I knew my target from Beatrice's description, but I didn't go to them and went to the party hall instead.
On my radar, I saw the Grand Marshal also made his move with some Royal Guards. They were going to the back of the hall, where many servants rested or prepared meals for the guests.
When I appeared on the balcony area, I could see him moving at a fast pace but careful enough not to alert the guests.
The orchestra group changed once again as their music returned to a soft, elegant one. The banquet had started. Various foods and drinks were put on display, free to take.
As for Queen Eve, she began to walk around the party hall to greet other Nobles. So that was why they began to move. They had seen the chance to get close to the Queen.
'This is actually perfect.' I thought as I observed the situation from a lone balcony. My gaze went toward my group.
Tris was whispering something to Eli, which made her slightly surprised. Vivian also nodded to both of them and informed Cecil about something.
'They also notice the strange movement from the Grand Marshal and the servant.'
Not only that, Tris seemed to notice me already. She glanced in my direction, and a few seconds later, a message sent by [Love Letter] popped up in front of me.
[Why are you there? Didn't you say you are going to the bathroom (having fun)? Also, I feel like there is something wrong with the party. Tell me about it.]
My lips curled up when I saw it. This was the perfect communication tool that only I and Tris had.
After considering how I should reply to her for a while, I typed the message.
[There is a terrorist group trying to ruin the party. Act normal and don't do anything. In case of emergency, protect Duke Blacktomb and Naya Blacktomb, the guests from the Sin Kingdom. As for Milea's parents, they are strong enough to protect themselves.]
That should be enough. I sent the message and waited for Tris' reaction. She nodded softly, gesturing that she understood the situation. A small dagger appeared in her left hand, and she hid it under her skirt stealthily.
Then, as if it were natural, she gathered the other girls and told them the situation in a hushed voice, still smiling and giggling.
'I know I can count on her.' My smile widened as I turned to the outside.
Emilia and Beatrice patrolled the area, just like I requested. There was no problem with that side either.
'The rest is… the castle itself.'
The First and Second Princes were in the castle, specifically in the game room. Four Royal Guards were protecting them, however that probably wasn't enough.
"<Holy Barrier>"
So, I created a barrier in that room. The knights probably were confused by now, but they should understand that this barrier was high-level, and they could still enter as long as they weren't hostile against the Princes or me.
Talking about hostility, 15 dots turned red as soon as Beatrice reported the incident to me. That meant, they truly wanted to harm me or the people I cared about.
Still…
'Why are they moving separately?'
Normally, when attacking an important place like this, they should only be separated into a few groups to minimize the risk of meeting strong people and still being able to fight them if they encounter one.
And if they ever heard about my feat, I should be considered strong, if not overpowered, by their organization already.
But they chose to separate and not move together at all.
'Could it be?'
I looked at my radar where they were going and guessed where they would end up. And… Just as expected, they created a kind of magic circle formation.
'I can use Alesia's help at a time like this, but where the fuck is she?'
I clicked my tongue and looked inside the party hall once again. Nothing unusual has happened yet.
'I want to know what this magic circle is and its effect.'
For now, I just drew their formation on a piece of paper and made a move. Of course, I also drew the red dots to get help from the knights. It was safe to say they wanted to summon something or put up a barrier, which was most likely related to Hell.
"Let's move."
Muttering in a low voice, I took out [Caliburn] and replaced the golden sword gifted by my girls. I couldn't afford to break it, as it was the first gift I got in this world.
Anyway, I went toward the nearest red dot first. He was on the first floor, just a few rooms away from the party hall. Garland and the Royal Guards already advanced to that place, probably hearing some noises, but they would be too late as the others had already been in position.
So…
"<Blink>"
Crash!
I used blink to jump toward the window railing where that red dot was and destroyed it, climbing inside without hesitation.
A man dressed in a chef uniform turned toward me when he heard the noise. He was holding a knife and already slit his left hand, making his blood gush from the wound and drenched the floor.
Miraculously, the blood moved by itself when it contacted a parchment with a strange symbol. It created a large magic circle made from blood.
