Grand Duke Veil Nas watched the missiles detonated by arcane energy below and shouted excitedly like a child, "Oh—so this is the descendant of the so-called Hero? Perfect! Powerful! Not a single flaw—love it! I love it!"
From the ashes created by countless colliding arcane energies, Tiadam rose to his feet like the original Hero: short light-red hair, scar-covered arms, and utterly fearless eyes.
"Ha..." Tiadam let out a deep breath. "Luckily, those Forest Elves had all their attention on that dining table just now... They fired all their missiles over there... Now..."
Tiadam bent his knees as smoke produced by the disintegration of arcane energy spread between the Forest Elves and the bandit.
"Now's the time—"
Tiadam suddenly leaped out of the smoke and reached a young Forest Elf girl in an instant.
"Arcane energy wandering this world..." The girl's chant ended before it could even begin as the bandit Tiadam drove his fist into the center of her abdomen.
"Ah—ah—what a strong body! What clear combat instincts! Truly worthy of being Lord Hero's descendant..." Grand Duke Veil Nas could not help clapping and cheering. "I hope that in the little time you have left, you can continue bringing me pleasure and surprises like you did today!"
"This human isn't dead—" Blue-white arcane energy burst from the eyes of the remaining Forest Elves. "Everyone, prepare—"
"Arcane energy wandering this world, heed my call. We shall turn nothingness into existence..."
The Forest Elves began chanting, intending to continue attacking the human with arcane magic. However, they had overlooked one fact, one that could never be ignored in real combat—never use the same trick twice against the same enemy.
"Just as I thought..." Tiadam rose onto his toes and twisted his body to one side.
"Existence shall face the enemy..." A Forest Elf who was nearly done chanting was knocked down by Tiadam's fist.
"These Forest Elves haven't been trained..." Tiadam kicked another elf beside him in the navel. "There's a huge gap in timing between them..."
"Damn human—" A young Forest Elf girl shrieked and hurled the arcane energy in her hand at Tiadam.
"If it's only one Arcane Missile... it's actually pretty easy to dodge..." Tiadam's turn was not particularly nimble, but he easily avoided the girl's arcane energy before punching the companion beside her.
"The cooldown for arcane energy is probably two minutes, and chanting takes around half a minute..." Tiadam slowed his steps as he walked toward the helpless Forest Elves. "Most of these Forest Elves probably have a three-minute interval between spells..."
After a few seconds of rest, blood began rushing into Tiadam's muscles, and he quickened his pace again.
"As long as I get close before they finish casting... I'll be safe—"
"This is bad... He's too close! We can't cast arcane spells..."
At this point, the distance between Tiadam and the Forest Elves could no longer be widened.
"...Casting arcane spells at this distance... could easily hurt... our companions..."
"Don't worry too much, ladies of the Forest Elves—" Tiadam landed a direct hit with his fist, then said gently, "I'll be very gentle—"
"What a strange... yet luxurious place..." Yalila lifted her blue dress as she stood in a corridor covered in black-and-white tiles. "The floor and walls here are all built from ground Boundary Stone..."
"Although quite a few Forest Elves have entered the mansion... there hasn't been a trace of magical energy outside..." Yalila removed her hair ornament.
"Hey, hey—Lufa, can you hear me?"
The silver hairpin carved with a spider in Yalila's hand was the talisman she used to contact Lufa. Whenever Yalila carried out missions like this in the past, they communicated through the Spider Hairpin. As long as Yalila wore it, Lufa and Oyana could know her every movement. And if Yalila found herself in danger, she only needed to snap it to return to Oyana's witch shop.
But this time, Yalila would likely not make it out unscathed...
"Miss up ahead... you seem very suspicious..." Veil Nas's butler had silently appeared behind Yalila. "I seem to... remember that you weren't... on the guest list..."
"Ah—" Yalila looked back at him disdainfully. "I wondered what it was... Turns out it's just a useless human... Get lost. I'm not interested in dealing with you." Yalila's tone carried her usual arrogance.
