"Hm?"
The other figure in a black robe also noticed Yu Zhou's presence and froze for a moment.
"Who are you!?"
Before Yu Zhou could even speak, that person shouted in a loud voice, clearly a young man.
But the moment he heard how loud he was, he covered his mouth in panic — obviously realizing this wasn't the right time to be yelling.
"You idiot!" Yu Zhou snapped at him in frustration.
Seriously? Both of them sneaking around the royal castle at night, and this guy had to shout at full volume?
That single shout instantly alerted the patrolling guards.
"There's movement up there! Sound the alarm!"
"Surround the area! Don't let the intruders escape!"
"Gather everyone — catch those thieves!"
Voices echoed across the royal grounds.
The black-robed man's face went pale. If he was caught by the guards, his life would be over.
Not only were there soldiers on the ground, but several small airships hovered into the sky, piloted by the patrol squad. They quickly surrounded the castle roof from above.
"There are two intruders! Capture them both!"
The commander's voice boomed, and several soldiers jumped down from the airships, landing directly on the castle roof.
Yu Zhou had no choice but to sprint across the rooftop, moving fast to shake off the guards.
The other black-robed man followed behind him, running clumsily but still managing to keep a short distance ahead of the pursuers.
Yu Zhou couldn't help rolling his eyes. Why is this guy following me? We're not even working together! Running together only makes us a bigger target!
The castle's roof wasn't exactly built for running, and Yu Zhou had no intention of running forever.
As he passed a large, brightly lit window, he leapt straight inside.
"That room—!"
The black-robed man behind him froze for a second.
Wasn't this supposed to be an escape? Running into the castle was suicide!
But after hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and followed Yu Zhou through the same window.
Bang!
Yu Zhou landed smoothly on the floor inside.
The other man, however, crashed headfirst onto the ground like a clumsy animal, groaning before quickly dusting himself off and standing up.
"You—who are you?! How dare you intrude into the royal castle!"
A stern, commanding voice called out.
Yu Zhou looked up to see a girl about seventeen or eighteen years old standing in the room. Her long black hair shimmered under the light, and she wore a silver-white dress. In her hand glowed a sphere of light — ready to fire.
"A light sphere?"
Yu Zhou's eyes narrowed as he studied her face more carefully. She looked… familiar somehow.
"Wait—Sister Yuzare! It's me!"
The black-robed man beside him quickly shouted, pulling off his hood to reveal his face.
"Brother?"
The girl blinked in surprise, and the light sphere in her hand gradually dissipated.
Yu Zhou's eyes widened. Yuzare?
So, this was her — Princess Yuzare of the Continent!
No wonder she looked familiar.
But this wasn't the Yuzare of thirty million years later. This one was a young girl — her hair still black and shining, her face youthful and full of life.
I guess her hair turns white much later, Yu Zhou thought absently.
And the man beside him — now unmasked — made sense too. No wonder he had used such an authoritative tone earlier. He wasn't just anyone sneaking around — he was the prince, Yuzare's younger brother.
"Who is he?"
Yuzare frowned slightly, turning her gaze to Yu Zhou.
He was still wearing a black robe and had just broken into her room along with her brother. Naturally, he looked suspicious.
"Sister, I don't know him!" the prince quickly said. "He's an intruder — a spy who broke into the royal castle!"
"A spy?!"
Yuzare's expression hardened as she summoned another glowing sphere into her palm. "If that's the case, then prepare to die!"
With a flick of her wrist, she hurled the light sphere straight at Yu Zhou.
BOOM!
The sphere exploded by the window, shattering it into pieces.
"Not bad," Yu Zhou said calmly — now standing behind her.
The prince's eyes widened. "You—!"
He grabbed something from his belt — a compact handle. With a press of a button, a beam of light extended from it, forming a glowing sword.
He swung it down toward Yu Zhou.
The explosion had already drawn the attention of more guards.
Outside the window and along the castle corridor, patrol soldiers surrounded Yuzare's chamber from all directions.
"This could get troublesome," Yu Zhou muttered.
He sidestepped the prince's swing and countered with a quick chop to the wrist.
Clatter! The light sword dropped to the floor.
Another flash — Yuzare had conjured another sphere of light and hurled it his way.
Yu Zhou dodged again; the sphere exploded against her bookshelf, scattering ash and burning her neatly stacked books.
"My books!" Yuzare gasped in fury.
Those had been painstakingly collected over the years! And now this intruder had destroyed them!
"You—! I'll make you pay for that!"
She gathered her power again, this time summoning eight light spheres at once, surrounding Yu Zhou and blocking every escape route.
"Today, you're not leaving this room alive!"
But Yu Zhou didn't even move. Instead, he calmly extended his hands, catching each light sphere one by one as they shot toward him.
Then, with a faint smile, he crushed them — extinguishing them like soap bubbles.
"Your light may be strong," he said softly, "but against me, it's not nearly enough."
"You—what are you?!" Yuzare's voice trembled slightly.
Before Yu Zhou could answer, the prince picked up his fallen light sword and charged again.
"Stop, brother! You can't beat him!" Yuzare cried out.
But before her warning reached him—
Thud!
Yu Zhou's leg shot out, kicking the prince square in the rear. The young man yelped and fell flat on his face.
"Pathetic," Yu Zhou sighed, shaking his head.
He turned back to Yuzare, who still stood with her hands glowing faintly with light energy, wary and tense.
"Princess Yuzare," Yu Zhou said evenly, "I mean you no harm."