A gigantic thunderstorm lashed incessantly while tearing one’s eardrums. When the lightning struck, a huge flash suddenly covered the whole horizon. And thus, the Demon Castle vibrated in response.
“Heuk!”
The staggering Julia immediately got slammed against the wall. She had no way of knowing if the hallway was actually spinning as she stood or if it was her vision that had faltered. It was completely difficult for her to take even a single step, but Julia gritted her teeth and opened her eyes wide.
As Julia kept on stumbling away, the demons that were just passing by began to stare at her with their curious eyes. Her complexion, unlike its usual, was utterly disorganized. Her always neat hair was in a mess and her sheer nightgown had fluttered down her shoulders.
It felt rather strange to everyone, but no demon actually dared to touch the King’s woman anyway. They only shared some glances with each other while they stood silently out of the way without ever blocking Julia’s own path.
‘Where is the Demon King?’
She was now familiar enough to walk around the Demon Castle even with her eyes closed. However, there was nothing that could be seen in her eyes right at that moment.
The whole thing simply looked like a labyrinth or those decaying ruins which had submerged under the deep water. She was still unable to get out of the afterimage from that previous dream of hers.
‘I can still hear the water. It’s like I’m all trapped at the bottom of an absolutely dark lake.’
Julia was completely confused. Reality and nightmare began jumbling up in an utter mess.
She then clenched against the area right near the imprint. Why did she suddenly see such a vision? Julia’s steps, as she poked through her messy head, suddenly came to an abrupt stop.
The red imprint that had been binding her heart was her only link to Bael. And sometimes, they would share each other’s senses due to the side effects of that said imprinting. The mere touch on the skin could make her heat rise unbearably and her heart eventually throb in return.
Her whole self was already assimilated to him. When Bael had activated the imprint into her heart, the afterimages of the past that floated around his head began to flood all over into her memories. Therefore, she could no longer tell the difference between fantasy and reality itself.
Although it had just been a dream to her, it was definitely a clear reality to him instead.
“Hah, haah…”
Before she even knew it, she was already out of breath. Something had caught Julia’s eyes as she almost ran across the hallway. A human shadow was lurking just beneath the walls of the castle.
Due to the large physique as well as that tall stature, it looked exactly like a demon at first glance. But despite staring hard into it, the dialogue window did not pop up at all. It was, in other words, a human being then.
Her mind, which had been wandering at the bottom of the lake ever since she woke up from before, finally calmed down a bit. There was quite a distance between the Outer Castle where the emissaries were staying and the Main Castle that was right here. It was too much for it to be such a mistake, so she could see that it was not just a simple coincidence that she had seen them here.
‘How did they even get into this place? I don’t know what they’re thinking, but if anyone were to find out, I’m sure that they wouldn’t be safe……’
At that time, the figure that was deeply immersed amidst the shadow of the building, seemed to begin its move. As she looked at the direction, it appeared as though they were actually trying to hide inside the castle itself. They gradually got farther and farther away from Julia before they finally disappeared from her sight.
‘What to do? Should I call out for anyone? But what if they were lost as well?’
As soon as Julia, who had already gone nervous before long, pushed her body out, the castle rumbled again at once. A powerful wave then emanated from the tower before the dark night air was soon dyed in such deep purple.
And just as if something had pushed her back, Julia’s body was suddenly thrown off the railing.
[▷SYSTEM
Story progress 45%]
Before she even realized it, a system window had appeared right in front of her as she fell onto the floor.
[▷SYSTEM
The 5th Episode. The Emissaries from Earth.]
[▷SYSTEM
– Mission: To save all the delegation and send them back to the ground. The time limit is 7 days.
– Reward: Obtaining the special weapon, ‘Meteor Shower’.
– Failure Penalty: Acquiring the confinement ending, ‘Doll in a cage’.]
Her vision, which had stopped, albeit very briefly, rushed again at full tilt. A cold wind had suddenly ruffled her hair and Julia urgently reached out her hand.
“Shield!”
[▷Physical Shield Lv.1
Protects the player’s body from any physical shock for once. Consumes 70% of one’s remaining HP. SP 60]
A bright effect was instantly wrapped around her falling body. At the same time, the vertigo had ultimately distorted her vision at once.
It was due to the fact that she never had the time to be alone and she never used any skill points that she received ever since from the last episode. Therefore, a large amount of her stamina was used up and the edges of her vision began to tint with red.
“…!”
Julia closed her eyes tightly as she watched the floor steadily approaching in the blink of an eye.
Along with the sound of a sudden thud, the rough, cold dirt floor had made contact with her thin nightgown. The shield had protected her, so she didn’t get any direct hit at all. However, she could still sense the fear that she felt as she was falling down from a great height.
A large shadow suddenly appeared in front of her while she was gasping for breath. When she looked up, a familiar face was already right in front of her.
“It’s been a while. Princess.”
A low, cool voice. It was a voice that she could have never forgotten even in her dreams.
‘No one will truly believe what you’d say anyway. They’ll just think that you’re simply uttering such nonsense. I’ll advise you not to say anything in the meantime.’
The voice that had rung furiously as he mercilessly trampled the bedroom of a 14-year-old child with his muddy feet.
‘Get in.’
‘What do you mean—to get in-in this sulfur fire……!’
‘It’s all for the peace of the Empire. Please know that if you still continue to resist, we will have no other choice but to simply use force instead.’
The face that looked at her with a smile as she was shoved down the cliff by the threateningly thrusting spear.
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