Aisha POV

Hey... Is this some sort of joke? I rushed all the way over here to see some white hair bitch trying to RAPE Esta. Just seeing it pissed me off.

Greatly.

It's not Esta's fault. I mean, I wouldn't be able to resist the urge to attack her as well, in a sexually way, but it would be best if the master is dead. Or if she did not have one.

Using my thoughts and emotions to fuel my anger, I glared at the vampire. The sheer fact that her eyes are shining a bit too brightly gave it away. Along with those sharp fangs. Telling Esta to get the hell away from here, I hope that she doesn't bump into any other forms of trouble. This vampire though...

Why am I bumping into a bunch of beautiful women? Not like I have anything against it, but everyone is radiating with a beauty that certainly goes beyond my own. Actually, I question if I can even compete with some of these women. Her white hair is tied in a ponytail, wrapped in a cute black and red bow. With a bell-like skirt, it covers her lower body. Her upper body is adorned in a tight red top with a black corset. I can see her pale shoulders sticking out as the main part of her top was still connected to her sleeves. At the end of her sleeves and skirt, red frills stick out. Black gloves covers her hands as her neck is swallowed by the top with a red weblike choker. Glancing at her figure, she, in turn, did the same to me. Her head moved up and down, absorbing every detail.

"Interesting... You have some sort of charm on you? I would say that you aren't that grand, but you aren't that bland."

"You just rhymed. Please don't tell me you're going to bore me with rhymes? You a poet?"

"Hardly." The vampire rolled her eyes, "But should I? Just to toy with you... Thinking about it, your slave is running away from this spot right? Maybe I should have stopped her from running because I'm stuck with you now. Although..."

"What? I don't meet your criteria?" I joked.

"No, you might fit the bill. Well, even if you aren't, you won't be able to stop me. You see, seeing such a cute elf, let alone a virgin who didn't seem bothered by my advances, did leave me in a sexually frustrated state, soooooooooooooooooooo I might have to shift my frustrations onto you now." The moment she said that, I immediately cast a shield in front of me. Not a moment too soon or too late. Thinking that I let my guard down, she tossed a weak spell at me. I think it was a disarming spell. Her playful attitude shifted drastically. Her eyes narrowed on me, trying to see through something. Waiting for a second to past, she flings three more spells in quick succession. I did nothing since those spells did not diffuse the magical shield I have casted. "I see."

Not ushering out any words, two circles appear beside her. These are definitely attack spells. They fired a bunch of ice shards at my position. Not wanting to reveal my abilities just yet, I let those shards fly towards me. The magical shield I had in front of me got destroyed, but the moment the ice shards were going to touch my body, I released a small amount of chi from within. The ice shards were destroyed the moment my chi dispersed a small field around my body. She teleports in front of me, planning to flick her hand right at my forehead. I tilt my head at the last second, swinging my axe right at her neck. She evades it by teleporting away. Watching me, assessing, formulating, I can see that this vampire was trying to piece everything together. To my surprise, I was surprised she did not ask me, "How is this possible?" or "How are you doing this?" She understands that I am not using [Hidden Rank]. From her expression, she's testing my firepower. She used two spells that would be impossible for a rank three warrior to counter. Not only that, I was able to predict her movements. She knows that I am lying about my rank, yet she does not know how dangerous I am. By tossing those simple attacks, well in her perspective (they're nothing compared to her real strength), she is trying to lure me into showing my strength. She swings her arm, unleashing an energy wave at me. Powering a bit of chi into my axe, I hacked through it, evading a sudden spike coming out from beneath me, and another energy slash. Followed by those attacks, she unleashed another volley of ice shards. I mustered up my chi around my body, withstanding the attacks until I noticed a hidden move. I hacked three sharper and faster shards that would have pierced through my [Chi Armor]. If I did not have any magical knowledge and training, her [Piercing Ice Bullet] would hit me. There was silence for a good minute. She breaks it, laughing and smiling evilly.

