"Make a shield! Let's put her in a barrier!"

Gil linked their consciousness with the other four spirits and excluded Evelyn who had been taken over by her demonic blood. The contracted spirits nodded their heads in understanding.

​​

All their attributes, earth, wind, fire, water were poured into the barrier where Evelyn became trapped by their enchantment.

Evelyn saw the barrier pass her head and onto the ground forming a half sphere. She walked close to it and knocked on it.

It was hard, like it was made from some earthen shield. However Evelyn thinks of it as a futile plan.

"Ha-haha! You're doing something stupid! You do know that you're still in contract with me… I have the power to limit your mana."

And she was correct. Gil, Alisha, Bern, Chrisfold, and Cathy knew this and still risked it. They need to attach the silver bracelet with a dark crimson gem into Evelyn so that they have a chance to subdue the demonic blood in her.

They knew it could be hard but they're still hoping that they could do it before Evelyn cracks the barrier open.

"Bern, checked on Cabel as well as the crystal ball that holds the soul of duchess and bring it here." Chrisfold quickly gave some orders while his hands were up in the air as he supplied the barrier with his mana and ensured that Evelyn would not do anything to get out of the barrier.

Cough! Cough!

Under the rubbles was Cabel coughing as the dust penetrated his nose. The kick that Evelyn inflicted on him was not enough to make him vomit blood but only enough for Cabel to fly away from them. He didn't even sustain an injury.

'I feel like there was something cushioning my fall…' Cabel thought.

He wasn't sure who it was but there was definitely a force field that made his fall more secured.

As he stood up, Cabel saw the barrier distance away from him. It was enough for him to confirm what the contracted spirit of Evelyn wanted to accomplish.

Bern then appeared in front of him and asked Cabel if he was okay.

"Yes… I'm fine…"

The words I'm fine rang inside Cabel's head. That's right! He was fine even though the new persona inside Evelyn was her demonic blood talking and making moves… But why did she not harm him?

If what she really wants was occupying the body of Evelyn then there's no reason for her to deliberately wait for them to move.

She can kill them in a blink of an eye.

Cabel begins to think if the new persona that is moving Evelyn was really trying to harm them. Even now, she was just standing inside the barrier and looking at her contracted spirits with unknown emotions.

"What is it?" Bern asked as he saw that Cabel was being unusual.

"Are you really alright? Maybe your head hit something?" Bern continued to say.

"I'm okay… let's just go."

Cabel decided to dismiss his thoughts and looked at the situation first. They need to bring back the Evelyn that they knew because if not, they will hate themselves for their whole lives.

***

Cassandra arrived at the plaza when she felt a large demonic energy coming from the capital. It was not simple to detect the suffocating energy at first, but seeing the light glow above her head, she could determine that there was a large-scale spell to make a barrier and surround the area around the Capital from further damage.

"It seems that the new King knew what to do…" Cassandra whispered to herself.

The barrier was not seen with the naked eye of the commoners, but for people like Cassandra with strong mana she could clearly see that glow above the entire Capital and the supply of mana coming from the magicians.

"Good job!" Cassandra praised Edickart for quickly dispatching the magicians who created the barrier.

Cassandra knew that Edickart must have tried to suppress the demonic energy from leaking outside and making the other country learn about who it came from.

Silvester also made an arrangement with Edickart to make him seal his lips as the secrets of the Royal family of the Perspiru Kingdom are at stake.

"Cassandra!" Gil called her name.

"There's not much time, we need to do this quickly!"

Gil didn't know what Cassandra was going to do but he knew that she could count on Cassandra at times like this.

Cassandra with her hair in a bun takes out the stick looking headpiece that she used for decorating her hair.

It looks ordinary until she takes out the cover of the end of the headpiece and a sharp end of silver appears.

"Cassandra what are you-"

Before Gil could finish his words, Cassandra pierce her palm and slash it making the cut deeper.

"Cassandra!"

Blood flowed from her palms and onto the ground, she kneeled down and started to do what she came here for. Drawing a magic circle that will subdue Evelyn's demonic blood.

Seeing the heavy red liquid flowing from her was making Gil uneasy.

"Cassandra… what are you doing?"

"Gil, just shut up and listen! I saw something when I learned about a certain prophecy in that old grimoire…"

All ears begin to focus on what she was about to say. Gil and the others knew that Edickart, Cabel as well as Duke Keene began to surround Cassandra and listen carefully.

"Evelyn's soul is already exhausted from reincarnating so many times for the past thousand years…"

Everyone became stunned at the sudden revelations except for the contracted spirits of Evelyn. They only looked at each other like they knew it all along.

"What do you mean… reincarnating? For a thousand years?" Duke Keene asked, his crimson eyes filled with confusion and surprise that something so big that concerns his daughter was not even known to him but a stranger would.

Cassandra ignored the question of Duke Keen. She deemed it not worthy to answer as she knew how stupid of a father he was to Evelyn. So, she continued to use her blood to form ancient magic circles on the ground.

"How did you know…" Gil mumbled.

Cassandra looked up and stared at Gil's eyes that had evident questions reflected in them like asking as to how she knew that secret.

The secret that seems the contracted spirits of Evelyn was trying hard to bury.

"I'm not going to question why you need to keep it classified but you knew that this is the consequence of your actions right?"

Gil and the others only looked away as if confirming what she said.

"If we don't do something quickly, the second awakening will happen."

"Wait… there's a second awakening?" Bern asked, lines formed in his forehead.

"Yes… her blood still didn't occupy her whole being, Evelyn is just sleeping and we still could wake her up before her demonic blood swallowed even her consciousness."

The written magic circles that use Cassandra's blood as the medium is half done.

"What do we need to do?" Cabel asked, his eyes were full of determination and seeing this, the others also did the same and looked forward to doing their best.

"This will be hard, but I can sense that the new persona in Evelyn is preparing for her second awakening. She's keeping quiet and just watching us for now before she's gradually gathering mana."

Gil, Alisha, Bern, Chrisfold, and Cathy didn't notice what Cassandra just felt but because they have the same affinity with black mana, she was more proficient in feeling the slow changes in mana.

"Now, give me everything you've got because we need to save Evelyn… I will not tolerate any mistakes!"

Cassandra was more strict than ever but the people who knew Evelyn and are close to her knew why Cassandra was doing so.

They only have one chance.

One chance to save her.

***

Evelyn who was inside the barrier was overlooking Cassandra who was bleeding a lot and seemed to have been paler every minute that passed by.

'She's something…' Evelyn was surprised that Cassandrs could do some ancient scriptures that are almost gone in today's era.

She closed her eyes and felt what the real Evelyn was doing in her consciousness.

"She's still sleeping…"

Evelyn knew that she could break the barrier within seconds but thought that it would be better to silently watch their struggle.

'I'm not going to let Evelyn get hurt again…'

***

The soul of real Evelyn was in a slumber and is located deep in her consciousness.

She was floating in a cold deep darkness that seemed to have been obstructed by anything that could give light in this space.

And in this world where darkness is all it knows, Evelyn was in a position like a cocoon. She was sleeping and dreaming.

In her dreams, it was the day that her best friend Amy was walking along with her. The day that she knew the feeling of betrayal.

'How's your day? Did anything good happen?'

It was the sweet angelic voice of Amy asking Evelyn about her day.

"Well, it's still the same… busy with the upcoming defense and my part-time job in the university. Why?"

Evelyn said in a flat tone.

"Is that so…? But Adelyn, you need to wake up."