Faith stood at the front gates of King Roshan's castle, surrounded by a dark purple aura and a menacing gaze, after Zack and the others departed for the outpost. Sophia was unable to read Faith's thoughts due to the thick aura, which frightened her. Anderson felt ill looking at Faith, but his constant healing helped alleviate his nausea, and Ali made sure to keep his distance from her.

Vijan: [You think you can beat us?]

Faith remained silent and fixed her gaze. She felt a surge of power and a sense of being restrained at the same time, after tapping into more of Replica's power from the amulet. Normally she didn't use any of its power, but witnessing the battle earlier made her realize that her previous ability would not suffice.

However, this may have been too much. She noticed that the more power she took from Replica, the more it controlled her. It was like someone else was stepping on the gas while she was driving. She raised her hands and observed the immense mana surrounding her like a burning flame.

Vijan: [D-don't leave me hanging.]

RK Sophia: [I wouldn't fight it if I were you!]

Omar looked at Sophia as the gentle breeze on him softened.

RK Sophia: [Not even I know what it is, or what it wants! I strongly advise you to stay back.]

RK Ali: [She's a friend of Zack's, which should already tell you a lot about her power. She's also the reason we beat the Hydra so quickly. Zack might be friends with her, but you can tell by looking at him that he fears her power too.]

Vijan: [I'm not backing down!]

Faith: [Fine,]

In an instant, Faith vanished and left a thick cloud of dust in her place. Despite her sudden disappearance, Vijan was able to discern the path she took by detecting her unique aura. He lifted his arms and, just as suddenly, Faith reappeared out of nowhere.

Without warning, Faith threw a punch at Vijan's arms, but to his surprise, her hand phased through his arms and connected with his face, launching him several feet away.

Not content with that, Faith pounded her fists on the ground, causing ominous black spikes to emerge and pursue Vijan's every move. The ground shook violently as the spikes nearly sliced through Vijan's body.

However, before the spikes could make contact, Omar appeared and swiped his arm, causing the menacing spikes to disintegrate. Faith watched from a distance as Omar assisted Vijan back to his feet.

Vijan: [I didn't see that coming.]

Omar: [Expect the unexpected.]

The two of them couldn't take their eyes off the monster standing before them. As Vijan drank a health potion, Faith sighed.

Vijan: [Let's give her a show.]

In the midst of the battlefield, there was a flurry of movement as Faith, Vijan, and Omar rushed toward each other. Their urgency caused a stir that kicked up a cloud of dust, adding to the chaos of the already intense situation.

Despit the commotion, Faith remained focused and locked eyes with the Hydra fighters, ready to face them head-on. With a quick movement, she managed to grab their fists with her palms, preventing them from striking.

Before jumping back, Omar reached for the magic circle on his back, his movements fluid and precise. He secured his grip on a magical sword made of blue light, and jumped back with his eyes fixed on the enemy ahead, and reaffirmed his grip on his sword.

The tension was palpable as they prepared for the impending battle.

Omar: [Follow me.]

With a sense of determination, Omar charged ahead with his trusty light sword in hand, closely followed by Vijan.

Their target, Faith, stood firmly in front of them, ready to defend herself. In a swift motion, Omar swung his sword toward her head, but Faith dodged it with ease. In the meantime, she caught Vijan's strike, anticipating his move.

As she held Vijan in her grasp, Omar aimed for her arm, preparing for his next strike. However, Faith was quick to react, throwing Vijan's arm away and dodging Omar's second swing. She then ducked his punch and delivered a powerful blow to his stomach with a glowing purple fist.

Vijan made an attempt to intervene with a kick, but Faith deftly avoided it and seized his ankle in mid-air. Using his own momentum, she hurled Vijan and Omar, and the two of them toppled over and rolled away.

Faith gestured with her hand, forming a gun-like shape and pointing it toward the two on the ground. Suddenly, a dark, black energy began to gather at her fingertips, coalescing into a swirling ball of matter that seemed to pulsate with a similar aura to her own.

The assembled Royal Knights and Paladin watched in awe and trepidation as Faith made quick work of both the Timless Ninja and the Demon Lord's general with effortless ease.

As Omar picked himself up from the ground, he couldn't help but notice the blue hue on Faith's amulet beginning to fade.

Faith: [Bang.]

With a flick of her wrist, the ball in front of her shot forward with an explosive bang.

Omar's attention was immediately drawn to the speeding ball that was leaving a trail of ground spikes made of the same mysterious material beneath it. Despite feeling unsure of what to do, Omar quickly raised his sword above his head and swung it with all his might toward the center of the ball.

To his amazement, the sword effortlessly sliced through the ball as if it were a piñata, causing it to split in half like a viscous slime. As the individual pieces of the ball flew off toward the horizon, the top half of Omar's sword completely vanished.

Vijan slowly got up and peered ahead at the ominous path of dark matter ground spikes that lay in front of them.

