What the hell is going on??

Weren’t all the Diamond Rank powerhouses supposed to be here??

This is Abraham! Vice Commander of the Imperial Guard!!!

Could he really not protect Prince Elgin’s worthless life!??

Or was Calis’s strength actually greater than the Imperial Guard’s own Vice Commander???

Just as Karl pondered this, the clash between Calis and Abraham erupted.

Lightning crackled across Calis’s body. Gripping her short sword, she shot toward Abraham at blinding speed.

Abraham remained calm. He drew a short rod from his waist, infused it with magic, and extended it into a black spear.

Clang! The short sword and spear collided mid-strike.

Lightning crackled, flames erupted—the two energies swirling together in violent brilliance.

The instant Abraham blocked her strike, Calis’s shadow peeled away from her form, forming a separate entity.

This slightly darker silhouette lunged at Abraham from another angle.

This was Calis’s innate magic—Shadow Clone.

Upon reaching Diamond Rank, one awakens an innate magic. Rarely duplicated—perhaps only two in ten thousand share the same ability.

Calis’s Shadow Clone let her forge a physical double from her shadow, slightly weaker than herself.

The clone obeyed absolutely, shared sensory input instantly, and imposed zero mental strain.

The moment the clone appeared, Abraham twirled his spear—tip and butt deflecting both attacks—then sent both Calises flying.

“Interesting. Let’s see what you’re truly made of!”

As he spoke, Abraham slammed the spear’s butt into the ground.

Clang! The flagstones shattered beneath them.

Stones levitated behind him, sharpening instantly into deadly spikes.

Calis and her clone’s pupils contracted sharply.

With the ground fractured, footholds were scarce. Against this dense spike barrage, their position was dire.

Before Calis could react, the spikes shot forward.

She channeled lightning through her body, darting across broken terrain while weaving between projectiles.

Two lightning-wreathed figures zipped through the air like bolts, closing rapidly on Abraham.

In a heartbeat, they stood before him.

A silver flash split the air—two short swords aimed left and right at Abraham’s neck.

Abraham smirked faintly. He pivoted his spear through the gap and pierced Calis’s abdomen.

Fortunately—it was only the clone.

But Shadow Clone had a flaw: any damage to the double inflicted half the pain on the original.

Blood seeped from Calis’s own stomach.

Still, she endured it.

Ignoring the sting, she seized the opening and lunged.

Abraham had committed to the strike—no time to retract his spear.

A spear’s wind-up was too slow for two rapid maneuvers.

Teeth gritted, Calis swung her blade straight for his throat.

But the instant her edge neared him—she froze mid-air.

Her blade hovered inches from his skin. She couldn’t move forward a hair’s breadth.

Abraham held a clenched hand toward her, smirking.

“This is my innate magic—Stasis. I seize targets from mid-air, and then…”

He didn’t finish. He yanked his arm down.

Frozen like a doll in a giant’s grip, Calis slammed into the ground.

Thud! Thud! Thud!!!

After three brutal impacts, she was embedded deep in the wall, blood trickling from her lips.

No question about it—Abraham, a mid-tier Diamond Rank, had utterly dominated her.

Nearby, Prince Elgin—sprawled on the rubble—burst into manic laughter.

“Abraham! Spare her life! I’ll make her repay every humiliation… in my bed!!”

He’d already fantasized how he’d torment the woman who’d shamed him.

Meanwhile, Karl—having narrowly dodged spikes and fissures—lay amid the ruins, brow furrowed in confusion.

Why??

Why hadn’t his death node shifted after Calis’s failure???

Thinking backward: Prince Elgin had Abraham hidden all along. The assassination was doomed from the start.

So the death node he foresaw wasn’t caused by Calis succeeding—but by her failing.

Which meant…

The prince surviving was the very reason for his death!!!!

Damn it!!!!

What twisted logic was this???

He protected the prince—how could the prince still be the one to kill him???

This made no sense!!!

Then again… given the prince’s bastardly nature, he’d never remember Karl’s loyalty—only the arrow to his knee, the dead-end alley Karl led him into. Of course he’d hold a grudge.

He’d fabricate any excuse to erase Karl and the Earl’s Mansion.

So… should he switch sides now? Help Calis??

Karl tested his limbs. The electric paralysis had faded—he could move again.

Slowly, he rose. He blinked at Calis, still lodged in the wall.

A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes.

But the moment Karl pulled out the small black sphere—she understood.

He hurled it at Abraham’s feet.

Blinding white light erupted—searing Abraham’s vision.

“Wh-what is this!??” Abraham screamed, clutching his eyes.

Eyes already shut, Calis launched from the wall the instant he cried out. Short sword gripped tight, she slashed for his head.

Lightning flashed. In a flash, her blade severed Abraham’s neck.

But to everyone’s shock—his head didn’t fall.

The next second, a headless decoy doll tumbled from within Abraham’s cloak.