The ominous command brought about a halt to the subdued assailants' shouts and expressions of profound pain, as her eyes revealed excessive emotions of joy and anger.

"I obey!"

A thick ominous aura suddenly spread apart from her body, placing the entire hallway in a palpable state of suffocation and dread.

Elias suddenly felt his body shiver, an instinctive reaction caused by the sheer amount of fear currently threatening to envelop his mind. It felt like his opponent had turned into another person, one whose strength had completely surpassed the last!

He then felt his control over the ether threads slightly wane, as the ensnared assailant was attempting to rip apart the web-like binds by relying on sheer physical strength alone.

The amount of force being exerted on the threads caused Elias's fingers to feel as if they were being bent backward, causing an enormous flood of pain to assault his hand.

He had no choice but to release the binds, a decision he soon came to regret as he saw the robed lady lunge at him immediately after her legs hit the ground.

Elias swiftly manipulated the threads to entangle her approaching right fist, before dodging to the side and creating a moment to assess the situation.

He stopped a distance away to stare at his maddened attacker, a girl who now resembled a pure manifestation of anger and hate.

Just looking at her made Elias's brain boil while feeling his emotions flare up as if his mind was slowly getting infected by creeping emotions of annoyance and subtle wrath.

It took all of his self-control to keep himself from instinctively lunging at her as if his body had suddenly identified her as an object of his hate and fury.

This unexpected rise of emotions caused Elias's eyes to narrow in a sharp glint, as he hadn't expected her hidden ability to be so ominous.

'What a scary ability. Not only does it amplify both her adrenaline and physical capabilities by feeding off of her wrath, but it also affects the mind of anyone in close proximity to the ominous aura she is giving off.'

'In addition to that, you would also need to constantly battle against a blood-driven psychopath, all the while splitting off some of your attention to keep your own emotions in check.'

Elias's eyes were then drawn to the back of her palm where an intimidating symbol of an enraged bull was glowing with dim vermilion light.

The symbol looked like a Totemic Tattoo with the most observable difference being their varying positions on the body.

'Seems like she has activated Bloody Berserker huh? This is going to be a bit tricky.'

Cold beads of sweat formed on Elias's temple, causing him to feel that the situation had become a bit more dangerous than before.

He didn't have proper combat experience, and it appeared a bit difficult for him to fight against an opponent on the same level as he was.

It was also obvious to him that his opponent's abilities were better geared towards offensive capabilities, unlike his own which were a lot more utility-based.

This was why he made use of an environmental trap to subdue his opponent previously, one which worked mainly due to the fact that she had no prior idea of his abilities before the fight.

However now that she did, Elias had suddenly been forced into a precarious situation, one which he couldn't guarantee an eventual victory.

'The only other thing I have on me is Ebonshade, but it is an Oddity that would offer no help in combat so it's a waste of time to pull it out.

'Sigh... Seems like I have no choice. Lars wake up!'

The girl went down on all fours and suddenly flashed across the room, covering the distance between her and Elias in the blink of an eye.

Her curved blade whistled through the air, leaving a deep cut in Elias's shoulder as she abruptly appeared in front of where he was.

Elias reacted on instinct, pulling himself backward to the opposite side by manipulating the ether strings like a swing.

If he hadn't reacted as fast as he did the blade could have possibly taken his whole arm, a thought which made Elias shiver once again.

The assailant did nothing but bend down to pick up her other sickle blade before silently lunging at Elias once again.

He could do nothing but change his position most of the time, as the speed of her attacks was so fast that he didn't even have the chance to control the strings to block them.

Her blades cut him in various places on his body, leaving Elias riddled with bleeding wounds like a prisoner enduring torture.

His breaths became laborious and his vision turned blurry, owing to the amount of sheer physical strain his body was currently undergoing.

The worst part was that she didn't even given him a chance to heal his wounds, as the window of her attacks became shorter and shorter until it just turned into an endless barrage.

Elias could see the sadistic expression of joy and glee on her face, one which made it obvious how much she was enjoying playing with him.

The red of her eyes began to deepen as more blood was spilled from Elias's wounds, causing the speed of her attacks to continue to increase with time.

This obviously caused Elias to feel death slowly approach him for the first time, prompting him to yell out in annoyance.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Lars wake up! We are seriously about to die here!"

Elias desperately called for his brother in his mind all the while receiving a swift kick to the ribs which caused him to smash into an ornamental vase.

Lars slowly materialized beside Elias with a yawn, before yelping at the startling image of a sickle-blade whistling past his head.

"What the f***?

"What the hell is happening here?!"

Lars took quick notice of Elias's battered and bloodied state, before turning towards their aggressor with an open mouth.

"Elias, who the f*** is this? Why does this lady look like she wants to kill you, follow you down to hell then kill you some more? Did you unknowingly piss off someone at the banquet you were heading to?" He then finally took note of his surroundings. "And why is the whole mansion covered in smoke? Didn't we talk a few hours ago, how did things deteriorate to this extent."

Elias paid little attention to his brother's dramatic ramblings, narrowly sidestepping a huge chunk of debris that was being thrown at him.

"No time to explain. I want you to do something for me. I can't take her alone while dividing my attention between placating my emotions and reacting to her attacks, so I want to take a risk and grasp the initiative.

"Hover close to me and when I give the clue, I want you to possess her body for just a second or two."

"How do you even know I'm capable of doing that in the first place!" Lars exclaimed. "Besides what do you mean by taking the initiative? There is a bad shit crazy chick with two sickle blades chasing you with bloodshot eyes. I'm a spirit and even I'm afraid. What the hell can you do in this state?"

Elias kept his gaze forward, his body now a canvas of scars.

