Chapter 189

Chapter 189

Orka was already mere seconds away from losing consciousness due to the excessive loss of blood and Roxana’s poison, so he collapsed almost immediately from Jeremy’s attack. No matter how many of those who had followed the young clan leader to search for his sister tried to interpret the scene, the White Heir appeared to be the clear aggressor toward the beautiful Agrece.

Not only had the blue-haired demon tamer summoned a monster within the castle, but he had also pinned the blond against a wall in a most menacing and compromising way. And if that wasn’t bad enough, blood was smeared across both his and the woman’s lips. The only peculiarity was that his mouth appeared to have been cruelly torn apart by something. And to top off the vulgarity of the scene, the neckline of her gown was also partially ripped open. Thus, the majority of the onlookers were quick to presume that Orka had been caught just before he could successfully force his assault on the beauty.

“You son of a b*tch! How dare you put your filthy hands on my sister?!”

Jeremy was overcome with a maniacal rage as he continued to kick the White Heir in a way both Pandora and the guards supposed was the intent to kill. Yet even so, they continued not to do anything beyond staring at the sorry excuse for a clan heir with the utmost disdain and repulsion.

“Orka! How could you do something like this?! And what the hell is this demon mon—?!”

Pandora stopped speaking abruptly as though she was unsure of what she should react to first. On the one hand, she had just seen the disgrace her younger cousin had just committed, while on the other the monster he had called into the castle was still stomping about in the distance. Judging from her expression, it was clear that she too had been unaware of a sorcery that would allow someone to control demon monsters at will.

Despite both of them being highly regarded Fipellions and renowned demon tamers, he was the only one of the two who possessed such a charm, so she supposed he must have received it due to his status as the White Heir.

“Let me borrow that for a moment.”

Roxana grabbed the weapon in the stunned woman’s hands, which caused her black eyes to widen with panic that the Agrece was about to take revenge against Orka.

Although she could completely understand such an act, he was still first and foremost her younger cousin. Without much time to think, Pandora found herself in the midst of a battle between the logic of allowing the victimized woman to kill him and the emotions telling her to defend her kin.

“Let’s go, Jeremy.” The blond, however, simply stepped over the unconscious body of her abductor, then her brother fell into step right behind her. By then, she had already sent another message to Cassis through her butterfly to insist he stay away from her location.

With her brother now at her side, they would take care of the matter at hand. After all, the entire ordeal still remained to be an Agrece issue. Finally free to proceed to her target, she refocused her attention on what her remaining butterflies could see. One of the miniature beast’s had a clear view of Nix, and he was standing across from two familiar faces.

Those of Noel Vertium and Deon Agrece.

* * *

It hadn’t taken long for the combatant puppets to crawl all the way up to the third floor of the castle’s main building.

Cassis had grabbed hold of one of the creaking creatures as he dashed across the central passageway, and proceeded to damage it between strides. His only objective was to cross over from the main wing to the area he felt the most compulsion to reach, and his knowledge of the castle—thanks to countless nights on patrol—assured him that he was on the shortest path possible. But before he could get very far, a group of people came running toward him.

“Cassis!”

For whatever reason, Sylvia was among them.

Cassis had already learned from the knights who had returned from the armory that those who were still inside the castle had attempted to gather in order to launch a united attack against the puppets and also rescue others who had been injured. His own mother Jeanne had taken charge of leading those with healing abilities or knowledge in both tending to and defending the wounded.

Before he had closed the gap between himself and the large group, yet another warrior doll leapt through one of the windows. However, it was quickly destroyed since by then a number of the fighters had become relatively accustomed to making quick work of incapacitating the mechanical beings. As they finished ripping off the thing’s arms and tying up its legs, he reached out for his sister.

“Where is Father?”

“Over there!”

Although the act of tearing away and then crushing the dolls’ heads and limbs had proven to be the most sure method for destroying them, it was rather difficult for most common clan members to do since their faces were so human-like. Even so, those who were too squeamish to do the more gruesome tasks were at least able to help subdue the puppets in other ways so that they could no longer participate in the battle.

Once the Blue Heir had verified that Roussel, Sylvia, and Jeanne were all together, he felt assured that he could leave them and head toward his main objective.

“There are still more outside, so be careful!” He hurriedly offered his sister the warning before turning right back around to continue running.

The Blue Princess tried to stop him at first, but almost immediately realized where and to whom he was heading, so instead silently wished for his feet to carry him there faster. “And you be safe!”

He dashed away while barely taking note of the puppet pieces littering the corridor he was in. Although Roxana’s butterfly had made it abundantly clear that he shouldn’t go to her, he refused to obey it. For him, it wasn’t a matter of doubting his lover’s ability to look after herself. If anything, he was more than confident that he would be of little help to her in that regard.

Even so, accepting that truth and letting go of his desire to rush to her defense had proven time and time again to be a losing battle. The crimson butterfly continued to hover around him as if it were trying to warn him against his impulses, but he repeatedly ignored it.

