163 - 24 Hearts

**Twenty-Four Hearts - Chapter 163: The Land of Entertainment and Culture, Uruun.** As I descended the stairs, a long tunnel appeared before me. Wooden pillars supported the ceiling at intervals, giving off an impression of impending collapse. It invoked a sense of claustrophobic dread, which seemed to affect the elves as well, as their steps naturally slowed with tension. "……." The elves, looking ready to burst into tears and collapse, were reluctantly urged forward by Yuda's sharp gaze from behind. If they had to traverse this path, they preferred to do so as quickly as possible, practically running with their eyes closed. The tunnel was longer than anticipated. Though it felt like they had walked about 100 meters, the end was still nowhere in sight. It was astounding to think when the shadowy kingdom might have carved out such a tunnel. 'Well, thanks to them, I didn't expect we could escape Uruun so easily.' As soon as the exit came into view, one elf cried out, "We're saved!" and sprinted forward. Not wanting to be outdone, the others dashed up the stairs. If only they had used their stamina to run from the start. Yuda glanced back momentarily. The candles on the wall-mounts still burned brightly, illuminating the dark tunnel. Nothing was chasing them, and the silence was absolute. With cheers echoing from the elves above, Yuda took two steps at a time up the stairs. "Oh, you made it out?" Along with a welcoming voice, a hand was suddenly extended. The hand belonged to Roksin. It wasn't necessary, but accepting his hand, I emerged into the open. "Whew—" Exiting the confined space brought a sense of liberation comparable to bliss. Fresh air was an added bonus. Closing my eyes and exhaling a few times, I felt a lightness in my heart from the refreshing sensation. Upon opening my eyes and looking around, Arhil was there. It seemed Roksin had kept his promise and brought her properly. She approached with a somewhat bittersweet smile upon seeing Yuda. "You've had a tough time, Yuda." "Why the face? Are you upset you couldn't say goodbye to Jeanne?" At Yuda's question, Arhil slowly shook her head and glanced at Roksin. Her gaze, looking somewhat pitiful, suggested something must have happened. "No, luckily I managed to say goodbye to Jeanne. Sir Wolfram saw her entering my room and followed her in." "Sir Wolfram? How?" "Well... he said he couldn't sleep, so during a stroll, he saw someone sneaking in." "Did you fight?" Yuda looked at Roksin and asked. He grimaced as if questioning why he'd ask something so absurd. "Come on, don't be ridiculous. Who would dare fight an owner of a spiritual sword? Haha, I honestly never imagined there'd be a spiritual sword owner in that manor." "So what happened?" "I hastily explained that I wasn't there with any ill intentions and that I came at your request. Fortunately, Arhil vouched for me, saying she heard it herself, which is why I'm here in one piece." He added that he "shaved ten years" off his life with that encounter. With that, silence fell between them, only broken by the chatter of the nearby elves. Yuda was the first to break the silence, extending a hand to Roksin. "You did well." "It's nothing compared to what you did. Wow, what did you do to cause that explosion we heard from here?" Explosion? Mid-handshake, I paused. "Wasn't it Roksin who orchestrated it?" "What are you talking about? No way would I recklessly blow up a high noble's mansion. Besides, most of those places have safeguards against fire and magic, so a typical explosion wouldn't do much. I assumed you did something to cause it...?" If Roksin wasn't behind the mansion's explosion, then who was? I assumed the shadowy kingdom's people staged an explosion to divert attention from the guards. The person who guided us through the underground tunnel seemed so casual that it further seemed like Roksin's doing. "Was it not you?" Seeing Yuda's silence, Roksin asked again with a perturbed face. "...I didn't do it." "Then who did that?" "It was me." Suddenly, a third voice came from behind. Feeling an unfamiliar presence suddenly making itself known, Yuda felt his hair stand on end. Instinctively, he summoned Artemia to his left hand and spun around, slashing with a dagger. It was a swift, sharp, and precise attack. "Ah-ha!" The voice, sounding playful and enticing, reverberated as if genuinely startled. Yet, it did not indicate pain. Yuda's dagger had sliced through empty air. There was no sensation of cutting into anything. However, the area where the dagger had swiped shimmered as if slicing through water, revealing a wavy human silhouette. "Asmodeus!" A stunning woman with violet hair, dark eye sockets, and golden eyes stood there. As recognition flooded Yuda's mind upon seeing her, he involuntarily uttered her name. Hearing her