241 241: Deeper into the palace [pt1]
The rising tension caused the two figures standing in the center to tense up. And Aurora, caught in the middle, had to witness their clash.
She barely managed to get out of the range of their first attack when the second stronger ones clashed with each other.
It was a complete mess of firepower and Aurora was the unwilling victim caught in the middle. The other two were already behaving like rabid animals as if not even aware that she was even standing in front of them.
At this rate, Aurora would get killed off in the middle of this brawl and no one would be wiser.
The earth rose to protect her body but the wind blades Asami created managed to tear her defenses apart quite easily. The water rose to protect her from the vicious attack but it was unable to retain its shape either.
Karan’s usual patience was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he was growling and going after his target with ferocity Aurora had never seen before.
They both were tearing the very space apart as soon as their powers clashed and this was a dangerous situation to be in. If Aurora was not careful then she would die without even knowing anything.
The sparks of their clash were already sparkling near Aurora’s head and she had to actively keep track of who was where to make sure her head was still intact.
She raised the death, again and again, to defend not only herself but Karan as well. But he seemed to be getting more and more agitated at her attempts to shield him.
In the end, Aurora chose to focus on herself. Her core was not awake enough to fight the other two head-ons. But she could strike back if she had an opportunity to do so.
‘But before that, I need to find a way to turn off this scent they both are being affected by. I should be glad that I cannot smell it.’
Aurora was thankful but it also worried her. It meant that she had a different physique than the other gods which would be troublesome if it was found out.
She had just managed to walk out of the chamber with Lady Dheva since she was no longer interested in Aurora. But this could very well place Aurora back on the observation table quite easily.
‘System, can you not sense the source of this smell they are both sensing? Can you even detect the scent?’
Aurora did not have much faith in her system but it seemed she should have. Her system’s green light indicated that it was picking up signals about what Aurora had asked it to find.
[Scanning in progress. 3%…..15%…45%…..75%%…100%….
Source found. Initiate forceful takeover and shut-down?]
Her system was coming clutch in these times and Aurora quickly pressed the ‘yes’ option before she felt her body weaken.
She had not realized how much magic it would take to perform this task and now she was paying the price. Her legs even refused to move due to the lack of magic she had.
But it did do the trick. Karan’s body seemed to be relaxing and even Asami looked confused at the newfound sensibility she had.
This was the window of opportunity Aurora needed to make the attack work. She poured all the magic she had into a sleeping spell and targeted Asami.
It would not keep her under for long but it should be long enough to be able to get away from here.
As expected, Asami began to fall asleep as soon as she came in contact with the magic and Karan looked a little stupified at what was happening.
“Oi, help me walk. I overexerted myself a little and now my legs refused to work.”
Aurora called out to her friend who sighed before making his way over to Aurora finally. Karan’s arms were strong as they held Aurora and he moved quickly through the base.
Once again, it was quite easy to run away but the pair never made it to the final opening before the wall at the side gave way and Aurora barely managed to force the earth up for protection.
Familiar red eyes looked back at her from a pale face framed by red hair.
“Whoa, Aurora? What are you doing here? No, more importantly! YOU! Let go of Aurora or I will make you suffer.”
If this had been a normal day, Karan would not even have flinched at the provocation. There were enough idiots out there who thought that they could take on a good and win.
But today had been an exhausting day for Karan and Aurora. They had to face the other gods and also face their past. They were in no condition to fight any longer.
“It’s right Rita. Karen is on our side and he is helping me out. More importantly, are you here alone? What about everyone else? Is Rex here as well?”
Aurora was not sure if Rex would come here or not. This place had been his home as well but he had suffered here the most. She wanted to keep him away.
“Rex? I am not sure. The last I knew of him, he headed into a meeting to get more allies. The tower is on its way but I sped past them to come here and save you before they could. Apparently. The tower is thinking of blowing this palace up.”
Frankly speaking, Aurora was surprised that this had not happened way before this time. The tower had always been wary of the south to the point of even outcasting them.
And they had a real reason to be as well. After all, the south had the power to kill their biggest weapon – the gods.
Now that a major goddess had been killed off, the tower could no longer sit back and see things happen.
Even if Minerva was not the one to take the initiative, Aurora doubted that the old man of the tower would sit back and watch it all happen.
“That reminds me, I need to check something out real quick. Apparently, there is a room at the bottom of this castle that contains something important.”
Aurora was sure that was where the hinted research was. Aurora did not have to be a genius to know where a secret like that would be stored.
And there was no real reason for her to check it all out but she needed to sate her curiosity. If not then she would end up thinking about it all her life.
“The bottom of this castle? I am sure no one was permitted to go there when I was still living here. Apparently, there was a rumor that it was connected to the abyss.”
“You lived here? But aren’t you a god of the north? Why would you come and live here in the south?”
Rita asked, now of this man who was helping them out. Something about him did not sit right with her. It seemed like he did not fit with the body he was in.
“It’s a long story that you don’t need to know about. For now, just know that I am Aurora’s friend and I am helping you out for that reason only. You should consider yourself lucky that you managed to snag me to help you out.
“Karen, you are getting a big head now. Do keep yourself under control. We don’t want a repeat of that incident long ago when we were caught off guard and almost died.”
“Hahahah, of course not. I would never get overconfident and cause trouble. Overconfident and me? These words don’t match together.”
Karan’s voice started nervously but he soon adjusted his tone. He seemed much better now and Aurora finally felt like she had enough courage to press ahead into the abyss now.
The deeper they went into the tower, the more energy rushed back at Aurora. It was a welcoming feeling but the other people around her did not seem to think the same as her.
Especially Rita was shivering due to the cold air all around her. Her lips were turning blue due to the extremely cold surroundings and Aurora felt pity for her.
“You can stay here if you want to. There is no need for you to go any further than here. I am sure everything will be alright-“
The castle shook violently. It was no earthquake but the feeling of heavy magic ramming into the castle.
“Tsk, the tower is here and they are as showy as ever. We need to hurry up and get out of here.”
Karan exclaimed as he leaned against the wall. He was the only one of the trio who had not fallen due to the sudden shaking of the floor.
Rita looked annoyed at her current position but it had nothing on Aurora whose eyes had gone wide and her body was unconsciously following the new trail of magic she had sensed.
Suddenly, she knew where she had to go and what she had to do.