Did you catch the hints in the previous chapter? What could they mean? What are they leading to? Well, I can say we'll all find out soon, and that's it. It was a nice change getting to do a chapter from Alex's PoV. Honestly, just having to write for him, and have him say things that sound like a royal person would say is so much fun. And I even got to develop his character quite a lot, too. He seems to have admired Ayu quite a lot when she was around. What will that lead into in the future? This chapter is going to be MASSIVE in terms of content, so sit back and enjoy!

-PoV: Neela-

With us successfully rescuing both Melty and Alex from Idol's clutches, there was now only one thing left to do before we fled from this complex. We had to set all of Idol's slaves free. We all quickly exited the mansion and made our way into the courtyard. We had to fight off several guards on our way but they weren't too much of an issue. 

And after a few minutes of fighting, we finally arrived at our destination. Near the centre of the courtyard was a set of stairs that led to an underground dungeon. The only reason I know is.....is because this is where me and Raphtalia were taken when we were enslaved. 

"Idol imprisoned his demi-human slaves underground. And tortured them." Raphtalia said as we stood at the top of the stairs. 

"How do you know that?" Reichnott asked her. 

"I know because.... we were both lucky enough to live." She said as we grasped onto each others hands. 

"Neither of you have to do this if you don't want to. You can stay here if you want." Naofumi said to us.

"No. Miss Ayuma taught me to be brave and face my fears. I can't let the past haunt me forever. We've both done enough running. And enough is enough. We'll be fine." I said to him as he gave us both a nod. We both began to walk down the stairs into the dark, lonely dungeon. Only bad memories awaited us inside. 

We walked all the way down until we reached the main cell doors. It wasn't locked and we opened it was a haunting creaking sound. I got a look around and saw some empty cells near the entrance to the dungeon. Shackles hanged from the ceiling and torture devices were hung up along the walls. I just couldn't bare to look at them. My breathing was becoming very heavy. 

We continued through the dungeon, looking through every cell to see if anyone was still alive. But I stopped at one in particular..... as it brought back the most horrible of my memories. 

"This one..... was mine." I softly said as blood stains were riddled along its walls. Bones were scattered on the ground. The smell was unbearable. I'm sure whoever was thrown in here after me didn't make it. 

Raphtalia had gone ahead of me when I stopped to look at my old cell. And when I looked to her, she was doing the same. I walked over as she entered her cell. In it laid a skeleton. 

"Rifana....." She quietly said as I crouched down next to her to comfort her. I was from the same village as Raphtalia was and we both lost our families during the first wave. She had lost her parents and I, my older brother. My parents died some time before the wave from sickness. But, after the wave, we were captured by Idol and his soldiers. We were forced into slavery and used for his own entertainment. Every day and night, he would come and torture us. He would hang us from the ceiling by shackles and whip us, just to hear us scream for mercy. We had no hope. 

However, me and Raphtalia, out of everyone else who was taken, seemed to catch a lucky break. We were sold to a slave trader, and we stayed with him for several weeks before.... before we were found.... by the heroes. Naofumi.... and miss Ayuma.

"I was always so shy and didn't play with you or any of the other children. Was this Rifana..... was she your friend?" I asked Raphtalia as she gave me a nod. 

"My best. She was like a sister to me. She was so free spirited and kind. And she wanted nothing more than to meet the shield hero." Raphtalia explained as Naofumi entered the cell. 

"Well now she is. Whether she has passed on or not, I'll acknowledge her here and now. I, Naofumi the shield hero, thank you, Rifana, for taking care of Raphtalia before myself. You have a true soul of an angel.... and I hope, somehow, someway, you can hear these words." Naofumi said as me and Raphtalia began to cry. Raphtalia hugged her master as he comforted him. 

"Hey, we've got some survivors over here!" Reichnott yelled as we all looked to each other. 

"Thank goodness, we're not too late. Some of them survived." I said as we quickly exited the cell and ran over to where Reichnott was standing. Naofumi used one of his shields to unlock the cell doors so we could enter.

"Naofumi, over here!" Melty said as we headed over to her next. 

"And over here too!" Filo said as we ran to her. This one was especially concerning. 

"You're.... you're alive..... Keel...." Raphtalia said as Naofumi unlocked the cell and we ran in. She obviously knew who this little demi-human boy was. He was a wolf type with gray hair and bright blue eyes. He had one arm chained to the wall and he looked incredibly weak. 

