The demonic beast’s cold and sticky skin and its grotesquely large eyes made Ariel uncomfortable.

“Let go of me—!”

Trapped in the demonic beast’s wings, unable to move, Ariel struggled with all her might and finally let out a sudden scream.

Due to the high elevation, the houses below appeared as mere dots here and there.

‘Am I being taken away like this?’

Where exactly are we going?

Ariel turned her gaze to the dark mage sitting atop the beast flying in front of her.

He was wearing a black robe, but he was not Diaton. Perhaps one of his subordinates or minions.

Haah.

Ariel let out a sigh.

She rarely panicked over matters unrelated to Leopold, but this situation was truly worrisome.

Her mana had been restored, but only a meager amount, so after one attack, all her mana was depleted.

She had to abandon even the hope of launching a proper attack.

At the end of various thoughts, she naturally fell into thoughts about Leopold Diaz.

‘Leopold….’

He would probably be furious after hearing of my disappearance.

He would scold the knights and mages for not sending me through the portal first.

He would search for me frantically in all directions….

Ouch—!

The moment she imagined his expression, the emotions he would feel, Ariel felt a sharp pain spreading through her heart.

‘Have I grown attached to him?’

Why does my heart ache?

Ariel’s emerald eyes trembled.

‘The silver lining is that Leopold can defeat the dark mages.’

He will definitely find me.

And then he would deal with this strange group.

Ariel resolved to somehow buy time until Leopold could find her, before these villains could kill her.

Suddenly, as if she had never been scared, her eyes sparkled.

It was because a spark of hope had arisen amidst her worries and anxiety.

***

Leopold, Evan, and Hyle. The three men walked side by side through the forest.

They met not far from the base camp and were about to arrive soon.

“But this is strange.”

Hyle stopped walking with a serious tone.

At his strange words, Evan and Leopold stopped and turned to him.

“What seems to be the problem?”

At Evan’s question, Hyle frowned deeply and said,

“I can feel a thick evil aura. From over there.”

Hyle pointed ahead with his finger.

“That means—!”

Evan’s eyes widened, and Leopold crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes toward the direction Hyle was pointing.

“It means the dark mages have appeared.”

“Isn’t that the direction where our base camp is?”

An uneasy premonition came over him, and Leopold’s red eyes became agitated.

‘Ariel.’

Even though they prepared as much as possible with barriers, mages, and knights, if something were to happen to her,

If those filthy, dark mages laid their hands on her,

‘I won’t let them get away with it.’

Hoping it was just needless worry, his dragging steps gradually quickened.

Soon, Leopold began to run.

“Your Majesty!”

“We should hurry as well.”

“Ah, yes.”

Evan and Hyle also increased their pace, running faster.

“Damn. The thing I was worried about has happened.”

Hyle’s low muttering reached Evan’s ears.

‘If he was worried about this happening, does that mean there was a reason for this kind of situation?’

Evan looked at Hyle, who was running ahead of him.

Ariel had appointed Swordmaster Hyle as her mentor.

‘Ariel. What kind of life did you live in Kolnman? Please be safe.’

Maybe her refusal to eat and her isolating herself after returning from Kolnman had something to do with Hyle.

As Evan mechanically swung his legs back and forth, his thoughts deepened.

“Who is that.”

At Leopold’s low voice, Evan snapped back to attention and noticed someone running towards them from the opposite direction.

“Isn’t that Duke Noah Diaz?”

Hyle, not knowing what was going on, alternated his gaze between Leopold, Evan, and Noah Diaz.

“Where are you rushing off to?”

Duke Noah’s face was pale with fear.

Clearly, something had happened.

Huff, huff-!

Standing in front of Leopold, Noah caught his breath heavily. He was wary of Leopold’s reaction.

Even while he was rushing here, Noah Diaz pondered why they kidnapped Ariel, but he couldn’t come up with a satisfying answer to this question.

