EPISODE 190 – INTENSIFICATION (2)

Traverse space.

It wasn’t just an ordinary fairy but the Summer Fairy Queen.

‘I know that place!’

For the summer fairies, the royal palace was both a residence and a playground for a long time.

Before the Summer Fairy Queen became a queen, one of the places she used to hang out when she was a child was the shelter for the royalty.

‘It was still under construction then. Is the construction finished now?’

At the Fairy Queen’s voice, her memories flooded in.

The figure of a very young girl, who would be the future Fairy Queen, and a man who was conversing with her.

His face resembled Princess Daphne.

No, it would be more correct to say that it was Princess Daphne who looked like him.

The founder king, Lion D. Sälen.

As his name suggested, he was also called the Lionheart King because he was as brave as a lion.

His golden hair that was a symbol of royalty had grown as rich as a lion’s mane, and he was laughing as he looked at the side. He then continued speaking.

She wanted to hear it.

But she couldn’t hear it.

So she read his lips.

To know what he was saying.

This was a story of the founder king that remained in the memories of the Fairy Queen.

Her memory blurred.

Jude closed his eyes and caught his breath. He focused his entire mind on the right hand he was holding on to as his body kept blurring.

His hands that were clasped with Cordelia’s hands.

It was small, warm, and soft.

Her fingers that twitched sometimes were very cute.

Jude exhaled again.

He held Cordelia’s hand tighter and opened his eyes.

Light.

And reality.

Having exited the subspace that could only be accessed by those who could use Fairy Steps, they saw it.

It was wider than he thought.

His sight saw a dark room with magical lighting and the people in it.

“Eh? What is this? This place is weird!”

The Summer Fairy Queen spoke, and Jude could hear other voices too.

“Unnie and oppa?”

“Jude Bayer?”

“Baroness Chase?”

Princess Darianne, Prince Daphne, and Prince Dion.

It wasn’t just the three who were sitting on the long sofa.

Next to the sweat-covered King Henry II was First Queen Justina and Second Queen Henrietta, the birth mother of Princess Darianne. And next to the Second Queen was the Third Queen who was still young and of the same age as Princess Daphne, and she was sitting with a frightened expression.

“W-who are you! How did you come here all of a sudden?!”

Henry II shouted in surprise, and First Queen Justina lightly pressed his shoulders with her hands to calm him down before she looked straight at Jude and Cordelia.

The reputably brave woman was indeed brave as she remained calm even in the midst of extreme chaos.

“Baron Bayer and Baroness Chase?”

They were originally supposed to kneel and bow.

But that wasn’t the time for it now.

Therefore, Jude thought of the situation instead of being polite.

‘We got ahead.’

They had arrived before the Lord Protector.

So it was time for their next step.

First, he checked what the Fairy Queen said.

“What do you mean by weird?”

“There’s a wall. I think it will be difficult to get out even though we can come in. I have to fly myself.”

It was difficult to understand at first glance, but Jude understood it right away.

Wall.

She wasn’t talking about a physical wall.

Leaping over space was difficult.

There was something that hindered jumping over space, so they could enter but could not get out.

So they had to walk.

It wasn’t very good news.

But to some extent, it was expected.

‘We’re too close to the core of the barrier.’

The shelter was located in the center of the main palace, and the core of the barrier was located a little further below that.

Even if she was the Fairy Queen, it would be difficult to leap over space if they were close to the core of the barrier.

“Is it completely impossible?”

“It’s difficult. Even if I can do it alone, it’s impossible to take all of you.”

“Okay.”

Jude gave up regretting it.

They had to do the next step right away because they didn’t have enough time.

“Jude, Cordelia. What’s going on?”

Princess Daphne spoke, and there was a bit of anger in the eyes of First Queen Justina who was ignored.

But Jude did not look at the two of them. He completely turned away and did his job.

Anger spread on the faces of the royalty. Princess Daphne’s eyes also turned sharp, and the nervous Cordelia opened her mouth.

“I-it’s a big problem! The Lord Protector has turned traitor! He killed the other royalty! He’s coming here now!”

Cordelia shouted as soon as she could, but she knew.

That her words wouldn’t work.

“What nonsense are you talking about! The Lord Protector is a traitor! He killed the royalty! That’s crazy!”

Henry II jumped up from his seat and angrily shouted.

It was natural.

From his birth up to the present day, he had always lived under the protection of the Lord Protector.

To him, the Lord Protector was not a mere vassal.

The Lord Protector was the reliable shield of the kingdom, and the hero who saved the kingdom, someone he admired since his childhood.

The fact that he betrayed. The fact that he killed the other royalty.

“You evil one! I will punish you severely!”

“No!”

Cordelia stomped her feet and thumped her chest.

She had known it would be like this.

She knew it would be like this, but she was so frustrated that she felt like going crazy.

“Princess Daphne! It’s the truth! Please believe me!”

At Cordelia’s appeal, Princess Daphne did not immediately respond. She frowned and looked at Prince Dion, while Princess Darianne clung to her side and gazed at the adults with a frightened face.

“Ah, f*ck!”

As she thought, it was impossible.

They only had been friends for a few days, so it was impossible for Cordelia to make them believe her more than the Lord Protector.

The fact that Henry II went into a fit of anger instead of being grateful was proof.

“You b*tch! How dare you curse at us! Do you really want to die!”

Henry II shouted again, and Cordelia beat her chest with her fist.

She wanted to shout that she was going to die of frustration because of him, but he was still a king.

It was clear that the situation would only worsen if such words were said.

Then what should I do now?

How can I overcome this current situation?

‘Jude!’

That’s right, it’s Jude.

Isn’t Jude the one who’s in charge of this situation originally?

