However, just as my arrow was about to hit the humanoid, it was deflected by a mage's (Wind) spell, causing it to change direction and vanish without any effect. Just as I threw a dagger at the closest humanoid, an assassin wielding a dagger suddenly appeared and ambushed me.
I quickly grabbed a spare dagger and blocked the assassin's strike. Because my strength had been restored thanks to the Life Pill, I managed to overpower the assassin in one-on-one combat. But at the same time, the mages and archers began attacking the barrier protecting my two sisters.
Cracks rapidly spread across the barrier. Seeing this, I quickly pushed back and killed one of the assassins, then tried to create a diversion to draw the humanoids' focus back to me.
My plan worked — the humanoids formed a circle around me. I could see sword-wielders and spear users behind me, blocking any escape routes.
With no other choice, I fought them all head-on. But the longer the battle lasted, the harder it became. The humanoids' attacks never ceased. Whenever I fired an arrow, the shield-bearers would block it.
I tossed a smoke bomb to obscure their vision, but a (Wind) spell quickly dispersed the smoke. I couldn't use the Disparaître device either, because the humanoids would immediately shift their focus to the barrier protecting my sisters.
As time passed, numerous wounds opened across my body. I slashed with my dagger, the strike infused with mana, cutting down and killing any humanoid that came close.
I had to finish them quickly — the barrier protecting my sisters was on the verge of collapsing.
After launching another attack, I created a brief opening to breathe. I drew my bow and fired two Fire Arrows, aiming them at the humanoids attacking the barrier. A wall of flames erupted, surrounding and shielding the barrier.
I quickly activated Disparaître to escape the encirclement. Passing through the confused humanoids who had lost sight of their target, I reached the barrier — now encircled by unquenchable flames.
Deactivating Disparaître, I drew my bow again and fired a Void Arrow at the commander. As the arrow shot toward him, a shield-bearing humanoid stepped in front to block it — but the arrow pierced through and continued flying toward the commander.
However, just as the arrow was about to strike him, the commander dodged and shattered it.
"Looks like it won't be that easy…"
I stood upright and scanned my surroundings. Humanoids of various types were attacking and encircling me, and all I had were my bow and a handful of arrows.
Unconsciously, a smile crept across my lips. I gathered all my mana and pulled out three arrows — Ice, Fire, and Void — then cast (Combine).
Suddenly, the three arrows fused into one. Once the arrow was fully formed, I poured all my mana into it and fired, adding (Multiply).
I focused my shots on the humanoids behind me to eliminate the danger from my rear. After half a minute, all the humanoids behind me were gone — but I could still see about 30 humanoids surrounding me.
Then I heard the sound of cracking — the barrier protecting my sisters shattered. At the same time, a rain of arrows fell from the sky. I looked up and saw the commander standing firm, protected by his troops.
Invidia and Rena stared at the rain of arrows hurtling toward them. They closed their eyes, accepting their fate. Perhaps this was for the best — maybe if they died, their brother might live.
But even after several seconds with their eyes closed, nothing happened. When they opened them again, they were greeted by a heartbreaking sight: Zeref, towering above them, his body pierced by countless arrows.
Blood streamed from his body, but he still stood tall — shielding them with everything he had.
"Zeref!!"
"Brother!!"
Invidia and Rena screamed his name in desperation. But Zeref didn't respond — he only gave them a weak smile from his bloodied lips.
Tears streamed down their faces.
Meanwhile, at that very moment in the system monitoring chamber, Aprilia shattered the floor beneath her as she unleashed her full power in rage. Erina, standing beside her, bit her lip so hard it bled.
Shopia sobbed uncontrollably, her heart breaking, while the pressure from Aprilia and Erina forced those around them to retreat.
"Where is the entrance to your Chaos World?"
Aprilia's voice was soft, but her words carried terrifying power. King Hady's eyes flashed with anger.
"Saint Archer, I have tolerated your behavior because you are Zeref's teacher — but now you have crossed the line of my patience."
"Ara-ara… and yet you still have the nerve to speak like that?"
Instead of Aprilia responding, Erina answered, her mocking smile directed at Lidya.
"What do you mean?" Lidya glared furiously at her.
"Right now, your descendant is fighting for his life — a twelve-year-old boy with more courage than you'll ever have."
"And here you are, just watching it like it's some kind of show."
"You don't deserve to share blood with Zeref. He has twice the courage you do, even though you've lived for hundreds of years."
Each word from Erina pierced Lidya's heart and fueled her anger. But she still managed to control herself — she hadn't lived this long without mastering her emotions.
"Then what do you expect me to do?"
"You should know there's nothing we can do."
Erina bit her lip again at Lidya's words. She knew that even though she was powerful, she didn't have the ability to break into a Chaos World created by the gods of the past.
"But I will still try."
Erina refused to back down. Even the usually silent Aprilia shared the same thought.
Aprilia did not want to lose Zeref — especially since he was her only disciple. She would do anything to bring him back. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him.
Although Erina had other disciples besides Zeref, she deeply valued his personality and talent — and without realizing it, her affection for him had already surpassed that for any of her other students.