Bro, I'm not an Undead!

The level of power the assassin had reached was unfathomable.r

A complete 1,000% increase to her abilities and stats!r

Viccil frowned.r

The aura, more specifically the streams of glowing essence spewing from the axes were inducing some kind of effect on the walls and floor.r

A moment later, she felt her leg sink into the floor, as if it was a soft sponge.r

The ground was turning soft.r

It was just for a moment, but her sturdy stance was compromised and sensing that little mishap, the assassin shot in Viccil\'s direction with speed that far eclipsed the guard\'s showing moments ago!r

A menacing axe cut through the air, aiming at the veiled guard\'s head from above.r

The timing was impeccable and it would have been enough to catch most combatants lacking... but Viccil was not part of this collective.r

While her body slightly tilted from the changing composition of the floor, a golden neon brilliance smothered her figure and she launched a palm strike at the assassin\'s wrist while angling her torso, cutting off the attack\'s momentum completely!r

In the next moment, she gripped the tall woman\'s arm, pulled her close and send a dreadful jab into her chest!r

The tall woman flew, blood gushing from her mouth but...r

She grinned.r

Her body knocked against the wall... and bounced back at twice the speed she had been launched with!r

A breath later, Viccil was trapped at the end of four sharp axe trajectories, all coming in from different, difficult-to-dodge-and-block locations. r

The veiled guard scoffed.r

She was still an Incandescent Stage expert, a quality one bred to protect Darwel.r

With her one arm, she struck at the four hands bringing down the axes, once again knocking down her momentum before they reached her body. This time, she sucked in a deep breath and clawed at the tall assassin, clutching her neck!r

At least she attempted to.r

The assassin, with her four legs just barely managed to escape the deadly grip, but not before Viccil\'s fingers pulled off some skin from her neck!r

She didn\'t mind.r

She yelped in excitement, her figure throwing itself to the wall which stretched as she smashed into it!r

She bounced off it as if it was made of rubber, then from another wall, and another and another!r

Soon, her figure became a continuous blur flitting across the room without pause! r

Darwel couldn\'t keep up with it at all.r

But Viccil could.r

Of the two of Darwel\'s guards, she was the one more proficient in physical combat. She was a Form User, an advanced warrior.r

Unfortunately, she could not truly express her full power r

Still, she remained calm.r

She would be remiss if she couldn\'t beat a measly Master Stage assassin based on such a trivial reason.r

Her duty had no room for excuses.r

In a breath, the shuddering noises of the assassin striking at Viccil relentlessly ensued. Somehow, it was as if Viccil was defending with a blade of her own because sparks kept flashing on impact, but this was not true.r

Her one hand was coated in Perfect Aura and it was enough for her to deflect the four axes without getting an harm to her body.r

\'She\'s still trying to kill me, first? She\'s bold. Does she simply realise that I won\'t let her touch Lady Darwel?\' Viccil thought.r

That was probably the case but... something about this assassin just rubbed her the wrong way.r

\'I need to end this quickly.\'r

Viccil\'s hand shot forward while her body exploded with Perfect Aura that shuttled three meters from her body!r

Before the assassin could react, the veiled guard had already gripped one of her hands, heaved her up and smashed her into the floor with a terrifying force.r

...!r

Viccil was forced to frown again.r

The floor... the floor turned soft where she smashed the tall woman and soon, the two began to sink into it.r

"Ah... I thought I would be more assassin-like on this assignment but things look pretty bad. At this rate, I just may not prove that I\'m fit for this role," the assassin said with a nonchalant smile, seeming not caring for Viccil\'s grip which persisted.r

The veiled guard also didn\'t seem to care that they were sinking deeper and deeper into the floor.r

"You might want to let go. You might not like what you see on the \'other side\'," the assassin warned casually.r

