scheme

Aina hardly reacted, her steps remaining at the same speed, not accelerating or slowing. She dove down the stairs, her body still weaving in and out of the shadows.

In just a few seconds, she had made it down to the tunnels of the dungeons, her Internal Sight spreading out through the winding corners. With her curse suppressed so heavily, it wasn't difficult in the slightest for her to release such powerful pressure from her mind. In an instant, she latched onto Ossan's aura, slicing through the air as her powerful thighs bulged.

In just another few seconds, she appeared before Ossan who was in a half daze. He had been drooling in his sleep when he was suddenly awakened by the loud blaring of the alarms. Now that a looming shadow had suddenly appeared before him, he was so scared that he nearly pissed his pants.

He sat in his own filth, cradling his body amidst a pile of thick chains. His body trembled as he tried to make out Aina's face. But, he only shivered more severely when he realized that she was actually wearing a mask. There was something particularly sinister about the way her golden eyes floated like two orbs of light within her black mask. Let alone pissing himself, Ossan almost lost control of his bowel movements at the same time.

Things only got worse from there because this shadow actually took out a massive red-gold ax, only to swing down toward him with all the power it could muster.

Ossan screamed beside himself.

CLANG!

The ax rebounded in Aina's hands. She felt her wrists almost snap beneath the pressure, her arms and legs trembling as her battle ax continued to vibrate.

There were three small nicks that spanned three different bars resulting from Aina's strike. But, outside of this, there were no other great changes.

A low shout left Aina's lips, violent Universal Force hanging around her. Ossan watched on in horror as Aina's jet black hair spread out around her looking like the snakeheads of Medusa. He couldn't see clearly between all the darkness and the simultaneous blinding lights of Aina's Force. It left him feeling as though he was walking to the end of a tunnel that led toward his death.

Images of a rising moon caused the dungeons to tremble, a flood of Universal Force rising.

BANG!

The air itself shattered the moment Aina began to swing, the pole arm of her battle ax bowing beneath her might. The blade of her battle ax glowed with a fierce crimson light, her gaze being painted by a slight red.

Like a hot knife through butter, Aina's ax tore through the bars, drawing a diagonal line from top to bottom and shattering the locking mechanism of the door.

Ossan's heart shook, finally completely losing control of his bladder as Aina's blade Force passed just over his head and shoulder. In that moment, he felt his life flash before his eyes. He swore that if he ever got out of this place that he would walk the straight and narrow. This was the most fear he had ever experienced in his life. In fact, it took him almost too much time to realize that he hadn't been harmed in the slightest.

Before Ossan could snap out of his shock and be thankful that he was still alive, Aina had thrown a ball of light toward him before he could react.

The ball flashed a light and rebounded back toward Aina. When the light had faded, Ossan had disappeared.

This ball was a special Vessel that could store life. But, it would only last for half a day before it burst. In addition, it only worked on those with weak strength like Ossan.

Aina didn't linger, shooting off. However, she didn't travel far before she suddenly found her exit route being flooded by the Luxnix family guards. Content is property © .

Her gaze turned a deeper shade of cold, her battle ax vanishing only to be replaced by two short swords. Her hair blazed to life around her, almost melding into the shadows just like the rest of her body. A fiendish, bloodied killing intent wafted from her body, the shadow of a looming panther forming over her head.

…

In another corner of the Luxnix family estate, Gradeyr woke with an ugly expression on his face. After negotiations failed, he had been invited to stay as a guest. But now, it was far too dangerous to stay here.

Without a word of explanation, he woke his entourage up one by one.

"CUT DOWN ANYONE WHO BLOCKS OUR WAY! CHARGE OUT!"

Gradeyr was too intelligent to not understand that he had been played. If he didn't cut a path to leave now, he might never see the light of day again. The worst part was that he knew his actions would only give those plotting against him an even greater chance of survival, but he had no choice.

Even if the Luxnix family believed him and understood that he was being framed, it still wouldn't matter. For one, they might still detain him just to save face. Sometimes, the truth itself wasn't all that mattered. And second… Gradeyr was certain that this person who was plotting against him had his younger brother in their hands right now…

What choice did he have but to help them?

Gradeyr grit his teeth so hard blood leaked from his gums. His usual calm, stoic demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

The worst kind of schemes were the kind that came and yet one still had no choice but to play along. There was only one bastard clever and cunning enough to pull this off.

'RYCHARD! If a single hair on my brother's head is harmed, I'll tear you limb from limb!'

…

Blood and corpses littered Aina's surroundings. Her twin swords were like scythes of death as they flashed in and out of the shadows as though they had minds of their own. Dozens of Fifth Dimensional existences fell before her, as for those foolish enough to take action at the Fourth Dimension, they were obliterated into a rain of gore and blood.

Her speed didn't suffer. In fact, it only seemed to be increasing as she shot toward a pre-planned exit.

Aina could feel that something had locked onto her. However, what was curious was that this person only seemed to be observing curiously, even up until the point just half a dozen minutes later when she burst out from the gates, entering a dense forest she almost completely vanished within.

Yet, somehow, despite her concealment, Aina's steps came to a grinding halt barely half a kilometer from the gates of the Luxnix estate. Before her, a young man fluttering golden hair stood wearing robes of such pristine white that they glowed even in the darkness.

For some reason, he had instinctually decided to chase after Aina as opposed to Gradeyr. He could smell that some conspiracy was afoot, but it was hard to tell. And… There was something else that felt off.

He looked her up and down as though trying to understand something, the pressure he radiated making it feel as though there was no way out.