Chapter 240 - Rudy Vs Grom ( Part 2 )

The corridor shook.

Grom’s war hammer was dragging on the cracked stones, throwing sparks into the crimson darkness. The noise was horrifying — grinding, screaming noise that grated on the nerves, and sent the ancient walls shuddering.

The Beast King was moving towards them slowly but surely, with the predatory calmness of the predator that was sure of the victory of the hunt.

The air was full of the energy of Crimson, rolling in waves around the huge frame of the beast king, enveloping the ruined passage in the oppressive aura that made breathing harder with each passing moment.

Jennie squeezed the hilt of Excalibur, feeling the warmth of the glowing golden blade.

Rudy was standing beside her, with one hand on her painful ribs, and her dagger dangling in between two fingers. Blood was dripping from the corner of her mouth, but her eyes gleamed dangerously in a familiar manner.

Ice wings of Snow were spreading behind them, and his nine tails were waving around, despite the suppressing runes weakening the divine power.

Three against one.

And somehow, they were losing.

Grom halted several meters away from them. His huge frame was blocking the corridor as the wall of muscle and armor. There were some drops of blood dripping from the injuries inflicted by Rudy, but the Beast King looked more annoyed than wounded.

"Do you finally understand the difference between courage and stupidity?"

Rudy cocked her head to the side, with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Let me think about it."

She looked at Jennie with twinkling in her eyes.

"What is the difference, Jennie?"

Jennie did not take her eyes from the beast king.

"One has higher survival rate."

"Oh," Rudy nodded. "So we are definitely stupid."

"Well, glad to know that."

Grom’s eye was twitching, the vein on his forehead was pulsing with suppressed anger.

"Are you two making fun of me?"

Rudy gave him the sweetest smile she could — the smile that had convinced several guards to turn away, and lowered prices of merchants, and caused the regret of at least three different crime lords.

"Oh, no, we would never do something like that."

She looked at him from head to foot, examining his horned head to armored boots and back.

"Not with such an appearance."

The vein on Grom’s forehead bulged, and he gripped the hilt of the hammer so tightly that the metal was cracking under the strain.

Jennie closed her eyes for a fraction of second.

Lisa. Of course. Even after reincarnation, you have not changed.

Grom raised his hammer, cracking the ceiling with the aura pressure.

"I WILL CRUSH THAT SMILE OFF YOUR FACE!"

He lunged.

The hammer fell like a collapsing mountain range.

Air screamed. The stone beneath their feet shook. Every single reflexive response in Jennie screamed to her to move, intercept, defend.

But Rudy grabbed her wrist.

"Don’t."

Jennie spun around, golden eyes filled with fear.

"What are you doing?"

"Something stupid."

"Is this comforting?"

Rudy shoved her toward the corridor behind them. Strength augmented by her Legendary Divine Mark in her chest made Jennie stumble backwards a few steps.

"Go!"

For one split-second, Jennie didn’t get it.

Then Rudy moved.

Her golden mark blazed to life.

Bright light burst from her chest, spreading like liquid fire. Power shone in the air around her, and the stone floor shattered as she met Grom’s descending hammer with a bare fist.

BOOOOOM!

Gold light exploded between her fist and his hammer.

Shockwave of the impact blew up the dust off the ceiling and spread web-like cracks across the walls. Jennie stumbled backwards, raising Excalibur above her head to guard against the falling debris. Snow opened his wings wide, forming an icy barrier that took the brunt of the attack.

Rudy sank her boots deep into the stone.

Her right arm trembled.

Blood dripped from her knuckles.

But she didn’t fall.

Grom stared at her with wide crimson eyes. The hammer that destroyed countless opponents had been stopped—not by a legendary sword, not by magic, but by a bare hand of a thief.

Rudy slowly looked up.

Her golden eyes were glowing with defiance.

"Heeey, Beast King."

She gave him a grin—fierce and bright and completely fearless.

