The black-cloaked figure unleashed a series of attacks against me, forcing me back. The constant barrage gave me little time to react or focus on my surroundings. It was all I could do to block these attacks. Dodging them was out of the question. The black-cloaked figure was far too fast for that. A horrible screeching filled the air every time our Auras clashed.

As I fended off the black-cloaked figure’s attacks, I cursed myself for my overconfidence and recklessness. As an Aura Master, there were few things that could threaten my life. I could face down a group of Aura Experts by myself with ease, which was why I was confident heading upstairs with just my bodyguards. However, the enemy had an Aura Master of their own, which changed things.

I prayed that Sir Kane and Viktor could deal with the other black-cloaked figures without me. The knights of House Meyers were there, but even so, the odds were stacked against them. That was all the concern I could spare and I focused the rest of my attention on the enemy Aura Master.

If I included myself, there were a total of eight across the entire continent. I studied the other Aura Masters as much as I could, and I had extensive knowledge of them; at least when it came to their skills and abilities. I had never heard of any Aura Master who dual wielded daggers. Like me, before I took my current job, this was someone who had reached the pinnacle of the mortal realm but chose to keep their strength a secret. Otherwise, I would have known about them.

While hiding one’s strength allowed one to avoid unwanted attention, it also came with its own drawbacks. The biggest was that it was difficult to train and spar with others at the same level of power. Ever since I became the (fake) heir to House Kaltbrand, I had sparred with Knight Commander Bardin every day. When it came to facing other Aura Masters, I had the advantage. Not only that, but this black-cloaked figure wasn’t as skilled as Knight Commander Bardin.

The more we exchanged blows, the more I grew used to the black-cloaked figure’s fighting style. They caught me off guard earlier, with their fast and unrelenting attacks. However, I noticed that the figure's attacks weren’t meant for prolonged combat. From what I observed, their strengths focused on swift and precise blows. The longer this fight went on, the more of a disadvantage they would be at. The figure knew this as well, which was why they were trying to end the fight as soon as possible.

I waited for the right moment, seeking an opening. When one presented itself, I struck back and took the initiative. Rather than give the figure time to recover, I followed their example and hit them with a series of relentless attacks of my own. The figure struggled to defend against me, since my sword gave me greater reach.

I took a moment to glance over at the others and see how they were doing. Most of House Meyers’ knights were dead, only two of them remained. Sir Kane and Viktor were riddled with wounds, but remained standing. About half of the black-cloaked figures were left. Despite their advantage in numbers, they were surrounded. All in all, the situation could go in anyone’s favor.

Cowering behind the House Meyers knights was Baron Meyers, a skinny middle-aged man. Standing next to him was a youth; not quite a man, but no longer a boy. I hadn’t noticed him before because of the House Meyers knights. The youth’s hair was either dark blonde or light brown. It was hard to tell. Thomas? Maybe so. Unlike the Baron, Thomas(?) stood his ground and held a sword out, ready to fight. He had the mana signature of an Aura Novice, so he wasn’t helpless, but he was no match for any of the black-cloaked figures.

I saw all of this within a fraction of a second. However, the enemy Aura Master took advantage of that moment to turn around and rush towards Baron Meyers. I chased after them, but the figure was faster than me.

“Retreat,” the figure said in a man’s voice, speaking to his subordinates.

The other black-cloaked figures nodded, before scattering. My bodyguards and the House Meyers knights tried to stop them, to no avail. The figure ignored everyone else and focused on Baron Meyers. The Baron tried to run away, but it was useless. The figure cut him down with ease. The figure then tried to attack Thomas, but I arrived just in time to force him back.

“Tsk.” The figure said, clicking his tongue in displeasure.

Rather than stop and fight, he kept running.

“Keep the boy safe!” I yelled to my bodyguards, before chasing after the figure.

The two of us ran through the Meyers Castle. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t catch up to the figure. He was too fast for me. While I could keep him in sight, that was it. Catching him was out of the question. Still, that didn’t mean I would give up. I would chase him down for as long as I needed to. Sooner or later, I would run him down.

The figure must have realized this as well, because he made a drastic decision. He jumped out of a nearby window, breaking through the glass. I readied myself to jump after him. However, just as I reached the window, purple light engulfed the figure as he fell towards the ground and he disappeared from sight. It took me a moment to realize what happened. He used a warp scroll.

Warp scrolls were among the rarest of magic tools. Like warp gates, they teleported a person to a predetermined destination when used. Unlike warp gates, warp scrolls had several limitations. The biggest was that a warp scroll could only be used once. In order to activate it, one needed to tear the scroll in half. After that, it was useless. They were also difficult to create, which was why they were so rare.

Warp scrolls also required a significant amount of mana. Only Aura Masters and Grand Sages could use one without risking serious injury. Everyone else had to use mana crystals. Despite these limitations, warp scrolls could save one’s life in an emergency, as the figure just demonstrated.

I slammed my fist against the window, headless of the broken glass.

“Damn it!” I yelled.

