After their meeting with the princess, Benjamine and the others try to sneak out of the castle but are seen and chased by the castle guards. Benjamine looks behind him to see five guards catching up to them. He gives the princess to Wilter and tells him to continue while he stays behind to face the guards. Using his inhuman speed, Benjamine rushes towards the guards and jumps over their pikes before grabbing two by the helmet and throwing them into a wall. The others stop to understand what just happened but one of them is kicked in the side and goes crashing into a pillar.
The remaining two look frantically for the assailant, but he's moving too quickly for them. Both feel a hand grab their shoulder before their faces are smashed into the ground knocking them out. As quickly as it started Benjamine was finished, he looks at the unconscious guards before letting out a breath and proceeds to meet up with the others. When Benjamine passes the courtyard, he notices the others surrounded by soldiers. He leaps over the rail and casts a magic spell as he impacts the ground.
"Contrita Petra!" (Crushed Rock!)
The ground below the soldiers' feet starts shaking and cracking violently, forcing them off balance and giving the others an opening to escape. Freyja looks back and sees Benjamine with a smile on his face before he moves his head telling her to carry on. They disappear into a walkway followed closely by Benjamine. Everyone stops before they arrive at the castle gate and hides after seeing the entire army stationed inside the castle grounds. Henry begins to panic but Greigore slaps him on the back of his head to calm him down. Wilter observes the massive body of soldiers and starts thinking of a way to get passed them without getting into a fight.
"Dammit! How the hell are we going to get past them without getting into a fight?"
He suddenly feels a hand grab his shoulder and turn him around. He is relieved to see its Benjamine, and his heart begins to slow down. Benjamine also observes the massive group of soldiers before speaking to Shadow.
"Hey Shadow, are you there?"
"Yes, I am. I see you have a bit of a problem in front of you, and you would either like my advice or permission for something."
"You're really irritating when you do that. But yes, I need to know if it's possible to use your teleport magic on all of us?"
Shadow thinks for a while before answering.
"It is possible, but with such a group we could run into problems. The kind where we all get separated in different sections of the city."
"And if I assisted with my personal power to stabilize it for a bigger group of people?"
"That could work. There is only one way to find out."
Benjamine smirks and begins telling the others about his idea, causing them to fidget uncomfortably. Wilter sighs before confirming something with Benjamine.
"How sure are you this will work?"
"Very sure. Although our destination might not be the one we had in mind."
Wilter smiles at the others giving them assurance as they gather in a group while Benjamine performs the casting. After the preparation is completed, Benjamine speaks in a language that the others don't understand.
"Shadoupōtaru! Firmitudo!" (Shadow portal! Firmness!)
A big circle appears under their feet, and it pulls then in. Benjamine reassures them not to fear as they are pulled through the magic circle. By the time the soldiers arrive where they saw the lights, there is not a trace of anything, leaving them confused. After being transported, Benjamine opens his eyes and begins looking around him holding his head.
"I don't remember the landing being that hard."
He feels a weight on his body only to see the princess lying on top of him passed out. He carefully moves out from under her before placing her softly on the ground next to him. When he stands up, he looks around and notices tall white trees with brown coloured leaves surrounding them. The ground is a mix of lush grass and stone; the air is filled with a peculiar smell that makes him wonder where they are. His eyes scan the light forest looking for the others. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices a piece of fabric blow up from the wind before seeing Freyja lying down sleeping.
He walks towards her and kneels before chanting a spell.
"Slow wake."
Freyja slowly begins opening her eyes to see Benjamine in front of her. She pushes herself to sit up and looks around wondering where they are. Benjamine helps her up and they return to the princess where they sit back down and begin talking.
"Do you have any idea where we are, Benjamine?"
"Unfortunately, not. I have never seen this place before and I can't find the others. Maybe the princess knows something about this."
As they continue speaking, princess Anthra begins to wake, her voice still groggy from the teleport.
"What… What happened? Where are we?"
"It's good to see you're awake, princess."
A jolt travels through her whole body before she carefully looks to see who's speaking only to find its two of the adventurers she met at the castle, and she relaxes. Benjamine introduces himself and Freyja to the princess.
"I am Benjamine, and this is Freyja. We are two of the adventurers from Wilters party. We have no idea where we are and are hoping you could tell us."
The princess looks around and her eyes light up with recognition.
"This is the Ferthaar forest. My forces are stationed not far from here. Perhaps a patrol will find the others. Let's get a move on to the base. I'm amazed we got here so quickly, thank you so much Benjamine. You really saved us a lot of time."