"You were talking about crushing my smile?"

"RUDY!"

Jennie screamed from behind, desperate fear in her voice.

Rudy didn’t turn around.

"GO SAVE LILIA!"

"No way am I going to leave you here!"

"Jennie!"

For the first time, there was no mockery in Rudy’s voice. She turned her head and looked at Jennie with such intensity that words were caught in her throat.

"You traveled this far for her. She is right behind that door. You can feel her breath, right?"

Jennie said nothing. Her hands were trembling. Every muscle in her body was screaming at her to stay, fight, protect the sister she just found.

Rudy’s smile softened. It was a new kind of smile now—gentle and warm, and with something almost like pride in it.

"Then stop wasting time with arguments."

Grom tore his hammer free from the floor, fury replacing his shock.

"Nice. Maybe I will give you some time to bid each other farewell?"

Rudy turned back towards him, a smile lighting up her face fully.

"Actually, I have a few more things to say."

She rolled her shoulders, and the golden light pulsed through her veins.

"Insults."

Grom roared and charged.

Rudy met him head-on.

She slipped under the first swing of his hammer, and her body flowed as liquid under the arc of the attack. The wind torn at her clothes, but she was already moving—twisting around his huge form and delivering elbow into his ribs.

The sound was like a strike of a fist into steel.

Grom didn’t budge.

Then she delivered knee into his abdomen, sharp palm strike below his chin, hitting him in the spot between helmet and breastplate.

No reaction.

Nothing.

Grom looked down at her with what was almost amusement in his eyes.

"Done?"

Rudy blinked and raised her index finger.

"Just about to."

She tilted her head thoughtfully.

"I forgot to add dramatic fall to the knees and admission of how beautiful woman you’ve never fought."

Silence.

Jennie stared at her sister with a combination of horror and disbelief.

Snow lowered his head, face filled with suffering.

Grom went through a range of expressions—confusion, anger, and then plain murderous fury.

Rudy sighed in dramatic way.

"Seriously, people here don’t appreciate humor."

Then Grom punched her.

Rudy managed to raise her arms just in time.

CRACK!

The punch threw her back like a ragdoll. She crashed into the floor, flipped once, then rolled through the rubble, pain exploding in her whole body.

Her shoulder was burning with agony. Her ribs were cracked in at least three places. For a moment, her sight blurred, and everything turned red and grey around her.

Then she heard Jennie’s steps.

"No!"

Rudy managed to rise on one knee, her arms trembling.

"Don’t you dare go back!"

Jennie froze.

Rudy’s fingers dug into the stone floor.

"You have been doing everything alone in this entire journey." Her voice was hoarse, but carried in the hallway like battle cry. "You fight until your body falls to the ground, pretending everything is okay because you want everyone else to stop worrying about you."

She wiped the blood from her lips, smearing it across her cheeks.

"Well, guess what? I’m tired of watching you do that."

Jennie’s expression changed. Something broke behind her golden eyes.

Rudy looked towards the iron door.

"Go and save your queen, you fool."

Her smile returned—sharp and bright and defiant.

"And when you will see her, tell her I will expect some compensation for entertaining your oversized puppy."

Grom’s face twisted in rage.

"PUPPY?"

Rudy glanced at him.

"Innocent question. Would you prefer fluffy?"

"YOU LITTLE FOX!"

"Yeah. You do have ears." She tapped her pointed ears. "I was wondering about it."

Jennie stared at Rudy for a second.

Then she got it.

Rudy didn’t ask for permission. She didn’t ask for help.

She was giving Jennie one thing.

An opportunity.

Jennie sheathed her Excalibur in her spatial seal. Golden light faded and disappeared, taking the weight of the sword along with it.

Then she approached Rudy and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Don’t die."

Rudy looked up. Not surprisingly, no joke immediately followed.

There was fear in Jennie’s eyes; the fear of losing another loved one.