"Oh, Keel! I can't believe you're here!" Raphtalia said as he opened his eyes. 

"Who are.... you?" He asked us. 

"I can't believe I found you after all this time. I'm so glad.... so glad you're alive." Raphtalia said as she pulled out her sword and cut him loose from his shackles. 

"Who are you? I don't understand." Keel said. 

"Have you forgotten already? It's me, Raphtalia. And look, Neela's here too." She explained to him. 

"You can't be them. Raphtalia? Neela? No way, that's impossible." Keel said as we both crouched down in front of him. 

"Listen to me, Keel. Do you remember that time when you went diving and nearly drowned? And we had to find Sedina so she could come rescue you? And there was another time where you ate a poisonous mushroom and ended up with an upset stomach. In pain, you begged me not to tell anyone. You remember that, don't you? And after the wave, when I said we should rebuild the village, you were the very first one to speak up and agree with me. You don't know.... how happy that made me." Raphtalia said as she gave him a heartwarming smile. 

"Raphtalia, it's really you? And you're really Neela? It's you two after all!?" Keel asked as Raphtalia hugged him. 

"Thank goodness. I'm so grateful you're still alive." She said to him. 

"Who are they?" Keel asked as he looked to everyone else. 

"It's okay, Keel. We're traveling with the shield hero, now." I said to him as I patted the top of his head. 

"What? The shield hero? He really exists!?" Keel questioned as Naofumi stepped forward. 

"He sure does, and he's come here to save all of us." Raphtalia said as Naofumi crouched down next to Keel. 

"Let me take a look at your wounds." He said as he grabbed onto Keel's wrist. It began to glow green and Keel was beginning to smile again. 

"You really exist after all! Then all those stories I heard about you are actually true! And, that makes me think..... Rifana would've wanted to meet him too...." Keel said as he coughed and put his head down. 

"Don't worry, kid. I already met, Rifana. She's at peace now." Naofumi said as Keel thanked him. 

"Now, do you know if there's anymore slaves down here?" Naofumi asked him. 

"How many of us have you freed?" Keel asked him. 

"Including you, that makes three. All demi-humans." I said to him as he held up his right index finger. 

"Just one. It's a human girl who came here around a week ago. She's all the way in the cell at the very end." Keel explained as I stood up. 

"I'll go free her. I'll be right back." I said as Naofumi gave me a nod. I ran out of the cell and all the way down the hall where I was met with a much larger cell than the rest. It was full of used torture devices and blood was everywhere along the floor and walls. It was so dark but I could just barely see the girl inside. But her hair was drooped over her head so I couldn't get a good look at her face. Both her arms and legs were shackled to the wall as she sat on the ground. 

"Excuse me, can you hear me? I've come to free you now. Can you tell me if you're alright?" I asked the girl but she didn't move. It was too dark to see what her state was. I ignited my right hand and burned away the lock on the cell. I went in and crouched down in front of them, using the flames on my hand to lighten up the cell. 

"Can you move at all?" I asked as the flame revealed so many horrible things that I wish I didn't see. The girl before me was completely stripped naked, and it was clear she had suffered through countless different types of torture. Whip marks all over her body, legs, arms, and even her neck. Multiple stab wounds on her chest and legs. Burned in brand marks on her arms, neck and lower chest. She had several fingers missing, a ring and index finger gone from her right hand and the pinky and ring fingers from her left. They were dripping blood like mad. A bucket of water sat next to the girl, no doubt used to drown her at some point. 

"Oh my.... you poor thing. How could he have done all this to you." I said as I moved aside the girls hair so I could get a look at her face. I could feel something dripping on my hand as I did that and I froze when I saw the girls face. 

"M..... M-M..... Mi.... Miss..... Ayuma!" I said as it was really and truly her in front of me. I broke down into tears instantly. And.... even after all the torture methods I had seen done to her.... there was still something far worse. 

Ayuma's left eye was missing.....

"Hey, Neela! Hurry up! We've gotta get out of here soon!" I heard Naofumi yell to me. 

"Naofumi, Raphtalia, everyone! Get over here, now!" I shouted as everyone came running down the hallway. I used my flames to light up the room even more so they could all see. Everyone went silent when their eyes laid witness to miss Ayuma. 

