Chapter 109

“Before the Escape” Part 4

 

Kalysto was sitting inside the white carriage that had the crest of the royal family of Balsac stamped in red on both doors, watching the crowd of people who came out into the streets to see off the army of knights that would travel south to fight the forces of the demon king.

The festive atmosphere outside the vehicle bothered her.

The people gathered outside were throwing flowers and shouting as if it was some kind of celebration instead of thinking that many of these people would not return alive.

Or even worse, that they were being forced to go against their will.

At the head of the parade was the carriage of the second prince of the kingdom of Bhallys, together with the Duke of Brincy, the Marquis Milo de Riva, and Thomas. They were followed by another carriage with the powerful group of magicians who came with the prince. In the third, were the magicians of the court followed by the carriage in which traveled the heroes of the kingdom of Balsac, and finally the carriage of the temple where Darla went along with several priests of high command. All of them surrounded by the strong knights of the kingdom of Bhallys, the knights of the temple and a select group of knights from King Medhas and the duchy of Brincy.

“It will be difficult," Koden muttered, sitting across from her by the window. Giving a glance at the number of guards surrounding them.

“We will find a way," replied Kalysto, knowing full well that he was referring to their escape plan.

“Kalysto is right, Koden. We have trained hard to level up. Surely now we can take on those monsters and save these poor people," interrupted Edward, earning several frowns from the rest of the group, except for Sandra and Oscar, but for completely different reasons.

“Well, speak for yourself! Neither my brother nor I signed up for this madness!” Gideon protested.

“Besides, as the beautiful priestess said in the morning," Edward continued, ignoring him. “Someone must do the right thing and save these poor people from the oppression of the enemy. And we as the chosen ones of the goddess Mhiralla have the duty to carry her message and bring peace to these lands," he added, his eyes seeming to glow with barely contained emotion.

“Please tell me you’re not in love with her," Kalysto interrupted him, feeling embarrassed. Worried that Edward’s new attitude might ruin her plans. “You know she’s twenty-seven, right?” Edward’s face unhinged.

“Of course she’s not that old!” He objected immediately. “With that angelic face carved by the gods themselves, she couldn’t be more than seventeen," he assured her.

“Even if that were true, you are aware that you are of age, right? Right?” Koden questioned.

And while they debated about the real age of the priestess and how hot she was, according to Gideon’s words, Kalysto kept looking out the window.

Sandra, however, seemed happy smashing her face against the other window, letting everyone see her face as she waved at them full of enthusiasm.

“Someone thinks this is a beauty contest," whispered Rita, sitting to her left, followed by Oscar, Gabriel and Sandra.

Kalysto returned the complicity smile she had given her, but said nothing. Instead, she began to remember everything that had happened the busy night before.

It was after Kalysto had dispelled the thin barrier protecting Milo’s quarters and they looted his room, where Koden and Rita retrieved the cell phones that had been taken from them the day they first spoke to the king, that Kalysto realized one small detail.

“We’re being too obvious," she said suddenly as she grabbed Milo’s journal, a book with a blue marker and several notebooks. “Take all the potions you can find," she commented and turned to the cabinet, opening the drawers and taking only the books, notebooks and potions she found there. “And I think we should also pay a visit to the royal library. If we only take these, it will be too obvious that it was a group of magicians who made them and we could be singled out.”

“I didn’t think of that. You’re absolutely right!” Rita agreed.

 

And after putting fifteen more guards to sleep, they finally reached the royal library and entered in silence.

[The Sleep Well skill has leveled up to level 10!]

“Koden, take all the books you think we could use. Rita, put in this bag the ones you think are useful, pack the rest in groups and burn them as soon as I give you the signal," she commented, handing each of them an enchanted bag.

“Are we going to burn the library?” Rita asked, somewhere between frightened, surprised and excited by the idea.

“It would be too obvious if we just take what’s in the other two rooms, so if we take some books and burn the rest, they might think the other two attacks are to cover up whatever it is we did here.”

“What will you do in the meantime?”

“I have another place to look. Hurry, we must not stay here too long, or someone might discover us. See you in fifteen minutes” and she ran to the small secret room where they hid the manuscripts and forbidden books that she had not managed to loot the previous time. “Hello again,” she greeted them with a whisper, excited to be able to meet again with all that amount of knowledge now that she no longer had access to the internet.

She immediately pulled out two enchanted bags and began to put away everything she saw.

Just as she was emptying the last shelf, a violet window appeared before her eyes.

[Kalysto, I have a mission for you! Rescue the current Duke of Lanish in the kingdom of Balsac! He has been taken prisoner under false pretenses by the stupid king of that tiny kingdom and should be in some cold dungeon of that filthy palace.]

“I think I know where he is," she replied. “What will I get in return?” She asked, but the next window was a much darker and somewhat redder shade than the ones the queen usually wore.

[How can you know where he is?]

“Are you the queen’s secretary? It’s been a while since I’ve read you.”

