Kaedros was silent, but inside his thoughts spun, and he felt a lick of panic along his spine. Had he managed to add a deformity? A Bloodline Trait that limited him—and now a cracked core?
"Will I ever be healed?" His voice was low, tinged with nervousness and fear.
Nyra snorted, her green eyes dancing happily. "Will you look at that? Even Kael can have a moment of fear!"
Kaedros swallowed his impatience as he waited for Chef and Thalso to finish laughing.
"It will be healed within days, and with the amount of mana in Throne of Ruinlight, it might not even take days, maybe overnight, maybe.
But since you've already cracked it, you should be careful in the future. Overload your core and you might shatter it. Use a spell far above your core's capacity, and you'll shatter it," Nyra listed.
Chef pointed at him when she saw the way his face relaxed with relief. "You don't want to experience a shattered core. It's the most painful thing ever, and not just physically. It's a sad thing to watch your power slowly drain away."
Kaedros smiled wide and bowed, thanking Nyra and Chef for their help. Then he introduced Lyra and the not-so-sane prisoners, telling them about what happened in the Prison.
Taria, Rauk, and Gold all added their own words where they felt Kaedros wasn't telling it right. When they reached the part about the monster with the three heads, Thalso shook his head sadly.
"That is a caretaker. They are the enforcers of Throne of Ruinlight, part of the Castle made flesh. They only appear when there's a big problem, like a jailbreak. And the soldiers Lyra said the enforcer led are like golems," Thalso sighed. "The Castle must have been so angry it lost control of the enforcer but to think the enforcer could control the monsters Joint Accord brought!"
They continued their story, and when they spoke of the Castle's gifts, no one believed them, until they showed the backs of their hands, revealing the runes.
The exclamations began immediately. They couldn't fathom why the Castle had gifted them with a spatial rune; such runes were expensive and time-consuming to create, and only powerful beings could make them.
But when Kaedros told them about speaking with the Castle, they weren't particularly impressed. Maybe the Castle spoke with them, too.
Instead, there was a mix of relief and resigned sighs, as if something they had been waiting for had finally been confirmed.
Suspicion bloomed inside Kaedros, but before he could ask anything, Chef was already pointing at the prisoners.
"What are we doing with these stinks?"
Lyra wasn't offended. Far from it, her eyes went wide, her jaw quivered open. Did she just hear them call him Thalso? Thalso! She shivered, suddenly rethinking her decision to leave the prison.
Thalso had been one of those responsible for her capture. Of course, she had heard rumors that he was in this Castle after the fall of Blood Star but to think it was true...
And what were these young monsters doing with him? Her mind spun. Don't tell me! Impossible! They can't be candidates, can they?! No wonder they were so strong!
Thalso looked at the stunned woman and the men behind her. How someone could be covered in so much dirt was no mystery, staying in one place for too long tended to cause that. "The Castle will come for them soon."
As the words left his mouth, the Castle shuddered, and the floor pulled back in front of them. Out climbed a monster with three heads.
Kaedros materialize his sword immediately, glad to see his companions fan out behind him as they faced the newcomer.
"There's still more?" Kaedros demanded.
The monster paused, giving them a full view. He was a tall man clad in brown armor, a large sword hanging at his waist, and the three heads set into his thick neck turned their way.
"Still more of what?"
The voice came from the middle head, smooth and strong, with sharp piercing eyes. The two heads flanking it remained blank.
Kaedros opened his mouth, but Thalso beat him to it. "Keep your fire. This is one of the Castle's enforcers, he's here for the prisoners."
The enforcer bowed as Thalso introduced him. "Indeed, I come for the prisoners. And thank you for cleaning up Dream Prison." Sharp eyes landed on Kaedros, and the enforcer bowed once more. "Thank you for returning my brother to the Castle."
Kaedros didn't know whether to bow or say something to a person he had thought was a monster moments ago. He had killed this man's brother, after all and stored his corpse inside his spatial storage for selling.
Still, he gave an awkward bow. "We are just doing it for the Castle." It sounded like a lie even to his own ears, but the enforcer didn't seem to mind. He approached the prisoners, and with a low rumble, the floor opened and swallowed them, leaving no trace.
Taria returned her weapon and lifted her brows. "Really? We are just doing it for the Castle?"
Rauk snorted, his eyes narrowing into that half-lidded look of amusement. "He said it with much grace, too."
"Shut up," Kaedros muttered. He hadn't thought he could feel uncomfortable over such a thing, but somehow, the enforcer's genuine words of thanks had touched him.
He snorted mentally. Impossible. It must be that the battle between him and the three-headed monster had been one of the more enjoyable ones in a while.
"Are we ready now?" Kaedros asked.
He didn't explain what they might be ready for, but they all knew. Taria and Rauk shared a look.
"Speaking in terms of rank, you're all low rank two now. You're qualified enough, but I wonder..." Thalso trailed off in a way that meant he wanted someone to ask the question.
Taria did. "Wonder what?"
Thalso didn't answer—because an unseen signal from him had the instructors suddenly attacking their students.
Gold watched, shocked, from the side as Thalso swung a greatsword he had pulled from thin air at Taria's head. But she was already gone, her body trailing yellow light as she dodged back, grinned, pulled her spear, and leaped forward.
She brought her spear down on Thalso's head with so much force it might have split his helmet, if it wasn't unbreakable and he hadn't blocked with the flat of his blade. He grunted as the force traveled through his armor but pushed her away with his weapon.
Thalso swung his sword at empty air. "It's been a while since I've felt . We've reduced our power to the level of high Pawn rank. Try not to die."
He blasted sword essence at her, and her spear essence met it midair in a burst of energy that sent them both back. Taria didn't hesitate, she was already driving forward, spear first.
Thalso met her head-on, and they began trading blows, leaping and twisting. Taria was smaller than the armored man, but her muscles were firm and powerful. Her lithe form danced with the spear, using both the tip and the butt to attack.
"You're getting good!" Thalso grinned, keeping up with the barrage of spear strikes trying to pin him from every angle. He countered with a downward chop meant to split her in two, but she caught it easily with the middle of her spear.
Instead of following with another attack, Thalso scraped his sword upward. Taria's eyes widened, and she pulled her hand back before the blade could reach it.
With her grip weakened, Thalso lashed out with a kick that caught her solidly on the shoulder, spinning her across the room.
He raised his sword to follow but why was she so far? The kick shouldn't have thrown her that far. The answer came too late.
Taria had intentionally rolled with the kick, buying time to power a technique. Now the tip of her spear glowed thickly with essence, aimed directly at the surprised Thalso.
She was satisfied to see him blasted halfway across the room.
"Your armor is a cheat!" Taria said as Thalso stood without a scratch.