So close. Since he was an Aura Master, the figure must have been a leader within the organization that Ellen belonged to. If I had captured him, or even killed him, it would have gone a long way towards securing House Kaltbrand’s safety. Instead, I let him get away.

I took a deep breath to calm my emotions. At least it wasn’t a complete loss. We came here to rescue Thomas, and we succeeded in that, assuming the boy from earlier was indeed Thomas. We lost Baron Meyers, which was a shame, but I didn’t feel too bad about that. According to Ellen, he was a traitor so he would have been put to death anyway. Yes, he could have been a good source of information about our enemy, but so was Ellen. Besides, there were the surviving House Meyers knights. Maybe one of them knew something useful.

With all that in mind, I headed back towards the hall where I left everyone. As I drew nearer, I heard shouting. When I arrived at the hall itself, I found my bodyguards facing off against the surviving House Meyers knights. There were two of the latter, both Aura Experts, which was why they survived while their comrades died.

Thomas sat on the ground behind my bodyguard, his arm bleeding. He stared at everyone, his eyes wide with fear. I narrowed my eyes. Thomas hadn’t been injured when I ran off to chase the enemy Aura Master.

“…-is under our protection by order of Lord Wulfe.” Sir Kane said in a harsh voice. “We will not let you harm him.”

Viktor glared at the House Meyers knights and said nothing.

“That boy is a filthy traitor!” One of the House Meyers knights yelled. “The Baron died because of him! He needs to die for his sins!”

When he heard this, Thomas scooted back until his back hit a wall.

“That is not for you to decide.” Sir Kane said.

The House Meyers knights glanced at each other. In terms of numbers and strength, they were even with my bodyguards. Not only that, but both parties were injured. If it came down to a fight, it was a coin toss as to who would win.

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“We must kill him,” the House Meyers knight said, the one who spoke before, “Otherwise, how will we face our master in the afterlife? Baron Meyers must be avenged.”

I snorted at that. Well then. Time to intervene.

“That’s funny,” I said, walking towards everyone, “From what I heard, Baron Meyers was the traitor here, not Thomas.”

Everyone looked in my direction. The House Meyers knights blanched when they saw me. The odds had turned against them. However, that didn’t stop them from putting up a brave front.

“Lies!” The other House Meyers knight said, speaking up for the first time. “Baron Meyers is… was a loyal and honorable man. Who would dare slander his name with such falsehoods?”

I smirked.

“Dame Elise Meyers,” I said, “His daughter.” My smirk faded away. “She also said that the knights of House Meyers were traitors as well. So, if you want to live, I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender.”

Before I even finished speaking the first House Meyers knight lunged towards Thomas, aiming his sword for the youth’s chest. However, Sir Kane intercepted him. They exchanged a few blows, before Sir Kane decapitated him. The knight’s body fell to the ground, blood gushing from his stump of a neck. The stench of blood filled the air.

I stared at the corpse for a moment, before I turned my attention to the remaining House Meyers knight. He looked around, his eyes darting around, like a wild animal caught in a trap. Rather than waste time, I released my pressure.

“Surrender or die.” I said.

The House Meyers knight, overwhelmed by my pressure, dropped his weapon and froze in place.

“Seize him.” I commanded. “We’ll take him along when we reunite with the others.”

My bodyguards sheathed their own weapons and seized the knight. While they did that, I walked over to Thomas.

“Sta-Stay away from me.” He said, his voice cracking. “Don’t come any closer.”

Thomas scrambled away from me, but kept tripping over himself in his fear.

“Easy,” I said. “I’m not here to hurt you. In fact, we’re here to rescue you.”

“Liar!”

I shook my head.

“It’s the truth.” I said. “I’m on your side, Little Squirrel.”

Thomas froze and stared at me with wide eyes.

“Ho-How?” he asked.

I grinned and pointed to myself.

“I’m Wolfie.” I said.

Thomas’ jaw dropped.

“Wolfie?! Is that really you? But… How are you here?”

“We’ll talk about that later. Right now, we have other things to worry about. All I can say is that your sister asked me to take you to her.”

Thomas pushed himself to his feet.

“How is she?” He asked, his tone frantic. “How is…” He glanced at Sir Kane and Viktor. “…Elise? Is she all right?”

I gave him a reassuring smile, or what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

“She’s fine.” I said. “In fact, she’s doing better than you.”

I gestured to the wound on Thomas’ arm. It wasn’t deep, but it still needed tending to. Thomas glanced at his arm and looked surprised, as if he hadn’t realized he had been injured. He ripped part of his clothing and used it as a makeshift bandage. As he did this, I glanced around at the bodies that littered the ground and let out a sigh.

It would take a while to clean all this up, both in a physical sense and a political one. A baron and most of his knights had been killed. This would have long-term consequences. I doubted that I was going to get any sleep tonight.

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Interlude: Volkhard

Volkhard walked through the slums of Warrior’s Rest, heading towards his organization’s headquarters. The warp scroll he used to escape from Meyers Castle had deposited him just outside the city. It was well past midnight by this point, but there were still people out and about.

