After a hearty meal and some much-needed rest, the three finally stepped out of the castle.

The sun hung lazily in the sky, casting a warm afternoon glow over the courtyard. The garden surrounding the exit was bathed in soft, glowing colors—vines with bioluminescent petals curled lazily across stone railings, and flowerbeds shimmered faintly in blues, violets, and pinks. A soft breeze carried a gentle fragrance through the air, making the place feel far too peaceful… considering what awaited them next.

Zeon was the first to break the silence. He walked just ahead, arms crossed behind his back, looking smugly at the golden light filtering through the trees.

"Hmmm… Princess," he said calmly, a slight grin creeping up his lips. "Do you know where your duel takes place?"

Dila blinked, as if yanked from her thoughts.

"No," she answered plainly.

Fran, who had been nibbling the tip of her finger out of nervous habit, tensed. Her ears perked up, tail stiffening. She swallowed hard—gulp—loud enough that it echoed in her own ears.

She tried to stay calm… but her widened eyes betrayed her. "W-We're going there, huh…"

Dila, on the other hand, tried to keep her usual icy mask. She hugged herself tightly with one arm, the other tucked under her elbow. Her voice came soft, almost too casual:

"It's cold out here… isn't it?"

She smiled faintly, eyes closed like she didn't have a care in the world.

But Zeon, walking beside her, saw right through it. His grin only widened, his eyes lazily closing to mirror hers.

"Yeah," he said smoothly. "Freezing."

For a moment, they all walked in silence.

Zeon glanced sideways at both of them, his thoughts unspoken:

Looks like the Princess and the Cat Girl aren't ready to face the King after all…

Still, he said nothing.

Fran crossed her arms tightly, hunching her back as she grumbled. "Why does the sun look so… threatening today?" she muttered, her tail twitching.

Dila muttered back, "Because it knows the two of us will be doomed …"

"Huh?"

"Nothing," Dila said, still pretending not to be nervous—but her hand wouldn't stop shaking at her side.

Zeon simply chuckled.

"Well then…" he said, stretching his arms behind his head, "this is gonna be very entertaining."

And then this time, Zeon said with a sly grin, "Before I get to entertain myself by watching your duel, the King mentioned… the duel should take place at the secret Duel Site."

"Secret?" Dila raised an eyebrow, her voice deadpan as ever. "It won't be much of a secret anymore if you just told me about the area."

Zeon let out a light chuckle. "Well, I was just planning to guide you two there anyway."

He suddenly stopped walking, placing one hand dramatically over his face like a stage actor trying too hard. His fingers spread just enough for one crimson eye to peek through—eyeing the lazy sun that drooped low over the horizon, its golden light brushing the walls like a sleepy yawn.

"The King…" Zeon murmured, voice mockingly sorrowful. "He's probably thinking about how he's going to lose his precious daughter from this world... forever... without getting hurt deep within MUAHAHAHA!!" His laughter exploded out, sharp and theatrical, echoing slightly in the wind as if the clouds themselves flinched.

Dila halted, gave him the most unimpressed stare in history, then said flatly, "Zeon. Why did you laugh like that? Are you that eager to lose me?"

Zeon peeked from between his fingers, flashing a crooked grin. "No no," he replied smoothly, "it's just my habit."

Behind them, Fran shivered and nearly jumped. Her eyes twitched slightly while her tail puffed up like a scared kitten. "Ahh! Hahaha! Mister weird freak," she laughed nervously, forcing a smile while her eyes clamped shut. "That laugh of yours gave me goosebumps."

She rubbed her arms as tiny shivers crawled down her back.

Zeon's eyes gleamed as he looked over his shoulder with a grin that looked malicious—but didn't carry a hint of true threat. It was just… Zeon being Zeon.

"Hahaha~ Thank you," he replied, placing a hand over his chest like she'd just paid him a noble compliment.

Fran folded her arms and pouted. "It's not a compliment, you know."

Zeon didn't miss a beat. "Thank you, kitty cat. Meow."

Fran stared at him.

Flat.

Expressionless.

If annoyance could form a visible aura, hers would've been an electric storm. Her right eye twitched as if trying to hold back her inner assassin. Then, with the deadpan delivery of someone barely hanging onto their sanity, she muttered, "I hope that habit of yours can be fixed… by hammering a dagger into your brain."

Zeon placed a hand over his heart, head tilted back as if she'd just recited poetry to him. "Thank you. I love it."

Fran groaned audibly. Her ears twitched back, tail flicking like an irritated cat, and her expression twisted into a smile so fake it might as well have been drawn on with chalk. "This guy.... mister gonna drive me insane," she whispered under her breath.