Rudy placed her palm above Jennie’s and gave it a squeeze.

"Hey."

For once, her smile was sincere and full of warmth.

"I am a KingHeart. It is hard to get rid of us."

Jennie laughed with relief.

"You’re also a notorious annoyance."

"Yes, that’s true too."

Snow spread his wings out in a wide arc around Jennie.

"Enough. The longer we stay here, the more chance the other generals will notice us."

He cast a glance at Rudy. His crimson eyes were impenetrable.

"Try not to destroy the entire palace in the process."

"No promises," Rudy grinned.

Snow’s ears flattened in response.

"I was afraid you’d say that."

Jennie backed off.

All her instincts shouted to stop and fight by Rudy’s side to protect the one who would face Grom alone. But Lilia waited.

Rudy stayed here because she trusted Jennie to move on.

Jennie turned around.

"Rudy."

"Yeah?"

"Make him regret it."

Her grin only grew wider, and the golden mark flashed brightly.

"Oh, I intend to."

Jennie and Snow rushed into the narrow passage.

Grom watched them depart with his cold crimson eyes. The Beast King had been able to pursue them and crush them right there before reaching the inner palace.

But something prevented him.

The fox.

She stood in front of the passage, and although her body was battered, she kept resisting him with her blazing golden eyes.

Grom slowly turned towards her.

The aura of the Beast King intensified, spreading around with crushing pressure.

"You should have left with them."

Rudy made a circle with her dagger in front of her.

"Maybe."

She raised her chin defiantly.

"But then who would entertain you?"

Grom raised his hammer.

Rudy’s golden mark blazed even brighter.

"Now, let’s see how much your muscles compensate for..."

Her voice fell to a playful whisper.

"...your weaknesses."

Absolute silence filled the corridor.

Grom’s face became blank.

Then the entire underground chamber started shaking with his roar.

Jennie rushed ahead.

Every step made her hate herself. Every instinct told her to stop and help Rudy fight Grom. She could still feel the Beast King’s powerful aura spreading through the tunnels and gaining intensity with every passing second.

But beneath this powerful presence there was something else that guided her forward.

Lilia.

Her golden pulse.

The living connection to her heart like the guiding star.

Snow rushed alongside her.

"You’re thinking about going back."

"No."

"Your heart tells otherwise."

"Since when can you hear my heartbeat?"

"Since you started acting like a particularly distressed rabbit."

Jennie glared at him.

"If you keep talking like that, I’ll use you as a projectile."

"Excellent strategy."

They stopped before a narrow staircase going towards the inner palace.

At its top there was a sealed door. Unlike the previous one, this one was covered with black runes that pulsed with her heartbeat.

Ancient malevolent symbols.

Jennie touched the stone door.

The golden light flashed under her skin.

Lilia’s presence intensified.

For an instant, Jennie felt something else besides this distant connection. Something intimate and immediate.

Fear. Weariness. And beneath it all there was stubbornness.

Lilia...

Jennie pressed her forehead to the door.

"I am here."

The words were barely audible.

"I don’t know if you can hear me, but I am here."

The golden light answered.

One of the runes cracked.

Snow approached the barrier and studied it with his crimson eyes.

"The Sovereign Mark responds to you. The suppression formation weakens."

"Can you break this door?"

"Certainly."

Jennie looked at him with hope rising inside her chest.

"Really?"

"No. I was being sarcastic."

"Snow!"

"The barrier is linked to the defensive network of the inner palace. Carelessly destroying it might awaken all the demons in the palace."

Jennie looked at the glowing runes.

She clenched her jaw.

"Then we won’t destroy it carelessly."

She raised her palm.

The five familiar resonances stirred inside her spatial seal.

Excalibur. Leviathan. Tempest. Eclipse. Gram.

But she didn’t call for them.

Instead, she summoned Excalibur.

Golden light poured in the cracks of the runes not to force its way through the barrier but to find the connection that kept it together.

