The thin purplish mist of desire thickened and it became apparent to those that weren’t privy to the natural flow of Mana. Before the guards could even fully register their surprise, they were thrown with another one. An invisible barrier came crumbling down like a dome of glass, revealing the presence of three ladies of distinct forms, countenance, and bearings.

“What the… Where did they come from!?” shouted a guard who fumbled hastily for his sword.

Erin brandished her spell sword and clad herself in a veil of lightning. Before the guard could even draw his sword, Erin’s blade streaked with a silver glint across the air and the guard found his world spinning with his final vision being his own headless body.

[Experience gained +10% - Level Progression: 90%]

“Damn bitch…” the captain growled. Though his voice was low, his wrath was evident on his face and even just by being near him, anyone could feel the rising fury emanating from him. “Don’t just stand around, seize her!”

The guards’ composure returned with the booming cry of order from their captain. Most of the guards drew their swords while a few of them took out bolases instead of their blades. Though they had their weapons drawn and their stances assumed, they barely took a step from where they stood in shock and hesitation.

They had all just witnessed Erin’s speed and skill. They knew they were no match for her and she wasn’t alone. They didn’t doubt her friends were just as good as her, or maybe even better. Furthermore, they recognised the Dwarrow behind Erin. Anyone in the city would. She was Rigetta, the Guild Master of the Sephrodia Valley’s branch and one does not simply acquire that title and position without having a huge accumulation of merits, deeds, and feats.

The guards looked at each other. They were all waiting for the other to make the first move. They ended up waiting for a full minute.

“What are you all waiting for!?” the captain shouted from behind the lines of his men. “Seize all three of these criminals already, you dimwits! Are all of you just going to stand there while they continue to cut down your fellow guards?!”

“Let us go and there won’t be any more bloodshed,” Erin said with a flat tone as she cleaned the blood off her blade calmly, not that she needed to clean it since her sword was of magic. She did it anyway as a habit.

“Silence, bitch!” the captain snarled. “You are under arrest for the crimes of public vandalism and disturbances of a heavy degree and also the recent murder of a city guard on unjustifiable grounds.”

“It’s all nonsense, captain, and you know it,” Rigetta said with a sneer.

“Guild Master Rigetta. Surrender yourself now or you will be charged with the same crimes as an accessory.”

“How impertinent and shameless,” Rigetta scoffed. “Lady Erin is the victim here in all the crimes you accused her of but I suppose it’s useless to convince you considering your pockets are already fatten with the gold of the Covenant.”

The captain recoiled with fear and stupefaction. He knew the implications should one utter that name out loud in public or simply just utter the name at all. It was foolish and rash but it didn’t take him long for him to realise what she was trying to achieve. The men he was currently leading knew nothing about the Covenant or Marduk. They were simply just greedy men who wanted to make a few more extra coins. Now that they heard the name, their fate was basically sealed. Regardless of the outcome today, they would all need to die by the end of this day.

“Enough talk already, Rigetta,” Amyra said. “You’re wasting your breath on these greedy fucks who never think about the consequences whenever big money is on the table.”

“As you say, Amyra.”

“Amyra, this is a forest. No fire,” Erin reminded.

“I know,” the Augur said with a scoff. “Like I need my Magic Art to deal with these cretins.” Her scorn formed a grin on her lips. From her Infinite Pouch, she withdrew her cleaver-sword as she lunged at the guards who were hobbling in their steps.

The guards at the vanguard couldn’t even raise their swords or assume a defensive stance before Amyra’s large blade carved through their flesh and bones. Unlike Erin, her attack was not refined or clean. The guts and spleens of her fallen foes splattered to their surroundings and Amyra herself was not spared of the splotch.

Seeing Amyra’s ferocity and brutality, the guards were now even more hesitant in pointing their blades at the three.

“One last chance,” Erin said as she strutted toward the guards as if she was the stellar courtesan of a high-end brothel. “Drop your weapons and leave us be. Or die a dog’s death by my edge.”

The guards swallowed a lump in their throats. At the same time, irresolution brimmed in their hearts. Their grips on their swords loosened.

“Have you gone retarded!?” the captain bellowed. “If you don’t do as you’re ordered now, you will all face a fate even worse than a dog's death! Do I need to keep reminding you idiots repeatedly!?”

The guards had indeed forgotten about that. Erin’s prowess had turned their mind blank but now that they were reminded of what kind of fate awaited them should they back down now, they regained their courage and resolve.

Once again gripping their weapons tightly, they cried out their valour and spirits as they charged at Erin and her companions.

“What has become of this city?” Rigetta mused in a dejected sigh but her despondency lasted for barely a few seconds before her gaze hardened with renewed vigour and resolve. She met the guards’ howling charge with a straight rush into their formation.

The guards were taken aback by Rigetta’s seemingly rash action but when they remembered who she was, the guards did not diminish their caution.

With the Karak in hand, Rigetta leapt into the guards’ formation from above. Before she landed, she threw the queer-shaped blade. The guards tensed up when they saw the way the blade flew around the air as if it had a mind of its own.

Rigetta sunk her feet into the face of the guard who was dazed by the queer blade she threw. Using the guard’s head as a foothold, she leapt into the air once again before another guard could catch her with a swing of his sword. She repeated the same motion of movements a couple of more times before the Karak flew back into her hands and she threw the Karak out again. This time, the Karak swiftly decapitated all of the guards that were left stunned by Rigetta’s vexatious aerial walking.

