Henry asked.

  “I would say the princess’ chamber, but given the state of even the Royal Keep, she would most likely be in the vault.”

  “The vault?”

  “A shelter of sorts. Specifically built and designed to house the royal family in situations such as these.”

  “Okay… where is this vault?”

  “I’m afraid I do not know. This knowledge is only known to the royal family and the royal guards. I am neither.”

  “Well, that’s discouraging,” Yu sighed. “How are we going to find her then?”

  “We will have to be sure that she even made it to the vault,” Henry said. “Or if she’s even still alive. We will have to check her chamber first.”

  “If she’s not in the chamber, then she’s already at the vault.”

  Henry frowned. “How can you be certain about that?”

  “The royal members have a spell that allows them to teleport to the vault instantaneously. If we don't find the princess in her chamber, then she is already in the vault.”

  “She could simply be taken away by someone else, no?” Ani asked.

  “Could be… but that’s very unlikely and that would be very… complicated.”

  “We will think about that after we check her chamber. Now, point me in the right direction.”

  Kiera pointed to a pce where a courtyard overlooked a vast garden. The courtyard itself was overlooked by a building that looked to be isoted but annexed to the main buildings by a few bridges. “There.”

  “Is that the princess’ chamber?”

  “No, it is the king’s. There’s a huge hole in that building. That’s where the king’s chamber is and the courtyard has cracks. Something happened there. The princess’ building is just the one beside it but it’s intact for the most part. We can start from there.”

  “Sounds promising enough,” Henry said and began making his descent into the courtyard. He turned into his human form halfway through his descent. He took Ani and Yu into his arms. Before they hit the ground beneath them, Yu softened their drop by using her shadows.

  Kiera had no problem doing something simir. She maniputed the air and it acted as a cushion against her fall as she hit the ground.

  “Anyone hurt?” Henry asked.

  They all shook their heads.

  “Splendid.”

  “This is really bad,” Kiera said with a very dark expression.

  “How bad?”

  “I heard no screams of terror when you descended. No one’s here or alive to witness your advent. If no one’s in the Royal Keep, it can only mean the enemy is triumphing.”

  “Doesn’t matter. We need to find the princess first.” Henry walked towards the hole that offered them an unobstructed view into the king’s chamber. As he crossed the courtyard, he stopped and looked at the ground. “Huh…”

  “What is it? Did you already find anything?” Yu asked.

  “Vishara’s been here. Well, or at least her subordinate had. I smelled her scent.”

  “She has taken the princess?” Yu ventured a guess.

  “Or the king.”

  Henry leapt straight into the king’s chamber through the hole. He recoiled at the immediate sight that greeted him. “Oh… shit. Um… Kiera. Come here and take a look.”

  Kiera leapt into the chamber using magic. She, too, had an adverse reaction when she saw the scene— or rather, the corpse. “By the heavens… that’s the king. He’s… dead.”

  “That’s good, right? No offence to the dead, but he’s a terrible king. So, his death should be… a blessing, no?”

  Kiera sighed. “I can’t say for sure yet. That will depend on how many of the king’s followers and which one of them are still alive. They may use this as a leverage to denounce the princess as the queen regent.”

  Henry looked around the room. There were no other bodies aside from the king. “It’s just the king here. I don’t see the princess.”

  “Let’s hope she already made it to the vault.”

  “That’s not exactly something I would be hopeful about, considering it would only make finding her more difficult.”

  “Better alive than dead.”

  Henry shrugged. “Well, understandable.”

  The two then hopped back down onto the courtyard. Henry told Ani and Yu of their discovery.

  “Good riddance,” Ani muttered. “Is this perhaps divine retribution?”

  “Could be,” Henry answered. “I’m just relieved that the one giving Ulrum so much trouble is dead. That’s one less headache for me to brood over.”

  “What’s next?” Yu asked.

  “We’ll go and search her building and her chamber. If she’s not there, then… I don’t know. We’ll think about it once we reach that part.”

  “I have a way,” Kiera said.

  “You do?”

  “I can track the princess down using a spell, but I would need something off her body. A strand of hair, preferably.”

  “And is there a reason that you withhold such a handy spell from our knowledge?” Henry questioned.

  “Yes, there is. It is an unsavoury spell. How would you feel knowing that I can potentially be aware of your whereabouts constantly throughout the day?”

  “I would think nothing of it,” Henry answered truthfully. As someone who hailed from a world with smartphones, he had already grown accustomed to such a notion.

  “Forget it,” Kiera sighed. “Your mind clearly works differently than most people.”

  “I concur,” Ani nodded.

  “Well then, better go find her hair,” Henry said. His eyes went towards the opposite direction. “Make it quick.”

