The castle was quiet, but that was what Yasuline was hoping for when she peeked her head out from the secret entrance from the labyrinth that leads right inside the castle itself. How convenient, she thought. Now she would be able to continue exploring the labyrinth as much as she wants and have her fill on adventures and such.

She turns her head back and forth, left and right. She waits for any signs of people coming near them. After a minute has passed with the silence, she starts to pull her body out form the small opening of the entrance. She even goes out of her way and goes back and forth the ends of the halls to ensure if anyone was approaching her way. She intends to be extremely careful before the likes of Caliber, once again, takes away her chance to have some fun. But it hasn't registered to her that it could be a bad thing. On the contrary.

"Okay, the coast is clear." She would say to the small crack of the open secret entrance. She would stick her hand into a gesture to the White Reaper to come out. "The coast is clear. You can come out."

The entrance would quickly open and close shut. The White Reaper would look about his location to confirm himself that the area was secure of surveillance.

Feeling safe, Yasuline would start to stretch his limbs out and suddenly feels the fatigue finally hit her body. Her body wobbles back and forth. The White Reaper steps over just in time to catch her.

"Woah, thanks. Guess all the excitement was pretty draining. It was a busy day for us." she would say embarrassingly. She could feel the warmth of his coat. It was the right temperature that it was making her eyes droopy and she unconsciously presses her body more against him. Resorting him to lifting her into his arms and slowly carries her to her bedroom.

"Sorry, you just feel so comfy right now." She would say in a droopy tone, playfully nuzzling her face against the soft portion of his coat. The drunk effect from the lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll on her as she starts being clingy and affectionate toward him. The White Reaper stayed silent for the most part as he patiently carries her into her bedroom, noticing that even the guards that should normally be guarding the door to her bedroom would be missing. But he had a bigger priority as of now. The way she playfully was kicking her legs about would be ensuring he keeps his focus on her. "Sleepy baby." She would mutter in a cutesy tone.

Her room was about as messy as she had left it early in the morning before they performed the sudden escape to the outside world. The box that had her adventurer outfit was still resting partially on the ground. The Training sword she had used as a prop for her stories was still laying on the bed. Carefully, he moves it off and catches it with his foot to prevent it to loudly crash onto the floor as Yasuline has quietly fallen asleep in his arms.

He had to move quickly before she shifted in her sleep to a more comforting position. He would remove her sword from her belt and tucks it under her bed, along with her training sword as that was where she always kept her precious belongings.

He ensured her boots were off and placed to the side of the bed, loosening up her clothes a bit and pulls the bed covers over her body. Sensing the comforting coolness of the unused sheets, she mumbles and begins turning to the side. With a soft pat to her head, the White Reaper leaves the room through the balcony like usual and begins to investigate the quietness of the castle itself.

He would hop onto the rooftops, the same ones that he and Yasuline met that one night. The night was once again in full display with it''s beauty. But the White Reaper didn't have much time to enjoy such a sight, a sight he really wishes he could share with the princess. The silence was deafening to him. A siren roaring of danger lurking around every corner of the castle. Or, lack there was. The White Reaper could not find a single person outside of the castle grounds. Normally, there would be a bundle of them on each side of the castle as they circle around and another set going in the opposite direction to ensure not one viewpoint was missed by them. He tests the silence out by breaking a piece of the tiles that make up the roof and lets one fall onto the ground. Normally when the White Reaper does this, the guards would immediately crowd around the spot and search the area. But this time, no one came.

"Hmm."

It was a bright day as Yasuline looked around from the rooftop. With the runeblade in her hand. The runes on the blade would shift in colors at will of hers. Each of the colors would represent an element of life.

Red for the element: fire. Blue for the element: water. Orange for the element: earth. Teal for the element: wind. Green for the element: nature. Yellow for the element: electric. Light-Blue for the element: ice. Gray for the element: metal. White for the element: light. Black for the element: darkness.

She could feel the power of the elements at her fingertips, and she felt powerful with them. Even the White Reaper who was at her side seemed to be incredibly impressed in the way she is able to wield so many elements at the same time.

After days of training with the White Reaper at her side, she would finally feel confident with herself on fighting alongside and no longer feel useless. Even Ann would have to be impressed by what she could accomplish.

But that wasn't all. With a twirl of her sword, with the glow of the earth on it, she would bring forth a large boulder from the ground and have it fly up onto the roof in front of her. She puts the sword at her side for the moment and takes a minute to breathe, she calms herself and can feel it instantly work for her as her body feels lighter and more at ease.

"Ha!" She yells out and would deliver a single punch to the floating rock, The small piece of the earth would shatter to a million pieces and behave like confetti for her impressive feat. She couldn't help but smile at herself.

"Alright, I say I'm ready to go back down there and see what else we can find in the labyrinth. Maybe we can find more treasure or even take on those nasty rats!"

Yasuline would find herself back at the labyrinth, unaware of how she got there or anything else like the time, what happened before she got there, or where exactly in the labyrinth she was in. She could only hear the very faint sounds of some water flowing somewhere, the air damp and cool.

