Inside the towering palace of the Land of Karo, Batholem’s hurried footsteps echoed through the grand halls which were guarded by knights in white armor. With a furrowed brow, his gray eyes fixed on his phone screen displaying Aurianna's last photo she sent to him, her happily eating cake.

Just a day of finding out that Aurianna was missing Batholem wanted no time to try and find her. But till now there was no information about her, causing him to tremble.

"Have those assassins been captured?" Batholem‘s rang out as he entered an extremely large bustling room filled with people engrossed in their tasks.

His gaze swept through them and spotted someone familiar.

Seeing Batholem, Omw, approached him with a solemn expression and shook his head. "No, sir. Despite our effort they’ve managed to remain well hidden. We're still pursuing them. Luckily, we've identified the leader as Shimaru, notorious for his involvement in numerous kidnappings of noble and commoner children."

"I want that bastard apprehended immediately. We must make sure that justice prevails. Ensure he faces thorough interrogation. If he attempts to escape with death, ensure that he's revived," Batholem ordered coldly, prompting Omw to nod before departing with a group of knights clad in gleaming white armor.

Turning his attention to the heart of the chamber, he walked forward till his gaze settled upon his sister, Yelina, sat amidst a group of neatly arranged papers before her and communication cubes displaying on their screens certain data which she read seriously. She was deep in thought, her expression troubled as she marked documents with a red pen causing her brow to furrow more. “To think there was such a large scale slave trade operating beneath our noses.”

"Sister Yelina," Batholem called out, his distress palpable.

Yelina glanced up, her brow furrowing sympathetically. "Batholem."

"I still can't locate her!" Batholem exclaimed, his frustration evident.

"Don't worry," Yelina said reassuringly, rising from her seat to pat Batholem's head gently. "I promised to help you in her search. My investigations point to King Shinia who is a suspect in orchestrating her abduction, but we need concrete evidence first before I can declare that it was him. The organization behind her kidnapping background is more mysterious than I thought. They are only well known to a certain group of people who are their high paying members. That’s all I've been able to decide so far with the information I have. So it may take time."

"Dammit," Batholem muttered, biting his lip in frustration.

"I understand your worry for your friend, but you just need to be patient," Yelina soothed, her heart going out to her brother's distress.

"At least her life orb still glows," Batholem said, relief evident as he retrieved a small orb from his space ring and it was glowing brightly.

‘He has her life orb. I guess they became much closer as friends than I thought. For Aurianna to allow Batholem to make a life orb of her, such a strong friendship. My adorable little brother, don't worry! This sister of yours would make sure to find Aurianna no matter what!’ Yelina resolved inwardly, unaware that Batholem had created the life orb without Aurianna's consent.

"As long as the orb glows, there's hope for her to be rescued," Yelina reassured him with an optimistic smile.

"Then I'll trust you, big sister," Batholem nodded, embracing Yelina before leaving her office under escort.

Walking through the halls with his previous gloomy expression, Batholem felt his phone vibrate, prompting him to retrieve it from his pocket. "Hmm, a message?"

"From Aurianna!" he couldn't suppress his excitement at seeing a message from her and he quickly opening it. Before him appeared a picture of Aurianna, goofily posing in a selfie she had sent along with other photos.

"Pfffttt… Why is she making that face when she's in danger?" Batholem couldn't help but giggle for a short moment. Soon his amusement quickly turned to concern as he noticed something in the image the more he stared at it. "There's a slave collar on her neck," he mumbled, his expression darkening.

Scrolling down to read her messages, Batholem's frown deepened. "She says she's fine... but these images," he muttered, feeling a wave of nausea as he opened them. "To think people are this cruel to harm innocent people on such a large scale. I must show this to my sister. And if this is just one base... how many more are there? I need to know where Aurianna is to save her before she's sold and branded," he muttered, quickly typing a message and sending it to her.

On the other side, Aurianna received Batholem's message and read through his lengthy concerns and inquiries. He wanted to know how she got kidnapped, how many bases the perpetrators had, their organization's name, and her current location.

‘He’s that worried? Feel kinda weird for someone to worry about me like this. But it's not bad,’ A slight smile tugged on her lips as she read his messages while she trailed behind John.

“Can I also see outside?” Aurianna pleaded with John.

“I'm not allowed to take you out of the building,” he nervously shook his head since he couldn't comply with this request.

“Please mister,” Aurianna asked innocently.

Being charmed by her once again, John easily conceded, “Ofcourse, it won't hurt to show you outside!”

"Where am I?" Aurianna silently muttered reading the last of Batholem's questions, as she followed John outside of the building. Her gaze met the dark, stormy skies and the turbulent seas below, a sight that sent nervous when staring at it. With her good vision, she spotted dozens of extremely large monsters lurking in the waters around the building, their presence adding to her unease.