  None of the girls had to ask. They knew what was coming. There was no way they wouldn’t be noticed when they arrived in such a grand fashion.

  “I will make my best haste,” Kiera said and ran towards the princess’ residential building.

  “I will help.” Ani followed.

  No sooner had the two disappeared down the path, Syers began emerging from the direction where Henry had his gaze set.

  “Are you ready?” Henry asked.

  Yu chuckled. “I have been ready for a long time.”

  A Syer immediately dashed right for them as soon as it climbed over the wall that fenced off the courtyard. The shadows beneath it whirled and rose like a raging tide. The Syer lost its footing and fell to the ground. Before it could get back up, the shadows crashed into it, crushing it into pieces. More Syers were climbing over the walls. Yu unleashed a torrent of shadow tendrils at the walls. The shadows struck and destroyed the walls. The Syers that were scaling the walls fell back into the garden where they had presumably come from.

  As for Henry, he was dealing with the Syers that took the conventional paths leading to the courtyard. Since there was no one in the immediate vicinity, he resorted to his more destructive means of offence. He unleashed a torrent of fmes at the approaching Syers, engulfing them all in a sea of fire. There were quite a few Syers that reacted in time and leapt out of the way. They maneuvered around the fmes and got close to Henry.

  “It’s been quite some time since I st struck someone or something with my bare limbs.” Saying so, Henry caught the arm-bde of a Syer and shoved it into the Syer itself before kicking it away, which turned it into smithereens.

  A Syer snuck behind Henry and attempted to backstab him. However, Henry spun around and cut the Syer apart with Jetstream Breath. Another Syer tried the same thing but Henry manifested his tail and smacked the Syer away, crashing into the other Syers. The Syer cut apart by the Jetstream Breath was still moving despite missing the lower half of its body. It sprang at Henry with its arm-bdes bared but it only managed to cling tightly onto him. No matter how hard it tried, the Syer’s bdes could not leave a scratch.

  “It still hurts, you know?” Henry said and flung the Syer to the ground hard, smashing it into pieces. “Who’s next?” he taunted.

  More Syers rushed at Henry but each one of them was easily destroyed or incapacitated by Henry. Jetstream Breath was fast and precise. Fire Breath was slower but it covered a wide range. Even if the Syers could avoid these two, they still had another obstacle, Henry’s nigh-impenetrable skin and his overwhelming physical strength. These Syers might enhanced but they were still from being a genuine threat to Henry himself.

  “Is that all?” Henry challenged.

  The enemy answered in kind. From the sea of fire that enveloped the paths, a Dark Syer emerged from it. Unlike the other Syers, this one was truly dark in its appearance, much like the one the Lavans studied before it abruptly sprang to life.

  “You!” the Dark Syer howled.

  “Ah, you. Can’t say it’s a pleasure seeing you again. Quite the opposite actually.”

  “Die” the Dark Syer roared and charged at Henry, growing another set of arm-bdes from its back shoulders.

  Henry tutted and bsted the Dark Syer with fire.

  The Syer dodged the fmes with graceful steps as if it was a track star ballerina. When the shadows beneath it began to whirl, it leapt high into the air just as tendrils of darkness rose to catch it.

  “Damn, he’s agile,” Yu grunted.

  The Dark Syer nded on the top of the king’s building and ran alongside the eaves.

  Henry shot Firebolts at the Dark Syer but it was much too agile to be hit.

  The Dark Syer lunged at Henry once it was close enough. Even without a foothold, it rolled out of the way when Henry threw Aura Bdes at it.

  Henry sighed. “Well, come at me.”

  The Dark Syer thrust its entire body at Henry once there were only a few between them. But before its bdes could even touch his hair, the Dark Syer smmed into the ground hard, forming a small crater underneath its weight. It tried to get back up but it was stuck to the ground like glue.

  Henry grinned. “This spell is perhaps my magnum opus. So fucking handy. Honestly, it takes the fun and difficulty out of everything.”

  The Dark Syer continued to struggle, even going so far as to split itself apart.

  “Yu, you want to do the honours?”

  “I would be happy to,” Yu said and commanded her shadows to swallow the Dark Syer, crushing it into a clump of junk metal. “This is unnerving. I might be in danger if you didn’t have the Gravity spell.”

  “I know. These Dark Syers are no joke. Do you regret coming with me now?”

  “Not at all,” Yu answered with a smile. “I’m simply delighted to know where my power level stands. And I’m looking forward to another battle with a Dark Syer. Having one outmanoeuvring my shadows… it just doesn’t sit well with me.”

  Henry smiled wryly. “Rayne’s a terrible influence on you.”

  Yu returned a smile. “Just the contrary, I say.”