"You are not a rank three. Physically, through the eyes of society, you are a rank three, but you have strength that surpass the- No, I should stop thinking. It would ruin my fun. I want you to surprise me, human. Surely, you can entertain this Gate Guardian for a while. You better..." The moment she says that, red flames consumes her body for a moment. Replacing her gown, a dark red suit of armor covers her body. Her hair was not in a ponytail. It was loose, flowing down her back. From neck to toe, her body was in a blood red slim plated armor. This armor has spikes at her elbow joints, shoulders, and some short ones on top of her knees. Before I could take in her new outfit, she was already before me. I block her sharp gauntlet hands as they try to stab me. She was using a mixture of teleportation and flash steps. It would have been impossible for me to even predict her flash steps if I was a rank below a demigod. As I evaded her arm though, she quietly whispered, "Come forth, Blood Moon."

My [Animal Instincts] told me to pull away. Immediately. Listening to it, I flash step away from the vampire, putting some feet between us. Out of nowhere, a scythe has manifested into her right hand. The weapon resonates with a red shine to it, emitting a deadly aura. Looking at it, one would have a hard time telling if it was made out of some alloy or if it was actual blood. I swear, the weapon moves on its own accord. The weapon in question has the same basic design of a scythe, but I have a feeling that it can do a lot more than a normal one. My body was screaming at me to get away. Unable to figure it out, Charlotte seems impressed. No, she seems delighted. Giving me a nasty, wicked smile, she disappeared. Feeling her presence right above me, I swing my axe... to hit nothing. Confused at this, I quickly realized my mistake. Jumping away from my spot, her blade stabbed at the ground.

"Shit." I cursed at this sudden development. Her weapon can manipulate itself to do a lot of things. The vampire was high above the air. She was nowhere near me when I tracked her. Her weapon, this Blood Moon, on the other hand, extended its blade as if it was like a whip. Blood Moon can shift its form to cover the distance between us. No, the weapon can morph itself into whatever it needs to do. Processing this new influx of information, the vampire swings the scythe around her body. She is still delighted at my survival, but she sounds awfully... impressed.

"So you know how to read my presence and use that to your advantage, you can adapt quickly to the sudden changes, and you can somehow evade my small surprises. I have to say, you are a huge outlier for most outliers." I would have accepted her praise if I understood what she meant. Noticing my confusion, she elaborates, "You see, most people who are able to use their powers to the fullest and lie about their ranks are either geniuses, heroes, or overlords. Maybe a divine being as well. And I know you are none of these. I have my sources. Most outliers who are not overlords, heroes, or geniuses cannot stray to far from their lying rank. For example, as a rank three warrior, the being cannot go beyond the rank of a demigod. There is a huge difference between a numbered rank and a demigod. It is impossible for any mortal to do this. I have fought many outliers and noticed this pattern."

"Ah, I see."

"You're not impressed at my deduction skills?"

"It's not like I'm not impressed or anything, but by being a Gate Guardian, you obviously have to fight a lot of challengers. And by being a Gate Guardian, you must have a lot of renowned before you obtained such a position. So with such a vast amount of experience, I would not question your statements. I mean, I barely have a lot of experience under my belt." I muttered this next part to myself, "Except most of my lessons got me pummeled to the ground. Literally."

"Then answer me this, why would you challenge me if you knew this? Surely, you noticed the huge gap between us, even if you haven't revealed much of your true strength yet." I looked at the vampire who was slightly confused at my choice to fight her.

"Well, it's simple. You touched my girl. Almost raped her, too. And I cannot forgive such actions." Looking at me in disbelief, she shakes her head and sighs.

"Really?"

"Really."

"You know, I am looking forward to raping you a bit more now. I thought you were some idiot, but I guess I misjudged you." I let out a scoff, rolling my eyes at her.

"I will resist you. And if I am right, you can't really leave your area, right?"

"Yeah. I can't leave my zone unless I get permission. What about it?"

"You know, I can just leave the area if I want to. You can't stop me if I do." The vampire, feeling threatened, glares at me.