"She's..... alive!?" Naofumi questioned as Raphtalia cut through her chains, freeing her. I caught her as her body began to slump over onto the ground. 

"Please.... Miss Ayuma, it's me, Neela. I'm alright.... everyone's alright and we're here to save you. Just please.... open your eyes....." I said but they did not open. I could feel she wasn't breathing either. 

"Naofumi, please! You have to heal her! She can't be dead! She can't be!" I cried as he crouched down next to us and placed his hand on her left arm. 

"As source of thy power, I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature and heal my target! Fast Heal!" Naofumi said as his hand, and then Ayuma's body, began to glow green. It lasted for only a moment. 

"There, that should do it. Try waking her again." Naofumi said as I shook her a bit. 

"Miss Ayuma, please wake up. Please.... Mother you have to wake up! Mommy, please!" I cried but still, her eyes didn't open and she wasn't breathing. 

"What's wrong!? I thought you healed her!" I shouted  as Naofumi began to look concerned. 

"I did! While I can't heal her wounds, I can heal her health and stamina. But... all this damage to her...." Naofumi began to say as I tried waking her again. But still, it didn't work. 

"Try healing her again! Please, Naofumi! She can't die on me again! I only just found her, I can't lose her right away again!" I said but he didn't heal her again. 

"It's as if her mind has shut down but her body is refusing to die....." Naofumi said as I became shocked. 

"Are you saying..... she's.... she's in a coma.....?" I asked Naofumi but he remained silent. Everybody..... was silent. She wasn't dead.... but she might as well have been. 

"Naofumi.... please give me your cloak." I asked him. 

"My cloak?" He asked me as I nodded. 

"Yes.... that way I can cover her and stop her from being shamed. It's all I can do for her now." I said as he removed his cloak ad gave it to me. I wrapped it around her body and picked her up, her arms lifeless dangling down to the ground. 

"May I?" Alex asked as I handed Ayuma over to him. 

"I'm so.... so sorry to see this be done to you. I wish I could've done something to prevent all this. I wish I could've met you again..... and see your smile. I..... I love you, Ayuma. ......I always will....." Alex said as he began to cry. He kissed Ayuma's forehead as he held her tightly in his arms. 

"So.... this means that the king was lying to you when you asked him about her before!" Raphtalia said as I wiped away my tears. 

"Yeah, that's right. I'm sure that scumbag princess and the other heroes captured her after the wave and brought her here. They made up the whole damn story that she tried to kill the king and they used it to have her imprisoned. Man, I can't believe they'd do such a thing! This is even worse than what they did to me!" Naofumi yelled as he punched the wall to his right. 

"They're going to pay for this..... They'll all pay for what they did to my mother..... I'll show every last one of them the pain and suffering that my mother went through." I said as I began to cry again. 

"Worry about avenging her later. Right now, we need to get out of here before it becomes swarmed with guards." Naofumi said as I gave him a nod. We quickly turned and ran for the exit. Alex remained carrying miss Ayuma the entire time. 

When we got back outside, we came to a very surprising sight. Idol was still alive and he was chanting in front of a stone monument in the centre of the courtyard. 

"Oh supreme god! Grant me the power to rend the devil asunder!" Idol said as the monument began to glow. Markings appeared on the ground and it began to shake wildly. 

"No, it can't be! The great heroes of the past built that stone monument to seal away a monster forever! And he's trying to remove the seal!" Reichnott explained as the ground began to break apart near the monument. 

"Yes, you're free now! Go and destroy everything! You're liberated from your prison! Bring diving judgement down upon the devil of the shield!" Idol roared as the monster burst through the earth. It looked like an enormous dinosaur with armor plating upon its back and head. 

"Nobody can withstand me now! If I could kill the devil of the shield, I would be eternally blessed by g-" Idol tried to say but the monster stepped on him, crushing him completely underneath its giant foot. 

"Everyone, we need to run, now!" Naofumi ordered as we began to run for the exit. However, the monster swung its enormous tail around and struck a building. The debris from the building managed to block our path to the exit, so now we needed a new plan. 

"Over there, we can hide for now!" Naofumi said as we followed him behind another building. The monster didn't seem to notice us so, hopefully it doesn't follow. 