Now that he had completely become human, Noah could not know Diaton’s intentions unless Diaton himself disclosed them.

‘Seeing him rush towards the base camp, did he notice something?’

Leopold’s tight lips and angrily furrowed brows reflected his emotions.

How should he answer the Emperor’s question?

Should he tell the truth? That the Empress had been kidnapped by dark mages.

If they, together with Leopold, were to raid their base, he wouldn’t be able to get Diaton’s help. This would prevent him from gathering all his forces.

Then, naturally, the Demon King’s powers cannot be revived.

But he soon made a resolution.

‘Saving Ariel comes first.’

Just as Noah was about to speak,

“Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?”

When Leopold asked again, Noah knelt on the ground.

“Her Majesty has been kidnapped by a dark mage.”

“What—!”

Then Leopold lowered his body and shook his shoulder.

Did I hear that correctly?

Kidnapped. Ariel kidnapped!

Leopold sprang to his feet, kicking off the ground.

I should have stayed by her side. What should I do about this?

As guilt washed over him, Leopold’s vision blurred.

“Your Grace, what did you say? Ariel has been kidnapped?”

Evan was equally shocked. His shoulders trembled slightly.

Hyle placed his hand on Evan’s shoulder.

“It’s Diaton’s doing. The one who awaits and desires the resurrection of the Demon King.”

Noah turned his head sharply to look at Hyle.

Who is this person, and how does he know that?

A look of unease crossed Noah Diaz’s eyes.

“Why would such a person take Ariel?”

“I can’t say with my own mouth. It’s urgent that we capture him first.”

Since Hyle’s words were true, Evan had no choice but to remain silent.

Leopold clenched his fist.

He wanted to question Noah Diaz for not preventing Ariel’s capture, but he gritted his teeth and endured.

“Do you know where their hideout is?”

“I don’t.”

Hyle shook his head at Leopold’s question. Then Noah Diaz stood up and looked at Leopold.

“I know.”

If Diaton had decided to betray him, Noah alone could not have defeated him.

So he would need the help of Leopold Diaz after all.

‘Has it already been decided by fate?’

Was all the effort he had put in until now going to be in vain?

Noah felt tormented. The pain in his heart choked him, but he pressed it down and continued speaking.

“I will guide you.”

***

In the depths of the Helmir Forest.

Wrapped in the wings of a demonic beast, the place they flew to was somewhere the sunlight barely reached.

There stood a castle, surrounded by a massive wall.

It was the palace of a kingdom that had perished in the past due to Atlan’s conquest war.

‘To think there was such a place in Helmir Forest.’

She had roamed all over Helmir Forest, hunting demonic beasts, but she had never once seen this building.

Compared to Atlan’s imperial palace, it was small and modest, but it resembled a fortress encased in high walls.

Diaton’s underling on the demonic beast landed first in the castle courtyard. Bill jumped off the beast’s back and landed on the ground.

The demonic beast carrying Ariel landed afterward and dropped Ariel down, throwing her.

She looked around by turning her head this way and that.

Torches were lit all around the castle, which had already fallen into darkness before sunset.

“Haha! Thanks to you, I was able to capture this witch. Here! Your reward!”

He took out something the size of a coin from his pocket and threw it to the demonic beast. The beast caught it and flew away into the sky.

“What are you doing? Why have you brought me here?”

Ariel furrowed her eyebrows.

“Stop talking and follow. There’s nothing you can do anyway.”

Bill grabbed Ariel’s golden hair, tied high up.

“Ah—!”

Ariel clenched her eyes shut from the pain in her scalp.

What on earth is this!

“It hurts, doesn’t it? It will hurt from now until you close your eyes.”

“If you’ve sealed my mana as you wanted, why did you drag me here?”

“Ahahaha-!”

Despite Ariel’s fierce reprimand, Bill did not stop laughing. The grip on Ariel’s golden hair tightened.

“Ah…!”

She screamed in agony. Her emerald eyes sharply glared at him.

‘Is this person insane?’