Thank you for reading on ! We provide free access to all our stories, but maintaining this platform requires ongoing costs. To keep the site running and continue offering free content, we display advertisements. You can close the ads anytime, or upgrade to premium membership ($5/month) for an ad-free reading experience while supporting our mission. You can also earn premium for free by completing simple tasks. We truly appreciate your understanding and support!Cira had fainted at some point. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the gates of Hades, standing ominously on the mountains of Vaizel. A cold, black hand grasped her beard, and a voice spoke. "Finally awake," it said. Cira pushed the hand away from her face and glared at him. "Let me go. Don't touch me." "Touching you will be the least of your problems," he replied. "Open the doors of Hades, before you tear off the skin from your bones." "I won't do it." Liona approached her, a smirk on her lips. "There are many ways to force you, Princess Cira." "I don't care what you say.Don't let anything come out of those doors." "It doesn't matter what you want, but you can decide what matters, like this handsome assistant who always stood behind you. Now I remember, Hans." "If you point a man at me, I'll kill him!" "Bell wants to betray you and hopes the monsters will slowly devour you before your eyes. You should cooperate and end this problem." Liona sighed as she spoke. "Princess Cira, I truly believe you can stop us. You can prevent the dark king from conquering this world. Don't be naive; you will lose with or without your help. But let me decide to let you in.If you resist cooperating, things will be harder for you." Cira spat at her. "You're a damn witch. You should have let Enzo kill you." Liona laughed, unfazed. "There's no need to remember things that infuriate me." Liona drew a dagger and plunged it into Cira's leg. "We always believed we had the power to trample anyone, the power to decide if someone lives or dies. You'll have to admit that this power is marvelous, but it won't be sustainable for you. If you don't comply, your life is in my hands.I decide whether to kill you or let you live, so you'd better choose your words wisely." "And what if I don't? Will you kill me?" "No, it's just that right now, that's what I'm searching for. We won't kill you, but as I said before, you will suffer until you decide to cooperate." "I don't think I have as much time as you think to endure your torment." "Is it true that someone is coming to rescue you? It doesn't matter what happens to you. If you live or die, it's all the same to everyone.The real enemy is the one who opens the doors of Hades." "I'm aware of this, and I'm not waiting for someone to come and rescue me. I'm waiting for someone to win and kill you, to destroy the doors of Hades once and for all." Liona bristled at Cira's defiance. She fought against the anger that surged within her. "Damn wretched girl, I will make you regret this. You will suffer, drag yourself through the dirt, and beg for mercy. You will plead for me to kill you." "Why wait? Kill me now." Liona seized Cira by the throat, cutting off her breath, but Cira refused to yield. Dagon cautioned Liona."Remember that we need her alive. Damn it, we can kill her later. For now, let her go." Liona released Cira, who continued to hurl insults, trying to provoke her into killing her. But Liona seemed to have recognized Cira's ploy and did not fall for it. Dagon turned to Liona. "Search for a lizard-shaped monster. There must be someone in these mountains; poison will speak." When no one found a monster, the armies returned to camp, and the leaders of each army gathered. Hans explained how Cira had been captured.Enzo later insisted it was crucial to save her and that they had to go to the mountains of Vaizel. "Do you want us to go to the field to save our enemy?" Enora asked. "She is not our enemy." "That's what you say. How can we be sure this isn't a trap to lead us to our deaths in those mountains?" "It's not the only way to rescue her. I'm saying we must go. She's the only one who can open the doors of Hades. I told Hans that if we don't act, she will be killed, and that means if she resists complying with what these monsters want, they will force her to cooperate in one way or another.We must go before that happens. We couldn't prevent the doors from being opened, but we can stop the dark king and his cursed army." Cassian nodded. "I agree with Enzo. The best course of action is to close the doors of Hades. I've been there before. The place is difficult to reach but not impossible." Elisha added, "I also believe we must save her, but we cannot take our armies. That would draw too much attention from the monsters. It's better to go in a small group." Alessandro and Abril had remained silent until Enora addressed them. "Do you have an opinion?" "I feel like Enzo.We must save Cira, not because we worry about what the country thinks, but because it would be a worse problem if we don't go to rescue her." Hans interjected. "We should go now." Elisha responded, "No, we can't do that. It would be too dangerous to enter those mountains at night. It's best to wait until dawn." "Cira doesn't have time to cross the mountains. It would take too long." Elisha remembered that Cira's dragon was still in the camp. "We don't have to cross them. We can use Cira's dragon. I'm sure she would want to help." Enora didn't seem convinced."You're a monster created by darkness. We can't trust what will happen." Abril considered this but believed they could change the situation. She had seen it happen before, as Lissana had done. "We can free him from darkness." "Then it will still be a great danger that could attack us at any moment. Dragons are not pets." "This dragon appreciates my sister," Enzo countered, defending the queen. "It will do whatever it takes to save her, just as it did when it brought her here." Abril nodded. "I agree with Enzo. It's true that dragons are difficult to control, but they also possess great power.It will be useful to us when we enter the mountains of Vaizel and face those monsters. But as Elisha said, we can't all go, so we need to choose who will accompany us." Enzo volunteered. "I will go with you." Hans knew that Enzo was the heart of his army. "You must be willing to lead our forces. I will go in your place." Abril looked at Hans, noting that he didn't seem like a warrior. "We need skilled fighters. If not you, it would be better if you stayed here. You would be safer here than out there." Cassian agreed. "I think the same.I've been there, so I'll go." Elisha couldn't leave his army but offered one of his assistants. "I can't go, but Rania will accompany you. She is capable of using magic and will be of great help." Ethan volunteered. "I will also go." Enora did not respond to Ethan's decision. Barto also stepped forward, volunteering. As they decided who would go to rescue Cira, Abril was the one who would free Cira's dragon. Enora followed her. "You will free him from darkness. You need your magic." "Thank you very much." "Don't thank me. I'm just trying to get back my life.If you have to kill this girl to stop the dark king, I won't hesitate."noveldrama