Raven's POV
"Are you going to keep following me?"
My voice was sharp, I didn't hide the irritation or the brewing frustration in my tone.
"Haha… don't mind us," Leon said, scratching the back of his head with an awkward grin. He waved his hand dismissively, as if their presence was just a harmless coincidence.
"We're not here… we're not here… we're not here…" Adel muttered beside him, his eyes squeezed shut. He looked like a man trying to hypnotize himself into becoming invisible.
"Damn…" I gritted my teeth, my annoyance flaring.
To understand how I ended up being stalked by these two idiots, I had to look back an hour.
One Hour Earlier
I hadn't said much. I simply gave Adel and Leon a brief, cold stare before turning my back on them and heading into the thick of the forest. I had no intention of fighting them. Mana was too precious to waste on nuisance, and my elemental core wasn't something to be I didn't use it.
But the forest had other plans.
"GROOOOAR!"
A violent roar shattered the silence. The 'Circle' was closing in; I could feel the invisible pressure tightening.
"GRRROOOAR!!"
Another roar followed, closer this time. I clicked my tongue and covered one ear. I paused, sensing something behind me. I turned my head slightly.
"Looks like our paths are crossing again," Adel said, adjusting his glasses with a composure that was frankly annoying.
"Hehe… hey there again," Leon followed, smiling like an old friend at a chance meeting.
"I don't care," I replied flatly. "As long as you don't get in my way."
Present
"So, black haired guy… what's your name?" Leon asked, pushing aside a branch that slapped him squarely in the face.
"It is polite to introduce yourself first" I shot back. My eyes didn't leave the treeline; my Perception was stretched to its limit, mapping the forest's.
"Hehe, call me Leon. And this guy is Adel," he gestured cheerfully.
"Tsk." Adel clicked his tongue, but I ignored him.
"Raven," I said simply.
"Raven…" Adel repeated the name, his gaze sharpening. "Do you want to cooperate with us?"
"I already have a partner," I answered without a second's hesitation.
I smiled slightly when I thought of Renee, but my expression quickly returned to its coldness.
"Just a small skirmish," Adel continued smoothly. "I assume you'd be interested in taking down Klein."
There it was. No hesitation. He was testing me, trying to read my reaction to the name.
"And it seems your partner isn't nearby," Adel added, his eyes glinting behind his lenses.
I narrowed my eyes. He had noticed. He knew I had been using sensory traits to search the area. Adel Everheat…
A fictional existence, yet his intellect was dangerously real. I had to reassess him. He was worth my respect—and my caution.
A faint, almost invisible smile touched the corner of my mouth.
"Let's talk about your plan."
"Oh? Finally interested?" Adel's smile widened.
Between us, Leon stood like a statue, completely lost in the conversation.
...
The Rocky Zone
"Damn…"
Cyrus spat the words, his frustration boiling over. He stared at the girl before him—Renee. She evaded every shadow-strike with an ease that was unsettling. She didn't look like she was fighting; she looked like she was bored.
Without warning, Renee stepped forward. One step was all it took.
THUD!
The air itself seemed to ripple as a light kick sent Cyrus flying. The shock surged through his body, launching him backward through the air like a broken doll.
"Queen's Treasury."
Elizabeth's voice rang out from above. She stood atop a jagged peak, hand raised to the sky. In an instant, dozens of ice-forged weapons manifested—daggers, swords, spears—forming a suspended arsenal of death.
"Fall."
The weapons descended. All at once.
Renee only smiled. "Hehe…"
With effortless grace, she raised her fingers. Threads emerged—violet and rose-colored—weaving out of thin air as if reality itself was being stitched open. They formed a barrier of impossible intricate patterns.
SWOOSH!
The ice-armory crashed into the threads. An explosion of frost and dust swallowed Renee's position completely. For a moment, the world went silent.
"Hehe… not a bad attack."
The dust cleared. Renée was standing there, unharmed. Not a single strand of her pink hair was out of place. Her ruby eyes shimmered with a playful, teasing glow.
Elizabeth's smile froze. Impossible… my ice couldn't pierce those flimsy threads?
"Elizabeth, focus!"
Cyrus emerged from Renée's shadow, a black dagger poised for a lethal strike.
CLANG!
A violet thread blocked the blade effortlessly.
"Sneaking around again? How unrefined," Renée's voice echoed—but it came from behind Cyrus.
His eyes widened in terror. But before she could strike, a surge of ice erupted from the ground, forcing them apart.
"Don't forget me!" Elizabeth shrieked, her mana surging violently. "Domain of Ice!"
She struck the ground with a blade of pure frost. "I declare… this land is mine!"
Frost spread like a living virus, devouring the rocky terrain. The weapons in the sky reformed, but this time, they were different. Sharper. Heavier. Infused with her absolute will.
"Hehe… looks like I'll have to get serious," Renee murmured, her tone shifting.
"Elizabeth, I didn't think you'd ignore me so easily!" Cyrus muttered, retreating once more into the darkness.
"Attack!" Elizabeth swept her hand forward.
The weapons rained down—faster, more lethal than before. Renee's expression changed. Her playful smile remained, but her gaze turned cold.
"Fate Eye."
She closed her eyes and snapped them open. Her crimson irises had transformed, replaced by a golden glow with a clock-like pattern ticking within.
"Hehe… entertain me, Elizabeth."
The first sword fell. Renee tilted her head. Evaded. The second spear followed. A slight shift of her shoulder. Evaded.
Then, something terrifying happened. Even the instructors watching the broadcast fell into a stunned silence.
It was no longer combat. It was a dance.
Renee moved through the storm of ice as if she were performing on a stage. Every step was precise. Every motion was fluid, like a veteran dancer gliding on invisible strings woven through the heart of destruction.
Not a single blade touched her. Not even the wind from the passing weapons disturbed her hair.
Amidst the frozen battlefield of ice, Renee danced.