n

n

n

"MONA HAD a Light Spirit that purified things for her.

"

n

"Oh, is that so?

" Neoma said, disappointed.

"I thought Mama Boss purified Darkness with malice, using her power as a Roseheart.

"

nShe was talking carelessly now because she was certain Henrik Benedict and the other Holy Knights weren't in their right minds to understand what she was saying. Otherwise, she wouldn't talk that way.

n

"Princess Neoma, I didn't say Mona didn't use her Roseheart Blood to purify Darkness,

" Mochi, the Wind Spirit in the form of a bunny, said while floating in front of her.

"Rosehearts, as Summoners, could also purify Darkness even without a Light Spirit.

"

nShe beamed after hearing that.

"Really? Then how did Mama Boss purify Darkness with her Roseheart Blood?

"

n

"Mona used her blood literally.

"

nShe frowned.

"That sounds painful.

"

n

"And dangerous,

" Lewis added worriedly, then he turned to her.

"Princess Neoma, Paige Avery is a Light Mage. Just ask her to purify this place.

"

n

"I'm sure Paige is already taking care of it outside,

" she said, then she gestured to the room they were in.

"But my dear son, look around you. We're trapped here.

"

n

"I'm not your son, Princess Neoma,

" the young fox said, then he looked around. After absorbing the

"scenery

" around them, he finally realized what she was talking about.

"Oh.

"

nThe black liquid that the Holy Knight had thrown up turned into gas.

nNow, a thick black smoke had covered the surrounding walls– including the door.

n

"Lewis!

" she yelled at him when she saw him about to touch the wall covered with black smoke made of Darkness.

"Don't touch it!

"

nLewis looked surprised when she raised her voice, but thankfully, he immediately pulled his hand away from the wall.

"Sorry.

"

nShe let out a sigh.

"I'm not mad. And I'm sorry for raising my voice. I just panicked when I saw you about to touch the wall.

" She pointed to the wall with her finger.

"Lewis, that Darkness matter is filled with malice. Your soul as a fox who lived for a thousand-year committing no sin is pure. So, if you touch Darkness, I'm afraid it might devour you on the spot. I know you're strong, but I don't want you to take the risk.

"

nThankfully, it looked like Lewis understood her explanation well.

n

"I understand, Princess Neoma,

" Lewis said.

"I'll be more careful.

"

nShe smiled and nodded at him.

n

"Princess Neoma, I'm surprised,

" Mochi said.

"How come you know so much about Darkness? Did someone teach you about it?

"

n

"Papa Boss gave me a crash lesson about Darkness,

" she explained.

"But…

"

nShe wanted to say it came to her naturally.

nEver since she retrieved a small portion of her past memory, and Ruto told her some important stuff, her brain started to act like it discovered a hidden

"knowledge stock.

" She suddenly knew things she hadn't learned before.

nBut she tried her best not to pay too much attention and act like it was natural for her to know all those things.

nRuto told me not to focus on my missing memories as they would return naturally.

n

"Never mind,

" she said, then she turned to Mochi again.

"Mochi, I notice the Darkness is spreading everywhere but in my direction. Although I could tell we're safe at the moment, I'm worried about the others outside. Please tell me how Mama Boss used her Roseheart Blood to purify evil.

"

n

"It won't be easy, little princess,

" Mochi said seriously.

"You haven't learned how to extract the rose in your heart. Even if I wanted to teach you that, I'm afraid I couldn't because it's a technique that's only passed down to the Roseheart matriarchs.

"

nOh.

nShe suddenly remembered what Ruto said to her the last time they talked.

n

"Moreover, the rose embedded in your heart isn't for decoration. Why are you denying your Roseheart Blood?

nAnd Ruto also said something about her attributes.

n

"You have the three major attributes in your soul at the moment. Your Moonglow, the divine power you inherited from Lord Yule, is a Light attribute. The demonic power you have is Darkness attribute. And lastly, your Roseheart Blood is something similar to Nature.

"

nRight.

nHer Mama Boss and Papa Boss gave her awesome genes and powers. She couldn't let it go to waste. Plus, she felt like her big brain knew how to use her Roseheart Blood now. The memories were flowing quietly in her mind.

n

"I think I can do it,

" she said confidently.

"But first, I need to–

"

n

"Princess Neoma, can you please stop being so egotistic just for once?

"

nShe was so shocked when she heard those words from Lewis that she was rendered speechless. I know I'm egotistic, so I won't deny it. But to hear that from my

"son

" directly…

nMochi let out a hiccup, interrupting her thoughts.

"I'm so surprised to hear Lewis scold Princess Neoma that I'm letting out a fit of hiccups.

"

nSame, girl. Same.

nLewis ignored Mochi and focused on her.

"You keep on saying 'I' even though you're not alone,

" he scolded her, using the same harsh tone he used on her earlier.

"I thought you already got my point earlier when you apologized. But why are you being stubborn again?

"

n

"I'm not being stubborn,

" she said weakly. Lewis looked more upset now more than he was earlier, so she wavered a bit.

"But this is something only I can do…

"

n

"I know you're strong, but just because you're strong doesn't mean you have to do everything by yourself.

"

n

"I don't do everything, though?

" she said defensively.

"I boss all of you around–

"

n

"But you always take the most dangerous task by yourself,

" he argued with her.

"Will it kill you to share that burden with me?

"

nThis time, she was the one who let out a hiccup.

nLewis is really talking roughly now…

n

"I almost forgot it because Lewis acts like a docile dog around Princess Neoma,

" Mochi whispered loud enough to reach her ears.

"But a fox is still a fox.

"

n

"I'm not your son, so why the ** are you hellbent on protecting me?

