Montecristo rode at full speed, covering a great distance until he reached the castle gates, where he was stopped by the guards, who asked him to identify himself, as they did not recognize him due to his new haircut. His appearance was different; his beard had been trimmed and his long hair cut short, making him look several years younger. He now appeared to be a vigorous and powerful man. "Let me through, it's an emergency. Now!" he shouted. One of them pointed his spear at him threateningly. "By what authority do you demand to enter this place? Get out of here!" he replied.
Faced with their refusal, and according to the queen's message, he knew he didn't have much time. He turned his horse around and with a strong kick managed to open one of the doors of the huge gate, gaining entry. The guards called for help as they ran after him. Montecristo advanced with desperation on his face until he reached the runic chest where the teleportation stone was located. He jumped down from his horse as if he were a teenager and ran to the teleportation summoning area. He took out a red rock with an inscription that was difficult to understand, and just as he placed it in its spot, the guards arrived and threw themselves on him.
The two guards struggled with him, but with a leap as agile as a lynx, Monte Cristo broke free from their grip and struck each of them, sending them to the ground.
"Stop right there. What do you think you're doing, idiots!" Joel shouted. He was very angry and told them he was trying to save his queen. This surprised the guard. 'Who are you? Answer!' one of them shouted even louder. "I am Joel Reid-Montecristo, General and loyal servant of Her Majesty Fiora Bright-Windham" Joel answered "Now shut up and find Elias. Bring him here!" he ordered. Upon hearing his response, the guards were perplexed, unable to utter a word. This did not please Joel at all. "I just gave you an order. Obey now!" he shouted so loudly that they jumped back in fright. Immediately, one of them ran off like a madman in search of Elías, while the other guard remained with Joel, trying to open the portal.
―At the Mystic Academy―
At the academy, the Sentinel apprentices collected the ashes from the stones and placed them in beautiful black and gold containers, which looked as if they were made from a mixture of solar steel and pure gold. These were given to the families along with the sword carried by their deceased son or daughter. Margott was a little calmer after suffering a mild anxiety attack. "I'm sorry I caused you that, Margott, I'm sorry!" Claire said as she held her hand. Margott nodded and smiled at her as a small tear rolled down her cheek.
"It's okay, Claire. Sooner or later, I would have had to remember. Can I ask you something?" she said sadly. Claire and Kiett looked at her with wide eyes full of amazement, as if there were thousands of stars inside them. Margott gave them a subtle smile. "Can I stay with you tonight?" she asked. This request surprised The Sigrid greatly. They had expected anything but that.
"Are you serious, Margott?" asked Kiett, blushing. Margott smiled, confirming her request with a tender "please." Claire looked at Kiett's face, which was as red as a tomato. "Don't think you're going to sleep together. He'll sleep in my room, and you'll sleep on the couch!" Claire said after giving him a little tap on the head. "Why do I have to sleep on the couch?" he asked, somewhat annoyed. "Have you forgotten what you did to the ceiling in your room, silly?" Claire said. Kiett remembered what he had done and laughed, agreeing with her.
Margott's chest warmed as she saw them walk ahead, hand in hand. For a second, her smile faltered—until they turned back, reaching for her. Her heart skipped. They hadn't forgotten her. They both held out their hands. "Margott, let's go home!" Claire said. Margott ran to them and took their hands. The moment was interrupted by the guard, who arrived almost out of breath.
He came face to face with Alistar. "What's wrong with you? Why are you breathing like that?" he asked. The man barely caught his breath before telling him that he had come looking for Elías at Montecristo's request. "Joel? Where is he?" Alistar asked "He came running like a madman. We didn't recognize him, so he knocked down the gate with his horse. He's in the runic chest," the guard replied. The brothers and Margott heard this and saw Alistar start to run. Without saying a word, the three of them ran after him.
The guard proceeded to search for Elias among the crowd until he found him. "Commander, Montecristo requests your presence at the Runic Ark immediately!" he said. Elias didn't say a word and headed for the castle. Liliam and Sonia noticed this, but they couldn't move because they were talking to the families present. Margott and the Sigrid siblings ran with all their might to catch up with Alistar, but he was too fast. From a distance, they saw three more people join him. "What's going on? Is Uncle Joel okay?" Claire asked. "Let's keep going. We'll be there soon and find out!" Kiett replied. The three continued on until they crossed the gate that Joel had forced open a few moments earlier.
Alistar and his colleagues Elle Blurke, Aria Winters, and Kristoff Crawport were the first to arrive. "Joel, what's going on?" "You idiot! Why didn't you tell me Fiora left yesterday morning?" he replied angrily. "Quick, how do you activate this thing?" he asked. Alistar hurried to connect the rune to the teleportation ark as siblings Sigrid and Margott arrived at the scene.
"Uncle Joel, what's going on?" asked Kiett. 'What are you doing here? You must leave now!' Joel replied, which intrigued the boys even more. After what had happened in Threnafell and his days of disappearance, they hadn't expected such a reunion. Alistar managed to connect the rune and the portal began to open with a strange color, as if it were mud. "What's going on? This isn't normal!" said Joel. "General! Get away from there!" warned Margott. Hearing this, Joel quickly moved away from the portal along with the others. Black smoke poured out, and mystical energy projectiles scattered and hit the infrastructure around them. Two of these projectiles headed toward the young people, but thanks to Kiett's God's Hand spell, they were able to repel them.