"...You better not. I'll find you and harass you. Better yet..." Without any warning, she was right before me. Her eyes, glowing a bit more brightly, looks down on me as she whispers, "[Anti-Teleportation Field]." The name of that ability gave itself away. I did not know there was such a thing. As she ushers this, I swing my axe at her, but the blade of her scythe quickly stops my attack. Blood Moon just extended its blade around Charlotte's body to stop my strike. After it stops me in my track, the blade whacks me away from Charlotte. Channeling my chi to the front, I prevented a serious cut from the neck down to my belly. Despite the protection though, I felt the powerful impact against my shield. Watching the weapon return to its normal shape, I understood the nature of this weapon. It was a dead give away that the weapon was a Soul Eater due to its flexibility and the materials used to make it. The problem was what type of Soul Eater this is. Soul Eaters, like dungeons, vary from each other. The dangerous and powerful types of Soul Eaters are the ones that can speak. Ones that are aware and can form contracts. I have read about them in many books, but I never thought I would see one. Let alone test its powers. I frown at the huge disadvantage that I have against this Gate Guardian. No, I would not do any significant damage to this being. That was a given. The moment she drew out her weapon, I have lost. No, even if she hasn't used a weapon, she could easily defeat me with or without it. She is stalling, enjoying her time with me to erase her boredom.

Doesn't mean that I wouldn't make her sweat a bit or change her line of thoughts about how dangerous I really am.

Without no hesitation, I charge at the vampire. My [Animal Instincts] are confusing me slightly, telling me to flee, but I pushed them aside for now. Amused and astonished at my charge, she stays put. Her scythe, acting on its own accord, lashed out at me with its blade. Hurling my axe at her, the scythe's blade shifted its directions for a few seconds to deflect the thrown weapon. Being right in front of the vampire, I was going to knee her in the stomach. I doubt that my attack will reach her, but this was a feint. The Blood Moon's blade zoomed in on my back, approaching me the moment I tried to knee Charlotte. Summoning a shield and sword from my storage ring, I halt the scythe as I swing my blade at Charlotte's neck. The vampire stops me before my attack touched her. With her free hand, she grips the blade with her armored hand. Correction, she crushed the sword before it touched her neck. The flexible Moon Scythe snaked around my shield, trying to stab me. Abandoning my broken sword, I summon out another shield and trapped the blade between my shield. I tried to force the blade to stay still, but I can feel it struggle between my shields. It took a lot of my concentration and strength to hold it between them. Being right next to Charlotte, I was dangerously close to an attack from her. I can feel her movements. Shifting my shield towards her direction, I whacked the Blood Moon's blade away from me once I let it free. Feeling like some rhino ram into me, she kicks me away from her. Feeling the strain in my left arm, I try to shake it off. With some breathing space, I inspected my shields. As I suspected, these shields will not last against that scythe. I can see a huge tear through the middle of the shield and the side. Heck, the shield I used to defend against Charlotte's kick also has a dent. A big one.

"Is a Gate Guardian a higher rank than a divine being?" I muttered this to myself. Remembering my fights with Shadow and Valarie, they didn't hit this hard... right? No. I think they did. When I was fighting against Valarie, I ignored most of the pain. And against Shadow, I was unable to notice the difference. Taking note of this, I guess this is a good thing that I can assess the situation a bit better compared to those previous encounters. Still, my question remains. Hearing my whisper, Charlotte answers me.

