Chapter 436: The Emergence of Lyra

"Elina, you attack its right side, and I’ll take the left!" Rafine shouted.

Elina nodded, drew her sword, and darted toward the demon’s right side.

"Die!" she shouted, raising her sword high.

Slash!

The demon’s right arm was severed, and it let out a shrill scream.

As it tried to strike Elina with its left arm, Rafine appeared and slashed at it.

The searing pain forced another scream from the demon, so piercing that both Rafine and Elina trembled at the sound.

The demon continued to scream, but there was nothing it could do.

Both of its arms had been severed, with Rafine and Elina’s swords embedded in the fallen limbs.

At last, the demon lost its strength and fell backward with a heavy thud.

Rafine and Elina panted as they exchanged glances, smiles spreading across their faces.

"We... did it," Rafine said with a long sigh.

Defeating the demon had been extremely difficult. No matter how many times they struck it down, it always rose again.

But this time was different. The red crystal on its forehead had completely dimmed.

That crystal was the sign of whether a demon could rise again. Rafine hadn’t known this at first.

Only after Elina explained it did she finally understand.

"You’re right," Elina said, wiping sweat from her forehead. "We did it. This demon is truly dead. Good job."

At the same time, she communicated with Malverna within her mind.

"Is the demon really dead?"

"Yes, it’s dead. But don’t get too excited—there are still many other demons waiting for you."

Elina lifted her gaze, and sure enough, five demons were already feasting on the human corpses scattered across the floor.

Suddenly, all five stopped and looked up at Elina and Rafine.

"Rafine, get your weapon ready," Elina warned, her voice serious.

Rafine quickly noticed the demons and took a fighting stance.

"Argh..." The five demons rose to their feet, staring intently at the two of them.

Just as the demons were about to lunge forward, a fireball shot past Elina and Rafine from behind, obliterating all five in an instant.

Startled, Elina and Rafine turned around to see a woman with black hair tied into a ponytail, floating beneath the hall’s ceiling.

The woman wore a veil that completely covered her face.

"Lyra?" Elina couldn’t hide her smile.

Lyra was one of her father’s Seven Mages of the Constellations. Her intervention meant the demon problem could finally be resolved.

Rafine also let out a sigh of relief. With Lyra here, they wouldn’t need to fight anymore.

Lyra flew closer and landed beside them.

"Are you both alright, Your Highness and Young Lady Rafine?" Lyra asked calmly.

"We’re fine," they replied together. Elina then glanced around and asked, "Has Father taken action?"

"Yes. His Majesty has ordered us to move. However, only Orion and I are able to act," Lyra said, her expression behind the veil growing gloomy.

Elina and Rafine were taken aback and exchanged glances.

"What do you mean?"

Lyra sighed softly and explained, "The other Mages of the Constellations are not at the imperial palace. Cassiopeia and Draco went with His Highness Nolan and Her Highness Sharon, while the others are on duty elsewhere. Only Orion and I remain."

Her voice carried an undeniable sense of helplessness.

If all of them had been on standby at the palace, something like this might not have happened.

After all, no one expected someone to be so bold as to slaughter the guests and turn them into demons.

Most likely, the culprits were those heretics—the members of the Underworld Gate.

Elina frowned, not expecting the other mages—such as Hydra, Phoenix, and Corvus—to be absent from the imperial palace.

Without them, how could this crisis be resolved?

Buzz!

Suddenly, a black light flared from the area where Lyra had previously burned the five demons.

Moments later, the demons rose again, their forms even more terrifying than before.

"It seems this battle will be a long one," Lyra said, rubbing her right palm. "Princess Elina, Young Lady Rafine, please head to the evacuation hall immediately. Leave this to me."

Elina was about to speak, but Lyra cut her off.

"Please don’t be stubborn. I can’t fight freely if you’re here."

Elina swallowed the words rising to her lips and gave a firm nod.

"All right. Be careful," she said, then turned and left through the exit with Rafine.

Lyra’s eyes locked onto the five demons. A thin, murderous smile curved across her face.

"Very well, lowly demons. Now... let’s play."

...

Outside the palace hall, people were running toward the evacuation hall prepared by the imperial palace.

The hall itself was protected by many powerful magic circles, making it impossible to destroy except by creatures beyond reason, such as the Seven Singularities.

"Are you okay, Syra?" Orlan asked with concern.

Syra nodded slightly, her face pale.

"I’m fine. Don’t worry. How about you, my dear?" Syra looked Orlan over anxiously, from head to toe.

"I’m fine too," Orlan replied reassuringly, stroking her head. "But where is Alicia? Have you seen her?"

Syra suddenly realized her daughter was missing. Her face grew even paler as she looked around frantically.

"Father, Mother!" Alicia’s voice rang out from their right.

Syra turned and saw her daughter, Alicia.

"Alicia!" Syra ran toward her with open arms.

Alicia leapt forward and hugged her tightly.

"Wuuu! Mother, I was so scared!" Alicia sobbed, burying her face in her mother’s soft chest.

The demon had been so terrifying that the image was etched clearly into her mind. She wanted to forget the memory, but she couldn’t.

Fortunately, she was finally reunited with her mother, and her fear slowly subsided.

"I know. It’s okay. I’m here," Syra said, tightening her embrace.

Alicia was the only fruit of her love with Orlan. If anything were to happen to her, Syra would be devastated.

After their anxiety subsided, the two loosened their embrace and looked at each other with affection.

"Thank God you’re okay, my dear," Orlan said as he walked toward them.

The little girl looked at her father with a guilty expression and said, "I’m sorry, Father. All of this happened because I was too far from you and Mother at the party earlier."

Orlan shook his head and gently stroked her hair. "No, it’s not your fault. No one could have predicted that some of the guests would turn into demons and attack the others."

Thinking about it, the incident was very strange and didn’t make sense.

The imperial palace was heavily guarded, so an attack by outside enemies was impossible.

There was only one possibility—the enemy had infiltrated the party and launched a covert attack.

But who did it? And what was their motive?

Just as he was lost in thought, a loud voice called out from behind him.

"Orlan! Are you okay?"