Keiser had enough.

The moment their overlapping voices rose again, he snapped, his voice cutting through the heat and noise like a drawn blade.

"Alright, fine..." he hissed, every ounce of authority bleeding into his tone, the same kind he used when facing Sheol's beast, when he was the Royal Knight, the one who led the subjugation forces into Sheol whenever a surge hit.

His voice carried that same commanding chill now, sharp enough to still the air. "If you really want to help, fine. I'll bite into that Heart talk of yours. Tell me your plan, and I'll make mine with yours in mind."

The three froze, blinking at him as if he'd just grown another head.

Lenko squinted, suspicion and confusion flashing in his eyes. "…You… you sound like the prince just now," he muttered, almost to himself, then looked down, expression clouded.

The princess glanced down at her twin short blades, her jaw tightening. Even the young beast girl had stopped struggling in his grip, puffing out a quiet breath before mumbling, "…fine."

Keiser sighed, finally releasing the beast girl and sliding his sword back up to intercept Lenko's twitching hand before the boy could even think about trying to stab him again. He sheathed the weapon, the steel hiss against its scabbard as he exhaled.

That was when the sacred fox beast spoke, her voice quieter, almost reverent. "You would work."

Keiser blinked, brow furrowing. The little purple fire fox perched on the princess' shoulder lifted its head, its ember eyes gleaming.

All of them turned toward it.

"What do you mean?" the princess asked, startled.

The fox didn't answer her. It simply leapt down, landing gracefully in the burning air ahead of them. Its voice, smooth and echoing...

"Good luck, young man. May the sacred lands pay you for your sacrifice."

Keiser let out a short, humorless laugh. "They better. They still owe me a debt."

Before the last of his words faded, the fire flared once, then collapsed inward, snuffed out in a rush of slicing wind. The gust screamed past them, sharp as razors, the same mana blades that had been held at bay by the flames. Now that the fire was gone, they were back.

Above, he caught sight of the Saint, still wrapped in her cocoon of red fabric, finally nodding once. In an instant, the cloth unfurled, stretching and flowing down. They caught everyone, the princess, the young beast girl, Lenko, and even the old man slumped unconscious over the crates, hauling them upward, away from the center.

Keiser heard their protests, their shouts fading as they rose, but he didn't listen to their complaints. He couldn't.

He leapt forward, parrying the unseen mana as they cut through the air. His sword sparked against unseen edges, the metal ringing under the pressure. Even if he couldn't see the mana, he could feel it, its rhythm, its direction, the faint shifts in heat that told him when it would strike.

That was his advantage... instinct and experience.

He moved with grim precision, using the flowing red fabrics as stepping stones, leaping from one to another, each bound perfectly timed to deflect another unseen cut. The air hissed around him, his tunic torn in streaks, his blade notched and nicked, but he pressed on.

Down below, the prince still stood at the heart of the pit, unmoving amid the smoke and dust.

Keiser narrowed his eyes.

'Just like that dragon hatchling.'

To approach something that burns through mana itself, to survive its invisible edges, you needed precision. Patience. And, above all, the will to not back down.

He'd done it before. He could do it again.

Even if it meant walking straight into a storm that could slice him apart.

Keiser slid back, boots grinding against the scorched ground as he made sure the brats were finally out of the pit. The Saint's red fabric had pulled them all upward, tight, secure, far enough that none of them could stumble back down into this cursed hole, that he was certain those idiots had made.

Good. At least that was handled.

He exhaled through gritted teeth and took in the scene before him... the pit still cracked and trembling, the air thrumming with unseen mana that hissed and sliced at anything that dared to move too close. He could feel it, each ripple of that wild pressure and heat brushing against his skin like phantom razors.

If he took even one step forward, it would start again.

He planted his boots firmly on what passed for a 'safe zone' and shouted, his voice cutting through the ringing of heat and pressure.

"Aisha! You can't move right now, right? Then back me up from there, if you want to see another damn day!"

He began stripping off his armor, the metal scalding hot to the touch. It was useless now, just extra weight in a furnace. He dropped each piece with a hiss of steaming heat, rolling his shoulders as the air hit sweat-slicked skin.

He'd need to be faster than ever.

From above, a voice shouted back again.

"The Heart could help!"

Lenko again, hissing and struggling against the red fabric binding him. Keiser could hear the strain in the boy's voice and nearly rolled his eyes. The kid still didn't understand when to shut up.

Keiser glanced up, seeing the group entangled in the Saint's protective weave. He'd managed to coordinate all that with nothing more than subtle glances and gestures, silent signals drilled into every royal knight to communicate in emergencies. It was something only the royals and their sworn blades were trained to recognize.

The princess of Hinode too, also had shouted down, voice laced with fury.

"Mad dog! You son of a bitch!"

Keiser couldn't help but grin at that. 'Ah, there it is. The royal tongue.'

The young beast girl didn't join the shouting. She only stared, eyes glowing faintly as her tail flicked. She wasn't thrashing anymore. Just watching, tense and wary.

Meanwhile, the unconscious old man was being checked over by the other boy, the one who'd been with the Saint before, along with Diego and the two old wagon drifters. The red fabric cocoon held them steady against the pull of the mana storm, but even from here Keiser could see their forms swaying.

It was all too loud, too hot, too damn bright.

His headache throbbed behind his eyes as he muttered,

"Fucking hell… it won't work."

He tightened his grip on his weapon, then froze as a flicker of movement flashed above him.

A glint.

Instinct took over. He pivoted his body just as something whistled down, a dagger. Keiser twisted, parrying it aside with his sword in a single practiced motion. Sparks flew.

'That idiot...'

He turned sharply, ready to shut Olga's brother's mouth for throwing sharp objects in a mana storm, but before he could, the dagger moved again. It twisted in midair, towards him.

Keiser's expression hardened. Instead of trying to bat it away, he dropped his sword and brought it down in a cleaving arc, pinning the dagger to the ground beneath his boot. The weapon trembled violently beneath his heel, buzzing like a trapped snake.

"That's an intriguing weapon," he muttered, glancing up at Lenko. "This yours?"

Lenko's face was pale, his green eyes wide. He dropped to his knees and shouted down,

"Please, don't kill him!"

Keiser scoffed, voice low and dangerous.

"I told you. I'm eliminating the threat."

His gaze drifted back toward the pit. The prince stood there still, trembling as unseen mana poured off him like heat haze.

Keiser's tone softened, almost to himself. "Besides… I still have business with him."

He slid a hand into his pocket, feeling the folded letter resting safely inside. The paper was warm.

Keiser wondered if he could really trust the prince.

The thought gnawed at him, because not knowing, not truly knowing, was worse than finding out the answer he feared.

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