The girl put her hairpin back on, then gently lifted her skirt and said disdainfully, "Besides... humans aren't qualified to meddle in my business."
"There is one thing I would like to clarify, Miss Half-Elf. I indeed have no interest in your affairs, but... this is not a place you should be..." The butler placed his hands behind his back, curled his lips, and revealed an equally irritating expression.
"Half... Half-Elf..." Yalila instinctively touched her hair. "Sure enough... once I took off the hairpin, I couldn't hide my identity as a Half-Elf anymore..."
"Hey—human!" Yalila shouted at the butler. "Just pretend you never saw me attending Grand Duke Veil Nas's banquet. We'll go our separate ways!"
"What if I refuse?" The butler spoke as though he did not take Yalila seriously. "I will report your presence to the Grand Duke!"
"Huh?" Yalila pointed the Spider Hairpin in her hand at the human who looked down on her. "Then I'm afraid I can't let you live!"
"Is that so?"
The butler did not take Yalila's threat seriously at all. After simply turning around, he intended to report Yalila's intrusion to his master.
"In the name of the Fourteen Witches—" Yalila shouted. "Here, I..."
"Whoosh—" Several streaks of silver light flashed across Yalila's vision.
"What's going on..." Yalila discovered that her right hand had lost all feeling. "What... what... happened!"
Crimson fluid burst from her severed limb, and the hairpin clattered as it fell to the ground. The pain only reached her wound a few seconds later.
"My hand... My hand..." Yalila wailed as she collapsed to the floor.
"Ah... thank you for your hard work... I will report to the Grand Duke now that an unauthorized person has infiltrated the Veil estate..." The civilian butler nodded politely to the maids who had come to deal with the intruder.
"In... in the name of the Fourteen Witches..." Yalila, with one hand severed, struggled to pick up the Spider Hairpin. "By order of the Fourteen Witches—"
"Please don't make any dangerous movements, Miss Half-Elf~" the maids kindly reminded her. "The cutlery in our hands is all forged from Mithril..."
Yalila did not dare move again. The Spider Hairpin clenched in her right hand was soon retrieved by Grand Duke Veil Nas's maid. Having lost her talisman, the Half-Elf girl could only cry out loudly:
"Save me—someone—save me—"
"Yalila—" The hookah in Oyana's hand shattered with a bang. "Lufa! Have you made contact with Yalila yet?"
"No... not... yet..." The demon in the flames curled up in a corner of the fireplace. "I can sense something on Yalila's end... an incredibly powerful barrier spell. Right now, I simply can't..."
"Wait—" Lufa's voice suddenly became strange, and the flames inside the fireplace began surging up and down.
"Hello—may I ask—is Miss Oyana home?" Lufa transformed into an image. Within it, a blond nobleman with heterochromatic eyes greeted Oyana.
"So... this Spider Hairpin talisman really did come from your home, Miss Oyana."
"Veil Nas..."
Oyana lifted her black dress in greeting. "Sir, may I ask why you have summoned me so late?" Light brown smoke escaped from Oyana's mouth.
"It's nothing... I simply... have a small question..." Veil Nas toyed with his blond hair. "I caught a Half-Elf piece of trash in my home... I wonder... whether this creature has anything to do with you... After all—she keeps claiming to be your apprentice..."
"If you have something to say, say it plainly, Mr. Veil Nas..." Oyana set down her hookah and spoke directly. "If you want to release her, then state your terms... After all, your time is very valuable and should not be wasted on someone like her."
"Hmm... I'll think about it some more... I'll reply after I've decided—" As he spoke, Veil Nas revealed an innocent, adorable smile. Then the flames in the fireplace returned to normal.
"If only... If only... I hadn't let that child Yalila... go to Veil Nas's estate..." Oyana felt utterly exhausted, as though she might collapse at any moment.
"No—" Oyana clenched the hookah in her hand again. "Lufa, open a magic array leading to Veil Nas's mansion. I'm bringing that brat back myself!"
"Yes—" Lufa replied from within the flames.
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