It was a refreshing and lovely day to enjoy the view of the Lily Garden in the Concubine’s Palace. Dianthus spent her day with her trusted concubines, enjoying their Granatus tea, sweet tarts and chocolate cake.

"I still can't get over what happened at the party. Was it Irelina Mercius her name?” Samantha added, “Don't you think she planned it all along by spreading rumors that she has an ugly face?" 

Lily tilted her head, holding the teacup. 

"It was Erielle who said she has an ugly face, remember?" 

Erielle bit her lower bit, feeling nervous.

Dianthus sipping her tea, glancing at her. 

"It was just an assumption I made because she was always covering her face. I didn't know it would get serious and spread like wildfire." Erielle said.

Amelia looked upset. 

"Can we stop talking about her? Ever since after the party, all I heard from the servants, guards, and even my visitors were praises about her endearing beauty. My eardrum was about to get swollen from hearing such a ridiculous fantasy." 

They looked at Amelia without spouting a word.

One of Dianthus's trusted servants came quietly and whispered to Dianthus's ear. Her expression became unpleasant.

She seethed her teeth and slammed the teacup on the table as she stood angrily.  

The teacup broke.

"What the…What's wrong, Diane?" Amelia was astounded. 

Dianthus scowled her brows, That witch! How did she end up in the Emperor's Council room?

She bit her right thumb fingernail in distress.

Meanwhile, back to the council room, all ears were to Sidañian.

"To find answers to our questions," said Sidanian.

"And what does it have to do with me?" Irelina was curious.

"Remember what happened to you after the party? You said you saw something in the mirror that I couldn't see." 

"What's the connection with that to me?" She paused.

A throbbing sensation pricked her heart—Don't tell me he's planning to use the mirror here. 

Irelina felt uneasy, averting her gaze down.

"Did something happen to the 9th Concubine after the party?" Zeddrick interrupted. 

"It's a long story, Your Majesty. I requested the 9th Concubine’s presence because I want to confirm something. And, it seems the monsters and shadow demons only disappeared in the North and Helleus." Sidañian said.

"So, what's your point?" Zeddrick asked.

"Didn’t you notice anything? Helleus is on the opposite side of Hēnte, and the North is ten days away from the Golden Empire. The barrier spell we created is like the earth's circular shape. The point is…we should have felt the same rumble in this empire that night. Isn’t it bizarre that only Helleus and the North felt it? And the main capital didn’t?" Sidañian said. 

He has a point. No wonder we didn’t feel it here.

Zeddrick pondered.

"But what does it have to do with the 9th Concubine?" Castaeus's displeased tone. 

"Right. What does it have to do with me? Irelina said, thinking, I just want to go back now. I beg you—

She’s feeling uncomfortable with the situation.

"Honestly, it was for another reason, but since we have a common enemy, I want to verify something." Sidañian looked at Irelina, humbly saying, "My sincere apologies, Concubine Irelina. I know you just got better. But I believe with your help, we may be able to find some answers to what happened last night’s incident.” He added, “Do you think you can handle it today? If not, we can do it some other time." Sidañian tone was gentle and sincere.

Irelina looked at everyone's concerned faces. She was also curious about what she saw in the mirror and thought, I don't know if being here will do any good for them. And I don’t know if the same thing will happen again. I don't know the answer, but let’s not lose hope.

She contemplated.

"Fine, I'll do it. But whatever happens here today shall be kept in private. I agree because you all want some answers... and so do I. Just promise me one thing," said Irelina.

"What is it? I'll try my best to compensate you for whatever it is." Zeddrick’s tone was cold. 

"Not just try, but promise me that you’ll protect me no matter what happens," said Irelina.

Yet she worried for her safety.

"Of course, the Empire of Horos is ready to protect you at all costs, Concubine Irelina. What about the Empires of Hēnte?" Sidañian glanced at Zeddrick’s discontented look.

Some had cleared their throats, and a few were displeased by his provocation.

Zeddrick and the rest looked at each other and agreed.

They slightly bowed their heads from their seats with their right arms on their chests. 

