Barbecue

After leaving the study, Mother and the others went to pack their things. Hekate returned to her room to continue Meditating. She did not have much to pack.

That afternoon, Betty came to visit her.

Hekate found it strange. At a time like this, shouldn't Betty have been busy fleeing? If the Chaos Kingdom refused to accept their surrender, the Uruk royal family would surely be wiped out next.

Betty arrived at Hekate's room. She looked exhausted, yet she still forced herself to perk up. "Hekate..."

The girl seemed hesitant to speak.

After two years, she had grown prettier and taller.

"What is it?"

"Today... can you stay with me all day?"

"Of course." Hekate agreed without hesitation.

Over the past two years, Betty had never again mentioned making her Hekate's Personal Knight. Instead, she had treated her as an equal, so Hekate had accepted her as a friend.

Like Puli, Betty was one of the close friends she had met in the royal capital.

Hekate followed Betty out of the Calilans family residence and boarded the princess's carriage.

Betty's personal carriage resembled her greatly in style. Its exterior was luxurious yet understated, while its interior was lovely and adorable. Every time Hekate rode in it, she could sense that Betty had once been a girl surrounded by happiness. Unfortunately, exhaustion was now the only thing on her face.

Hekate could feel the girl seated opposite her looking at her with hope and pleading in her eyes. Her lips parted several times, but she still could not bring herself to say what was in her heart.

Hekate found it a little strange. She's looking at me so expectantly. Does she know my true strength?

That was impossible. Eternal Moonlight was still consuming her lifespan.

Hekate dismissed the thought and turned to look at the sky outside the window. With her current strength, she could ignore the restrictions of time and weather and ask the stars questions whenever she wished.

Star Speech was equivalent to extremely advanced Astrology Magic. Back when she was weaker, she could only passively receive information.

Soon, the stars responded.

One of the terms in King Uruk's surrender agreement was that Princess Betty would become a hostage and marry into the Chaos royal family. Regardless of how the war unfolded, Princess Betty would lose her freedom forever. Before becoming a hostage, she hoped to persuade you to elope with her.

But she still cared about her country and understood her duty as a princess. Thus, she was deeply conflicted between eloping and becoming a hostage, unable to make a decision.

So that was it.

Hekate suddenly understood, and then an echo sounded beside her ear.

Boom!

One of the stars trembled. It was a star that had resonated with her. Whenever there was urgent news, the Resonance Star would alert her through vibrations.

Hekate's expression tightened as information from afar swiftly entered her ears.

Today, the Chaos Kingdom officially received the Uruk Kingdom's surrender agreement. They immediately arranged for a 3-star Archmage to use Space Magic to arrive in the royal capital, intending to wipe out the entire Uruk royal family before destroying all of Lundria. He had already arrived above Elais Palace.

Hekate frowned. "What is his name?"

Shas Elnan Bayla.

As soon as she finished asking, a massive explosion rang out over the royal capital.

Thanks to the high-level autonomous protective Magic Array established by the royal family, Mage Shas had failed to destroy Elais Palace immediately.

Betty shuddered at the sound of the explosion and hurriedly looked out the window. She saw many mages flying into the air to confront the enemy, while the streets were filled with terrified people running in every direction.

Shas, a 3-star Archmage. He was a whole star above Teacher Ivin. Unless the headmaster of Grants Academy was present, going over there would be nothing but suicide.

But if she did not act, Father, Mother, and the others would certainly die.

Hekate frowned and cast a Fire Curse Technique on him first. She would see how effective it was.

At that moment, Shas snorted coldly. "This Magic Array is quite exquisitely designed. It can actually withstand my magic."

A Guardian Mage flew up and asked with a cold expression, "Who are you? Why are you attacking Elais Palace?"

"Tch, a mere 5-star Great Mage dares show himself before me?" Shas casually swung a Space Blade, slicing the Guardian Mage in two in the blink of an eye.

Inside the Magic Array, King Uruk's face turned deathly pale as he witnessed everything.

Whoosh!

Scorching flames erupted around Shas in an instant. The sun-bright flames activated the Magic Equipment on his body, blocking all damage outside.

"Fire Curse Technique! Such immense magic power?!"

Shas quickly came to his senses and recognized the spell on his body. His eyes immediately filled with murderous ferocity. Someone actually dared curse a mage from a religious nation? They had no idea what death was!

He immediately activated Curse Counter and Curse Tracing. Yet the magic that had always worked without fail now moved as sluggishly as if trapped in a swamp, giving him no response for a long time—until a field of Starlight appeared before his eyes.

"What is this?!"

He hastily canceled the magic and staggered back in terror at the sight of the Starlight. However, the Fire Curse Technique still failed to cause him any actual harm.

As expected, an apprentice-level spell found it difficult to harm someone of this level.

Hekate raised her eyes and opened her status list, activating the Resonance Star, Star of Magic, and Star of Fire Element.

The power of the Fire Curse Technique instantly increased by 200%.

The red fireball floating in the air turned blue in an instant. Its temperature rose rapidly as it frantically burned through Shas's magic shield.

At last, the Fire Curse Technique burned through his Magic Equipment and acted directly upon his body. The scorching heat made him cry out miserably. He hurriedly cast a shielding spell to block the flames again, then roared furiously, "Who is it? Come out! With magic power this immense, you're only using Fire Curse Technique on me? Are you humiliating me? Come out! If you have the guts, come fight me openly!"

Yet no one answered him. Instead, the Fire Curse Technique's temperature continued to rise.

Shas's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly fled into the distance, trying to leave the curse's effective range. However, Hekate's magic power was inexhaustible. She did not care how far he flew.

An hour later, he crossed the Uruk Kingdom's border, drawing the attention of many mages stationed there. They could not even make out what the blue fireball was before it flew away.

Even after he returned to the skies above the Chaos Kingdom, the Fire Curse Technique, enhanced by 200%, continued clinging to him.

Shas raged helplessly. "Damn it!"

He was one of the Commanders of the Chaos Knights, yet an enemy he had not even met had cursed him all the way back to his own country. How could he possibly endure such humiliation?

And wasn't Fire Curse Technique an apprentice-level spell? How was it more powerful than even high-level magic?!

The Uruk Kingdom was clearly just an ordinary kingdom. Where had such a powerhouse come from? Could there be something in this kingdom they had failed to investigate?

Regardless, Shas immediately went before the king and reported the situation to the King of Chaos while still covered in blue Fire Curse Technique flames.

After hearing this, King Arthurx did not blame him for failing to launch a surprise attack on Lundria. Instead, he calmly asked, "What is going on with the flames on your body?"

Shas gritted his teeth. "I was cursed by an unknown powerhouse. His magic power is incredibly immense, and he still has not canceled the curse."