To their surprise, they found a room with guards tied hand and foot in a corner, while two nonis with masks and laser submachine guns watched them. When the children entered, all eyes were on them.

They stood still for a moment, dumbfounded. Then the masked terrorists pointed their submachine guns at them, but Arturo bent the barrel before they could fire. Then Erica threw herself at one to take him down. Liliana moved towards the other to put him to sleep.

—Wait— Arturo asked her— We can interrogate him!

Liliana aimed at his legs to pierce them with her scythe. The terrorist fell to the floor terrified, thinking that his legs had been amputated, but when he checked again he saw that they were still there, he just couldn't feel them.

—What did you do?!— he cried.

Erica took the gun from him, broke it with her hands and lifted him by the collar of his clothes.

—Where is your leader?— she interrogated him.

The terrorist shrieked in fear.

—I don't know, they just told me to come here!— he said.

Erica looked at her friends, ready to leave him and continue on the other side, but then Liliana leaned the edge of Brontes against the terrorist's neck.

—He's not telling us shit, can I kill him?

Erica froze for a moment. She knew Liliana would never say something like that, or so she thought until that moment, but the girl looked ready to do it. The sickle pressed against the noni's neck, this time the blade did not pierce his skin like a ghost, but pressed against it. She could kill him with a simple movement.

—He's at the top of the tower! He went to kill the First personally!— revealed the terrorist.

Liliana then pierced him with Brontes and put him to sleep. Erica dropped him and stared at her, bewildered.

—What was that?— she pleaded— Were you actually going to kill him?

—No, not at all— she assured her.

Erica's eyes widened.

—You were acting!— she understood.

—Of course! I would never kill anyone!— she assured her.

—Lili is an excellent actress— Arturo acknowledged— she's also very good at improvising.

Erica put a hand to her head.

—Yes, I noticed.

Liliana smiled flattered.

—Well done, Lili, we got the information we wanted— claimed Erica.

Then they turned towards the door. As they did so, they noticed the seven gagged guards, who were looking at them in confusion.

—Should we untie them?— Arturo supposed.

—With what their companions did to us, they are lucky we left them alive— said Erica.

—Come on, they are not to blame for what others did— interjected Liliana— although we can't trust that they won't attack us if we free them. But if we leave them here, couldn't other terrorists come and harm them?

Arturo turned to the unconscious terrorists, bent down and rummaged a little in the clothes of the one closest to him. In a minute he found what he was looking for: a knife. Then he tossed it to one of the guards.

—They can get away with that, can't they?— he asked.

The noni in front of the group looked at him with suspicion.

—They can also be offended if we help them— pointed Erica— you know, because we are skinny and weak humans.

Then Arturo controlled the knife with his magic, took it to the guard's gag and cut it, letting him finally speak.

—What do you want, humas?— asked the guard.

—We just want to talk to your boss— said Erica— Lili, Arturo, we should go now.

Liliana turned to the guard who had spoken.

—Can they get free if we leave them alone with that knife?— she asked.

The noni snorted through his nose.

—Please, do you think we are a weak species like you?

Liliana frowned, offended, but said nothing. The noni turned away, rejecting the knife. But then another noni next to it bent down and took it between his feet. Then he looked at the children and thanked them with a parsimonious nod of his head. Liliana and Arturo were more relieved, and with that they left.

-----------------------------------

They continued on their way to the tower under cover, avoiding being noticed by the guards or the terrorists. From time to time they came across castle personnel hiding, all looking tense and attentive to the battle. On their way they heard explosions in the distance and a couple of buildings collapsing. With such an atmosphere they wondered if the noni empire would survive another day.

Before long they reached the tower. The building, besides touching the sky, was spacious: it had an area similar to one of the largest cathedrals. Surrounding it was a large circular courtyard with water mirrors, with not many places to hide from except the tower itself. Stationed at the entrance, a bunch of guards were waiting ready to shoot anything that came near. In a situation like this they didn't plan to dialogue with anyone, if the children came into their field of vision, they would be treated as terrorists again.

—Hey, Arturo, what if you take us underground?— asked Erica.

—It's not a good idea. We don't know if those water mirrors are connected underground. We could be flooded halfway.

—And you can't control the water?— Liliana asked.

—No, I only work with solids.

—And you can't turn it into ice and then control it?— Erica ventured.

—I would love to, but no.

The three returned their gazes to the guards at the entrance.

—There's no choice, then— Erica stated.

—I was hoping we wouldn't have to— Liliana grumbled.

—I'll break through their defenses— said Erica— you two back me up.

—I feel that has become our default strategy— commented Arturo.

—Yes, but it is a good strategy, isn't it?

Liliana and Arturo nodded. Then they got ready.

Erica came out of her hiding place and ran across the courtyard straight to the guards. They aimed and fired at her as soon as they saw her appear, but their lasers were blocked by momentary shields of timitio rising from the girl's skin. Halfway across the ground she began to slide, tearing the rock beneath her feet from the power of her timitio. Her body accelerated in the blink of an eye, she threw herself against the guards and sent half of them flying like a ball knocks down pins in bowling. Liliana and Arturo followed close behind on a rock platform. As soon as they reached her, they split up to lunge at the guards from both sides; Liliana put those on her side to sleep with Brontes, while Arturo plunged his own into the ground.