'Ah, back to my natural habitat!' She would think to herself as she takes in a deep breath as to take in the mysterious and inviting environment that begged to be explored. She walks down the long lonely bridge with her hands behind her back and a smile on her face. Humming her favorite tune. Off in the distance, she could see a small glimmer of light, it looked blue to her.

'Ah, it's him. Heh, always one step ahead of me.' She would think to herself as she starts to speed up to a jog.

Then, a sound catches her attention, she turns to see a signal dire rat staring at her. It looked to be alone. She scoffs, she was sure that she could take it down. After all, she was an adventurer now. She gets into a fighting stance and gets ready to draw her sword that hanging on her hip. But then, something strange happened. The dire rat would stand on its hand legs and hen would pull out a kitchen knife.

'That's not so bad.' She thought to herself as she was still confident about taking down her foe. But then, she is suddenly facing down at least 5 of the strange dire rats who are also wielding kitchen knives. Yasuline, at this point, wasn't sure what to do. Without even realizing it, she was back in her room with the dire rats looking more like werebeasts in maid outfits staring her down with some lifeless eyes.

"Back off!" She shouted at them, the sense of fear was beginning to take over her. She couldn't even feel her body anymore as if she was stuck inside it and couldn't move. She tried to hold out her sword, but her arms wouldn't budge. Things didn't look so well as the strange maids would start to encircle around her and continues to stare at her, making her feel cornered and at the mercy of whatever fate had in store for her.

"No. No. No! White Reaper! Where Are you!?" She yells out, searching for that blue light source to ensure he was around to help her. But she only saw darkness.

Yasu's eyes would suddenly open. It was still night, just like before she slept so it didn't seem that much time has passed as she was dreaming. However...

Surrounding her bed were 5 maidens of the castle. They circled around her bed, disturbing looking down at her silently and their expressions were completely neutral. Unsure of what was on their mind. She gulped the small bit of spit in her mouth as she laid quiet on her bed, ensured to not move so drastically as if the tension in the air would break at any moment. She only dared moved her eyes. Nobody else was in the room except for her and the maids. Not even the White Reaper himself was here. That amplified her frightened state even more.

"Jessie, Claire, Cassie, Elise,...Merry." She would mutter her names.

'What could they want with me? Why aren't they saying anything!?' She thinks aloud, really wanting to blurt it out to them.

Suddenly without warning, causing her body to jitter, their left arms would raise. And in their hands. Were knives, the same kind of knives she saw in her dreams, causing her to immediately recall the amount of enemies that were surrounding her, as well as the positions they were compared to in the dream. Was it some kind of warning? Nonetheless, she was still worried for her life? Was this an assassination?

It had a completely different feeling than the attempts that the Hellfire members tried doing twice, this felt wrong, as she recognizes the maidens for who they were. Memories of her interactions with them were clear in her head, making a complete contrast as to their current interaction.

The first one's name is Jessie, she was a new hire for the castle, something that is common when the older maids retire after spending most of their life in service to the royal family. She was still learning the ropes of how things work in the castle since the last time they had time to talk.

The second one is miss Elise, or Elise as she only allows Yasuline and a few select others to address her ass. Except for her father, as she was also the one who took care of him when he was young. As one would suspect, she is the oldest of the castle maids, acting as the head of them all, she knows everything about the castle and the families who live in it. Yasuline holds her up as the smartest one in the castle. With her mother just behind her.

The third and fourth were Cassie and Clair. Sisters to one another and veterans to the castle life. They tend to sneak off from their work in favor of admiring the knights in training. They confessed to Yasuline that they only enrolled to be maids to the castle to find husbands from the line-up of the knights. As both share their taste in muscle broad men who know their way around a fight that wasn't an adventurer, as adventurers are notorious to often be absent in their own homes in favor of traveling.

Last was someone she is shocked to see the most in this situation, Merry. She would be considered to be a close friend of Yasuline. Growing up, the two of them would spend the most time together, as she had been secretly instructed by her parents to bond with her in replacement of her parents who overtime became more preoccupied with their work. Though not enough that it became a genuine problem for Yasuline. Having a friend like Merry was something that certainly helped.

"What's going on?" She finally blurted out as she sees them all simultaneously begin to lift their arms up over their heads, their knives giving a shining line across the blades. Her instincts kicked in just in time, At the last minute, she noticed an opening near her left side by the table, she pushes herself out of the bed and she falls over to the side. Just at the moment where the maids would swing their arms down and stab the bed. At the very spot, she was lying down on. Turning around, she would see them all turn their heads toward her and some begin to move around the bed to get to her.

"What the heck are you guys doing!? Are you trying to scare me or kill me!?" She yelled at them, her feelings made her lose control in the volume of her voice.

Yasuline would crawl further away from them, trying to head toward the balcony door. She tries to open it up, but it was locked. Panicking, she reaches for the locking mechanism but ends up having a moment where she is unsure which way she has to turn it. She could hear the heels of the maids getting closer. Her stress causes her to leave it and head to the other door which was much farther from there.

