Zagan overtook Duman and took the lead, climbing the slope with great leaps. Meanwhile, he was conjuring at high speed dozens of offensive runes in the air to compensate for his now busy hands. These runes took on an elongated shape, resembling daggers with a threatening edge. The lezaalis continued to lunge at them, but the runes cut them into several pieces before they could get close. Duman made use of his second elemental power, skillfully manipulating the surrounding vegetation to trap the beasts before launching them toward the daggers the paladin conjured.

To their surprise, the attacks stopped abruptly as they crossed the gaping hole in the ceiling and ventured onto the second level of the island. The paladin, having learned a valuable lesson moments before, quickly established a secure perimeter and conjured a barrier around them.

Both men, panting and exhausted, carefully lowered the women to the ground and then sat down to catch their breath. Elisha cast a purifying spell, ensuring that any potential toxins were removed from their systems.

The second level of the island presented a surreal autumn paradise. Luckily, the air was free of strong scents, but it took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the brightness. 

Endless fields of yellow flower buds were bathed in warm, golden sunlight. Giant yellow leaves that looked like umbrellas sprouted from the towering trunks made of white roots, and each tree was perfectly aligned with the others. The ceiling was adorned with hanging vines and ivies, contributing to the charming atmosphere of the place.

Duman looked anxiously towards the hole, hoping to see the figure of his friend. With each passing minute, Samael's absence increased his concern. However, a rational voice within him suggested that perhaps the general had led the creatures in the opposite direction, luring them towards the beach where he could use the terrain to his advantage. After all, lezaalis despised water and were known to be incapable of swimming.

As Duman felt the tension rising inside him, he took out his black pendant and caressed the smooth surface, examining the small spheres embedded in its frame. These continued to flicker erratically, but when he looked closer, he noticed a significant change: the golden liquid inside the glass bead had increased. A surge of determination coursed through his body as he realized they were getting closer to their destination.

Taking a deep breath, Duman carefully put away the pendant and stood up. Unbeknownst to him, the golden liquid continued to rise, regardless of his movements. Whatever the compass was pointing to, it was getting closer, even as they were still.

“Let's keep going,” Duman urged them.

“What about Samael?” Elisha turned to him, her big pink eyes reflecting her bewilderment. Was the hilmir thinking of abandoning him?

“The general is not weak. I trust him,” he declared with conviction. “Once we get the scepter, we'll go get him and get off this damn island right away. Let's go.” 

Duman extended his hand towards Elisha to help her stand up. Although she was still hesitant about leaving without the general, she ultimately accepted the hilmir's escort and held his hand tightly, feeling safer with someone skilled at her side. Zagan put Mara down again, as it would be difficult for him to defend against an attack or protect the apostle in this position.

The four of them advanced very slowly, acting with more caution and paying close attention to their condition to avoid falling into the same trap as before.

Elisha then remembered that Zagan had been more attentive to Mara than to the apostle who should be his main concern. Dissatisfied with the situation, she looked over her shoulder at the paladin who was walking in the rear, right behind Mara, intending to remind him of his obligations in a subtle way.

Before she could open her mouth, something caught her attention. Elisha thought she saw a vine moving from the corner of her eye, but when she looked closely at the yellow umbrellas above her head, she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. 

‘It must be that I'm very nervous and my eyes are playing tricks on me,’ she convinced herself that it was the wind and quickly dismissed her suspicions.

In that moment of carelessness, she tripped over a protruding root in the ground and lost her balance, but, luckily, she avoided falling face first into the ground thanks to Duman's good reflexes, who quickly pulled her by the arm and stabilized her.

“Are you alright?” He asked as his eyes scanned the floor with haste, looking for possible threats.

“Yes, I just tripped,” she tried to mitigate the man's concern by explaining that it had been her fault. The olive green eyes under the hilmir's wrinkled brow conveyed concern, dispelling some of the tensión that overwhelmed Elisha's body.

“Hold my hand and walk carefully,” Duman gently advised before extending his hand. ‘If you get hurt, you'll just be another burden I'll have to deal with’, he complained in his mind, trying not to let the annoyance he felt be evident on his face.

It was too frustrating to have to take care of someone vain enough to care about her appearance in a rainforest where one wrong step was equal to death. If it weren't for the fact that her healing powers were more effective than that of an average healer, he would have abandoned her halfway without hesitation.

