In a small house on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Arcadia, Shivana and Sonari were preparing to leave. The atmosphere inside the house was calm, and faint smiles appeared on their faces as they packed their belongings. Both of them were excited to return to the sanctuary Nico Sigmund had prepared for them—a place known only to the three of them.
As Shivana gathered the last of her belongings, a sudden knock echoed through the house.
At first, she assumed that Nico had returned earlier than expected. She instinctively moved toward the door, intending to open it. However, she stopped abruptly halfway.
Something felt wrong.
Nico never returned this quickly, and whenever he approached the house he always gave a small signal beforehand so they would know it was him.
Tension slowly gripped her heart.
She remained silent for several seconds, staring at the door, unsure whether she should open it or ignore the knock completely.
Finally, she spoke in a cautious voice.
"Who is there?"
A short moment of silence followed.
Then a faint voice answered from outside.
"It's me, my dear..."
Shivana instinctively reached for the door handle.
But the moment she heard those words, her hand froze in midair. A shiver ran down her spine.
She slowly withdrew her hand and whispered to herself.
'Impossible… that is not Nico's voice.'
'And he would never call me "my dear."'
'This must be someone else… perhaps a stranger or even a murderer.'
'I must not open the door.'
'I need to warn Sonari and leave immediately!'
Shivana quickly rushed deeper into the house.
However, the moment she entered the room, her eyes widened in horror.
Sonari was already standing near the back door, holding the handle.
She was about to open it.
"What's wrong, Shivana?" Sonari asked innocently. "Why are you taking so long? Master Nico is waiting outside!"
Shivana tried to shout a warning.
But she was already too late.
The door suddenly exploded inward with tremendous force.
Sonari was thrown violently across the floor.
Three massive men stepped into the house.
Standing between them was a man with an ordinary appearance, yet his face carried a disgusting expression of greed and malice.
Sonari clutched her head, still trying to understand what had happened.
Shivana stood frozen in place, completely overwhelmed by shock and fear.
The man in the middle smiled unpleasantly and spoke.
"I apologize for the rough entrance."
"My name is Vaiken Roglos, leader of this little bandit group."
His eyes moved slowly across Shivana's body in a shameless manner.
"I happened to catch a glimpse of you earlier, my beautiful lady."
"So I decided to come here and spend some quality time with you."
"What do you think?"
Shivana's entire body began trembling.
The man's expression reminded her of only one person.
Jaker the Butcher.
The man who had slaughtered her people and her family during that horrifying massacre.
To her, humans were nothing but monsters like him.
She screamed in rage.
"Stay away from me, you disgusting human!"
Vaiken only smirked wider.
"Relax, my dear."
"I won't hurt you if you entertain me a little."
He leaned closer with a perverted smile.
"I might even spare you and that little dragon."
"I simply want to touch your beautiful skin."
He licked his lips slowly.
"To be honest, I have always had a weakness for the Elven race."
"Their bodies are truly exquisite."
"If you please me enough, I might even keep you for myself instead of selling you as a slave."
Shivana screamed desperately.
"Get out of here, you filthy creature!"
Meanwhile, Sonari struggled to stand.
She tried to transform into her dragon form so she could crush them.
However, one of the large men immediately activated Iron Mana.
Heavy magical chains appeared and wrapped tightly around Sonari's small body, preventing her from moving.
Before she could react further, another man threw a strange liquid over her.
Within seconds, Sonari collapsed and fell into a deep sleep.
Vaiken burst into laughter.
"What a foolish dragon!"
"We prepared for everything."
"This substance came from the Spirit Poison Empire."
"Its effects are extremely powerful, especially against dragons and hybrids."
Vaiken slowly approached Shivana.
She tried to run away.
But he grabbed her hair violently and pulled her back.
Shivana screamed in pain as tears streamed down her face.
Far away, Nico Sigmund was sitting with Akaria inside the headquarters, discussing the consequences of the treaty with Kaizen.
Suddenly, Nico stopped speaking.
He closed his eyes silently.
Akaria frowned in confusion.
"Nico?"
"Are you alright?"
Nico replied calmly.
"Give me a moment of silence, Akaria."
"I need to concentrate."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Several seconds passed.
Then Nico opened his eyes.
A terrifying crimson glow shone within them.
Akaria was stunned by the sight.
But Nico quickly closed his eyes again.
When he reopened them, the glow had disappeared.
"Sorry for the interruption," he said calmly.
"Let's continue."
Akaria hesitated before asking.
"Nico… what just happened?"
"Your eyes were glowing in a very frightening way."
Nico answered calmly.
"It was simply a small instability in my Fire Mana."
"Sometimes the energy fluctuates inside my body."
"I only needed a moment to stabilize it."