"Hey mister, where exactly are we?" Aurianna asked innocently, causing John's gaze to become dazed again as he looked at her. Without hesitation, he disclosed their location. "We're in the middle of the Carnlet Deep."

"In the middle of the Carnlet Deep?!" Aurianna gasped in shock.

"We're actually this deep in the dark seas?!" She murmured, her eyes wide with shock as she bit her lip.

"Yes," John confirmed.

"No wonder there's been no sunlight," she realized, glancing up at the clouds once more.

"Of all places, why did I have to end up here?" Aurianna wondered, her brow furrowed in frustration.

"Also, mister, I've been curious... what's the name of your organization?" Aurianna asked with a sweet voice.

"We're called The Flonkong Organization," John revealed, to which Aurianna nodded.

"Thank you! Now, can we go see the docks?" Aurianna requested eagerly.

"Of course!" John replied with a smile.

____

Batholem stood patiently before his sister, his phone displaying the disturbing images before her. He could sense her anger boiling beneath her controlled expression.

Suddenly, Batholem received a new message, and Yelina immediately checked it.

"She's in the Dark Seas. Carnlet Deep. This is more serious than I thought," Yelina said gravely.

"Can you try calling her?" Yelina asked, and Batholem nodded, attempting to reach Aurianna. However, all he heard was a scrambled sound.

"I'm not getting a connection from her again," Batholem said with a sinking feeling, which Yelina understood. They had finally obtained crucial information, but before they could gather more, the connection was lost.

"I've tried texting her, but it's not sending," Batholem gritted his teeth, trying to remain composed.

"It will be difficult to help her in that place," Yelina admitted.

"Sister…" Batholem began, but the words caught in his throat.

"Don't worry, brother. I'll do everything I can. But there are significant risks involved in crossing those seas, and lives may be lost. I need to consult Father for guidance," Yelina reassured him, and Batholem nodded.

"Alright, sister."

"That's my brother," Yelina said, patting him on the back before leaving her office.

"Aurianna, please stay safe until we find you," Batholem prayed silently before following Yelina.

_________

"Any news on Aurianna?" King Girsal inquired in his office as a platinum knight entered with Cecilia.

"Unfortunately, no," Cecilia replied calmly, noting the agitation on King Girsal's face.

"Even though Prince Batholem has promised to assist us in finding her, there's no sign of her," she added.

"Damn that Shinia bastard. I knew he was up to something, but I didn't expect him to be this audacious," King Girsal gritted his teeth but then composed himself, turning to Cecilia.

"We must find Aurianna at all costs. We cannot afford to lose her. If that man decides to attack, our manpower is insufficient. Seeking aid from the Church of Beauty would only incur more debt, which I wish to avoid," King Girsal stated firmly, and Cecilia nodded in agreement.

"Then, my love, shall we continue the preparations for that weapon?" Cecilia asked, a smile playing on her lips.

"Yes, we cannot predict what may happen. Project Astral shall be resumed. Fortunately, I have thought of a new way to greatly enhance the power of that weapon," King Girsal said with a sinister smile.

_____

"Seriously, what kind of lunatics operate in the Dark Seas?" Aurianna exclaimed in frustration as she and John headed back to her room after seeing the docks.

"We operate here because it's nearly impossible for anyone to navigate these seas and survive without encountering a leviathan," John explained.

‘There's a reason why it's rare for someone to sail into the dark seas. They're cursed waters, home to monstrous beasts called leviathans. Rumor has it some are as powerful as Primordial Humans. It's terrifying,’ Aurianna shuddered.

"And I'm guessing it's because of these sea monsters," she added with a grimace.

"Yes, so we provide customers with a special route to safely avoid encountering the leviathans," John explained.

"I see," Aurianna responded, understanding the necessity.

"Additionally, teleportation scrolls are useless in the dark seas, so one must travel by boat to reach this location," John added, causing Aurianna to furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she inquired, seeking further clarification.

"Although one can teleport here, they can't teleport out. I heard it's due to the wavelengths here being distorted. Unlucky individuals who tried that ended up being teleported to the bottom of the ocean," John clarified.

‘So if I manage to escape, I still need a boat,’ she thought to herself. ‘If King can't defeat the Arc Humans, what will I do?’

Realization dawned on her. "At the moment, I'm in the Dark Seas. If King can create enough of a disturbance, this place could be swarmed with sea monsters and even a leviathan. The Arc Humans would be preoccupied fighting them, giving me the chance to escape," Aurianna concluded, satisfied with her plan.

____

"You're back, Kisho," Kisho said calmly as he noticed Aurianna reappear before his house.

