Valt and the counselor were still on their way to find the prince and the monster. The blue boy could feel the aura his friend gave off. He knew he was near and even that he could already be there. Her eyes went to the old woman who was looking everywhere and who was a little tense, surely she was a little afraid. Even though everyone tried to feel proud and courageous, you shouldn't underestimate what was ahead.

Valt stopped and looked around trying to find his friend in the dark vegetation. The woman also stopped and looked at him, "Why are we stopping?"

"Um, nothing. I'm a little short of breath, that's all." lied Valt. He looked and still saw nothing. He decided to continue to the monster's home. The woman was starting to feel bad about brewing but didn't pay attention.

They continued until they saw some sort of house but the door was surrounded by foliage and it looked like the rest was going underground. "Here we are." Valt said. "They had to be in there."

Valt went first since the woman didn't want a bad trap if she went first. When the Alma Blue boy opened the door, it opened first.

"I'm just going for a walk, it's okay Shu." Lui said annoyed opening the door then he saw Valt and the counselor. He gasped in surprise. "V-Valt?"

Valt smiled, "Hi, Lui!"

Valt was going to come forward to give Lui a hug but my wife did before. "My prince, has nothing happened to you?" She took his face to see how it was going and examined him up and down.

Lui withdrew his arms violently, "It's okay, I'm alive! It's not hard to see anyway!"

"We need to get you back to your father asap. He is in a lot of trouble."

"Really? Is he really worried about me?" Lui said smiling, "You're teaching me something haha."

"Yes, he wants you to come back ASAP!"

"But I can't stay here a little longer, I feel more free." Lui said and it was really true. Even if there were instructions to respect such as not to go somewhere without being accompanied. He could do things here that he couldn't do before.

"You have responsibilities. The people should know that the heir is still alive."

"You should go back to the palace and say I'll be back later."

"No no, the master wants to see you again."

Shu came near them and saw Valt and the lady. He motioned to Valt, who returned it. He then turned to the lady, "Hello, my name is Shu Kurenai. Nice to meet you ma'am."

"Oh, here's a well-behaved boy." said the counselor.

"Do you wish to come in? You may be hungry."

"Oh sorry but we have to go."

"No, I want to stay here." tell Lui. He didn't want to leave now as relations with Free and Shu improved hour by hour.

"Prince Lui, we cannot stay here, the monster will soon arrive to devour us raw. Think about his boys, they will die like us."

"I'm not risking anything. If he spared me before, he will do it again."

"A monster has no heart. Maybe one day I told you that everyone has a heart, but there are exemptions."

"No! I know Free is good!"

"This creature has killed legions of armies, he has decimated entire populations! You cannot trust him. Come on, let's go." She took his arm and dragged him away.

"You can't take me like this! You're risking your life!"

She stopped and looked at him. Then suddenly she slapped him on the cheek. He was surprised and put his hand on his cheek where there was a red mark. "Young man! Don't think for a moment that I have no authority over you. I took you under my wing when your mother died so you must obey me, is that clear ?!"

Lui didn't answer and looked down, remembering his mother's death. He wanted to save her, to be there in time for her. He felt sad and helpless. Shu and Valt, who were further away, were looking at the scene poorly. The two are joined by Free. Valt gave him a look to tell him what to do. Free nodded. He wasn't going to kill her all at once, he was going to savor her death instead, hear her suffer.

"Come on, we have to get back to the palace before-" She stopped speaking when she saw a masked person all over the front. Only the lower part of the face was visible, and this was where the fangs were visible. She opened her eyes wider and gasped. She knew it was him. The monster. The one who killed many humans. "You, stay away from the prince and especially me."

The monster smiled, he liked to make fun of humans, who were afraid but still trying to be brave. "Well well, where do you think you're taking my little human, eh? You shouldn't steal what's from other people."

"Yours? But you're crazy, my word! This boy must be returned to the King! He has no intention of staying with a dirty creature like you!"

"Haha, well, I can tell you that the kid has other plans than just being locked up like that there. And I don't think he agrees with you, am I correct?"

"It doesn't matter if he wants to or not. I'll kill you, I'll complete my mission."

"You?" Free laughed, "You are alone, my poor. Alone against three, or four if the prince wants you as an enemy."

"What do you mean?" the old woman asked, looking at Valt and Shu. "Valt, you-"

"Sorry, I used to love you before, you know? But in this situation, I can't help you. You want to hurt my friends and I will protect them from you."

"It seems old people like you don't really have that much ability, am I right?" Free asked.

"Yes, you are all wrong." said the woman. She used some magic she had inherited from her mother and wielded a weapon.

Valt said an "oh, she hid it from me."

She threw herself at the monster, but it blocked her, with its greater strength.

Shu went close to Lui and pulled him towards them. He showed him the blade of the knife and handed the object to him. Lui looked at him and picked it up then looked at Shu. The red smiled and nodded. Valt also gave him a smile. The white dragon knew what he had to do.

The lady had tried to block the monster against a tree and had put the weapon to his throat. With her magic skills, she could use her magic weapon and with the other hand, channel magic in the form of raw power. It was an advantage to repel the monster, the knights' weapons were useless. The warriors would go straight to suicide. But for those who practice magic, it's easy to eradicate creatures.

Free, who was wedged against the tree, saw Lui approach them. The woman was too absorbed in the desire to kill the monster. Lui stood behind the woman and closed his eyes. He channeled his energy into the blade and made sure he didn't kill the woman but just paralyze her.

The woman was going to kill Free but before she could deliver the finishing blow, Lui's ice blade lit up like a lightsaber. The woman froze in place trying to catch the runt that attacked her but He quickly withdrew.