"Not really. A Gate Guardian is not a special rank. It is a title bestowed upon someone who defends these links between the different dimensions. I just happen to be very special. If I told you my actual title, that may raise a couple alarms, so I won't tell you. It would make you run away from me, and I can't have that now." Charlotte spins her scythe around her body. She suddenly frowned and looked at her scythe. "Still, trapping my weapon between two shields? Slightly impressive. Surprised you came to me. Most people would avoid me once they grasped the situation. I bet you know that my weapon has its own intelligence now. Not wanting this to end to soon, let me give you a handicap. My weapon will stop sneaking past your defenses and strikes. That should give you some leeway." I dump my shields onto the ground, assessing my battle plans. Quickly. I only have a couple weapons I picked up from the previous battlefield. Two big shields, eight swords, four smaller shields, and four axes. I know that the axes could withstand the scythe for a while. An indication to this is the axe I tossed at Charlotte. Stuck in the ground towards my right, it is still intact. The swords and shields will deteriorate over time if they meet her scythe. Charlotte's raw strength can also shatter my weapons or render them useless if they take too much damage. What happens if I empower my weapons? Will they last longer?

"You're not coming?" She slowly gets in a lowered stance. Looking like a tiger ready to pounce at her meal, "Then I will." The moment she said that, she was already before me. I would have been prepared if she teleported. I would have drawn out my axes, braced myself, did anything, but there was one slight problem.

She didn't teleport. She appeared before me with her own speed. Knowing that I will die if I don't do anything, I immediately unleash a [Chi Eruption], summoning out two axes. It did not blow her away, yet I had enough room to breathe. I empowered my axes, swinging at her. She shifts her body to the side, swinging upwards with her scythe. I deflected it with a cost. I was pushed back, using a fair amount of strength to move her strike from its intended path. She steps forward, swinging her scythe in a horizontal strike. Raising my left axe, I stopped her momentum. I felt a stinging pain from my back and my right side. Making my chi armor around me, Charlotte tosses me through the air and into the sky. I realized that her true intent was to hook me with the scythe than to cut me in two. Two magical circles appear beside the vampire. Red sharp projectiles zoomed in on me.

"[Blood Shards]." This is troublesome. The magical move in question does use a fair bit of health from the user, but it has a nasty effect. The projectiles can act like leeches. Well, they are leeches in a way, since they want to suck the blood off of their opponents. Once these projectiles hit something, and if it is a living being, they will try to worm their way to their prey. Granted that they are only given a few seconds of life, if they successfully enter one's body, it could be life or death. This wouldn't be an issue if I could teleport. Problem is, Charlotte's anti-teleport field is still in effect. I am guessing that the ability works in both ways. She can't teleport either. [Chi Eruption] cannot repel the incoming projectiles. Compared to most magic, blood magic differs from the norm. There are only a couple moves which could save me. Taking some safety precaution, I emit a small yellow glow around me. Next, I aim my hand in front of me.

"[Purge]." I have no clue if this move can nullify a spell from blood magic, but I hope it does. A beam of light shoots out my hand, engulfing the incoming projectiles. They disappeared from within the ray. Landing on the ground, Charlotte was right beside me. Moving my axes, I stopped her scythe from cutting me into bits. Sadly, her plans were like her previous attack. Her purpose was not to slice, it was to toss me. With her bare strength, and hooking me, she flings me from my spot to the other end of the field. Unable to stop her, I had to obey. Rolling against the ground, I got back up, sliding against the ground. Trying to stop my momentum, she appears near me again.

"[Self Haste], [Self Boost], [Thousand Cuts]!" Increasing my speed and most of my stats, I barely evade Charlotte's scythe. Swinging at a stupid rate, she evaded, deflected, or parried with her free hand. Aimed at her chest, she dodges. Cut her head, she punched my axe away. Stab at her leg, whacked aside with the back of her hand. She tries to grab me, but I slapped her hand away. Wasn't easy since there's a huge strength difference. Swinging her scythe, I jumped above her, swinging my axe at her head again. She grabs it, planning to bring me back down. Still up in the air, I decided to abandon that axe. With her free hand gripping onto my previous axe, I pulled out another axe from my storage space to stab at her back. Sadly, my attempts to get a hit on her was deflected by a sudden burst of mana erupting from the ground. Backing away, I evade her axe throw, blocking her tackle. Using the end of her scythe, she jabs at me, forcing me back as she waits for an opportunity to swing her weapon around. The end of her scythe had no sharp feature to it, but I knew better. If she gets one hit on me, I might be stunned for a few seconds, allowing her to strike. Toying around wiht me, she finally swings her scythe in a manner I was not prepared for. Running at me, she jumps and spins herself four to five times. Each time her scythe hits my guard, I was being pushed back. The first strike was nothing, standing my ground, but then the next one made me inch away from her. The third one forced me further, the fourth strike shaking my very arms, and the fifth one pried through my defense. Unable to guard myself, Charlotte was on me, sliding a hand down my-

