The Royal Mark-Chapter 357: One Last Resort

The twins’ eyes glowed with determination and hope. "For our freedom!" they cried in unison. Their earth magic surged, fortified by Elsa’s shield. Rocks and dirt flew, striking the demons with fierce intensity.

Elsa’s face turned pale and her body trembled, she used her air magic to push the demons back, giving the twins precious moments to cast their fused earth magic and for Elsa to strengthen her divine shield on the twins.

But with each spell, Elsa grew weaker. Her movements became sluggish, her breaths shallow. She staggered, almost dropping to the ground, yet she held her position, driven by sheer willpower. When she finally collapsed, Leon’s voice rang out.

"Beatrice, pull the Queen back!"

Beatrice rushed forward, grabbing Elsa and dragging her away from the front lines. The twins and Lulu cried out in despair at the sight of Elsa unconscious. Their sorrow quickly turned to fury. With a united scream, they unleashed all their mana and power. The earth shook under the force of their combined magic, creating a powerful quake that threw the demons off balance.

Lulu dug with desperate speed. Huge chunks of dirt and rock were removed from the earth wall, her determination fueled by the sight of her fallen queen and savior. Suddenly, the wall she was working on exploded and fell apart, as if pushed from the other side.

Through the dust and rubble, Lulu and Leon saw another group with red eyes behind the collapsed wall. These red-eyed creatures wasted no time, immediately joining the twins in the fight against the demons.

"We’re here to help," one of the men in the group said, stepping forward. "I am King Stefan of Vrenada. Who is Lulu?"

Lulu, her eyes wide with shock and relief, turned to her sisters and father. "I’m Lulu! Queen Elsa had collapsed, you have to help her hurry!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the tunnel.

Stefan quickly looked for Elsa and saw her lying on the ground on the side of the tunnel. Her head was resting on an older woman’s lap who was obviously trying to protect her.

"Mother! Help has arrived! The tunnel has finally reached Vrenada!" Lulu exclaimed while Stefan gently took Elsa from Beatrice.

The twins were startled when vampires joined them in battle and when they looked behind them. They saw a light at the end of the tunnel where their sister and father were previously digging.

As the realization set in, a new sense of hope surged through them. They weren’t alone in this fight anymore. They have reached Vrenada and the vampires are here to help them defeat the demons.

"Get the humans out of here and kill every demon in sight, spare no one!" Stefan ordered his men before carrying Elsa out of the tunnel.

Lulu and her family followed Stefan and dropped to the ground as soon as their feet touched the soil of Vrenada, their knees growing weak with the exhaustion of what they had just endured.

Stefan got worried and quickly moved towards Lulu and her family. "Are you alright? Tell me where it hurts?"

But to his surprise, the only man in the group, Leon, started laughing. Lulu laughed next, followed by Beatrice and the twins.

’What the? Have they gone crazy because of what they went through?’ he thought.

"We are not hurt, Your Majesty. We are relieved that we are out of Kurzen in one piece," Leon said.

"Oh... Celebrate later. There could be more demons running after you, and we are not sure if the demon king himself will emerge from that tunnel. So, pull yourselves together and get up. Let’s head to my castle and have someone help Queen Elsa," Stefan said.

Lulu and her family stood up, but she quickly stopped King Stefan before he could walk to the carriage waiting for them.

"Hold on, Your Majesty. I was not able to include in my letter that Queen Elsa is expecting. She was also poisoned by Princess Milda. Will she and her baby be alright?"

’That witch! I hope Chris will find her and kill her!’ Stefan thought to himself before replying to Lulu. "I cannot know for sure. Her baby’s heartbeat is faint, and so is hers. Go, and ride the carriage. I will carry Elsa on foot—it will be much faster. She needs a healer right away." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

As soon as Lulu nodded, Stefan swiftly vanished into thin air as he ran as fast as he could while carrying Elsa in his arms. She looked so pale as if life would soon bid her farewell.

"Please, hang in there, Elsa. You are safe now, and your family is waiting for you," Stefan whispered as he traversed the forest, taking the shortcut back to his castle.

When King Stefan reached his castle, Neia was waiting for him at the entrance, accompanied by several human healers that reside in Vrenada. The panic and urgency in their eyes when they heard her faint heartbeat together with another faint tiny heartbeat inside her matched the gravity of the situation.

King Stefan, followed by Princess Neia went straight to the infirmary and the healers quickly surrounded her. The healers began their work immediately, chanting incantations and using their magical herbs and potions.

Neia placed her hands on Elsa’s forehead, trying to absorb any pain that she was feeling however Neia is not an alpha and could only absorb a little. They tried to use their techniques in healing Elsa but despite their best efforts, Elsa’s condition did not improve. Her breathing remained shallow, her pulse weak.

"Why isn’t it working?" Neia whispered, her voice filled with despair.

One of the senior healers shook his head gravely. "The poison is too strong. It’s deep within her system and has affected the baby as well. Our magic alone may not be enough."

Stefan clenched his fists, his heart heavy with frustration and sorrow. "There must be something we can do! We can’t lose her now."

Neia looked up at Stefan, her eyes filled with determination. "There is one last resort, but it’s risky. The Tree of Life. It has the power to heal even the gravest wounds, but it requires a significant sacrifice, and like what happened to her mother, Princess Hera, we are not sure if the Tree of Life would accept her and her baby."

Stefan brushed both his hands on his face with great exasperation, "Let’s do it!"