Chapter 27: Agreement.
<<Mana Jail>>
Several invisible chains of mana approached Vincent at lightning speed. Vincent couldn't even sense them, but they were here.
Anna moved in front of him and took out her sword from the scabbard. She used it to cut through the chains in an instant.
All of this happened in a few seconds. Vincent and Lucy finally noticed what was happening.
Diana didn't stop there. She continued to conjure up more chains. Anna was forced to cut all of them down, and she couldn't move.
<<Pursuit>>
Vincent took out his dagger and moved ahead. He wasn't going to wait and watch.
He dodged some of the chains and used his dagger to block the ones that he couldn't. Diana diverted her attention and focused on the kid running towards him.
Anna tapped the hilt of her sword once.
<<Replace>>
She changed places with him and cut through all of the incoming chains.
Vincent made his way towards her. He was only a few meters away from the mysterious woman.
<<Petrify>>
A large amount of mana appeared around his body. He tried to move against it, but his body was getting stiff by the second. Slowly, he froze in place, and his body was covered in stone created from mana.
<<Sacred Arts, Purify>>
Anna swiftly got rid of all the chains and sent out a slash. The mana-infused attack hit Vincent, and the stone around him turned to dust.
"Enough!"
Anna threw her sword towards the assailant. It was aimed towards her head.
Diana used a barrier to block it, but it cut through that easily. Her only choice was to use a boost and get out of the way.
The sword tore a hole through the wooden walls of the inn, just in time for Irene to walk out of the office.
Both of them were staring at each other warily. They were caught up in a stalemate.
Irene could feel the surge in mana around her. She could not use mana, but her husband had familiarised her with it.
"Both of you, stop right now!"
She screamed at the visitors.
Diana didn't care about the inn. She had to get the boy through one way or the other.
"Why are you attacking us?"
Anna spoke up. She knew that the best way to get out of this stalemate was to negotiate.
Vincent was looking at the lady with contempt.
Diana used her normal voice and said,
"Miss Anna, don't you recognize me?"
Anna frowned. She knew who it was.
"Give me the boy."
When she connected the dots, she realized that the guild had known where Vincent was.
"I can't do that. He belongs to the Kindred family."
"Who decided that!"
She was furious.
"Madam did."
"So she knew."
She started to gather an immense amount of mana in her hands.
"I will kill you if I have to get to that boy. This doesn't have to end badly for the both of us."
"If you think that I will renege on my duties, then you don't quite understand me."
She readied her fist.
"If you both dare to make a move, I will scream at the top of my voice."
Both of them looked towards Irene, who was done being ignored.
"The three of you can do whatever you want, But outside. Don't make me call the guards on you."
Diana let go of the mana, and it dissolved into the surroundings.
Anna walked upstairs and pulled the sword out of the wall. They both stared into each other's eyes and didn't blink.
"Vincent, wait here."
She walked through the door. Diana was not too far behind. As she left the door, she turned around and glanced at Vincent.
Her expressions were mixed.
"I don't have all day for your tantrums."
Anna called out to her.
She turned towards her and followed her into the darkness.
----------------------------------
"Princess, I can't give you the boy."
"As I said, I will get him, one way or another. If I have to burn this entire city down, then so be it."
Minerva was not going to back down.
"I have orders from the Madam. I already told you."
"I don't care about your orders. He is essential to my plans."
"And what are those plans exactly?"
Anna was losing her patience. This wasn't the Princess that she remembered.
"To win back the kingdom."
Her voice was cold. She was dead serious.
"I know that he is a hero. I also know that he has a slave mark."
She looked towards the ground as she said.
"He is just a kid. As of now, you are the biggest liability inside this kingdom. How can you ensure his safety when you can't even protect yourself?"
Anna went straight for the main problem. Vincent was valuable to the kingdom, but Minerva was a target.
"I-"
"Face the reality of the situation. You are no longer a princess. You are a target."
Anna said that and put her sword back in the scabbard.
Minerva looked at her and said,
"The mana entity."
Anna looked back towards her.
"Have you seen it?"
Anna frowned. How did she know that?
"What are you talking about?"
"If you haven't seen it, then remember this. That boy is going to explode sooner or later. And if you have, then you know exactly how strong it is."
Anna remained silent.
"I know that I am a liability. But I also know that sooner or later, he is going to become one too. If I can't take him with me, then fine. But he is in danger from day one. His appearance has opened up an actual destination for me, so if you want, I can get you to a place that can help with his condition."
"What place is that?"
Anna asked coldly.
"The dwarven kingdom."
Minerva replied immediately.
Anna started to contemplate the offer.
"I can take him there myself."
"Sure, you can. But I doubt that you can find the person I am talking about."
"Madam could help me."
"The Kindred family?"
Anna recognized her mistake. The Kindred family was at heavy odds with the dwarves.
"What do you want in return?"
"I want to meet Melida. And I need your help in getting around the kingdoms. We can part ways after the dwarven city. But before that, I want you to protect me."
She contemplated the offer. The Dwarves were known to be the creators of Slave seals. If they could help them get rid of that entity, Vincent could be molded into a perfect hero.
"What about your plans?"
Minerva gave her a look filled with disappointment.
"I will have to proceed with my previous plan."
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