"There are three main guardians of the Grand Canyon. They are namely the Skeleton King, the Sky Monitor, and the Sentient Bloodline."
As they walked through the canyon in the dead of night, Thane explained what he knew about the canyon. The things here were meant specifically to kill Victoria, but that didn't make them any less dangerous to others.
These things in the canyon could rip apart armies with their powers and mystical abilities.
"The first we should encounter is the Skeleton King. He is literally everywhere. He controls the skeletons of all the dead in a 20 km radius of where he currently is. That means he can be upon us right now, and we wouldn't even know," Thane explained.
His knowledge of the plans of the Red Sun Legion was intricate. He knew what was where and how it worked. However, this did not mean he could defeat them easily.
"I have a plan to defeat him. Actually, he's the only one I think myself and Enzo can kill on our own. The other two are unfortunately much harder," Thane explained.
Victoria was their trump card. Even if she was to fight, it couldn't be something too hard to defeat. They had to maintain her strength.
"No, Enzo is too weak to fight something like that. He didn't sign up for this. I can handle it," Victoria suddenly interjected as she stopped in her tracks.
The main purpose of training Enzo was for him to be able to survive. She promised to keep him alive, and she very well planned to keep that promise.
"Ahh, princess. I wouldn't put the kid in danger. He's literally my apprentice. Please don't take it the wrong way, mistress," Thane saw Victoria's defensive stance and turned around to bow at her.
She was, after all, his master.
"Hehe, don't worry about it, Lady Victoria. I'm sure Senior Thane will take good care of me if need be," Enzo said, watching Thane bow, so he stepped forward.
Of course, this wasn't because he trusted Thane. In fact, he had a feeling that this man had somehow noticed his change in character and was now working to remove his variable from the equation.
The last few monsters he had fought were a clear sign of this being the case, and now the guardians of this place.
"Yes, princess. I would rather lay down my own life than see the kid die," Thane placed his hand where his 'heart' was and swore.
He was still suspect after reviving. Even Victoria didn't seem to trust him as much. So he had to play it cool and slowly take them by surprise.
Killing Enzo couldn't be too direct. He would do it in a way that no one could fault him when fighting one of the guardians.
Of course, he had no idea that Enzo wanted to fight one of these guys too. The echoes he was gathering were good, stronger than him in fact. But would they be of help in killing Thane, a Tyrant? What he really needed was something that could pack a punch, and Thane had unknowingly brought an opportunity to him.
"Sigh, it's almost daytime. Nibbleskin, stay with Enzo and make sure he doesn't die," Victoria said helplessly as she reached to her shoulder and brought Nibbleskin to her arm before placing him on Enzo's shoulder.
She still wanted to kill a whole lot of monsters in here, including the three guardians. But she wasn't stupid. Thane clearly knew more about them than her. If he didn't think it wise for her to fight this one on her own, then there had to be something to it.
"Princess, your wish is my command," Nibbleskin replied with a playful look on his face.
"Hehe, he's here in case you meet the creature before nightfall. If I'm here when it comes out, then there would be no need for you to participate. I'll kill it myself no matter what Thane says," Victoria leaned in and whispered into Enzo's ear, her hot breath sending a shiver to his toes.
"It… okay," Enzo responded with a blush on his pale cheeks.
Moments later, Enzo dropped the void coffin and allowed Victoria to enter it as they continued their journey to the center of the mountain range.
As they moved, they noticed a range of bony corpses littered all over the place. Evidence that this prison world had in the past been used to hold a multitude of creatures from all corners of the galaxy.
Their bones, a representation of their failed attempts at leaving and a warning to others who came. However, this did not cause the three to falter. They pressed on deeper into the canyon, not looking for the Skeleton King but fully prepared to fight against him.
"This is the second stretch. I'm quite surprised the Skeleton King hasn't reared his head yet," Thane muttered, looking around slowly.
His words, of course, came too early as the moment after he said that, several bones suddenly came together from different angles and formed into a tall skeletal figure, 7 feet tall.
"Good day, travelers. Welcome to Bone Hellgate." The skeletal figure spoke up with a calm, light mood.
It seemed to be happy that they were here.
"Uhhh." Enzo was taken aback for a moment. Was this the Skeleton King? And why was he so calm?
"No, I'm not the Skeleton King if that's what you're thinking. I am his envoy, and I am here to see if you're interested in the game," the skeletal figure said.
Several millennia of being stuck here was very boring, even for an undead creature like the Skeleton King. He had long since developed sentience, so it was much more difficult to sit here all day doing nothing.
"Game?" Thane's left brow twitched slightly.
He expected the sea of bones to attack them outright, trying to devour them. This wasn't part of his plan.