The man's face was pale as he had lost a lot of blood already. Not only that, his expression morphed into hate as soon as he recognized my face.
"Damned Pal–"
However, I spent no time cutting his head off and killing him at once with <Sword Hand>—no need to waste pulling my sword for someone like him.
Thud! Splash
The lifeless body and decapitated head fell into the pool of blood and splashed the red juice everywhere, even on top of the magic circle. A moment later, his lifeless body disintegrated into a black light, causing me to frown and disappear.
No trace of the man was left in the room. The blood magic circle was also gone as the owner of the blood went through a revival process.
'But why is it black and not blue? Is it because this man is a part of Hell's Cult? No, even Viscount Steelwill and his son disintegrated into a blue light. Then… What is it?'
I didn't know. Maybe Juriel or the Goddess knew something.
Just right after everything was open, the door burst open, and the Grand Marshal entered with his large sword drawn while shouting.
"Don't mo– Your Holiness?"
He stopped in the middle of a sentence and looked confused. Looking around the room, his eyes stopped at the broken window and a wet carpet before looking at me.
"What exactly happened here?"
"I can't explain right now," I answered and took out the location of the enemy I had drawn before. Pointing to the left wings and back of the castle, which had a total of 9 red dots, I spoke to him. "Take care of the people around this area. I will take care of the rest."
"Is this…" Garland muttered as he took the paper carefully. He looked at it and nodded, "Should we capture them?"
"No, kill them on sight. They are wearing servants' and orchestra members' clothes," I answered decisively. "They are using their blood to create a magic circle. This place is the nearest to the party hall, so the first guy arrived first. Make haste. We have no time."
"Acknowledged."
As an experienced knight, Garland immediately gave out orders to the Royal Guards following him. They immediately registered the order and ran out of the room; one of them used [Earring of Communication] to inform the other squad.
Meanwhile, I climbed out of the broken window and jumped high. This was the fastest way to reach the right wing from this place.
"<Blink>."
My skill, <Blink>, allowed me to reduce the distance in one step. Because I had reached the Max Level in this skill, what limited the distance was just my sight.
I arrived on the roof of the castle, right above my two targets. One of them was in the left room, and the other one was on the right.
The Royal Castle was symmetrical, and so was the place where those intruders visited. Five on the left wings, five on the back, and five on the right. Put together from an aerial view, they would make three small stars that could be connected into triangles.
Thus, I guessed it was a summoning circle or a barrier, as it centered around the party hall if they succeeded.
Jumping down the roof, I threw an iron sword I took out from my inventory toward the person on the right. It destroyed the window and pierced his head at once, killing him immediately.
Then I kicked the window on the left and entered. The person inside, a maid with braided hair, looked startled and accidentally slit her entire left hand with the sharp knife she held.
"AAaah!" She screamed loudly in pain.
"Tsk!" I clicked my tongue. That scream definitely alerted the other.
Dashing toward her, I hugged her and lifted her body. Then, by putting my strength in my arms, I snapped her spine in half, thus making her unable to do anything. She was paralyzed and broken but not dead yet. I could interrogate her nicely later.
For now, I stopped her bleeding and made sure she would survive for two hours.
Fortunately, the paper with the strange symbol hadn't been dyed by her blood yet. Thus, the magic circle wasn't formed.
I picked it up from the ground and put it in my inventory immediately.
"Three left," I muttered and walked toward the door.
At that moment… The ground suddenly shook.
Rumble rumble!
"What?!"
I looked at my radar immediately, trying to attest to the situation. And when I looked at it, my eyes widened in surprise.
There was a big red dot in the party hall. When I appraised it, this showed up.
Cerberus
Level 95
HP: 26000
MP: 6500
A monster that guarded the gate of Hell. It was a hellhound with three burning heads and skeleton-like limbs. The Hellfire is burning endlessly on its eye sockets. Whenever the gate of Hell appears, this monster shall guard it. Whoever is killed by this guard dog will be dragged to Hell.
A Boss-rank monster had appeared.