"Didn't I say I'd come back?" Aurianna chuckled.

"Yes, you did."

"Well, I have to find Leila," Aurianna stated.

Kisho arched an eyebrow and asked. "Is your skill level high enough?"

Aurianna paused, considering his question, "I believe it's better to train with Gumura now," she said.

"I guess so. Then I'll come with you. I haven't seen my master in a long time," Kisho said, getting up from his porch.

"Is it me, or did your face change a bit?" Aurianna asked as she got a better look at Kisho's face, noticing that it looked less grotesque compared to the first time they met.

Kisho hesitated for a moment before responding, "Well, I did tweak my body to look less terrifying.”

"It fits you well," Aurianna praised with an approving nod. At first, Kisho's appearance was rated zero stars, but with his tweaks, he had bumped up to a five-star rating out of ten.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kisho sighed.

"Now then, which way to Gumura?" Aurianna wondered as she looked at the paths before her in deep thought, trying to remember the way Carol took when she flew here. Unfortunately, Aurianna's mind was blank. While Carol was flying, Aurianna wasn't paying attention at all and was busy chatting with Leila.

Before she could ask Kisho for help, she heard Carol's voice call out to her.

"Aurianna!"

"Carol!! Did you come for me?" Aurianna asked, turning to see Carol landing before her.

"Of course, what do you think? Also, I caught a lot of poison and light monsters for you and Leila, so I want you both to eat them all up. Don't worry, I compressed them all so it would be easier for you to eat!" Carol said with a wink, and Aurianna grimaced at the thought of eating monsters caught by Carol. Because whenever she devoured them, her stomach had to suffer the consequences later on.

"Is Leila already with Gumura?" Aurianna asked Carol. "Did she get a head start before me?"

"No, I just sent her there today. So I came for you too," Carol answered with a cheerful smile.

"Well, that's good then," Aurianna sighed in relief and patted her chest.

"So, this is Kisho," Carol said with a smile as she glanced at Kisho, who nervously stared at her.

"And you are?" Kisho cautiously yet politely asked. He knew he didn't need to introduce himself since this woman already knew his name, so he decided to ask for hers.

"I'm Carol," she answered with a friendly wave but her dark eyes revealed her true nature which Aurianna was clearly aware of.

‘A monster as strong as Master,’ Kisho thought, feeling nervous.

"Carol is somewhat like my teacher," Aurianna explained, seeing how Kisho was wary of Carol.

"Somehow?" Carol asked with crossed arms, feeling a bit offended.

“Well, Eva gives you the instructions on how to train me and Leila," Aurianna clarified.

"Even though I hate to admit it, it's true. In the end, that metal head is always useful," Carol scoffed with her arms crossed.

"Hmm, Kisho, if you want to come with us Carol can carry you," Aurianna offered as she gestured towards Carol who was floating midair, but Kisho shook his head refusing it.

"Don't worry, I'll just follow the both of you on land," Kisho said.

"Well if you say so," Aurianna shrugged before allowing Carol to grab her and take off into the sky, swiftly zoom away.

"Wow, he's somehow managing to keep up with us," Aurianna blurted out and when she looked below she watched Kisho run after them.

"Well that's because I reduced my flying pace but I guess I must increase it!" Carol declared with a mischievous grin before flapping her wings harder and flying so fast that they lost Kisho.

"Carol, you're petty," Aurianna spat with a look of disdain.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with being a little petty," Carol shrugged, flashing a playful smirk.

After a while of flying, Aurianna and Carol finally reached where they first met Gumura.

Leila was on a table seated with Gumura as she drank some tea. Noticing Aurianna she got up and waved at her.

Carol immediately dropped Aurianna before gracefully landing on the ground. Leila walked up to Aurianna and took her hand.

"Aurianna you're here. And you've done well in getting stronger, you've reached level 1318!" She praised with a happy smile.

"Hehehe," Aurianna sheepishly giggled, as she was feeling embarrassed by Leila praising her.

"But Leila, why are you just on level 2,578? I expected you to get to a higher level," Aurianna wondered aloud, immediately noticing Leila's level.

"It's not that easy," Leila shook her head, "You'll understand yourself once you reach there yourself," she said.

"It gets harder?" Aurianna asked.

"Yes unfortunately, but that's to be expected. We're still doing better than a lot of Gemaris," Leila said, trying to encourage both of them.

"True," Aurianna nodded.

"Heheh maybe in a few years we'll catch up to Iris," Aurianna giggled.

"Well I doubt that," Leila shook her head. "Iris devoured a whole world to become level 10,000. So unless we do the same I don't think we can surpass her."

"I wonder how that is even possible. To devour a world." Aurianna wondered, her hand resting on her chin.

"Same," Leila said.