Chapter 176 - 21

After Ziel disappeared from the castle, he reappeared right in front of the thick fog that partially covered the sea area of the Cirlus Kingdom. He checked the situation around him like he was looking for something.

"Hmm… their positions were separated, and I couldn't see everyone's location clearly from outside the fog. It looks like I have to go into it so I can feel their presence more clearly." After that, Ziel flew into the foggy area at high speed.

***

Roooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!

Princess Irene and Kyouka trembled after hearing that roar. They could feel something approaching them from the sea. They couldn't see it because it was covered in fog. But slowly, the monster began to be seen by them.

"Isn't that the Blood Scaly Alligator?" Princess Irene trembled and pointed at the magical beast that came into view.

Blood Scaly Alligator is a giant alligator ten meters long with blood-red steel-hard scales. On the back of the monster was a fin made of gold-colored crystal. The alligator walks on four legs, each with very sharp claws.

"Do you know that monster?" Kyouka asked Princess Irene. She felt their current situation was in danger.

"I only know a little because I've heard of it. The alligator preys on any living creature in front of it. The monster is known as one of the cruelest magical beasts. The red color on the scales shows how much prey the monster has eaten. The redder it is, the more prey it has killed. The alligator in front of us has blood-red scales. At least this monster is a high-level magical beast. Even in the Demon Kingdom, such a Blood Scaly Alligator appears very rarely!" Princess Irene told Kyouka what she knew about the monster. She was shaking and looked very frightened.

"That monster is that strong?" Kyouka furrowed her brow after hearing Princess Irene's explanation.

"The monsters are so strong! The Blood Scaly Alligator had attacked the Demon Kingdom in the past. The monster killed hundreds of Demon Kingdom soldiers. Each soldier has the power of a master. You can imagine how strong that magical beast is! But the monsters that appeared back then weren't even this strong!" Princess Irene turned pale after remembering the tragedy in the Demon Kingdom.

Kyouka felt a chill down her spine after hearing Princess Irene's story. She tried her best and forced herself to stand up.

"We have to get out of here, Irene!" Finally, Kyouka was able to stand up. She felt that the monster appeared not by chance. Kyouka saw the alligator staring at them like a beast staring at its prey.

"Wait, Kyouka! are you okay forcing yourself like that? Your wound hasn't healed yet, and it could just get worse! After all, where should we go? We don't know this place at all." Princess Irene also stood up. She helped Kyouka, who almost fell again because her body was still unstable and very weak due to the loss of blood.

"I'm fine. I can't treat my wound right now. I find this fog very strange because magic can't work properly here. The most important thing is that we have to leave this place first. We can determine our destination later. Let's go, Irene!" Kyouka started walking with a limp.

"Oh, alright!" Princess Irene quickly caught up with her. Even though she was injured, her injuries weren't as bad as Kyouka's, and she could walk normally. Then Princess Irene helped Kyouka walk. Kyouka smiled at her and expressed his gratitude. The two of them disappeared into the forest and walked towards the island's center.

Not long after they left, a giant alligator with blood-red scales came to the place. The monster realized that its prey had gone.

Rooooooooaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr!

The alligator roared in anger because its prey had fled. But suddenly, the monster fell silent because of the smell of blood from where Kyouka and Princess Irene lay before. The beast looked towards the forest and started walking, following the scent of blood left in that place.

***

On an island far from where Kyouka and Princess Irene were stranded, Hikaru and Sintaro fought against dozens of Sea Serpents. Those monsters were just low-level magical beasts. However, sea serpents have a habit of attacking in groups, making them a very troublesome magical beast.

After they woke up and checked their surroundings, Hikaru and Sintaro quickly realized that they were stranded on an unknown island. They didn't know whether the island was still in the territory of the Cirlus Kingdom or not. Hikaru recalled that a magical beast suddenly attacked their magic ship, and then a huge tsunami drowned them. After that, Hikaru doesn't remember anything anymore because he has lost consciousness.

Not long after they woke up, dozens of sea serpents appeared from the sea and started attacking them. They fought that horde of sea serpents for quite a long time. They also realized that they were at a disadvantage if they kept fighting with the monsters in that battle.

"Sintaro! We'd better leave this place immediately! The monsters seem endless and keep coming! There's no point in us fighting them! Aura or mana don't work well in this fog!" Hikaru said to Sintaro. He breathed heavily after fighting the sea serpent hordes for quite a while.

"Hmm..." Sintaro answered nonchalantly.

Hikaru frowned after seeing Sintaro's response. He felt that Sintaro's attitude had changed over the past few days. Sintaro talked to him less often but still spoke normally to Kyouka and Megumi. Hikaru was curious why his attitude had changed, but now wasn't the time to ask. The most important thing was to leave that place and find their friends.

They fought against the sea serpent horde while slowly retreating towards the forest. As the monsters kept a considerable distance from them, Hikaru and Sintaro quickly ran into the woods.

After running for a while, Sintaro and Hikaru finally stopped after ensuring no more sea serpents were chasing them.

Hikaru sat on a large rock and caught his breath. He looked at Sintaro, who was seated not far from him.

"Sintaro." Hikaru called out to Sintaro. He called out in a low voice because his breathing wasn't steady. But Sintaro did not respond. He thinks that Sintaro didn't hear him.

"Sintaro." Hikaru raised his voice slightly. But Sintaro still ignores him.

"Sintaro!" Hikaru couldn't take it anymore and shout at Sintaro. He finally looked at Hikaru.

