Chapter 18

The three people locked inside the iron cage were people that Princess Aishia knew very well. Her sweet little sister, beautiful childhood friend, and loyal maid. Princess Aishia felt her chest hurt a lot when she saw their situation.

"Elise! Freya! Siesta!" Princess Aishia shouted the names of the three people in the cage in a loud voice. Then she looked at Erigos with a face full of anger.

"What are you doing to them!?" Princess Aishia screamed from deep within her lungs. Her emotions exploded after seeing the people closest to her in such a state.

"Hahaha...Yes! Like that! I like to see your desperate face." Erigos laughed happily after seeing Princess Aishia's reaction.

"Let go of them!" Princess Aishia shouted angrily at Erigos. She ran towards the iron cage and was about to release the three girls, but Erigos' following words made her stop.

"Don't be in a hurry, chicks. If you dare to approach them right now, I'll shoot magic at them. You know they don't have artifacts like you. They would have been scorched if they had received my full attack." Erigos threatened Princess Aishia and pointed his wand at the three girls, and a giant fireball was ready to be fired.

After seeing that, Princess Aishia could only stay where she was and didn't dare to act recklessly. She felt angry, sad, and hopeless, and all feelings were mixed in her heart. Princess Aishia bit her lip until it bled from feeling useless at such a time. But she knew that Erigos had another purpose in keeping them alive.

"What do you want from me!?" Princess Aishia ventured herself to ask Erigos.

"Hehehe... You're smart! But don't be in a hurry, chicks. How about we play a game for a bit?" Erigos chuckled teasingly at Princess Aishia.

"Don't talk too much and tell me what do you want from me!?" Princess Aishia was annoyed to hear the word of Erigos.

"Haven't I said it before?? Let's play the game. Don't you want to save those three girls?" Erigos pointed at Princess Elise and the other girls in the cage with his wand. He wanted to show from his actions that he could fire magic at any time if Princess Aishia didn't do what he said.

"Stop threatening me and quickly tell me what do you want to play!?" Princess Aishia gritted her teeth after hearing Erigos' words. She had a bad feeling about the game Erigos mentioned.

[Fire Ball]

Suddenly Erigos made two giant fireballs. One of the fireballs floated above the iron cage where Princess Elise, Princess Freya, and Siesta were. Meanwhile, another fireball floated above a house not far from Princess Aishia. What Erigos had done left Princess Aishia confused. She didn't know why one of the fireballs Erigos had created floated over the empty house behind her. But the bad feeling in her heart grew more prominent. Princess Aishia knew that Erigos couldn't possibly do that without reason.

"I will count to 10, and you have to choose which place you will protect. Once you choose, you have to run to that place as fast as possible because I will drop the fireball. You have to protect that place with the barrier you have. Ah, I'll give you a hint. There's someone in the house you might know. Isn't this game easy for you?" Erigos smiled evilly after explaining the rules of the game to Princess Aishia.

Princess Aishia was confused and couldn't answer right away. She had a feeling that something terrible would happen no matter what she chose. Princess Aishia kept looking at the empty house with a huge fireball floating above her. She thought about who was in the house. While she was trying to think of an answer, someone's scream interrupted her.

"Princess Aishia!"

Theodore and Aryana ran towards him from the direction of the city gates. They have wounds all over their bodies. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries.

"Are you okay, Princess Aishia?" Theodore approached Princess Aishia with an anxious face. He was too excited after seeing Princess Aishia and almost subconsciously hugged her.

"I'm fine. How are you?" Princess Aishia backed off a little to avoid getting too close to Theodore.

Theodore was annoyed after seeing Princess Aishia's attitude towards him. He felt that Princess Aishia was trying to keep her distance from him. Theodore wanted to reply that he was fine, but Aryana cut him off first.

"I'm fine, Princess Aishia. Have you seen Princess Freya? She was kidnapped while I was busy suppressing the magical beasts at the city gates." Aryana asked Princess Aishia with a serious yet worried face. She looked around Princess Aishia but couldn't find Princess Freya's figure.

"She's there." Princess Aishia pointed at one of the girls in the iron cage.

"What!? Princess Freya!" Aryana shouted angrily after she looked in the direction Princess Aishia was pointing. She saw Princess Freya unconscious and tied up with iron chains.

Aryana was furious after seeing Princess Freya's condition in the iron cage. She intended to free Princess Freya immediately. But Princess Aishia held her hand to stop her.

"What are you doing, Princess Aishia!?" Aryana said in a harsh tone. The only thing on her mind right now was to save Princess Freya from that iron cage.

"Calm down, Aryana! Look over there!" Princess Aishia pointed towards the fireball above the iron cage.

When Aryana saw the fireball above the iron cage, her face sank. She gritted her teeth in frustration as she almost accidentally harmed Princess Freya.

"You bastard! What did you do to Princess Freya!" Aryana shouted furiously at Erigos.

"Hahahaha... I was playing a game with the Princess. So, shall we start the game?" Erigos asked Princess Aishia. He laughed happily, and the two fireballs began to fall slowly.

"What game do you mean?"

"The game? What kind of game is that, Princess Aishia?"

Aryana and Theodore asked Princess Aishia at the same time.

"That is..." Princess Aishia explained everything that Erigos had said to Theodore and Aryana.

Aryana and Theodore opened their eyes wide after hearing Princess Aishia's explanation. They didn't expect Princess Aishia's artifact to be able to withstand the full power of a Magic King.

"Princess Aishia, you have to save Princess Freya! After all, there's your sister Princess Elise as well as Siesta in that iron cage! You must protect their place, Princess Aishia!" Aryana said impatiently and urged Princess Aishia to make up her mind quickly.

Princess Aishia fell into a dilemma when she heard Aryana's request. She still couldn't make up her mind because she still didn't know who the people in the house were. But what Aryana had said made sense, and she urgently had to make her choice. Just when Princess Aishia was about to choose, she suddenly heard a scream from the direction of the iron cage.

"Please don't do that, Princess Aishia! Inside that house is Ziel!" Siesta's voice made Princess Aishia tremble like she was struck by lightning.