"I would appreciate a warning before you pull something like that" Kagemori warned and Maria just looked on in shock. She had not even been aware that she did something like that. How could she give a warning beforehand? It had come just as much as a shock to her as it had to anyone else present there.

Even Lucas looked pissed off and surprised at having been captured in the chains. His attempts at getting free were futile since his human magic was wasted on the chains. Maria could only watch the man struggle to get back up but her chains were not letting him up.

Maria knew how vicious her chains could be and she had no intention of going against their wishes. At least now since they were helping them.

"W-What kind of creature is this? Its life force is so potent" Lucas asked, fear shining in his eyes. He genuinely did believe that the chains had a life force of their own and Maria did not want to be the one to break his delusion about those chains. She had enough patience to sit back and watch the man struggle.

However, Kagemori did not have the same patience as Maria. The other girl was almost feral with the need to have her questions answered and Maria instantly felt bad for Lucas. He was going to have to face a half-feral demon who had the reasons to hate him.

"Where did you take Trisha? Where is the princess?" Kagemori had not wasted any time in asserting her dominance. She had Lucas's head in her grasp, tilting it uncomfortably and Maria genuinely feared that it would snap in two.

She did not want to see the man die such a death, even if he deserved it. But even more so, she did not want to have his death on her hand. If he died then there was a chance that peace might never come for the people of Imu. He was a public figure and one people respected to a degree.historical

"Kagemori, don't kill him. It would be in your best interest to aid us Lucas'' the man looked at the two in front of him like they were the scums on the planet. However, he did not resist the magic binding him any longer.

It was human magic that was binding Lucas and he had nothing to oppose it at a personal level. He was an understanding and intelligent person if only a little misguided. Maria did not fault him for it since it has been his upbringing.

"I don't know how you demons got your hands on the holy magic but you're too late. Your friend, the princess has been taken to the execution ground which would act as an altar for the ritual. Father is hellbent on the task of eradicating the demons from Imu" the man finally spoke.

He had been so quiet this whole time that Maria was beginning to think that he was not even conscious. But of course, the man proved her wrong as he spoke. He had a profound air around him but his words did sound taunting to Maria in a way.

"Maria, we need to go now. If Trisha's at the altar then we've wasted enough time already" Kagemori called back before she dashed out. She did not even stop to think back on them being betrayed or played by Lucas.

Maria did not stop her, letting Kagemori take a chance. Her instincts told her that Lucas was telling the truth so Maria chose to believe him. But she also wanted to have a talk with him about his last action.

There had been no reason for Lucas to help them out after his defeat but he still did. Maria just didn't understand what was going on inside this man's head. What did he want with them now?

"What's wrong? You don't believe my words?" Lucas asked as Maria allowed him enough room to sit down. He sounded genuinely curious and Maria decided to humor him.

"I believe you when you say that Trisha is at the altar. But I don't get you at all. You had no reason to tell us her location and yet you still did. You were our enemy one second and our alley the very next. Just what do you want from us?" Maria asked as she watched the man try to move.

Her chains flexed themselves around the man, cutting off any chances of movement he could have made.

"I should be the one asking you that. With these chains, they feel like they have a will of their own which should not be possible. And you, you're not a demon but you're not fully human as well. And I feel like I've seen you before. Like, way, way before today" Lucas complained.

Not that his voice sounded like it was complaining, but Maria could tell from his facial expression what he was thinking about. And that very much did give him away. And it must have been confusing for him.

"I don't know about my weapon but I'm a half-ling. Father was a demon, mother a human" Maria was not even sure why she chose to reveal that information in front of Lucas. And even Lucas looked taken aback that Maria had revealed something like that.

"Oi, are you sure you should be telling me this? Isn't that a secret you should really keep?" Lucas asked, shocked to the core. Maria did not care much for him now.

But it did confirm to her that her being a half-ling was a big deal. She would have to be careful to keep this secret.

"It doesn't matter. I already ran away from Gerna because I didn't want to be a puppet anyway. One more won't matter to me" Maria explained as she secured her chains around Lucas for the last time. He would not be going anywhere till this mess was completed.

She even made sure to put a timer on the chains in case she forgot to unlock them for a few days.

"Gerna? You! The Oracle is a half-ling? You are the oracle, right? Hey, don't leave me hanging" the man yelled but Maria left him without an answer. She had other things to do than to quench a single human's curiosity.

[User is advised to rest. The massive strain detected in user's body]

The system was loud and Maria's body was heavy. It was difficult to move but Maria powered ahead anyway. She would collapse once she was sure Imu would not end. Until then she needed to keep. On dragging her body and making sure she doesn't collapse.

She had failed one princess, she did not want to fail another one.