The inhabitants of the slum eyed him like a pack of vultures, scavengers read to swoop in as the slightest sign of weakness. However, Volkhard released a bit of his pressure and they all backed away. Even in his current state, he was more than a match for anyone else in Warrior’s Rest. The only people in the Barrens capable of matching him in a fight were either in Frostheart, or at Meyers Castle.

Volkhard resisted the urge to let out a curse. Where had it all gone wrong? When Bertrand had burst into their headquarters, claiming that Ellen had either defected or been captured, Volkhard had known that it would only be a matter of time before House Kaltbrand investigated Baron Meyers. That was why Volkhard took a team of his subordinates to silence the Baron and tie up any loose ends.

Unlike his “daughter”, Baron Meyers knew far too much, which was why Volkhard wanted to silence him. Losing Ellen was bad enough. If House Kaltbrand got their hands on Baron Meyers, then the entire organization would have been put at risk.

The plan was to kill everyone in Meyers Castle before using demonic beast blood to lure a bunch of demonic beasts into the castle. That way, it would have looked like the demonic beasts killed Baron Meyers and his people.

Volkhard had also wanted to kill Ellen’s brother, Thomas, as punishment. Whether Ellen betrayed them or got caught, it mattered little. Either way, she needed punishment.

However, Volkhard hadn’t expected House Kaltbrand to make a move so soon. Nor had he expected “Wulfe Kaltbrand” to make an appearance himself. His arrival surprised Volkhard in more ways than one. Though, perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. Now that Volkhard had seen “Wulfe Kaltbrand” for himself, he knew the best way to deal with him. Once they removed him from the picture, there would be nothing to stop them from putting their plan into action.

Volkhard soon arrived at headquarters. On the surface, it looked like a typical brothel located in the slums: a dirty and rundown building unfit for human habitation. However, in reality, the brothel served as the entrance to an extensive underground complex that served as his organization’s headquarters.

Rather than deal with the prostitutes and their clients, Volkhard slipped in through a side door and made his way to the headquarters’ secret entrance. Unlike the brothel above, the headquarters was a warm and well-maintained space, if spartan and lacking in any decorations. One of his subordinates greeted him as he arrived.

“Any news of the others?” Volkhard asked.

His subordinate shook his head. That didn’t surprise Volkhard. He made it back to Warrior’s Rest so soon because he used a warp scroll. However, it would be hours before the members of his team returned; the ones that survived that was. Still, maybe one of them had also used a warp scroll. It was possible, if unlikely.

“Sir,” the subordinate said, “You have a guest.”

Volkhard furrowed his brow. A guest? At this hour?

“Who is it?” he asked.

“Prince Leopold. He arrived soon after you left. When I told him that you were out on a mission, he said that he would wait for you in his office.”

Volkhard stiffened for a brief moment, before he let out a tired sigh. Of all the time his liege’s son could have visited, it had to be right after one of his greatest failures. It seemed as if the gods were laughing at him. Still, there wasn’t any point in putting off the inevitable.

“I see.” He said. “Thank you.”

With that, Volkhard made his way to his office. Like the rest of the headquarters, it lacked any decorations. The furniture was simple, but comfortable. Mana crystal lamps illuminated the room. A man sat in front of the desk, reading some documents. The moment he entered the room, Volkhard fell to one knee and bowed his head towards the man.

“Your Highness.” He said, his tone referential.

“You may rise.” The man said, indifferent.

Volkhard stood up and sat behind his desk, before studying the man before him. The man wore a simple, but expensive, outfit. He had tanned skin, short golden hair, and a pair of golden eyes. He had a handsome face, and Volkhard knew that more than one young noble lady had fallen for him because of it.

Prince Leopold Reichwald, son of Prince Dirk Reichwald, and the current emperor’s nephew.

“I apologize for my current appearance, Your Highness.” Volkhard said. “I just returned from a mission.”

The Prince placed the documents he had been reading on the desk, before studying Volkhard with an indifferent gaze. That was the best way to describe him overall: cold and indifferent. However, Volkhard knew that it was just a facade. Prince Leopold was an ambitious and passionate young man, though he learned from a young age to hide his emotions. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived the viper’s nest that was the imperial palace.

“Was your mission successful?” Prince Leopold asked.

Volkhard thought about lying to his liege’s son, but decided against it. Prince Leopold preferred bitter truths over sweet lies.

“No.” He said, shaking his head. “Rather, it was a partial success. I silenced someone who needed silencing, but I got caught in the act. In order to escape, I had to use a warp scroll.”

The Prince’s eyes narrowed at that.

“They must have been another Aura Master, if they forced you to flee.” He said. “Who was it? Knight Commander Bardin? The Grand Duke?”

Volkhard shook his head again.

“Wulfe Kaltbrand.” He said.

Prince Leopold’s lips thinned.

“I see.” He said. “It seems that this Wulfe Kaltbrand is getting in our way again, which brings me to why I am here. Father is worried about your mission. So much so, that he decided to send me here to check on you.” He leaned back and steepled his fingers together. “So, how are things going here in the Barrens? Give me a brief summary of the situation.”