Chapter 437 Another Tiara

We reached the castle without any other interference, either because there were no other ambushes prepared or they were consolidating their defences in the castle itself.

I was not naive enough to think that we actually managed to scare them off.

Thankfully, the cliff that the castle was built on had a proper trail leading up to its entrance that didn't put you in danger of falling into the lava below, so we ascended the steps normally.

When we had been further away from the castle, I thought that it was made to be macabre and dark on purpose. But now that we were closer to it, I realised the foreboding look it had was only due to the fact that it was literally crumbling and on the verge of collapse.

Looking closer at it, I realised this castle used to be grey but it was probably burned somehow and the surface became charred and caked in soot.

For some reason, the castle looks a little familiar to me too...

"This... I see... So this is why..." The King muttered when we were standing in front of the gates that led towards the castle.

I turned to her, "Eh? What is it, your Majesty?"

She shuddered, "Ugh... I'm sorry Aster, but please drop the formalities here... Just hearing you say that is making me quite uncomfortable..."

"Umm... Ok... Err... What did you see, Sister Justi?"

The King cleared her throat, "Did you get a feeling like you've seen this place before? Even though it's your first time here?"

I nodded, though I thought that maybe the castle just looked like another castle I've seen before in my research materials when I was writing back in my old World.

She then used her sword to point towards my right, "Does that place look familiar to you?"

I turned to look at what she was pointing at, only to see a certain tower that was standing by itself in a corner of the castle's courtyard.

No way... Of course I would be familiar with that tower... That's the tower that Princess Tiara had been living in... Or at least this tower looked like a replica of it.

I then turned back to the castle and realised why it looked familiar. It was basically a bastardised version of Sister Justi's palace.

While the real one was built to be more elegant and more for looks, this one seemed to be built with the idea of being a defensive fort in mind instead.

The elegant towers of the palace were replaced with practical castle turrets with battlements on top of said towers. They even had a moat and drawbridge built in front of the castle as well.

"Ok... This is a little freaky... You're not telling me this is like an alternate universe or something, are you?" I asked.

The King shook her head, "That would not be correct... I think... Does Aster know about the In-Between Planes?"

I blinked at her, pretty much showing her that I absolutely had no idea what that is.

The King thought for a moment, "Hmm... Do you know about the existence of Grey Walkers then?"

Oh, yeah. Those I've heard before. People who were born with the ability to travel through dimensions or something. I think they're also working as transporters or whatever they are called?

I gasped, "Are you saying that this is one of those In-Between Planes that Grey Walkers can go to?"

She nodded, "For centuries we've known that there are various dimensions located in the In-Between Planes. Some of them contain treasures and artefacts that are beyond your wildest dreams, others might be home to horrors beyond mortal comprehension. Demons are also one of the races known to inhabit these In-Between Planes too, which is why they are rarely seen outside of it since it isn't easy to hop from one dimension to another."

"Right... But this doesn't explain why this place looks like this?"

"Ah, right. I believe this particular dimension was a mirror of ours, or I think it is. No one really knows how these In-Between Planes actually work. There have been instances of people coming across mirror dimensions like this where they see an alternate version of what they are familiar with. Sages have claimed that these types of dimensions are the easiest to cross from ours."

I smacked my palms together, "Which is why the demons are trying to use this as a gateway to cross over?! But why would they need the princess?"

The King turned to the tower, "That tower... Even though this is a different dimension, that tower still remains the same unlike the palace. I'm assuming they are attempting to use the princess as some kind of anchor or something that would make this dimension more similar to ours so that they can cross over."

I don't know why but the image of a lodestone just came to mind. I guess that's pretty much what the princess is to the demons?

Odeta pointed at the tower, "Argh! That means the stupid demons are keeping the princess there, isn't it?! Then let's go save her right now!"

As though on cue, the wall on one of the castle's sides exploded, sending debris flying in every direction. I spotted the remains of several imps being flung out into the open as well, all of them missing at least a limb or a body part.

A figure then stepped out from the newly created hole, her golden blonde hair especially striking against the black walls of the castle.

She had a longsword held in her right hand while her black dress fluttered against the wind, a contrast to the silver tiara on her head.

"Ti... Tiara?" I couldn't help but cry out.

No, wait...

While she looks like Tiara, I realised she looked older... Like this woman looked to be in her early twenties and she had this stone cold look on her face that I can't imagine Tiara having.

The woman turned to us, "What's this? More demons? How many times do you want to try this form of trickery?"

She raised her sword and looked ready to charge at us until Justinia stepped in front with her arms raised.

The woman then stopped and frowned, "Father? No... You can't be..."

Justinia shook her head, "I think I know what you're thinking... Tiara. But we are not from your dimension."

Eh? Ehhhhh? Ok, yeah why not... There's alternate versions of us in these dimensions too. Not that impossible right?

The older Tiara seemed a little sceptical of us but at least she stopped attacking for now and asked, "What's my favourite food?"

The King paused for a moment, "I'm not sure if your likes are the same as our Tiara's but... Cookies?"

She showed no reaction to that answer and continued, "The name of my maid?"

"Aria."

"Where do I like to hide my food?"

"That... Depends on the food?"

"When did I start learning the sword?"

"You... I'm sorry but you never did in our dimension."

The older Tiara nodded, "I see. So I'm assuming your presence here has something to do with the sudden increase in demons here. Did your dimension's version of me come over or something?"n(/0vεlB1n

The King shook her head, "Worse... The demons took her here in an attempt to connect this dimension with ours."

The older Tiara lowered her sword, "Hmm... I understand what's going on now. Fine, let's start over. As you all might have guessed, I am Tiara Lehcarouc of this dimension. In this dimension, the demons have invaded our lands and burned everything to the ground. I'm the last survivor and have been fighting back against the demons for as long as I can remember."

I leaned towards Katsuki and whispered, "So... Does this mean there's an alternate version of me somewhere around here as well?"

I was expecting Katsuki to reply an affirmative but surprisingly, she shook her head, "It's not that simple, Mistress. These dimensions are not actual Worlds of their own. If you were to go far enough, you might find an invisible wall that prevents you from going any further. These places are like memory fragments or simply 'what if' scenarios. You could even say that the Tiara in front of you is nothing but just an illusion as well. If Mistress has any plans on bringing this Tiara back to our home, I would strongly suggest Mistress not to do so."

Ehh... This just makes this so much more confusing...

The older Tiara pointed towards the tower, "Am I right to assume that the demons are using my old home as the location of their entry to your dimension?"

King Justinia nodded, "That is correct. We were on our way there to rescue my Tiara before you appeared."

"Hmm... In that case, then allow me to assist you. No offence but your presence here is making things harder for me so I would like that you all went back to your home dimension."

"None taken, we welcome your help."

That easy huh? I guess this is still the preferred outcome. With the additional member, we started advancing towards the tower again.

I have to say though... If this is how Tiara will look like in the future...

Well... Let's just say she has a very 'fulfilling' future to look forward to.