Blood dripped from Eyolian’s forehead, obscuring her features.

  Her final opponent—a rank five battle mage—collapsed to the ground before her, his torso severed at the waist.

  Eyolian dropped to one knee, her blood-soaked sword resting before her, her breaths heavy. The last opponent at the final barrier supply point had been the most difficult.

  She turned her gaze to where Mr. Eldric was kneeling, mana swirling around him in perfect synchronization, further complicating the intricate circular formation carved into the cold, blue stone floor.

  With a weary sigh, Eyolian pushed herself up. There was no time to rest. At any moment, another enemy could appear and undo everything they had accomplished across the last four supply points.

  The journey here had been anything but easy. The three knights protecting them had fallen into an illusion trap along the way, separating them from her and Mr. Eldric.

  The illusion trap had targeted Eyolian as well, but she had managed to break free by severing the throat of the mage responsible.

  She didn’t know whether the three knights were still alive, but right now, she couldn’t afford to care. She had done well to make it this far to protect Mr. Eldric. Who knew what might have happened if she hadn’t been here?

  ‘I can’t rely on anyone but myself.’

  This belief was reinforced once again in Eyolian’s mind.

  Her mana was dangerously low, but she still cast a basic healing spell on her wounded body.

  The deep wounds inflicted by the rank five battle mage were severe, but Eyolian’s precise control over her blood flow had kept her standing until now.

  A faint yellow glow spread across her pale skin, causing the blood covering her to slowly evaporate, revealing the deep gashes beneath. The wounds barely closed—just enough to stop the bleeding.

  Eyolian steadied herself, feeling much better. She had never lowered her sword, as if her sheer vigilance alone could ward off any approaching threats.

  “I’ll be done here soon!” Mr. Eldric called from within the formation, attempting to reassure her that it would all be over soon.

  But Eyolian had already raised her sword again.

  Her senses had detected a lone figure approaching.

  The man in question was dressed in black armor, like every other enemy she had slain, but something about him made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

  He stopped a few meters away from Eyolian, his eyes locked onto her, as if witnessing a treasure overlooked by all.

  “As expected from the daughter of the Grand Master Eldric. Your talent is something to be envied,” the man said in a calm voice, as if engaging in casual conversation.

  Eyolian frowned. She had no interest in conversing, especially not with an enemy who seemed eager for one.

  So she remained silent, her sword radiating an indistinct energy.

  “Oh, don’t be so hasty. I’m not here to fight. I don’t even have a weapon, see?” The man raised his hands in a mock gesture of surrender, though his voice dripped with sarcasm. “In fact, this battle will be over soon.”

  Eyolian’s tension rose further. She wanted nothing more than to sever his throat—only then could she ensure some level of safety. But she was constrained by the circumstances. She couldn’t abandon her defense.

  Although the mages protecting the formation were inside a defensive barrier around Mr. Eldric, Eyolian wasn’t willing to take any chances.

  The man’s eyes glinted with disappointment when she didn’t attack. He had hoped that by playing on her nerves, she would lose her composure—just like any other young fighter. But the monster girl who had nearly dismantled all their plans in the town remained still, not a single flaw in her guard.

  “Monsters still exist, after all,” the man muttered to himself. His voice was low, but Eyolian still heard him and scowled.

  The man in black took a single step forward, and Eyolian immediately mirrored him, stepping closer as well.

  “You’re really not giving me a chance here, girl…” he sighed, sounding exasperated. “I’ll tell you this: we never intended to harm Grand Master Eldric. Our organization holds great respect for him and for all Rune Masters.”

  Eyolian remained silent, responding only by taking another step toward him.

  This time, he was the one to retreat.

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  Despite his confident words, he knew all too well that she would defeat him in direct combat. Her extreme caution was a problem for him as an assassin—she had sensed his presence the moment he entered her perception range.

  “Well, I’ll just stay right here then,” the man said, raising his hands once more in mock surrender. “But one thing won’t change—the moment you fought against us, we fought in response.”

  His words oozed venom, as if he desired nothing more than destruction for the entire town.

  Eyolian disliked inaction. Defense wasn’t her way. She wanted to attack, but… she couldn’t.

  “But the offer still stands. Hand over the prisoner, and we’ll withdraw as if nothing ever happened.” His tone turned calm again, as if he were offering her a great favor.

  Eyolian’s curiosity stirred, though it did nothing to shake her focus.

  Anything related to Noah piqued her interest.

  She shuddered slightly at the thought of being with someone, even in appearance alone. But still, Noah fascinated her like no one else ever had.

  She wanted to know more about him—his secrets, his past.

  She had a suspicion that the “prisoner” this organization sought was Noah, but she hadn’t had the chance to confront him about it.

  For that reason, Eyolian broke her silence for the first time.

  “What do you mean by ‘prisoner’? There’s no record of such a person in the town. You people are just mistaken, killing innocent people over a false suspicion.”

