—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Eastvan.
It was a peaceful city.
Unlike Linchester in the west, which bordered the Demon Lands, or Northvan in the north, which was rife with criminal activity, Eastvan was relatively safe.
The eastern border of Eastvan touched upon the barbarian tribes’ grasslands and wastelands, but since the treaty, there had been no incursions.
And even if there were, the Logness territory acted as a buffer.
“It feels… ominous today.”
Janet, the dark elf, muttered as she brushed Hessia’s hair. Hessia nodded silently.
The indigo-haired girl looked out the window.
It was a calm autumn evening in the city. A peaceful scene. But her dragon instincts told her otherwise.
Something felt wrong.
“Janet, when is Ethan coming home?”
“Master Ethan said he would return by Sunday.”
Ethan, who had left early Saturday morning, hadn’t returned yet. It was already Sunday night.
“Hmm…”
Ethan had promised to cook for her every weekend. Janet and Lien could also cook, but their cooking wasn’t as good as Ethan’s.
But more than that,
“I miss him…”
Hessia missed Ethan.
He was busy with classes during the week, so she could only spend time with him on weekends.
She fidgeted with the doll in her hand.
It was a gift from Tia. Tia’s gift had earned her a high spot in Hessia’s “favorite people” ranking, alongside Sepia and Tesha.
Currently, Hessia’s ranking was as follows:
Ethan > Lien > Fried Chicken > Sepia = Tesha = Tia
Janet was quickly catching up to the top three. The ranking had changed since Tia had surpassed Arianna.
It was because Janet had been taking care of Hessia. Ethan had decided that it was better for a woman to take care of a child’s hygiene and grooming.
Knock, knock.
Hessia looked towards the door. It wasn’t Ethan. He would have just used his key.
She felt a surge of unease.
Who would visit on a Sunday night? She couldn’t think of anyone.
The door exploded inwards.
Janet drew her dagger and lowered her stance.
A swirling darkness filled the doorway, seemingly bottomless.
A figure emerged from the darkness. It was Kanion.
“Was that… too aggressive of an entrance?”
Kanion smirked. Hessia looked up at him.
“A dark elf and a child…?”
He wondered why a dark elf was here. They were even rarer than regular elves.
“So, you’ve been enjoying yourself with an elf and a dark elf.”
“What’s ‘enjoying yourself’…?”
Hessia asked innocently. Kanion’s lips curled into a cruel smile.
“Who are you, little girl? And where’s Ethan?”
“Don’t answer him.”
Janet said, shielding Hessia with her body.
“Yoy asked what ‘enjoying yourself’ means. I’ll show you soon enough.”
He could use them as bait to lure Ethan out, wherever he was.
A shadowy projectile shot towards Janet.
Janet ducked and threw four daggers. They flew towards Kanion like streaks of lightning.
But they never reached him.
A swirling darkness enveloped Kanion, deflecting the daggers. They clattered harmlessly to the floor.
Whoosh!
A shadowy tendril grazed Janet’s gray hair and slammed into the wall, creating a large hole.
If she had been hit by that, she wouldn’t have just broken a few bones.
“Hessia, run!”
Kanion grinned, his eyes fixed on Janet. He flicked his fingers, and two shadowy tendrils shot towards Hessia and Janet.
Janet grabbed Hessia and leaped towards the window.
She couldn’t fight him while protecting Hessia in this enclosed space.
The window shattered as they jumped through it.
The shadowy tendrils narrowly missed them.
Thud!
Janet landed, clutching Hessia tightly. Hessia looked up at her anxiously.
“Janet… are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Janet quickly covered her right shoulder. Her arm hung limply at her side.
A deep gash ran across her trapezius muscle. Her arm would have been severed if she had been a moment slower.
But there was no blood. She was undead.
“Lien, can you hear me? I’m entrusting Hessia to you.”
“Janet…”
“Run, Hessia.”
Janet knelt down, her eyes meeting Hessia’s.
She would protect Hessia, even if it meant sacrificing herself.
“Go straight to the city guard.”
“No, Janet! Don’t!”
Hessia, despite her young age, sensed the finality in Janet’s words. She grabbed Janet’s shirt, her small hand clinging tightly. Janet forced a smile.
Hessia shook her head, refusing to let go.
“No… I don’t want to…”
“Lien, please.”
Lien emerged from the shadows and scooped Hessia into his arms. Hessia reached out towards Janet.
“Janet…!”
But her hand couldn’t reach her.
Janet held a dagger in her left hand, her right arm useless.
“This is… touching.”
Kanion had landed on the ground and was clapping mockingly.
“Did you really think I came here alone?”
Janet suddenly realized that the streets were deserted.
It was late on a Sunday night, but this was Eastvan. It was strange that there wasn’t a single person, or even a stray cat, in sight.
“A Spirit King can create a barrier.”
Janet looked in the direction Hessia had gone. Lien, who should have been far away by now, was standing in front of an invisible barrier.
‘He must have cast the barrier after we jumped out the window.’
Otherwise, Hessia, with her sensitivity to magic, would have noticed.
“What are you looking at?”
