King Toma burst into the room with his soldiers.
His heart almost broke when he saw how badly his daughter Hisui was hurt.
She was his only child, the most precious person in the whole kingdom!
"You monster! Let my daughter go right now!"
The short King Toma was so angry he was jumping up and down, wanting to fight the cult leader himself.
Erza and Mirajane had come with the king.
Erza walked over to Ankh, impressed and said.
"I'm amazed you found the person behind all this so fast."
Ankh nodded. "He wasn't very smart. He was easy to find."
Mirajane whispered to herself, "But how did he trick me? I didn't realize he was a fake."
The three of them were very calm, which was a sharp contrast to everyone else.
The king was desperately worried about his daughter, and the cult leader looked like he was in a nightmare.
When the cult leader saw the king alive and well, he finally had to accept the truth.
His great plan had failed completely.
But!
He still had one last card to play: the princess he was holding hostage!
The cult leader tightened his grip on the princess's neck and screamed at the king, "Move! Let me leave! Or I'll kill your daughter!"
The king immediately told his soldiers to stop.
His face was full of conflict.
Letting this villain go was not an option.
But if he didn't, what would happen to his daughter?
As the king hesitated, the cult leader became more panicked and squeezed tighter.
Hisui's face immediately turned red from lack of air.
Princess Hisui felt the world starting to go fuzzy, the colors fading into a dull red.
Two tears rolled down her cheeks.
Just as King Toma could no longer take it and was about to let the cult leader go, Ankh finally spoke.
"Little princess, hold still for a moment."
Everyone quickly looked at Ankh.
He had raised his hand, and a black magic circle appeared in his palm.
This required careful control, but he could handle it...
"Control the power... and now... Snipe!" Ankh murmured softly.
He shaped his right hand like a gun and aimed it at Hisui—or more precisely, at the cult leader hiding behind her.
A magic circle glowed briefly.
A strange and powerful magic shot from Ankh's fingertip, hitting the cult leader directly.
The cult leader felt a terrifying power tearing through his body.
The pain in his arms and legs was worse than anything he had ever felt.
The incredible pain made the cult leader collapse, screaming.
He cursed wildly, "No, it can't be! How dare you attack me!"
"Please, spare me... Stop..."
"If I'm going to die, I'm taking her with me!"
As death closed in, a last bit of madness flashed in the cult leader's eyes.
He gathered magic in his hand and tried to smash Hisui's head.
But things didn't go as he planned...
Feeling the grip on her neck loosen, Hisui gritted her teeth.
She pulled out a piece of broken glass she had been hiding behind her back.
Gathering all her courage, she stabbed it deep into the cult leader's stomach!
This final blow was too much for him.
The cult leader felt a sweet taste in his mouth and then coughed up a lot of blood.
His face twisted with hate and ugliness.
Finally, he collapsed under the devastating power of Ankh's magic.
He passed out, and he fell heavily to the floor.
The room fell completely silent.
Hisui lay on the ground, still in shock, unable to believe the dead body in front of her...
This man had been a living, powerful mage just a moment ago.
But that young man had killed him with just a wave of his hand...
'The Wizard Saints are truly monsters' she thought.
Hisui looked up at Ankh, whose face showed no emotion.
Her heart was filled with respect and awe.
King Toma swallowed hard, stepped forward, and said in a dry voice, "Ankh-kun, that was... amazing..."
Ankh gave a small nod and said quietly, "It was alright."
Noticing the princess on the floor seemed frozen with fear, Ankh frowned.
He walked over and lifted Hisui up by her clothes.
He took the piece of glass she was still clutching tightly, looked at it, and then suddenly smiled.
"You're very brave, Princess."
To hide a weapon and wait for the perfect moment to strike back, even in a hopeless situation, showed great strength of mind.
It was worthy of a future queen.
Hisui snapped out of her daze and realized she was being held in the air.
Forgetting her fear, her face turned red and she shouted.
"You... how rude! Please put me down!"
'Heh, this little girl is so proper,' Ankh thought. 'She's still using polite words even now.'
But Ankh soon noticed that the princess, hanging in the air, was curling up and trying to hold her skirt down.
It turned out she had been locked up for many days.
Her clothes were dirty and torn from the struggle, and in some places, her fair skin was showing, leaving her in a very awkward position.
Ankh chuckled and put the princess back on her feet.
He then took off his own robe and draped it over her shoulders.
Hisui was stunned for a moment by this kind gesture.
Then she quickly reacted, her small hands clutching the white robe tightly.
A faint, unique scent came from the clothing.
Hisui's nose twitched slightly, and she suddenly felt an indescribable sense of safety.
When she looked up at Ankh again, there was a new sparkle in her eyes.
Nearby, King Toma scratched his white-haired head, not sure what to say.
If anyone else got this close to the princess, the king would have yelled, "How dare you!"
But Ankh was one of the Ten Wizard Saints and the man who had saved his daughter.
So, King Toma decided to just pretend he hadn't seen anything...
Hisui's dirty face blushed.
In a soft, sweet voice, she murmured, "Thank you, Ankh-sama..."
Mirajane, who had been watching quietly, frowned when she heard the princess's tone of voice.
Her woman's intuition was kicking in.
That voice... it sounded a little too sweet and deliberate...
And calling him "Ankh-sama"... since when were the two of them that close?
Mirajane narrowed her eyes, studying the princess who looked so innocent.
'Am I just imagining things?' she wondered.
'She's only ten years old... surely she's not a threat.'
Mirajane shook her head, trying to clear away her confused thoughts.
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Not really sure about Hisui age tbh, i search on the internet and it was said she was 19 in X791.