Theron, his golden eyes burning with fury, looked down at Cedric.
> "Make sure not to kill him. His life is mine to take. I'll kill him myself."
Cedric slowly rose to his feet and bowed his head.
> "As you command, Your Majesty."
Ivan, watching them with an amused expression, tilted his head and smiled.
> "If you're done with the nonsense, then I don't mind killing you now."
Cedric drew his sword and began walking toward him.
> "For a demon like you to have the courage to step into Lumenia, you deserve to die.
But for daring to attack the royal family—I won't spare you."
Releasing his mana, Cedric chanted:
> "O Goddess of Light, she who is Light, bless my blade to purge this darkness."
Lightning crackled around him. In a flash, he vanished—only to instantly reappear behind Ivan.
Ivan coughed up blood as glowing spears of light burst from his back. But he simply smiled and licked the blood from his lips, turning his head toward Cedric.
> "You're quite fast. But it's useless… if you can't kill me."
Suddenly, Thane appeared beside Ivan, a shield on one arm and a blade already swinging down. It crashed into a crimson barrier that flared to life around Ivan.
> "To think a Palladium of the Church of Light would launch a sneak attack," Ivan sneered, a crack forming in the barrier.
"I didn't know that's how the holy knights were trained."
The cracks spread—and with a loud shatter, the barrier broke.
Ivan swung his blood-red blade at Thane.
CLANG!
Thane raised his shield just in time, blocking the strike. He countered, swinging his sword in a wide arc. Ivan blocked with his own.
The two clashed in a brutal flurry of steel and strength.
Suddenly, Ivan coughed up more blood and glanced back—Cedric was behind him, his blade thrust straight through Ivan's back.
> "Another sneak attack?" Ivan scoffed.
"For so-called holy knights, you sure don't fight holy. I would've—"
He was cut off mid-sentence as Thane's blade drove through his chest from the front.
Ivan looked down at both blades impaling him. A wide, bloody grin spread across his face.
> "Okay... if that's how you want to play—then I don't mind playing with you."
With a sudden jerk, he grabbed Cedric's blade with one hand and seized Thane's arm with the other.
Blood dripped from his wounds, pooling at his feet. The crimson liquid began to shimmer—and then shot upward in sharp, deadly spikes.
Both Cedric and Thane's eyes widened in shock.
Cedric released his blade and vanished in a flash of lightning.
Thane, shield raised, braced himself as the blood spikes struck. He managed to block the deadly assault—just barely.