Akaria nodded slowly.
"I understand."
"If you feel tired, you should rest."
"I or Zorua can handle things temporarily."
Nico shook his head slightly.
"That would be a good solution."
"But not now."
Back at the house, Vaiken was still gripping Shivana's hair.
He began tearing at her clothes.
Suddenly—
A terrifying silence filled the surroundings.
Shivana stopped screaming.
Vaiken suddenly released her hair.
Confused, she slowly raised her head.
A gigantic hand had pierced through Vaiken's chest from behind.
He stood there motionless.
Dead.
Without warning, the massive hand dragged Vaiken and his companions downward into the ground.
Their desperate screams echoed for more than a minute.
Then complete silence returned.
Shivana was trembling violently.
But she slowly gathered her courage.
She stepped outside the house to investigate.
What she saw made her freeze.
Fragments of flesh.
Scattered organs.
Vaiken's severed head lay nearby, his face frozen in an expression of absolute terror.
Before she could even react, another hand suddenly burst from the ground.
It grabbed the head and dragged it beneath the earth.
Everything vanished.
At that moment, Shivana remembered something important.
Before leaving earlier, Nico had briefly placed his hand on the ground.
Now she finally understood.
He had placed a Hidden Guardian beneath the house.
A creature waiting silently to protect them from intruders.
Tears filled her eyes.
"I can't believe you prepared all of this for our protection, Master Nico…"
"We truly owe you our lives."
Shivana quickly ran back inside.
She lifted the unconscious Sonari into her arms.
Then she stepped outside and released a soft melodic whistle.
Moments later, a giant bird descended from the sky.
Shivana climbed onto its back while carrying Sonari.
The creature immediately took flight and disappeared into the distance.
Meanwhile, Nico and Akaria were reading the reports coming from the Elven Kingdom.
Akaria's face was filled with rage and shock.
Nico held his face in frustration.
"Damn it..."
"I misjudged the situation."
"We should have gone directly to the Elven Kingdom instead of returning here."
"That cursed Kaizen!" Akaria shouted angrily.
"I can't believe he wiped out the Silver Axe Trio!"
"We must head there immediately!"
Nico grabbed her arm firmly.
"Calm down, Akaria."
"One wrong move now could lead to our total destruction."
"If you read the report carefully, you will understand something."
"The attack was initiated by Alfred and his team."
"Technically, they broke the treaty first."
Akaria froze.
"In other words… this situation is partly our responsibility."
"We should have informed them that we had surrendered the kingdom."
"We should have made it clear that the territory was no longer under our control."
Akaria collapsed into tears.
"I'm sorry, Alfred…"
"This happened because of me."
"I failed."
"We didn't just lose."
"We retreated."
"But I promise you…"
"I will avenge you."
Inside the throne room of the Elven Kingdom, where the blood of King Ronard still stained the floor, Ruler Kaizen stood silently.
Behind him, Commander Ruta bowed respectfully.
Kaizen spoke calmly.
"Ruta."
"You failed to defeat those humans."
"Your strength was far superior."
"Yet you still lost."
He turned slightly.
"This will be your final opportunity."
"The next failure will mean death."
Ruta bowed deeply.
"Yes, Great Ruler."
"I fully understand my mistake."
"I promise it will never happen again."
"Thank you for restoring my life."
"My life belongs to you until my final breath."
Kaizen replied coldly.
"Your words have no value."
"Only your results matter."
"You may leave."
Before departing, Ruta asked.
"My Lord… I did not see the two elven girls."
"Did they escape?"
Kaizen replied calmly.
"No."
"I moved them here before your battle began."
"I observed the entire fight."
"You were superior."
"But you lost concentration."
"That new technique overwhelmed you."
He paused briefly.
"I will investigate that mana later."
"For now, I have more important matters to handle."
He looked back once more.
"You are now the Governor of the Elven Kingdom."
"Manage its affairs until I return."
"There is also the Queen and her daughter."
"Treat them well."
"They are important to my plans."
Ruta was stunned by the decision.
But pride quickly filled her heart.
"Of course, Great Ruler!"
"I will not disappoint you."
Kaizen vanished instantly.
Ruta looked at the throne.
A smile slowly appeared on her face.
"This is truly incredible..."
"You are a miracle in my life, Master."
"I was once just a defeated adventurer."
"You stripped me of everything."
"Then you resurrected me…"
"As an Emperor Rank."
"And now you have placed me in charge of the most ancient kingdom in this world."
She stepped closer to the throne.
"Soon nothing will stand in your way."
"You are truly unmatched."
She whispered quietly.
"Now…"
"It is time to reopen the Elven Kingdom."
"Let the game of control begin."
[End of Chapter 47]