The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

The woman panicked for a brief moment, covered her face with her hands, and let out a short but very meaningful whimper.

"You weren't supposed to see that!"

"But... Why do you have that in the first place?!" Sebastian felt like something in him started breaking. Like sanity, for example...

"That's... That's a personal matter!" she replied angrily, crossing her hands in front of her once more.

"Oh, I know!" The Slime surrendered himself to the insanity of the situation. "And it includes your ludicrous knowledge about the layout of Avalon and... And that!"

Sebastian pointed at the suspicious shrine behind the Core. The woman paled a bit and stepped backward before dropping her hands and clenching her fists a few times.

"I..." She blushed and covered her face again, after which she mumbled something unintelligible. On the other hand, Sebastian tried to regain his usual calmness with little success. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked at the Noble Slime from between her fingers. "Promise me that you are not going to laugh."

"I promise to do my best." Given the recent events, Sebastian wasn't so sure he wouldn't burst into laughter if her reason was as ridiculous as everything so far.

"Okay..." She took one more deep breath and nervously played with her fingers. "He is the only one like me. Even more... You know..." She awkwardly pointed at her translucent, crystalline body. "More people-like."

The surprisingly normal reason almost made Sebastian exhale in relief. However, she continued with a hushed voice before he managed to express his thoughts.

"And you know... I was so lonely... And when he finally arrived... I didn't know how to speak with him or what I should do. But... I couldn't stop thinking about him, about how similar we are." Her gaze ran off as she decided that the tips of her translucent shoes were suddenly fascinating to look at. Her cheeks started burning like a fire. "The more time passed, the more I wanted to learn about him, so my spies gathered everything they could. Every story, every tavern tale... I heard all the thrilling and interesting stories about him. And... And... When my servants brought me his portrait, I could finally imagine we were talking together..."

Yes. There it is. Sebastian's face went blank as he decided she wasn't his problem. He served his King long enough to recognise a Fangirl. As long she wasn't dangerous for anyone else, she was the King's problem. That dangerous part was vital since she was responsible for attacking Avalon indirectly in the past, as well as helping the Kingdom of Cridia. Mindful of this, Sebastian gave her a scrutinising look. She was breathing nervously and couldn't look up, waiting for him to speak first. Clearly, she was embarrassed, but Sebastian was sure she regretted being caught more than doing those things in the first place. Wait a minute...

A sudden thought occupied his mind. "What kind of snacks were you talking about before?"

"Oh, you know... I pretended to help those who tried to hurt Theon by sending frail creatures that would give him all the mana he needed back then." She nervously pushed the tips of her fingers against each other.

"Oh." He nodded, trying to piece together the pieces of information that made no sense, but then his Lord's realisation and awkward laughter hit him. "OOOHHHH!"

"I shouldn't have done that?" she asked timidly. It was the first time that she looked shy.

"Now that my Lord knows your reasons, he doesn’t mind it." Sebastian wasn't sure how he should act anymore. However, knowing that she never intended to hurt Avalon and his people made it far easier to talk in general. Still, unfortunately, it did not help to solve the overall awkwardness. Fortunately, the calm and straightforward impulse from his bond with the King urged him to change the subject. He cleared his throat and donned his official expression. "I was sent by my King to subdue you..."

Once Sebastian realised what he said, it was already far too late. The panicked voice of his King was too slow to reach him to change what had happened. With growing feelings of unease and certainty that the awkward situation had reached the point of no return, the Noble Slime scion observed the Core-woman in front of him. Her eyes went wide and her cheeks, which were already red, started glowing in what he thought was embarrassment. In fact, she turned bright red from her neck to the tips of her Dwarven, pointed ears. Her eyes started shining with something unidentifiably dangerous, but a wide, mischievous smile adorned her face, and she quickly hid behind her hands. She fidgeted nervously from side to side, making her crystalline dress flounce about unnaturally. After a few deep breaths, she fixed her dress and put her hands behind her, creating a very unambiguous facial expression.

