Cooperation

The tip of the sword hovered between Vivianna's brows.

"You lost."

The Crown Prince wore a confident smile. After more than twenty years, he had finally overcome the demon in his heart, and he felt incomparably exhilarated. "All these years, you've remained stagnant, while my strength has long since become what it once was not."

He had never thought Vivianna resembled a warrior. Her temperament was soft and gentle, like the evening sun, while a warrior needed a heart of steel.

But the smile on his face quickly froze.

With a bang, Vivianna before him turned into a bubble. At the same time, countless afterimages flashed from every direction. Dozens, then hundreds of figures in deer hoods emerged, thrusting their swords at him. Their speed, strength, and numbers all surpassed before.

Moreover, they seemed to have already grasped the pattern of his counterattacks. Every figure's offensive became increasingly strange and unpredictable.

"Interesting."

The disdain vanished from his face. With a backhand thrust, he pierced an incoming Candle Knight. As her figure burst apart, it exploded into a ball of fire, which Ruprecht nimbly dodged before casually dispatching two more Candle Knights attacking him from either side.

These Candle Knights were learning and growing at high speed, but the strength Ruprecht had displayed was merely the tip of the iceberg.

He no longer held back, charging head-on at the phantoms blocking his path.

It was a foolish method, but Ruprecht did not care.

A full quarter of an hour passed.

In the darkness, only one Candle Knight remained. Holding a candlestick, she stood at the end of the darkness, as distant as though separated by an entire world.

The candlestick in her hand was unlit.

But as the Candle Knight's slender fingers lightly pinched the wick, a vigorous flame suddenly blazed