  The man tilted his head slightly, visibly surprised. “Finally! For a moment, I thought I’d have to do all the talking until our counterattack was ready.”

  Eyolian didn’t react, nor did her guard waver. She knew his words were meant to provoke her. Of course, there would be retaliation from their side—she expected nothing less.

  Though slightly disappointed by her lack of reaction, the man continued his chatter.

  “But you’re wrong, girl. We can’t be mistaken. ‘He’ disappeared after crossing the border, but our seers tracked him to this town on the frontier. And our seers do not make mistakes.”

  A cold shiver ran through Eyolian’s entire body, momentarily freezing her thoughts.

  ‘So this organization… they’re the remnants of the Astrolise Kingdom?’

  The implication was clear from his words. But what she didn’t understand was why he would reveal their identity so easily. Did he expect her not to connect the seers to the Kingdom of Astrolise?

  If so, he had miscalculated. Eyolian was one of the most knowledgeable people about the kingdom and its past.

  For a moment, she considered the possibility that she was the one they were looking for. But according to Lady Elara, the person in question was a boy a year older than her—the same age as Noah.

  ‘What does Noah have to do with the kingdom?’

  He had told her he passed through the kingdom on his way to the empire, but she had never thought about what he might have done there…

  Before she could dwell on the thought any further, the man’s excited voice cut her off.

  “It’s time!”

  Eyolian looked up to understand the context, but a rising roar tore through the air around the town.

  With each passing second, the roar turned into a deafening, ominous bellow.

  Eyolian lifted her gaze toward the source—only to witness dozens of massive magical projectiles cutting across the sky with a charged hum, shaking both air and earth alike.

  The glowing red masses cast a sickly light over the sky, their trajectory unmistakably aimed at the town’s barrier.

  Eyolian swallowed dryly, trying to turn toward Mr. Eldric to check his progress. But her senses screamed a warning of imminent death, forcing her to dodge.

  Her head tilted to the side—by a hair’s breadth—avoiding the dagger that had nearly slit her throat.

  Without hesitation, she swung her sword to cleave the assassin in two. But her blade sliced only through thin air.

  The man had dissolved into black mist, drifting away before reforming once more.

  “This won’t be easy. But I was ordered to stall you for just long enough.” The assassin vanished again.

  Eyolian understood his words—if he distracted her long enough for the magical projectiles to strike the barrier, Mr. Eldric, who was supplying it with mana, would suffer severe backlash.

  She couldn’t let that happen.

  Looking up, she tracked the incoming projectiles. They would hit in thirty seconds—maybe less.

  Did she have enough time to finish off the assassin?

  Of course. If she went all out.

  And that’s exactly what she intended to do.

  Mana surged within her body as she began casting a spell of her own creation. The assassin continued attacking her, but she only focused on dodging. Now that she understood his true objective was merely to distract her, she could move freely.

  "Stand still! I'm the assassin here!" the man shouted in frustration. But there was little he could do.

  He wasn't truly afraid of her attacks, as long as he could keep dodging in his mist form.

  However, he was a bit wary of her spell. Still, as long as he kept evading, he'd be fine.

  Eyolian stepped further away from the assassin. Her spell was now fully formed.

  Mana in the surroundings ignited, influencing the mana of the earth.

  Tiny fragments of debris began rising into the sky, shooting upward without return.

  At first, there were only a few, but their speed and numbers increased rapidly. Even the debris itself became more refined, turning into fine grains of sand.

  Within three seconds, an intense sandstorm raged—falling upward.

  Each grain of sand was infused with mana, making them incredibly lethal.

  Eyolian had analyzed her opponent's ability. His evasive spell was extremely powerful, but it was practically useless against wide-range magic.

  For a brief moment, she watched as her opponent abandoned his mist form. He cast several defensive spells around himself and attempted to sprint out of the spell’s radius.

  Eyolian, protected by her own magic shield—the one flaw in her spell she had yet to fix—chased after the assassin as he fled for his life.

  In an instant, her sword swung dangerously toward him.

  He tried to turn and counter, but without his mist form, he was nothing.

  Her blade cut through every defensive spell around him before cleanly slicing through his head.

  Without wasting a second, Eyolian turned toward the barrier surrounding the formation.

  She still had time.

  Roughly twenty seconds.

  She passed through the barrier without resistance—it recognized her as an ally.

  Inside, Mr. Eldric remained on his knees, desperately channeling mana into the barrier. Sweat dripped from his forehead, threatening to exhaust him completely.

  But Eyolian could see it clearly.

  There was no more time.

  She moved instantly, reaching Mr. Eldric, lifting him with her free arm, and dashing away.

  She ignored his shouts and resistance, leaping across rooftops, increasing her speed.

  Her destination—the castle. The safest place.

  Behind her, a sharp impact rocked the ground, but it did nothing to shake her balance.

  The barrier trembled violently, releasing a loud, stone-like wail before its energy fractured into shards of light, scattering into the air like fiery rain.

  ‘We failed.’