"Looks like they really plan to bury us here."
Nyx Blade's expression hardened, her teeth clenched as she scanned the tightening encirclement.
She had come here intending to ambush Everhold Dominion—not be ambushed herself.
They had fought tooth and nail to break through the earlier blockade, only to end up surrounded once more. The chances of escape had plummeted. If even a single reinforcement team arrived, it would seal their fate.
Worse, if they died now—while still red-named from earlier kills—the penalties would be brutal. Her teammates would lose at least two levels each. As for her? Three levels, minimum. Not to mention every single piece of gear.
It would be a complete wipe. Their party would collapse.
"Hahahaha! What's the matter? Scared now?"
The Everhold Dominion swordsman laughed, stepping forward with a sneer. "Originally, this trap was for that Raen bastard, but since you people came running in on your own… well, thanks for the delivery."
He licked his lips, eyes shamelessly raking over NyxBlade.
"That gear of yours? It's ours now. And as for you—" he grinned darkly, "leave her to me."
Hidden in the canopy above, Kaito's eyes narrowed.
So they had set the trap for him.
Even with the Isolation Array Scroll in place, Everhold Dominion wasn't completely at ease. They had scattered traps throughout the area, just in case.
And because Kaito had either been secluded inside the forging room or cloaked in the state of nothingness, they had been unable to locate him—forcing them to target his Genesis team instead, hoping to lure him into the open..
But they had made two grave mistakes.
First: underestimating his strength.
Second: not realizing he was already here.
"Everyone, with me!"
Down below, Nyx Blade suddenly shouted, her voice sharp and resolute. She dashed forward, targeting the weakest point in the enemy's formation.
The Everhold Dominion Berserker guarding that sector barely had time to register her presence—
Her dagger pierced the back of his head, stunning him instantly.
In a seamless follow-up, she activated Backstab, Assassinate, and Eviscerate—her combo cutting through half of his HP in an instant.
At that moment, the remaining members of NyxBlade's team surged forward alongside her, desperately attempting to break through the encirclement.
However, just as several of the Level 13 Everhold Dominion players dropped to critical HP, a radiant white glow enveloped their bodies—instantly restoring over half their health. They weren't pushovers. Instead of collapsing, they dug in deeper, locking weapons with NyxBlade's team and refusing to retreat.
"Mages, go all out!"
"Clerics, cast your shields!"
"Rangers, mark the assassins—don't let them escape!"
The Everhold Dominion swordsman roared with authority as he charged forward, eyes blazing.
"I don't want to become a laughingstock in Stone Pine Town!"
He was the squad's leader—and he made sure everyone knew it.
Including NyxBlade, only six players remained on her side. Each faced two, sometimes three, enemies at once. With enemy healers supporting the frontline and replenishing HP in real time, the tide was heavily against them.
Boom—
A sudden magical barrage from the backline mages rained down, overwhelming the defenders.
In the blink of an eye, two more of NyxBlade's comrades collapsed under the relentless spellfire.
Is this really it for us?
NyxBlade watched helplessly as her companions fell. Her heart felt like it had been torn open. But she had no time to mourn. She now faced three enemies alone—including the Everhold Dominion team leader himself.
On top of being outnumbered, the enemy mages showed no signs of letting up. Her HP bar ticked down steadily. Most of her skills were still on cooldown. Her only option was to weave and dodge, avoiding death by the narrowest margins.
"Hahaha! Little girl," the swordsman sneered, closing in. "If you want someone to blame, blame that Raen of yours for daring to stand out. All who oppose Everhold Dominion—end up like this."
His grin twisted cruelly.
"But don't worry. That Raen bastard won't be far behind."
Just as the swordsman believed victory was within reach—
A shadow appeared.
Silent. Deadly.
A black figure flickered into existence behind the Everhold Dominion healers—so fast, so clean, that none of them even noticed until it was far too late.
Two streaks of silver light arced through the air.
- 473!
- 611!
The Level 12 cleric collapsed before he could even gasp. A clean kill.
Only when the first cleric fell did the second one and the druid register what had happened.
They turned—
—but too late.
The second cleric opened his mouth to scream, only to realize nothing came out. Blood gushed from his abdomen… and then his throat. His eyes widened in horror.
Beside him, the druid's gaze mirrored the same realization—followed by the same silence.
"That's three down."
Kaito's eyes gleamed with a cold, lethal light. His gaze slowly shifted toward the nearby mages.
With his current attack power, he didn't even need to rely on Dragonic Power's damage boost. Even without using active skills, two clean strikes from his twin swords were enough to kill any cloth-armor class of the same level.
Two swords. Six slashes.
With his current ability, Kaito could execute such precision strikes effortlessly—and without breaking his rhythm.
What made him even deadlier was Dragon Fang.
The faster his sword strikes, the greater the damage output. And when Kaito pushed his speed to its peak, it was entirely possible to one-shot a cloth-armor player in a single blow.
In an open battlefield like this, Kaito was no longer a player.
He was a harvester, reaping lives with every step.
Unless a target activated their Extraordinary State, they had zero chance of blocking his strikes. And even those who could—typically frontline melee classes like the enemy swordsman—had only a chance to react in time.
Nothing more than a chance.
Without hesitation, Kaito activated Cross Slash, a burst of energy wrapping around his twin blades as he lunged toward the nearest Elementalist.
"Are the healers dead or what?! Can't you useless bastards heal?!"
A low-HP assassin from Everhold Dominion cursed from the middle of the melee.
His complaints received no reply.
Seizing the opportunity, NyxBlade's dagger shimmered. She had already accumulated—
Eviscerate!
Her blade tore clean through the distracted assassin's spine, ending him instantly.
The backline mages turned, eyes widening in confusion as they looked toward where their healers should have been.
The moment one Elementalist spun around, he saw it—
A dark shadow slid across his throat.
A pale blue streak pierced his chest.
Then a red afterimage followed with a second stab.
His HP bar plummeted before his very eyes.
Then—nothing. Just darkness.
Kaito didn't stop. After slaying the Elementalist, he shifted his focus toward the remaining casters.
"Leader! There's a monster ambushing us!" a Summoner cried out in panic, his voice trembling.
He'd barely gotten the words out when the Elementalist beside him collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
The sight sent shivers down the Summoner's spine.
"A monster? Can't you deal with that yourself?!" the swordsman team leader barked in annoyance. "Can't you see I'm busy here?!"
He parried NyxBlade's incoming strike, snarling.
"What kind of idiot reports every little thing like it's the end of the world?!"
Hearing no reply, he assumed the problem had been handled.
He focused once more on the duel in front of him.
But in truth, the Summoner was already lying lifeless beneath Kaito's feet—his body surrounded by the corpses of three other mages who had tried to escape.
One by one…
Kaito erased them all.
And now—
His name glowed crimson.
A warning to all who laid eyes on him.
Meanwhile, only three members of NyxBlade's team remained standing. All three were critically low on HP. They looked like they could collapse at any moment.
Everhold Dominion still had nine melee fighters left, each with over half their health intact.