Irene froze up for a second, her body becoming iced over by Snow's words. The cacophony of voices in her mind intermingled with Snow's calls — but the only thing she could think was the fact that she needed to get there immediately.

Breaking out of her fleeting trance - Irene swirled on her heel and rushed instantaneously toward Mikael's chamber, ignoring the odious voices that still ambushed her consciousness the whole time.

White hair fluttered behind her - dress rippling violently from the sudden movements. A sense of urgency fuelled her body to hurry, her mind swirling with anxious thoughts.

Some of the servants noticed her running in a total panic, and tried to call out to the girl. "Go and get my father!" She shouted in turn, her golden eyes searing like a castle ablaze. "Tell him to come to Mikael's room immediately!!"

The servants exchanged glances for a second, but when they saw the look on Irene's face, they hastened to carry out her command. For a moment she faltered between the decision of waiting for Rudien to arrive before heading to Mikael's room. But her father's office was located on the opposite side of the gigantic estate — and there was too little time to get there and back.

Why does this house have to be so damn big?! Shaking out of her thoughts, Irene decided to continue to advancing through the length of the corridors without her father, hoping she could at least buy time for his arrival or help Mikael get to safety, until she finally reached Mikael's bedroom.

Her heart was racing — body trembling from the adrenaline and anxiety settling in to the very marrow of her bones. But the feeling of determination overwhelmed her more than anything else, as Mikael's innocent visage clearly came to mind.

Hang in there, Mikael!

With haste, the girl flung the door wide open, her eyes glazing over the room and her body freezing in complete horror when the scene before her finally came into view.

There, laid against the back wall which had been crushed as if a great force suddenly collided with it, was Mikael's beaten body. His eyes were dull and almost lifeless — blood staining his pale hair, white shirt torn and disheveled.

She could see the bruises and swellings painting his pallid skin with purples and reds. Towering in front of the boy, was the slender, darkly-dressed figure of the woman who caused him to be in this state.

Sophia Cather slowly turned, her pupils completely dark - like endless black holes yet to destroy everything they absorbed.

"So, you've finally decided to show up," The woman chuckled. "You took your time. Even this bastard got impatient and attacked me first."

Her voice was deep and discordant - as if twelve others were saying the same thing at the same time. Frozen terror settled into Irene's expression when she realised there were demons lurking in the room.

A sinister atmosphere weighed heavily in the air - and Irene could feel it the moment she stepped inside. This room was teeming with dark entities, and the voices whispering into her mind were as unrelenting as ever.

So this was the power of dark magic. Irene knew nothing of the phenomena - but it filled her with a deep dread - as if falling through an endless pit where no light would shine. Her body shivered at the cold feeling of something touching her.

But with all her might, the white-haired girl kept her composure and strengthened her resolve. Right now, her main priority was saving Mikael.

Instantaneously, the old woman swivelled to face Irene and lifted a hand — approaching her suddenly with a totally hollow expression. Irene flew into motion without hesitation, as she attempted to dart away from the old woman's grasp.

"Mikael!" Irene shouted out as she sprinted toward the boy — who was frighteningly still. Just as she tried to do this, the maid sent a thick wave of dark magic hurling toward her.

"Sprout!!" Snow called out, freezing in horror when the cloud of darkness suddenly caught up and consumed Irene's little body.

The woman's lips curled into a demonic smirk as the blackness completely overwhelmed the girl. It engulfed her entire figure, her ivory-white hair disappearing into the malevolent smog. No one knew what would happen to her in that moment - but just as Irene came to halt upon noticing the smoke gather around her body, she froze in terror.

But no harm came to her body. Instead, the shroud slipped right past her, dissipating into the air. From this seemingly unprecedented outcome, the old woman's sneer contorted into a look of bewildered rage.

"What?!" She exclaimed. "That should've instantly killed you, how are you alive?"

Just then, Snow's body lit up for a second - as he took on his physical form again. "Irene! Take the boy and leave, now!!"

Ms Cather didn't even have time to look up at the large white bird which suddenly manifested from thin air. As Snow swooped downwards, he crashed right into the witch, causing her to fall back with a loud shout. The woman wrestled with the gigantic bird spirit that had taken a physical body - buying time for Irene to reach the prince. But the woman was strong, and the demons on her side were also pulling perpetually at Snow's feathers. So long as his body was exposed, the hellish spirits would gnaw at him.

He couldn't keep this up for long.

"Mikael! Are you awake? Mikael!!" She shook him urgently by the shoulders, and a soft groan escaped his lips.

He was still breathing, and it seemed he hadn't lost complete consciousness yet. Irene was afraid he passed out for a moment, but was relieved when he gazed up at her. Crimson blood was oozing from the back of his head, staining his cream-gold hair. Irene gritted her teeth with incandescent anger brewing in her chest, at the sight of the wounds littering his body.

Blood running hot in her veins, an overwhelming anger beginning to take over her. In that moment, she never loathed anyone more than Sophia Cather. For the first time — a burning bloodlust in her chest ignited like a dark flame. And all it told her, was that she wanted the witch dead.

An unusual light began to flicker in Irene's eyes for a fleeting moment. As her grip tightened around Mikael's shoulder, a tiny golden light suddenly flashed from her fingertips — like an electric shock. It startled her for a second, and she retracted her hand from Mikael's body to see if she was seeing things.

When his blurred vision finally cleared up, Mikael's irises regained some of their colour at the sight of Irene. Her soft white hair which framed a cherubic yet annoying face, and golden-spun eyes that shimmered like glass.

"...W-Why did you come...?" He gasped, as the flames in her eyes faded when Mikael caught her attention. "G-Get out of here...!" The look of desperation on his face as he tried to push her back made Irene's heart ache.

Battered, bruised and almost on the verge of death - a state he never wanted her to see. This weak and broken side of him which would make people look down in pity.

As Irene hurriedly attempted to help the boy up, trying to get him to his feet, her heart was thrashing violently in her chest. Everything was happening so fast, and it was going to take too long for Rudien to arrive. So she needed to somehow get Mikael to safety, in the least risky way possible.

Her eyes glanced to the door - which was flung wide open. There was a clear path for them to get to it, so long as Snow kept Ms Cather distracted.

"We have to run, Mikael!" She exclaimed, throwing his arm over her shoulders, and slipping her own around his back as she tried to hoist him up — but to no avail.

"I can't..." He told her, his voice weak. And when Irene glanced down, she noticed that his left leg had a terrible swelling - as if the bones had fractured inside. Both of them lost balance and fell back again.

Irene bit her lower lip in anguish, trying to think of something- anything that could help them. But no matter how much she looked around, there was nothing that could aide in Mikael's escape.

She turned to face him again, deciding to carry him all the way instead. Although she wasn't sure if this small body of hers could handle the weight of another person, Irene knew she had no other choice. "Hold onto me, I'll carry you out myself!"

But alas, Sophia Cather broke out of Snow's grasp with the help of her demonic entities tearing his body off of her. Snow was quickly caught in a dark bind, his large wings being pulled back and then pinned to the wall - leaving him unable to escape. Even as he attempted to shift back into his spirit form, the dark magic was cancelling out his own.

Ms Cather swiftly took a knife from her pocket with a dexterous hand. Dark eyes like an abyss of death and contempt, she leapt suddenly toward Irene - lifting the blade above the girl's head.

There was no time for the girl to react — it happened within an instant.

"Now die at last, you little wretch!" She screeched.

In that instant — which felt long and endless — everyone in the room was aware that the second Ms Cather's knife touched Irene's body, it would slice her right through the throat...

Delivering an instant death.