The sound of the castle suddenly shaking echoed through the entire royal hall. A deep roar rose from within the stones, and the frozen ceiling trembled for a moment.
Lian, who had been sitting on the chair checking his status panel, immediately raised his head.
A deep frown appeared on his face. This shaking was not normal. It was as if something deep inside the castle had been activated.
Something that should not have been activated.
The second roar was stronger than the first.
Pieces of ice broke off from the ceiling and fell to the ground. Lian stood up without delay.
"Seris..." The first thought that came to his mind was this.
A crazy girl who, even in a place like this, would probably be punching something she should not have gone near.
He closed his eyes. The sounds became clearer. The smells became sharper.
He could even feel the weak flow of energy from surrounding creatures better.
Naturally, because of the passive skill Blood Hunt, and at that moment he realized.
He could sense Seris’s familiar presence, and then he moved quickly. The frozen hallways were passed one after another.
Without wasting time, he headed toward where he felt that girl’s presence.
The further he went, the clearer the signs of shaking became. Cracks had formed on the walls.
Masses of ice had collapsed. Finally, he reached the end of one of the hallways. There, a stone staircase stood. Stairs that extended down into the underground darkness.
Lian went down the stairs without stopping. A few minutes later, he finally reached the end of the path. At that moment, he saw Seris. The young girl was standing by the wall.
Part of her clothes was torn. Burn marks could be seen on her arm. Several fresh wounds were on her body.
But fortunately, her condition did not look dangerous. When she noticed Lian’s presence, she turned her head.
"You finally came."
Lian frowned.
"What happened?"
Seris pointed with her finger toward the front.
"I think I found the castle’s treasury."
Lian followed her gaze, and a moment later he stopped. At the end of the underground hall, a massive golden door stood.
Its height was at least five meters. On its surface, thousands of complex patterns were carved. Symbols that looked like ancient magic, and even after all these years, a faint light still flowed through those lines.
Around the door, several magic circles could also be seen. This made Lian frown even more.
"A defense mechanism?"
"Yes." Seris nodded. This same defense mechanism had left her in this state.
Then, without any further explanation, she stepped forward. She stood in front of the door, clenched her fist, and delivered a heavy blow.
BOOM!
At that moment, one of the magic circles lit up. A blue light spread in the air. Suddenly, dozens of spears made of mana appeared in front.
"Watch out!" Lian’s eyes widened a little, and he warned.
But his warning was late. The spears came down like rain. Seris jumped back. She dodged several, but two spears hit her shoulder and side.
Blood sprayed on the ground. Her body was thrown back several meters.
"Damn it!" Seris landed on her feet. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and stared at the door with anger.
"I don’t like this door."
Lian stepped forward and examined the mechanism for a few moments.
"It almost killed you. You should be a little more cautious." He added.
"Should we attack it together?" Seris shrugged.
Then she stepped forward again. This time, both of them attacked together. Their fists landed on the door with power.
But the result was almost zero. On the contrary, the mechanism activated again.
This time even more violently. Lightning bolts, magical blades, and small explosions of energy shot toward them.
Both were forced to retreat. But that was not enough. The spears followed them. In the end, Lian had no choice but to stop them, which was not without cost, and he received several wounds.
After a few minutes of fruitless effort, Lian finally stopped attacking.
"Wait."
"What?" Seris looked at him.
"I think I understand the problem." Lian stared at the door.
"Tell me."
"This mechanism attacks us because we are outsiders."
"So? You figured that out by yourself? That is completely obvious!" Seris frowned.
A few seconds of silence passed.
Then Lian’s eyes narrowed slightly. An idea formed in his mind. Without any explanation, he turned and moved toward the stairs.
"Where are you going?"
"An experiment."
A few minutes later, he returned. But this time, he had something in his hand. A frozen bone. The princess’s hand bone.
Seris raised an eyebrow when she saw it. She quickly understood his plan.
But she doubted that a simple bone would be enough to break the mechanism.
"Do you think it will work?"
"I don’t know." Lian stepped forward.
First step.
Nothing happened.
Second step.
Silence.
Third step. Then he hit the door hard with his fist.
But again, nothing happened. The magic circles remained off. Seris’s eyes widened.
"It worked?"
"Apparently yes." Lian gave a small smile. He broke part of the bone and gave a piece to Seris.
"Hold this."
Seris took the bone. A few moments later, both approached the door without the mechanism activating.
Now the only remaining problem was the door itself. A massive lock could be seen in its center.
But there was no key. Lian examined it a little, but soon realized there was no normal way to open it.
In the end, he stepped back.
Seris stared at the door.
"Step back." She then said.
Lian glanced at her briefly, but said nothing and just stepped back a few paces.
For a few seconds, silence ruled. Seris took a deep breath. For the first time since Lian had known her, a strange aura appeared around her body.
An invisible heavy pressure spread in the air. The stones around cracked. The ice on the ground broke.
Lian’s eyes narrowed a little.
This was her power. He had never seen such a thing from Seris before. Seris pulled her fist back, and all the muscles in her body tensed.
And then she struck.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion shook the entire underground. The walls cracked. Dust spread in the air.
And the huge golden door collapsed.
Lian’s eyes stayed open for a moment. Even he was shocked. This power was completely beyond anything Seris had shown before.
Seris shook her hand.
"Finally open."
And as if she had done something completely normal, she walked through the remains of the door.
Lian also followed her in. But the moment they entered, both stopped.
Then disbelief. And then shock. The treasury was in front of them. But unlike what they had thought, it was not very full.
But there was a large amount of gold, silver, and even mana crystals.
In a corner, several suits of armor were placed. Armor that even unfamiliar people could tell was not normal.
And a bit farther, a sword rested on a stone pedestal.
A simple sword, without special decorations. But just by looking, one could tell it was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
And next to it, a suit of armor that radiated a sense of power even from a distance.
Lian and Seris stared at the treasury in silence for a few seconds. They had finally found treasure!