Vijan: [That isn't human–]

VWOOOOP

RUMBLE

Vijan was left stunned as two mountains were engulfed by the explosion of an orb, creating massive spherical areas that completely consumed the surrounding terrain. The resulting rubble from the mountains disintegrated into thin air, causing an avalanche that shook the ground as it descended.

Vijan was so shocked by the spectacle that he couldn't even close his jaw.

Vijan: [How the fuc–]

Omar: [WATCH OUT!]

Faith, with her mana undetectable, suddenly materialized behind Vijan when he momentarily took his eyes off her. He was only able to catch a glimpse of her lifeless gaze before he instinctively utilized his Time Freeze ability in an effort to impede her movement.

As a result, the entire vicinity, including Faith, became shrouded in a monochromatic gray hue, with everything grinding to a halt. The dust she stirred up upon her arrival, the aura that enveloped her, and even the flow of her hair, all came to a standstill for a brief moment.

Vijan seized this opportunity to evade the impending attack and move around behind her. However, before he could act, time resumed and her errant strike generated a gust of wind that sent him reeling to the ground.

Omar: [We can't beat that like this!]

Vijan: [I hate that you're right. Don't you have any other ass-pull transformations?]

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Omar: [Satanizing Wraith is the best I got. How about you?]

Vijan: [Ninja's don't have transformations.]

The ninja clenched his teeth.

Vijan: [So do we run?]

Omar shook his head and threw his sword to the ground. As it pixelized into nothing, he smirked.

Omar: [It doesn't have much mana left. If we can force it to drain its mana, this battle will be ours.]

Vijan: [And how do you suggest we do that?]

Omar: [Close quarters. Taijutsu style.]

Vijan cackled and smirked.

Vijan: [That's my language. Let's go.]

With amazing velocity, they darted ahead, leaving a discernible path in their wake. Faith, tracking their every move, braced herself for their imminent arrival by clenching her fists.

The two assailants launched a barrage of lightning-quick punches, yet Faith's nimble reflexes and agile maneuvers enabled her to evade and parry their every strike. Nevertheless, each blow she deflected was cushioned by her mana, gradually sapping her strength.

As the blue tint on her amulet faded, Faith grappled with both attackers' fists, struggling to maintain her grasp, aware that her power was waning.

Omar: [Now's our chance!]

A repaired light sword appeared behind Omar's magic circle.

Vijan: [Yeah!]

Omar reached for the sword and swung for her head. She ducked into Vijan's knee which sent her head back up for a punch to the face. Being sent back a few steps, she regained her footing and looked up to see nothing. The two disappeared.

As she turned around, Vijan appeared with his foot in the air and kicked her back to her position, where Omar then appeared and punched her stomach. Holding onto her stomach and struggling to catch her breath, Faith looked at the three watching from the distance.

Anderson turned to the two Royal Knights.

Paladin Anderson: [She needs our help!]

Anderson ignited his sword and attempted to run forward, but was stopped by Sophia's hand.

Paladin Anderson: [What are you doing?!]

RK Sophia: [We shouldn't get too close to a sorceress.]

Paladin Anderson: [Like hell! I'm going to help her!]

Pulling his arm back, Anderson ran to the battlefield with his bright orange flames trailing behind him.

Faith was being tossed around by the two Hydra fighters like she was a ball. Giving her no space or time to defend herself, Omar pushed her to the ground and raised his light sword.

Omar: [It's been fun.]

Slamming his blade down, he was suddenly interrupted by a burning sensation behind him. Turning around, he saw the face of a raging dragon made of flames coming toward him.

Unable to act, he jumped back and took Vijan with him. As the flames settled, Anderson walked out and let a hand out for the sorceress.

Beaten out of her senses, Faith reached for Anderson's helping hand and walked with him back to the Royal Knights.

RK Ali: [Y'know, when you came to help with the Hydra, I never expected you to be so strong.]

Faith: [Not strong enough, apparently.]

Faith scratched the back of her head with a smile. Faith silently asked Ali for a mana potion and was delivered one faster than she could blink. She chugged the drink down and was restored to a quarter of her mana.

With no real threat to keep an eye on, Vijan turned toward the mountain that Heirloom and the others had been on and noticed that they weren't there. In confusion, he turned to Omar and the two of them stared at each other for a moment.

Vijan looked at the four in the distance as they recuperated.

Vijan: [Where are your friends?!]

Paladin Anderson: [You're asking the wrong people!]

With a groan, Vijan turned to Omar.

Vijan: [Do you think Heirloom lost to them?]

Omar: [He was put up against the strongest Paladin, so I wouldn't be surprised.]

Vijan: [He probably needs our help, so let's clean this up quickly.]

Omar nodded. Vijan threw a single kunai in the air then raised two fingers.

Vijan and Omar: [Combined technique: Kunai Storm – Reign Hell!]