"Ugh!" She bit me! She actually used this change to drink my blood! My face turned red, but my mind wanted some sort of retaliation. Preoccupied with her taste on my neck, I decided to give her ear a nibble. I would have bite her neck if it wasn't covered in armor. By doing this, Charlotte lets out a very cute moan, feeling a sudden grab at my ass. Deciding enough was enough, I unleash a stronger blast of [Chi Eruption], cursing at the sharp fangs that tore across my neck. "Ouch." Licking her lips, Charlotte seems... surprised.

"Hmmm, I didn't know you were that special. Say, you want to stop and go at it?" Agitated by her nonchalant attitude, I slowly heal the mess on my neck.

"What did you gain from that one bite? I thought you didn't want to ruin our fun? Damn liar."

"I honestly didn't want to hurt you that much. Did you think I would do that? I was not going to kill you." My body lost its tension and desire to fight for its life. I blinked, processing her words. No, that can't be true? Noticing my expression, she points and laugh. Clearly amused by my earlier mindset, she grabs at her gut while laughing. Blushing harder at such mockery, I tried to hack her down, but she just sweeps me and gets ontop of me. Feeling a bit of pain from that, she held my wrists above my head, looking down on me with such an amused, goofy smile.

"D-Don't you dare look at me!"

"I like it when your all mad." Charlotte says, using one hand to boop my nose. "You clearly did not know or do not remember a Gate Guardian's role. They do not kill unless they failed their test. My test is this: Anyone who can last a minute against me will not die. If the fight were to continue after a minute, it will be up to my discretion to say if they truly pass or failed. You, standing your ground against me, survived the one minute. After that, it was just me fooling around with you. Gate Guardians are not murderers-"

"Then why did you send a goddamn army against my sister?!"

"Like I stated, boredom. And I did want some cute girls to play with- If you're still made about that, why don't we just make up right now." She strokes my cheeks, making me squirm underneath her touch.

"You really are missed up. Reminds me of Valarie..."

"How did you acquire that curse?" Charlotte's expression changed into a grim one. It was like her playful attitude was just a joke. "I would understand if Valarie targeted her opponents, that's all fine and dandy. I've done horrible and terrible things in my defense... Well, honestly, Valarie is just a lustful being due ot her own curses... But doing it to you, there's something else going on. Wouldn't you say, Aisha Graham." Baffled at my name, the vampire continues. "Your elf friend hinted at your name when you rescued you, and told me of your sister, but Nero also told me about your... certain position."

Hearing his name, I asked her, "Where is he? Is he fine? And how do you know him?"

"My, my, aren't you talkative when you want to know about a particular subject. Then again, I know about the Black Knights. And I know that you're the next Imperator. But before I give that away, answer my question, dearie." I bit my lower lip, debating about giving away very important information. Seeing my hesitation, Charlotte decides to loosen my lips a bit more with something.

"Do you know who I am?" I blinked at her.

"A Gate Guardian?"

"Does the title Crimson Overlord not ring any bells?" My mind immediately went back to the one book that talked about a young vampire who slaughtered her entire family. The details about this grand massacre did not describe why it was done, speculations being made from the author and several other renowned beings, but she did remember the young vampire's name in the books. Charlotte Luna Bloodthorn, the Crimson Overlord-

"AH!" I connected the dots, somewhat paling at the actual vampire I read from the books. Charlotte blinked at my expression, laughing a bit. It was not a happy laugh, it was a sad laugh that made the vampire more vulnerable. She shakes her head.

