The commander sighed in frustration, wondering what else he could deploy to defeat the woman standing before him, who now stood silently, gazing at the white-haired man behind him. In his heart, he began to wonder if the man was hiding his true power.

Why would someone as strong as her be so interested in someone who struggled to use a mana shield?

Feeling indignant, the commander tapped into more mana, causing his hands to tremble as he struggled to contain the overwhelming flow of energy. However, he didn't care. All he wanted was recognition from Celine, and he would do whatever it took to defeat the figure named Zent.

In just two steps, he swiftly lunged towards her, swinging his sword in hopes of at least capturing the attention of the woman who effortlessly blocked his attack with just one finger.

Strong winds were generated from the impact, accompanied by powerful energy gusts that sent wooden crates flying backwards.

The commander gritted his teeth, frustrated that his attack couldn't even capture her attention. He was then pushed backward by a gentle force from her index finger. Just as he was about to take a step forward, several arrows descended from above, forming a circle with the woman inside.

Above, Rayven raised his right hand parallel to his chest and closed it tightly, creating a green-colored cage that began to shrink, attempting to crush the figure within.

But, of course, it wouldn't be that easy.

She managed to hold the cage with both hands and was about to leap. But she was stopped by Rio, who also appeared from above, swinging her large hammer with all her might, hitting the woman's body just as Rayven opened the cage.

"Celine, now!"

Not far above them, a brightly glowing, transparent golden sword appeared, larger than before.

Celine descended along with the massive sword, delivering a powerful strike that sent the figure crashing into the ground, creating a large crater and destroying several buildings around.

Celine landed safely on the street, panting heavily after exerting so much mana. She immediately rushed towards Zent without realizing that the commander called out to her with a smile on his face, which instantly turned into hatred. From a distance, he watched the woman he loved embracing another man.

"Zent! ZENT!!" Celine shouted as she ran towards me and embraced me so tightly that I struggled to breathe. "I thought you were gone! I found your body had- had..." She burst into tears, unable to contain her emotions, her hug growing tighter and suffocating.

"Cel- Celine... You're choking me," I whispered in a strained voice.

As soon as she realized and stepped back, I took a deep breath, filling my lungs that had nearly emptied, and exhaled, feeling a sense of relief.

"I-I'm sorry, I..." Celine couldn't finish her sentence. The knight's face suddenly turned red like a boiled shrimp, leaving me wondering what she might have wanted to say.

The commander approached, wearing a practiced fake smile. "Celine! It's good to see you're alright. I never expected you to grow even stronger," he praised with forced happiness.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Celine, unaware of the underlying tension, took it as a sincere compliment from the depths of her heart. "Oh, thank you. I was able to do it because of Zent."

The mention of my name caused the commander's face to change completely, filled with hatred and anger.

Driven by his jealousy, he forgot to control his facial expression in front of Celine, who was looking at me so keenly. If only it were just the two of us, I'm sure he would have lunged at me to kill.

"Loid, he-"

"Zent, use your mana shield!"

Thanks to Z, I was able to use my mana shield and my fast movement skills to block the attacks of the woman who had suddenly appeared beside Celine.

Unfortunately, due to the vast difference in power, I was thrown backward, crashing forcefully into the side of a building, causing the wall to crumble.

But Celine didn't stay idle.

She once again channeled a considerable amount of mana, sending the assailant flying, crashing through the building across and penetrating into the structure behind it. "Rayven, quickly check on Zent!" she commanded before leaping into the damaged building alongside Rio, followed by the commander.

She glanced at me briefly before joining them.

"Zent! How are you?" Rayven exclaimed as he climbed over the pile of rubble. "Oh, I forgot you have regenerative abilities," he remarked upon seeing me relatively unscathed. It was as if I hadn't slammed into the wall with such force, using my own body to break through it.

"Where are the princess and Mr. Anderson?" I asked while dusting off my clothes.

"They are safely at the camp, using the secret passage of the palace. Don't worry, they're fine. We just need to deal with that woman, and everything will return to normal," he replied.

"I don't feel that way. I actually feel like this is just the beginning, the beginning of a great storm we have never experienced before," I said. We walked outside, searching for where the three of them were, and we spotted bright flashes of different-colored lights in the distance.

I never expected them to be so far ahead. They were all on different levels of power. What could I do other than being a living shield?

"You won't be able to defeat her."

We all turned around simultaneously and found Mr. Anderson standing not far behind, observing the same direction. "Mr. Anderson! What are you doing here? What about the princess?" I asked, concerned.

"Luna is safe at the camp. She's sleeping now, cuddling with Mr. Ted. Thank you for finding it for Luna," Mr. Anderson replied, bowing his body slightly, which I quickly lifted up while shook my head.

"No, Mr. Anderson. I didn't find it. It was actually two goblin siblings who found it. We just happened to encounter them, and long story short, they returned the princess's doll to us," I explained, looking down, feeling disappointed in myself.

Mr. Anderson burst into laughter, patting my shoulder and saying, "You underestimate yourself, Zent. I've heard everything that happened while I was there. You should be proud of your achievement, but..."

Suddenly, bright blue electricity emerged from within Mr. Anderson's body, surging onto the road with a menacing sound. "We still have unfinished business. Let's talk more once all of this is over," as he was about to take a step forward Mr. Anderson remembered something and quickly reached into his pocket, throwing a transparent blue box at me. "Use this, it's a gift from Luna. She asked me to give it to you."

In the blink of an eye, Mr. Anderson found himself on the rooftop of a nearby building. A long electrical path extended from where he had stood to his current location, and then he vanished in an instant. Only a trail of bright electricity remained, indicating the direction he moved in.

Is this... Glory!?

Rayven was about to say something, but hearing the distant battle, he changed his mind and quickly departed, saying, "Join us when you're ready!"

I nodded, examining the unfamiliar cube, unsure of what to do with it.

Suddenly, the cube floated in the air, rapidly spinning with increasing brightness of blue light before it separated into several pieces. Threads of light connected the different pieces, which then moved closer and attached themselves to my body, forming a futuristic white armor adorned with golden neon lights.

I smiled at Luna's gift and uttered, "Thank you," before following Mr. Anderson.

Not even two seconds later, a bolt of lightning struck not far ahead, indicating that Mr. Anderson had joined the battle.

With this newfound armor, I was confident that the fight would be much easier than before.