The entire Solarius Order was in the hall preparing for the castle's ascent. In some areas there were ordinary people and servants with very visible nervousness. If this went wrong, everyone there would die, so Nerfe would not fail.
"Rilux, how are the preparations?"
Turning to his subordinate, he placed a hand on his shoulder. It would not be a lie to say that he was also worried, especially with this bad premonition.
"So far everything is going well, my king. Don't worry—if something goes wrong, I will sacrifice myself if that's what it takes for this plan to succeed."
Rilux's eyes shone with determination, the kind of determination that would lead someone to death. With a look of sorrow, he nodded to his subordinate.
"I hope it doesn't come to that."
Looking at the rest of the Solarius Order, he noticed many who were afraid and others who had the same eyes as Rilux. He wouldn't blame anyone for being afraid, because in the disastrous state of their world, it was normal to feel that way.
"Knights, remain calm, because today we will leave this hell and ascend to the skies, where we will be safe for a time until new mages arise to take this land back."
"Yes, my King."
Hearing everyone say that, even those who were afraid, made him feel better. Walking over to his daughter, he sat beside her while the mages around them began preparing to make the castle fly. Lisa was afraid; as far as she knew, the Nartheis were attacking this land so fiercely because of the women of the royal family.
"Father, why do they want me so much?"
"I don't know either, my daughter, but don't worry. I won't let anything bad—"
Stopping mid-sentence, Nerfe quickly turned to the left, looking toward a wall. Stepping in front of his daughter and Karyu, he drew his sword from its sheath while channeling his golden fire magic into the blade. Karyu stood guard right behind him, and despite her fear, Lisa prepared to defend herself.
"It seems you were trying to escape, so I was forced to come here personally."
Opening his eyes, he saw one of the two main enemies of this world, a creature whose very name filled the hearts of his knights with hatred.
"Gideon."
A Nartheis whose body was covered by a black carapace resembling obsidian, cracked in several places, stepped onto the ground of what was supposed to be their salvation. From those fissures flowed a dark red light, like magma. His head had no visible eyes; instead, arcane symbols in the shape of an S occupied their place.
"What are you doing here?"
"We could say I just came to fulfill your father's wish and turn you all into my little dogs."
Just hearing that sarcastic voice irritated him. Keeping calm, he gestured to Rilux, who quickly stepped forward. Gideon whistled with a certain interest, noticing something different about the knight before him.
"So this is your strongest human? Well, I admit he's a bit strong—"
"Silence."
Rilux appeared before him with incredible speed, and with a single strike sent Gideon flying away from the castle. With a determined nod to his king, he went to meet his death while pursuing Gideon. Seeing someone she considered family leave, Lisa grew worried.
"Father, where is he going? Why doesn't he just wait with us—"
"Because Gideon would quickly return to stop us."
Giving the signal to begin lifting the castle, they prepared to leave that place. With a tearful face, Lisa followed her father while Karyu looked back with her guard up. In the middle of moving toward the mages, Nerfe stopped and sighed.
"Damn it."
Lisa froze when she noticed that all around the castle, and entering it, there were hundreds of monstrous Nartheis approaching their location. They were fast, beginning to kill many knights and mages. The worst hit were the servants and civilians, who were slaughtered quickly. With a desperate expression, she looked at her father, who wore a look of helplessness.
"I can't believe that bastard brought half of all the Nartheis that exist in the world."
"Lord Nerfe, flee with the young lady. I—"
"Karyu, you are my daughter's personal guard. Do not die like this."
The small Nartheis looked down. With a pained expression, he let out a sad sigh. It seemed he would have to activate their second plan.
"Daughter, follow me."
"Where?"
"Just follow me. It's a safe place."
With his sword raised, he unleashed a blast of golden fire in front of him, driving back two Nartheis—Flora and Pegra—who were running to capture Lisa.
"Men, prepare the sealing plan."
"With pleasure, my king."
The first to begin moving, even with their wounds, were those who harbored hatred toward the Nartheis. They would sacrifice themselves so that these creatures could not harm anyone, at least down here, and best of all, they would reduce their strength by half. One of the vice-leaders was the one who reached where the mages were.
"Come on, men. If I see any of you retreat, I'll kill you myself."
"I'd rather die than even dare to think of retreating, chief."
"That's right. We die together."
The knights managed to reach the locations where the mages were. In front of each of them was a golden rune that began to shine when they stepped on it. Offering their lives to that rune, the castle began to float, and a chain started to form around it. Outside, Rilux, missing an arm, looked inside with sadness.
"It seems the plan has been activated."
"What do you mean by that, human?"
In front of him, Gideon had a massive cut across his chest. With a suspicious look, Gideon moved in an explosion of mana toward the castle. Rilux, not wanting his king to face those Nartheis, ran after him to try to eliminate him.
"Father…"
"…This was our backup plan, daughter."
Running through the corridors, Nerfe approached a door with a bird symbol in the center, together with his daughter and Karyu. Entering quickly, the three of them saw a cage in the middle of the room.
"I truly apologize, my daughter."
With a swift motion, he grabbed Lisa by the arm and threw her inside. Lisa stood up in concern, but her father placed magic into the lock, making the cage glow. She watched her father walk toward the door with Karyu beside him, which meant she knew this was going to happen. To make it worse, it seemed the two intended to sacrifice themselves to keep the Nartheis out of that room.
"FATHER, KARYU, DON'T DO THIS… please."
Holding onto the bars of the cage, she let herself fall to the ground with tearful eyes. She was afraid of dying, but what she feared most was losing the two most important people in her life.
"Please…"