Blood spurted out like fountains from the headless stumps. The guards paled in terror as they witnessed the gruesome death of their colleagues. In their frightened stupor, Amyra cleaved her way through half a dozen of the guards. Throes of their deaths resounded briefly as they didn’t even know what happened to them. Amyra was faster than her stature suggested, the guards came to learn.

As for Erin, the guards didn’t even dare to approach her. Had it not been for their captain’s reminder of their fate should they run, they would have already done so. Erin was wielding her sword in a leisurely posture as she strode towards the staggering guards who were taking a step backwards for every step Erin took forward.

“What happened to all of your guts and audacity a moment ago?” Erin’s belittling gaze seemed to ask.

One of the guards’ pride ruled over his fear. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he lunged at Erin with his sword raised and its blade clad in a warm blue light.

“Arcane Edge, not bad,” Erin praised but it was just a light passing thought. She didn’t even raise her sword. She raised her hand instead and backhanded the lunging guard in the face.

The guard saw Erin raising her hand but he did not see it coming from his face. In the next second, his world was upside down and he was gazing at Erin from a few yards away. He tried to move but he couldn’t feel his body from the neck down. It took him a while to realise his spine or some of his major bones were broken.

“Next?” Erin asked.

A guard was smirking expectantly from the trees, out of sight of everyone involved in the conflict. No one knew how or when he got up there but he did. He made not a single sound as he dropped down towards Erin with his sword brandished.

However, the guard did not take Erin's heightened senses or her Spirit Magic, Life Sense into account. Moreover, the guard also disregarded Erin’s countless experiences in battle. Whether it was her rear, below, or above, she never neglected her attention in any of the directions while in combat.

Erin’s hands and sword were static even though the guard’s sword was only inches away from piercing into her flesh. Her sword and hands were not her only asset. Most of her foes, sometimes even herself, tend to forget her tails were not to be underestimated. Many only perceived them as a hindrance or ornament features of a Fox-kin. They were dead wrong and some didn’t even know that even in their death. This guard was one of the latter.

His sword missed Erin’s head by a foot as he fell to the ground with its head tumbling away from its neck.

The guards shrieked and shirked from Erin. They were even more terrified than before. As if her skill with the swords was already enough to intimidate them, now they had her tails to worry about in addition. They truly could not see how they could go about apprehending the Fox-kin in front of them.

Erin nearly pitied them when she saw just how horror-stricken the guards were but the pity she felt never came to fruition. It was just a thought. They were her enemies, They weren’t brainwashed or coerced into doing this. They were tempted by greed. They were all in their right minds when they chose this path. Erin thanked them in her heart for lightening her guilt for what she was about to do.

Erin blurred from their sight. They saw only small sparks of lightning in her wake.

“May you all find your deserved peace in your deaths,” Erin said, from behind them.

They didn’t turn around to confirm their astonishment. They couldn’t. Their heads were already rolling just as they heard the sweet, gentle, yet cold voice from behind them.

[Experience gained +50% - Level Progression: 140%]

[Erynthea: Level 46 increased to Level 47]

[Skill Points gained +2 | 4]

[Ability Points gained +2 | 8]

[Level Progression: 40%]

“Useless…” the captain groaned. “Every last one of you! Useless fucks! Do I have to do everything myself?”

All of the guards were dead, leaving only the captain now. Amyra was covered in gore and blood. Her kills were messy and stark. There was no elegance in her swings. In her eyes, she was merely butchering meat. Rigetta was more delicate in her approach. It was still messy but she was spared the blood splatters. Erin was the cleanest. She had clad her tails in Arcane Armour before she lopped the guard’s head off and the blood did not get on her fur.

“Your turn, captain,” Erin said as she strutted towards their remaining foe with all the patience and elegance in the world. “You can still surrender. I don’t enjoy doing this but I will kill you if you continue to be stubborn.”

“Naive bitch. I’ll take my chances with you. You don’t scare me as much as the ones who fill my pockets.”

“I know…” Erin sighed. “In the end, it’s not about fear, is it? It’s all about gains. If you retreat now, your pockets won’t be filled. If you confront me regardless, you at least stand a chance to fatten your pockets some more.”

“No matter. I will do as I am told.”

“You’re confident.”

“I am the Lightning Fang, Darius. Of course, I am confident.”

“The Lightning Fang?” Rigetta gasped.

“You know him?” Erin asked.

“Aye, I know him. He used to be an adventurer, though he has long since retired. He’s one of the few who managed to retire in one piece. He made quite a name for himself. He held four stars at the time of his retirement.”

“The Guild Master is aware of my exploits.” Darius chuckled. “I’m so honoured but I won’t go easy on you, or any of you.”

“You’re that Darius? Impossible.”

“Why?” Erin questioned.

“Because the Darius I know of was fourty-six when he retired. It had been more than ten years since. But this man looked… young. Darius is supposed to be nearing his sixties but you’re clearly no more than fourty.”

“But I am Darius, the Lightning Fang. As for the secret of my youth, allow me to show you.”

An immense sense of dread poured down on Erin then. She wasted not another second. Coating her sword with Mystic Blade, she closed the gap between her and Darius with Warp and swung her sword down just as Darius’ appearance began to morph into something demonic.