"This isn't right. That man unleashed a horrible monster, all to just kill Naofumi." Melty said. 

"Yeah, well, what else is new?" Naofumi said as Keel suddenly collapsed and began coughing like crazy. 

"We won't be able to get anywhere if we're all carrying these injured and sick slaves. We need escape here but also make sure they make it out as well." Naofumi said as I looked to him. 

"You have an idea then? Because I th-" I began to say as the monster broke through a building that was across from us. 

"How did it find us so quickly?" Raphtalia questioned as the monster looked directly at us. It licked its lips and then roared at us. But seeing it do that it gave me a theory. I looked behind me and saw Filo glaring back at the monster. 

"I know why it's following us! It's because Filo and the monster have a general hate for each other! The monster is a type of dragon, and Filolials and dragons are mortal enemies!" I suggested as everyone seemed to agree with me. 

"It's after Filo? Alright, then that's how we're going to lead that thing away from here! Reichnott, you take the children. The rest of us will draw that thing away so you can escape." Naofumi said as Reichnott gave him a nod. We gave him Keel and the other two demi-human slaves and they all ran to the north of the complex. 

"I'm goin' with him too! There's no tellin' that's what this thing's really after and I don't exactly want ta see any children die! Neela, you take care of Ayuma now, ya here? I'll be back and I expect her to be better when I return." Seamus said as he followed Reichnott and the others. 

"Please, be careful!" I yelled to him as he rounded the corner. 

"Filo! It's time to go! Everyone, get on!" Naofumi said as we all climbed onto Filo. Alex was still holding tightly onto miss Ayuma. I was certain he wouldn't drop her. The monster then let out a loud roar as we took off, jumping over the complex walls and into a forest. The monster began to follow us and it broke right through the wall. 

"Well, it looks like it's working! But you might want to pick up the pace, Filo!" I said as she quickly doubled her speed. The monster had been catching up to us but now, we were slowly gaining ground on it. 

We quickly entered a nearby town and ran straight through it, jumping over buildings which we hoped would slow the monster down. They didn't. The monster broke through each of them like they were made of twigs and began to close in on us again. Pretty soon we came to the edge of town and entered another forest. This one was more dense with trees which would hopefully slow the monster down. 

"How much further are we going!?" Filo asked. 

"As far as possible! Don't stop until I say so!" Naofumi told her as the monster let out another loud roar. 

"We're almost through the forest! Look!" Melty said, pointing straight ahead to a clearing. We came to a lake in the centre of the forest and Naofumi ordered Filo to stop. We all hopped off and prepared to fight. 

"Okay, this'll do. Everyone, get ready." Naofumi said. 

"Melty, please look after Ayuma." Alex said as he laid her gently down onto the ground. Melty stayed next to her as her brother began to use his magic to form an iron arrow in midair. 

Within a matter of seconds, the monster broke through the trees and made its way to us. It charged directly for Filo and Naofumi. 

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi yelled as his huge green glowing shield appeared between him and the monster. The monster struck the shield with its head and it instantly broke through. 

"Master, move!" Filo shouted as she ran around him and struck the monster in the face with her talons. 

"Shining Drill Shot!" Alex yelled as he sent his arrow flying at the head of the monster. He struck its armor on top of its head but his arrow bounced right off of it. 

"Take this!" Raphtalia shouted as she charged the monster and slashed at one of its legs with her sword. But she wasn't able to cut it at all. This monster's skin was tougher than stone. 

"Nothing we do can hurt this thing! But maybe..... maybe this will work!" I said as my hands burst into black flames. 

"Deathly Black Light!" I shouted as I launched an enormous stream of flames at the monster. I engulfed it in fire and it sounded like it was wailing. But our hopes quickly dashed when the monster walked straight through the flames. 

"Not even that worked!? What can we do to stop this thing!?" I thought as the monster began to swing its huge tail at me. 

"Look out, Neela!" Alex yelled as he dove and tackled me to the ground. The tail swung right over us. 

"Thanks for that." I said to him as we both got up. 

"Don't than me now, we're not out of this yet!" He said as he liquefied his iron ball and made it latch onto the monsters right leg. 

"Now, harden!" He said as he closed his right hand into a fist. The iron solidified and hardened instantly but the monster broke the iron apart by simply taking a step. 