Benjamine is slightly embarrassed at her words but nods his head as a thank you. The princess stands up on her feet and tells them to follow her. As she leads them through the forest, Benjamine and Freyja remain in step. After what feels like hours, they eventually arrive at a giant mountain with a sharp pointed tip and steep faces all around with no visible access door. Princess Anthra walks up to the rock face and whispers a secret code, causing the ground to shake before revealing a tunnel leading into the mountain. She beckons the two to follow her as she heads into the tunnel.
The walls of the tunnel are smooth like glass without a single defect reflecting natural light from the outside. Benjamine examines the surreal tunnel and asks the princess.
"Was high-class earth magic used to create this tunnel?"
The princess continues walking while she speaks.
"No sir Benjamine. This tunnel is older than the foundations of Eribis and go back thousands of years to before the time of The Great Victory."
Benjamine is confused after hearing her statement making him think back to when he was just discovering his powers as a paladin.
"What is this The Great Victory you speak of princess?"
Princess Anthra is confused by his question but proceeds to explain.
"Roughly two-thousand years ago, there was a fierce battle between a human and the entire pantheon of gods. It was the deadliest war this world had ever seen, and if it wasn't for the god's ingenious strategy of creating these tunnels, they would have suffered great losses."
Benjamine grits his teeth before mumbling something off.
"So that's how they were able to cut me off from my group."
Freyja looks at Benjamine after hearing what he was mumbling and places a firm hand on his shoulder. The princess looks back at them.
"Did you say something sir Benjamine?"
"No. It was nothing."
As they move deeper, a dim light is seen emanating from the bottom of the stairway getting brighter as they get closer. When they reach the bottom, a group of guards surround them with weapons raised, causing Benjamine and Freyja to stand back-to-back. The princess removes her hood to reveal her short cut, black hair and a scar on the right side of her neck.
"Soldiers, lay down your weapons. I am princess Anthra Erib, and these are people who could help us in the fight against my father."
The soldiers begin whispering among themselves before a stern woman's voice speaks up.
"Soldiers! How dare you raise your weapons to the princess? Have you no honour?"
The guards immediately withdraw their weapons. Benjamine and Freyja breathe a sigh of relief as a tall, middle-aged woman approaches them. Her long bright red hair tied up in a ponytail, her elegant curves and figure are covered under a full battle dress with leg guards and a chest plate. Her eyes light up when she sees the princess and embraces her in a tight hug, tears running down her face. Her stern voice has turned into a gentle and soothing tone.
"I was so worried you wouldn't make it back when you set off by yourself. Seeing you alive and well brings me joy. So, how is your farther doing?"
Her face falls into a frown as she sees tears of sadness in the princess's eyes.
"My dad… Has fallen even deeper into darkness. So much so that I don't know him anymore."
After a tender moment between the two of them, Freyja clears he throat to get their attention.
"Sorry for interrupting your moment, but we have a more pressing matter at hand. Did any of your soldiers encounter a group of two men and a boy?"
The two break their embrace and compose themselves before the stern lady starts speaking.
"It is rude for an outsider to just voice an order in front of the princess' personal guard. I will not answer someone who has the manners of an untrained dog."
Before another word can be spoken, Freyja thrusts her sword towards the woman, but it is blocked by a barrier. The middle-aged woman smirks at her attack.
"I was expecting an attack from a dark elf to be much stronger."
Fury envelopes Freyja's face as the two cross swords in an intense battle, causing everything to shake. Benjamine leans against the wall and sighs, he feels a hand tug on his shirt and notices the princess looking at him with a teary face.
"Why aren't you stopping them? Surely it will be easy for you after that magic you used at the castle?"
"Until I'm certain of something, I will not raise a hand in any way. Are you… a follower of any of the gods? Your answer will determine my next move."
Her eyes widen at how emotionless his voice has become, causing her to tremble. She drops her head trying to muster up the courage to respond to his question. Benjamine waits patiently for her answer while Freyja and the other lady continue to exchange their evenly matched blows. The princess finally gathers up the courage to respond.
"No. I do not worship the gods of this world. I am a sworn follower of the earth mother. I have been since I was born."
"If you speak the truth, show me the marking she blessed you with."
The princess hesitates for a moment before removing her cloak, revealing a jewel studded blue dress with white highlights. She turns around and starts loosening the strings at the back. The other lady notices this and stops Freyja in her tracks, immobilizing her before rushing towards the princess ready to kill Benjamine.
"Get away from her you creep! Fire sword!"
Her sword lights up with a red-hot glow surrounded by flames as she thrusts it towards Benjamine. He sticks out his hand and catches her sword before glaring at her.
"I'm in the middle of something."
He effortlessly throws her against the rock wall immobilizing her.
