Erina had grown accustomed to staying at her stronghold late into the evening for her training, while the majority of her faction members returned to their dorm rooms early, leaving only a few of her closest confidants with her.
And Zerix, saw this as an opportunity and planned an ambush as she and her confidants were returning to the dorm building after training.
As they walked the dark streets, a loud roar shattered the silence.
Awooooooo!–
Erina immediately reached for her daggers, her brow furrowing in suspicion. Her confidants followed suit, pulling out their weapons.
But before she could react further, a sharp pain lanced through her stomach, as if she had been stabbed.
!?
Ahk!—
She looked down to find blood seeping from a wound, and when she turned to see who was to blame, she was faced by her confidant's face twisted in a vicious grin, brandishing a knife smeared in her blood.
"W-Why?" she muttered in disbelief, trying to stem the flow of blood with one hand as she glanced at the rest of her confidants.
She noticed two of her confidants were unconscious on the ground, while the other two had the same nasty grins.
And then she heard footsteps approaching from behind her, and as she turned to face them, she was greeted by Zerix, who had a wicked grin on his face.
"They were my people from the start," Zerix said, as if that explained everything.
Erina's mind reeled. She had been betrayed, which means...Zerix had been aware of their plans all along.
"Y-You let your bases to be destroyed?" she snarled, her fury overcoming her pain.
Zerix shrugged, "Do you think I care about those weak and pathetic bastards? How naive."
Erina's anger turned to disgust as she realized the extent of the betrayal.
"...D-Did you just use them as a meat shield?" she snarled.
"Used them? They should be honored to be used by me for a greater cause," Zerix sneered, as he slowly began to approach her.
Erina was wounded and outnumbered, but she would not go down without a fight. She took her two-dagger stance, ready for the inevitable clash.
Zerix licked his lips, a cruel grin on his face, as he readied his claws.
Without hesitation, he launched the first attack, his claws tearing through the air toward Erina.
Erina tried to dodge, but her injury slowed her down, and she was struck. She stumbled back, her face contorting in pain.
But she would not be defeated so easily. She channeled her mana, empowering her strikes, and charged at Zerix, her daggers glowing yellow.
The battle was intense and fierce, as they both used their mana to enhance their attacks and defenses.
Erina's daggers clashed with Zerix's claws, sending sparks flying, the streets echoing with the sound of their battle cries and the clash of their weapons.
Clang!— Clang!—
Erina's wound hindered her movements, but her empowered strikes kept Zerix at bay for a while.
But as the battle raged on, Erina's energy started to drain and her movements became slower.
Zerix, sensing her weakening state, launched a powerful attack that Erina could not defend.
And after being hit by the attack she was sent crashing to the ground, her breath ragged and her body trembling.
Thud!—
"Aghhh"
***
At The Same Time, Somewhere On A Distant Buildings Rooftop ~
When Erina and Zerix were locked in a fierce battle, on the rooftop of a distant building, stood a handsome boy with black hair, his eyes glowing golden as he watched with focus.
Beside him, an elf with blonde hair sat, munching on popcorn and sipping from a drink labeled "Elvish Ambrosia."
"Wow, Erina never suspected till now that her closest confidants were actually working for Zerix?" Ares commented, using his skill "Hawkeye" to observe the battle.
"That betrayal is the worst kind of feeling," Irethiel made a remark telepathically as if she were reminded of her own past betrayal.
"Poor Erina, she would have never imagined that Zerix was just using the newly joined members and the average-strength students as sacrificial lambs," Diana added, popping another kernel of popcorn into her mouth as she too watched the battle using her ability "Elvish Sight".
Thud!—
"Ouch, that had to hurt," Diana exclaimed as Erina was sent crashing to the ground by Zerix's final attack.
"Don't you think we should go help her?" Diana asked Ares as she turned to face him.
"...No, let's wait a bit longer," Ares replied.
"Let's deal with the rats hiding in the dark first," he added, taking out his new custom-made shuriken.
And with a flick of his wrist, he covered the shuriken in electricity and sent it flying toward the individuals lurking in the shadows near Erina and Zerix's battle.
Swish!—
The shuriken moved at lightning speed, its blue glow illuminating the darkness as it struck its targets, knocking them unconscious.
Aghhhhhh!— (Screams of the people after being hit by the shuriken)
Diana was surprised when she saw the shuriken and its striking power, "That weapon looks interesting," she muttered, glancing at Ares whose eyes now glowed blue as he concentrated on controlling the shuriken.
When all the individuals lurking in the shadows were dealt with, the shuriken returned to Ares' hand.
"They were Zerix's faction members, as he prepared for unforeseen events," Diana remarked.
"...I don't think he was prepared enough," Ares replied with a smirk.
Ares had already known about Zerix's ambush plan from Diana, but decided to do nothing to stop it, wanting to create the perfect scenario where Erina, betrayed and injured, would beg and pray for help, and as if to answer her prayer, he would arrive just in time to save her, like a prince in shining armor on a white horse.
Even though he was no longer a prince and had no horse,...well, he would still save her, arriving at the right moment.
"Now then, shall we save the damsel in distress?" Ares said with a grin, as he descended from the rooftop to come to Erina's aid.
***
Zerix approached Erina, a victorious smirk on his face.
"You put up a good fight, Erina," Zerix said in a dramatic tone, "But in the end, I was always one step ahead of you. I knew your every move, your every strategy. And now look, I've finally won."
Erina glared up at Zerix, her eyes filled with anger.
"You may have won this battle, Zerix," she spat, "But the war is far from over. You should be worried, because now he will come for you."
!?
Zerix's smirk faltered when he heard Erina's words.
"You mean Ares? Don't worry, I'll deal with him sooner or later," Zerix said with a grin, trying to hide the unease in his voice.
"Hehehe, we will have to wait and see about that," Erina suddenly started laughing.
Hearing her laughter Zerix's face distorted, he raised his claws, prepared to deliver the final blow to Erina.
Erina closed her eyes, accepting her fate.
She knew that Zerix was trying to severely injure her so she could no longer participate in the upcoming tournament.
Flashbacks of her training hard with her faction members, and the betrayal of her closest confidants, flooded her mind.
She couldn't help but think, "Fufu, How I wish he was here." She muttered under her breath, thinking of someone who could have possibly saved her.
Swish!—
And just as Zerix was about to strike, ...his hand was suddenly severed by a shuriken that appeared out of nowhere.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Zerix screamed in pain as his hand was now severed.
!?