The once-intact high-rise had been sliced in half by that strange, thread-thin sword energy.
As though something unnatural had devoured it, the entire upper section had vanished without a trace.
Vienna, who should have been pinned to the wall, was gone too. Only the spiderweb crater left by the Crimson Flame Erosion Spear remained, proving Sellviya had indeed pinned that damned rat there.
The black-robed figure who had stood in the courtyard to the right had also disappeared at some point.
As though she had never been there.
Yet the dragon scales standing on end across Sellviya's body, the lingering dread of nearly dying on the spot, and the half of the high-rise erased by Crown Tier power all remained.
Every last detail proved that what she had just experienced was no illusion.
But who was the black-robed figure who had intervened?
If she was that rat's ally, why hadn't she attacked Sellviya? Why had she merely unleashed a warning slash and taken the agent away?
And if she wasn't an ally, why interfere at all?
Could there be a fourth faction in Ereno besides this agent of unknown origins?
A faction with a Crown Tier powerhouse at its back, no less.
It was horrifying!
Sellviya's eyes flickered. The figure's presence was long gone, but the pressure radiating from the sword scar still sent chills through her.
For all her resentment, she forced down her humiliation, took a deep breath, and hurried back the way she had come.
She intended to report the bizarre encounter to John and let him, with his better head for strategy, assess the situation.
Tap!
Meanwhile, on the plains outside Ereno, a rift torn open by sword energy appeared.
A silver-masked figure in black robes stepped slowly out, a rapier in her left hand and