Although Deymon's betrayal had not surprised Elowyn all that much, what truly left her perplexed was his courage to act that way in the middle of an invasion of such magnitude. To make matters worse, he had even managed to convince one of her subordinates to do the same.
"What a despicable attitude, Deymon. I never thought you would use an invasion to try to kill me."
"You're mistaken. I'm not using this invasion for that... I'm part of it."
"What the hell are you talking about? They're Nartheis!"
Upon noticing Deymon's smile, Elowyn realized he wasn't lying. Her initial irritation quickly gave way to an expression of deep disgust. She didn't particularly care about people who formed alliances with the Nartheis, as long as they had a justifiable reason for doing so. However, the situation before her was completely different.
"So that's it? You knelt before the Nartheis and begged them for help because you wanted revenge? That's pathetic."
"I didn't kneel. He was the one who came to me and offered me far more than you ever did."
Elowyn fell silent for a moment, deep in thought, until she remembered someone who had spoken to her once.
"Him? Don't tell me you kept talking to that guy! I warned you about him, but you still went after him? Ha! Truly pathetic."
Deymon bit his lip, trying to contain his anger. After all, he needed to carry out the mission Jago had entrusted to him: activate the corruption in the people infected by their magic and defeat Enrico.
'Calm down. I can kill both her and Kai later. For now, I need to focus on the main mission: killing Enrico.'
He hated Elowyn and Kai, but, to be honest, his hatred for Enrico was even greater. After all, Enrico was the one who had made him endure that humiliation. Worst of all, Enrico didn't even consider him a worthy opponent to face, to the point of sending his subordinates to fight in his place.
'After taking care of Enrico, I'll go after Kai, who must be somewhere else.'
Using his Corruption Magic, Deymon launched an attack directly at the vital points of Elowyn, Grark, and Narisse. The three barely managed to dodge, but Grark seized the opportunity to counterattack with a spell he had learned during the training his friend Enrico had asked him to undergo.
"Supersonic Impact!"
With a single movement, Grark lunged forward and struck Deymon's arm, catching him by surprise. In fact, even Elowyn and Narisse were astonished, as this was the first time they had witnessed that attack.
According to Enrico's explanation, that magic allowed Grark to double his speed, which was already enough to break the sound barrier.
Deymon gritted his teeth as he dodged another attack.
"Tsk... Looks like you've gotten stronger."
Grark maintained a serious expression as he tried to punch his former companion in the stomach, reinforcing the blow with Impact Magic.
"Of course I have! If a traitor like you has gotten stronger, just imagine how much stronger I've become after receiving advice from a human friend!"
Deymon managed to escape the blow by quickly retreating.
"And that person must be Enrico, right? Looks like you humiliated yourself by lowering yourself before someone who has already defeated you..."
"You talk too much, Deymon."
Narisse's palm was already just a few centimeters from his face. Deymon was caught off guard when he realized he wouldn't be able to dodge that attack.
'Her speed is greater than before.'
Her Poison Magic was about to hit Deymon, but the wolf Nartheis sensed the danger and pulled him out of the way before she could poison him.
Narisse narrowed her eyes, visibly irritated.
"Besides, out of everyone here, you're the one who has lowered yourself the most."
Deymon gritted his teeth once again and charged toward her. However, before he could reach her, Narisse had already appeared in front of him, her palm open and ready to strike. Once again, he had to be saved by the wolf, which leaped into the air and grabbed his clothes with its teeth, pulling him out of the attack's reach.
'Damn it. I missed again.'
Narisse was frustrated with herself for missing that attack. After training so hard to defend herself against Seraphina, she had expected to be better prepared. She had done everything she could to gain more power and protect her princess from Seraphina, even though she was still afraid of the possibility of facing her again. Despite all her effort and training, that was the maximum speed she could reach at that moment.
While Deymon struggled to deal with Grark and Narisse's attacks, Elowyn had also taken the opportunity to prepare her own magic. Concentrating a large amount of golden magic at a single point, she created a magical sword and launched it directly at him. The weapon shot forward at high speed, but Velka noticed the danger before the attack could hit her companion.
"Deymon, behind you!"
Despite the warning, Deymon couldn't completely avoid the attack. The golden sword passed across his face, inflicting a deep cut that ran through the middle of it. Velka immediately reacted, summoning Mist Magic around the three of them. A thick curtain spread across the battlefield, making it difficult to see the several golden swords still surrounding them.
"Damn it, Deymon! They were hiding more power than we expected. We need to get out of here! Even with Gray by our side, we won't be able to handle them if a guard shows up."
Deymon shot Velka an angry glare, clearly displeased with her suggestion.
"You want me to run away?"
Velka swallowed hard at his reaction but tried to remain calm as she explained the plan.