"I didn't know you were into such naughty things, Theon, but... YES." She smiled lusciously, making Sebastian back off slowly.

He had accidentally complicated the matter so much that clearing this seemed impossible. He slowly and weakly raised his hands, trying to disarm the situation fruitlessly. "No, no, wait! This is simply a misunderstanding..."

However, no matter what he tried to say, it was futile. She wasn't listening at all, turning from side to side, absolutely ignoring Sebastian's attempts to explain himself. She chittered something and giggled to herself with her hands on her cheeks.

"Ekhem... Scion Sebastian?" The Noble Slime looked around, searching for a new voice, only to discover it belonged to the wanna-be Dwarf.

"Yes?" He looked at the still held-down scion of the Mountain Dungeon.

"It's... Kinda pointless to speak with her now. She is in her own world of fantasies right now, and I'm sure she will be fine after some time..." He let out a tired sigh. "I'm afraid this will last at least a day or two, and if you just pretend you saw nothing afterwards, I would be very obliged."

"Okay..." Sebastian desperately clung to that improbable ray of sanity in this entire situation. He signalled the Praetorians to release the scion.

They both stepped aside, and Sebastian took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Look, man. We both had plenty on our plates, but I still believe I have it a little bit harder than you. My name's Balin," the Mountain Dungeon's scion started with a neutral voice. "You asked before what I am. I'm aaa... Well, I am a Korred, cosplaying as a Dwarf."

"Korred? So you are a superior Fey... Wait a minute. Cosplaying? How do you even know that word?" Sebastian felt he would lose it once more, but Balin raised his hands to stop the inevitable questions.

"My Lady has far more in common with your Lord than just being a person-shaped Core. Or Dungeons to begin with... Anyway! I hope there will be plenty of time for that later. We have a battle going on over there!"

"What battle?" Sebastian looked at the Korred Scion absentmindedly and needed a relatively long moment to remember why he was there in the first place. However, just one thought from King Theon was enough to calm him down. It looked like they were winning.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" she screamed.

"Lady Freya, we must first repel the attack of the Mana Drinkers and the others before you can indulge in friendly chit-chat! You are still in grave danger, my Lady! I admit that you have quite capable soldiers here..."

"Calm down Balin. You ruined my name reveal, so shut up." Freya pouted angrily but then she let out a sigh. "While I would like to meet Theon personally, I don't believe that's possible... I was just fooling around..."

She blushed, and Sebastian instantly knew that she was lying. However, the unquestionable convenience of that lie was all he begged for.

"Arcadia's forces are going to focus on killing off the Chaos Spawns you call the Mana Drinkers," Sebastian quickly chimed in, desperate to keep to the safe and easy subject of killing things.

"Besides them, there is a massive army that consists of at least four other Dungeons... It's hopeless." Freya slowly sank to the floor, and only then did Sebastian notice that she had tried to mask her fear all this time. She was trembling close to tears, but eventually, she shouted with a hurt voice full of sorrow. "It's not fair! After all this time I spent secluded here, I finally found someone like me..."

"Lady Freya, I believe you are wrong." Sebastian tried to cheer her up but in vain. Again, she wasn't listening to him.

"It's been so long that I lost track of time... How long has it been? Decades? Centuries? Millennia?" Tears started flowing down her cheeks. "I just wanted to meet someone like me! It's not fair!"

She sobbed bitterly and Sebastian realised that she was having a mental or at least emotional breakdown. The King ushered him through the link to talk and comfort her, but Sebastian knew it was useless.

"Lady Freya..." He tried once more but was ignored again.

"I know, Sebastian, that I looked silly, but at least I wanted to help him. I wanted to reach out to him so we could find a way to talk to each other... I know that we are bound to spend eternity in the confines of our domains, and we can’t ever see each other..." She wiped her tears angrily, making Sebastian realise the multitude of feelings that weighed heavily on her. He felt pity and compassion for her through the link with the King. Her defiance faded a few moments later as she sagged down and whimpered. "He was my last hope, Sebastian... And now everything is lost." She covered her face and slowly wiped her tears, but stopped halfway. "I'm not strong enough to fight all of them... Even my senses are clouded, and I can't see everything happening in my domain. I'm scared, Theon..."

