After what happened, we gathered outside of the castle, surrounded by knights. Magicians quickly came, serving the royal family directly, and beginning to clean the area with special magic, while checking for anything the terrorist left.
It was shocking for everyone what had just happened. Not even Camilla could have predicted they could get this far at all… Thankfully, we were able to think quickly and make sure nobody died.
Camilla was swift too, eliminating the guys and securing her son's life in a split of a second… But at the end, they were actually aiming for the king.
Mark managed to stop that guy and split him apart with his blazing sword, quite brutal, but there wasn't any other option, they came here to die with us, not to just kill us.
It means they were willing to do absolutely anything to accomplish their goals, just as they tried to blast the entire castle with that magic, which we managed to shield against with Camilla.
Not only I managed to save the castle from collapsing with my roots, but Camilla used her Blood Magic to create several Blood Pillars and Blood Barriers around the perimeter, stopping the castle from falling over us.
Although the majority was still in shock, as the time went by, things calmed down. The King hugged his son and his wife tightly, feeling like he had almost lost them, and then dismissed the nobles, the banquet ended rather bitterly.
Of course, we also did some interrogations, and I asked the Spirits if they could had sensed anything. Normal spirits were unable to see because the area was too destroyed, but the Great Spirit was different, she noticed something.
"They definitely came with the other nobles. They were hiding as nobles until the very moment they decided to die… You'll have to identify their appearances later. If we can identify the families they came from, you could get a few clues about the families cooperating with the cult." She told me.
I nodded, as I told the same thing she said to the King and Camilla, as we were resting and having a tea in a more private manner on another, much more safe area of the castle.
"So that's what the Great Spirit linked to you says…" The King sighed. "She might be right; we'll check whatever was left of their bodies later. Though, its going to be hard to identify… sadly."
"This is… so frustrating." Sighed Camilla, gritting her sharp teeth in utter fury. "I lowered my guard! I was too relaxed…" She was blaming herself. "I should had killed them before they even acted! They hid too well…"
"Don't blame yourself for this, dear… You're very strong, and you did what you could, please." The King comforted her, hugging her.
"Is little Gustav alright?" Rita asked.
"Yeah, he's sleeping right now." Camilla nodded. "I set several Barriers and Wards around this area of the castle. Nothing here will happen without me knowing."
"Hahah, that's a bit scary, but reassuring." Mark laughed a bit. "But won't it be a problem once you log-off?"
"I won't." Camilla answered plainly. "Anyways, I suppose you should go home now, I don't want to bother you more than we already have. Tomorrow, the meeting is still on. So please come back as early as possible. With Ambil too."
"V-Very well, I'm really sorry for what happened." Ambil nodded.
"There's nothing to be sorry about." The King said. "This is just something we should had expected of those barbarians… I hope this also serves as a lesson to the nobles that didn't want to help me fend off the cultist before. Now they know this is a problem and not just an illusion or something."
"Yeah, I hope they can cooperate more." David agreed, he was at our side, lamenting what had happened too. "We are sincerely sorry; our security wasn't enough… We failed you, my king." He suddenly kneeled again.
"You were too lax, I would punish you right now, but I need your strength." Said the King. "David, personally escort our friends back home. Also help them retrieve the rewards at the Adventurer's Guild if possible… Ambil too, should pay his debt if he already has the money for it."
"Very well." David nodded obediently. "Shall we get going then?"
We nodded, following him out of the castle… I gave one last look at Camilla, who seemed rather depressed. Was she really going to stay logged-in all the night? Isn't that unhealthy?
"Don't stay for too long logged-in, it is detrimental for your health.." I whispered to her through her telepathic channel.
"Don't worry about me, Elayne. I'm fine." She said. "I've already deployed my Shadows too, so this incident will never happen again… I'll tighten the security surrounding the castle and in the near streets."
"Your Shadows?" I wondered, as I got inside the carriage.
"You'll find out who they are someday, eventually." She said. "They are… not related with my Guild, nor with this Kingdom either, they're another faction I control."
"Another… faction?" I was left speechless, but she didn't elaborate more than that.
"Well, I hope you're alright, Camilla, take care." I smiled.
"Don't worry about me. I haven't logged off in years since that incident…" She sighed, as she stopped speaking to me.
What did she mean by years? What's exactly happening to her right now?
"Are you okay?" However, Mark interrupted my worried abouts. "Let's go get the rewards and rest, we need to sleep to be prepared for whatever might happen tomorrow too."
"I know." I nodded. "Thank you for being there for me." I hugged him back.
"Don't worry, I'll always be there for you." He caressed my hair.
Once we reached the Adventurer's Guild, we received our rewards. They were quite plentiful today as well, and that coupled with the Quest Completion of the Hidden Dungeon capture, and also some of Ambil's requests, made it possible for us to rack a lot of Contribution Points.
Our Adventurer Rank was rising rapidly, at a speed never seen before!