In a few seconds they had defeated them. They had free passage to the tower, but there was no time before reinforcements arrived.

—Let's go!— urged Erica.

They entered the tower. The main hall was huge and had a majestic atmosphere, but they did not have time to appreciate it. They quickly identified the stairs, crossed the hall and went to the next floor. They climbed up and up in a hurry. On the upper floors they heard gunshots, screams and things breaking. Outside they could hear the roar of the ships breaking in half as they collapsed. Chaos reigned in the castle that day.

After ten floors Liliana began to run out of breath and slow down. Just as they were climbing to the eleventh floor, they encountered terrorists coming down the stairs, who immediately fired their laser weapons at them. Erica and Arturo dispatched them in the blink of an eye, but then they stopped. Arturo was barely there too, even Erica was breathing a little shakily.

—Maybe we should rest— she suggested.

—No!— Liliana shouted, struggling to catch her breath— No... no... no way!

The anchor was leaning on her knees, the mage was holding on to the wall with one hand. Erica ran a hand over her head, thoughtfully.

—Maybe climbing all these stairs isn't the best idea right now— she said— Arturo, can you carry Lili on a platform? Do you think you can make it to the top floor?

The mage nodded.

—Yes, yes, I still have a long way to go— he said.

—Altight, I'll run on the walls with my timitio.

—But we have to go...— Liliana pleaded, still out of breath— we have to get there fast...

—Yes, but we're in a battlefield; we can't let them surprise us again when we're so tired— Erica explained— please. I would die if something happens to you two because of me.

Liliana and Arturo turned to her, surprised. This made her a little nervous.

—What... What did I say?— she pleaded, hoping she hadn't offended them by saying they were tired.

They both smiled at her.

—You're a sweetheart, Erica— said Liliana.

—Yes, you're very pretty— assured Arturo.

—What?!... What...— she exclaimed, red as a noni.

Not knowing what to do, she looked away and put her hands to her face so they wouldn't see her.

When they were completely recovered, the three of them continued the way Erica had suggested; Liliana and Arturo ascended on a platform, while Erica slid along the wall. She could climb stairs, but it was easier for her to slide on smooth surfaces.

Up and up they went without stopping. The floors seemed endless. Every now and then they would encounter a group of guards or terrorists, or both at the same time. They all took them as part of the opposing team and attacked them without question. They had to bludgeon, slash and magic their way through the hundred floors.

On one of the floors they encountered a group of terrorists who, instead of attacking the rest of the building, were defending their position in front of a door. When the children reached that floor, the terrorists attacked them as they had all the previous times. After the fight, while Arturo and Liliana interrogated the only one who had remained conscious, Erica opened the door out of curiosity. She thought there would be a pile of bombs or treasure, but instead she found a big noni holding a thin nun with one arm and pointing a gun at her with the other hand. The nun seemed to be trying to wriggle free, but with her thin arms she could never get the noni off her.

Without thinking twice, Erica gave him a good blow to knock him out. She then turned and looked at the woman. The nun, it seemed, had been struck dumb by the shock, but when she saw her, it was Erica who was stunned. The nun belonged to a species she did not remember having seen before: her skin was a pale violet, her body thinner than that of a human and her beauty stunning. Her eyes were large, her mouth small, her skin smooth, her posture very feminine and sensual.

Erica froze with nerves at finding someone so beautiful in front of her, but she didn't need to say anything. The nun was so relieved that she immediately embraced her and kissed her on the cheek, leaving her stunned. Erica got a silly grin on her face. She didn't know what to do, but if she had earned a kiss, she thought she must be doing it right. She wanted to get a better look at her, wanted to ask her who she was. Her skin felt so soft, her scent was sweet and soothing. However, at that moment they were interrupted.

—Erica— Liliana called out to her, having finished her interrogation— Is something wrong?

Hearing her friend, Erica turned to point to the nun next to her.

—Lili, come here!

But Liliana didn't seem to understand what made her so excited.

—What should I look at?— she asked, confused.

Erica didn't understand how Liliana wasn't as surprised as she was, or at least noticed the woman they had saved. Strangely, she turned around, but the nun was not where she had left her. Erica looked around, but found nothing but a shattered office. The beautiful nun had vanished.

—Where...— she wondered, gawking.

She went back to the main room on that floor, but couldn't find her. It was as if she had never existed. Liliana and Arturo approached. Erica explained about the nun, now calmer, but neither of them had seen her. Then Erica put her hands to her head.

—Oh no, I'm going crazy!

—Calm down, there must be an explanation— Liliana assured her— Right, Arturo?

He shrugged his shoulders.

—It's possible, but you have to admit that Erica is already a little crazy.

—Arturo!

Erica laughed at the boy's joke. Then Papel sprang up from her hair.

—What do you think, Papel?— she asked him, but the animal just turned his head, got down and ran down the stairs.

—Why does he have that habit?— Liliana wondered.

Arturo stared at the place where Papel disappeared, lost in thought, but did not share what he was thinking with his friends at that moment.