[Possible Spacetime] Clash

The corridor was quiet, with only the faint sound of music drifting from the banquet hall in the distance.

Lanto grabbed Ubel's arm, his gesture somewhat restraining.

"Ubel."

Ubel didn't stop walking, but turned his head to look at him, with his usual nonchalant smile on his face.

"I refuse."

Lanto's gaze was indifferent, his eyes behind his glasses looking at her.

Do you know what you're doing?

"Of course I know," Ubel laughed, his voice light and clear, each word distinct. "If a battle breaks out in the banquet hall, the Magical Special Forces will immediately intervene, triggering a full-scale war. Therefore, as long as the Shadow Warriors are still in the venue, we cannot make a move. And Sense's tactic is passive counterattack..."

She paused, and a different meaning appeared in her smile.

"To be honest, I think this tactic will only push our own people into a corner. As we all know, attacking is much easier than defending. You have all sorts of ways to attack, and if your opponent ignores even one of them, they could be killed instantly. So whether inside or outside the arena, if we don't give the Shadow Warriors a good whack on the backside, the enemy's plan will definitely proceed smoothly. Taking a passive approach means not interfering with the enemy and waiting for them to make the first move. But if the enemy does make a move, it will probably be too late."

She pulled her arm away from Lanto's grasp and flexed her wrist. The sleeve of her dress slipped down slightly with the movement, revealing her fair wrist.

"I feel this battle is extremely disadvantageous for us," she added. "I smell death."

Lanto was silent for two seconds.

"I understand," he said, "And I don't mean to dismiss you. But that's no reason for you to start a war in the venue. While it might disrupt the enemy's plans, it will inevitably plunge the scene into chaos, and many people could lose their lives. You, the vanguard, will be the first to suffer."

He looked at her.

"So even though I came up with many solutions, you rejected them all?"

The two were passing through a corridor, where several decorative full-armored soldier statues stood against the wall, holding longswords and large shields. They were exquisitely crafted and gleamed with a cold metallic light under the corridor lamps.

Ubel's gaze was drawn to the armor, and he stopped in his tracks.

Lanto stopped and followed her gaze.

"Do you really want to die?" he asked.

Ubel walked up to a statue of a soldier holding a sword, reached out, and gently ran his fingertips along the blade. The blade was a straight and sharp line under the light.

"Concerned about me again?" She asked without turning her head, her voice laced with laughter. "How delightful. However, those plans you proposed seem to pose a greater risk to you."

Her fingers stopped at the very tip of the sword and pressed down gently.

The skin at the fingertip was easily cut open, and a tiny bead of blood seeped out. The bead of blood slid down the blade, leaving an almost invisible mark.

"Don't worry, we're a 'surprise force'." She withdrew her hand, looking at the red dot on her fingertip, "We won't lose our lives easily."

Lanto stepped forward, grabbed her wrist, and lifted her hand high into the air. The movement was quick, but the force was just right.

Ubel was pulled backward by him.

"Hey, what do you want?"

"It looks painful," Lanto said, his gaze falling on the wound on her fingertip.

"I just wanted to check if it was sharpened." Ubel let him hold his wrist without struggling, his smile unchanged. "See, it's true. Such a dangerous thing is kept in the palace?"

Just then, a side door decorated with intricate patterns was pushed open from the inside, and the sound of the hinges turning was particularly clear in the quiet corridor.

Lutine emerged from behind the door. She was wearing that black dress, the hem of which reached her ankles. She looked up and saw the scene in the corridor— Lanto was holding Ubel's wrist, raising her hand in mid-air. The two were very close.

She stopped in her tracks. She blinked, her long black hair falling beside her cheek, her expression somewhat blank, then quickly lowered her head, avoiding her gaze from their clasped hands.

"No... I'm sorry," she said softly, "Please continue..."

After she finished speaking, she immediately took half a step back, retreated inside the door, and then closed the door with a "click".

The door closed, returning the corridor to silence.

Lanto released Ubel's wrist.

Ubel moved her newly freed hand; the tiny wound on her fingertip had healed to the point of only a faint red mark. Her expression remained unchanged; she simply listened intently to the sounds behind the door.

"How many?" Lanto asked, his voice low.

