Chapter 26: Crystal Storm and Emergency Alliance

Ragged breathing filled my chest as the razor-sharp claw of a shadow monster grazed the air right in front of my face. Pure ice particles scattered from my palms, forming a dense crystal shield that slammed directly into the translucent creature, shattering it instantly into pieces of foul-smelling black smoke. The atmosphere inside the underground labyrinth ruins turned into a literal mini-hell filled with terrifying hisses, clashing swords, and bursts of golden magic slicing through the darkness.

To my right, Prince Leonhardt moved with extraordinary speed. His longsword, infused with golden mana, cleanly slashed through the line of shadow monsters trying to attack from behind. His movements were precise, reflecting elite military training that the royal family prided itself on. Even though the situation was perilous and we had just argued fiercely over treason accusations, the silver-blonde prince showed no hesitation in protecting me from the blind onslaught of the shadow faction's creations.

"Don't space out, Alicia! Concentrate your mana on the left flank, the second wave is closing in!" Prince Leonhardt shouted over the roar of collapsing stone pillars.

"I don't need tactical lectures from you, Your Highness! Just worry about your own defense!" I snapped back sharply, raising my voice even though I secretly appreciated his timely assistance.

My fingers moved quickly again to cast advanced ice magic. The surrounding temperature plunged sharply to an extreme freezing point. The labyrinth stone floor, previously slick with moss, was now covered in a thick layer of rising ice, trapping the feet of dozens of advancing shadow monsters. With a single upward sweep of my hand, dozens of sharp ice pillars pierced straight through those transparent bodies, annihilating them in an instant.

Yet, the number of shadow monsters seemed endless. They kept surging out from the western wall breaches blown open earlier by the shadow faction leader. The dark group's strategy was obvious: they wanted to drain both our mana reserves completely before finishing us off in this hidden place.

"Damn it... at this rate, my mana pool will run out before we even escape this hole," I muttered under my breath, feeling a throbbing pain in my temples from continuous high-scale magic usage in a short span.

Prince Leonhardt leaped backward, standing side-by-side with me on a relatively safe pile of rocks. The young man's breathing turned ragged too, cold sweat plastering his forehead and neck. The golden mana glow on his sword flickered weakly, signaling his energy was draining rapidly against an absurd number of enemies.

"They deliberately trapped us," Prince Leonhardt spoke with a low, heavy voice, his eyes locked on the dark western corridor where the monsters emerged. "The shadow faction doesn't just want to eliminate you, Alicia. They want to wipe out the crown heir and the general's daughter in a single night to spark total chaos in the capital."

"And you only realize that now?" I sneered coldly, wiping sweat from my brow with the back of my gloved hand. "I told you from the start, that group isn't just a bunch of low-level thugs manageable by academy bureaucracy."

The prince glanced sideways for a second, looking at me with an unreadable gaze amidst the dim magic glow. A hint of lingering astonishment and unspoken acknowledgment flickered in his eyes, as though he just realized the arrogant noble girl he knew had transformed into a tenacious fighter who couldn't be easily underestimated.

"We have to get out of here together," Leonhardt said with an absolute tone accepting no refusal. "I'll carve a path with a high-damage golden mana slash on the northern wall. When I shatter the barrier, use your ice magic to freeze the debris so it doesn't crush us, then we run for the emergency exit."

Though I hated cooperating with the crown prince—especially after all his irritating suspicions and interrogations—the current situation left few logical choices. My life mattered far more than a villainess's ego.

"Fine! Don't miss your mark, Your Highness!" I barked firmly.

Without wasting a second, Prince Leonhardt channeled all remaining internal mana into his longsword's tip. The golden glow, previously fading, exploded brightly, blindingly intense, radiating massive energy pressure that made the surrounding air vibrate violently.

"Haaaaah!"

The prince swung his sword with full force toward the northern labyrinth wall. A crescent-shaped golden pure energy slash streaked forward, striking the ancient stone barrier with a deafening explosion.

*Boommmmm!*

The three-meter-thick stone wall shattered instantly, opening a passage to the academy's outer wind tunnel leading straight to the surface. Yet, simultaneously with the wall's collapse, tons of massive stone debris plunged directly toward us.

"Now, Alicia!" Leonhardt yelled.

I thrust both arms forward, releasing all remaining ice mana into a giant crystal storm shield. Falling rock debris instantly froze mid-air, forming a sturdy temporary ice tunnel bearing the weight above our heads.

"Run!"

Without looking back, we burst through the engineered ice tunnel, leaving the underground labyrinth ruins collapsing completely under buried earth. That night, beneath bright moonlight, a fragile yet lethal alliance officially formed between us, marking the dawn of a much darker and more dangerous political war at Alistair Academy.