He couldn't understand what the general had seen in this woman and pitied the unfortunate paladin and the maid who had to serve her day in and out.

‘Maybe her legs would work better if she didn't spend so many nights in her lover's tent,’ Duman mocked at the fact that foolish Elisha believed that no one knew about her nocturnal escapades. If it weren't for Zagan, who arduously protected his master's privacy, it would have been difficult for everyone to sleep in peace.

Unaware of the hilmir's true feelings, Elisha straightened her posture with flushed cheeks. Mara tried to step forward to fix the rumpled skirt of her dress, but Elisha stopped her with a simple wave of her hand and proceeded to fix it herself. 

As she raised her head again to thank the hilmir's kindness, she noticed a thin, yellowish thing moving behind him. In an instant, the color drained from Elisha's face, now distorted with horror. She didn't even manage to scream when a vine lashed out at Duman's back to pierce him.

Unlike the rest, Zagan had noticed the strange movements around him since they entered this new place, but, to his astonishment, he was unable to accurately determine the enemy's location. It was as if the ether was evenly distributed in every branch, leaf, and vine, making it impossible to differentiate whether it was a natural energy flowing around or not. So he decided to wait.

Just as he assumed, the enemy decided to attack as soon as it noticed that one of its prey had lowered its guard. Zagan cast several offensive runes that severed what appeared to be a vine full of leaves, but, upon closer inspection, the leaves' surface was covered with fine, almost imperceptible hairs, and the vine had thorn-like protrusions. He then conjured up another barrier to protect his companions.

A piercing screech echoed through the meadow with such force that everyone felt as if their heads were about to explode. The vines around shook violently and began to aim at them, attacking the barrier with ferocity.

Elisha crouched on the ground and covered her ears with trembling hands, while Zagan rushed to stand in front of her to fulfill his obligation, leaving Mara completely unprotected. Duman, who had activated his powers, turned his back on the paladin and scanned the vine on the ground, feeling quite baffled. Whether before or now, the creatures targeted him first, to the point where he came to suspect that the beasts held some sort of grudge against him.

The creature's high-pitched screech stopped and was replaced by a woman's terrified scream.

Mara had stayed behind, paralyzed with fear. When she finally reacted, she wanted to run towards the barrier, but before she could put a foot inside it, something slimy wrapped around her ankles. With a strong pull, she was thrown to the ground and then dragged into the depths of the cavern.

“AAAH, NOOO! Help me!” Was the last thing heard before the maid's silhouette disappeared into the golden grasslands.

Elisha's body shook harder at the piercing screams, but instead of pleading for someone to save her servant, she could only think of her safety. She was aware that Mara had faithfully supported her since she had been proclaimed an apostle, but her life was much more important than that of a maid who could be replaced at any moment.

However, the upright paladin could not ignore his companion's desperate cries for help, so he hurried to follow Mara's trail.

“No, don't go!” Elisha exclaimed in panic when she realized her escort's intentions. She reached out and grabbed Zagan's gray pants to prevent him from leaving. Big tears flowed from her pink eyes full of indignation as she snapped at him: “You are my escort, you must protect me! That is your duty!”

The paladin's heart sank deeper into the abyss of disappointment and bitterness as he witnessed the apostle's self-centeredness. The flickering flame of hope he harbored for her, despite all the setbacks, was mercilessly extinguished when her actions brutally trampled the last vestiges of his expectations.

‘How can you dismiss a person's life so easily? Even more so, the life of your servant, the one who has been with you for so many years.’ But Zagan had no time to grieve; the life of a member of the Creed was at risk. Furthermore, with his barrier functioning, there should be no problems for both the hilmir and the apostle, as long as they stayed within it.

“I'll be back.”

Certainty shone in Elisha's eyes as she saw Zagan hesitate, but the glow died out like a candle in the wind as he turned and hurried away in the direction in which the maid had disappeared. Her hand, which was left hanging in the air, slowly closed into a fist.

‘I should be your priority, but you abandoned me for a stupid maid!’ she accused him. If she was trembling with fear before, now anger was consuming her.

Meanwhile, the hilmir, who had witnessed the dramatic scene in the front row, undid the spell that kept the plants around them on the defensive. It was better to conserve his energy and replenish the aether in his body while he awaited the paladin's return, whether with or without the maid.

Unfortunately for him, the tedious task of appeasing Elisha until the others returned now fell on his shoulders.