51: Exit from the Castle

"Damn, he really messed me up. Even though my armor is ascended, how the hell does this guy have so much strength? He left gaps in the armor and craters in the ground."

"Well, that's it. You lost when you couldn't kill me in a minute."

I moved from my spot and approached Harus, who was already my puppet and therefore unaffected by the crown.

When I was a few meters away, I endured the pain in my protesting body and moved forward.

Harus didn't move, so I left him standing there, made him try to dodge fruitlessly, and landed a full punch in his stomach.

As he writhed around my fist and before he could separate, I stored him within my soul.

I now had my first puppet. Now, there's just that idiot left.

...

The entire hall was shocked when they saw Jonathan lunge at Harus and manage to land a blow to his stomach.

But contrary to what everyone would expect, Harus didn't fly backward, counterattack, defend himself, or even move.

Harus disappeared from view all at once.

The hall fell into a sepulchral silence as everyone stared at the empty spot where Harus should have been. They watched as the man in black armor stood up and looked at Gunlaug.

"Sunny? What's happening now? Why is it so quiet?"

Sunny turned his gaze to Cassia, her defect causing her to answer.

"Well, Jonathan is looking at the Bright Lord, and everyone is silent because with one blow from him, the most feared lieutenant disappeared into thin air."

Cassia frowned, and before she could ask more, Gunlaug spoke loudly and forcefully.

"Everyone, out of here!"

A pressure similar to that emanating from the crown surged again, but this time it came from Gunlaug.

As everyone rushed to the exit, Sunny saw Jonathan turn his gaze towards him and understood that Jonathan was telling him to leave now.

If they stayed, they would be caught up in all the trouble.

He obeyed and left with Cassia out of the hall. As he passed through the door, he looked back and saw Gunlaug and all the lieutenants rise and walk towards Jonathan, but before he could see anything more, the doors closed.

...

Sunny and Cassia found themselves outside the castle, having left after that event, and were about to head to their group to inform them of what had happened.

Jubei had already left the castle and gone. Sunny had no idea where he would go after causing such a commotion and condemning another person.

He and Cassia walked through the outer settlement, which had changed considerably in the last five days while they lived in the castle.

The people seemed more alive and energetic, less worried, for some baffling reason.

They walked through the entire settlement and did not find the group until they reached the end of the settlement, where there was that cabin that was in poor condition but was the largest here.

Now it wasn't in poor condition. Instead, it was repaired and even somewhat fortified.

When they arrived there, they entered through the rough wooden door covering the entrance and saw the whole group gathered around a table.

Nephis was talking to everyone about something Sunny didn't quite hear.

Everyone turned their gaze to the two people who interrupted their meeting and were surprised because they didn't expect Sunny to bring Cassia from inside the castle two days before her departure date.

Before Sasha could ask the question, she was surprised once more because it was Isaac who asked what she was about to ask.

"Sunny, where is Jonathan? Didn't he come out with you? Did something happen in there?"

Sunny approached and replied to Isaac:

"He's still inside the castle. He didn't come out with us because something important happened. He could be in danger right now."

The tension in Jony's three friends' muscles was evident as they heard Sunny's words, ready to go out and help their friend if absolutely necessary.

"What happened in there that left him in possible danger?" Nephis asked, his voice calm and unruffled.

"Let me explain everything from the beginning."

Sunny left Cassia in a chair while the blind girl touched her hands, anxious about everything that had happened.

"The first few days we were fine while we investigated everything, I'll tell you about that later. Today, Gunlaug appeared in the hall where everyone was having breakfast and brought a hunter from here for a trial."

"That hunter is called Jubei, he challenged a group of hunters from Gemma's group to a duel, and she accepted the duel, but by a foolish tradition they chose a champion to fight for them. They chose Harus, the most feared under Gunlaug's command. Jonathan stood up out of nowhere and said he would defend Jubei and started fighting against Harus."

A look of confusion crossed Sasha's, Isaac's, and Ludwin's faces, pondering the implications of Jony's reckless decision.

"He fought against Harus and it looked like he would lose, so I was about to summon my weapon to help him, but then he managed to turn the fight around and with one blow made Harus disappear into thin air. I have no idea what that was, but after that, Gunlaug ordered everyone to retreat. We left because Jonathan indicated it, but he stayed alone with all of Gunlaug's men. I don't know what's happening now; I came to tell you everything."

The group, who had been listening attentively to Sunny's account of what had happened, gradually furrowed their brows at what they heard.

"Damn fool, why would he fight against Gunlaug's men in the first week? He wouldn't do such a thing; he must have a reason."

Ludwin seemed calmer than Sasha, and Isaac seemed composed, but the slight furrow in his brow betrayed his concern.

"We have to go there. If they try to harm Jonathan, he won't be able to defend himself if he's injured after a fight like that. Nephis, can we go help him, right?"

Sasha's speech was rapid, her voice sounding somewhat anxious.

Nephis looked at her and after a few seconds, said indifferently:

"We can't go. He will return; he knows things we don't. If we go hastily, we could ruin whatever he's trying to do."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"I believe this because of how he tricked us into the tree to stay there for almost a month and how he got us out of there; he also didn't seem surprised when we saw the crater, or when we met Effie and heard about the lack of a gateway. He knows things, and he will return."

For some reason, they had all ignored these inconsistencies in their friend's behavior, but now that Nephis had said it all, they managed to see how strangely Jonathan was acting.

That seemed to calm them down, and they thought more rationally about what their friend was doing, how he guided them, how he knew they would meet Nephis and about the tree.

He also seemed to know that a monster would attack them when they were in the Black Sea; it seemed like he already knew things and had made plans for it. So why would they worry now? He must have a plan for that situation.

"You're right, now that you put it that way, he always behaves as if he knows what will happen. Maybe we should trust him and wait for him."

It seemed that Isaac was willing to trust that Jony would return alive.

Sasha, however...

"We can't do that; maybe you're right, and he knew several things, but that guy, Gunlaug. He seems like a damn psychopath who would kill anyone he couldn't control. We don't know what he could do to Jony if we leave him injured there."

"Calmez Sasha, he should be fine, let's wait for Sunny to go see inside the castle how he is, he still has two days of tributes."

Isac tried to calm Sasha and ended up reluctantly agreeing to wait for his friend.

Everyone looked at Sunny, and he agreed to go back to the castle to meet Jonathan, if he could still find him.

After discussing for a while more, Cassia stayed with the group and Sunny began to go towards the castle.