Keiser had half a second to kick the princess just to make her stumble out of the way. He also twisted, caught the young beast girl's claw mid-swipe, yanked her off balance, then pivoted to parry the dagger aimed at him.

The blade met his with a sharp clang, and he turned the flat of his sword to shove Lenko's head down, just in time for another hiss of unseen mana to slice through the air where their heads had been.

"You're attacking the wrong person right now," Keiser scoff, irritation cutting through the ringing on their ears.

The princess's expression froze in shock, right before her entire body flared with purple fire. It roared to life around her, spiraling.

Keiser's first thought was that she'd been hit, but then the flames burst outward, forming a dome that shielded them all as mana slashes carved into it, sparks scattering through the haze.

The air sizzled. The heat pressed heavy against his skin. His mind screamed to move, but his guts warned him to stay still.

Then he saw it, nestled on the princess's chest, cradled in the swirl of purple flames, a small fox formed from it. Its eyes bright and calm.

"I suggest we don't mess with this one, young miss," the purple fox fire said softly.

Keiser blinked, momentarily wondering if the heat had finally fried his brain. 'He could see it. Hear it.'

Before he could process that, Lenko shoved against the flat of his sword, forcing Keiser's arm up. "Stop trying to kill the prince! Your duty is to protect, can you not understand that?" he hissed.

Keiser didn't even flinch. He held his ground, one arm raised against Lenko's push while the other gripped the beast girl by both wrists, keeping her claws, and that thrashing tail, at bay.

She struggled furiously, slitted eyes blazing green, her hair burning crimson. He could feel the heat radiating from her, a warning of what she is.

"Yeah, sure," Keiser muttered dryly, tightening his grip. "Because there's absolutely no other royal brat that needs protecting right now."

He tilted his head upward toward the rim of the crater, where the Saint still hung suspended in her cocoon of red fabric.

"See?" he added, voice sharp with sarcasm. "One spawn of the King right there, safe and sound."

Then he jerked his chin toward the front, where Yona, the youngest princess of Hinode, now stood arguing fiercely with her own sacred fox beast, the same small fox now burning brighter on her shoulder.

"We're not going!" she shouted, her voice cracking through the rising wind. "We can help him! We still have the 'heart'!"

Keiser exhaled slowly through his nose. 'Fantastic. Another one with bright ideas.'

Keiser's gaze slid back to Lenko, his expression somewhere between amusement and irritation.

"Your little prince," he began, voice low and edged with mockery, "the one who ran off and decided to vanish for years, that can only mean one thing. If it wasn't the revocation of his royal blood, then…"

He tapped the flat of his sword lightly against Lenko's head. "The simplest way to keep the rest of the precious royals alive right now," his grin widened, sharp and humorless, "...is to eliminate the immediate threat."

Lenko didn't flinch. He just stood there, jaw tight, eyes burning a deep, furious green.

Keiser tilted his head slightly. 'What is it with green-eyed brats always glaring at me?' he thought, exasperated.

"He's not the threat," Lenko hissed, voice cracking with restrained anger. "That mage is! But you seem to care about her more than your duty."

That made Keiser pause, only for a moment, before his grin returned, slower, sharper.

"Care about her?" He raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying something, kid?"

Lenko's glare didn't waver.

Keiser chuckled under his breath, stepping in just close enough for Lenko to feel the weight of his presence. "You talk too much for someone who doesn't even know who I'm calling the 'immediate threat.'"

He tilted his blade slightly, the flames reflection catching along its edge as he added, quieter, "Careful, boy. You might not like the answer." Keiser exhaled sharply through his teeth.

The air down here was stifling, thick with smoke, and heat. Between the pressure radiating from the prince, the flames from the princess, and the searing heat pouring off the young beast girl, it felt like breathing through boiling mist.

Even he was starting to feel light-headed.

He drew in a slow, rough breath and finally muttered, "Okay, you all back off. I know how to deal with this one---"

He didn't even get to finish.

All three of them, Lenko, the princess, and the beast girl, snapped toward him at once.

"No!" they shouted in unison.

Keiser froze, eye twitching.

And then they all started hissing at him, each one talking over the other, a chorus of self-righteous noise that made his headache worse.

The princess was the loudest, practically vibrating with conviction. "We know what we're doing, far more than you! All you ever do is kick and swing your sword! We have the Heart! The heart can help Muzio!"

Keiser arched a brow. "Right. The heart. Sounds stupid."

Next came Lenko, his voice sharp with anger. "We can't leave this to you! I know what you'll do, you'll just take the easiest way out by killing him! I won't let you!"

And then the beast girl, still thrashing in his grip, shrieked over them both, her tail lashing wildly. "No! Leave him alone!"

Her kicks and tail strikes doubled, forcing Keiser to tighten his hold before she smacked him.

He groaned, half from effort, half from sheer annoyance. "Unbelievable… three brats and not a brain cell between them."

The heat around them kept building, pressing into his lungs, burning against his armor. He squinted through the flames, trying to focus on the prince's unmoving form at the center of the pit.

And yet, even as he stood there in the middle of a possible explosion waiting to happen, his mind drifted, not to strategy, but to exhaustion.

'Two weeks,' he thought sourly. 'Two weeks since I last saw these brats.'

He'd been looking forward to peace, just a quiet rest after that Sheol expedition. Maybe a night or two at the village. But no. Of course not. The summons came before he could even get his boots off. Back to the palace. Back to whatever is happening right now.

Now, surrounded by fire, unseen mana, and three screaming brats, Keiser decided he'd rather be back on guard duty, alone on the outer walls, staring into the dark, pretending nothing in the world existed beyond the stone.

At least the night didn't argue back.

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