"The same reaction when they finally realized who I am. Makes me sad, really. I thought you knew who I was, but during our fight, it seems like my guess was spot on. You didn't. Yes, I am Charlotte Lunar Bloodthorn, the last of my family and the Crimson Overlord." A decent chunk of new questions bombarded my mind, unable to coup with the many powerful figures coming to me. Or the many powerful figures I am fighting against. Or both. Yeah, both...

"I-I... Uh. Didn't-" I said something really weird that surprised the both of us, "Even if you're Charlotte, Esta is mine. You'll have to fight me for it." You know, there are times when you say something because you couldn't think of anything. And sometimes the things you say are so random and stupid, you wished you didn't say that. Yeah, that this moment right here.

"Well, since you made me sexually frustrated, why don't you take responsibility for it?"

"E-excuse me!?"

"You and me, do it right now." Charlotte leans down and kissed me- Breaking away, not really disliking it, I shook my head.

"H-Hold on! I-I- Information first. A-And some more fighting." I was a bit puzzled about my last statement, but I think it would be better to show Charlotte why Valarie cursed me. Raising an eyebrow, Charlotte decided to roll with it.

"Information on your knights? Alright, answer my question."

"It's better that I show you. I promise that you will see why Valarie had to curse me. Trust me."

"Alright." A bit amazed at how Charlotte just took my word for it, she goes on, "Your knights came by a few days ago or something. They stumbled into my area and I fought against them. I knew most of the knights from back then due to an incident, but I wanted to have a good spar with them. During our fight, they told me of their new leader and how they plan to revive the Black Knights. They told me about you, and said that I am to help you in whatever way I can."

"If you knew me, why would you send an army against my sister?"

"Boredom. And I didn't think you were close to her. From what Nero told me, you didn't like them as much. And to be perfectly honest, I sent a small group to try and capture some girls. Not fight. That was never in my instructions. I never purposely sent my army to engage her army, my demonic horde were provoked and challenged. Some giant army made them move."

"The Imperials..." I muttered, realizing why Louise was in her dangerous predicament. "Did they tell you what they were doing?"

"Nero and Zen, I think, were going to check out the old headquarters for the Black Knights. Titan went off to do some diplomacy with several witch tribes that used to be their allies. Apparently, he will be awaiting you at the Pillars of Gluttony... You really plan to do that? Are you level? Don't get me wrong, you do have a considerate amount of strength and power, but you might die due to other reasons."

"I still haven't shown you my full powers yet. I was holding back, you know." Charlotte looks at me once more. Getting off of me, she teleports away from my spot.

"Then show me what you got. I will be activating my [Anti-Teleportation Field]."

"No, keep that on. You'll want it on!" I yelled back. Getting back up, I stretched my body. Jumping in place, I test out my arms and legs.

"Alright then. The moment we start, I will be using a good fraction of my power. So you better show me what you have been hiding, Aisha."

"I can only fight for a few minutes in this mode, so don't expect much!" I checked my mana and chi. I had a fair amount of both energies in me, giving me at least a good minute or more. It would not last for three minutes or more. My chi will be my backup energy since my chaos magic does better with my mana. Problem is, my mana isn't all too high. I am a bit curious to why it's not that high, but I just let out a sigh. Waiting for me, Charlotte waits for me.

"[Summon Chaos Armor]." The moment I said that, my body is consumed in purple flames. My body dawns on its own unique armor, oozing out a dark aura around it. The moment Charlotte realize what I have, I was already before her. I tackled her, forcing the girl off the ground as I grabbed her face and slammed her straight into the ground. Upon impact, a small crater formed, hearing a subtle gasp from the vampire. As I lift my hand off of her, she pulls me in, ramming her elbow into my chest. She hooks me with her scythe, swinging me against the ground and across the field. She was right above me once she tossed me halfway through the field, landing right on me back. Being crushed to the ground, I unleashed [Chaos Eruption], forcing the vampire off of me. I turn around, pointing a finger at her to unleash a beam of energy right at her. Rotating her scythe, she stops my blast, but I emerge through the end of my attack to punch the vampire right in her gut. With a powerful force behind my punch, I sent her flying across the field.

