0.8.

Anna's demeanor changed whenever it came to negotiations, she had a serious expression throughout the discussion. Sequence soon learned that the madame, Furoie was the royal head secretary of everything related to Her Highness Evelyn; she was the person in charge her education. As for the maid on her knees, Selina, she was the one who overlooked the princess' safety; her fate was unknown; it all depended on the results Anna and Aaron could bring.

Tracing back to the basement area, he went down to find an open stairwell leading further down. This wasn't here before. If it had been, Aaron who searched the basement a few hours earlier would've noticed it right away.

A dim alley was found at the bottom of the spiraling long descent. There were no guards around and crude mana lamps lit the primitive tunnel.

Sequencee wasn't sure if there were traps set in advance, so he proceeded slowly whilst maintaining a wind barrier around him. His spatial magic was also kept at its heightened state to detect any presence of movements in his surroundings. He stopped at each door to assess.

'Hm?'

"S-Salty–I can't believe it, I really can't believe it … Your Highness is mine … you're really mine. I can actually do whatever I want … this is bliss … "

A snorty voice was heard through one of the doors; spatial magic picking up slight movements of wiggling. Sequencee tried the handle.

'This is ... not locked.'

"Swallow it, it's an order."

[Illusion Magic: Universal Haze]

An invisible fog attached themselves to the hinges of the door. He cushioned the sound of the low creak and peered in.

'This is a torture room, no doubt about it.'

It had basically everything a maniac would want. Chains, whips, torture table, aphrodisiac, animal cage … what Sequencee couldn't understand was why there were dismembered body parts in large jars. A personal collection?

"I love you so much, Your Highness. Don't worry. I'll make sure to take care of you well. We will enjoy our time together lots and lots … okay?"

Sequencee slipped in and silently made his way towards the pig.

The pig was just about to lean in for what he presumed to be a smooch when he grabbed the back of collar and hurled him out of the cage.

"Geh?!"

Sequencee felt his heart turn cold at the sight of her disorderly figure.

Sequencee commanded the rocky ground to restrain the pig. His mouth was gagged by rock.

He turned to the princess who had her eyes squinted with tears and sweat smeared all over her face. He noticed the black crest on her flushed neck.

"Your Highness. Did he order anything like kill yourself if he dies?" Sequencee entered the cage and tapped on Evelyn's shoulders. She slowly opened her eyes.

"You … " her hazy eyes seemed to regain light.

"Your Highness, did he order you to self-destruct if he dies?" Sequencee repeated, his voice was trembling a little.

She shook her head weakly.

It was then his spatial magic began to buzz. There were intruders.

"Close your eyes."

She obeyed. He commanded the earth to crush Trevor, a skull cracking noise echoed with a few wild convulsions to his body.

An incorporeal pale blue mass sublimated from his corpse.

"Keep your eyes closed," Sequencee repeated, putting his hands over to her shoulders and back ankle, he carried her. It didn't really matter that she was very close to being naked, the priority here was escape.

"Let's get out of here."

Sequencee cradled Evelyn and swiped Trevors' ectoplasm.

{SOULS AVAILABLE: 7.2}

He casually pushed the door open and retreated back a step, a black object flew past the corridor.

'Okay, these people are different.'

The assailants weren't some simple ruffians. Assuming their skill level was that of C-rank, busting out here with the princess in tow wasn't going to be a cake walk.

Evelyn wrapped her arms around him.

'Yeah, don't fall.'

[Illusion Magic: Universal Haze]

Sequencee manifested a fake image of an ice sphere in the corridor and fired. The moment the throwing knife collided with the illusion, a blinding white light exploded into the surroundings.

Sequencee made his move.

'Around four people.'

This was what he assessed from spatial magic. He lowered his stance and dodged past them.

Sequencee felt something grab his leg, he forcefully tore the black vine which had grown out of the ground away and collapsed the tunnel behind him.

A black knife grazed his hair and stuck itself into the wall behind him; the sounds of splattering blood. Soon, three ephemeral balls of blue-gray light rose from the corpses wrapped in black clothes.

Another glint swept past his vision. A magic barrier was quickly formed to intercept the attack.

The last dark figure who had survived his ambush rushed at him.

'Yeah right. There's this sort of system ability.'

Sequencee felt the ground tilt as the assailant's blade drew close. He twisted his body and left fake afterimages to disorient the assassin. A gust of wind blew; the assassin spat a dart from his mouth. It was warded off by the wind coat around Sequencee.

Sequencee pushed himself back, earth shot out from the wall and crushed the assailant. It was a brutal sight, and Evelyn, who had been keeping her eyes closed, clung to him tighter. Sequencee turned around and ran up the spiral stairs.