The door started trembling.

One rune turned off. Another one followed.

Snow watched it with growing interest.

"You are learning to distinguish between the formation’s power and its structure."

Jennie continued focusing.

"I don’t need to overpower everything."

A third rune turned off.

"I just need to find the piece that doesn’t belong here."

The golden light drew a thin line on the door.

Jennie closed her fingers.

CRACK.

The barrier broke in a few pieces.

The door opened slightly.

Cold air gushed into the chamber—and with it the scent of Lilia’s magic. Jasmine and rain and something only hers.

Jennie’s heart pounded with joy.

"She’s here."

Snow’s eyes narrowed.

"Hurry."

Jennie pushed the door open.

Beyond it was a narrow passage descending deep into the Imperial Palace. The walls were made of the same black stone as the rest of the tower, but these were different. They were covered with golden runes pulsing with a warm familiar light.

In the distance there was a faint golden light pulsing in the darkness.

Jennie stepped into the passage.

She took one step and then another.

Behind her there was the distant sound of Grom’s hammer hitting the stone.

Rudy was still fighting.

Jennie closed her eyes.

Just hang on...

Then she ran towards the light.

Back in the ruins of the corridor, Rudy spit blood onto the ground.

Grom was several meters away from her now, his hammer lying across his shoulder. The cracks on his armor were numerous, and the blood oozed from his wounds.

But he still stood.

"You let them go,"

Rudy cleaned her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Am I?"

Grom narrowed his eyes.

Rudy’s smile broadened, the blood staining her teeth.

"It’s funny how I thought I was distracting you."

The aura of the Beast King flared up.

"Do you think such a pitiful trick will help them?"

"No."

Rudy straightened up and the mark on her face shone more brightly than before.

"I think that Jennie will save Lilia."

The light shone on her and illuminated the ruins of the corridor.

"And I think that you’re about to have the worst afternoon of your life."

Grom laughed deeply, his voice rumbling in the walls of the corridor.

"You can barely stand."

Rudy looked down at her legs shaking in exhaustion. Then she looked back up and grinned.

"True."

She rolled her neck, ignoring the flare of pain.

"My shoulder hurts, my ribs got acquainted with the carriage, and something in my back made sounds which should have never come out."

She sighed.

"To be honest, I was expecting you to be a little softer. Not very good at a first date, you know."

The Beast King gaped at her with utter bewilderment on his face.

"A... what?"

Rudy winked.

"Don’t worry. Not your type."

She lowered her stance and her dagger vanished in a burst of golden light. For the first time in the whole fight, Rudy decided to fight barehanded.

Grom’s grin returned.

"Giving up your weapon?"

"No."

Rudy raised both of her fists and golden energy crackled on her knuckles.

"Just changing the rules."

The Beast King dashed at her.

Rudy dashed at him too.

In the last possible moment, she shifted aside and grabbed Grom by his wrist, using his momentum to pull him closer. She kicked the back of his knee and the Beast King stumbled.

She elbowed him in the face.

Then Rudy twisted, slapped his chest and released concentrated burst of golden energy.

BOOM!

Grom stumbled and his boots dug holes into the stone.

Rudy dropped into a crouch, breathing heavily.

Her fists trembled. The mark on her face flickered.

But she was grinning.

"Come on, Beast King."

She raised her hands once again, golden light shining brightly around her.

"You haven’t even bought me dinner yet."

Grom roared.

And Rudy Kiss—the phantom thief, the reincarnated princess, the last person Demon Empire had expected to turn into a nightmare for them—stepped forward to meet him.

Her golden mark shone like the second sun.

There was no fear in her eyes.

And somewhere in the Imperial Palace, Jennie could feel her aura breaking through the suppression runes.

Rudy...

Jennie’s heart clenched.

But she kept running.

Because Lilia was waiting.

And Rudy gave her the chance she needed.