[I’ve already told you I’m not her secretary! And you haven’t answered my question!]

“Why should I answer it? My contract doesn’t stipulate such a thing.”

[Enough you two!... And stop bothering the child!]

After a few seconds, during which she was sure the two of them were arguing, a new window opened again.

This time the color tended more towards black.

[Is this the girl you told me about....?]

Kalysto could almost feel the new voice, as if it was whispering sweet words in her ear.

The usual violet window appeared before her.

[What are you supposed to be doing, girl? Are you stealing?]

“Technically speaking, they kidnapped me first. So taking their books and burning their library could be taken as a way to settle the score," Kalysto excused herself. Feeling like a little girl who’s been caught stealing the cookie jar.

The gleeful laughter that drew in the darker window warmed her skin. The sensation was completely different from anything she’d felt so far. It was alluring, electrifying, and it made her feel...alive.

And it scared her.

Kalysto swallowed saliva with difficulty.

[Why is it that lately almost every time I see you, you’ve been kidnapped?... I hope this doesn’t become a habit! What are you waiting for to escape?]

“They also have some friends and acquaintances of mine. And don’t worry, we plan to escape in a few days,” and before she could even try, another window appeared.

[I hope you’re not even thinking of asking me for help with that, or allowing them into my territory, Kalysto.]

And there died all my hopes of getting help looking for Alice. She thought sadly.

“Of course not, boss” and as soon as the lies came out of her mouth, a puff of black smoke came out of nowhere, enveloping the books, and making them disappear. “Hey, my books!”

[I’ll give them to you as soon as you’re done with your mission, little thief.]

And Kalysto could swear that the man, the owner of the purple window that almost looked black, was still smiling when he said those words.

“Who said I would accept it?” She answered instead.

[What do you want in return?]

The queen asked.

Kalysto turned her head to the side as she thought.

Considering I have to get Rita and Koden out of the library before they discover us I don’t have enough time to negotiate... and she’s not interested in helping them escape so the idea of using her to find Alice is out of the question for the time being. She thought.

“Why negotiate with me when you guys can come and get him?”

[Because you’re already there. And because while I wouldn’t normally stop a certain individual from going and destroying them all, the saintess of the goddess Mhiralla is in that kingdom and could inform her.]

And why worry about someone who is weaker than she is? She wanted to ask, but considering how powerful the queen was, that could only mean that there was someone much more powerful backing the other goddess.

“There are actually two saints who belong to the temple of light, not just one.”

[What?]

“One was imprisoned shortly after my arrival in this world, and there is a new one.”

[Why were we not informed of this?]

Questioned the window with the reddish touch on it.

“As far as I understand my contract is with the queen, I don’t even know who you are, besides it’s not like I have a way to contact you when I want to do so, do I? And providing that kind of information is not part of my contract.” She replied with a smile.

[...You just need to touch your contract tattoo with me and you can dictate your message. I’ll answer it as soon as I can. Now let’s focus on what’s really important. What do you want in return for providing your services?]

Remembering the disaster that happened when she tried to use the only fire ability she had, she smiled.

“I want total immunity to all types of fire. Besides, it will be very difficult for me to go down to the prison and help him escape with all the commotion in the palace today. I will need an ability that will help me do such a thing silently and go unnoticed” as soon as she finished speaking two windows appeared before her. One reddish and one almost black.

[The user wishes to accept the legendary rank skill: ‘Absolute fire immunity’, offered by ¿¿?? king of dragons in exchange for accepting the fairy queen’s mission.]

[The user wishes to accept the legendary rank skill: ‘stealth’, offered by ¿¿?? king of demons in exchange for performing the recent mission given by the fairy queen in less than two hours.]

Do skills also have levels? Kalysto thought as soon as she read the first message, but her face paled when she read who was offering her the last skill.

“Boss... Are we on friendly terms with the demon king?” She asked. The saliva felt thick in her mouth as she knew the future that awaited this man. And what her boss might do if he found out she knew beforehand.

On the other hand, why should offer this information for free? She thought.

[Of course! But only with one of them. My nephew.]

“Is there more than one demon king?”

[We don’t have time for your collection of questions, Kalysto. And pay more attention to your map, there are two enemies heading your way!]

“Shit! If you give me the stealth skill right away, I’ll accept the mission," she whispered. “Map!” Indeed, the dots of Koden and Rita were glowing on the map, and approaching where they were, there were two other red dots. And as a last-minute thing she added: “I also hope I get my books back!”

[Oh! It will be a pleasure to have you come to my palace to collect them when you are willing to tell me what it is that you tried so hard to hide from my aunt when you found out that I am the demon king.]

One of the wisps of smoke caressed her calf as a farewell, and a shiver ran down her back.

Less than a second later, Kalysto had received the new mission.

[Mission: rescue the Duke of Lanish in less than two hours.

Reward:

* Legendary rank skill: ‘Absolute immunity to fire’.