"Got to get help." She mutters to herself in a way to calm herself down, the quietness of the situation was making the tension feel too strong for her. It was getting too much for her. She then loses her footing and tumbles onto the ground, she felt her arms and knees skin an inch against the clod flooring. Her skin burning, she sits up and runs the burning portion of her limbs. That was when she noticed that there were a pair of five legs surrounding her.

There was no way to escape now, she didn't even bother to look up at them. The sight of their faces stung her heart so much. Now she knew exactly what her friend, Mitsuko felt. On that day when she learned that one of the maids of her castle that she practically saw as a sister suddenly attempted to kill her and confessed that their relationship was just a lie to get close.

She could hear those words with her voice, she could feel her heart being squeezed by some invisible hands. She couldn't even react to them all raising their arms up again for the second time to stab at her. She simply closed her eyes anticipated for the pain, thinking that maybe she could somehow survive it and fight back.

Suddenly, the glass on the balcony window would shatter as something breaks through. But the maids wouldn't bulge at all from the commotion. The being acted fast and extended one of their limbs out to knock one of the maids off balance. their legs would fly forward and hit some of the other maids and it causes a domino effect of them all disrupting their attack. At the next second, the person who came in would reach for Yasuline's arm and pulls her from the middle of them all and saves her as they all pile on each other.

"H-huh!?" She says as she was being dragged across the floor. She wiggled her body around and that alerted the person to let her go. Looking up, she could see that it was the White Reaper who saved her. "You again." She would say softly before she scuttles onto her knees and hugs him tightly. He would crouch down and pulls her up to her feet, but she would still hold onto him tightly. She needed the support right now to calm herself.

The two stayed like that for a good while until she began hearing some rumbling right behind her. The White Reaper would break the hug and tucks her behind him as he faces down the five maids who picked themselves up. At least, they seemed to register that they had to change their movements instead of being slow.

Each of them got into a different fighting stance that Yasuline has never seen them in her life. And she never anticipated seeing it either. The two of them would slowly move toward her bed and would reach under it to pull out her runeblade. As the White Reaper prepares to fight them, Yasuline would cling to his arm, causing him to look back and notice the nervousness and gripping emotion on her expression. Something she can't help even when the enemies this time were people she knew and cared for. He would give a nod as if knowing what she wanted.

He hands the runeblade to her and then would reach under the bed again to pull out her training sword with its scabbard still on it.

[Battle Initiated. White Reaper Vs. Lumines Castle Maids x5]

[Round 1 Begins. Lumines Castle Maid E's turn.]

Jessie was the first one up to start attacking the White Reaper. She grabs the handle of the knife with both hands and begins charging at her. She was unusually precise with her movements until the very last minutes as the heel of her boot would come off and causes her to lose her footing. She tumbles onto the ground and falls, slighting sliding right to his feet. The White Reaper didn't have to do much except bop her head with the end of the handle. She stayed still, as she fell unconscious.

[Lumines Castle Maid E uses Berserker Skill: Mad Dash. Ineffective. Counterattack Initiated. Lumines Castle Maid E is Knocked Out.]

Yasuline would flinch at the impact and when the White Reaper would lightly tap her head with her training sword. She knew he had to do something to stop them, but it still hurt to see her friends having to be put down, even if it wasn't lethal as it likely would have in any other situation.

Cassie and Clair stepped up as if to state that they were next up to handle the White Reaper. In unison, they would hold their knives out and begin running together at first, but then split up and attempt to attack at both sides of the White Reaper, registering for what it was, the White Reaper would step forth to keep further distance between him and Yasuline. Still, in unison, the two would begin to turn their bodies to prepare for a wide swing with their knives. His eyes would dart left and right and with one swift movement, he would unsheathe the training sword and locks them both against the knives. Locked in place, the White Reaper would use his superior strength to pull the two close rapidly, until their head collided with one another. They immediately fall to the ground unconscious.

[Lumines Castle Maid D & C's Turn. Uses Common Skill: Dual Strike. Counterattack Initiated. Lumines Castle Maid D & C is Knocked Out.]

Again, Yasuline would flinch with each attack that connects with them. After the two fell, Yasuline would step in and tries to remove them out of the way of the fight, to ensure they wouldn't get in the way and get severely hurt. It would take some time, but the White Reaper would continue to be in front of Yasuline and keep the other two from making their moves and attack her.

Once Yasuline has completed with removing her friends out of the way, the White Reaper would finally make his move. Between the two remaining ones, Miss Elise was the more dangerous looking one. As she stood there, ready to fight, she would expertly twirl her knife around in between her fingers, On closer inspection, her knife was different than the rest, it had some light scratch marks on the blade as if it had been used severely though other means than to be used for cutting up ingredients at the kitchen.

The White Reaper would slowly creep up to the two women. They, themselves begin to stiffen their postures even more, ready for anything. He would twirl his sword out with the scabbard back over the blade. He would leap right over to them in a second and the two girls would then hold their knives out in anticipation to block his sword strike. After they did, he would crouch down and then swings one of his legs right across theirs. Causing them both to fall. They both fall down with a thud but were still conscious. Miss Elise was getting ready to pick herself up faster than Merry could. The White Reaper would take the chance to perform one of his capabilities when taking on a single enemy. He would press his fingers together in a line and rapidly jabs the tip of them against her neck, she instantly blacks out and falls back onto the ground.

