The mages and the generals ran towards the king in an attempt to save him from the attack but they couldn't reach him in time when all hope was lost, a barrier of ice surrounded the king and a man's silhouette appeared inside of the barrier. The sharp point of the swords struck the barrier but it was not enough to stop the swords from piercing through the barrier and hitting the man who used his body to protect the king.
Sharp pieces from the barrier flew out when it shattered. The people who were running towards the king avoided those pieces and did not stop because the threat was still there. Cygnus, who used his body to block the attack, immediately used magic to repel the enemies. A silvery glow appeared below them and when he opened his eyes, they were surrounded with light.
Blinded by the light, the people who were going to rescue them were forced to cover their eyes and stop for a moment. When the light subsided, the scene in front of them caught them in awe. If it was not an offensive attack, they would continue to marvel in it.
The king and his savior were surrounded with bluish ice that formed into a pyramid and outside of it were ice that formed into hands that encloses the pyramid. It was the barrier created by Cygnus and outside of that were vines with thorns that pierced through the dark entities trying to kill them.
Their surroundings were covered with a thin layer of ice and smoke. The generals took a step forward towards the king and his savior but the vine of ice suddenly moved and changed its position. It moved to enclose the barrier even more.
The generals who tried to get near them were startled by the movement and when they tried to take a step closer the thorns on the vines started to elongate like they have life. They could sense that there were still people outside of their protection. One of the soldiers tried to get near but a thorn suddenly attacked him, luckily he was saved by the butler.
"No one would be able to get near them unless the young master's mana senses that you don't mean them any harm," Mr. C explained. He then pointed at the pyramid and at the condition of Cygnus. "It seems that he is wounded, that's why his magic is acting like this. If he can wake up, he can take down the barrier but, in this situation, it would be difficult."
After hearing that explanation, the generals took a step back. This time Ulysses came to the butler because if they don't take down that barrier, then his son might die in there. "Can you get near them?" Ulysses asked the butler.
Mr. C shook his head, "I'm sorry but I can't. I have so much negative energy that the ice vines would definitely attack me." He looked at the barrier's direction with a frown. It was not the real reason why but it was better than telling them that he was actually not a human.
"I'll try then," Ulysses declared. He took a couple of steps forward and the vines did not react so he got the confidence to move forward but when he was only a couple of feet away, the vines suddenly moved and tried to attack him. If not for his fast reflexes, his body would have been full of holes right now.
Ulysses frowned as he looked at his son's direction then he heard the butler's voice. "Any negative energy or feeling you carry can trigger that, no matter how small it is."
With no progress, Archmage Ragu and Aviel tried to attack the barrier but it had no effect. It surprised them that such high-level magic appeared before them and their magic cannot even stand on par with it. This only means that the youngest of the Ginehart main family has strong magical power.
Ezio who was watching all of this finally made his move. The space around him suddenly distorted and when he took a step forward, he appeared inside of the barrier. He did not waste time and took the king and Cygnus out of the barrier. Once they passed through another dimension in a short span of time, the connection between Cygnus and his mana that was channeled to the barrier disappeared.
Without mana that sustains the magic, the ice barrier slowly dissolved and the three of them appeared where Ezio first stood. All of this happened in the blink of an eye that those without trained eyes did not see what actually happened. But to those who were trained, everything happened clearly that they stood frozen on their spots.
"We need a doctor!" Ezio suddenly shouted which broke them from their trance. Mr. C was immediately beside the master and checked his wounds.
The invisible barrier that caused the people outside to not enter also disappeared which let Major Linius and his men enter. He heard the young man's voice and without hesitation he sent the doctors who were with them. They looked around and saw that most of the injured were the soldiers while the generals and the dukes were fine.
What concerned him was the master who was lying on the cold floor. He was unconscious and the butler was tending to him. Ezio was also beside them with a worried look on his face. Without thinking twice, he pulled the nearest doctor and dragged him to where the master was.
The doctor crouched down and checked for the master's wound before he swiftly brought out his medical equipment and deftly cleaned, sterilized and patched the wound on the master's back. He then checked Cygnus's pulse before he nodded to the people around them.
"He is fine. He just needs to rest for a while to recover his energy and the mana he lost. The wound was not fatal since there were no major organs that were damaged but he lost a lot of blood. Rest and eat healthy after he wakes up so that he can recover in the shortest period of time." The doctor explained to them before he was let go to tend to the other patients.
Ulysses, with the help of Linius, they carried the master as they carefully walked out of the room using a back door to avoid the people who were outside of the hall. They walked together with the others and left the clean up to the subordinates of Major Linius. They reached another part of the palace where several rooms were located then they let Cygnus use one.
They were given privacy while Mr. C went to fetch the madame who was very worried right now because his husband pushed her out of the hall and she got no news about them after that. When she saw the butler, she breathed a sigh of relief but the butler's words made her lose her smile.
"Madame please follow me, the master and young master Linius is currently waiting for you," Mr. C deliberately left out Cygnus's other identity to make the madame worry a little bit.
"Are they alright? How about Rigel?" She asked but the butler did not give her an answer. Linette got even more worried so she followed the butler with an anxious heart.
They reached the room where they were and her heart slowly sank. Mr. C opened the door for her and when she saw that his husband and first born were okay, she could finally feel a little bit relieved but when she saw the person lying on the bed, that relief disappeared.
"Rigel? What happened?" Her voice shook and her steps faltered. Ulysses noticed this so he acted fast and steadied her.
"He protected the king and got wounded instead but don't worry because the doctor already took a look at him and said that it is not life threatening. He just needed to rest for a while." Ulysses immediately explained to at least alleviate the worry of the woman.
Linette sat down on the empty side of the bed and gazed at the young man who was sleeping peacefully. Although his face was a little pale, she was still glad to see that he was steadily breathing. Even though this man was not her real son, she still worried for his safety because in her heart, she already considered him as her son.