'Wait … this … '

Sequencee noticed chain explosion sigils placed along the foundation of the stairs.

This, including rumbling of the whole underground structure made for a bad premonition.

"Your Highness hold tight–"

Explosions began ringing out above as Sequencee reached the middle point of the ascent. He quickly transmuted the wall to create a hole large enough to fit a few people. He entered with the princess and closed off the two sides.

'We'll hold up here for a bit. I'll create a vent.'

Sequencee extended three small breathing holes to the surface and created a light orb to light the dark space they were in. He reinforced the wall between them and the stairwell. The rumbling kept ringing out as the sounds of crumbling were heard.

It soon stopped.

He heaved a relieved sigh.

'It's probably a few meters up. But I think we should wait a while first.'

Sequencee then looked down at the girl in his arms. She was looking right at him. They stared at each other for a long while when her face grew increasingly wary.

"Sorry. Bear with this for a bit."

Sequencee took off his mantle and wrapped it over her. She gripped it over her body tight, not saying a word.

"We'll get out of here once I confirm that they're gone ... yeah, wait," Sequencee took out a the transmission pendant, "Mom, I found Her Highness."

There was a short pause.

["Where are you now?"]

"There's a hidden chamber somewhere inside the Marquis's house further below the basement winery. They just blew up our escape route, I'm waiting for them to think we died before I dig my way out."

["Oh dear. So how's the princess?"]

"She's … alright, though it's likely she hasn't eaten well the past two days. And … " Sequencee gritted his teeth, "I-I killed Trevor and some of the knights, sorry."

["Trevor is the Marquis' son, right? Ah, seriously, how are we going to deal with this … are you sure you're alright, do you need assistance?"]

"I'm sorry … " Sequencee wasn't in the slightest bit sorry. "As for our current situation, I'm at an impasse. What should I do after I get the princess out?"

["Listen closely. I'm still running around trying to find the Marquis' whereabouts, so you have to become her temporary escort. Don't bring her to the castle, go back to the inn and stay there. Besides his son, did you find any traces of her daughter?"]

'Darn … what kind of mess is this … '

Flona, the person who they had denied the request for help to, was still missing. Now Sequencee seriously wondered if this unknown third party had been planning to destroy the Marquis' future alongside the princess.

"No. I didn't see them … I only saw the son … "

'But he tried to rape the princess.'

Sequencee glanced at Her Highness. Her silver hair was a scattered mess, and just like what he was doing with her, her amethyst eyes were studying him. With her hands wrapped around his mantle to cover her small body, he couldn't help but think she had been through a lot.

'What should I say at this moment?'

["Get out of there, I'll meet you at the inn as soon as I'm done with this. Stay safe. Anna, out."]

"Roger that … Your Highness. Once we get out of this place, we'll need to keep away from the royal castle for a while."

"U-Un," she nodded.

"Um … and sorry we came late."

"Nn," she shook her head.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Nn," she shook her head.

"We'll get you a change of clothes once we get out … and also a meal. Hm … "

'Won't people recognize that she's the princess? Silver hair, amethyst eyes … it's an uncommon colour. She'll definitely stand out. What to do … '

Sequencee pondered the question and his plans as he waited for time to pass.

"Your Highness, I'll have to carry you again. Would you prefer I do it as I did earlier or … maybe you want me to piggyback you?"

"W-Why ...?"

'I need your permission of course that's why!'

"Well, we need to get out of here fast. I don't know if you have the energy to run."

"..." She looked at him stonily.

"If you're not saying anything, I'll assume you prefer the princess-carry."

"…"

'Whatever you don't say Your Highness. Whatever you don't say …'

Sequencee narrowed the extension of his spatial magic high upwards and could sense the presence of two moving things, likely people.

'Looks like I'll have to dig diagonally.'

His initial plan was to use the vertical shaft and build a makeshift stairway up to the surface (since the stairs had been blown into pieces), but he would encounter more enemies that way. He opted for the next idea, which was to simply dig diagonally to arrive right outside the manor. It made for a much easier escape too.

Squeezing his mana, Sequencee began carving out the earth. The consumption was rather large, so he found himself light-headed after a few meters of digging. When he reached loose dirt, he turned to Evelyn who had been following close to him and cradled her. She yelped.

"Sorry," Sequencee blasted through the last portion of the earth and ran out.

The outside exposed a green garden which no enemies thought to secure. Crudely fixing the hole in the ground, he headed towards the edge of the mansion ground where he lept towards the outside.