"Damn, I was hoping that would work." Alex said as he liquefied his iron again and brought it back over to him. 

"Alone, we're not affecting this thing. But together, maybe then we'll stand a chance! How many arrow can you form with that thing?" I asked him. 

"Up to ten, but they get smaller with the more I make." He explained to me. 

"Make ten of them. We're gonna combine our magic together." I said as he reformed his iron ball into ten arrows, each about 8 inches long. I then used my magic and encased each arrow in black flames. Everything was ready. We both began to talk in unison, chanting our combo spell. 

"As source of thy power, I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature and incinerate our target! Blazing Black Bolts!" We roared as we fired all the arrows at the monster. They all hit, each striking a different part. The ones that hits its underside seemed to do the most damage as it looked like it had softer skin there. But our attack didn't phase the monster much at all. It was still nowhere near death. 

"That didn't work either! Now what do we do!?" Alex questioned as I tried to think of a solution. But I was all out of ideas. Everyone else was struggling, miss Ayuma was out of commission..... things are looking bleak for us. But suddenly, a thick fog began to surround us all and the monster. 

"Is this what I think it is? Yes, it's a high level magic field." Melty said. 

"And what does that mean? Are you saying we're trapped in here?" Naofumi asked her as I began to hear something approaching us. It sounded like a stampede. 

"Something's coming this way!" I alerted to everyone as, out of the forest, came a horde of dozens of Filolials, all in their long necked forms. 

"It's a bunch of Filolials!?" Melty questioned as all the Filolials began to form a circle around the monster. 

"What the hell is this? What's going on!?" Naofumi questioned but none of us could give an answer. But then, something began to rise from the lake behind us. And whatever it was.... it was massive. It might as well have created a tidal wave as it burst through the water and jumped over us, landing between us and the monster. 

"Is that....?" I began to ask as our eyes laid upon the sight of a truly enormous Filolial, maybe around 60 feet tall. And it had different markings on it, unlike all the others. 

"It's the Filolial queen!" Melty said as the queen spread out her wings. 

"She's so pretty." Filo said in awe. 

"Stand back adventurers. I shall deal with this beast." The queen said to us as she faced off with the monster. It roared in her face but she didn't seem afraid at all. 

"The dragon emperors fragment has caused your body to grow beyond control. If you'll hand over the fragment peacefully, I shall spare your life. You have been warned." The queen said to the monster as it roared and began to charge her. 

"As you wish then." The queen said as she raised one of her talons and kicked the monster hard in the lower jaw. She sent it flying backwards but it was able to land on its feet. The monster then spewed flames from it mouth at the Filolial queen. 

"Pathetic." She said to it as she waved one of her wings in front of her. A magic shield appeared in front of her and successfully blocked the fire attack. 

"I'm finishing this, now." The queen said as she dashed forward towards the monster. The force from her running created intense winds that were actually threatening to blow us away. The queen ran so fast that she disappeared from our sight for a moment. But when she reappeared, she was now behind the monster. It tried to turn to face her but it suddenly burst into blood. She struck it so fast and hard that it didn't even know it was hurt until it was too late. 

The monster moaned in agonizing pain as it bled from several parts of its body. It began to fall over and it landed in the lake. The queen then walked over to the creature and removed a crystal from its chest. She stowed it in her feathers and then faced us. 

"I take it you are the shield hero and axe hero? Am I correct?" She asked Naofumi. 

"That's right." Naofumi answered. 

"I have much to discuss with you. But this form isn't exactly suitable. One moment, please." The queen said as she began to shrink. She was transforming into her human form. When she was finished, she was about as tall as Filo in her own human form. The queen wore a pretty pink and white dress, had the same angel wings as Filo, and she had medium length white hair with pink eyes. 

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am queen of all the Filolial's in the world. My name is Fitoria. Nice to meet you." She said to us. 

She truly was a sight to behold. The oldest and mightiest of all the Filolial's had appeared before us to slay the vicious monster. And now, she wishes to speak with Naofumi and miss Ayuma. I don't how she will though. Miss Ayuma is far from waking up at all. But.... more importantly, the fact that miss Ayuma is alive is astounding. But the fact that the king and his forces said she was dead leaves one very important question. 

"Why would they go through so much just to have her imprisoned and say she was dead? I thought Naofumi was the one they were targeting, so why do this to her instead?"