[The White Reaper's Turn. Uses Common Skill: Sweep Strike. Bonus Action: Uses Assassin Skill: Single Strike. Effective. Lumines Castle Maid B is Knocked Out.]

During the attack, Merry would manage to get back to her feet and ready to fight once more. Backing herself to a wall and then the corner as the White Reaper would step up to her. This gave Yasuline room to reach for Miss Elise and pull her toward the other unconscious maids.

Merry registers that she was alone and knew she had no chance to win this battle. A glow in her eyes would brighten for a single moment and she would hold her other hand out. It begins to illuminate a bright red. Soon, the glow would start to spread over her body.

Yasuline was completely confused as to what she was doing, but it seemed to be something dangerous as the White Reaper leaped into action and strikes her with the training sword, her body would bend slightly at the side from the impact and she would tumble down from her feet to a sitting position, the glow would go away slowly and she starts breathing heavily, her eyes closed.

"What's wrong with her?" Yasuline would say, not able to hold back the panic in her voice. The White Reaper would hold his hand to her in a gesture that she should calm down. The White Reaper would crouch in front of her and pulls out a fancy bottle that Yasuline recognizes as a health potion. He forces Merry to drink it down and then lightly brushes her hair in a way that Yasuline enjoys to get her to sleep. She would feel calm as she notices that it was effecting Merry the same way and has fallen asleep.

[Lumines Castle Maid uses Forbidden Skill: Self-Destruct. Action Interrupted. Lumines Castle Maid is Knocked Out.]

[Battle Over. The White Reaper is the Victor.]

Yasuline would leave Merry as she was and she goes to the White Reaper for another embrace.

"Thank you for not killing them. I don't know why they suddenly want to kill me, but I still consider them my friends." She would say, her heart still battling with the mixed emotions she was feeling over everything she just woke up to.

He would nod in response and then turns toward the bedroom door. It was wide open from when the maids likely came in from. the hallway was dark for once. Almost every night it would be lightened with some candles, and recently since the lockdown, it would be bright with more powerful lights to ensure the guards that patrol back and forth in the halls don't miss anything along the way and that nobody, like the White Reaper, could sneak around.

"That's not a good sign." She would comment. With her arms locked around the White Reaper's, the two would slowly step out into the hall. The air was as intense out in the hall as it was in her room. Taking the extra measures, Yasuline would close the door behind her and continues to press herself against the White Reaper.

"Alright, w-we should go find my parents. Make sure they aren't hurt either. I doubt I was only the one person who was being targeted. I don't know who...who else might be on the enemy's side." She would instruct, with the White Reaper giving a confirmed nod to her order. The two would quietly move forward, going down the dark hall.

It didn't take long until the sounds of someone approaching them. Instead of dashing out into hiding, the White Reaper would stand his ground next to the princess. Not that he could but how tightly she was now squeezing her arm. Her mind going wild as to who else might be coming out from the corner and suddenly trying to kill her next.

The three that came from the corner would be hard for her to be attached to as they wore their knight helmets and covered their faces.

"Maybe they're on our side? Umm, Hello!?" She risks calling to them. And soon she would regret as much. But not a lot.

The knights would get into position in the center of the hallway, forming a line to block the two from continuing. Each of them holding their weapons out and pointing right at them.

[Battle Initiated. The White Reaper Vs. Castle Knight x3.]

The first one up was the one knight that was wielding a sword. It looked fairly new and like it has never been used before as not a single scratch was on it that would suggest otherwise. The blade of the sword would give a faint glow, a hint that a skill was being activated at that moment. The knight would then twists his body around in a dramatic fashion, but with incredible speed that Yasuline herself couldn't react in time, but thankfully the White Reaper was.

He pushes her out of the way and dodge rolls out of the way in time. The swing had most of his weight going with it that the knight would spin for a second time until its weapon would pierce the wall. The knight tries to pull it back, but it wouldn't budge.

[First Round Begins. Castle Knight A's Turn. Uses Sword Skill: Power Strike. Attack Missed. Turn Ends.]

Seeing as one of his allies was now out of commission until he could retrieve his weapon, the one using a lance would be next. He would twirl his lance about, with the bladed end just narrowly cutting against the rug, just to show how precise he could use it. Again, the blade of the weapon would give a faint glow for a second to show it's skill has been activated. The knight would give a light crouch to bend its knees and the White Reaper knew exactly which skill it was going to use. In anticipation, he would also bend his legs.

The knight would jump up into the air, much higher than he looked like he should be jumping. But that was mostly thanks to the skill he was using as it affects the user a lot more than the weapon itself, an oddity for all weapon skills.

The knight would give another twirl to his weapon to get the blade to be pointing straight down. With both hands, he would hold onto the weapon and then he would push it down, just as the gravity began to aid the knight and starts pulling him down, again the skill would affect the knight and he would fall sharply down.

The White Reaper would again roll out of the way of the attack. The knight stabs the floor of the hall and the impact would rock the floor with a steady vibration that Yasuline could feel strongly on her feet.