Cordelia turned to Jude, calming her beating heart with a little resentment and anticipation. And she unknowingly blinked her eyes.

“Jude?”

What are you doing now?

While Cordelia was arguing with the royalty, Jude had never thought of talking to them.

Because he knew very well that it would be a meaningless and time-consuming conversation.

‘Victory conditions.’

Keep the royal family alive for the barrier to keep functioning.

That’s all they need to do now.

Then, what should we do?

Separate.

Separate the royal family and the Lord Protector in order to eliminate the dangerous situation itself.

When Cordelia began a war of words with Henry II, Jude opened the box that the Summer Fairy Queen had laid down, which was something that they had entrusted to her in advance.

The box was filled with necessary equipment and other things, and he took out some of the items that filled more than 80% of the space in the box as he began to install those items at the only entrance.

Pink dynamite.

Detonating cord.

C4 prototype.

“Jude?”

Cordelia looked at Jude, and the eyes of the royal family which had been focused on Cordelia had also turned to Jude.

And Jude continued moving instead of answering.

Ignition.

Basic magic.

The fuse burned.

The moment the detonating cord caught fire, the sound of an explosion rang, and the dynamite and C4 prototype caused a series of explosions.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Babababababang!

The entrance exploded with a roar. A part of the secret passage connected to the entrance also exploded, and the walls and ceiling collapsed. The falling rocks completely blocked the entrance.

Cut off the road.

Make it impossible for the Lord Protector to even reach the shelter.

Jude turned to Cordelia. It was her long-awaited explosion, but instead of smiling wide, she was blinking her eyes, and the king and royal family were all shocked and speechless.

Even Princess Daphne and First Queen Justina who did not budge in most situations had stunned faces now.

“Y-you b*stard!”

Henry II yelled, but Jude ignored him. He thought like a machine.

The passage has been destroyed, but I can’t relax yet.

Our enemy is the Lord Protector.

Though he may be weak now, he’s still one of the Ten Great Swordmasters.

The destroyed passage can be pierced with a strong sword attack of his.

So we have to get out of the shelter completely. We have to escape from the Lord Protector.

But how?

My plan to forcefully move the royal family with the power of the Fairy Queen is now useless.

Then, do I have to persuade the royal family as the second best option?

‘No, that’s not possible.’

Princess Daphne, Prince Dion, and Princess Darianne can be convinced.

But Henry II and the queens are also here.

Aside from whether we can persuade them, we’ll also be wasting a lot of time.

So persuading them isn’t our second best option.

Let’s do that other option then.

Jude completely ignored Henry II. The king got angry again and even First Queen Justina fiercely glared towards Jude who continued to do what he had to do.

He combined the dynamite and detonating cord with an adhesive before he threw it towards the walls and ceiling.

Tak. Tak. Tak.

The explosives accurately stuck because of the adhesive.

On the ceiling and walls.

An arrangement capable of completely destroying the shelter from just a small explosion.

Jude lit the long fuse. He turned nonchalantly to the royal family and said.

“It will explode in 30 seconds.”

So run if you want to live.

Jude spoke with a gentle smile on his calm face, and the royal family sweated coldly at his madness.

“Nooo!”

The Third Queen screamed in her panic due to the series of events. Henry II jumped from his seat and tried to yell.

And the First Queen made a decision.

She punched Henry II in the stomach as he was about to get up. With a choking sound, he lost consciousness and she carried him with one arm and ordered.

“To the exit!”

There were two doors in the shelter.

One was the door leading from the palace to the shelter.

The other one was a door that allowed them to exit the palace from the shelter.

All of the royal family members acted reflexively at the First Queen’s orders as she carried Henry II on her back in one fell swoop.

They hurried to the exit.

And Jude glanced at Cordelia.

She stared at Jude with a stunned face, and then opened her pretty lips, saying.

“You’re totally crazy.”

“Do you hate it then?”

“I like it!”

She cheerfully shouted and jumped, hugging Jude’s neck, and Jude carried Cordelia in his arms.

The Summer Fairy Queen widely smiled at the two in the so-called princess hug, and she settled in Cordelia’s chest.

And a golden wind rose.

The moment Jude pushed himself into the exit, Cordelia looked over his shoulder to see the shelter. Instead of waiting for the fuse that was still burning, she beautifully winked and activated her magic.

“F*ck bang ♥”

And it exploded.

The shelter exploded with a tremendous roar.

***

The explosion underground shook the entire main palace.

The Lord Protector instinctively realized where the epicenter was.

What’s going on?

What happened?

Instead of running, the Lord Protector confirmed two things.

The presence or absence of the barrier.

And the other one.

Things were going wrong.

He didn’t know what happened, but his plan kept going awry.

Whose fault is it?

What the hell happened?

I don’t know.

I can’t delay much longer.

The Lord Protector looked in front again. He sprinted towards the shelter.

***

The fierce battle between Count Bayer and First Sword continued.

Lucas roughly breathed after slashing the last zombie’s throat, and the Royal Guard Knights moved to quell the situation outside the royal palace.

And another person.

Count Chase cast magic in succession again. He supported the main palace, which was about to completely collapse, with his strong mana, and replaced the collapsed walls by causing stone columns to rise in succession.

He knew.

That Count Bayer was fighting a fierce battle over there. That Jude and Cordelia continued to send emergency signals.

And one more.

A fact that other people had yet to know.

‘The royal capital.’

He knew because of the rough flow of magic.

The royal palace wasn’t the only one with a problem.

Something big was happening outside the royal palace.

Count Chase clenched his teeth. He stopped his thoughts, and focused only on preventing the collapse of the royal palace.

He had to hurry up.

But he had to do it step by step.

New magic spells poured out of Count Chase’s mouth.