A Former's Cry for Help

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! Without a single flaw—I love it! I love it!"

Amid the ashes created by the collisions of countless arcane energies, Tiadam rose to his feet like the original Hero. Short light-red hair, scar-covered arms, and a fearless gaze.

"Ha—" Tiadam let out a deep breath. "Fortunately, those Forest Elves had all their attention on that dining table just now... They fired all their missiles there... Now..."

Tiadam bent his knees as smoke produced by the dispersing arcane energy spread between the Forest Elves and the bandit.

"Now's the time—"

Tiadam leaped fiercely from 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 punched 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 applauding and cheering. "I hope that in the few years 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 other Forest Elves' eyes. "Everyone, get ready—"

"Arcane energy wandering this world, heed my summons. We shall turn nothingness into existence..."

The Forest Elves began chanting, intending to continue attacking this human with arcane magic. However, they had overlooked one fact, a fact that could never be ignored in actual combat—never use the same trick twice against the same enemy.

"Just as I thought..." Tiadam rose onto his toes and twisted sideways.

"Use existence against the enemy..." A Forest Elf who had nearly finished chanting was knocked down by Tiadam's punch.

"These Forest Elves haven't been trained..." Tiadam kicked another elf beside him in the navel. "There's a huge timing gap between them..."

"Damn human—" A young Forest Elf girl screamed as she hurled the arcane energy in her hand at Tiadam.

"If it's only one arcane missile... it's actually easy to dodge..." Tiadam's turn was not particularly nimble, but he easily evaded the girl's arcane energy before punching the companion beside her.

"The cooldown for arcane energy is roughly two minutes, and chanting takes around half a minute..." Tiadam slowed his pace as he walked toward these defenseless Forest Elves. "Most of these Forest Elves probably have a three-minute interval between casts..."

After resting for several seconds, blood began rushing into Tiadam's muscles, and he picked up his pace again.

"As long as I get close before they finish casting... then I'll be safe—"

"Damn... 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..."

"Forest Elf ladies, don't worry too much—" Tiadam's punch landed squarely on target, after which he said gently, "I'll be very gentle—"

"What a strange... and luxurious place..." Yalila lifted her blue dress and stood in a corridor filled with black-and-white tiles. "The floors and walls here are all built from ground Boundary Stone..."

"Although quite a few Forest Elves entered the estate... there isn't even a trace of magical energy outside..." Yalila removed her hair ornament.

"Hey, hey—Lufa, can you hear me?"

The silver hairpin engraved 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 this Spider Hairpin. As long as Yalila wore it, Lufa and Oyana could know her every move. And when Yalila found herself in danger, she only needed to snap it to return to Oyana's witch shop.

But this time, Yalila would likely be unable to escape unscathed...

"Miss up ahead... You seem very suspicious..." Veil Nas's butler had silently appeared behind Yalila. "I seem to... remember that your name... wasn't on the guest list..."

"Ah—" Yalila turned back disdainfully. "I was wondering what it was... So it's just a useless human. Get lost. I'm not interested in dealing with you." Her tone carried her usual arrogance.

The girl put her hairpin back on, then lightly lifted her long skirt and said disdainfully, "Besides... humans aren't qualified to meddle in my affairs."

"There is one thing I would like to clarify, Miss Half-Elf. I truly do not wish to meddle in your affairs, but... this is not a place you should be..." The butler placed his hands behind his back, curling his lips into an equally irritating smile.

"Half... Half-Elf..." Yalila instinctively touched her hair. "Sure enough... once I take off this hairpin, I can't hide my identity as a Half-Elf..."

"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's tone made it clear that 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 looking 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. After simply turning around, he prepared to report Yalila's intrusion to his master.

"In the name of the Fourteen Witches—" Yalila shouted, "I hereby..."

"Whoosh—" Several streaks of silver light swept past Yalila's eyes.

"What's going on..." Yalila discovered that her right hand had already gone numb. "What... what... happened!"

Blood-red fluid burst from her severed limb, and the hairpin clattered as it fell to the floor. The pain did not reach her wound until several seconds later.

"My hand... my hand..." Yalila wailed as she collapsed onto the ground.

"Ah... Thank you for your hard work... I will now report to the Grand Duke that an unauthorized individual 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, her hand severed, struggled to pick up the Spider Hairpin. "By order of the Fourteen Witches—"

"Please don't make any more 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, and the Spider Hairpin clutched in her right hand was quickly collected 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 reached Yalila yet?"

"No... not... yet..." The demon in the flames curled up in a corner of the fireplace. "I can sense Yalila's side... an extremely powerful barrier spell. Right now, I simply can't..."

"Wait—" Lufa's voice suddenly became strange, and the flames in the fireplace began dancing wildly.

"Hello—may I ask—Is Miss Oyana home?" Lufa transformed into an image, within which a blond, heterochromatic-eyed noble greeted Oyana.

"So... this Spider talisman really did come from your home, Miss Oyana..."

"Veil Nas..."

Oyana lifted her black dress in a curtsy. "Sir, may I ask why you have summoned me so late?" Light brown smoke leaked from Oyana's mouth.

"It's nothing... I simply... have a small question..." Veil Nas played with his golden hair. "I caught some Half-Elf trash in my home... I wonder... whether that thing has anything to do with you... After all—she keeps saying she is your apprentice..."

"Just say what you want to say, Mr. Veil Nas..." Oyana set down her hookah and spoke bluntly. "If you wish to release her, then state your terms... After all, your time is precious and should not be wasted on someone like that."

"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.

"I should have known... I should have known... I never should have let Yalila go... to Veil Nas's estate..." Oyana felt utterly exhausted, as though she could collapse at any moment.

"No—" Oyana tightened her grip on the hookah in her hand. "Lufa, open a magic circle leading to Veil Nas's estate. I'm bringing that little brat back myself!"

"Yes—" Lufa answered from within the flames.