"I won't be able to endure this any further. My mind is slowly being overcome by the parasitic emotions from her aura and my body is almost at its limit. If I don't take a gamble now, I'm afraid it will be too late to do so later.

"Besides, I'm sure it's a lot better than dying without putting in any effort."

Lars looked at Elias helplessly before sighing.

Elias winked at Lars in gratitude, before suddenly lunging at his opponent.

The girl's bloodshot eyes narrowed in amusement, showing no plans of stopping her attack whatsoever.

"I see you have finally given up. In that case, allow me to send you off quickly and painlessly!"

Her aura exploded violently all around her body as she pounced at Elias, brandishing her two sickle blades that were now dyed in blood.

Elias continued to dash towards her, showing no signs of avoiding the blade that was directly aiming for his neck.

His heart sped up violently to alert him of the imminent danger and his muscles and joints ached with the pain of numerous injuries.

Elias felt himself sinking into a mirth of anxiousness as he watched the blade edge closer to him bit by bit.

He tracked the presence of his attacker by paying attention to her unique ether form with his Innate Blessing of true sight, enabling him to feel her rather than see her even while she was moving at such high speeds.

The pain born from his Tribulations drilled into his head, causing him to have to bite down on his lip to prevent his consciousness from drifting.

This risky choice enabled Elias to briefly follow the path of the blade, as it had now gained a unique ether signature due to it being stained by blood.

Elias watched as it was about to slash across his neck, a moment he had been waiting for.

"Lars now!"

Immediately after Elias gave the cue, Lars drifted into the body of the assailant, eliciting a bit of resistance before her actions suddenly seized.

Elias took this opportunity to flip up in the air, landing safely behind amidst his opponent's wide eyes.

He then fiddled with his fingers before mimicking a long pulling action, one which caused ether threads to manifest in front of her before pulling back her neck, arms and legs.

The darkened webs held her tightly in place, this time a lot more firmer than before.

This put Elias under a lot of tension, as he had been constantly maintaining the forms of the threads since the very beginning of the battle, a task which relied heavily on his will and determination.

His face was as pale as white paper as he spat out a mix of blood and phlegm, but made sure to maintain his hold on the threads.

Lars took this opportunity to float out of the assailant, his spirit body looking a bit dim and weak.

Elias offered him a smile of gratitude, before focusing back on the girl in front of him.

"Don't struggle. This time I wove them in a way that a single long pull from me would lead to the severing of your limbs.

"I'm sure you are aware that these threads aren't like your normal strings. So sit back and behave until the authorities get here."

The ominously thick aura around the robed lady had lessened greatly, causing her face to reveal a weak expression.

'As I expected. Using such a massively overpowered ability is guaranteed to take a toll on the body. I'm glad I took the bet.'

As Elias was contemplating whether to heal his injuries or interrogate the lady, the resounding sound of a gate creaking open echoed through the villa, showering the entire building in faint heat and sunlight.

The abrupt sound caused Elias to loosen his hold on the threads, allowing the previously docile attacker to once again become active with an aura of malevolence and hate.

Noticing this Elias unconsciously yanked tighter on the threads due to fright, an action which caused the assailant's head to be severed clean off her neck as the threads went right through her bones.

Both Elias and Lars stared blankly at the now headless body, feeling like the scene before them had been pulled out of an unusual but scary dream.

...

At the front entrance,

Captain Edmund and his guards were currently getting overwhelmed, as only two out of his previously eighteen squad members were still alive.

The attacks of their assailants had become increasingly more vicious after that sudden command was issued, leading to the instant annihilation of a majority of his subordinates.

He could do nothing but watch as two of the lunatics butchered his men, while the other two kept him busy and away from the battlefield.

He had already exhausted the use of one of his Runic Invocations, leaving only two segments on the Totemic Tattoo on his forehead.

Even after summoning a weapon by making use of The King's Armory invocation, he had still not been able to take the lives of any of their aggressors, a fact which drowned him in incompetence and despair.

The major issue was how their attackers kept getting stronger with each injury inflicted on or by them, a quality which now put him on the defensive and prevented him from aggressively attacking them while knowing that he would not inflict fatal wounds.

Captain Edmund briefly looked around the makeshift battlefield, taking in the moment while his other two subordinates were about to be brutally ripped apart.

'This can't go on. If I let them be, all four of them would turn their sights on me after taking care of my subordinates, which would obviously lead to my demise.

'I don't really care if I live or die, as it was my fate to fall in battle the moment I put on this uniform. However, if I were to fall, they would definitely turn their sights to that young Apprentice in hiding. He is such a bright kid, I can't let them rid the world of such a great talent.'

Glancing at the spot where Ne'em was hiding, Captain Edmund grit his teeth, before feeling for his Wisp of Blessing to activate his second Runic Invocation.

The totem symbol on his forehead lost another segment as all of the assailants could only watch as fifteen fairly large flame Turrets took form in the air.

The maniacal expressions on their face instantly froze, as they scrambled to get out of the immediate area.

The sight of the Turrets triggered a cause for alarm, as Captain Edmund had now Invoked the Hail Mary rune, one which was well known for its destructive area of effect capabilities at the Apostolic Deacon level!

Immediately the Turrets took shape, the assailants scrambled to move out of its effective range but were surprised to see that they were being held back.

The bloodied and bruised officers were holding them in place with resolution hidden beneath their hazy eyes, a sight which caused Captain Edmund's heart to ache as he murmured in a low voice,

'The force shall never forget your service, and the island shall be your resting place.'

BOOM!

The Turrets then exploded into a barrage of flame and destruction, as the only thing that could be seen before the walkway was covered in dust and smoke was the faint smile on the dying officer's face.