Unable to teleport, I pursued her figure. Rolling back onto her feet, she slams the ground having multiple energy spikes come at me. I develope a small energy ball in both of my hands, slamming them into the ground. Her spikes were destroyed before they could touch me. Charlotte was already behind me with her scythe at the ready. Before she could touch me with her weapon, I tossed a small shield at her, making her dodge that attack. She does not dodge, twisting her body in an arch as her scythe plans to touch my right side. Pulling out a big shield, it blocks the attack as I called for one of the axes I left on the ground. With a small stream of mana, it wraps around the handle of my axe, flying into my hands. Charlotte and I exchange many blows, ramming shield and axe against her scythe. The vampire did not use her bare hand to stop my swings or stabs, using her scythe to intercept them. Planning carefully, when she did a horizontal swing, I pushed her attack back, leaving her defenseless. I swing my axe at her, finding the vampire grab at it. She hiss a bit, pulling me in so she can knee me in the stomach. Not fazed by it as much, I gave her a headbutt, sending her back. Forced back, her scythe took the chance to stab into my right shoulder, piercing through my armor. I felt the pain, backing away from the vampire as she pulls her weapon out of me. Charlotte flies away from me, tossing a magical javelin at me. No, it was a [Blood Javelin].

Seeing the high tier magic, I stored my weapons back into my ring. I quickly conjured up two [Chaos Javelin], tossing one at the [Blood Javelin] while the other became my primary weapon. The two javelins collided in the air, sending a huge blast through the deserted, open field. The remains and dust flew from the magical collision as I was right in front of Charlotte. Noticing the magical javelin, she meets it with her left hand. She had a coating around her left hand, trying to suppress the powerful spell. It didn't go out well, sending the vampire across the field. I took a bit of damage, but my armor absorbed most of it. I noticed a huge tear across my front though, coughing out blood. The huge tear left a burning sensation that scrambled my brains. Before I can follow up, I noticed my depleted mana. I could continue our fight, but that would eat up my chi. And if I used it all, I might end up in a coma or knocked out state for...

Deactivating my chaos armor, I stood there in my previous attire. Slightly. Blood leaked out of my chest as well as my right shoulder. Falling onto a knee, I cursed at the pain.

"A-Aisha!" Turning to the familiar voice, Esta starts to heal me. She has tears in her eyes as she looked at my critical state. It wasn't too bad...

"Goddamn. Maybe I should have been a bit more serious." Charlotte was before me with blood running down her right side of her face and a naked right arm. "So that was your ace in the hole. Chaos magic."

"This was why I wasn't worried as much." Gallant appears on the scene, swinging his blades around. Charlotte turned to him, surprised to see him here.

"G-Gallant?!"

"Yo. How have you been bloodsucker?"

"Don't call me that. What are you doing here?"

"Yeah. What ARE you doing here? Is Caesar and Louise safe?" I jumped into the conversation. Not like I don't want to see him, I did give him an order though. Knowing him though, he did his job and came to help me as soon as possible.

"Caesar is dead. He was killed by a sniper. Golem is escorting Louise back to Zezrious." Gallant replied. I frowned at the news. A sniper? Caesar had no choice against such weaponry. I never knew him as much, but I hope he is in a better place now. Still, Charlotte was still looking at him in disbelief. Why is that? The black knight noticed my interest in their relationship. "It's a long story."

"And didn't I tell you not to come back here Esta?" I gazed at my elven companion, hearing a subtle yelp escape her lips. Shyly, she looks away, playing with her fingers.

"Y-You see... Some voice was telling me to stay put at the edge of the forest. It said that it'll signal me to come back when you need my healing..." There could be a few culprits who could talk- No, there's only one person who can talk to my elf like that. Has five letters, starts with a C ends with a S. Sighing though, I hug Esta and rub her head, getting a squeal out of her.