"Just… just who is that man? He stopped one of my most powerful attacks like it was nothing. Also, the murderous intent flowing out of him is like nothing I've ever felt. I am powerless against such an opponent, princess. Please run."
The princess exposes her back to Benjamine. He observes closely for the earth mothers marking before casting a reveal spell. A feint marking of a lily flower surrounded by dancing Faye appears on her lower back. Benjamine closes his eyes before turning away.
"You are indeed blessed by the earth mother. Then you have nothing to fear from me. I will stop their fighting at once."
He steps forward about to stop their fight when he notices Freyja stuck in mid-air while the other lady is lying on the floor unable to stand leaving him confused as to what had happened while he was busy with the princess.
"Disable."
He clicks his fingers causing Freyja to fall on the ground and the other woman to stand up with great effort. Eventually the two of them are back on their feet, still out of breath. Benjamine looks at them.
"Have you two finished getting to know each other? If you have, lets discuss the few problems at hand. But I believe introductions are in order."
Freyja and the other lady look away from each other before heading their separate ways. The princess approaches Benjamine who his pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Will everything be alright between them, sir Benjamine?"
He chuckles before responding.
"Don't worry princess, they'll get along sooner than you think."
After the debris has been cleared away, a table is set for the princess and the others. The mysterious lady sits next to the princess, eyes closed and a frowning mouth while Freyja sits next to Benjamine crossed arms and tapping her fingers. To break the tension, the princess stands up and begins speaking in slightly high-pitched voice
"Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am princess Anthra Eribis, first-born of my father William Eribis the king of Erib. I do not approve of what he is doing and feel he should be stopped before he causes unnecessary bloodshed. I ran away about two years ago with soldiers who shared the same opinion as me and started living out in the wilderness trying to build up a big enough force to overthrow my father. As a result, I spent countless days in search of people who showed the potential of being strong. When I saw your group leave for the dungeon and return, I knew you would be valuable assets to assist me in stopping my father."
She sits back down and elbows the lady next to her, as she stands up, she assumes a ridged posture of a high-ranking soldier before speaking.
"My name is Bireth Bellator. I was the head commander of the king's army, only second to the king himself in terms of leadership. When I started to notice the king fall further away from his duties, it concerned me a great deal. So, when Anthra approached me and started speaking to me about how troubled she was, I knew we had to do something. I quietly went around to soldiers I could trust and asked them to join us which they did without a second thought. After we had amassed a big enough group, we fled into theses woods and stumbled upon this cave. This has been our base since then."
When she sits down, Freyja stands up to speak.
"My name is Freyja. I am a descendant of the dark elf race, and my parents are survivors from the great purge. I am a fully-fledged adventurer and proud to be one. Before I was interrupted, I wanted to ask if you had come across a group of men. They would be carrying a giant shield, a bow, and a sword. They are the other party members which we got separated from."
Bireth beckons one of the guards over and whispers something in his ear before he runs off.
'Don't worry Freyja, my soldiers encountered them while on patrol and brought them back here as prisoners. I'm very interested in the young man sitting next to you. No one has ever stopped my attack so effortlessly and tossed me aside like a rag doll."
Benjamine closes his eyes before standing to speak.
"My name is Benjamine Bloodgrave. I encountered Freyja and the others while on my way to the new dungeon. I am a drifter from a different land and before I knew it, I found myself in a completely different region to the one I remember. Regarding your attack lady Bireth, you were moving so slowly that it was impossible for me not to react. When you tried to land your attack, all I could feel from it was emptiness. You haven't sworn it to a cause yet after all this time. Therefore, against someone like me, you do not stand a chance."
He sits down without speaking further leaving Bireth feeling uneasy and doubting her worth. After a long moment of silence, Freyja hears voices she recognizes and turns her head in their direction to see Wilter, Greigore, and Henry arguing but unharmed. Benjamine excuses himself from the table before they arrive, leaving the three ladies concerned. When the guys see Freyja, looks of excitement and happiness fill their faces and they all run towards her, embracing her in a tight hug. She scowls before hitting all of them over the head with earth magic. During all the commotion, Bireth slips away following after Benjamine. Wilter looks around and asks Freyja.
"Where's Benjamine?"
"He left to be alone for a while."
After the reunion is over, princess Anthra walks over to the others and formally introduces herself to them. Benjamine quietly walks down a tunnel before emerging out onto a balcony overlooking a big training ground where soldiers are sparring with each other and practicing magic. While observing this he senses a presence behind him.
"If you're going to follow me, try and do a better job of hiding your aura."
"It would seem there are secrets you don't want the others to know about just yet. Isn't that right. Paladin?"
"It's good to see you again, Bhumi."
They keep eye contact as a strong wind begins blowing revealing the same lotus and Faye mark on Bireth's neck.