"I can handle myself," Viccil spat with the same relaxed tone.r

If this daring woman wanted to deal with her first, she would too.r

Besides, if things truly went bad, she would disregard the unspoken rule among Incandescent Stage experts.r

Darwel who was a distance from the two watched on as they sank into floor with concern. r

The fact that someone had sent an assassin to kill her wasn\'t something she had expected. At least after the first weeks she spent in Pelian. She knew that humans were not particularly fond of the Sif, mostly due to their sheltered life since the Grand Wars but for there to be someone who wanted to kill her this late in the game... why? r

The alliance between Pelian and Opungale had been signed some time ago and while there had been a lot of tension since, it had quickly died down because nothing relevant proceeded after.r

For some reason, Darwel\'s father didn\'t send anyone over, even though she had sent a message confirming the success of the meeting with the Pelian Royal Family.r

Also, Maqi, the strongest human nation had not responded.r

They were known even among their own as racist men and women who were against Feinheath, the human continent, relying on other races.r

Factoring this in, Darwel was already quite sure that this assassin came from Maqi. Her clothing played a large role in convincing her that her assessment must be correct as well, as only humans in Maqi liked to dress so... primitively.r

\'From the looks of it, she must have been watching us for some time. Was she the one Viccil and Sevill sensed yesterday? In any case, she chose to strike at Viccil first and then me. That means she\'s confident in being able to deal with her somehow. No, something doesn\'t add up...\' Darwel thought.r

As Viccil and the assassin disappeared into the floor, she looked at the floor below her feet.r

It was turning as mushy as everything else around the room.r

Darwel clicked her tongue and turned her focus to the sunflower seated within the vase by the window. She gave a solemn look to the plant and an elegant whistle came from her mouth while she gestured with her slender, glowing fingers towards it.r

The sunflower twitched and became encased in a verdant green Aura that accentuated its rather small figure. A moment later, the flower suddenly grew, its stem twisting, its petals and fruit turning to Darwel mysteriously!r

Once it grew up to five times its size, Darwel leapt across the room and landed on it, sitting comfortably over the brown, circular fruit of its head.r

With a glance all around and on the window, the princess finally realised... that there was no chance for escape.r

The room seemed to be turning into sludge over the window too, the light coming from outside turning dim and the objects that should have been clear by sight despite the radiance on them turning skewed and distorted.r

\'What kind of ability is this?\' Darwel thought, hesitating to even analyse this physically.r

Fortunately, she had never intended to escape.r

She had valuable strengths that would be useful in a fight like this and she wasn\'t going to abandon Viccil.r

After reining in her thoughts, she then waited for the outcome of the fight going on wherever her guard and the assassin had sunken unto with cautious breaths.r

....r

Deep within the obscurity of the squirming floor, Viccil found herself in an unsteady... reality.r

Everything was dark with illusory images of Darwel\'s spacious quarters seemingly imprinted on the constantly wriggling darkness, like a ghost of the actual room or an inverted version of it.r

She frowned.r

One of the images she saw across from her was a deformed, barely visible image of Darwel seated on a sunflower while looking on the floor... behind the menacing enemy before her.r

\'What is this place?\' she wondered.r

The assassin twirled her axes and grinned.r

"I did warn you," she said.r

"I\'m still not impressed," Viccil spat.r

The ground beneath her unsteadily sank and rose but this wasn\'t a problem for her.r

She focused her Aura to her feet and forcefully injected it into the floor to make it easier for her stand stably.r

The assassin nodded, as if approving of her decision.r

"Good," she said... before throwing away all her axes and sitting down – though a bit awkwardly because of the extra legs.r

...?r

Viccil wore a confused expression.r

"What are you doing?" she asked.r

The assassin raised a brow as if equally confused by Viccil\'s confusion, then a look of realisation swept across her face.r

"Ah, you don\'t get it yet, do you?" she said. "Why don\'t you take a good look at your little princess?"r

Viccil shot her gaze towards Darwel immediately and... she trembled.r