Escape

There are three major roads in Aeptian Town. The central one leads to the palace. The one on the right goes to the housing and taverns and the last road takes one to the arena while the road further in goes to the area of the Nobles, with all the high end shops.

The Arena is a place for the town's warriors to prove their might. The ranking system shows the one currently at the top and the top ten contestants of all time. There are no deaths in the arena, unless it's an execution about to happen.

King Gor's brother bled on that stage, with all the nobles watching. The townsfolk, however, only go inside if there's a match going on or a festival where the nobles are not present.

In a circular pattern, they set the arena at the beginning of the road, holding a large space. The stage, which is made of stone, is in the center and surrounding it are the spectator's seats. Above them, protecting them from the scorching blazes of the sun, is a leather tent, providing shade.

A stone-built wall prohibits unwanted attention from what's happening there during the hours no one is watching. There are two walls, the one smaller than the other, creating a narrow corridor that goes down.

Beneath the stage, where the violence takes place, are the holding cells. Whenever there's an execution or a fight, the prisoners get dragged from their cell, through an intimidating gate and onto the stage.

It's dusk, and the sun is about to fall to its slumber. The people being held under the stage have no way of telling time, besides what the guards tell them. Cells left and right lead further down to one, which is the dead center.

The clanging of chains is the only thing the other prisoners hear from that person. They don't know who it is or how long they've been down here. The only thing they understand is, in order to get that specific cell, one must be extremely dangerous.

A guard walks past the cells towards the one at the center. He moves at a steady pace, carrying a tray with a piece of bread, a bowl of soup and a cup of water. As he approaches the cage, he feels the magical power the woman in chains emits, sending shivers to his spine.

He feels more relaxed when he sees the woman with chains tying her arms and legs, while leather strips cover her eyes and mouth. The locks on the chains have a rune drawn on them that keeps sucking her mana, rendering her unable to break free.

What the woman notices, and soon the guards will find out, is that rune is malfunctioning, allowing her to build up her strength slowly, but steadily. The error of the rune's power came to be when Nox entered the barrier. His massive and oppressive mana sent out magical ripples that interacted with their surroundings, one of which was the woman in the basement, under the stage.

The unsuspecting guard walks inside the woman's cell with a grin on his face. His lecherous eyes feast on her voluptuous body. After some inner struggle, he contains himself until the woman lets out a moan, creating vivid images in his mind.

He breathes in a mouthful of air and exhales just as much from his nose. The guard lets the tray aside and approaches the chained woman with long, fiery crimson hair. A thin, silky black dress caresses her body, perfectly lining her curves.

The guard shows two lines of almost yellow teeth when he opens his mouth to lick his lips as if he's about to have the meal of his life. He lines his body in front of her and passes his hands around her, grabbing her slender waist.

The rustling of the chains didn't distract him from what he's doing. When he was about to move lower, a snapping sound leaves him with his tongue out while he falls flat on the ground. The woman broke free from the chains and killed her assailant.

With a swift motion, the woman removes the leather muzzle from her mouth, revealing pink dried lips. She then carefully unbinds the leather strap from her eyes. Even though the light coming from the lamps is dim, she still squints her green reptilian eyes since she hasn't gotten used to it yet.

A few moments pass and she can open her eyes now. She gulps down the soup, eats the bread, and enjoys her cup of water. She sneers at the dead guard after kicking him in the ribs. "Hmph!"

A gentle push is enough to open the gate of her cell. She walks out and follows the corridor into the chamber with the rest of the holding cells. The prisoners jump as soon as they see her, whistling and causing a ruckus. A simple glare emitting killing intent is enough to shut them up and make them shiver.

Without a single word, she walks out of the basement and finds herself in the open, with the full blast of the scorching rays hitting her face. She faces upward and opens her arms as if she's trying to hug the sun. The woman with the reptilian green eyes takes her time, breathing in all the surrounding oxygen.

A couple of guards notice her and point their spears at her, but she ignores them. She doesn't even put them in her eyes and with a single flick of her finger; she sends them flying several meters, crashing on the wall behind them.

With a single leap, she finds herself at the top of the arena, looking down at Aeptian Town. The woman glares in the palace's direction and points at it.Even though her voice is soft, her icy tone can make anyone feel the chill to their bones. "This Queen is free. Aeptian Town, your time will come!"

Back at the palace, Nox successfully heals Malia's father, losing consciousness soon after. Kali and her sister are ecstatic. Although they are smiling, tears endlessly flow down their cheeks.

During that time, an uproar in the palace replaced their rejoicing with concern. Malia peeks out the door and sees a guard running. "E-Excuse me… What happened?"

The guard ignores her and keeps on his way. Malia, without getting an answer, returns to her room. As soon as she closed the door, she heard someone knocking. "Yes! Who is it?"

A familiar voice, although muffled, is quite audible from the other side. "Roi!"

Malia opens the door. Tagging along with the young man is his new friend. A girl with fluffy ears, similar to Malia's and her family. Not expecting to see her with Roi, the girl's name slips on her tongue. "Yulia!?"

Roi, confused, looks at the girl standing next to him. "You know each other?"

Yulia fidgets and plays with her fingers. "She's my cousin…"

Malia steps away from the entrance. "C-Come in…"

The moment they walk in, Kali's voice startles them. "Big Sis Yulia!"

Kali jumps with her arms wide open, hugging her as soon as their bodies touch. The young girl buries her face in Yulia's chest. "I missed you…!"

While hugging Kali and patting her head, Yulia notices the old man lying on the bed. "How is uncle's condition?"

Malia smiles and turns her gaze in Nox's direction. "He'll be alright, thanks to him…!"

Yulia sees Nox lying on the bed snoring, and doesn't make much of him. She ponders for a while before asking. "Who is he?"

Malia and Roi utter in unison. "Demon Lord!"

At first, she thought they were joking and was about to laugh until she saw in their eyes that they were serious. "Huh? Him?"

Yulia holds her head as if she's having a headache. "If that's true, then we have to go… Now!"

Malia looks at her, confused, not making sense of what Yulia is saying. "What are you on about..?"

Yulia grabs her cousin by the shoulders and looks deep in her eyes. "They came to the tavern where I work… If it wasn't for Roi, they would have put me in prison by now…!"

"What are you talking about… Why?"

"I overheard them talking. They think Yulia helped you get into Town free Queen Celia!"

"Who's that?"

The sudden question coming from the young man's mouth startles them. Nox woke up the moment they mentioned the Queen by name.

Yulia stares at the ignorant man, who's now in a seated position on the bed. She gently nudges Roi. "Are you sure he's the Demon Lord?"

Malia looks at the young man, who's waking up, yawning, and stretching. "She's the Queen of all the snake men!"

Roi smiles when he sees he's alright and walks closer to him. With his gaze in Yulia's direction, he informs Nox of what he learnt. "Before our arrival, apparently the king faced a coup, and the instigators were the snake men who later got exiled! The king executed his own brother who was part of the coup against him, and there was no word regarding Queen Celia until now when they saw her leaving Aeptian leaving behind a trail of bodies!"

Malia, after pondering for a while, can't help but ask. "Why do they think we wanted to free her? We didn't even know what happened!"

"Maybe losing control of my magic has something to do with it…?"

Nox stretches some more and gets up. He approaches the girl with the fluffy ears and smiles. "I'm Nox, nice to meet you!"

"Y-Yulia…"

The young man is by the door. He looks back before opening it. "I'll go look around… Make preparations for our departure until I get back!"