"What's happening on the other side?" exclaimed Alistar just as Elias arrived at the scene. "Elias and Alistar. With me now!" ordered Joel, drawing his sword. Alistar and Elias did the same and proceeded to enter, but not before ordering everyone else to stay back and alert Princess Sonia and Liliam immediately. "You three must alert the princesses. Now, quickly!" Elle told them. Claire refused because she was afraid of Joel's safety. "I'm not asking you, it's a damn order, girl, go now!" she shouted angrily. Kiett and Margott obeyed and took Claire with them, almost dragging her.
―The Battle for the Eighth Gate―
On the other side of the portal, the situation is grim and devastating, with blood everywhere and a terrible cold from the storm. "Where are we?" asked Alistar. "The ruins of Aldelviewreld. We must find our queen and retreat now." Don't play the hero, let's go quickly!" ordered Joel, and they immediately rushed down toward the battlefield. As they advanced, they heard powerful booms, explosions, and strange roars until they reached a rock that gave them an almost complete view of the battle. "Shit! They're surrounded. They're lost. How can we help them?" asked Elías. "We must create a distraction. Let's find Fiora, and then we'll act!" replied Joel. In the distance, they could see a woman fighting fiercely against another strange-looking woman. It was Fiora, who was withstanding the strong blows of this woman against her shield.
The woman managed to knock the shield out of Fiora's hands with a powerful blow and tried to pierce her abdomen with her clawed hands, but Fiora managed to dodge the thrust. With a quick movement of her spear, she cut off one of the woman's arms, she leaned on her spear, and delivered two powerful kicks, the first shattering the woman's jaw and the second sending her through the air. Without wasting any time, Fiora lunged after her.
Aurora used her control over the rocks to conjure shields and launch bursts of electricity that severely damaged her opponent. "I'm waiting for more action," shouted the queen. Useless trash!" shouted the queen. The man increased his speed and managed to penetrate Aurora's defense, but she was already expecting him. One of her rings generated an enormous amount of energy in her hand, which Aurora threw at the man at point-blank range. This caused the man's back to open, spilling large amounts of blood. The man took a big leap away from Aurora. "Where do you think you're going?" exclaimed the queen, creating a chain of magic that bound the man around the neck and pinned him to the ground, ready to be tortured.
Fiora continued attacking the woman, delivering tremendous blows and stabs to her body, causing her to bleed. Fiora's attacks had the woman on the ropes. "Is that all you've got, Windham? You're not even tickling me!" exclaimed the woman, trying to provoke her and make her lose her focus.
Mustaffa fought like a lion, severing his opponent's limbs, but he regenerated too quickly, until the man managed to land a powerful blow to Mustaffa's abdomen that sent him crashing into some large rocks. The impact left him almost unconscious. "You're formidable, old man, it's a shame your life ends today!" Mustaffa tried desperately to get up, but his balance failed him and his vision began to blur.
The man kicked Mustaffa, sending him crashing into the rocks, causing multiple injuries. Mustaffa could barely breathe. The king tried to raise one of his swords, but the man took it from him and grabbed his arm, pulling him violently. The man tore off his arm, causing Mustaffa to let out such an agonizing scream that it echoed all the way to Fiora, who was about to cut off the woman's head. "Mustaffa!" exclaimed Fiora. "One down, five to go," said the woman, mocking Fiora. The queen of Averford put away her spear and grabbed the woman by the neck. She had cut off all her limbs. Fiora suspended her in the air, summoned her shield again, and spun around, generating so much force that when she struck her, she shattered her chest and smashed her against a white rock. Upon impact, the rock shattered and its pieces were completely covered in red with her blood.
Fiora hurried to reach Mustaffa. As she approached, she saw the man about to tear the king's head off with a swipe of his claw. Fiora was filled with rage and struck the base of her spear against the ground. "Unreiner Wut!" Fiora shouted, firing her powerful red beam, which struck the man directly in the back, charring him instantly. "Mustaffa! Hold on, please! we'll get you out of here!" said Fiora. Aurora arrived immediately. "Fiora, we won't last long here! What shall we do?" asked Aurora. "My reinforcements are here. I felt them arrive. Let's get out of here, but first we must help the others!" Fiora Answered "What do you mean, your reinforcements?" asked Aurora. "Did you finish off that thing?" asked Fiora. Aurora looked around, searching for movement.
"Cut off his head, he won't bother anyone anymore." What reinforcements?" asked Aurora again. "My original spell is still active. I felt them pass through the rubble of the portal!" replied Fiora. She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a red rune stone. "It works as a locator, but it's very unstable and won't last long. We must go now!" Fiora stated. Both were interrupted by a loud crash ahead. "That was at the Eighth Gate!" exclaimed Aurora. "Go! And if necessary, destroy the Eighth Gate. We can't let them keep it. I'll take Mustaffa to the portal!" said Fiora. Aurora obeyed, just as Alistar and Elias reached Fiora.
"Queen Fiora! Thanks Throme, it's good to see you in one piece!" said Elias. "Where is Montecristo?" asked Fiora. Alistar informed her that Joel had made his way to the eighth gate. "Good! Take King Mustaffa to the portal quickly, we'll catch up with you!" Fiora ordered and immediately headed for the Eighth Gate with her spear and shield ready for battle.
TO BE CONTINUED…