"I'd like to play with you, but..."
He released magical energy from the palm of his hand. Without warning, a striking dark blue circle appeared, accompanied by spiraling streams of energy that continuously flowed toward its center.
"...This isn't the right time."
He allowed his body to fall into the circle. His head entered first, followed by his torso and legs, until he had completely disappeared inside it.
The circle faded in an instant. Then, just as the dagger shot forward, it only accelerated the process of the circle's disappearance. As a result, the dagger Iris had thrown did not enter the circle. Instead, it split the dark energy circle into two before vanishing into the air without leaving anything behind.
The dagger then flew toward the wall of a nearby resident's house, which was made of sturdy materials. However, the dagger managed to pierce through it, leaving behind a fairly deep gash.
Seeing it with his own eyes made Verarin's eyes widen. It was the first time he had ever witnessed something like that happening right in front of him. After all, he knew very well that no artifact could allow its user to escape by creating a portal that transported them somewhere else.
"What the...?!"
However, Nathan was only slightly surprised. Although he had never seen anything like this in his original world—because such a thing was simply impossible—even Iris merely gritted her teeth without showing an excessive reaction.
"Tch..."
Then, Nathan finally realized one small detail. An idea crossed his mind.
(Wait a second...!)
He noticed a similarity between the portal created by the black-and-red-haired man earlier and the portal created by a man named Dimsk.
(They're identical. There's no difference between the two portals. Could it be...?)
Something crossed his mind. He began considering the possibility that those two men were actually the same existence. After all, when he thought about it, both of them possessed identical portals, which meant they shared similar abilities.
However, it seemed that the logic of this world still followed the same principles as his original world.
(Still, there are no humans in this world who can possess two existences within a single reality at the same time. Although that possibility might still exist, something like that would probably be just as strange to the people of this world.)
Iris, who had reached the spot where her dagger was embedded, looked at it before grabbing its handle and pulling it out of the cracked wall, which had been left with a fairly deep gash.
As she looked at her dagger, she began thinking about the previous situation, when she had used one of its skills, namely "Quadra Execution."
(Quadra Execution is an original technique of my own creation. I developed this ability during my training for the purpose of carrying out my sacred mission alongside Lilith.)
Quadra Execution required precise timing when throwing several daggers from her hands, followed by one final dagger that would descend from above as the execution strike.
Its attack could defeat an opponent in an instant, but only if its accuracy was precise. Fortunately, Iris had always trained diligently and eventually mastered the use of daggers. Although her mastery was not yet complete, her abilities were certainly not to be underestimated.
However, even that technique had failed to pierce something intangible.
(But even that execution strike couldn't pierce the void...)
She then turned around, her eyes settling on the main building of the Knightley Queen. However, her thoughts kept returning to the face of her close friend and childhood companion, Lilith.
(Be careful, Lilith...!)
⟨⟩ ⟨⟩ ⟨⟩
Flynn ran as fast as he could, with Lilith following beside him, matching her pace to his.
They were now passing through a corridor that led to the underground secret chamber. The two descended the stairs and resumed running once they reached the bottom.
Lilith's eyes and mouth widened as she witnessed the unpleasant sight throughout the corridor. Several Knightley Queen knights lay helplessly on the ground, while some had already lost their lives. They had died as a result of an unexpected attack and had simply been left where they fell.
Not only that, but they also passed through corridors whose walls had been cracked, scarred by weapons, or even completely punctured.
Lilith desperately wanted to heal all the helpless knights, as she possessed healing abilities that could be of considerable help. However, she now had to focus on one thing. She absolutely did not want something terrible to happen, such as the Staff of Miracle falling into the wrong hands.
After reaching the end of the corridor, they arrived at an exit that led to a spacious area.
It was a square-shaped room with sturdy iron walls that appeared capable of withstanding attacks from any artifact. That was precisely why this place had been chosen to store one of the legendary artifacts, which was situated in the center of the room.