"We, the Empires of Hēnte, will also protect the 9th Concubine." They said aloud.

Irelina was surprised.

Huh?! Hold on a second; this is dominating. I wasn't asking all of you to protect me; I was referring to what would happen here. Is this how they pledge? It’s overwhelming.

Her expression was in disbelief.

"Uhm, you don't have to pledge like that. I was referring to what comes out of the mirror. That's all." Irelina said awkwardly, clearing the misunderstandings.  

But they were not bothered by what they pledged for. 

Devin and Apollis moved the mirror to the center. Irelina felt troublesome, glancing between Zeddrick and Sidañian who stood beside her, Why are these two so close to me? Irelina sighed and closed her eyes. 

She gently breathed with her eyes closed. She meditated her thoughts and emotions before opening her eyes in front of the mirror. 

Slowly…she opened her eyes, and an eerie tingling flowed from her spine. Seeing herself in the mirror had brought fear into her eyes with a pounding heartbeat. 

ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump—

Suddenly, Irelina tightly held Zeddrick's right hand. 

Sidañian gazed down. His eyes were envious, while Zeddrick's eyes were stunned by her grip. 

In devious motion, a foreboding shadow of two faces panned out from a smoke mist in the mirror's depths, showing their creepy smile.

Irelina’s eyes glowed for some reason, and that shocked everyone to see. 

"Did you see that?" Irelina asked them, constantly. 

They were in disbelief to see her peculiar eyes glowed like sunbeams.

Subconsciously, her bracelets gradually showed a sign of dusty golden mist. Bewildered by her gaze in the mirror, their reflection didn’t change. But Irelina felt hypnotized, and the sensation was not the same.

Her temples sweated anxiously.

Her heart felt petrified and her eyes trembled in fear. 

"I don't see anything," said Zeddrick. 

"Neither I. For whatever reason, she will not look this terrified if there’s nothing evil in that mirror. What do you see, 9th Concubine?" Sidañian asked.

The atmosphere became heavy and stuffy around them when the two faces of shadows kept panning out.

Irelina’s eyes widened.

She gripped Zeddrick's hand. 

Zeddrick flinched and glanced down. 

Her left hand shivered. 

Zeddrick shifted his glance to her scared face. Though he could not feel what was happening, he responded to her touch without second thoughts. 

He seized her hand.

Irelina felt a sudden stabbing sensation in her heart. She froze, What the—? Her mind was fighting against the affliction of the vicious image.

She felt horrified.

Those eyes... it feels suffocating that my chest feels tight. Who are you? What do you want from me? 

The more frightened she was, the more vile they became. An evil voice echoed in her ear, different from what she had heard before, with the exact calling, "AZAREL—”

Again, she was confused, Azarel? Her brows winced. 

"I don't see anything," Ivan whispered to Isaac who agreed the same. 

As Irelina’s mind and heart weakened from their evil presence, she felt choked in their diabolic voices, feeling her feet being pulled further down the dark water. Steadily, a smoke mist of hand slowly emerged from the mirror that was not visible to the others.

When the wicked face said, "You only belong to me…Azarel." 

Irelina shifted her gaze down—a slender pale hand coming out from the mirror and slowly piercing her chest.

Goosebumps.

She felt the cold hand touch her heart. 

Irelina's soul shuddered.

Her lips were glued shut so she could not utter a word to ask for help. She screamed in silence, sensing the torture in the chambers of her heart. Subconsciously, her bracelet retaliates to the dark force, but it isn't enough.

She was not strong enough to handle the ripping. 

“How long are we going to stand and wait for nothing,” said Castaeus.

When—

Irelina vomited an amount of blood and splattered on the floor.

She collapsed in Zeddrick's arms, looking pale and faintly breathing.

"IRELINA!" Sidañian and Zeddrick shouted.

"What the hell just happened?" Casteaus was shocked like everyone else.

"SMASH THAT MIRROR, NOW!" Zeddrick was furious.

Their expression was alarming, without knowing what would come next. 

Zeddrick tried to wake her, Why…why is she not responding? with his worried eyes. 