Dila finally spoke, calm and cool as icewater on a summer day. "Enough with this nonsense," she said, brushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear. "Let's go. Start leading the way, Master of Secrets… Zeon the Evil… Hero of Suffering."

Zeon blinked. "Wow." He placed his hands on his hips, lips curling up. "You said that to my face. After I risked my life and nearly got struck by dark evil lightning just to save yours?"

He sighed dreamily and smiled wide. "Still… I like the compliment."

Dila let out a long sigh, hand gently covering her forehead as if this was going to be a very long walk.

Fran leaned toward her and whispered, "Sister… is he always this broken?"

Dila responded. "Yes... his beyond repair his sooo!!! too!! deep fry."

Then She just walked forward.

For a couple of seconds Dila has been absent minded.

Suddenly....

Zeon stopped walking and turned around, chuckling with a suspicious glint in his eyes.

"Well, well… and where exactly are you two heading off to?"

Dila, caught just a few steps ahead, blinked and turned her head slightly. Her voice came cool and composed.

"I was… just looking at the flower down there."

But her stiff tone and the faint pink on her cheeks betrayed her. She wasn't really looking at any flower. In truth, she had spaced out—completely blank for a moment like a frozen loading screen—and Fran had simply followed her without question, assuming she knew where she was going.

Zeon gave them a long, theatrical sigh and wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve—though there were no tears, just dramatic flair.

"Come on now. Don't just wander around like lost ducklings… follow the leader!" he sang in a teasing tone.

Fran blinked and looked at Dila. "Wait… i thought you were leading for a moment sister?"

Then Zeon follow up word, said while grinning while surprised a bit."I thought you knew where we were going for a moment."

Dila spun around toward at Zeon with a mild glare, cheeks still slightly warm. "Nooo! I'm not following any leader," she snapped. "I'm just… looking for direction. That's all."

Zeon gasped as if struck by an invisible dagger. He clutched his chest and leaned back like he'd just been mortally wounded.

"Ahhh! You wound me, Princess!" he cried out dramatically, wobbling on his feet. "Right in the soul! After all we've been through! The lightning! The sarcasm!"

Dila sighed, again. Deeper this time. "If only lightning had struck you."

Fran snorted, failing to hide her laugh, while Zeon was now pretending to faint in slow motion.

"Sister, he's like a theater troupe and a headache had a child," Fran whispered.

Dila didn't answer.

She just walked past Zeon's 'collapsed' form.

"Fine, fine! Enough with the joke I'll continue to lead," Zeon groaned from the ground, waving a hand lazily. "But if I die from lack of appreciation, tell the world my tale."

"No one's telling anything," Dila said flatly.

Then suddenly, Zeon dusted off his sleeve for no reason with exaggerated flair, spun on one heel, then dipped into an overly formal bow—complete with one hand across his chest and the other extended toward a thick wall of overgrown green.

"This way, Princess," he said with the smuggest grin known to mankind, pointing dramatically to what looked like a jungle gone wild. Vines, shrubs, twisting branches… even the grass looked like it wanted to bite someone.

Dila stopped, blinking slowly.

She turned her head toward the mess Zeon was pointing at.

Then she looked back at him.

And then at the so-called "path."

That wasn't a path. That was a botanical nightmare.

"…You're joking," she said dryly.

Zeon straightened up and confidently started walking toward the wild patch, motioning behind him with a lazy hand. "Come along now. Don't fall behind, we wouldn't want to miss the secret trail of destiny."

Fran looked at Dila, then the bushes, then at Zeon's disappearing back.

"…I think he's hallucinating," she whispered.

Dila sighed, her expression as flat as stone. But curiosity—or perhaps resignation—nudged her forward. She followed slowly, carefully stepping around a bramble that looked like it had teeth.

Fran skipped after her with a cheerful shrug. "If we get eaten by plants, I'm haunting him."

Once they were both trudging behind Zeon through the wild growth, Dila muttered under her breath, "This doesn't make any sense… There's no trail here. No path. Just overgrown plants and probably a hundred snakes waiting to bite us."

Zeon turned his head just enough to flash a mischievous grin.

"Oh, you'll see," he said, in a tone too proud for someone leading them into shrub hell.

Dila stared at his back like she was trying to melt it with her eyes.

"Okay," she deadpanned. "Let's see it through… If we die, I'm haunting you."

Fran grinned. "Dibs on haunting his dreams."

Zeon just laughed and pushed aside a branch like some grand explorer. "You two don't appreciate adventure."

Behind him, a leaf smacked Fran in the face. She hissed like a cat.

Dila's eye twitched.

The jungle was thick, the bugs were buzzing, and the air was humid—but somehow, it was clear: Zeon had something hidden in there.

Either that, or he was just confidently lost.

Both were possible.