name, Asmodeus widened her eyes in surprise and tilted her head quizzically. "I'm glad you remember me, but... how do you know my name?" As far as she recalled, during their last encounter, she hadn’t revealed her name. Yet the young man who just killed Count Jinmu called out her name so accurately with an ancient name that shouldn’t be known... "Roksin! Take Arhil and the elves and get out of here!" Startled by the sudden call, Roksin looked around, pointing a finger at himself, dumbfoundedly asking, "Me?" When Arhil nodded in affirmation, he shouted loudly: "You crazy fool! It's your last request!" "Ah, then why not die here with me?" Roksin hesitated for about a second at Yuda's words before making the wise decision to leave. "I leave the rest to you!" However, when Roksin tried to dash out alongside Arhil, he was surprised to find that she hadn't moved at all. "I'm not going. I'll stay here with Yuda!" Roksin considered persuading her but, seeing the determined look in her eyes that practically shouted 'I won't go!', he nodded in acceptance. "Suit yourself, then. I'm out of here!" "Okay!" Without wasting any time, Roksin began directing the elves. Though it was unclear if their pride would allow them to follow a human's orders even after gaining their freedom, they seemingly held some respect for him as they started running at his command. "Oh my?" Asmodeus watched the scene unfold with surprise, which quickly turned into a sly smile. "Did you expect I'd just let them go?" As her generous figure swayed as if ripples formed on a tranquil lake, Asmodeus extended her hand adorned with black silk gloves. Boom…! Before Yuda could interfere, a spell burst forth from her fingertips. A pillar rocketed up at the center point, quickly followed by others, creating a wall to trap the escaping elves. It seemed designed to block their escape, but the elves, having regained some of their magic after Yuda lifted their seals, were undeterred. Reinforcing their bodies, the elves sprinted over the rising pillars, leaping across with ease. Roksin caught and carried an elf who hadn’t quite made it before also leaping over. "Huh?" Asmodeus let out a surprised sound. The speed of the rising pillars was enough to pierce through unwary bodies, yet the elves fearlessly leapt over them, landing and clearing them with ease. The outcome was completely unexpected. Still, she saw the upside. "No matter, I had no further business with them anyway." She mused pensively, running her fingers through her hair falling forward, while her gaze remained fixed on Yuda. Her every action exuded alluring elegance—befitting a demon of lust. "Yuda. May I call you Yuda?" Just as Yuda knew Asmodeus's name, Asmodeus, too, knew his. "How did you like my gift? Did it please you?" "A gift?" "Yes. When you rescued the elves from the manor, I lent a little help. Things weren't handled quite smoothly, you see." Her words drew Yuda's mind back to the broken bodies and explosions at the manor. Come to think of it, when she first appeared, she had said, 'I did that.' "Why did you help me?" She shrugged casually. "No special reason? Call it curiosity... and I also knew you had a shard." "!" How does she know I possess a shard? Did she see it? Seeing the stiffness in Yuda's expression, Asmodeus chuckled lightly, a sound like tinkling glass. "Surprised? Want to know how I found out?" "……." "But I saw it. I'd been searching out of curiosity for this so-called elf thief and never expected you'd storm into the manor creating such a ruckus. When I followed in, well—there it was, the shard that Count Jinmu should've had, right on you." Her words drew Yuda's gaze to his own hands. Under the moonlight, the Valentine and Carpe Diem shards on his bare hand shimmered brilliantly. 'Damn.' There was no way Asmodeus, particularly interested in Valentine, wouldn't recognize it. Crossing her arms below her chest, Asmodeus tilted her head. "Did you think no one would notice? I can't say how you wrestled the shard from the count, but it's truly fortunate. I almost ended up fighting a shard-less count pointlessly. Meanwhile, the shard could’ve slipped into someone else's grasp, heading someplace entirely unexpected." Muttering about how lucky she was to have been intrigued, she suddenly turned around, casting her gaze far towards the blazing manor lighting up one side of Uruun. "Since things have come this far, I might as well use the preparations meant for the count as a warning to humanity." Before Yuda could grasp the meaning of Asmodeus's mutterings, a pillar of flame erupted within the walls. The fiery column, glowing in a crimson hue, surged heavenward, radiating immense magical power. "What is that…?" -----= Author's Note =----- Ah, I'm going to sleep! Tomorrow, I'm heading to school! Assignments and exams looming ahead! Eek!