Chapter 293 - What The Hell?

The four arrived at the castle in their invisible form.

Graven, Elva, and Veronica hovered in the air fifty meters away from the castle to avoid alerting the King's minion.​​

Terros zoomed towards the castle.

He waved his hand and activated the protective shield around his body. Done, he hovered around the castle and strategically placed the spell formation in all corners of the castle. Once he will release the last spell, it will activate the spell formation, which will unleash scorching flames, destroying everything on its path, creating a blazing inferno, turning the whole castle into ashes, including everything twenty feet below the ground.

Half an hour later, Terros finished his task. He returned to the group. "I'm done!" he informed them.

"Good! Now it's my turn," Graven said and looked at Terros in the eyes. "Grandpa, remember, once my men were already out of the castle, and my brother and I are nowhere to be seen, that only means two things... I'm still underneath the castle and trying to find my brother's spirit... or the King already killed me. Grandpa, you have to activate the spell formation that will reduce the whole castle into ashes, please... don't hesitate to do it!" he said.

Terros released a deep sigh. "Okay, I got it, son! Please stay alive as much as you can!" he said in an apprehensive tone.

Graven breathed deeply and looked at the two women. "Girls, thank you very much for all the help. I appreciated it very much from the bottom of my heart," he said solemnly.

Elva looked at Graven and caresses her baby bump. "Good luck!" she said with a heavy sigh.

"Good luck!" Veronica said in an anxious voice.

Graven smiled at them faintly, grateful that he met them in his current life. He made himself visible and hovered in the air going in the direction of the castle.

The trio followed Graven's floating form until it finally disappeared inside the castle.

"It's waiting time..." Terros murmured to himself.

Inside the castle, Graven landed on the ground and waited for the King's presence. He checked the handkerchief inside the pocket of his pants, it's still there inside, he felt relieved.

He roamed his eyes around the crumbling castle, he found no trace of the black liquid.

A few minutes later, he felt the strong aura circulating in the air around him, the King finally made his spirit known!

Suddenly the ground beneath Graven's feet opened up and swallowed him, he vanished from the surface. The strong aura was also gone.

Fifty meters away from the castle.

The trio was wondering what's going on.

"I will hover above the castle and find out if Graven is still inside," suggested Veronica.

"No! Just stay here with Elva. I'll go and take a look inside the castle," Terros said and floated towards the castle.

Veronica and Elva were left behind, waiting anxiously...

Terros floated above the castle and entered one of the windows. He went inside the castle and roamed his eyes around the area. Nothing to see there! Graven was already gone, which means the King had taken him already back to his territory beneath the ground!

He released a deep sigh. This waiting game is killing him!

He left the castle and floated back to the area where the women were waiting.

"Where is Graven?" Elva asked.

"He's already gone! Already taken by the King back to his chamber beneath the ground," Terros replied. "The waiting is killing me!" he spoke loudly.

"Me too!" Elva said in an impatient voice.

The trio fixed their stare at the crumbling castle fifty meters away from their location.

"We're too far! We should get closer to the castle! We're already invisible, no one can see us!" Veronica said.

"Okay, let's get closer!" Terros agreed.

The trio hovered towards the crumbling structure and stopped about thirty meters away from the castle.

They stayed together, waiting for what's going to happen next.

Meanwhile...

Underneath the ground.

Graven found himself inside the doorless and windowless room again!

The table and two chairs are still there inside the room.

He lowered himself on the chair and waited for the King's presence.

A few minutes later.

Suddenly, a door appeared out of nowhere, and the King entered. He settled on the chair at the other end.

He looked at Graven. "My men told me that you no longer have the black liquid inside your body. Fantastic isn't it?" he said.

Graven nodded his head. "Yeah! I feel good after the black liquid was flushed out from my body with the goddess's help," he admitted.

The King's brows knitted together. "So...how come you still return here? You should have saved yourself and never return. Let me take a guess, did you return here because of your men? You want to save them?"

"Where is my brother's spirit? Where did you hide him?" Graven ignored the King's mocking and questioned him instead.

The King grinned. "Ah, so you come back because of your brother's spirit? I imprisoned him in the Soul Eater Vase. Don't worry, his spirit is still alive!" he assured him.