The knight notices his strong attack has also missed and tries to pull his lance out of the ground, but as the first knight, he is unable to pull his weapon out.

[Castle Knight B's Turn. Uses Lance Skill: Dragoon Jump. Attack Missed. Turn Ends.]

The last knight didn't stall and starts running toward the White Reaper with his weapon, the axe. The White Reaper would turn his attention to him in time to see the glow on his weapon disappear. Just as the first knight used his attack, the last knight would twirl his body around in a rapid sensation in a spin. The knight didn't seem to be out of control, as his head would be looking straight at the White Reaper the entire time.

"Watch out!" Yasuline had to say. She was holding it in this entire battle and only now felt she would end up seeing the White Reaper take a hit.

But the White Reaper had everything under control. As he would slowly back away for a bit before he suddenly strikes the axe with the sword and disrupts the attack. But then, the attack would stop, but it would shift into the next step of the attack, with a full-body swing, the axe would lift over his whole body and slams straight down. Thankfully, the White Reaper was able to turn his body and only felt the wind blow in front of him like the blade of the axe slams right down on the floor like the lance. Mimicking the other knights and having trouble pulling his weapon out.

[Castle Knight C's Turn. Uses Axe Skill: Body Swing. Attack Missed. Turn Ends.]

Unknowingly, the knights would be placed in a perfect line from one another. And it only took for the White Reaper's attack to realize it. He would go to the end of the line at one end and finally unsheathes the training sword. Like the other weapons that Yasuline had seen, the sword would glow as well for a moment. With a single step, the White Reaper would be zipped straight across the knights and his blade would pierce through them. They all groaned and would tumble down to the ground, right next to their weapons. With a satisfying conclusion, the White Reaper would twirl the training sword and places it right into the scabbard once more.

[The White Reaper's Turn. Uses Sword Skill: Dashing Stinger. Damage to All Enemies.]

[All Enemies Defeated. The White Reaper is the Victor.]

"They are not dead, right?" Yasuline had to ask as she steps up to the knights that were no longer moving. The White Reaper reassured her as he would lightly make one of them roll onto them back and in response, they would mumble some kind of grunts. This would please Yasuline as she walks over to the middle of the battlefield and looks about at the knights that he had defeated.

"You're pretty good at not killing, you should do it more often." she would jokingly say and the White Reaper would simply shrug.

After helping her move the knights to the side of the hallway to ensure nothing would harm them while they were all down, the two would continue to go down the hall in the search for the king and queen.

The three knights that the White Reaper had faced wouldn't be the last of the resistance they would have to face, More squads of knights would come across them and they would silently attack them. Which was something that Yasuline found suspicious of ever since the first battle.

As the White Reaper would fly around the hall, taking on the knights, she would wonder what could be causing all the people of the castle to act so strangely. The knights never called out to the White Reaper for the arrest, not even reacting to his appearance at all. As the White Reaper wasn't even hiding his coat like he normally does.

The maids didn't respond at all to her, as well as the White Reaper. As she thought about what could be going on, the White Reaper had just finished taking care of the 5 men squad that they had just come across. After pulling them all to the sides as well as the others, she would speak up.

"We need to find my parents soon, if both the knights and the maids are like this, then it could mean that they are fighting them all this time." She hypothesis. He would agree and the two would begin to run down the hall in a hurry. No longer staying quiet.

This gave them even more attention and more guards of both knights and maids would start to chase them down.

Eventually, they would end up with enemies coming on both sides of the halls.

"Oh great, we're stuck now. So much for hurrying." Yasuline would complain. The White Reaper would tap on her shoulder to draw her attention as to what was next to them. It was the doors that lead to the Royal Library.

"Oh hey, we could hide in here. Or least trap them in." She would say as she pulls the double doors open and the two would step inside. The White Reaper would hold the doors closed as the mob on the other side try their bests to get it to open. Yasuline would go into the back end of the library and scales the ladder that reaches to the second floor of the room. Once secured up there, the White Reaper would let go and quickly join her.

Like a mindless swarm, the hoard of the castle workers would slowly pour in.

"So, I have an idea, we can wait until they are all in here and then close the door. We just need something to trap them inside so we can leave them alone until we can figure out what to do with them."

The White Reaper would nod to this idea of hers. And the two monitored the condition of the mob as they followed the two into the library.

"Almost there." She would say as she can see the last amount of the mob just outside the doors. Once she sees them finally come in, she would feel the White Reaper lift her onto her arms and begins to hop on the top of the bookshelves.

Jumping over the heads of all the castle workers and successfully jumps over the entire crowd. Once they themselves make it out the door, the White Reaper would begin knocking things over against the doorway that prevents the crowd from getting any closer. Their mindlessness is shown in full potential as they all try to reach for the White Reaper rather than the objects preventing them from getting close. She ends the interaction by shutting the doors in front of their faces. Yasuline would sit down on the ground as she feels the stress draining her.

"Glad that's over for now. I hope we got all of them in there, maybe it'll be easier to find my parents."

"Miss Yasuline?" A voice suddenly calls for her.

Yasuline completely unexpected this and she lets out a gasp as her body jumps up from her seat. Turning around, she would face against Caliber who was walking down the hall with her armor slightly marked with scratches and his sword held out, looking ready to be used. There was some red stains on it and himself.

