Chapter 28: Who Lived? Who Died?

When we saw Lady Merewyn bound in chains, we rushed to her side without hesitation and freed her.

Katarina, who had been trailing behind us, quickly caught up and helped release her.

I could see her faint heartbeat, she was weak.

We laid her unconscious body down, and Durgan slid his satchel beneath her head to serve as a pillow.

Katarina immediately began casting healing magic, a soft glow surrounding her hands as she channeled the spell.

She kept going, even as the sweat formed on her brow.

"That’s enough, let me take care of her," Durgan said firmly.

But she didn’t stop.

"Katarina," I told her, "you’re using too much energy. Stop."

Reluctantly, she let the magic fade. I helped her sit down against the wall, steadying her breathing.

I asked Terrence to tell the others we’d found Merewyn. He nodded and left at once.

Durgan stayed by Merewyn’s side, while I tried to make Katarina rest.

Still catching her breath, she let out a small laugh. "I guess we saved everyone… hehehe."

But my expression darkened. "Not everyone."

We had Merewyn, Stephanie, Mayu… even Princess Alina. But Jarrod… my friend… I still hadn’t found him.

Katarina noticed my mood and immediately understood. She placed her hand gently on mine. "We’ll find him, Jack. He’s still out there. I believe it."

For a moment, we sat side by side, wondering if this nightmare would ever end.

Her eyes met mine, and a playful smile tugged at her lips. "You know, you’re kind of cute when you’re worried."

I blinked. "…That’s the first time anyone’s ever said that and it supposed to be the other way around you know."

"Well," she teased, "maybe you should get used to it."

I couldn’t help but smile back.

But then, her expression shifted. The playfulness faded, replaced by something more serious.

"I need to tell you the truth," she said quietly. "I’m not exactly Katarina Sylrielle."

"…Oh? Then what’s your real name?"

"The name I once carried was Princess Carmilla Ethelfaed, the first-born daughter of the King and Queen of Mondunion."

I froze. "The first-born daughter? The one who died of an unknown illness… years ago?"

She nodded. "Yes. After I died, I was so full of regret that my soul forced itself into the body of a dying elf. That’s how I began a new life… carrying the memories of my past, stepping into a new future."

Her voice trembled.

"It was a time of unity. Mondunion was growing, uniting people from distant lands to rebuild what was lost. But my death broke the Queen—my mother. I wanted to speak with my sister, but the Queen refused to let anyone near her.

So instead… I made gifts. I crafted, built, invented… and sent them to Alina. My original self may be gone, but I wanted her to know my spirit still remained."

I tilted my head. "So, when did you even learn to craft like that? You’re practically an inventor."

"When we were children, we had a teacher. A strange woman, whose origins were unknown. She carried charts of paper she called blueprints. I never even knew why the paper was blue."

"What happened to her?" I asked.

"She vanished after the war. Said she was leaving… but no one knows where. One of my regrets was never asking her true name. She only gave us one: Rose. Her initials were… B.S."

I smirked.

"What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "What’s so funny?"

"Nothing. Maybe after we defeat Niobeorth, you’ll still have a lot to learn about jokes."

"Heyyy." She gave me a playful punch on the shoulder.

But then something struck me. "Wait. Adrian managed to bypass the Queen’s cage? If no one could get near Alina, how did he manage it?"

“He was our childhood friend.”
Katarina’s, no, Carmilla’s, expression softened. "You know… I truly did fall in love with him."

Her eyes grew distant.

"Every time he came to play with us, I was a little older, but… he always protected me. Protected us. That’s why I fell for him. He was true to his word. When I died… I knew he was heartbroken. He thought he couldn’t keep his promise. Maybe that’s why he and Alina grew closer. They were both trying to cope… and it drew them together."

"…So are you upset they’re together now?" I asked quietly.

"Before, yes," she admitted. "But not anymore. As long as they’re happy… even if I’m not part of their lives… I’ll stand by the sidelines."

I looked at her. She still hadn’t moved on. Gently, I placed my hand over hers.

Her skin was warm against mine. I froze, unsure what to do. If I pulled away now, it would feel like rejection.

"Katarina—no… Carmilla. You know, I—"

Suddenly, Terrence returned with the others, Diana was among them, their sudden appearance startled me.

Katarina and I immediately stood up, ready for whatever came next.

"I already confirmed to the rest," Terrence said, his voice still a little rough from running, "and they told us to bring her to them."

Durgan, still crouched beside Merewyn, shook his head. "Not now. I’m still mending her wounds."

A heavy silence fell. So now what?

My mind spun with possibilities. If Merewyn was here, then maybe, just maybe, others were trapped somewhere in this cursed place too. I wanted to keep searching, to push deeper into the castle, but then I remembered something.

Ysanthe’s message.

She had sent me something before all this… but it wasn’t plain words. It was strange, like dots and dashes. Morse code? I knew nothing about it. With a quick breath, I pulled the note from my pocket which I wrote the code after reviewing the footage and showed it to the gang.

