Having been betrayed by Deymon, she wasn't too surprised. What truly shocked her was that he had the courage to betray her in the middle of such chaos—and even managed to convince a subordinate to do the same.
"What a petty move, Deymon. I didn't think you'd use an invasion as a chance 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!"
Realizing from Deymon's smile that it wasn't a lie, her initial surprise turned into disgust. She didn't care about people who allied with Nartheis—unless it was for a reason.
"So that's it? You knelt and begged the Nartheis for power just because you wanted revenge? That's pathetic."
"I didn't kneel. He came to me and offered me much more than you ever did."
"He? Don't tell me you kept talking to that guy? I warned you about him, and you went anyway? Ha, truly pathetic."
Biting his lips, Deymon tried to calm his rage. He had to fulfill Jago's mission—to activate the corruption in those infected by their magic and kill Enrico.
'Calm down. I can kill her and Kai later. For now, focus on the main mission—kill Enrico.'
He hated her and Kai, but to be honest, he hated Enrico even more—the one who humiliated him. The worst part, to him, was that Enrico didn't even consider him a worthy opponent, sending subordinates to handle him instead.
'After Enrico, I'll go after Kai wherever he is… and I'll leave her for last.'
Using his corruption magic, he launched a direct attack toward Elowyn, Grark, and Narisse's vital points. Barely dodging, Grark unleashed the magic he'd learned from the card sent by his friend Enrico.
"Supersonic Impact!"
With one movement, his arm struck Deymon's, surprising him—and even shocking Elowyn and Narisse, as it was their first time seeing the technique. As Enrico had said, that spell gave the user the ability to double their speed, already capable of breaking the sound barrier.
"Tsk, looks like you've improved."
"Of course I have. If a traitor like you got stronger, imagine me—I've been learning from my human friend."
"And that person must be Enrico, huh? Seems like you humiliated yourself by lowering yourself to a—"
"You talk too much, Deymon."
Narisse's poison magic was mere centimeters from his face. If the Nartheis wolf hadn't pulled him away, he would have been poisoned.
'Her speed's greater than before.'
Narisse cursed herself for missing that attack. After all that training to defend against Seraphina, this was her top speed—especially when it came to protecting the princess.
"Deymon, behind you!"
A golden sword, concentrated into a single point, came down directly toward his head, slicing a deep cut across his face. Even though Velka had warned him, he couldn't dodge in time. She then invoked a fog spell around them, concealing the three from the many golden swords surrounding them.
"Damn it, Deymon! They've been hiding their real power. We need to get out of here—even with the Gray Nartheis, we can't handle them if a guard shows up!"
"You want me to run?"
"Wasn't that the plan? The Gray was supposed to hold them off while we hunt the humans you corrupted!"
Grabbing him by the shoulder, Velka activated a magic circle given by Jago, teleporting them 100 meters away while the wolf charged out of the mist, facing all three at once.
"Damn, this Nartheis is strong."
"Of course he is, idiot. Even if it was by surprise, he killed a guard close to reaching the fifth circle."
"You two, focus on the fight—don't let your guard down!"
Elowyn summoned her golden magic, creating several lances and hurling them into the mist behind the wolf. But there was no impact beyond the ground—confirming her suspicion.
"Looks like they ran."
Grark shook his head, disappointment clear in his eyes. After all, that had once been his comrade—but now he was just a cowardly traitor.
"I never thought that human would be so cowardly. He's got the two things we orcs hate most—cowardice and betrayal."
Narisse wasn't an orc, but she understood that feeling. She'd done something similar to Seraphina once, though she didn't want to think about it.
Honestly, I just want to survive and stay with the princess until she becomes queen. I'll try not to anger anyone else… except the consort—I need to make sure he belongs to her.
Name: Gray Nartheis (Maximum Circle 2)
Magic: Clones
Unique Ability: Shadow Beast — can become intangible for 3 seconds every 5 seconds.
The gray wolf lunged with brutal force, its claws slicing the air as shadows multiplied around it. Grark could barely track its movements, feeling each impact vibrate through his bones. Elowyn created a golden shield, but Gray tore through it like paper. Narisse rolled aside, flinging poison to slow it down—but the Nartheis seemed entirely unaffected.
'Damn it, he's—'
Realizing what was happening, Elowyn shouted just as one of the copies slashed her shoulder, leaving a deep wound. It seemed Gray was switching places with his clones, just like Enrico did.
"He's using the clones to confuse us!"
Grark tried to protect her but was hit head-on by another copy. His body crashed into a ruined wall, cracking the stone. Coughing blood, he struggled to rise, muscles burning in pain. Narisse ran to him—but the ground gave way under her feet, collapsing from the tremors of the wolf's repeated strikes.
"Damn it… he's multiplying faster!"
Heavy footsteps echoed. The mist Velka had left began to clear, revealing at least five more copies surrounding them. The real one was hidden among them. Elowyn tried to sense its mana, but the wolf was manipulating the flow of magic in the air, scrambling every attempt to detect it.
With each attack, their exhaustion grew. Sweat dripped from their faces, and their breathing grew uneven. The battlefield was covered in debris, distant screams from other fights echoing through the streets. None of them had the strength to call for help—and even if they did, it would only attract more enemies.
'I won't die… I have to get stronger—to catch up to him.'
That was the thought shared by two who refused to give up. Grark gritted his teeth and stood in front once more. Elowyn, her bleeding hand trembling, readied another golden spear. Seeing her determination, Narisse decided to take a dangerous step—injecting the remaining poison magic into her own veins, increasing her speed for just a few seconds. They knew they couldn't win—but they couldn't stop either.
'Let's see if this wolf can take us down when we give it everything!'
Without them noticing, the real Nartheis appeared silently behind them, claws ready to tear through all three at once.
"Looks like you let your guard down."
Hearing a familiar voice from behind, the three turned—just in time to see Enrico kick Gray in the face with a grin.
"Looks like the little princess needed some help."