The assassin emerged from the portal with such silence that even Katerina, still focused entirely on maintaining the protective castle of branches, didn't notice his sudden appearance.
The instant his feet touched the ground, he launched a swift, soundless strike with the black dagger in his hand—aimed directly at "Alberia's" throat.
But just as the blade was about to pierce the queen's neck, a thunderous voice rang out, echoing across the battlefield.
"Bastard! Stay away from Queen Alberia!!!"
A flash of golden light followed the cry, and in an instant, an dark elf—his skin glowing like the sun—intercepted the assassin's strike with an ornate black-and-red sword, stopping the dagger in its tracks.
Lucas, startled by the shout, turned his head—his Light Arrow still glowing in his hands—and was stunned by what he saw.
It was the Minister of Defense, Scuro, the very elf Lucas had met earlier that day. He had blocked the attack from the same assassin who had tried to kill Lucas only days ago—back when he had first awakened in Alberia's body. Realizing the ambush had failed, the assassin leapt back, somersaulting away from the queen's defender.
Seeing Lucas glance his way, Scuro called out, "Your Majesty, finish charging your Light Arrow. It looks like Mrs. Aislyra still needs it. I have a general grasp of the situation, so leave this worm to us." The golden light surrounding his body began to fade. "And don't worry—I didn't come alone."
Even as he spoke, a tiny black sphere began to form behind Scuro's back—unseen by both him and Lucas. It was a dangerous spell known as Dark Prison, capable of trapping an enemy in an impenetrable sphere of pure darkness for up to a minute. Harmless physically, but enough to remove Scuro from the battle at a critical moment.
The assassin, The Portal Silence, had activated the trap with perfect timing. No one would be able to stop it in time—
Except someone did.
A beam of radiant light shot down from the sky, obliterating the black sphere before it could activate.
"Watch it, you mutt! You were about to be trapped by that filthy killer's spell! Not that it matters—I'm more than enough to protect Alberia myself," said a second elf, who arrived on the balcony bathed in golden light, his voice full of disdain and confidence.
"Thank you for the save, Lucrio," Scuro muttered, "but spare me the talk. Just help me deal with this piece of filth. He's attempted to kill the queen twice now. We can't let him live a second longer. And for the record—if I hadn't been here, the queen would've had to abandon her spell just to survive. So if anyone's too late, it's you."
"Say what you want," Lucrio replied, readying his weapon, "but without my Luminous Speed spell, you wouldn't have gotten here at all. Still, I agree—this bastard dies today."
Meanwhile, Lucas could feel it—the Light Arrow was ready.
Fully charged and pulsing with overwhelming energy, it no longer looked like an arrow at all. It was now a blinding mass of magic, vibrating in his grip.
"Aislyra, it's ready!!!!" Lucas shouted at the top of his lungs, making sure his brave new younger sister could hear him across the battlefield.
Aislyra was still locked in brutal combat with the chimera, her strength clearly fading from the pain caused by the wound, but her determination was unwavering.
The moment she heard Lucas, her next strike wasn't aimed at the beast—but at the platform of ice beneath her feet. She shattered it, letting herself fall freely toward the protective structure Katerina had conjured below.
Katerina, having anticipated this move, deactivated the anti-fire barrier and called out, "Binding Root!" A magical vine burst from the branches and caught Aislyra mid-fall, gently lowering her to safety.
Seeing Aislyra now clear of the blast zone, Lucas knew there was no reason to wait.
"Light Arrow!!!" Lucas roared, unleashing the spell with all his might.
The projectile was no longer an arrow, but a massive, searing missile of pure light.
It tore through the sky and slammed directly into the chimera, piercing it cleanly.
In a blinding flash, a massive hole appeared in the creature's torso, erasing almost all of its chest and abdomen.
The beast died instantly, its mutilated body crashing down on the castle of branches.
And still, the Light Arrow flew on—unstoppable. It soared high above the clouds, blazing a trail through the sky, until it finally dissipated into the upper thermosphere, having exhausted every last drop of its magical energy.
Lucas dropped to one knee, overwhelmed by the immense fatigue caused by channeling such a massive amount of mana in a single shot. The mental strain from maintaining that concentration for three uninterrupted minutes had also taken its toll. His breath was ragged, and sweat poured down his face, but the arrow had hit its mark.
Meanwhile, the assassin—The Silent Gate—was now facing off against the two ministers. And things weren't going well for him. Every surprise attack he attempted on one of the elves was intercepted by the other, with their coordination making it nearly impossible for him to land a decisive blow.
If this continued, he would fail in his mission. And that was simply unacceptable.
Gritting his teeth beneath the mask, the assassin began to unravel the black bands covering his right hand— trying to reveal something hidden and dangerous.
Watching carefully, Lucrio narrowed his eyes.
"Scuro, are you sure this is the same assassin who attacked Alberia two days ago?" he asked, voice low but tense.
"Yes. His appearance matches exactly with the description Lady Aislyra gave me," Scuro replied, eyes locked on the assassin. "Besides, there aren't many individuals capable of using Spatial Magic derived from Dark Magic."
"Then why does he still have his right hand?" Lucrio asked, doubt lingering in his voice. "Wounds inflicted by Aislyra's sword and then frozen are virtually impossible to regenerate."
