Dozens of long black shadows erupted from Calliope's own shadow,
forming slender, clawed hands as dark as night.
They resembled the claws of a banshee—elegant yet deadly.
Then—
Those feminine shadow-hands surged toward Raven and Ryuu,
their targets clear: the shadows beneath their feet.
Once the hands gripped a shadow, the victim would be completely bound.
Worse yet—
The spell allowed Calliope to control their bodies via their own shadows.
Raven reacted swiftly, flipping backward multiple times to dodge.
Ryuu, moving like a gale, had already drawn her twin kodachi and lunged forward.
A silver arc flashed—her blade slashing downward at terrifying speed.
Calliope, agile and experienced, leapt back to evade the vertical cut.
"Oh my, dear fellow elf. Are you trying to kill me?"
"I only wanted to keep you here—I didn't intend to harm you."
Despite Ryuu's piercing stare, the silver-haired princess wore a composed smile.
Ryuu offered no words in return, launching another swift flurry with her blade.
Calliope used her magic to control two shadowy hands, parrying the strikes.
"Tangible shadows?"
That was Ryuu's quick assessment.
Behind the defenses, Calliope elegantly brushed her silver hair behind an ear.
"Level 4 at peak?"
"Unfortunately, I'm Level 5, so… you can't beat me."
As she spoke—
One of the shadow-hands silently crept behind Ryuu.
Just as it was about to grab her shadow—
Raven slashed down with his Thousand Feathers Magic Sword.
The long shadow arm was instantly severed by his strike.
But quickly—
The severed limb regenerated, growing back another clawed hand.
"Alright then…"
Raven narrowed his eyes, raising the Magic Sword high overhead.
He assumed a firing stance.
Until now, he hadn't unleashed the full blast power of the sword.
The Thousand Feathers Magic Sword scaled its output with the user's mana.
Its power had no fixed limit, nor did it crumble with repeated use—
it grew with its wielder.
"A Krozo Magic Sword?!"
Calliope's crimson eyes widened slightly.
After all, the legendary Krozo magic swords once burned elven forests to ash.
It was no exaggeration—
most elves bore deep hatred toward anyone who wielded one.
Raven offered no response.
With a single, powerful motion, he brought the dark, majestic sword down—
In an instant—
Countless arcs of blue lightning erupted like a stormy sea,
engulfing everything in front of them.
The first to be consumed was the poor elven clerk from earlier.
Calliope immediately recalled all her shadow hands to form a magical barrier.
But the raging lightning roared violently,
shattering the pristine floors into rubble.
Everything became a mess of destruction.
Even the barrier of shadowy hands crumbled completely under the storm.
Calliope herself was blown back, unable to avoid being swallowed by the thunder.
BOOM
A massive hole exploded in the temple-like wall, the roar echoing like divine wrath.
As the thunderstorm faded and the dust settled—
Calliope and the clerk lay unconscious, sprawled miserably on the ground.
"…So strong…"
Ryuu stared, stunned.
Raven sheathed the Thousand Feathers Magic Sword, grinning.
"Honestly, that was my first time seeing its full blast effect."
"I usually just use it to slice people."
The mana cost was only about the same as two standard fire-lightning spells.
All in all—
The power... wasn't bad.
Actually, it far exceeded his expectations.
"Well then."
"If they wanted it the hard way—so be it."
Not one to kill without reason, Raven casually grabbed Calliope's slender body.
She was completely unconscious.
Indeed—
Just as she'd said earlier, Calliope hadn't shown killing intent.
She merely wanted to forcefully detain them.
Too bad...
She'd calculated Ryuu's strength correctly, but completely misjudged Raven.
To him, a Level 5 elf was barely a warm-up.
The only one Raven considered a true opponent...
Was the frost dragon—Dysandy.
"Ryuu, let's go."
"I'm taking you on a real rampage."
Raven smiled faintly.
"…Where to?" Ryuu lowered her icy gaze, puzzled.
"We're taking that top-tier magic staff,"
"And clearing out all the top-grade grimoires in the store."
He slung the 3.3-person-sized hostage over his shoulder
and walked back the way they came.
Not gonna lie…
This tsundere elven princess had a figure and silky skin that were top-tier.
And another thing—
Under that elegant dress of hers were some rather generous curves…
Raven couldn't help but compare—
Even among elven royalty, her bust size surpassed that of Riveria Ljos Alf.
Of course, that excluded the ultimate beauty, the Enchantress Legrenant.
At the same time—
The thunderous destruction had already alerted the entire Herte Familia.
At this very moment—
Every top officer of the Familia, including the Vice-Captain, was en route at full speed.
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