( Yuuki's POV )
The old man looked at the phone in my hand, then back at me, before turning away.
???: I think you're capable of doing that yourself. I don't know why you're asking for my help.
Yuuki: It's not fun if I do all the work, and besides, it should be the inhabitants of the same world who fight for it.
???: What are you talking about, fighting for the world?
Yuuki: The world is in danger, you haven't heard about the order and its predetermined fate, I think you can understand what that means on several levels.
The old man returned to his work; he wanted to project disinterest, but I knew he was only pretending.
???: ...I've finished my work here, I guess it's time for another project.
Yuuki: I came at a good time, huh? What's your name, by the way?
Yod: My master's name was Balsam, and thank you, he's excited about this.
Balsam: ... You're talking too much.
That was mission accomplished faster than expected. I opened a portal so everyone could return to the castle, while I spread my wings and flew towards the Ladzaa fortress, but what I found wasn't pretty.
The fortress was completely destroyed, but it didn't appear to be combat damage. I saw Asad, Seig, and the others on the bank of the bridge on the Magedome side, Cougar wasn't with them, so at least that part of the mission went well.
I landed in front of the others, and they were surprised by my sudden appearance. They should get used to my sudden appearances.
Yuuki: Hey, what happened here?
Seig: Damn, you scared me...but more importantly, you need to hear this.
The explanation of what happened was as follows: the mission went completely as planned; the Porpos-kin flanked the enemy, who were then forced to retreat, Cougar successfully returned to his world, but that's when things started to go south.
Those one hundred captured soldiers were released and sent to the fortress of Ladzaa, and that was not because the order felt mercy or because they wanted to get rid of unnecessary cargo in order to escape, that was a trap, ehen the troops gathered at the fortress, Seig and the others felt a disturbance in the air.
The place became disturbingly quiet; they had a feeling something dangerous was approaching, and they tried to evacuate the soldiers, but they were more interested in treating the wounded.
They needed to find someone the soldiers would listen to, and Chrodechild suggested talking to Lady Shaira, who was on her way to the base, but they didn't arrive in time.
The Ladzaa base was decimated by a sudden earthquake, which almost felt unnatural, and another frankly insulting development was that the Blades of the Night were arrested for this.
The people of the castle were confused as to why all the blame was being placed on them, but it wasn't difficult for me to understand; it was so that the mage lord could maintain his control and his reputation, All his previous mistakes were never his fault, and others had to work extra to compensate for that.
I was getting fed up with the way the Magedome was doing things; having to think about what mistake they would make next while we were dealing with the order was annoying, I could only let out a sigh and started walking in the opposite direction.
Seig: Hey, where are you going?
Yuuki: Well, you know, to bust Chrodechild out of prison, I'm going to make a lot of noise and they'll surely see me as an enemy, You can tell the Magedome that I acted on my own so as not to affect your relationship with them.
Seig: ...wait, I'll go with you.
Yuuki: You don't have to, you know, I'll continue helping you, just in a less noticeable way.
Seig: Our alliance with the Magedome has been nothing more than a joke; I care more about Chrodechild and you.
Asad: I will go with you too.
Yuuki: I think you'd be more helpful if you stayed at the Magedome, but you do you; you know about the princess at the arcane academy, you should go after her.
Seig: It's true, I've wanted to help that girl for a while now, shouldn't we have a plan for this?
Yuuki: no need, I will be a distraction, you try to keep with me.
I activated my first Ki Burst and with great speed I left the fortress behind and in seconds I could see the city of El-Qaral, I jumped high into the air and then landed in front of the blades Outpost, when I hit the ground it was like a bomb had exploded in the middle of the city, Tñthe guards who were protecting the blades outpost and the normal citizens of the Magedome were alerted to the danger; their hiding in their homes made my job easier.
I closed my fist, some Ki cords solidified around my hand, and I could control that at will; it was like having energy cords at my disposal, I used that to grab the outpost door and ripped it off the wall with one pull.
Inside the outpost were more Magedome soldiers, but they were already being held by the blades.
Meruvis: Mr. Yuuki, what are you doing here?
Yuuki: When my friends need help, I don't need an invitation to show up. Where's Chrodechild?
Meruvis: She's being held captive in the castle. I'm ashamed to say it, but we were being used as hostages, the Mage Lord wants the Blades permanently under the control of the Magedome and the Princess as his fourth Empress.
If that aligns with what we had discussed earlier.
Yuuki: I see, you leave the city, Chrodechild and I will join you soon.
Roberto: Wait, I know how strong you are, but you can't ask us to do nothing when the princess is in danger.
Yuuki: Chrodechild will not break before the mage lord, you should know that better than I do. I can slip away without alerting anyone, so it's best if I go alone.
Meruvis: Roberto, listen to him, Mr. Yuuki, I will leave the princess in your hands.
I responded with a nod and then I disappeared into the shadows. I saw many guards running in the opposite direction from the commotion I had created, thanks to that, when I entered the castle I was able to walk through the corridors without much difficulty.
I followed Chrodechild's presence and I arrived at a room where I could hear a struggle on the other side, I kicked the door open and on the other side I saw Chrodechild incapacitating a couple of soldiers from the Magedome, the room was somewhat messy and I noticed there was an elegant white dress with gold embellishments on the bed.
It seems the Mage Lord was only going to let Chrodechild out one way; luckily, he wasn't as competent as he thought.
Yuuki: Hey, you're busy now, I can come later.
The soldier Chrodechild had hanged fell to the ground unconscious. She looked at me in surprise and simply asked me one question.
Chrodechild: Yuuki, what are you doing here?