"So, you’ve seen her true form?" they all asked at once."No," Lukeandria replied, her voice tight with a barely perceptible shiver. "But I saw her face—ghastly, wrinkled. If we can force her back into that state, she’ll be drained of energy. Plus, we need to get that guitar away from her... and shut that snout of hers." A wry smile curved her lips. "Then maybe we’ll have a chance to break her hold on the others.""I think she wanted me for some kind of body-swapping ritual or something," Lukeandria mused, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow."I see..." Alita murmured, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "That might be our way in. She doesn’t know we escaped. If we can lure her out, we could set a trap—but first, we need to cut off her source of power. We have to rescue Paltio and the others."The girls pressed forward through a damp, narrow tunnel winding beneath the castle. Their footsteps echoed softly off the walls, the air thick with moisture. At last, they reached the door. Luke

“What?! What has happened?! Ron, boy!” Mok shouted from below, his voice thick with disbelief as he stared at the sword-strand impaling Ron’s back.“Poor fool,” Pax muttered from her position, her tone a mix of sarcasm and sorrow. “That’s why those who think they’re heroes always end up dead.”“Ron!” Paltio called out desperately, his voice cracking as he watched the scene unfold from atop Toco-Toco. Guilt and helplessness overwhelmed him.“Stay calm, lad,” Golden said firmly but compassionately within his mind. “You must press on and defeat that thing. Honor your fallen friend.”Alita, still on the ground, tried to lift Ron while sobbing uncontrollably. “I didn’t think… you were this heavy, Ron. I just thought you were annoying, but literally, you weigh a ton,” she stammered, attempting a nervous joke to distract herself from the panic consuming her. “What am I even saying?” she scolded herself, her trembling hands resting on Ron’s motionless body. “Please, get up, you idiot. Don’t l

“It’s a shame we couldn’t do the same in Hassdalia,” murmured Paltio, a tinge of sadness coloring his voice as he gazed out the carriage window. His face was shadowed, weighed down by memories that seemed to press heavily on his shoulders. Alita sat silently, lost in thought, her eyes reflecting a deep melancholy but also something more—a quiet internal conflict that appeared to be slowly consuming her.“Hey, did the mouse eat your tongue or what?” Ron interrupted, breaking the uncomfortable silence with his usual jesting tone. He glanced at Alita with a forced smile, attempting to lighten the mood. “Why so serious, friend?”Alita snapped abruptly out of her trance, blinking several times before responding. She lifted her gaze toward Ron, though her eyes remained distant, as if seeing something far beyond him.“No, it’s nothing… I think I was just lost in my thoughts and didn’t notice. Sorry,” she replied softly, her shyness almost tangible. Yet, no sooner had she finished speaking th

Paltio tapped the tips of his boots lightly together, igniting their lights and flooding the space with a faint, ethereal glow. The beams revealed something unsettling: floating faces peering at them from the shadows. But the worst was yet to come. A colossal demonic head slowly emerged from the darkness, its ominous form casting dancing shadows on the crumbling walls. Its eyes burned like glowing embers as its voice echoed in the air—first sweet and honeyed, then cold and malevolent: "You will die here.""What the hell is that?" Galatea shouted, her trembling voice betraying the terror she felt at the sight of the supernatural apparition. Her body tensed, and her hands instinctively reached for the weapon at her side."I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to fight it," Pax declared with determination. He unsheathed his sword in a flash of silver and lunged toward the floating heads. The blade sliced cleanly through one of them, but there was no blood, no resistance—only a mocking e

Paltio fell from the fourth floor to the third, but before he could even attempt to stand, the tree followed him in his descent, dragging him along with it. With each impact, the floor beneath his feet shattered, hurling him down to the next level in an endless cascade of chaos and pain. Paltio had no chance to recover; the tree seemed to have a life of its own, pursuing him as if determined to crush him entirely.Meanwhile, Milko floated beside him, continuing his countdown with a mocking grin: "20, 19…"By the time Paltio reached the first floor, he was battered, his body bruised and utterly spent. He tried to rise, but his muscles barely responded. In the distance, he saw Eveldow and the others watching him. "I can… I must save my friends," he muttered through clenched teeth, fighting against exhaustion.Milko kept counting mercilessly: "10, 9…""Paltio, you can do it, sir!" called out Mok from afar, his voice brimming with encouragement, though he couldn’t intervene directly. He k