Lina cast an invisibility spell, so no one would see her slip out of her room.
Without hesitation, she followed the mental map Fatty had given her.
When she reached the prison area, she hid behind a tree and carefully observed her surroundings.
She quickly realized that there was only a single beastguard stationed at the entrance.
With calm, confident steps, Lina emerged from her hiding place and walked forward until she stood directly in front of the guard.
She was certain the guard would not attack her.
“Mistress, what took you so long?
I nearly died of a heart attack every time a guard greeted me.”
Lina rolled her eyes lazily at the panda’s exaggerated complaint.
“Stop whining and get me inside.
We don’t have much time.”
The guard—Fatty in disguise—immediately nodded and led Lina into the prison.
Inside, they passed through a narrow corridor before reaching a staircase that spiraled deep underground.
Impatience surged within Lina as she realized how little time she had.
Without hesitation, she leapt straight down.
“Mistress!
Are you insane!?” Fatty gasped, his thoughts drifting back to Selene’s younger days.
“No… she’s always been crazy.
She only looked normal when little Clau was around.”
The panda, far too cautious to jump without knowing the depth below, quickly used the contract thread to retreat into the contract space.
After all, he was no longer needed outside.
Lina sensed that Fatty had returned, but she paid it no mind.
She hastened her steps, trying to locate a mage’s aura.
Her anxiety grew when she realized that the underground level was filled with suppression runes designed to restrict a mage’s mana.
Even as a True Mage, she would not be able to utilize her full strength.
Fortunately, she was also a Sword Master.
Her sword remained her final assurance in case something went wrong.
After passing several prison cells, Lina finally detected a faint breath of life from within a sealed chamber.
Strangely, the door was not even locked, as if the guards were fully confident that the prisoner inside had no means of escape.
She pushed the door open and froze in shock.
Just as she had feared, Caelis’s prisoner was her childhood friend.
Lina’s memories drifted back to the time she first began studying at the Magic Tower.
“Selene, why are you hiding here?”
“I hate magic.
Just because my attribute is cold energy, why do I have to sleep on an ice-made bed?
“No wonder you’re so restless,” the boy—only a few years older than her—said gently as he patted her head.
“Wouldn’t everyone be jealous if you could sleep peacefully on your first night?”
“I hate you!” little Lina huffed, turning her face away.
“This is for you.” The boy handed her a small heating pad.
“Hide it behind your back tonight.
But promise me you’ll only use it twice a week.
You need to get used to it quickly so the cold won’t hurt you anymore.”
Aside from her sister, Rhea, he had been the only one who truly cared for her.
The other children—both in the sect and the Magic Tower—were filled with jealousy and pretense.
Pulled back into the present, Lina stepped closer to the young man lying on the brink of death.
One of his hands was shackled with mana-binding restraints.
The other was twisted at an unnatural angle, bone piercing through torn flesh.
Several iron nails had been driven into his body, and he was drenched in blood.
Lina covered her mouth, her eyes burning red with fury.
“So cruel… what have they done to you?” Her hands trembled as she reached out to touch his battered face.
“Reinhard…”
Two names surfaced instantly in her mind.
Zarkel… and Caelis.
“So this is the truth…” Lina whispered, wiping away the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“The relationship between the beast clans and the mage clans will never know peace.”
She immediately cast a summoning spell.
“Phoebe!”
A magic circle flared beneath her feet.
Moments later, a green-haired beast lady with emerald-feathered wings appeared.
Without needing instructions, Phoebe immediately moved into action.
A soft, radiant healing light enveloped Reinhard’s body.
The nails embedded within him fell out one by one.
His wounds sealed, his bones mended, and his swollen face gradually returned to its original, handsome features.
“Mistress, his external and internal injuries have been healed,” Phoebe said gently.
“However… I cannot fully restore his soul.”
“His soul… is damaged?” Lina frowned as she touched the shackles restraining his wrist.
Frost spread instantly, encasing them in ice.
With a casual flick, the restraints broke apart, freeing him instantly.
“The red-scaled snake clan possesses the ability to damage the soul through their gaze.
He must have been tortured repeatedly.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lina replied firmly.
“As long as he survives.
That’s the most important.”
“Mistress, someone has sensed my presence.
They will arrive within five minutes.”
Without hesitation, Lina summoned her Moon Sword from within her consciousness.
A silver blade, adorned with a crescent symbol on its hilt, materialized in her grasp.
“Use long-distance teleportation magic.
Take Reinhard out of here.”
“But, Mistress—”
Lina reached forward and activated the contract mark on Phoebe’s forehead.
“Once you deliver him safely to the Magic Tower, you do not need to return.”
She knew that if Phoebe came back, Caelis and Zarkel would immediately recognize her presence.
Moreover, Phoebe would not be able to travel far while still bound by the contract.
“Destroy the contract mark,” Lina continued.
“You will be free.
I trust that you will fulfill this final request.”
“Mistress…”
Phoebe slowly erased the phoenix-shaped contract symbol on her body.
In return, she transferred a portion of her monster core essence to Lina.
“Why would you give me your essence?”
“I don’t want to leave you,” Phoebe replied softly.
“But if I must… then take this with you.
As long as I live, no one will be able to kill you while you carry my essence.” Phoebe knelt, her voice trembling.
“If we ever meet again beyond this realm… please… accept me once more.”
Lina fell silent.
She had never treated her contracted beasts as tools, but as comrades.
“…Alright,” she said quietly.
“Go.
I’ll hold them off.”
In the next instant, Lina shed her disguise completely.
Her silver hair cascaded freely down her back.
Her once plain features transformed into breathtaking beauty, partially concealed beneath a pure white veil.
Her attire shifted into the signature robes of her sect—white as snow, adorned with a blue crescent moon on the sleeve.
The Mistress of the Moonlit Path…
Had revealed herself within the prison of the North.