"Wasn't that the plan? We were supposed to let Gray fight them while we hunted down the humans you corrupted."
Velka placed her hand on Deymon's shoulder and began activating a magic circle she had received from Jago. The magic would transport them to a point a hundred meters away. Meanwhile, the wolf Nartheis emerged from the mist and began fighting all three of them at once.
Grark watched the Nartheis now advancing toward them and couldn't hide his surprise at the creature's strength.
"Damn! This Nartheis is strong!"
Narisse narrowed her eyes, keeping her attention on the enemy.
"Of course it would be, idiot! Even though we caught it by surprise, it killed a guard who was at Circle Four!"
Elowyn noticed that the two were beginning to get distracted by their opponent's strength and immediately reprimanded them.
"You two, pay attention to the fight and don't let your guard down!"
The princess summoned her Golden Magic and created several spears, directing all of them toward the mist behind the wolf. However, upon carefully observing the result of her attack, she realized she hadn't sensed any impact against an enemy. The only collisions she could detect were those of her own spears hitting the ground.
"Looks like they escaped."
Grark shook his head with a disappointed expression. After all, Deymon should have been his companion, but now he was nothing more than a traitor who preferred to run away.
"I never thought that human would be such a coward. There are two things we orcs hate: cowardice and betrayal."
Narisse wasn't an orc, but she could understand that feeling. In fact, she herself had already committed one of those things against Seraphina, although she didn't want to think about it at that moment.
'To be honest, I'd rather survive and stay by the princess's side until she becomes queen. So I intend to stop making anyone else angry... Except the consort, of course. I need to make sure he ends up with the princess.'
The wolf Nartheis took a step forward and let out a powerful growl, baring its teeth as it kept its eyes fixed on the three opponents.
[Name: Gray — Faizes-Rank Nartheis, Level Two (Maximum)]
[Magic: Clones]
[Unique Ability: Shadow Beast — Allows it to become intangible for three seconds every five seconds.]
The gray wolf charged forward with brutal force, its claws slicing through the air as several copies appeared around it.
Grark could barely keep up with the creature's movements, feeling the impact of every blow reverberate through his bones. Elowyn, meanwhile, decided to create a golden shield to protect herself, but Gray passed through the defense as if it were made of paper. Narisse leaped to the side, rolled across the ground, and released a quantity of poison in an attempt to slow it down. However, the Nartheis seemed to completely ignore its effects.
'Shit... It's...'
Realizing what was happening, Elowyn shouted as one of the copies pierced her shoulder, leaving a deep wound.
"It's using its clones to confuse us!"
Grark tried to protect her but was struck head-on by another copy. His body was hurled against a destroyed wall, cracking the stones on impact. Coughing up blood, he tried to stand, feeling his muscles burn with pain.
Narisse rushed toward him, but the ground gave way beneath her feet due to the tremors caused by Gray's numerous attacks against the ground, intended to separate the three of them.
"Shit... It's splitting into more copies faster and faster!"
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the area. The mist left behind by Velka began to dissipate, revealing at least five more copies of the creature, which now surrounded them. The real Nartheis was mixed in among them.
Elowyn tried to identify it through her magical perception, but the wolf altered the flow of mana around it, confusing any attempt to detect its true position.
With each new attack, the three grew increasingly exhausted. Sweat ran down their faces as their breathing became more and more irregular. The battlefield was covered in debris, and the distant screams of other battles continued to echo throughout the area. None of them had the strength to call for help, and even if they tried, they knew they might end up attracting even more enemies.
'I won't die. I need to become stronger so I can keep up with him.'
That was the thought keeping two of the three on their feet. Grark gritted his teeth and once again positioned himself in front of his companions, despite his injured body. Elowyn, meanwhile, ignored the pain and prepared another golden spear, keeping her eyes fixed on the enemy.
'Princess...'
After observing Elowyn's condition and realizing that she still refused to retreat, Narisse made a risky decision.
'I'll use a specific poison spell.'
Concentrating the remainder of her Poison Magic, she channeled it through her own veins, causing her body to react abnormally. This poison temporarily stimulated her muscles and accelerated the transmission of impulses throughout her body, allowing her to reach a much greater speed than usual.
However, since she was using her own magic directly on her body, the effect couldn't last long and also posed a risk to her physical condition.
The three knew they had no chance of winning that battle, but none of them was willing to give up.
The three prepared to launch one final counterattack, concentrating whatever strength they had left. However, they were so focused on Gray's clones that they failed to notice when the real Nartheis silently appeared behind them. The creature approached without making a sound, its claws raised and ready to pierce all three of them at once.
"Looks like you three have really let your guard down."
Upon hearing that familiar voice, the three immediately turned around. Enrico was standing there with a smile on his face as he delivered a kick directly to Gray's face, interrupting its attack.
"Looks like the little princess needs some help."