"I don't know... but I'm certain it's connected to that chimera that attacked Her Majesty. It's too much of a coincidence. I doubt the assassin and that creature aren't somehow working together," Scuro said, his grip tightening on his now flame-enchanted sword as he resumed his attack.
The Silent Gate was nearly finished removing the bandage from his hand. At the same time, Lucas—having recovered enough to stand—turned his gaze toward the masked assassin.
Suddenly, a voice echoed coldly and clearly in the assassin's mind. Though it sounded kind, there was a menacing sharpness to it.
"Withdraw. Now that the chimera is dead and Alberia has recovered, not even the gift I gave you will be enough to defeat all three of them. Leave."
Still silent, The Silent Gate didn't respond verbally. Instead, he raised his hand and conjured several Dark Prison spheres between himself and the two ministers.
Scuro immediately halted his advance. If he or even his sword touched one of those spheres, the spell would trigger instantly—trapping him or disabling his weapon for an entire minute. And in a battle like this, that could be fatal.
The only safe way to neutralize Dark Prisons was with ranged or area-of-effect magic. Luckily, Lucrio was already prepared.
"Heaven Ray!" he shouted, raising a hand to the sky.
A brilliant magic circle formed high above the battlefield, and a concentrated beam of golden light shot downward, disintegrating the shadowy spheres and raising a dense cloud of dust across the already ruined balcony.
Scuro sliced through the dust with a wave of his sword, clearing the view—but the assassin was gone.
"Damn it! He escaped!" Scuro exclaimed in frustration.
"Of course he did, mutt. You should have moved faster," Lucrio snapped.
But Scuro didn't snap back. He simply lowered his head, his expression heavy with regret.
"You're right. If I'd just been a little quicker... I could have eliminated a dangerous enemy of Her Majesty. I failed!" he muttered, hands running through his hair in despair.
Lucrio, expecting his usual rival to argue back, was caught off guard by Scuro's self-reproach. For a moment, he was genuinely taken aback.
After a brief pause, he sighed and muttered gruffly,
"Maybe... I could admit that I should've launched my Heaven Ray slightly faster. If I had, then maybe—even a mutt like you—would've had the time to finish him off before he vanished."
Despite the biting tone, Lucrio placed a hand on Scuro's shoulder—an uncharacteristic gesture of camaraderie.
But then Scuro saw "Alberia" approaching, and his expression immediately turned solemn. Without hesitation, he bowed deeply before her and asked,
"Is Her Majesty well? That beast didn't injure you, did it?"
"No, thank you, Scuro. I'm fine," Lucas replied, his voice trembling and his expression etched with deep concern. "But it's only thanks to Aislyra… and we need to hurry—she was seriously wounded by that chimera…"
"Don't worry, Alberia. I'll take Aislyra to Heve right away. She'll have her healed in no time," Lucrio reassured her confidently.
Lucas took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions raging inside him. Then, from the bottom of his heart, he said,
"Thank you, Uncle Lucrio."
Lucrio simply nodded and invoked,
"Luminous Speed."
His body was once again enveloped in radiant light—the same golden glow that had surrounded him when he first arrived. Without wasting a second, he leapt from the balcony to where Aislyra lay unconscious. Gently but swiftly, he picked her up in his arms and vanished into the distance, leaping across rooftops at breakneck speed toward the palace.
Lucas exhaled a heavy sigh of relief. Sequoria had spoken highly of Heve's medical abilities, and considering Lucrio's incredible speed, Aislyra would be in expert hands very soon.
Just then, Katerina's voice called out, calm but tinged with exhaustion,
"Mr. Scuro, could you check if everyone in the square has evacuated? I won't be able to maintain the Branches Fortress much longer, and I don't want anyone getting crushed by the chimera's corpse when I release it."
"Right away!" Scuro answered, immediately dashing down to the square to assess the situation.
After a few seconds, Lucas and Katerina heard his voice call up,
"All clear! The square is free!"
At that signal, Katerina released the spell. The massive fortress of intertwined branches slowly began to dissolve. Moments later, the lifeless chimera dropped with a heavy thud into the now-empty square below.
Suddenly, freed from the immense effort she had been sustaining, Katerina lost her balance. Her knees buckled, but before she could fall, Lucas reacted instinctively, catching her in his arms.
"Thank you, Your Majesty…" she murmured in a weak, breathless voice. She paused, then added softly,
"And… I'm sorry to ask, but I don't think I'll be able to move for a few minutes. Would you mind if I stayed like this… just for a little while?"
"Of course not," Lucas replied gently with a warm smile.
He carefully lowered himself to the ground and let Katerina rest her head on his soft, warm thighs.
"I think this will be more comfortable for you," he added quietly.
"Yes… thank you very much…" Katerina whispered, her voice barely audible as she slowly drifted into a peaceful sleep.
It was the first time Lucas had ever let someone use his thighs as a pillow. Until two days ago, his legs wouldn't have been suitable for something like that. But now… they were. And while it was unexpectedly embarrassing—especially considering how beautiful Katerina looked while sleeping—it felt like something she genuinely deserved.
So, for several quiet minutes, Lucas sat in silence, letting the moment wash over him. He waited patiently, gently cradling the sleeping maid's head, until she awoke.