The blond watched the scene, where the woman was trying to give his protege a "punishment". He didn't like it. He stepped forward and before the woman could give him a blow, Free had knocked her out.

The woman fell to the ground and the two dragons looked at each other. Well, Free still had his mask on so it wasn't really that complete.

Lui removed his weapon from the lady's body and put the knife in his pocket. "What should we do now?"

"I have an idea." Free says simply, "You're going to like it."

"You like killing other people too much." just said Lui. "But you're right. It's not good that she stays alive."

"Let's put her in the snake pit." Shu said, "Since when haven't they been fed?"

"Um, they are only when you throw corpses at them or when a little human falls into them." Free said looking at Lui. Lui rolled his eyes.

"Okay well let's not waste any time. She will be waking up soon." Shu said.

Valt and Shu carried the woman. "Serious." Said Valt. "Why isn't Free carrying it, it's too heavy!"

Shu, with difficulty, "Free is at rest with Lui at the moment."

"Oh, that's not cool." Valt pouted.

"Haha." Shu laughed a little at his friend, who is sometimes childish.

They took the woman to the room with the reptiles. Free and Lui, who were further behind, started a discussion.

"Thanks for saving me, in a way." Said Free. "It was kind and unexpected of you. I thought it would be Shu or Valt who would."

Lui smiled at him, "I'm not going to let her kill you. I need you anyway."

"What are you saying ?" Free asked. Lui blushed a little and looked away. Free stopped and looked at him. Then he smirked when he realized what the blue meant. "I see now, you are very cute, besides being delicious."

"Shut up a little bit." He said feeling a little embarrassed.

Free hugged him, "I'm glad I spared you last time."

"You almost killed me, it was not pleasant to endure."

"Maybe but it's all over now, right?"

"What do I know! If you kill me while I sleep!"

"I won't, I will do it the other way around."

"Haa, push yourself." said Lui, putting a good distance between them. He left to join Shu and Valt. The blond boy thinks before joining his colleagues. He wanted to make sure the boy wasn't cheating on him. He must be sure that Lui trusts him. But thinking about it, that old feeling resurfaced but it was still vague. This warmth and happiness he once had. But he no longer had enough memories to recall the past.

Something in his mind that was obvious now, the past is not the present, or the future. All of this changes over time. He must not think of Silas, of the experience he had with him. He must turn the page because Silas is not Lui. They are different, although they have some things in common.

He caught up with the group that had already entered the room. The woman was in front of the abyss, Valt moved her a bit with his foot and the lady woke up slowly.

She looked at where she was and saw the group of four boys. "You? Come here and I kill you!" She rushed towards Free, and Lui who was next, despite his old age.

Shu reacted first and took a sword from Valt's pocket, hearing a "Hey!" from his friend. He stood in front of the two dragons and held out the sword so that the woman did not approach them. The thin blade was now on his neck. She felt a slight tingling. "step back." said the red.

Shu backed him up to the precipice. The adviser to the royal family no longer felt anything behind her, she just heard the sounds of poisonous snakes.

"Please, children. Have mercy on me." the woman said innocently.

Author: I don't know why but I'm laughing at what she just said.

"As if." Free said. He walked over to her. "You come, you want to take what's mine. You come with bad intentions. Don't you think you made some really big mistakes? Besides wanting to kill us."

She turned her eyes to Lui, "My dear prince, please tell him to let me live."

"You are trying to kill people important to me, including my best friend Valt, and you also want to kill my two new friends. And the worst part is that you want to kill ME! It's unforgivable what you do, I wonder , how my dad has trusted you all his years, and how I too could have done it. So... "He started to approach where she was standing with Shu in front of her. "You just don't think I'm going to spare your life when you tried to take it from us. I'd rather you die."

"You don't know what you are doing." the witch said with a glare, "Your father will learn of my death and he will hold you responsible."

"I don't care if he does."

"If your mother was still here, she could have shown you the right way and she would have convinced you that I was not the enemy. Unfortunately for us, she died. Sad, huh?"

Lui clenched his fists and bowed his head. All his events, they kept going over and over in his mind. Her death as she tried to protect him. The whole kingdom was saddened. But the old woman never seemed much affected. All that, his mother's death, made him sad. In addition to his brother who also died on the battlefield. His whole family fell, one by one. His father could fall, he can be so crazy sometimes.

But he didn't want to fall like the others. He knew that by being with those in the room. Shu, Free and Valt, he could avoid this if he believed in them. He has always been attached to Valt since he knew him. Shu too, he trusts him. And Free, it was often messy in his head. When he met him, the blond wanted to kill him, but he spared him. But he knew that Free was also confused by him, he had made him meet Fafnir, that means he was not sure about his reliability. He understood.

"Let's finish in." Valt said, "We don't have to do that, I want to get it over with quickly to go to sleep!"

"It's okay. I'm just waiting for your instructions." Shu said.

"It's simple. Kill her." says Free

Before Shu pushed her, it was Lui who first pushed Shu aside and then he kicked in anger and the woman fell down screaming. The sound of snakes was heard louder and the cries of suffering too.

Shu looked at Lui who walked away with closed fists. The flaming boy left the room. Red looked at the demon, "Free, maybe you should go talk to him."

Free nodded and left. But what could he bring her? If Lui didn't trust him and if he didn't trust Lui either because of Fafnir.

The two didn't trust each other yet. But they both wanted it deep inside them and all he needed to do was show me. Show the other that you have to break down the wall of ice between them. Because that's how they can get by.

End of the chapter!

A piece of advice, avoid getting too attached to the character too quickly hehe. Whether it is those of the set, or those we know from the anime.

See you later!