Lily and the group of chosen who had managed to survive Han’s initial attack were staying at the shelter the queen spoke about. It was a large cave that they blocked with a large boulder. There were sounds of wolves howling from outside and they all knew that it was only a matter of time before the wolves tried to break through the boulder.
They were all sitting around the cave and the silence between them was nerve-wracking. Their spirits have been broken completely by what Han did. A man like that was too strong for them to think of fighting him! But Lily wasn’t despairing like the rest of them. She was standing at the back of the room while trying to think of a plan. There isn’t much they can do for now other than to hide in here, she knows that they are all very low on stamina. So they cannot just rush the castle like fools
But even if they weren’t low on stamina. They cannot win against Han without a good plan. She needs something foolproof!!
“Are you really thinking of fighting that man? I don’t think it is a good idea.”
The person that spoke up was the queen of the Echo. She was looking very worried while walking up to Lily. Three of her guards had died to the wolves in their escape and she told her other guards to rest while they thought of a plan, since they would be needed later.
The queen didn’t like how this was going. She was supposed to be in her home by now and waiting for the chosen to bring her the head of the olives, instead, they have trapped her together while running from a mad man! She wanted to blame Lily, but she couldn’t do that because it was obvious that Lily was also in the same danger as them. If not for Lily’s plan more of them would have even died, so they owe her a debt.
“I think our best choice now would he to escape back to the previous floors. The eleventh floor is a safe zone so I think we can just hide there for some -”
“Shut up”
The queen blinked in shock as Lily’s cold voice rang out to her. How dare this girl tell me to shut up? The queen was about to talk again, but Lily turned towards her and the queen froze when she saw that same intense look as before in those eyes. This girl is terrifying!
“No matter where you run, there isn’t anywhere you can hide from him. And I won’t run away from him. I won’t let him defeat me. If he thinks this is too much for me then I’ll prove him wrong! I love him and nothing is going to take me away from him! Not even him!”
The queen suddenly realized that her guess was wrong before. Lily wasn’t afraid of Han. She was afraid of losing against him! What kind of love will somebody have to possess for them to see this kind of dedication!
“So you won’t run? You’d rather prefer it if we all die here at the hands of that mad man!? – Argh!”
Lily grabbed the queen by the hair and pulled her head back till her neck was exposed! Her other hand formed a sharp ice knife and she positioned it directly at the woman’s neck! The queen wasn’t the most physical fighter. Her strengths were based mainly on forming defensive and wide-area attacks, so a surprise attack like this was completely disadvantageous for her!
The guards at the other side of the cave quickly shot to their feet and pointed their spears at Lily, but Lily glared at them while daring them to come closer! It was obvious that she wouldn’t hesitate to kill this woman at the slightest provocation!
“I already told you before! If you dare to insult Han again, I’ll kill you! He has a reason for doing this! I don’t care what you think, but none of you can understand anything about him! I don’t care if you all die, but if even one of you say anything against him then I’ll fucking kill you!”
The queen held onto her hair as Lily pulled it even more and she quickly shouted!
“Okay! Okay! We won’t! Just let go!”
Lily held on for a few more minutes before pushing the woman away from her and letting her move back towards her guards. The queen grit her teeth and stopped the guard that wanted to attack Lily. She could feel it when Lily held her. This girl is very close to getting into the gold Star level. Her strength is not like the strength of a silver Star at all!
“If you don’t want us to say anything against him, then what is the meaning of this!? What do you call this!? He is just trying to kill us for no reason!!”
Lily bit her lips in anger. She couldn’t say anything against what the woman said, but that doesn’t mean she was agreeing with the woman either! What Han said before he left! He told her to defeat him in the castle. It was a fools errand. Lily already knows that it is impossible to beat Han in any capacity! He was too strong even for the strongest people in this Temple!
But was she going to give up just because of that? Han was the one that gave her this mission, why should she not try her hardest? She is going to beat Han! If Han wanted her to do it then there has to be a way!
The people in the cave watched Lily as she tried her hardest to come to terms with her own emotions. The atmosphere there was already very tense and they knew that the smallest thing would spark a big fight!
But just as the queen was about to speak up again, another person from the crowd spoke up.
“Isn’t the portal to the next floor in that castle? Won’t it be our win if we can make it through?”
The man that spoke was a new silver Star that felt completely out of his depths on this sort of floor. He was told that he would be able to pass this floor easily as long as he worked well with his other guild member. You know, just kill a few wolves here and there and everything will be fine, but that man who showed up was like a final boss showing up in a beginner level!! I’m not the sort of person who is ashamed of running! If this crazy woman won’t let us run away from this floor then won’t it be better for us to just run towards the next floor?
Lily’s eyes widened when she realized that the man was right! She has been thinking of only beating Han in battle all this time! She never thought that it was possible to just avoid him completely!
The queen hummed as she realized that it was a possibility. She didn’t have to go through the portal, but it was obvious that those Polar wolves would be dangerous to leave like this. If the chosen pass through the portal then that dangerous man will leave with them and the polar wolves will go back to normal!
Once the whole group was in agreement they began thinking of a way to go about the plan!
….
Meanwhile, back on the first floor, Miss Kim and Rin Woo were moving together to the portal that would take them to the second floor. Rina told them that she was low on supplies for some of the dishes she needed to make in the restaurant and Kim volunteered to go get what she needed for her. Rin Woo had to come with Kim since she couldn’t protect herself.
At first, things were very awkward between the two of them. Miss Kim knew that Rin was the person Han got together with first and Rin Woo knew that Kim was the first person Han fell in love with. They didn’t know how to talk to the other person without it being an awkward conversation.
They made it to the second floor without any sort of issues and Rin finally found an opportunity to talk to Kim when they were on that floor.
“So, what exactly is Rina looking for? She said it was some kind of meat that we can only find here?”
Miss Kim was a bit shocked when she suddenly heard Rin’s voice, but it was an olive branch that she gladly accepted. She smiled as she answered!
“Uh, yes. It is something that Han brought back a while ago. He said that he killed it when he was here with you and Lily and it was absolutely delicious! The customers are always asking for it!”
Rin chuckled slowly before she suddenly tilted her head to one side while remembering something. Han killed a monster when they were on the second floor? Wait – don’t tell me she’s talking about that monster!
The monster Kim was talking about was surely the king snake that Han had to help them kill when they were still weak on this floor! Han took it with him back to the restaurant but they didn’t know he was using it to make food! Miss Kim looked towards Rin when she saw that Rin was looking sick. Was the monster too strong for her to handle on her own? Maybe they should go back and come when Han is here?
“Are you okay? You look a little green”
Rin waved her hand while trying to calm herself down! She wasn’t scared of the monster, it’s just that she has never taken snake meat before and just knowing that she might’ve eaten one of those things without knowing was making her a little ill! Rin finally managed to calm down after a while and she sighed. It wasn’t so bad that they were going to kill that snake. With how strong she was now, it should be possible for her to take care of the snake on her own. She would use this as a benchmark to test how far she has come!
Miss Kim noticed the sudden change from being ill to sudden determination in Rin and she was a little worried.. This woman is a very strange one. She just changes moods like that?
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