Quick question: What do you do when facing a master wielding three elemental magics—someone likely Diamond Rank?
A.
Roll up your sleeves and charge in recklessly!
B.
Retreat—it’s the wisest move.
C.
Talk your way out first; if that fails, throw up your hands and beg for mercy.
Karl, being the man he was, knew exactly what to choose.
C, without hesitation!!
Fight? Impossible. Run? No chance. What else was there?
Karl cleared his throat.
“Miss! Please listen—this path leads nowhere good.”
Calis ignored him completely, striding straight toward Prince Elgin.
Karl swung his sword up, pointing it at her.
“Stop right there! One more step and I surrender!”
“??????”
A storm of question marks flooded Calis’s mind.
What the hell was he even saying??
Was *this* how you surrendered?!
Fiercest tone, most cowardly words—he was peak contradiction!
She kept walking.
But in that split second her focus slipped, Karl’s hand darted into his Spatial Ring. A black sphere appeared.
*Whoosh.* He hurled it at her feet.
Blinding white light erupted—searing straight into Calis’s eyes.
The world vanished into pure white. Everyone’s vision drowned.
An alchemical flashbang—one of Karl’s lifesaving gadgets from his past life.
He’d covered his eyes beforehand. Only he could see.
He never meant to hurt Calis. Or let her kill the prince. That “surrender”? Pure bluff. You thought he picked C? He’d chosen B all along!!
Seizing the blindness, Karl snatched Prince Elgin, hoisted him onto his back, and bolted.
He ducked into a narrow alley.
Main roads meant capture. Alleys meant survival.
After they vanished, Calis’s vision slowly cleared.
Rubbing her stinging eyes, she grumbled, “Where does this kid pull all these weird tricks from?!”
First quicklime, now flashbangs—was he obsessed with blinding people?!
Her gaze dropped. Blood trailed the cobblestones.
Elgin’s arrow-wound knee left the perfect path.
“Must eliminate that nuisance before reinforcements arrive.”
She vanished in a flicker.
Meanwhile, Karl sprinted through twisting alleys, prince strapped to his back.
“Hurry the hell up!! Are your legs useless?!” Elgin snarled.
Even Karl’s patience snapped. He skidded to a halt.
“Why don’t *you* run?!”
“……"
Silence.
Karl shot him a withering glance and ran on.
Then—abrupt stop.
A three-meter wall blocked the path.
“Are you working with the assassin?! Why lead me into a dead end?!” Elgin’s voice trembled with fury.
Karl clicked his tongue. “I don’t know this place. Getting lost happens.”
He turned—
And froze.
At the alley’s mouth stood Calis.
Two short swords gripped reverse-style. Hips swaying. Eyes sharp.
Karl swallowed hard.
Quick question: What do you do when face-to-face with a master of three magics—possibly Diamond Rank?
A.
Roll up your sleeves and charge in recklessly!
B.
Retreat—it’s the wisest move.
C.
Talk your way out first; if that fails, surrender and beg for mercy.
Same answer. Always.
C, without hesitation!!
Karl forced a smile. “Miss, truly—I’m doing this for *your* sake!”
Calis didn’t slow.
Karl slowly raised his hands. “This time, I really—”
*Flash.*
She was inches away. Karl felt her breath. Smelled her faint floral scent.
A whisper, velvet and lethal:
“That trick won’t work twice. And… was this dead end intentional?”
Blue-white lightning erupted around her.
Serpentine bolts shot forward—*zap!*—locking Karl and Elgin in place.
Basic lightning magic: Static Paralysis.
No pain. Total immobilization. Three minutes to an hour.
Karl stiffened. Collapsed. Elgin tumbled beside him, rigid.
“D-don’t kill me… I’ll give you anything…” Elgin stammered, eyes wide with terror.
Calis’s lips curved. “I only want your life.”
Her sword flashed—a silver arc slicing the dim alley like a reaper’s scythe.
*Clang!*
What hit the ground wasn’t a head. It was her shattered blade.
Calis leaped back.
Between them stood a hooded man—ponytail, silver-streaked temples, calm as stone.
Elgin’s eyes lit with desperate hope.
“Abraham!!!”
Karl and Calis froze. Pupils wide.
Abraham. Deputy Commander of the Royal Imperial Guard.
Renowned mid-tier Diamond Rank powerhouse.
Relief flooded Karl. *He can hold her. The prince is safe.*
But—
Just as he relaxed, the vision returned.
That long-faded death node image—
Still burning in his mind.
Refusing to fade.