The single kunai in the sky began to light up a bright blue as it reached max altitude. Omar clasped both of his hands together. The blue light around the Kunai became spherical and looked like its own miniature blue sun.

Looking at it in awe, Faith noticed little dart-like strings falling to the ground faster than she could keep up with and quickly alarmed the others. Taking their eyes off the Hydra members, they saw the darts uncontrollably spraying all over the place.

Faith quickly raised her hands and formed a barrier around the four of them and she did so just in the nick of time. The moment the shield came up, the light darts poked into her barrier and caught her by surprise. Sophia looked toward Omar and Vijan and noticed their auras gradually getting stronger. As this was happening, a few darts managed to break through Faith's barrier but just barely missed the four of them standing inside.

RK Sophia: [What the hell are they doing?]

Faith clenched her teeth and put more power into the barrier, patching up the holes that the darts created.

Faith: [They said something about a combined technique!]

RK Sophia: [Yeah, I heard them! I'm not deaf!]

Another kunai broke through her shield and cut her shoulder.

Faith: [I can't hold it anymore!]

A dozen more darts slammed onto her barrier, and before she knew it, the entire transparent force field shattered like glass and faded into thin air.

Faith fell unconscious and Anderson grabbed onto her before she could hit the ground.

Paladin Anderson: [Shit.]

Sophia used her psychokinesis to lift up a large chunk of ground and raise it above their heads. The light darts clung onto the top of the floating surface and proved to be a better barrier than Faith's. Vijan and Omar's auras continued to grow again and the little darts began to do even more damage.

RK Sophia: [A single touch from a dart could mean the end of our lives! We have to do something about those two!]

Ali watched as the two Hydra members stood defenseless then he turned to Anderson.

RK Ali: [I have an idea.]

The two looked at each other.

RK Ali: [I'm gonna teleport us there, then you swing your sword.]

Anderson gently put Faith on the ground.

Paladin Anderson: [Will that work?]

He took his sword out of its sheath. Ali gave him no real response, but he went ahead and agreed with the plan. Before Ali placed his hand on Anderson's shoulder, he turned to Sophia and stared at her as she tried to keep the chunk of land intact. He felt a little motivated when he saw her, and instantly teleported with Anderson by his side.

Instantly appearing behind the Hydra members, Anderson's sword set ablaze as he swung it straight towards Omar's waist. As the blade engulfed in orange flames approached Omar, Faith began to open her eyes and notice the enormous piece of land flowing above her.

In shock, she looked around and noticed Sophia holding both of her hands in the air and she looked like she was experiencing a headache.

Anderson's blade bashed onto Omar's coat and made the sound of clashing steel, like a metal hammer slamming a steel clog. Anderson put enough force into his swing to cut Omar in half, but that didn't end up happening. Not being capable of cutting through his glowing coat, Anderson's sword sent Omar back a few steps and surprised him. The recoil on his sword was great, but he managed and stood tall.

Vijan watched as Omar flew back. The light dart rain came to a close and the glowing kunai in the sky fell to the floor like a hunk of metal. Sophia released her grip on the floating terrain and threw it away from the battlefield. She was breathing heavily and was extremely low on mana.

The battlefield fell silent.

Both of the girls were recovering from the lack of mana they had while the boys were keeping a keen eye on the Hydra members.

Omar stood tall after being sent quite far and stared at Anderson and his flaming blade.

Faith: [These guys are tough.]

Sophia agreed. During the entire fight, she was trying to find a way to get back into Omar or Vijan's mind but was very unsuccessful. They were keeping their guards up and a pretty strong barrier in their heads.

RK Sophia: [Can't you bring out that fairy again?]

Faith: [Fairy?]

Before Sophia could respond.

Omar: [These odds are unfair.]

Vijan turned to Omar.

Omar: [I hate doing this, but we're gonna head out.]

Omar took a large breath, and a second later, everything went dark. No one could see or hear anything going around them, not even Sophia. It wasn't until Vijan and Omar escaped that everything returned back to normal.

The four of them looked at each other like they lost. The two they were up against escaped without a trace.

All Hydra members managed to get away from the fight, but with a war going on and Zack still chasing after Heirloom, there was a chance that the kingdoms could come out victorious.

However, the adventurers and royals of Leviere jumped in shock as a random timer suddenly appeared on the top center of their peripherals. Oblivious of what it was, they grew more curious and cautious. The sky above the kingdom of Leviere turned a blood red and the atmosphere became dense.

*

Didus walked out of his castle and stared up from the patio. The clouds began to swirl around and form whirlpools in the sky. This couldn't mean any good for anyone, especially Leviere's citizens.

King Didus: [The time has finally come...]

The timer began to go down by the second.

76:43:14

76:43:13

76:43:12

76:43:11

76:43:10

The Demon Lord has come out of hiding and is on his way.