"Why hasn't Lisa come out yet?" Will and Eddie stood by the prison gates, anxiously awaiting her arrival.
"Let's go inside and check. We don't have much time. The King's birthday speech will be held at the Holy Church soon, and I need to take care of security," Eddie suggested.
"Alright." With that, Will opened the prison gate, preparing to enter.
"Whoa!" Will suddenly cried out as Lisa rushed out of the prison, knocking him violently to the ground.
"Ah, it hurts!" Will shouted as he sat on the ground, grimacing.
"Will?" Lisa halted in her tracks, turning back to look at him.
"Lisa, why are you running so fast?" Will slowly got to his feet.
"I was just looking for you. Did you only catch that fat guy named Donald?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah, that's right. I took care of the others myself," Will replied proudly.
"Did you deal with the black-clad mage as well?" Lisa asked urgently.
"Uh... no, he didn't show up," Will said.
"Meaning he hasn't appeared at all?" Lisa pressed.
"Yeah."
"Damn it, we need to get to the palace. The King is in danger!" Lisa exclaimed, grabbing Will's hand and pulling him toward the palace.
"Wait, the King isn't at the palace. Today is the day he's preparing for the birthday banquet, and he should be getting ready to give a speech at the Holy Church," Eddie interjected suddenly.
"Then let's go to the Holy Church!" Lisa said.
"Lisa, what's going on? Why the sudden urgency?" Will asked.
"Hey, you! Lead the way, I'll explain as we go," Lisa said, pointing at Eddie.
"Alright... fine," Eddie said, leading the way as he quickly headed toward the Holy Church.
...
"Lisa, why do you say the King is in danger? Even if the black-clad man hasn't been caught, the rest of his people are mostly dealt with. What else can they do?" Will asked, puzzled as they walked.
"Idiot, that black-clad man is the key. The people you've killed were just expendable pawns. I see you've forgotten everything I've told you," Lisa said, her voice full of urgency.
"Huh?"
"Didn't I tell you I've been tracking someone with a Magic Addiction Stone?"
"Oh, right, you did mention that."
"Exactly. That black-clad man is wearing a Magic Addiction Stone. You know how powerful those stones are."
"Ah! I completely forgot about that! I also remember that two others used magic to escape from the inn. Could they be working with that black-clad man?" Will suddenly cried out in frustration.
"They want to deal a heavy blow to the Paralar Empire. Killing the King today is the quickest way, so they won't waste the opportunity," Lisa said.
"Ah, yes!" Will exclaimed.
"Magic Addiction Stone? What is that?" Eddie asked.
"A Magic Addiction Stone is a powerful gem that allows even those who can't use magic to wield great magical powers. But the side effect is a terrible addiction to magic," Lisa explained.
"Will... where did you learn all this?" Eddie asked, confused.
"Ah, a lot has happened these past few days. I can't explain it all right now," Will said, brushing it off.
"By the way, Lisa, here, take this." Will pulled out a shard of the Magic Addiction Stone from his pocket and handed it to Lisa.
"Where did you find this?" Lisa asked, intrigued.
"Ah, not far from here. It seems like a sort of underground organization. Their leader used a Magic Addiction Stone to summon some disgusting, dark-green tentacles, but I dealt with it in the end," Will replied.
"Dark-green tentacles? Could it be...?" Lisa's face suddenly turned pale with shock.
"Lisa, do you know what this is?" Will asked, curious.
"No, it's nothing. Forget it," Lisa quickly said.
"Strange... why the hesitation?"
"We're here!" Eddie said.
The three of them arrived near the Holy Church. Since the King was about to give his speech, the area was already crowded. It was going to be difficult for Will and the others to spot the black-clad man in such a mass of people.
"There are too many people here," Will said.
"What can we do? It's expected today, especially for such an occasion," Eddie replied.
"Damn it, looking for him one by one like this will take too long. Holy Knight, do you have a way to get us closer to the King?" Lisa asked.
"I can, but you'll have to surrender your weapons to get close," Eddie said.
"That's fine," Lisa replied.
"Alright... follow me," Eddie said, leading them through the crowded crowd toward the side of the Holy Church.
...
"Wait, you two can't enter here," two Holy Knights at the back entrance of the Holy Church stopped Lisa and Will.
"They're my friends. They have urgent information to tell the King," Eddie quickly explained.
"The King doesn't meet with anyone casually," one of the knights said.
"But..." Eddie sighed in frustration.
"Let them in," a voice suddenly came from within. It was Leon, who had walked up to them.
"Yes, Sir Leon," the knights said.
"Alright, follow me," Leon said, gesturing for them to follow.
"Sir Leon, the King is in danger!" Will suddenly rushed up to Leon, speaking urgently.
"What happened?"
"Donald we caught was just a pawn. The real threat is the black-clad man we haven't caught yet. He's very likely to assassinate the King today," Will said, tense with worry.
"Today? No way. Today is the most heavily guarded day. He shouldn't be able to get close to the King," Leon said, frowning.
"He's a mage. It's very likely that he's hiding in the crowd right now," Will said.
"Alright, I'll have the Holy Knights search for the black-clad man's movements in the crowd," Leon said.
"Thank you, Sir Leon," Will said gratefully.
"Don't thank me. Protecting the King is the Holy Church's duty. I'll give the order now," Leon said, bowing to them before quickly walking off.
"Lisa, what do we do now?" Will asked.
"I don't know. We can't do anything until we find the black-clad man," Lisa said, her tone frustrated.
"Hey, aren't you going to look? The King is coming out," Eddie said, peering out the window at the King.
"Ah, the Holy Knights are quick. They've already started searching," Will said, walking to the window. He didn't look at the King but kept his eyes on the crowd outside the Holy Church.
"I'll try and see if I can sense his magical energy," Lisa said, stepping up to the window. She closed her eyes and began to sense the magical energy around them.
"Seems like it's just me doing nothing," Eddie muttered with self-deprecating humor.
"I found him!" Lisa suddenly exclaimed, her eyes snapping open.