Chapter 196 - The Most Terrifying
The Sun Palace Guard screeched and ran to them, raising its speer as it dashed through the courtyard in full speed. The other guards form the Purple Palace was running behind it, also screeching and raising their spears.
"We'll figure this out later," Lance said. "For now, let's just kill these and get this over with. Elliot, how many Guards do you need?"
"Just one," Elliot said. "I only need one Guard."
"Then we'll take two," Lance said and was the first one to dash towards the beasts. He clashed his swords with their spears, pushing them back and firing multiple orbs of black and white attacks to them.
The beasts didn't stand a chance against Lance's aggression. It was like he wasn't holding back, bringing out all the best in him even when he's only fighting a beast that only had a fraction of his full power.
"I'll provide support," Connor said and raised his staff, pointing it at the other Purple Palace Guard. "Infernal Ring of Fire!"
Elliot saw the blink of red light that ran from one end of the staff to the tip, where Connor launched the wheel made of flames. He then realized that they do could use pre-blast and it wasn't just him.
The attack from Connor kept on spinning until it reached the Guard, where it sent a wave of flame from its head down to its shoes, making the Guard stop moving for a moment.
"Stun effect," Connor said. "When I upgraded my Ember Heart, I gained that stun effect."
"That's pretty nice," Elliot said. "When can I upgrade mine?"
"You both have your Hearts?" Ed crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Let's talk later."
"Lance is massacring them," Connor said. "I kind of pity the guards."
Lance was indeed getting rough on the guards. His face was stoic as he fired his attacks at the now almost dead Guards. He continued slashing, firing, and kicking them until every ounce of HP was extracted from their bodies.
"All done," Lance said. He slashed his swords with a swift motion to get rid of the blood, only to place his swords back into their scabbards afterward.
"Dude, you were so… cool?" Ed said, talking with a high-pitched tone that made him sound like he was asking. "But seriously though, I never saw you went that serious for low-level beasts."
"You know, I'm a control freak," Lance confessed. "Only slightly, but I still have it. I don't like it when things go out of order. That's why I always almost lose control when Elliot does his thing."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Elliot shrugged, his voice filled with a thick coat of sarcasm.
"Idiot," Lance whispered. "Now get those guards. We could still make it to Grass Palace today. Then we'll be done, right?"
"Not quite," Elliot smiled. "I need a Knight too."
Lance almost choked with air after hearing Elliot. "You need a what?"
"A Knight," Elliot repeated. "I need it so–"
"Do you know how hard it is to enter the Palace?" Lance cut him off. "The Knights are located on the Palace Halls. If we could get past this courtyard, then we'll have to avoid the Archers still, before we can get to the Knights."
"You see," Elliot played with his fingers. "I could've gotten my hands on a Knight before but someone obliterated them out of existence."
"And who's fault is– oh," Lance stopped after his realization. "I-I did that."
"Yes, you did," Elliot said with a whisper-like voice. "You did it."
"But what do you need a Knight for?" Lance groaned.
"Just for something, okay? Will you come with me or not?" Elliot crossed his arms. "If you don't want to, I'll go inside alone."
"Let's take one down tomorrow," Lance said. "We should return to the guild for now and you do your thing. You still have to Pull or whatever, right? Tomorrow, we'll go to Grass Palace and then we take down a Knight there."
"But why not a Knight here?" Elliot asked. "I mean, we're in here. Why not just to inside and kill one?"
"It will be hard to move inside with the miasma. Even Adventurers who had gotten passed Breakthrough have a hard time," Lance said. "We'll just go to the Grass Palace where ironically, no grass grows."
"Okay," Elliot surrendered. They got out of the courtyard and out of the grounds, not encountering any more Phantoms on the way back.
"How are you feeling though?" Lance asked.
They were now riding Hope, on their way to Isabelle's fields of where they'll use her door to enter Alorde.
"I'm feeling good now," Elliot said, smiling to himself. "I always feel down at times, but you guys never fail to make me feel better. Thanks."
"That's because we're brothers," Ed said. "We're even closer than brothers now. We're… awkward cheesey brothers."
"And since we're cheese…" Connor trailed off, wiggling his eyes to let Elliot finish.
"We stick together," Elliot snorted. "Thanks."
It wasn't long before they landed on the fields. Hope morphed back into his human form, Elliot still curious why his dragon was smaller.
When Lance turned on the knob and opened the door, they all wondered why it led to the other side of the field. Lance walked passed through it and found himself still on the field.
"What in the hell?" Lance scrunched his face, stepping back and closing the door. He opened it again and now, it had led to Isabelle's shop.
Isabelle walked out of the other side with a bunch of glowing gems in her hands, "Oh, good, it's just you."
"W-What do you mean?" Elliot pouted. "Did a group of bandits come?"
Isabelle released a sigh of relief and stopped her gems from glowing. She then placed them back in the bag on her side and shrugged.
"There were just a few moments ago," the woman said, walking to the side to let the boys pass through. "But I didn't expect them to go out so quickly."
"Okay, that's good," Elliot said and turned to her before walking out of the shop, "Can we still use this portal tomorrow?"
"O-Of course," Isabelle said, smiling at him. "You can cross whenever you like."
"Okay, thank you," Elliot said and walked back out with his friends. The moment the door closed was also the moment Isabelle fell to her knees.
"W-What was that?" Isabelle stuttered, eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. She turned around and saw Kian in a similar state. The box the man was previously holding was now in the ground, gems scattering aroundt the floor as he stared at the door.
"I just felt five of the most terrifying auras I've ever felt in my life," Clan said. "What has happened to those boys?"