The Daughter of Cursed Steel Chapter 23: Chapter 23: When Training Meets Reality

Read chapter 23 of The Daughter of Cursed Steel by Ashfell on NovelPedia.

Chapter 23: When Training Meets Reality Rachel and Elyndra sprinted up out of the basement toward the ground level of the castle as they constantly heard magical explosions, maids screaming, and swords clashing echoing throughout the halls above them. Then they finally exited the basement and arrived in one of the castle corridors. It was pure chaos. Dead maids, guards, and angels littered the floor. Blood covered the walls and carpet while smoke drifted through the hallway from destroyed sections of the castle. The distant sounds of fighting echoed from every direction. Then from the corner of their eyes, they looked to the left and saw a frightened maid lying on the ground as an angel raised his sword, preparing to cleave her skull in two. Elyndra quickly jumped into action. She raised her wand and immediately cast a spell. “Deflection.” A shimmering barrier instantly formed around the maid just as the angel’s sword slammed down. The blade bounced off the barrier, causing the angel to stumble back slightly before the magical shield shattered apart into glowing fragments. But the moment he regained his balance and turned toward the direction of the spell, it was already too late. Rachel was already next to him as the beak of her battle axe swung toward the angel’s head with terrifying force as the sharpened beak pierced straight through the knight’s helmet and deep into his skull. The angel’s lifeless body immediately collapsed to the ground as blood and brain matter spilled out from the gaping hole in his helmet. Elyndra quickly approached the maid, who had tears running down her face as she trembled in terror. “What happened?” Elyndra asked, trying to get information from the frightened woman. The maid struggled to speak through her panic. “Everything was fine until the flashing light came,” she said in a shaky voice. “Then parts of the castle walls suddenly fell from the sky along with the guards. They crushed everyone who didn’t get out of the way in time. The entire formation collapsed into chaos.” “As the angels collided with the guards during all the chaos, the fighting started spreading into the castle as well as the courtyard,” the maid continued fearfully. “I-I have no idea how the battle is going, but Princess, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be hiding with the others?” “No,” Rachel said while shaking the blood from her battle axe. “I’m here to fight and protect everyone. I will no longer hide or be tied down by my mother.” Suddenly, a massive explosion shook the entire castle. The floor trembled violently beneath their feet as distant screams echoed through the halls. Elyndra’s expression hardened as she looked out the nearest window. “We need to move quickly.” She turned toward Rachel. “Let’s take out as many angels as we can. It’ll be much easier to fight them in the castle halls than outside in the open.” The terrified maid immediately spoke up. “W-What about me?” “Just follow behind us and stay out of the way,” Elyndra answered. “We’ll try to get you to the safe room. I bet that’s where the other maids headed once everything descended into chaos.” Rachel then held out her hand toward the frightened woman. The maid shakily grabbed it as Rachel effortlessly pulled her back to her feet. Rachel then looked around the hallway. “Alright. Which way should we go?” Elyndra immediately answered. “Let’s head toward the sounds of fighting inside the castle. If we can catch the angels while they’re occupied fighting the guards, we’ll have a much easier time clearing them out before the battle outside ends.” They turned and rushed down the hallway toward the nearest sounds of fighting as the maid followed several steps behind them. As they traveled through the halls, countless corpses of angels, guards, and maids lay scattered across the ground. Blood pooled across the shattered stone floors while broken weapons and pieces of armor littered the corridors. Eventually, they reached the end of the hallway. The moment they turn