Kiaria dusted off his sleeves and looked toward the two girls who were still panting lightly, shoulders heaving with exhaustion. Their hair clung to their cheeks from sweat, clothes tugged by wind and grazed by beaks.
"Both of you are tired, right?" he asked gently, deliberately keeping a respectful distance.
Princess clicked her tongue and glared. "Tch! You really don't know?"
Kiaria smiled as if her grumpiness was a soft breeze brushing past him."Alright. I'll heal you. Then one more round of practice."
Princess raised a brow. "Oh? Why not? We're ready."Her grin sharpened. "But you… come here. I want to pet you… a little bit."
It wasn't a request.It was a royal decree wrapped in mischief.
Kiaria pretended not to hear, raised his hand, and healed them from afar.White ripples passed over their skin, erasing bruises, stitching shallow cuts, cooling their burning muscles.
But the moment he summoned the birds again–
He sensed it.
Two presences behind him.Two shadows creeping closer.Two killing intents–feminine, playful, merciless.
He turned around slowly.
Both girls stood behind him like two hunters preparing to bury him in the ground.
Kiaria swallowed. "...Girls?"
They smiled too sweetly.
He vanished behind a wooden sculpture instantly.
The birds, confused by his sudden retreat, launched toward the girls instead.
Which… only made them even angrier.
But Kiaria watched them with a half-proud, half-terrified expression.
Diala was now dodging five birds at once–her steps light, almost like running on water.Princess managed seven… sometimes nine. Her body bent like flowing silk and striking serpent both.
Kiaria nodded. Good improvement… but far from enough to survive what awaited them.
He stopped the training.
They approached him, panting, sweat dripping down their chins. Diala's hair stuck to her forehead. Princess rolled up her sleeves, ready to punch him for ending it abruptly.
Kiaria raised a hand. "Let me demonstrate."
The birds circled above him in tightening rings.He closed his eyes, breathed slowly, and let a faint shimmer of intent leak out.
Princess blinked. "Another lecture? Boring. Just show us."
Kiaria chuckled. "Watch. And don't blink."
He drew a small circle on the ground with his foot."I will dodge only within this space."
The birds accelerated–double their previous speed.They sliced the air like thrown daggers.
"He's showing off…" Diala whispered, but her fingers curled in nervous tension.
The first strike came.A beak aimed straight at Kiaria's temple from behind.
He didn't move.
Not until the last instant–his head tilted a fraction and the bird passed through shadows.
"If the enemy's movements remain inside your intent…" Kiaria said calmly while dodging the second attack,"…your body reacts before your thoughts do."
Three birds came at once.
Kiaria didn't even face them.His heel slid half an inch.His shoulder dipped.His breath shifted.Every attack missed him by the thickness of a leaf.
"It won't be easy at the start," he continued. "But your intent vision exceeds your eyes. Within its range, every enemy motion becomes clear… like a fly tangled in a web."
Princess exhaled softly. "Damn show-off…"
Diala glared at him–not with anger, but with a strange mix of awe… and shyness she was trying to hide.
Finally the birds stopped.
Kiaria stepped toward Diala–and she snapped her head away instantly, cheeks slightly pink.
"Tch. She got startled again," Princess muttered and walked off with faux annoyance.
Kiaria blinked. "Dia… don't be upset. I remember what I promised you. You'll understand why I'm strict here."
Diala lowered her gaze. "You want us to practice. We will."
"Hey," Princess snapped, "who asked my opinion?"
Kiaria turned serious.
"Diala, your sword intent is already awakening. Use it. Within that range, nothing escapes your notice.
Big Sister–you have prowess intent, ruler intent. Your flexibility is unmatched. Use it to command your surroundings."
The girls stared blankly.
"Try again."
This time, their improvement was clear.They could evade from sides, above, behind.
But every frontal attack still broke through their rhythm.
Still, Kiaria smiled genuinely."Impressive. Let's return."