"Caliber!? Wait, are you with my family or are you with them!?" She would say as she reaches for the runeblade on her side as she gets up.

"Miss Yasuline, I made an oath to always protect the king and his family. No matter what the villains in the world offer, I will not break that oath." He would swear as he holds his sword straight down with both hands on the handle and holding the guard in front of his heart.

"Yup, you're still the same old Caliber. I almost want to hug you." She would say honestly with a smile.

"Ah yes, you believe that I am one with those controlled people of the castle. No, whatever enchantments have been cast on them has not worked for me. Those Hellfire curses have no power over me."

"Wait, Hellfire? They are the ones behind the attack?"

"Yes, I have spotted some of those demones with the robes trying to get inside the castle. I had already taken care of them but was surprised to find my own men working alongside them. Over time, I linked the two and all the evidence proves it. Whatever they did, it has caused all the people of the castle to mindlessly attack anyone who isn't affected. They nearly took your mother's life."

"My mother! Is she okay!?"

"As of now, yes. I have her secured inside the saferoom. You know the one in the tower?"

"Ah yes, the ummm, one that trapped myself in when I was about 15." She would say nervously as she recalls that day. While roaming the roof, she would stumble into the tower of the safe room. However, the room had a technical issue where it was impossible to open up from the inside. It took two days to finally find and free her.

"Yes, there. She is safe there and I am searching for the king himself. I lost contact with the knights I assigned to find and escort him to the safe room, but this was before things drastically got worse with everyone now under the Hellfire's control.

"so my dad is in danger?"

"I'm afraid so. But I wouldn't be worried too much, he is a superb fighter, but it would be better for me to fight at his side. But we should have to take you to your mother now, come."

"No, I have to find my dad." She yells, backing away from him a bit until she bumps against the White Reaper who was behind her.

"Yasuline, I-"

His words stopped as he just stares directly behind her.

"You!" He roars, pointing his sword forward and glaring angrily at him. "I should have known that you would be here of the unpleasent timing.

"No wait, Caliber, he is a good person."

"A good person? Have you gone mad, princess?"

"What? No! He is a good person, he didn't kill any of the knights that we came across. We even locked up the many others in the library to make sure they don't get hurt!"

"I see, whatever curse the Hellfire Gang has placed on this castle has warped your mind. In that case, White Reaper! I may not know if you are affiliated with the Hellfire Gang, but you will hand the princess over to me or your fated execution would be a slow and painful one. I will at least be merciful as to not let them have their fun with your agony." He would coldly say as he glares straight at him.

Yasuline would reach back to the White Reaper to hold onto his hand. She didn't really know what she should do. The obvious thing to do would be to go eith Caliber, but then it would belike betraying what she meant and admit the White Reaper was as terrible as they all claim.

She didn't have much to add as the White Reaper would respond to Caliber's offer by shaking his head.

"Very well then, We'll have to do this in front of the princess. I would hope for her to not see so much bloodshed."

The White Reaper would lightly tap her back gestiring her to head to the wall to keep some distance from the two of them.

She does as he wants and steps out of the way, and watches the two get into a battle stance with their eyes looking directly at one anothers.

[Battle Initiated. The White Reaper Vs. Caliber.]

[First Round. Caliber's Turn]

Caliber would be the first to make a move. With such speed, he would run straight toward the White Reaper and would repeatedly stab his sword right at him. The White Reaper, going at an even impressive speed, would jerk his body all around to avoid the stabs.

"Haaaa!" Caliber would yell out as he fiercely tries to attack faster, wanting to at least land some hits on him. The White Reaper was nothing short of impressed considering the Champion was using the sword and shield style of combat. It was starting to get too much for him and the White Reaper would have to resort using his weapon to block most of the attacks. The strength in the attacks was strong and the sword would be pushed back against his body and be a make-shift chest plate as Caliber focuses all his stabs directly at him.

The stabs would enough to blow the White Reaper back a few steps from the attacks, but other than that, the attacks only harmed him by a bit. But it still made Yasuline tense up where she stood.

[Caliber uses Sword Skill Rapid Jab. Blocked. Minimum Damage.]

Sensing the amount of strength Caliber would use within his attacks, the White Reaper knew better than to hold back. Still, he continued on with his handicap as he unsheathes the training sword that Yasuline lets him use and begins to use one of the sword skills to even the playing field.

He would run at the Champion with one hand outward while keeping the other which he was holding the sword near his body. For a split second, Caliber's eyes would be tricked into looking at his outstretched arm. And in that moment, he would crouch down. Caliber overly reacts by preparing to shield his body with his sword for a stab, just like he did to him. But that was not his intention. With the small glow on the blade, the White Reaper would leap from the ground, with the sword outward and hitting his sword from the bottom. The angle was not what he was anticipating and he felt the sword nearly being knocked out of his grip. The White Reaper would leap high up in the air thanks to the skill he activated.

Caliber tightly grips the handle of his blade. 'What a cheap trick!' he would think as he recovers from the blow and returns to his attention to the midair foe. But that was when he realized that the White Reaper was a skillful opponent.