Sidanian was speechless. 

In a split second, a sinister sound surrounded the entire atmosphere of Hēnte.

The people felt eerie as they stopped and looked at one another. The same uncanny feeling felt in the Regent's and Concubine's Palaces as they looked out their windows with fright in their eyes. 

An ominous growl sounded from the earth’s underground and quivered the land.

The people of Hēnte hysterically ran away, shouting for help restlessly from the evil sound. 

"What is going on?!" Viktor Lan said.

"I'll go and have a look at what's happening outside," said Castaeus.

"We'll go with you," Isaac and Ivan joined.

They hurriedly left together. 

Dominic and Cī'er hastily returned to their empires to check their people using the portal stride emblem as it shimmered and disappeared.

Shaking grounds.

Old buildings collapsed. 

Pieces of bricks were scattered on the sidewalk.  

People shouting in fear. 

Running.

Stumbling on the ground with bleeding knees and broken arms.

Some monsters emerged from the ground and started surging towards the central area.

The soonest they detect the smell of humans, they restlessly bump into the building walls, swiftly running and jumping onto the people's frightening faces.

They were relentlessly running away from the sharp claws and deadly fangs of the hungry monsters.

Using their claws to scalp the people’s backs.

They painfully wail to their demise. 

Smashing people’s heads with their lethal caudal tails as the innocent citizens' blood is painted on the brick walls of the central city.

Thud, thud, thud, thud… 

Scream!

The monster’s growl―

Roar!

Thwack!

Thud, thud, thud, thud… 

Cracked!

Crashed!

Whacked!

Aaaaaggghhh―the never-ending scream of the people dying mercilessly. 

The monsters nibbled the human's meat with their sharp teeth and claws tearing their body parts while they screamed to death.

Blood spilled like thick vines on the street of Hēnte.

Guts splattered everywhere.

Children crying―

“RUN!!!” 

The people in the market ran for their lives as the ground continued to tremble.

“It’s the monsters!!!"

"The monsters are coming to kill us all!!!” 

Running!

The monsters chased the humans in every path they saw them.

Smashed!

Children were crying and getting separated from their parents in the panic crowd. 

Some children saw how their parents and siblings had been scalped and eaten alive by the monster's greed.

Swoosh―

The mages and knights came to the rescue. 

They were lucky because the shadow demons were unseen in the city center. 

Purged!

Boom!

Thwacked!

Some monsters groaned from the blast inflicted by the mages and Elite Knights. 

Bang!

Whacked!

Thwacked!

A knight badly smashed on the wooden door by the monster’s tail. 

Blood dripped like running water. 

Hēnte was in chaos.

It took a while before the rumble quietened—

Sidañian took the vial out of his chest pocket, threw it to Apollis, and caught it.

"You better hurry and pour all of it into the golden crystal heart. It takes overnight to take effect, and you need a lot of mana to make the barrier dominant." Sidañian said.

Apollis agreed and looked at Doris. They used the portal stride spell to quickly reach the underground labyrinth where the golden crystal heart was situated. 

Zeddrick carried Irelina into his arms. 

"This assembly is over. Devin, call Medicius immediately and send him to my room." 

"Yes, Your Majesty," said Devin. 

Zeddrick seethed angrily and shifted his gaze sideways to where Sidañian stood. 

"Now that we have the answers to our questions, the Empires of Hēnte is indebted to you. However, I suggest you refrain from seeing the 9th Concubine until you leave, Emperor of Horos." Zeddrick said firmly. 

Sidañian grinned. 

"With pleasure, Your Majesty. But don't blame me when the 9th Concubine seeks my help in the future.” Sidañian added, “As I said, the Empire of Helleus pledged to protect the 9th Concubine with or without your empire." His intimidating stare at Zeddrick.

Zeddrick did not say a word and walked away with a furrowed face. 

Sidañian turned his back to the rest and strolled as he waved goodbye at them. 

"I better leave for now. My people in Helleus need me. Don't hesitate to invite me again if you need my help." Sidañian smirked and left. 

Leaving the ones left in silence.