TBATE-PRODIGY

Chapter 89

I looked down, sharing her concerns, not just for the Trailblazers, but for Tessia, who is with them. Part of me wanted to order her to come back, but I knew she wouldn't listen. I just needed to have faith in her abilities, knowing how strong she had become.

I sighed as I thought about what everyone was saying. The Lances in Darv were busy fighting to hold the line. Varay was in Sapin, protecting the human kingdom and the floating castle. If we send her, we, as well as Sapin, will be left defenseless. Alea was protecting Elenoir; if we send her, Elenoir loses its best defender. Elion was in charge of the wall, and the Beast Glades, remove him, and a Retainer could easily attack and destroy the wall, leaving death and destruction in their path.

I looked at Helen and sighed, "I'm sorry, Captain; as of right now, we have no one available. If you want to wait for a Lance to be available, I understand."

Helen looked down, seeming to be deep in thought, before she looked back at me, "Understood, Commander. As of now, we will proceed as planned. I don't want to stay in this dungeon longer than we need to. The longer we're here, the greater the chance the Alacryans will know what dungeon we're in."

I nodded as I understood her reasoning. I wanted to selfishly tell her to hold off due to Tessia. However, I trusted Helen's judgment.

"Very well. Good luck, Captain. And be safe." I said as the communication ended.

"What if they meet a retainer?" Merial asked, concerned. Alduin sat beside her, looking concerned as well. He reached out and took her hand consolingly before looking at me.

My stomach dropped thinking about the idea, and I balled my fists in frustration, "Let's just pray they don't."

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Tessia Eralith POV

The Trailblazers made it to the entrance of the boss room. Helen told us before we left base camp that a Lance couldn't join us. So, Helen wanted to be on the safe side. Her plan was to have the sensory mages see if they could detect any Retainers inside. If so, we would immediately fall back and contact Granda.

We all stood spread out as two sensory mages approached the entrance. I stood next to Jasmine, Theo, Claire, Lilia, and Caera as we watched them intently. I didn't know the sensory mages well; I've met them maybe once or twice. I knew their names were Jesse and Anna.

Jesse was a tall skinny man with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. He carried a bow and arrows and had an affinity for wind magic.

Anna was a petite girl who was a head shorter than Roland. She had light brown hair that she let flow freely down to her shoulders. She carried a wand and had an affinity for fire.

Jesse and Anna approached the archway and stood to the right side. Jesse subtly peaked his head around the corner. He carefully crouched down and held his hand out toward the boss's chamber.

Anna stood beside him as she held her hands in front of her and closed her eyes. They stood there for a few seconds, trying to see if they could sense anything inside. Soon they both looked and whispered something to each other before they both began to quickly move back to the group.

"Did you sense anything?" Helen asked as they approached.

"We could sense a strong presence of foreign mana inside," Anna reported.

"A Retainer?" Helen asked in all seriousness.

"Unknown. It was definitely strong, but we don't think it was Retainer strong." Jesse said.

"It might be the beast," Caera chimed in.

Helen looked at her curiously, "What do you mean?

"The beast may have been corrupted already. So, therefore, it would give off a presence of foreign mana." Caera said.