His only source of relief at the moment was the knowledge that he had shared a considerable amount of his healing energy with Roxana the night before. Between the amount he had passed on to her and her own regenerative abilities, he was comforted in knowing that her recovery speed would have been enhanced exponentially. Of course, he had no desire to even entertain thoughts of his beloved getting hurt even for a second.

He suddenly frowned at her fluttering demon as he wished it would heed his command just this once and lead him to its master, but he knew how impossible that was. Thus, Cassis simply ran to where he predicted she would be heading while destroying every obstacle that leapt in front of him.

Nothing would stop him from getting to the part of the castle where Nix was being held.

* * *

Boom!

Bang!

Without warning, the door to his cell came crashing down. The noises that had reached him from outside had already filled the golden-haired puppet with dread, but the sudden intrusion forced him to finally yelp in shock as the faces crossing the threshold came into view.

“How did you lot ge—?!”

Creeeak. Creeeak!

At last, the warrior puppets had discovered their target chained by the ankle and slowly approached him while issuing their shudder-inducing grating sounds.

Clang!

One of the dolls used its metallic limb to destroy the chain binding him to the far corner of his cell instantly. Despite their squeaky movements, they quickly dragged him out into the corridor. He was still speechless at how fast everything had happened from the first sound he heard signaling their arrival to the things reaching him.

It was apparent to him that these particular puppets were not designed to concern themselves with concepts such as preventing harm as they had almost yanked him away while his leg was still bound until the one stepped forward to sever his shackle.

“H... Hang on!”

He felt compelled to complain about the gruff nature of his rescue, but upon further consideration, decided it was best to keep his lips sealed. After all, he knew these particular dolls lacked the ability to communicate like those who served as attendants back at the Gold Manor. Thus, his frustration would have fallen on deaf ears.

Since the creatures seemed to have retained the capacity to follow whatever order they had received before the Gold Master had left Vertium, it was obvious to him just who had orchestrated the invasion. In fact, there was no question Noel had sent them to rescue him given the manner with which they turned to march in unison toward the nearest exit after retrieving him from his cell.

But then why has it been so noisy out there?

Part of him had been worried that all the commotion would subside before they could reach him, while another part of him was moved by his creator’s dedication. He suddenly felt certain that he must have misunderstood the look in Noel’s emerald-green eyes at the hearing the previous day.

At the time, he couldn’t shake his repulsion at the thought of the Gold Master touching him with such an insidious look in his eyes, but it seemed clear that whatever emotion was behind them was not directed at the blond youth. As he reflected on his mistake, the puppets continued to drag him away as if they knew exactly where their master would be waiting.

A candle that had been lit inside of a windowless corridor flickered in its holder on the wall as they passed through. For some reason, it cast an ominous shadow along the otherwise dim wall. Then Nix suddenly found himself in an open area. They had reached a new corridor that connected to another part of the castle.

Unlike the dark corridor they had just dragged him through, this one was made almost entirely of glass from the floor to the ceiling. The moment he set foot inside of it, sunlight beamed down onto him from overhead. In truth, the light could hardly be considered bright due to the cloudy weather outside, but to him, it was almost blinding.

He halted momentarily and once again his rescuers closed in to grab hold of him and yank him forward. The ones behind him also pushed him forward as if they were pressed for time.

Creeeak.

The mysterious grating noise continued to issue from them, which suggested they were in serious need of repair. The sharp pitch with which it sounded also had the effect of snapping the blond back to his senses.

“Nix!”

An all too familiar voice cried out to him from ahead at an even more alarming volume. He turned toward the voice.

“N... Noel?”

But why? As he spotted his master dashing toward him through the illuminated backdrop, he felt a strong sense of repulsion like he had the previous day rise up from deep within his being.

It was the same discomfort and... the same ghastly chill. He instinctively dodged the Gold Master’s outstretched hand as the gap between them closed. Not only did he retreat from the young man’s touch, he had stepped back in an attempt to add even the slightest bit of distance between them.

The carrot-top leader staggered and was even more unsteady on his feet than ever after failing to make contact with his cherished puppet. While Nix was caught in a storm of panic, Noel was speechless.

Then as soon as the young master felt he understood what was going on, waves of emotion began to color and distort his face.

“Why... Why did you avoid me just now?”

A fierce heat swept over him as his green eyes flickered as if a fiery blaze had been lit behind them. It was as though something inside of him was on the verge of erupting like a volcano that had lain dormant for centuries but was finally awaking.

“We’re finally...” It only took a moment for his irritation to morph into pure, unadulterated fury. “...finally together, and yet...” He felt an inexplicable sting of betrayal at the way his creation had avoided his touch.

“Noel, I...”

“I finally have you in my grasp.”

The puppet was doing his best to offer any sort of excuse, but his master wasn’t allowing him the slightest chance to save himself.

“Take him away!”

The Gold Master’s voice sounded as heated as a fire iron in Nix’s eardrums as it commanded the warrior puppets to ensnare the hapless youth for good.