".- -.. .-. .. .- -. .. … -.. . .- -.. .- -. -.. .. .- – … — .-. .-. -.–"

They all leaned in.

Immediately, every finger in the group pointed at Michael. “If need someone to do this nerd [BEEP] this is our guy.”

He grinned, cracking his knuckles with dramatic flair. "Step aside, boys. This is my domain."

The others, of course, didn’t step aside. They crowded him instead, arguing, debating, trying to help but only making a chaotic mess of things. Their voices overlapped in shouts and curses, drowning out Michael’s concentration.

Before I could stop them, Merewyn stirred.

Her breathing was shallow, her eyelids fluttering. Diana, Katarina, and I rushed to her side while Durgan still tended her wounds with his steady hands.

"Don’t worry," I told her softly. "You’re safe now. We just have to find this boss and then we can leave this place."

Her lips parted, her words ragged and chilling.

"The monster… one of Niobeorth’s spawn… survived. It never died. It lived… among your people… in Mondunion."

Every drop of blood in my body froze.

"What?" I whispered. "You’re saying one of the bosses we defeated… is still alive?"

Durgan’s hands stilled. Even he was shaken. "But which one? I saw one fall with my own eyes."

My thoughts raced. "Wait—there were five of them. Does that mean… the fifth boss isn’t here? Not in this castle?"

Merewyn’s weak nod was answer enough.

Benson frowned deeply. "Does that mean Baba Kong and Goryguari were two separate bosses? That they just happened to be in the same place?"

"We need to think this through." I clenched my fists. "Three of the bosses I fought are dead. I’m sure of it."

Terrence, arms crossed, muttered with his usual sharp tongue. "Yeah—the spider skeleton [BEEP], the monkey [BEEP], and the ball sack [BEEP]."

Benson pinched the bridge of his nose. "You mean the Kumodokuro, the Baba Kong, and the Goryguari."

"Yeah, those [BEEP]," Terrence shot back without missing a beat.

"Stop joking around," Diana snapped coldly. Her glare could freeze a room.

I frowned. "That leaves the other two…"

Katarina’s voice was quiet, almost reluctant. "The Windstalker… Great Galoong."

Durgan added grimly, "And Talas, the Iron Titan."

"Galoong was defeated by Diana, Serana can testify," Katarina said.

"And Talas was defeated by Adrian," Durgan followed.

My chest tightened. I didn’t witness either of those battles. Could one of them have…?

Before I could finish the thought, Michael’s shout broke through the room. "Guys!?"

Terrence turned. "What now?"

Michael’s usual smugness was gone. His face was pale. "I may… or may not have decoded this message. But I’m not sure if I got it right."

"You?" Terrence barked. "The expert isn’t sure?"

"I read it a hundred times," Michael said, his voice shaking. "And it kept saying the same thing."

"Then what does it say?" Diana demanded.

Michael swallowed hard. "…It says, Adrian is dead."

The words hit the room like a thunderclap.

"What?!" Durgan and Katarina shouted at the same time, disbelief written on their faces.

"If Adrian’s dead," Terrence growled, "then who the [BEEP] is the guy traveling with us right now?"

Michael looked at the message again, his hands trembling. "The message isn’t finished. It also says… I am sorry."

Everyone was shaken, but my gut told me what this really meant. Ysanthe. This was her warning. This was why she had been terrified of Adrian. Why she wanted to join us. She wasn’t just afraid, she was trying to stop him.

"Guys," I said, my voice sharp with urgency, "we need to get to the others. They’re in danger."

Katarina shook her head violently. "No. I don’t believe it. Adrian’s alive—he has to be! And also, are you all truly suspicious of him?"

But Merewyn, with her remaining strength, whispered firmly: "You must stop him… immediately."

We didn’t wait another second. We ran.

But before we could reach the others, the ground split apart. Another earthquake ripped through the castle.

The walls shook violently. Stone cracked. The floor beneath us lurched as if the entire fortress was alive.

"The castle… it’s shifting! Again!"

The next instant, the floor caved.

We were forced apart.

Merewyn screamed, and I lunged toward her. Diana and Katarina did the same.

And then—

We fell into the cracks.
When I opened my eyes, I didn’t know where we were.

It looked like a cave, yet the castle was still floating. Maybe a whole chunk of earth had been dragged along with it.

When I looked up, I realize how deep the fall was, so I asked, “how did we manage to survive this fall?”
“It was all thanks to Lady Merewyn herself.” Durgan said.
“Thank you,” Lady Merewyn smily nodded.
I looked around and it felt like we were in back in the dungeon, I tried to grab for the mini-map, however I couldn’t find it.

"Dammit… I lost the mini-map. Now I can’t even find a way out."

I glanced at Merewyn, Katarina, Diana, and Durgan, thankfully, they were fine. The others… I wasn’t so sure.

Footsteps echoed in the dark. Someone was coming. I gripped my Dangatana, ready for anything at this point.

Then the figure stepped into the light, and my breath froze.

"Hey there, man. It’s been a while."