"What is it? You don't have to shout like that because I can hear you." Sintaro replied lazily. Hikaru frowned at Sintaro's response.

"If you did hear it, then why didn't you answer my call?" Hikaru narrowed his eyes at Sintaro.

"Should I answer you when you call me?" Sintaro asked Hikaru back. His answer left Hikaru speechless. If the situation stays like that, Hikaru feels he will never know why Sintaro changed his attitude towards him.

"Sintaro, why are you suddenly acting like that to me?" Hikaru immediately asked the crux of the matter he wanted to know.

"Hmm? What do you mean? I don't understand at all." Sintaro tilted his head and pretended not to understand.

"You don't have to pretend. Do you think I'm stupid?" Hikaru kept urging Sintaro to answer his question. Sintaro saw Hikaru's serious face, and he sighed heavily. He got up from his seat and walked towards Hikaru. After arriving in front of him, Sintaro looked straight into Hikaru's eyes.

"So you want to know why?" Sintaro asked him in annoyance. Hikaru nodded in response to Sintaro's question.

"That's because you're annoying! You keep acting like you understand Kyouka the most when you know I have affection for her!" Sintaro shouted right in Hikaru's face.

"You misunderstood!" Hikaru rebutted Sintaros' words.

"I don't feel I was wrong at all. Kyouka seems more interested in you and the butler boy than me! Even though Kyouka also knows how I feel about her, she keeps ignoring me! She listens to you more, and you always show up when Kyouka needs someone else's opinion and advice! You and that butler boy both piss me off!" Sintaro keeps venting his anger on Hikaru. This time Hikaru just kept quiet and didn't answer. He wanted to let Sintaro vent all that anger on him until he was satisfied.

"Are you satisfied?" Hikaru calmly asked Sintaro. He looked directly at Sintaro and waited for his answer. But Sintaro remained silent in response.

"Didn't I already explain that I don't have any feelings for Kyouka? She and I are just friends who have fate and come from the same world. So are you and Megumi. Our relationship is nothing more than that." Hikaru smiled and started to answer all of Sintaro's annoyance. He paused to catch his breath then continued his words.

"As for the butler boy, Kyouka wants to find out as much information as possible about how to get back to Japan. If it's true that the boy is Japanese, or maybe one of their descendants, then maybe he knows how to get us back to our homeworld. That's why Kyouka was attracted to him." Hikaru ended his explanation. He looked again at Sintaro's face because he wanted to know his reaction. But what he saw was the angry face of Sintaro.

"Again! Again! You're again acting like you know Kyouka very well and understand what she's thinking! Fight with me, Hikaru! Let's prove who is the strongest among us! The loser must stay away from Kyouka! accept my challenge if you are indeed a man, Hikaru!" Sintaro pointed at Hikaru and challenged him. He could no longer suppress his emotions because of his jealousy. Hikaru frowned at Sintaro's words.

"I don't want to risk something like that. However, if fighting with you is the only way to resolve this matter, I will accept it. I seem to have to beat you up so you can come to your senses and understand what I said earlier." Hikaru got up from his seat and kept his distance from Sintaro.

"You thought that you would win? As usual, you become arrogant without you even realizing it. Keep in mind! In this place, mana and aura cannot be used. So, we only rely on our pure fighting ability. Come on, Hikaru!" Sintaro put on a serious face and prepared to fight with Hikaru.

"You talk too much, Sintaro. I will beat you quickly." Hikaru took out a sword from his space storage and charged straight at Sintaro. Hikaru swung his sword without hesitation. Sintaro smirked and greeted Hikaru's attack. He held back Hikaru's sword with her gauntlet.

Clank!

Hikaru's attacks didn't stop there. He knew that Sintaro would hold his sword. He increased his speed and slashed at Sintaro repeatedly. He doesn't use many tactics against Sintaro. Hikaru made a frontal attack to show who was the stronger one between them directly.

On the other hand, Sintaro also doesn't want to lose because attacking directly from the front is his fighting style. They attack each other in turn. Their battle had been going on for quite some time. They were focused on their fight and didn't notice that hundreds of magical beasts were heading towards them.

***

On the shores of Blue Turtle Island, a beautiful girl with navy blue hair was looking at the thick fog that covered part of the ocean area. The girl was wearing black and silver-colored armor. On her waist hung a blue longsword with a rose-patterned hilt.

Her long hair fluttered in the sea breeze and revealed a very beautiful face like the goddess of the sea. Her body shape was perfect, and her skin was as white as pearl couldn't be hidden with her armor. The girl was general Cordelia, and her full name was Cordelia Cirlus. She is the Princess of the Cirlus Kingdom and the sister of Princess Rinne.

Princess Cordelia has the power of a Magic King and is also great at swordsmanship. She chose to become a magic swordsman rather than become a magic tool creator like his father and sister. Princess Cordelia rarely appears in the castle because she lives on another island. She prefers a quiet and serene place to the bustling Blue Turtle Island.

"Report! Princess Cordelia!" One of the soldiers ran up to her and lowered his head.

"I told you, call me by my current title, not my peerage. Okay, tell me your report!" Princess Cordelia sighed heavily because she didn't like being called by her peerage.

"I'm sorry, General! We've detected hundreds of magical beasts approaching this island, and they'll likely be spotted soon! The horde of magical beasts was led by…." The soldier couldn't finish his words because he was cut off by the monster's roar that started to reveal its shape from within the fog.

Roaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!

"You don't have to say it because I can see it for myself.." Princess Cordelia looked at the Sea Serpent King with a serious face.