"

nYes, those vulgar words came out of Lewis' mouth.

nL-Lewis c-cursed…

nShe thought hearing Lewis curse would be out of character.

nBut looking at the dangerous glint in his glowing golden eyes, she realized Lewis might have been just hiding this side of him from her.

nLewis let out a frustrated sigh after looking at her.

"You said you need to get out of here first,

" he said, his golden eyes finally stopped glowing menacingly. Then he looked up at the ceiling.

"The ceiling hasn't been covered by Darkness yet.

"

nShe looked up at the ceiling, too.

"Yeah, I noticed that, too. That's why I said I–

" She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands while looking at Lewis.

"I mean, we–

"

nLewis looked at her as if saying she was saying the wrong things again.

nWhat does he want?

nTo be honest, she knew what Lewis wanted to hear. She was just being stubborn. And she also knew it wasn't the right time to act like a spoiled brat.

n

"Lewis, burst that ceiling open,

" she said with a sigh.

"We need to get out of here.

"

n

"As you wish, Princess Neoma,

" Lewis said with a blank look on his face.

"And oh, I spoke too much earlier, so I'll shut my mouth in the meantime.

"

nNeoma let out a deep sigh. Lewis has officially entered his rebellious phase.

n***

nPAIGE summoned her white parasol, then she unceremoniously stabbed the sharp end to High Priest Wellington's chest. To be precise, she stabbed the High Priest's divine orb that was being consumed by Darkness at the moment.

nHis Eminence, who was still unconscious while lying on the grass, coughed up blood.

n

"Lady Avery!

" Jasper Hawthorne yelled in panic.

"Did you just kill His Eminence?

"

n

"Oh, dear,

" Paige said using her usual gentle voice.

"I did no such thing, Your Grace. I'm merely purifying the Darkness consuming the High Priest's divine power.

"

nBut the problem wouldn't stop just because she purified the Darkness in the High Priest.

nEarlier, when Princess Neoma and Lewis disappeared along with the Holy Knights, High Priest Wellington suddenly threw up some black liquid that she suspected to be some sort of Darkness substance.

nAfter that, Darkness began to spread in the room.

nThen she heard Princess Neoma's order in the communication device in her ear, so she yelled at Jasper Hawthorne that they needed to get out of the temple right away.

nThe young duke didn't know what exactly was happening, but he was quick on his feet. He knocked out the High Priest and grabbed her. Then he used his red butterflies to quickly get them out of the temple.

nAnd now, they were in front of the temple– near the huge gate that protected the temple from outsiders.

nBut the citizens of the Holy Land are bound to see Darkness as huge as this.

n

"Right, Princess Neoma mentioned you're a Light Mage,

" Jasper Hawthorne said, then he looked up at the current state of the temple.

"An amazing one at that.

"

nShe turned to the temple as well to get a look at the job she had done.

nThe entire temple was now covered by a dome that looked like a honeycomb. It was supposed to be gold in color, but the lower part of the honeycomb dome was starting to turn black. In short, it was being swallowed up by Darkness.

nThat honeycomb dome is supposed to purify the Darkness pouring down in the temple. But my power doesn't seem to be working…

nAnd it was already her strongest purification technique.

n

"Lady Avery, we left Princess Neoma and Lewis inside,

" Jasper Hawthorne said worriedly.

"I... don't like this.

"

n

"They're both fine,

" she assured the young duke.

"We didn't leave them behind to save ourselves.

" She gently tapped the black ear stud she was wearing.

"Princess Neoma asked us to control the spread of the Darkness outside– oh, no!

"

nShe quickly stood up and raised her hands to release more Light energy when the honeycomb dome she created cracked.

nBut unfortunately, she was running low on Light energy now.

nJust when she thought the honeycomb dome would completely break, hundreds of white doves suddenly appeared and flocked on the cracks all over the dome. Then, just like a miracle, the cracks disappeared, and the Darkness slowed down from spreading inside the temple.

nWhat kind of pure divine energy is this…

n

"Are you alright, Lady Avery?

"

nShe turned around and saw Dion Skelton, one of Emperor Nikolai's Paladins.

nHe's the one with the fake eyes.

nShe noticed right away that Dion Skelton's eyes weren't real. But since Princess Neoma already knew it, she didn't pay attention to that thing.

nThe white doves came from his divine energy.

nUnfortunately, this was the first time she encountered the type of divine energy Dion Skelton possessed. Thus, she couldn't tell what or who he really was.

n

"Sir Skelton,

" she greeted the Paladin politely.

"I didn't know you were here.

"

n

"His Majesty sent me here in secret,

" Dion Skelton said, then he turned to the honeycomb dome behind her.

"Is Princess Neoma trapped inside the temple?

"

n

"Ah, yes,

" she said while nodding.

"Princess Neoma is trapped inside with Lewis and the Holy Knights. Her Royal Highness asked us to control the situation from the outside, but I failed to do so since I can't hide the Darkness swallowing up the temple with my power.

"

n

"Darkness as vast as that couldn't be hidden,

" the Paladin said, then he turned to her.

"Did Princess Neoma give another order?

"

nShe nodded before answering.

"Princess Neoma told us to wait and trust her.

"

n

"Then we'll do that,

" Dion Skelton said.

"I'll inform His Majesty about the situation in the meantime. But when push comes to shove, we'll come and get Princess Neoma.

"

nShe was about to respond to the Paladin when all of a sudden, they heard an explosion.

nThe roof of the honeycomb dome collapsed, and something shot up out of it.

nWait, it wasn't a thing.

n

"Princess Neoma?

" Paige asked in disbelief while looking at the young princess suspended in the air.

"Where did those wings come from?

"

n***

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n***

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