He took out the token from Azriel, crushed it between his fingers.
Blood seeped out–dark red, forming runes in the air.A circular pattern opened into a small rift, expanding until it hummed softly.
Kiaria held Diala's hand.Her fingers trembled lightly but intertwined with his instinctively.She held Princess's hand, forming a chain.
He reached out and touched the rift.
Everything turned white.
When they opened their eyes–
They were in their own rooms again.
Their bodies lay on beds as if waking from a dream.The illusion had ended.But the weight in their hearts had not.
Princess stood before her mirror, staring at her reflection.Something in her gaze felt firmer. Sharper.Her breath steadied with newfound confidence.
Kiaria and Diala remained silent on their bed–both remembering flashes of shared moments, accidental touches, close brushes with death. Their cheeks glowed softly, refusing to speak first.
The door slammed open.
Princess entered without knocking, grabbed Kiaria's collar, and slammed him to the ground.
The impact didn't hurt him–but the message struck deep.
"If she suffers again," Princess growled, "I will break your bones. No more words. Only actions. Try me if you dare."
Her protectiveness was fire–hot, fierce, unfiltered.
Diala didn't look shocked.She had expected this for a long time.
"This should've been done earlier," she said quietly. "Sister… you're too late."
Princess raised her hand again, ready to hit him.
Kiaria caught her palm and rose slowly."Let's go to the hall," he said, voice firm.
"Stop."Her voice cut like a blade.
"Tell us first."
Kiaria exhaled."How much do you know about Re Ze Lure?"
Princess frowned. "Why ask that now? Did you see something during ascension?"
Diala stiffened.Her fingers unconsciously grabbed Princess's cloak, afraid of the answer.
Kiaria closed his eyes. "That place… is far worse than only 'dangerous.'"
Princess folded her arms. "As far as I know–anyone who enters never returns. That's normal. Where treasures exist, danger exists."
"That is nothing," Kiaria replied softly.
He lifted his gaze.
"What would you do if you stepped into a lair of hundreds of Evil Spiders, each stronger than the one we faced?"
Princess's breath stopped.
That one spider was enough to paralyze her with fear.A hundred…
"What… are you implying?" Diala asked, stepping in front, her fear suppressed by determination.
Kiaria didn't hesitate.
"We are preparing for the worst. That island is pure evil. A prisonland. Once named as Cemetery Island. Even the strongest men in our history… vanished there. We're heading straight toward it."
Princess whispered, "Cemetery Island…?"She had never heard such a name.
"Who told you?" she demanded.
"That doesn't matter," Kiaria replied. "How we face it does."
Princess's jaw tightened. "Kiaria… are you truly planning to take Diala there?"
"Yes."His voice didn't waver."She is stronger than you think. Stronger than all of us. Just watch."
Princess's voice trembled with anger. "Words are easy. But if anything happens to her–can you bear it? This isn't a childish training session."
Kiaria's voice cracked for the first time."I will protect her with everything I have. If anything happens to her, I will–"
"Enough, Kiaria."
Diala's voice broke.
Tears spilled from her eyes before she could stop them.
"What do you both think I am?" she shouted through trembling lips."Maybe I'm weak. Maybe my heart is fragile. But that doesn't mean I want to be a burden!"
Her hands shook.Her breathing broke.Pain and effort and silent suffering burst all at once.
"I'm trying. I'm trying so hard. But every time you both talk like this… have either of you thought about my feelings?"
Silence fell.
"I can take care of myself," she whispered."No one needs to carry me like a helpless child."
Her tears dripped onto the floor.
Kiaria's eyes softened with pain.He stepped forward, shifting into his true form, dissolving every barrier, and wrapped her in his arms.
He held her until the trembling stopped.
Princess stood frozen.Her eyes reddened silently.
She turned away, walked out without a word, hiding her guilt behind a stiff back.
In the quiet that followed, only their breaths remained.
And for the first time…the fear of losing each other felt more real than any Evil Spider.