In the midst of Caliber recollecting himself, the White Reaper activated another sword skill. Another glow would appear and the White Reaper would suddenly fall down as fast as he ran right at him before. Caliber barely reacted in time, but thanks to his years of training and practice against the King himself, he was able to protect himself with the shield he wields with his other arm.

The White Reaper's strike would land right on the shield, he could feel the kinetic energy moving from the sword, and through his arms to his shoulders, he would push himself off the shield and jumps back to give him some distance between himself and his opponent. The attack seemed to have affected the Champion as well as he stuttered and shake through his whole body before returning to his battle stance.

[The White Reaper's Turn. Uses Sword Skill: Rising Upper. Bonus Action. Uses Sword Skill: Jump Slash. Blocked Minimum Damage. Combo Bonus: Knockback Effect Taken.]

The shield rang upon the impact of the attack. It was quite strong that even Yasuline had to cover her ears from it. The sounds coming from the library door got loud too as the ringing only agitated them further. Thankfully, the doors didn't seem to be moving at all, a sign that the furniture that the White Reaper pulled in front of the door was still preventing them from moving.

[Skill Combo Record: 2. The White Reaper's Turn Ends. First Round Ends. Second Round Begins.]

Caliber could still feel the vibration from the shield on his arm, it irritated him. To think the world-famous criminal would cause some form of damage to the king's shield. He COULD fight dirty and do some tricks to lower his guard, but the Champion has his reputation and honor to protect alongside the royal family. Not to mention that the princess was watching and if he wanted to keep whatever image he has on her, he can't be doing that kind of thing here. He would perform some standard swings with his sword to get the White Reaper moving about the way he wants him to. Near the middle of the simple barrage of attacks, he would then raise his other arm with the shield to bash his body from the side with it. His movement shifted back from the hit and directly at one of the weak sword swings he did. For some reason, he could hear the princess yell out. "No!" during the strike. Likely freaking out at the blood that came out.

But he didn't see anything that resembled blood. When the blade cut through his body, blue flames would go through the cut, and small drops of blue flame would fall onto the ground and disappear after a few seconds.

[Caliber's Turn. Uses Sword Skill: Sword-and Shield Combo. Effective. Standard Damage Taken.]

The White Reaper could sense that the Champion had superior strength to him. He could feel his bones rumbling during every attack he had dealt on him. If he plans on defeating him or more, he would need to be more cautious. Reaching into his coat, he would pull out a small bottle and a faintly green liquid inside, he pops it open and drinks it up, letting the last bit pour over his wound. It would heal up and the cut with the blue flames would disappear.

[The White Reaper's Turn. Uses Health Potion. Health Restored.]

"You guys stop it! While you two beat each other like this, the real villain behind all of this is likely fighting dad!" Yasuline yelled out, hoping common sense would go through Caliber's head and make him call in a truce of some kind. Or something similar to how Ann suddenly began to trust her and the White Reaper. But it didn't.

[Second Round Ends. Third Round Begins. Caliber's Turn.]

"Alright, she has a point. I have no time to be playing with the likes of you. Time for me to end this in one blow."

Caliber would state as he then gets into a different position and holds the sword up to the sky. The blade would give off a faint glow and gradually grows brighter as he begins describing a chant of some kind.

"I call upon the scared light of the Divine King to help me strike my foes down with his divine fury. Let those who burn find peace in his Holy Kingdom in the world beyond!"

The blade would pulse with such a glow that it was becoming too much for Yasuline's eyes to bear after adjusting to the dark night.

She wouldn't be able to witness one of the Champion's powerful attacks. Even from a distance, the man would swing his sword as if striking an invisible foe that was right between him and the White Reaper. The glow around his blade would fly off of it and in a crescent shape, would be flung right at the White Reaper.

The White Reaper would try to dodge out of the way, but the impact of the attack was too strong and the blast from it connecting would send the White Reaper smacking against the wall. It even caused some of the windows to shatter and break into tiny pieces. When looking back at where he was standing, The White Reaper would notice that he had dropped the training sword at where he stood. It was now broken into half and one of the halves was fractured into pieces.

[Uses Skill Series: Swords of Light, Assault Skill: Buster Blade. Blocked. Minor Damage Damage Received. Weapon Destroyed. ATK decreased.]

The damage was more severe than it looked. The White Reaper didn't have much time to do anything than to pick himself up from the ground. Yasuline was eager to run in and help him out, but Caliber would cut her off as he stands between her and him.

[The White Reaper's Turn. Weapon on-hand Broke. Skip Turn.]

Seeing the advantage, Caliber would revert his thought process in how the fight should end. After all the reports he has heard about the White Reaper, He definitely looked sluggish than before. He rushes over to him and begins to perform that one combo that was effective. Both his sword strikes and shield bashes landed hits directly to the body of the White Reaper. More of the blue flames would ignite where the cuts on his body would be and more of the flames would fall out of him. The last shield bash would send the White Reaper flying in the air and land near where the princess was.

[Fourth Round Begins. Caliber's Turn. Uses Sword Skill: Sword-and-Shield Combo. Knockback Effect Taken.]

