Slash!
For a split second, no one understood what had happened.
A sharp metallic arc cut through the silence inside the isolation barrier.
I had already moved.
My sword descended toward the weakest of the black-clothed assassins—the sixth-layer warrior.
To the others, it was as though my blade had teleported.
There was no visible acceleration.
No preparatory stance.
Just—
Impact.
The man’s eyes widened in disbelief. For an instant, he felt weightless. His body seemed to float strangely, disconnected from sensation.
He looked down.
His body was no longer there.
A violent spray of blood erupted from the severed neck, painting the cobblestone street crimson.
His head struck the ground with a hollow thud.
Meanwhile, my sword remained perfectly clean.
“…Pretty weak,” I said calmly.
The remaining assassins finally snapped out of their stupor.
“You—!” the leader barked, panic creeping into his voice. “Impossible! That strength is far beyond the fifth layer!”
I smirked and took another step forward.
“Impressive, isn’t it?”
Each step echoed unnaturally loud within the barrier, pressing against their nerves like an invisible hand tightening around their throats.
The leader’s unease deepened.
Wasn’t this supposed to be the so-called “second least talented” prince of the Eldoria Imperium?
Fourth layer? Mediocre potential?
This pressure alone felt like the seventh layer.
Perhaps even the eighth.
And that slash…
Even he, an eighth-layer warrior, was not confident he could have blocked it.
“Are you going to attack,” I asked lazily, resting my sword on my shoulder, “or shall I finish this quickly?”
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The leader gritted his teeth.
There was no retreat now.
“Release your auras!”
Instantly, five surging waves of mana exploded outward.
The pressure was immense. The surrounding buildings cracked under the force. Windows shattered. Dust and debris filled the air.
The coachman, still frozen in terror nearby, was struck by the violent aura clash and sent flying into a wall.
But just as their pressure was about to crush Daphne—
I released mine.
A sharp, crystalline sword intent burst outward.
Unlike their chaotic mana waves, mine was pure and concentrated—like a blade forged from compressed will.
Their auras were pushed back violently.
Daphne remained untouched.
Seeing that hesitation would only doom them, the assassins charged.
Their movements were worthy of their cultivation. In less than a heartbeat, they closed the distance.
“Ha!”
A blade came from my blind spot—silent, precise, deadly.
I shifted one step to the right.
The sword cut through empty air.
Without turning fully, I lifted my left leg and kicked backward.
The assassin barely managed to raise his weapon in defense—
Crack.
The impact sent him flying like a rag doll. He smashed into a wall, stone crumbling beneath him as he vomited blood.
But another strike was already descending.
A sword thrust from an unexpected angle.
I tilted my head slightly. The blade grazed past.
My elbow snapped outward, knocking the weapon aside.
In the same motion, I pivoted around him—
And drove my sword straight through his heart.
His body stiffened before collapsing.
At that exact moment—
A glowing formation ignited beneath my feet.
Mana surged upward.
My body suddenly felt heavier.
Movement slowed.
[Gravity Interference].
A high-tier control spell.
The hidden mage had finally acted.
The leader and the remaining assassin seized the opportunity.
Both poured mana into their swords.
“[Sword Wave]!”
Twin arcs of compressed energy tore toward me, deadly and destructive.
Under normal circumstances, a fourth-layer warrior would have been obliterated.
Unfortunately for them—
I was far from normal.
“Reality Render… Weakened Version.”
My blade fell.
The gravity spell split apart like torn parchment.
The twin sword waves shattered mid-air.
Even the air itself trembled as if reality had been scraped by something it could not comprehend.
Before they could process what had happened—
I disappeared.
“Argh!”
A scream pierced the barrier.
The leader spun around in horror.
My blade had already pierced the mage’s chest.
I looked up at him and smiled faintly.
With a flick of my wrist, I withdrew the blade—
And in the same motion, severed the head of the assassin standing beside him.
Blood sprayed across the cobblestones.
Now—
Only two remained.
The one I had kicked earlier struggled weakly against the wall.
The leader stood frozen.
I walked toward the injured assassin first.
Under his desperate gaze—
I ended him without hesitation.
His head rolled to the side.
Then I turned to the leader.
“Well,” I said lightly, “it’s just the two of us now.”
His composure finally cracked.
Without warning, he lunged—not at me—
But at Daphne.
He intended to take her hostage.
Pathetic.
“Na?ve,” I whispered.
My body blurred.
In less than a blink, I appeared directly in front of Daphne.
The assassin’s blade met only empty space before my sword flashed once more.
His eyes widened.
He did not even see the cut.
In the next instant—
Four streams of blood burst outward.
His arms and legs fell separately to the ground.
“ARRRGHHHH!!”
He collapsed, limbless, writhing in agony.
Hatred and disbelief twisted across his masked face.
I approached slowly.
“So,” I said mildly, “who dared send assassins after a prince of the Eldoria Imperium?”
“You… cough …I’ll never tell you anything!”
I smiled.
“Who said I needed you to speak?”
I placed my palm against his forehead.
His breathing turned erratic.
“W-What are you doing—?!”
Mana surged from my core and invaded his mind.
The effect was immediate.
“Ughh—AARRRRGHHHH!!!”
His scream tore through the isolation barrier.
For the next full minute, the silent street echoed with nothing but the agonizing shrieks of a man whose memories were being forcibly torn open.
And I watched calmly—
As the truth unraveled.