Huge relief washed over Graven. "Where is he? Can I see him?" he requested.

"No, you're not! Unless you can bring Laura and that goddess here! No one among your men can leave alive from this place including the spirit of your brother!" the King said in a thunderous voice.

Graven glared at the King, his eyes filled with unconcealed rage. "Just let them go and kill me instead!" he challenged him.

The King chuckled. "No way! Where is the fun in that!" he said. "You know what... I'm being too lenient on you. I decided that today before you go home, I will kill two of your men in front of you so that you will understand that I'm serious with my intention! You are taking me for granted! You can't blame me because I already had given you enough time to complete the task that I have assigned you with but you still fail to deliver those women to me! Now I'm pissed at your failure! But I will give you two options today. Choose between the two... I will kill your brother's spirit or I will kill two of your men? Which is which? I'll let you decide!"

Graven took a deep breath and put his right hand on his mouth, he licked his fingers with his tongue then he pulled the handkerchief from the pocket of his pants using his left hand below the table, and rubbed the fingers with his saliva on the handkerchief. Then he looked at the King in the eyes. "I'm here to bring you a surprise," he said.

"What surprise?" the King asked curiously with a raised brow.

"I told the goddess to come here in the castle and give you a visit. I told her about you. She agreed to come here to talk to you, and she told me to give this handkerchief to you," Graven said and put the handkerchief in front of the King.

The handkerchief suddenly produced an addicting sweet-smelling fragrance filling the entire room.

The King stared at the handkerchief for a few minutes then looked at Graven. "Where is she?"

"She's outside the castle waiting for you. All you need to do is go outside the castle, bring with you her gift, and this handkerchief will alert the goddess of your location, then she will come to you and grant your wish," Graven replied.

"Is that it? Why do I have the feeling that this is a trap?" the King said and eyed him suspiciously.

"What kind of trap? You are out there while I and my men are down here, what can I do? I don't even have the power to get out of this doorless and windowless room. The goddess will negotiate for my men's freedom. She will grant you whatever you want, but on one condition, you have to free my men. If you and the goddess can't agree on one thing, then nothing will happen. When you come back here... my men, and I...are still your prisoner here. What are you afraid of? The goddess won't harm you because if you can no longer return here, your men will kill us all. Am I right?" Graven said.

The King pondered about Graven's explanation. Indeed, he has nothing to lose in his territory!

He smiled. "Alright, I'll meet the goddess outside! And don't try to do anything that would piss me of, or I will finish your life in no time!" he warned him and stood up.

Graven watched the door opened up in the wall, and the King exited, holding the handkerchief in his hand.

Graven smiled a bit. The first step of the plan went smoothly. He tricked the King into meeting Elva outside. The goddess will engage the King in a conversation to give him enough time to find his men and his brother's spirit inside the basement.

He immediately inserted his right hand inside his pants and took the leaf hidden inside the pocket of his underwear, he quickly spits on it.

The leaf turned golden yellow and hovered in the air. "What can I do for you, Master?" the leaf said.

"Multiply yourself and find the path leading outside the castle, then find my men imprisoned inside this place as well my brother in his spirit form and bring them all outside to safety!" he ordered.

"Aye, Master!" the leaf said. A few seconds later, the leaf multiplies itself, and there are more than one hundred of them floating in the air.

"Go now! Search for my men and my brother's spirit trapped inside a Soul Eater Vase!" Graven ordered.

"Aye, Master!" the leaves replied in chorus and vanished from the room.

There are five leaves remained floating in the air inside the room.

Graven looked at them and asked, "Why are you still here?"

"We will stay here to guard you, Master! The goddess instructed us to stay with you no matter what happened! You should come along with us and escape this place! By this time, our companions already found the exit out of this place!" the leader of the leaves said.

Graven stood up. "Okay, I'll go with you!" he said.

Suddenly... the door opened... the King returned carrying the Soul Eater Vase in his right hand and the handkerchief in his left hand. He saw the golden leaves floating in the air, his eyes widened. "What the hell is going on here!?"

Graven groaned in dismay. 'Oh no!'

The leaves immediately produced an ear-splitting sound to divert the King's attention.

And pandemonium ensued!