They then stopped right in front of the iron door, which had already been destroyed by an earlier attack. However, they were immediately taken aback when they noticed a girl attempting to unleash her strongest attack against the barrier protecting the artifact.
From behind, the girl had long red hair. The dress she wore looked rather luxurious, but they could not clearly make out her overall appearance.
The girl merely pointed toward the artifact protected by a powerful energy barrier. Suddenly, several swords floating near her shot forward in response to her command.
All the sharp blades attempted to strike the exact same point. As they made contact with the energy barrier, the blades nearly pierced through it, even managing to create cracks across its surface.
However, all of that proved useless once the barrier's reaction was triggered. The energy released a powerful wave that surged toward the sword blades, causing all of them to be repelled backward.
The girl was beginning to grow fed up with her repeated failures. She had been trying for several hours, continuously attempting to make the barrier disappear.
"Tch..."
However, this was her mission. She had to complete it before someone arrived. Unfortunately, it was already too late.
With confidence, Flynn warned the girl not to be too arrogant about her chances of obtaining the legendary artifact.
"Heh. Don't get too confident. You won't be able to obtain that artifact through confidence alone."
Upon hearing that voice, the girl immediately turned around.
"Huh?! What did you say?!" a distinctly feminine voice rang out.
She revealed her appearance clearly to them.
The petite girl stared at them with her crimson eyes, which were filled with irritation. She wore a dress whose combination of colors suited her well and fit her small frame perfectly. From a distance, her height was probably no greater than that of a ten-year-old child.
After seeing the girl's actual appearance, their confidence in facing what they had assumed to be a powerful enemy began to waver. The enemy they had imagined to be an elegant woman like Fay's companion turned out to be nothing more than a little girl capable of using some kind of magic.
Both of them wondered the same thing in their minds. A single question appeared in the thoughts of Flynn and Lilith, as though they were sharing one mind between two bodies.
(Why is there a little girl in this place?!)
After a brief silence following her words, the little girl asked with great curiosity.
"What do you know about this artifact?"
She then noticed the figure of a man standing dozens of meters away from her, dressed entirely in black—the same attire always worn by the captains of the Knightley Queen. A cunning smile suddenly appeared on her face as soon as she realized this.
"Oh... So you're a captain. Could you explain something about this artifact to me?"
However, Flynn responded with a question of his own.
"I'm not going to. Besides, why would I explain something this important to a little girl?"
His words caught the little girl off guard. She was surprised by the way this grown man was treating her, and without realizing it, she moved her right foot back a few centimeters from its original position.
Angrily, she immediately retorted.
"How cruel...!" she replied. "Treating a beautiful girl like me as though you have no heart!"
"Listen, little girl. I don't have time to play around with you. Stay away from that artifact before you get caught in its effects," Flynn warned her politely, although his words might have sounded a little harsh to a child.
The little girl's anger suddenly turned into an unpleasant sense of disbelief, accompanied by an apparent increase in her arrogance. Her lips curled into an even more pronounced pout.
"What if I don't want to? What are you going to do about it?" she replied. She then added a few words, just like a little child whining at an adult. "Would you really have the heart to attack a little girl like me?"
"She may look like a child, but..." Lilith was doubtful of the little girl's innocent appearance.
"I'm sure I won't hold back. Besides, there's now the fact that I've seen a child who can control swords without even touching them. Is that some kind of artifact?"
Flynn's eyes were fixed on several swords floating in the air right beside the girl, seemingly protecting her. The girl realized that Flynn was staring at her swords, but she showed no reaction whatsoever.
"I wouldn't hesitate to attack an ordinary Nephilim like you. In fact, I'm beginning to doubt whether you're even a Nephilim."
"Oh..."
"Therefore, leave this place. Before it's too late."
"Oh... I'm not so sure about that."
Immediately after she said those words, the swords surrounding her reacted simultaneously. They all floated and spun through the air, encircling the little girl's body like a princess protected by her knights.
The tips of every sword blade seemed to be staring directly at Lilith and Flynn, their sharp points aimed threateningly at the two of them, forcing them to face a single petite girl.