Yasuline would quickly get to the White Reaper and helps him sit up.

"Are you okay?" She would say to him as he looks to be struggling to hold back some grunts.

"Princess, what are you doing? Stay away from him!" Caliber would yell out as she looks in disbelief that she was brave enough to be near such a monster.

Hearing him yell out like that, the White Reaper would remember his place and begins to pick himself up from the ground. He reaches for her thighs and pulls the runeblade off of her hip.

"Don't you touch the princess! You villain!" Caliber would bark at him. He would start to charge at him with his sword.

The White Reaper would grab some of the flames that were on his body and places them on the blade. The runes would glow bright red to register it was activated, whatever ability the sword had. He would close his eyes as the blade itself would begin to glow with a flame-like aura surrounding it. It would flicker at first, but gradually the flames would be more solid as fire could get.

At the last moment, the White Reaper would step forth and swings the sword right at the Champion. Caliber was too enraged to block and took a direct hit with the flaming blade. Some hidden power likely boosted the attack as well, as Caliber was knocked back by an incredible amount and hits his head against the wall with a thud. But he still wasn't down as he pulls himself off the wall and tries to put up his shield as he tries to reach into his armor for something. Likely a healing potion.

"Crafty criminal." He would mutter.

But the White Reaper wasn't done. He runs toward Caliber and activates another skill to use to finish the opponent off. A quick glow of the blade showed that Caliber was about to be facing some damage, he could barely put up his arms in time to block the attack. Another twirl of the sword and a jump in conjunction to the spin. The attack would send Caliber up into the air and back further down the hall.

The White Reaper would land on his feet, while Caliber would fall on his back strong enough to bounce once from the impact. His sword falls out of his hand. He was immobile.

[The White Reaper's Turn. Equipped Runeblade. Uses Weapon Skill: Fire Blade. Critical Damage Taken. Bonus Action. Uses Sword Skill: Whirlwind Slash.]

[Caliber Defeated. The White Reaper is the Victor.]

Once she can confirm that Caliber wasn't moving, she would run over to the White Reaper to check on him as he collapses onto his seat and pants.

"Are you okay? How badly are you hurt?" She would say quickly under one breath as she starts putting her hands on him to get a sense of how damaged he was.

He would respond with a thumbs-up as he continues to sit down and rest.

After seeing no severe wounds on him and the small ones he was getting seemed to have already healed, likely thanks to the flames that were burning the flesh together to stop the bleeding, she would head to Caliber.

She had to make sure he wasn't dead. As she recalled to how one of the maids checked on a pulse. She would let a breath out as she felt a small pulse.

"Wow, he is still alive. He is one tough cookie." She would say and then tries to pull him to the side like the rest.

Leaving him there, she would go back to the White Reaper who was now trying to pick himself up. She helps him out and the two would move on from Caliber. Over time as the two walked, the White Reaper would recover his strength and he would be able to walk on his own without her shoulder.

That was when both heard a noise that sounded like someone clearing their throat.

"Did you hear that?" Yasuline asks as both of them stop in mid-step.

The noise would come again and it was much clearly someone clearing their throat.

"Can you both hear me? I must say, using this method is an old trick that I have forgotten, So confirmation would suffice."

"Who are you!?" Yasuline yells out, holding the White Reaper's hand.

"Ah, good. You can. Now then princess and I assume the White Reaper is with you. I would like the two of you to head to the grand throne room of the castle. That is where you will find me and the king together."

"My father!? You better leave him alone you creep!"

"Such hostility. All I am doing is having a very worthwhile discussion with him. But you should definitely hurry. I don't think he is feeling himself right now."

The voice would stop talking to them, no matter how much Yasuline yelled out at him.

"Hey! HEY!! Ugh, stupid jerk. Don't just call us and leave the conversation."

"What with that anyways? Calling us so suddenly with some kind of magical voice. Couldn't even recognize who it belongs to. So it is definitely a stranger to me." She would ramble as the two continue to walk down the hallway, conveniently heading to the doors that lead to the grand throne room.

"But still, why would anyone do that anyway. Telling us to go to the grand hall? Oh, do you think it is a trap?" She would ask the White Reaper, who responds with a nod to affirm her hypothesis.

"Well, we should go get ready before we head there then, it could be one of those points of no returns that my dad mentioned in his stories."

Again, the White Reaper would nod at this and the two would prepare.

First, Yasuline would return to her room so she could go put her boots on. After running barefoot the entire time, she felt it would be hazardous to continue, not knowing what kind of danger they could be facing. With her sword back on her hip, she was ready. If it was someone she didn't know, Her emotions wouldn't be able to get in the way of having her doing what needs to be done. Fighting back.

Next, they would head to the storage room, where weapons and first aid would be kept. There, the White Reaper would equip himself with one of the knight's swords in placement for the training sword that broke during the battle. He also took one of the healing potions to use to return himself to full health and filled a messenger bag with at least three to safely keep. Entrusting Yasuline to carry them all.

Once they had gathered everything they believe that they need, the looked at one another and nodded. The two heading down to the hall until they were face to face with the large double doors that lead to the grand hall.