Lira had always trusted her intuition. However, she also knew she did not have the leisure to wander around. The people outside were waiting for her update. Besides, if the Conclave Council members were gathered in the room above and they were in a middle of a meeting, she would know their plans. They might even say something about the tower's defensive array. Who knew one of them might slip and mention where the core of the defensive array was located or who was guarding it?
When that happened, Lira would go there and destroy the core.
As long as the core was destroyed, it would only be a matter of time before the whole defensive array crumbles, and then the people outside could commence with the attack.
Sighing inwardly, Lira decided to continue going upstairs. She could still go back and check the rooms after she was done checking the third level.
However, just as she was about to turn, one of the doors opened, and a beautiful woman with long blond hair in a white dress stepped out.
Lira hid at one of the columns at the side of the stairs and perked her ears, listening in to know where the woman who had stepped out planned to go. If she planned to go upstairs, Lira could slip into the gap on the rails and go back to the first level. If not, then she could only slip behind the column and ensure the woman would not see her once she came within the latter's line of sight.
"You can rest easy in this place," the woman was saying. "I will have Malia concoct another potion to help you recover faster."
"There is no need. I still have a few potions Ms. Malia prepared for me. I'll finish them first, thank you."
The voice that replied to the woman was soft, almost inaudible. But Lira heard it. And when she did, her whole body tensed.
No matter how low or muffled that voice sounded, Lira would always recognized it.
'Her Highness is...?'
Lira had been trained to be the Crown Princess's knight. Thus, she was the one most familiar with her.
Emperor Euan or Empress Iulia might fail to recognize her, but not Lira!
'How...?'
No.
It was simply impossible.
That person who replied to the woman just now might only sound like her. She could not possibly be--.
"Alright. Thank you for giving me a chance to speak with you, Cyneah. I'll take my leave now."
Lira's eyes widened in shock.
It was one thing for a person to sound like the Crown Princess. But was it even possible for that person to have the same birth name as her, too?
In that instance, the conversations Haylee had with Ruin flashed through Lira's mind.
Frankly, Lira had no idea what they were talking about. All she knew was that Haylee was searching for something that would complete her.
Lira did not understand what she meant about becoming complete. But she reckoned it had something to do with how a mage would be complete as long as she had the perfect magic weapon.
Could it be that what Ruin was searching for was not 'something' but 'someone'? And that someone was--.
Aki's eyes suddenly flashed as it looked toward the stairs.
"Detecting strange fluctuations. Commencing attack."
Stella, who was standing beside Aki, was taken aback. Before she could even react, it moved and dashed toward the stairs.
"Tsk!" Lira clicked her tongue in exasperation and immediately slipped into the gap in the stairs that led to the first level.
Aki's eyes flashed. It raised its arm and aimed at Lira, and a magic array appeared on the wall where Lira was about to land.
Crackle! Boom!
A boulder emerged horizontally from the magic array on the wall, aiming to smash Lira from the side.
Still in the motion of falling down, Lira gritted her teeth upon seeing the incoming boulder. Using her years of experience in actual combat, she immediately found the best course of action. Instead of avoiding it, she decided to attack it head-on. She kicked the top of the stair's bannister to the side with her right foot, then raised her left leg to meet the boulder.
Using the momentum from kicking the bannister, Lira kicked the boulder, shattering it into pieces.
Aki kicked the ground to increase its speed. It then took out a spear and aimed at Lira's back.
Meanwhile, Stella, who recognized Lira, immediately returned to the room. She locked the door and, at the same time, sent word to Hugh and Malia.
Cyneah looked toward the direction where she had heard the commotion. It was a moment like this that she felt helpless for being blind. She sat on the bed and was about to get up, but Stella immediately ran to her side and said, "Stay put. I'm taking you to my chambers."
Before Cyneah could say anything, Stella grabbed her hand and activated the teleportation array.
This teleportation array was the one exclusive for Stella's use. It was scattered all over the Tower of Conclave, making it easy for her to go around.
Returning to Aki and Lira's side, the spear the former took out whirled toward the latter's back.
By then, Lira was about to touch the floor. But sensing the incoming spear, she kicked the floor and used the momentum to somersault backwards. She barely evaded the spear, with its tip grazing the back of her clothes.
When Lira somersaulted backwards, she made a big leap. Thus, she went past Aki, who abruptly stopped and looked at her figure pass through above.
It raised its hand, and the spear that missed Lira and struck the wall instead was pulled out and flew to its hand.
Lira landed on the ground behind Aki. Without waiting for the latter to make a full turn, she dashed toward the room where the blonde-haired woman had stepped out.
As soon as Aki got hold of the spear's shaft, it spun 180 degrees and aimed to hit Lira with its blade.
However, Lira was quite fast on her feet and was already a few feet away from the room Aki and the woman had been in.
Aki's eyes flashed. It stomped on the floor, using force to increase its momentum and dashed toward Lira.
Lira ignored Aki and instead kicked the door to the room.
Hearing the person the blonde woman spoke to and knowing her name was Cyneah was not enough for Lira to jump to conclusions. She had to see her before anything else. In any case, she had to report as soon as possible.
CRASH!
The door to the room was smashed down by Lira's powerful kick.
Before Lira could land inside, Aki was already hot on her heels.
With a powerful horizontal swing, Aki aimed to hit Lira's side.
Lira gritted her teeth upon seeing Aki's spear. She knew she could not evade it completely, but she also could not afford to be fatally injured. Ultimately, she decided to sacrifice an arm.
Lira twisted her body slightly to the side, and the tip of Aki's spear cut her upper arm.
"NGH!" Lira grunted in pain. Though she sacrificed her arm, she tried to minimize the damage. However, she failed to grasp Aki's speed, and the cut she thought would only be about .2 or .3 centimeters deep had turned out to be one and a half to two inches deep.
Blood spurted out of Lira's wound as she landed on the floor.
Enduring the pain, Lira quickly looked inside the room and, at the same time, evaded Aki's next attack.
Lira saw a faint silhouette of the woman's back, grabbing someone on the bed.
"Tsk," she clicked her tongue and sighed in exasperation.
If she had seen who the woman had grabbed, Lira could determine if that woman was someone Haylee was looking for.
Alas, that did not happen.
Aki whirled the spear and brandished it downward, aiming at Lira's head.
Because she was pissed, Lira had decided not to back down against Aki.
She knew Aki as one of the Conclave's representatives. It was a shame she had little information about him. Still, as far as she remembered, based on his file, Aki had no offensive capability. So why was he suddenly acting like a combat mage? Not to mention, how did he detect her? What exactly gave her presence away?
Alas, Lira failed to realize that Aki was a puppet.
Aki could detect any threat within five meters. However, when it came to a person's aura, its range detection was at least a thirty-meter radius.
For this reason, it detected Lira when her aura fluctuated after being stunned for a few seconds.
Lira rolled to the side, barely evading Aki's spear.
However, a large magic array appeared on the room's ceiling at that moment. After which, several green vines emerged from it and went straight at Lira.
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