Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Turning around, Miser was stunned to find that the person was right behind him.

Puff… blood started coming out from his mouth and his vision started becoming black and hazy. He felt so lightheaded that it became hard for him to remain standing as his legs started to falter and give up. Turning his head, Miser looked at the cold mocking eyes of ted and felt a chill through his whole body.

Bang…

His body fell onto the cold hard floor and his vision became black.

"Snort, that's one down. Now then let's take care of those pesky intruders who dared to trespass in the territory of my Seven Swords guild" his tone was laced with bloodlust and before ted's voice could even fall, his body started blurring and disappeared into thin air.

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Outside the house, Cecilia was staring at her home. Memories of her mother, father, and herself happily living inside the house came rushing towards her. The peacefulness and serenity of the place was now all gone, her parents were no longer waiting with a warm smile inside the house for her return.

Instead, the place had a sombre and heavy atmosphere, it no longer felt like her home anymore. It took her a while but she still mustered up her strength and stepped inside the house.

Irene followed closely behind Cecilia while the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse stayed outside the house. Its large frame prevented it from entering inside and it could only remain behind. NEEIIGHH... Although it was frustrated that it couldn't enter the house, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse vigilantly guarded the place.

The interior of the house was very simplistic and was dimly lit by the lamps. From the furniture to the decorations adorning the room, was made or woven with hand and reflected the nature of the Forest Spring Spirits. Not only that, it also displayed their culture and simplistic lifestyle.

Or that was how it was supposed to look, but right now the rooms showed signs of being used recently indicating that someone was staying here. The most evident proof was the broken table and utensils littered all around the floor.

Gentle rays of moonlight shone on the corridor leading towards the room at the end where the Cellar was. Irene could sense the presence of multiple Forest Spring Spirits inside the room.

She could see the desperation in Cecilia's eyes which wanted to save her clansmen as soon as possible. However, before they could walk any further down the corridor, the smell of blood assaulted their senses and they found a person lying face down on the ground.

Blood was coming out of his body and made a small puddle around him. GASP… Cecilia suddenly gasped in astonishment as she looked at the person lying down on the floor. Even if she could only see half of his face from her position, she could never forget the figure of the person that had betrayed the trust of their whole clan and had led all those human adventurers inside their village.

He was the first person she ever detested so much in her life and right now that person was lying dead in front of her. Nobody knew what sorts of emotions she was going on currently but one thing was clear that her mind was not calm anymore.

Irene looked at the person lying dead on the ground and squinted her eyes. Turning her head, her icy pupils stared at an empty space and immediately after, the space started freezing at an astonishing rate before a black shadow hurriedly darted out from it.

"Hoh, to think that there was someone capable enough among the intruders to sense my location. Not bad, not bad at all" Ted who was forced out of his [Stealth] commented in appreciation.

Cecilia who was in a daze, snapped out by the sudden voice. Turning around, she saw a man dressed in a pitch-black garb seemingly materialize out of nothing. The man had a chilling and bloodthirsty aura giving her a stifling feeling whenever she looked at him.

Ted had a twisted expression in his eyes as he looked at Cecilia and said in a pleased tone "So you are that Royal Spirit huh? Hehe, it's good that you had willingly shown yourself, saved us the trouble for looking for you everywhere. It doesn't matter where you run, you can't hide from the Seven Swords guild".

Cecilia's body trembled and her face quickly became pale when she heard what the person said. But when her spirit was about to falter, Irene's figure stood in front of her as if protecting her. Looking at Irene, Cecilia for some reason recalled the words that Simon had once said to her.

His determination to save her even while fully knowing that it would get him in trouble too. His courage that did not falter even in the wake of danger made her admire him very much and at the same time, it had also given her hope and strength to resist her fate.

Seeing the unexpected change in Cecilia's eyes, Ted couldn't help but knit his brows. He had hoped to break her willpower with his words so as to prevent her from self-destructing her spirit orb.

"It seems that you are quite determined to resist. Is it because of the woman over there? Haha don't be naïve do you think she can protect you from me?" He sneered and immediately used [Stealth] to disappear from his surrounding. He circled around their back and threw a dagger at their blindspot

'Let's see how you protect yourself from this.' The dagger emitted a cold light as it flew towards Irene, its edges were glowing a peculiar light and it seemed as if the dagger was laced with poison.

However, Ted's elation didn't last long as the dagger that was supposed to hit its target was suddenly frozen in midair and fell to the ground even before reaching its target. He looked a the scene with wide eyes and immediately moved from his position as a layer of frost had accumulated in the space he was just moments before.

Coming out of [Stealth], he looked at Irene with increased wariness. He couldn't believe that not only was she able to find his location twice but she could even stop his attacks that was coming from her blind spot.

He couldn't help but re-evaluate the woman whose beauty seemed so ethereal and otherworldly that even he had difficulty moving his gaze away from her. For an [Assassin] it was crucial that they mask their emotions along with their presence so as to not give their target any trace that they are there. If they failed even that, then they are regarded as third class. Ted couldn't believe that there would come a day where even he wouldn't be able to keep his desires in check.

Before he could reorganize himself, he was assaulted by a rain of frost arrows that was incisive enough to even pierce him if he wasn't careful. Dodging all the frost arrows that materialized from thin air and held enough power to even freeze a mountain, Ted repositioned himself far away from Irene.

He had to change his plans and takedown the woman first before he could reach that little girl. Playing with his dagger, he said "I must admit you are quite skilled but don't think that it is enough to defeat me.. I have not used all of my powers yet however, it seems that you are worthy enough for me to go all out".