"Wait," Iraelyn interjected, her voice slicing through the conversation like a blade. "What do you an, the others were captured?"
Malifira shrugged nonchalantly. "Exactly as I said, everyone was captured and brought into the castle."
"Huh? How did that happen?" Ren questioned, a furrow forming between his brows.
Azazel and the others were ridiculously strong, so how could they have been captured, unless . . .
"The Goddess of Smile and Happiness," Ren uttered, realization dawning in his eyes.
Malifira nodded solemnly. "I believe they fell under her domain. Our domains doesn't have any sway here since this is her territory in the first place."
Elena let out a weary sigh. "That would explain it. The others wouldn't have been captured so easily without the Goddess intervening herself."
"What should we do now?" Evie turned to Ren, her eyes reflecting uncertainty.
Ren took a deep breath, his mind racing with problems. It was one thing after another. "What else can we do but rescue them? We can't simply abandon them after all."
"Hey! WAIT! YOU!" Everyone turned towards Pala as she scread aloud, her voice piercing through the tense atmosphere.
"What's her problem?" Iraelyn questioned without a care. Pala paced back and forth, her eyes wide with panic as she stared at the group. "You're not supposed to be here. You're mortals! You're not souls! And you're even planning to confront the Goddess of Smile and Happiness. "Ohhh . . . this is bad. This is really bad. Your penalties are piling up. Piling up! At this rate, I could be banished or worse, reincarnated as a re mortal, condemned to a life of hardship for aiding mortals!"
"Calm down," Elena said, trying to diffuse the escalating tension.
Pala's eyes bulged, and she shouted, "How could I calm down?! My entire existence is on the line here! I don't even know you creatures! What are you?! What am I even thinking in the first place?!"
"Scream like that and the guardians would surely hear you," Malifira warned with a smile on her face. She didn't seem to be troubled that Azazel and the others were kidnapped. Pala paused, a desperate look crossing her face. "Wait. Maybe I can still turn this around if I surrender you to the Goddess. Yes, that's probably my only way of salvation."
Iraelyn watched the frantic display and suggested, "Should I just end her misery?"
"No," Ren intervened. "We still need her to show us around here. We don't know anything about this realm. We need a guide."
Just as Azazel had guided them in the Netherworld, it beca apparent that going about this blindly was too dangerous. With Pala already with them and privy to their secrets, perhaps they could work this out together.
"You an a hostage," Evie remarked.
Ren then addressed Pala directly. "Look, we're already in this together whether you like it or not. You're already implicated in this, so you might as well help us out."
"N-no . . . you're playing with my mind!" Pala protested. "My sins would surely be forgiven if I surrender you to the Goddess of Smile and Happiness. I'm sure of it."
"Are you sure about that?" Elena's grin was mischievous. "She might just take all the credit and cast you aside, or even worse, label you as one of us and you'd be exiled nonetheless. Or even worse, as you said, you'll be reincarnated into a mortal with a life full of hardship."
"Eeegh!" Pala's heart sank like a stone in a bottomless pit. The weight of her predicant bore down on her, crushing her spirit. She felt like she couldn't breathe, suffocating under the weight of her fears.
Did that an she was forever stuck with Ren and the others?
"N-no way . . ." Pala's voice trembled as she collapsed to the ground, overco with despair.
She had only wanted to get this half-angel, half-demon creature, so she could get stronger, but what had she gotten herself into? This wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she decided to get close to Ren and the others for information about his creature.
She thought Ren and the others were rely souls, easy enough for her to handle. Oh, how regretful she was now.
If she had known they were strong mortals, she wouldn't have approached them in the first place. She should have stayed in her place, sipping tea and enjoying her day. Perhaps then she wouldn't have found herself in this predicant.
"Let's go," Ren's voice broke through her thoughts, his gaze fixed on the imposing castle looming ahead.
Pala was dragged along by Ren and the others as they bravely treaded the tortuous storm towards the castle where the Goddess of Smile and Happiness awaited them.
Ren and the others approached the castle, their steps cautious. They were baffled when the door swung open as if welcoming them. There were no guards or any obstacles hindering their path, except perhaps the raging storm that rumbled ominously in the distance.
"It's opened?" Ren asked, confusion knitting his brows.
"Looks like the goddess is expecting us," Malifira chuckled.
"I-I don't think this is the ti to laugh. There's nothing funny about this situation," Pala interjected, her voice tinged with anxiety.
"There might be traps inside," Evie cautioned, her expression nonexistent.
"We don't have a choice. We have to get Azazel and the rest," Ren said, and pushed open the door.
In the grand hall, their eyes imdiately fell upon Azazel and the others confined within a golden cage.
"Ah! It's Ren and the others!" Azazel exclaid with genuine delight, laughing like there was no tomorrow. "I knew that you were coming to save us!"
"Ahahaha! Lord Desira, I've won the bet," Vivi chuckled gleefully.
Desira couldn't stop her laughter, though her expression was conflicted. "Damn it. That's a few hundred souls there. What are you going to do about it, huh?" she gnashed her teeth at Ren and the others, but her lips remained curved up. Ren and the others exchanged glances.
"What happened to them?" Elena inquired, her concern evident in her voice.
Iraelyn laughed along with the rest. "They must be happy to see us."
"No. They're under the spell of the Goddess of Smiles and Happiness," Malifira clarified.
"Good evening!" A cheerful voice interrupted, drawing Ren and the others' attention to a woman descending the grand staircase.
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