* Legendary rank skill: ‘stealth’.]

She immediately accepted the mission and a violet window opened before her.

[Congratulations! The user has acquired a new skill: Stealth. Level 1!]

“Stealth!” She activated it immediately, noticing how her body became transparent, along with her clothes and shoes.

And she immediately ran off to where the two guards who were searching the library for intruders were standing.

“Sleep well, sleep well, sleep well!” She whispered, injecting a large amount of mana into her spell in order to counteract the difference in levels. As soon as the guard’s body fell to the ground, she checked her map, and attacked the second one in the same manner.

Then she went to where Koden was.

2We should go," she informed him, putting a finger to her lips, letting him know that they should keep their voices down.

“I think we should escape!” he muttered under his breath.

“Bad idea," she whispered as she led them to where Rita was. “Edward is drunker than an alcoholic trying to drown his sorrows. And the rest are still at the party. It’ll take too long to find them. And we all know Sandra wouldn’t take ten seconds to rat us out if it gets her Milo’s attention.”

“So, should we wait until we’re all assembled?” Koden questioned just as they got to where Rita was.

“Should we trust the twins?” asked the fire mage.

“...I think it’s best they find out when it’s all happening, just like Edward," Koden was annoyed to hear her words.

“He would never betray us!” He assured her.

2Maybe not, but it’s too obvious and his nerves would give away that we’re hiding something," Kalysto replied and passed a mana potion to Rita. “Burn this place to the ground.”

Forty minutes later, Kalysto had already led her new partners in crime back to her room, where she left them finishing reading the book. ‘The Fall of the Hero’, and she had wasted her time looking for the Duke in the same jail where she and the rest of the heroes had been imprisoned.

How was I to know that they have two separate prisons, one for the nobles and one for the commoners? She thought as she followed a group of guards while using stealth skills.

“You two go check if the duke has escaped. It looks like someone attacked the royal library. Surely it’s a strategy to distract us from his escape attempt!”

Thank heavens! Kalysto got excited following the two guards, who went to the north tower and then descended through a passageway to the prisons. Almost immediately she could recognize the duke sitting on a small but comfortable bed.

And as soon as the two guards left to report that the prisoner was still here, she put all the guards to sleep, but was annoyed when, after two minutes of looking for the keys, she couldn’t find them anywhere.

“Fuck that!” She got annoyed and walked over to the stone wall surrounding the cell. “Duke, get away from the wall. Earth manipulation!” And just as it had happened with the earthworms she had fought in the past, the rock first softened and as soon as she touched it began to fall to the ground as if it were dirt.

“I didn’t know you were an earth mage.”

“I am not, and now let’s get out of here," Kalysto answered and turned around to get out of there as soon as possible and finish her mission. But contrary to what she thought, the duke did not move from his place.

“I’m not leaving here without my assistant.”

“That’s not what I was hired for.”

“I’ll offer you thirty mana stones if you get us both out of here today” seeing that she didn’t flinch at his offer, he tried again. “I’ll give you fifty!” Kalysto let out a long sigh, full of exhaustion.

“I don’t have time for this. “

“Seventy!”

“Give me a hundred, or I’ll put you to sleep, put you in my inventory, and take you out of here by force. Take it or leave it," she said. And fifteen minutes later, the three of them were running through the forest outside the palace while wearing a pair of cloaks they had stolen from the guards while they slept.

“Thank you! I don’t know how I can repay you for the favor you’ve done us!”

“Pay me in mana or skill crystals when we meet again and hold up your end of our contract.”

“Of course, you and your friends are welcome to live in my duchy when you escape from here," Kalysto nodded at his words and as soon as they were able to get a carriage to take them out of the capital, she pulled her home stone from her inventory and returned to the comfort of her room, where Rita and Koden were waiting for her sound asleep.

“Stop the carriages! We are under attack!” shouted one of the knights near their window, nine hours after they started their journey.

“Rita, Koden, wake up!” Kalysto shouted to them, waking up the rest of the heroes sleeping inside the vehicle.

And as she opened the door and got out, she could see thousands of monsters surrounding the entire caravan. Hundreds of ogres, orcs, sajhuns, one- and two-headed cyclopses, hundred-footers over five meters tall, dackets, sokalrs, several jhuns and worst of all, hundreds of dark-Jhuns contaminated with the black plague and over two meters tall, were approaching them.

Shit! She thought, recognizing several of the races that had attacked the elves.

And she looked back, not entirely sure that this group of youngsters who were barely around level ten could survive an attack on this scale.

Fear was written on the faces of most of them as soon as they saw what they would have to face.

“Koden, Rita! Ready to level up?” She challenged them, trying to put on her best face, to give them encouragement.

“Let’s cut heads!” replied the fire mage with a smile on her face.

But in the distance, on a small mountain, Kalysto could see a huge and thick tower of a hundred floors, while the sun began to descend on the horizon.

 

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