"LADY FREYA!" Sebastian grabbed her shoulders and gently but firmly shook her.

"Ahh, right... If they will kill me, I can at least transfer all my mana to Theon... Please, tell him I wanted to meet him and that I'm sorry it won't happen..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

A deep, emerald glow covered her body and she unwittingly bit her lip as she tried to focus on something. However, uncertainty and disbelief quickly washed her fear away.

"Why?" She opened her eyes and looked at Sebastian with immense sorrow. "Please, let me die on my terms, Theon..."

"You won't die today, Lady Freya," Sebastian assured her calmly. "It's true that all those soldiers were sent here with the mission of subduing you. But circumstances have changed. You are not the enemy we expected to find here. There will be plenty of questions to answer later, but I assure you, there is a later for you. All those soldiers, the Dwarves and the Dungeons' Denizens, are in service to King Theon Avalon."

"Is that true?" She sobbed through her tears. "You came to save me, Theon?"

"It’s pretty awful of you to use me as a convenient proxy, Lady Freya." Sebastian sighed, but deep down, he knew that she was right. The King was observing the events unfolding through his eyes. "However, you can say that..."

"I..." She tried to smile but then paled as she looked behind Sebastian at the closed enchanted stone doors. "Something sinister and evil is coming..."

They all felt it. The Praetorians formed a crescent formation in front of the doors and hid behind their mighty tower shields. The Enemy's presence was unpleasantly familiar, and Sebastian knew exactly what kind of Enemy was approaching—a vile, soulless thing deprived of any compassion.

"A Voidborn." He uttered with a cold hatred.

A massive tremor blended with an echo of a deafening hit that smashed over the doors. The doors trembled and cracked under the unbelievable amount of raw strength, but they held for a moment. They would endure two, maybe three hits like that before they gave up, letting in the monstrosity. Sebastian felt the cold anger of his Lord filling his own veins.

"My Lord does not wish to leave you alone, but there is a little he can do right now." Sebastian turned around and looked into Freya's frightened eyes. "Offer your allegiance to him."

She closed her eyes and clenched her fists as another hit shook the doors, sending dust everywhere. She lowered her head, and while Sebastian couldn't tell what she was trying to do, he felt the waves of panic and denial from the link with his Lord. In any other circumstances, such a scene would have been amusing, but there was no time to waste at present. As powerful as he was and aided by the unquestionable might of the Praetorians, Sebastian wasn't sure he could stop the Voidborn for long. He dashed forward, sensing that the doors wouldn't stop another hit. They were then destroyed, and he slashed blindly into the dust that flew the moment they fell. He felt his blade slide and bounce off the enemy’s armour but saw the thick, red blood on his sword. He swiftly backed off and heard Lady Freya's panicked scream as a few things happened simultaneously.

Her translucent figure solidified and gained the typical colours of a living being. Her previously crystalline figure gained lightness and grace instantly visible in her movements. She slowly retreated deeper into her Inner Sanctum, terrified of the invading monsters. Even her dress and boots gained vivid colours, the fabrics moving in ways that amazed Sebastian. Or it would have if he had time to waste. Balin placed himself between his Lady and the danger that crept into the room. The Korred scion prepared his magic hair rope to entangle the Voidborn, but mostly, he raised his shield and battleaxe. The twenty-five remaining from the entire company of the Praetorians moved forward in silence, bracing their halberds and skillfully covering themselves with their shields. But the monstrosity that had entered the room swept away the Praetorians as if they were dolls. The inhumane, bulky shape resembling a bipedal Winter Monster emerged from the settling dust. It laughed shortly after seeing what little remained of the defenders that had tried to protect Freya.

"You will be mine..." The monstrosity hissed and extended its hideous hand towards Freya. "You will serve well our purpose..."

"I don't think so," the cold voice of King Theon Avalon cut the silence. "I won't allow you to enslave and defile her."