"Two," Ubel replied, his gaze falling on the tightly closed door, a playful smile returning to his lips. "You've concealed your presence very well. If it weren't for the portrait, I really wouldn't have been able to see through this disguise."

Inside the door.

Lutine leaned against the door, raised her eyes, and looked at Iris was standing on the other side of the room.

"Targets confirmed." Lutine's voice was soft but clear, "They are those on the list. Ubel, and Lanto."

Iris leaned against the wall, a sweet, harmless smile on her face, her pale golden braids hanging smoothly over her shoulders. With her right hand, she slowly and deliberately pulled a slender metal needle, about twenty centimeters long, from her left sleeve. The needle gleamed with a dull black light, its tip sharp.

She twirled the long needle with her fingertips, her movements nimble.

Lutine bent down as well, reaching her hands under the hem of her black dress, where there was a slit on the side. Her fingers slipped inside, as if trying to find a weapon.

But just as her fingertips touched the hilt of the weapon hidden beneath her skirt—

"Snap."

A very faint, almost imperceptible cutting sound.

The heavy solid wood door, carved with vine patterns, was cut straight and smoothly from the very center. The cut surface was as smooth as a mirror, and the edges were incredibly neat. The upper half of the door tilted and slid inward along the cut surface, but before it could fall completely, it was split into several pieces by a second and third equally smooth cut, collapsing with a crash and raising a small cloud of dust.

Wood chips flew everywhere.

Lutine reacted with lightning speed. The instant the door was slashed open, she abandoned her attempt to retrieve her weapon, retreating rapidly and nimbly sliding to the wall, avoiding the falling debris and flying dust. The hem of her black dress billowed with the violent movement, revealing a section of her fair and firm thigh.

Before the smoke had completely dissipated, Lanto and Ubel, both holding staffs, slowly emerged into existence.

"They struck first?" Lutine's voice finally showed a hint of emotion, but her eyes quickly hardened, revealing a coldness devoid of feeling. "Why?"

Several possibilities flashed through her mind.

"Could it be that my appearance has already given me away...?"

The thought only lingered for a moment before she suppressed it. Now was not the time to think about that.

Through the smoke, Ubel and Lanto's figures became fully visible.

Lutine looked at them, her dark eyes appearing particularly deep in the light streaming through the doorway from the corridor lamp.

"Then you'll have to tell me how you found out."

Almost as soon as she finished speaking--

Iris's movements were inhumanly fast. One second she was leaning against the wall playing with her long needle, and the next she shot out like an arrow, not rushing towards Ubel, who seemed more threatening, but heading straight for Lanto, who was slightly behind.

But her target was not Lanto himself.

Just as he was about to touch Lanto, Iris twisted her waist, her body flipping in mid-air with incredible flexibility. Her legs crossed like scissors, and she used the momentum to push off the wall beside her, gaining a second burst of speed. Her entire body traced a strange zigzag line, passing over Lanto's head and lunging at Ubel in front of him.

Ubel seemed not to have expected that she was the target, and was a beat too slow in her movements.

Iris spread her legs, precisely clamping them around Ubel's waist, and straddled her back like a nimble koala. Her left hand wrapped around Ubel's neck, her forearm firmly gripping her throat, while her right hand held a long, black needle firmly against Ubel's carotid artery.

All the movements happened in the blink of an eye, so fluid it was breathtaking.

Almost simultaneously, as Iris lunged forward, Lutine ducked and slid sideways, instantly circling into Lanto's blind spot. Then, she propelled herself through the air like a cheetah, not to pounce on Lanto, but to flip over Lanto upside down, her hands forming claws, aiming straight for his eyes and temples. Her black dress billowed in the air like bat wings.

The two worked together flawlessly. One controlled the situation, the other launched the attack. Their objective was clear: first subdue the most unpredictable Ubel, and at the same time, keep Lanto occupied.

Kanon stood in the shadows of the second-floor banquet hall overlooking the platform, his back straight and his face expressionless. He took a half step to the side and looked at Fres, who was standing at the edge of the platform, gazing down at the dazzling dance floor.

On the other side, in the corridor, Kanon and Fres stood together.

"Captain Fres," Kanon spoke, his voice steady and neither loud nor soft, "I've detected that a battle has broken out. Please give the order."

Fres did not answer.