A shadowy projectile shot towards Janet. She rolled out of the way, the shadowy mass striking the ground, creating a small crater.
“Where’s Ethan?”
“…”
“Fine. Let’s see how long you can stay silent after I cut off your limbs.”
More shadowy projectiles flew towards her. Janet dodged and weaved, deflecting the attacks with her dagger and rolling across the ground.
But she couldn’t evade them forever. Kanion had been toying with her.
A shadowy tendril sliced through her right arm.
“…”
Her arm fell to the ground with a soft thud. Janet glared at Kanion, her jaw clenched.
Kanion tilted his head, puzzled.
She hadn’t screamed or even moaned. And there was no blood.
“Ah… you’re undead.”
“…”
“That explains why a Chaos Knight emerged from the little girl’s shadow.”
Kanion stroked his chin with his grotesque black arm.
“I don’t usually… enjoy defiling corpses. But I’ll make an exception.”
Janet struggled to her feet.
Even undead couldn’t be resurrected if they were completely destroyed.
And he already had Hessia as a hostage.
Another shadowy projectile flew towards Janet. But it was intercepted.
Clang—!
A halberd, radiating red mana, deflected the attack.
“Lien…!”
Lien stood beside Janet, along with the other resurrected assassins.
Hessia watched them anxiously from a distance.
“More undead? They’re in surprisingly good condition. I was expecting rotting zombies and ghouls.”
Kanion shrugged. It didn’t matter.
He would destroy them all.
Lien adjusted his grip on his halberd and released his mana. They were inside a barrier, so he wouldn’t be exposed.
‘Red mana?’
He had initially thought it was demonic energy, but it was mana. Most mana users had blue mana, so it was unusual.
The red mana clashed with the darkness, and Lien stumbled back, his feet dragging across the ground.
The assassins attacked, their blades flashing with blue mana.
“They can all use mana? Interesting.”
The darkness behind Kanion split into dozens of tendrils, lashing out like whips.
“But they’re still just small fry.”
The shadowy tendrils kept the assassins occupied while Kanion approached Lien.
The darkness moved like a living creature, attacking, defending, and restraining.
“Chaos Knight. I’ll be your opponent.”
He drew his sword. He had never seen a Chaos Knight before. It was an evolved form of a Death Knight.
It would be a good test of his new power.
Lien raised his halberd.
Kanion released his mana. He could control multiple spirits simultaneously, including a high-level spirit. His mana reserves were vast.
The halberd and the sword clashed.
Lien deflected the attack and thrust his spear forward.
Kanion casually blocked the attack with his left hand. Lien, before his spear could be grabbed, pushed Kanion back with his shoulder.
Kanion spun and aimed for Lien’s waist. Lien blocked the attack with his halberd.
Sparks flew.
They exchanged a few more blows, neither of them giving an inch. Kanion leaped back and rubbed his neck.
“The longer this drags on, the worse it will be for you.”
He was right. The Dark Spirit King was fighting the assassins, but they were no match for him.
One of the assassins was thrown against a wall, then crushed by a shadowy mass.
The undead army began to crumble.
“Can you hold out until my Spirit King joins the fight?”
Janet gritted her teeth and shielded Hessia with her remaining arm. Interfering would only hinder Lien.
Hessia was healing Janet’s right arm. As a hatchling, she instinctively knew how to use healing magic, a form of necromancy.
“Or how about I attack the little girl?”
He pointed at Hessia. He lunged towards her.
Lien also charged, swinging his halberd. The halberd clashed with Kanion’s sword.
“I can control more than just one spirit.”
A blue orb appeared. It was a low-level water spirit.
An ice shard shot towards Hessia. Lien threw himself in front of her, the ice shard shattering against his gauntlet.
But it had been a trap.
“You shouldn’t be distracted during a fight.”
Something sliced through Lien’s leg. He tried to stand, but he couldn’t. His ankle had been severed.
He used his halberd as a crutch.
“It’s over, Chaos Knight.”
Kanion’s blade flashed, a series of swift attacks. Lien’s remaining arm, his shoulder, and his other leg were severed.
Kanion laughed, enjoying the sight of his opponent falling apart.
“Now, this is fun.”
He had been pretending to be righteous for far too long. It felt good to unleash his true nature.
“Lien! Lien—!”
Hessia’s eyes filled with tears.
Lien, reduced to a suit of armor, lay on the ground. Kanion raised his sword, aiming for Lien’s neck.
He was about to finish him off when he stopped.
“No… not yet. I’ll do the same to her. Just watch.”
He lowered his sword and approached Janet. Hessia glared at him, tears streaming down her face.
“…He won’t die.”
Her voice was barely a whisper, choked with sobs. Kanion misheard her.
“The dark elf and the black knight are next. You’re my hostage.”
“He won’t die. Lien won’t die. And neither will Janet.”
“Little girl, even undead can die.”
This naive child didn’t seem to understand.
“I’m going to punish you.”
“What…?”
A surge of dark blue mana erupted from Hessia, taking the form of a giant fist.
All magic was a manifestation of will.
Her desire to punch him had materialized.
The mana fist slammed into Kanion, sending him flying.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
