’She’s fast.’ Elizabeth thought as she swung her switchblades in a certain direction.
At the same time, a sudden shift in the airflow occurred followed by the glistening of silver.
An abrupt sound echoed due to the collision.
Gritting her teeth, Elizabeth added. ’And strong.’
Charlotte smirked upon seeing Elizabeth’s sorry expression.
Pressing down on her, she sought to exert her dominance over the latter.
Elizabeth wasn’t one to remain complacent however as she pushed back, drawing strength from every fiber of her being.
Seeing her struggle so much naturally brought a smile to Charlotte’s face but Elizabeth couldn’t care less.
Letting go of her reservations for a moment, Elizabeth resolved to strike.
Unfortunately for her, Charlotte sensed the shift in the atmosphere and withdrew her strength before disappearing like a phantom.
The sound of wind moving echoed in Elizabeth’s ears but she knew it was no ordinary wind.
Her irises danced about, seeking to track down Charlotte while preparing to strike at a moment’s notice.
Charlotte chuckled as she watched Elizabeth try to follow her movements.
Her voice echoed about, reminiscent of a ghost as she moved at a pace surpassing the sound barrier.
Then, once she had danced enough, she attacked.
Elizabeth sensed her intent as she took a stand and twisted to block the incoming strike, however, she underestimated her opponent.
Despite perfectly defending the attack, she could do nothing about the overwhelming power that accompanied it which blew her off her feet.
Twisted at an unnatural angle, Elizabeth struggled to her feet just in time to watch as Charlotte arrived before her.
A heavy kick followed which caused the former to buckle over.
Not giving her a chance to recover, Charlotte grabbed her hair and pulled her up before using her sword to pierce Elizabeth’s chest.
A pained gasp escaped the latter’s lips as she felt the energy stored in her core ebb away slowly.
Groaning softly, she met Charlotte’s cold eyes glaring at her with immense malice.
"How does it feel?" Charlotte asked in a chilling tone.
"..." Elizabeth remained silent, using one arm to hold Charlotte’s sword so she wouldn’t pull it away.
"I’d like to kill you but you’d be important to learn about all the crazy inventions those Antimagic users have come up with recently. So don’t die quickly, okay?"
Elizabeth blinked at Charlotte before slowly nodding.
Charlotte didn’t understand the gesture at first but soon noticed an incongruence causing her to turn her attention to the battlefield happening at the manor.
There, Alex sat on the stairs leading to the porch covered in a cloak of darkness and light intertwined in perfect harmony with a calm expression on his face.
Charlotte noted the corpses of the Spirit Beasts laid out on the ground before him but that wasn’t what shocked her.
Instead, it was the fact that her subordinates were nowhere to be seen.
"Where are their bodies?" She asked.
Alex calmly replied. "Gone."
"..." Charlotte’s eyes shook at his words, her lips sealed tightly as she found herself unable to respond.
Silence reigned on the battlefield as she and Alex exchanged looks, neither willing to break it.
Charlotte released her hold on Elizabeth, leaving her to fall like a broken doll.
Wielding her sword, Charlotte’s eyes glowed with intense rage.
"How dare you not even leave them an intact corpse?"
It took a mere second for Charlotte to cross the distance, her bloodlust crashing down on Alex like a giant hammer.
Charlotte stopped in her tracks, her sword held high, seconds away from beheading Alex as she stared at the sight unfolding before her eyes.
Her subordinates, the Silver Knights who fell at Alex’s hand, arose from his shadow.
Of course, unlike their previous appearance, they no longer donned silver armor, but instead draped in cloaks of Twilight, symbolizing their change in leadership.
"Klaus, Noah, Mildred, Rebecca, Talia..." Charlotte muttered their names one at a time with the recipient of the name nodding in response.
"Ah..." Charlotte stepped back, unsure of what to do.
Alex rose to his feet and without sparing Charlotte a glance, waltzed past her.
Charlotte remained rooted in her position, her gaze still trained on her former subordinates.
Silence reigned yet again as the battle entered a lull.
On getting to Elizabeth, Alex stood at arm’s length as he inquired. "Can you walk?"
"Mn." Elizabeth nodded as she slowly rose to her feet while holding her chest.
Wisps of an invisible energy could be seen escaping from the location where she’d been stabbed by Charlotte.
Seeing that she wasn’t out of it yet, Alex nodded before turning to address Charlotte. "Return to your master and inform him that we will be coming for him soon. He has dared to go against the Dark Lord and now... he must face the consequences."
Leaving those words behind, Alex walked back into the manor with Elizabeth following closely behind.
Passing by the stunned Charlotte, expressions of anger, fear, hate and so many more could be seen prompting Elizabeth to consider her chances of killing the Silver Knight Captain, due to how vulnerable she seemed.
But as quickly as that thought came, she pushed it aside.
Even if she and Alex worked together, the possibility of winning was low, especially now that she was injured.
Albeit regretful, she no longer bothered with Charlotte and made her way into the manor.
As the doors closed, the Twilight Knights moved and Charlotte was forced to kill her subordinates.
A terrifying scream could be heard across Krobridge that fateful night.
Two hours later in the abandoned building that once served as Arwen’s home, Charlotte sat at the top of the ruins with her blade embedded in the ground.
Gripping the hilt of her sword tightly, she had her head down while muttering something incoherent to herself.
Eternal Night had long since been dispelled and with it, Blood Cage was gone as well.
The Crimson Knights stood unwavering like statues around Charlotte’s position, waiting patiently for her order.
As per their expectations, it soon arrived but what was unexpected was the content.