Chapter 678: Chapter 317: Is This Still the Homeland? _2
But Leon’s consciousness was inevitably sinking into lethargy as the Life Magic Element exhausted—
His jet-black hair rose and floated, strands of fluorescent light, augmenting it, and suddenly, the black hair rapidly grew.
At the last moment when he witnessed the oncoming Magic Bullet and storm, he heard a rhythmic sound of steady rock breaking beside his ear.
The attacking magic that came was drowned in the light barrier, the dazzling light suddenly expanded from behind.
In his vision, the whole world seemed to pause, time and space, as if they were breaking and dissolving….
By his ear, he only heard Ines’s urgent shout——…
The warmth of the sunlight gently brushed against his face.
Leon was completely exhausted, his body unwilling to move an inch, indulging in the comfort of deep sleep.
He turned over and over with his eyes closed, the tips of his hair tickling his nose, Leon wanted to scratch it, but in his drowsiness, he didn’t want to move, instinctively cuddling the fragrant and soft small body in his arms closer.
Why is the bed so hard today?
Unconsciously, his hands, out of habit, began to explore the body in his arms.
“~O…~li…” Leon murmured affectionately in his daze…..
The feel of his palm wrapping around something….. made him vaguely doubtful; it felt slightly smaller than usual.
….A cry of surprise came from beside him, Leon furrowed his brow.
This voice… familiar…. but… not Olivia…..
“…Leon… Leon~… wake up!!”
Hearing the embarrassed, helpless, and exasperated softness in the voice, Leon suddenly came to full awareness.
He opened his eyes instantly, recognizing the girl in his arms.
Seeing her face flushed and troubled…. Ines, Leon was momentarily stunned.
Like being shocked, he quickly released his embrace, backing away swiftly in his fright.
Not yet recovered from the shock, he slid across the floor and bumped into the wall behind him, halting his motion just before knocking his head, avoiding seeing stars.
Memories rushed back to his mind, the fatigue and pain all over his body, and the burning sensation of wounds on his soles also surged back.
Leon paused in his breathing, cautiously surveying the surroundings.
The grandiose and magnificent empty palace hall, brightly illuminated by the sunlight cascading through the stained glass and skylight, with the enormous dome adorned with epic frescoes, and tall columns standing amidst the hall.
And what he had just been lying on was naturally not Avalon’s bed, but the beautifully patterned smooth stone floor.
Ines, who was lying on her side, sat up from the floor, her cheeks flushed red as she smoothed down her skirt that had been lifted.
Taking a deep breath to suppress the startled annoyance she felt, the girl stood up from the floor, tightened the cloak around her shoulders, and with a patter of her little boots, ran beside Leon, scanning the environment.
“What is this place? Leon.” Ines asked, confused.
Leon shook his head, rising with the aid of the wall, silently observing the palace hall they were currently in, equally bewildered.
Seeing the bewilderment on the other’s face, Ines temporarily set aside her confusion and asked with concern: “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I… I’m a bit tired, but it’s nothing serious, don’t worry, Your Highness.” Leon came to his senses, bowed his head awkwardly, and smiled as he responded.
He only blamed himself for his poor sleeping habits with Olivia, and at this moment, he could only tacitly agree not to mention the unintentional offense just now.
Having said that, Leon turned his head, redirecting his attention back to his surroundings, glancing at the sunlight through the stained glass windows.
It was just deep night, and now it’s bright daylight, but where are Met and Wisemar? Were they the ones who captured him and Ines here?
Realizing that he might have lost consciousness in front of the enemy before, Leon’s heart tightened. He quickly raised his right hand, attempting to sense Garner.
A bolt of electrical light leapt from his arm, feeling the ancient divine weapon still by his side, Leon hastily stopped the notion of summoning the Magic Gun.
His hand touched his chest pocket, and the Boiling Heart, restored to its Netti Card state, was still on him.
Looking at it this way, he probably wasn’t captured by Met. If the enemy had seized him, they wouldn’t have refrained from searching him, not to mention he and Ines were now free to move, without any shackles or restraints.
Besides, this grandiose gigantic hall clearly wasn’t a prison.
Ines looked around, suddenly pointing at the altar at the end of the hall, exclaiming softly:
“Is that a statue of Illaril?”
Leon gazed in surprise, indeed seeing, under the distant Holy Sun Wheel, the huge statue of the Prophet.
This palace hall’s architectural style was so familiar yet different from Orland. This place was evidently a Holy Sun Church Sanctuary with a significantly high status.
“It seems like a Holy Sun Church temple; Your Highness, do you remember how we got here?” Leon queried, perplexed.
Hearing this, Ines frowned in thought but shook her head helplessly: “I only remember you standing in front of me, Met and Wisemar had chased us, but you seemed unresponsive, just standing there. Then I heard a rattling sound behind me, followed by a flash of white light…and then I didn’t know anything, just woke up now…”
Her voice paused, Ines felt her face heat up, so she tried to stop speaking calmly; there’s no need to mention how she was roused.
Leon nodded earnestly, just about to speak, but suddenly heard footsteps echoing from the corridor on the side.
His brow tightened, and he cautiously pulled Ines behind him.
“Someone’s coming! Let’s hide first.”
Hastily, he pulled the girl to the side and hid behind a statue.
Being tall, he had no choice but to disregard propriety, wrapping Ines closely, aligning their bodies as much as possible to hide together.
Ines lay against his chest, her fingers clenching Leon’s shirt, her eyes silently flickering with thoughts unknown to him, she quietly and obediently held her breath.
Leon listened intently, eavesdropping on the echoes and conversation that gradually drew near from outside the statue.
“…Great Priest, Your Majesty’s last stop on this pilgrimage… I think his attitude is testing the church’s patience.” An elderly voice seemed to worryingly remind someone of higher status.
“…Don’t worry, His Majesty is just displaying his posture to those wavering lords, trying to gather the nobility’s faith… I personally helped him ascend the throne, I trust he won’t disappoint the church….” A steady and confident middle-aged voice responded.
His Majesty? Church? Great Priest? Ascend the throne?…..
Listening to their conversation in a familiar yet unfamiliar Felu Language accent, Leon’s mind grew even more confused.
What exactly is going on?
Where have Ines and he been taken to?
Silently waiting until the footsteps gradually drifted away.
Not until hearing the main door open and close, the steps disappearing from the hall, did Leon release Ines and step out from behind the statue.
Ines, suppressing her weird feelings, looked up hesitantly and probed: “….Their accent… isn’t Orland people.”
Leon pressed his lips together and nodded: “I know.”
He understood the unspoken confusion of Princess Ines.
Because just now in their conversation, they spoke with an accent very similar to his own, they were likely Seryans.
“Regardless of where this is, we have to find a way out first.”
Leon looked at the corridors on the gallery, based on his experience from the Battle of Rolandena and Avalon’s Holy Hall, he grasped Ines’s wrist, rapidly seeking other exits.
He dared not casually leave through the main door as those people did.
Given the specifications of the temple at hand, there were certainly church guards outside.
And currently, he was improperly dressed, barefoot with bloodstains, and beside him was a girl in a nightdress wrapped in an outer garment. Walking out the main door would surely get them apprehended as suspicious intruders into the Sanctuary.
Bear in mind; he was still a spellcaster, if for some reason he had somehow ended up within Seryan territory, this place was hardly “friendly” to mages. Especially when he presently had no evidence to prove himself as the Holy War Alliance Marshal, Orland’s Baron Avalon, Leon Pendragon.