"What the hell happened to you?" Gallant eyed at Charlotte's wounds, "Don't tell me our princess fucked you up. She shouldn't have fucked you up that badly."

"Shut it. I didn't think you would bring someone with chaos magic, you idiot. And apparently, your princess can enter into a chaos mode that can exert a lot more firepower than usual. If I took her a bit serious and allowed Blood Moon to defend me, I wouldn't be in this sorry state." Hearing this, Gallant shook in place. Correction, he jumped at the news.

"Wait. Really? Aisha, you can DO that!?" I gawked at my knight.

"W-What... Is it a big deal?"

"...Gallant, you are her teacher, right? I should smack you for not giving this girl a proper education-"

"How the bloody hell do I know? I only READ about that! I didn't know she could do that-"

"I tried to tell you earlier when I woke up. When I said I was experimenting, I was referring to that." I explained. Gallant cursed at himself, muttering a few things under his breathe. Charlotte lets out a sigh, shaking her head. She also muttered a few things. Most of it was mocking and teasing Gallant, which again, raised a few questions about their relationship. Letting out a defeated sigh, Gallant says, "You should head back to Zezrious and call it a day. The sun is already setting, and we will explain the importance of all this at some other time. You have done enough for today." While we were talking, Esta recovered most of my wounds. I had to use some of my abilities to take care of the serious ones, but it was no problem at all.

"Yeah, I guess so." Agreeing with my knight, I looked at Charlotte, "Thanks. And sorry."

"No, thank you. Had a wonderful day today! Wasn't so boring- You do owe me though. Come to me on your free time to do some more training or that other thing." Winking at me, I just blushed and left them alone with Esta right beside me.

Walking on our way back to Zezrious, I felt a disturbing thing around us. At first, I thought it would pass us by, but then these Imperial fools did something stupid. A really dumb move. I guess there were a few survivors within the vicinity. A good twenty thousand or more soldiers surrounded Esta and I. They did not reveal themselves until a cavalry group moved in front of us.

"You are surrounded Aisha Graham! Halt or you will be terminated!" The soldiers got into position, surrounding us. This is a bit of an overkill, but I can easily turn that to my favor. It would be an overkill for me since I can easily take them all down. Despite my low mana, my [God's Realm] can easily suppress them while I hack down their numbers. But let's be nice, see what they want. Esta, standing right beside me, doesn't seem all that scared though. She looks at our enemy, showing indifference. Her hands still grips my right arm, staying by my side. Thinking about it, Esta bumped into more scarier things than a bunch of soldiers. She met Charlotte the Crimson Overlord and Shadow the Malik. The latter is a bit more scarier than Charlotte, but she has seen true terror compared to...this.

Maybe I can show off a bit and she'll praise me for it.

"You! You are the cause of everything that has gone with the Imperial faction! We were doing fine until your family brought damnation to us all!" An old man rides up with an open helmet, glaring at me with a fierce expression. "We will make sure to give that witch a painful lesson." Witch?

"My mom?"

"Yes, that witch started it all! If you surrender quietly, we'll kill you quickly!" Unamused by this, Aisha was going to say something until a new voice replied to the old man.

"Zadick, really? You thought I didn't understand your sneaky operations? You have created a huge mess on my land, and now, you forced my hand. Shame, really." The voice sounded like it was right beside-

Out of nowhere, a lot of figures appeared beside Esta and I, ontop of the tall trees, and areas around the Imperial army. The soldiers were a bit baffled by this, turning towards the new invaders. Staring at them, I recognized them immediately. Even the Imperial soldiers did as well.

"W-What are Zezrious soldiers doing out here?"

"You insult me old man. I always have soldiers on my OWN land." The speaker was a few feet away from us. He has a dark colored trench coat bearing a lot of chains running through the front, neck region, and arms. He was not wearing it properly, letting it act like a cape. Underneath it, he wore a fancy dark military uniform that most of the Zezrious officers wear, but it was a custom made one. It was hard to tell why it was so different because of his trench coat. He wears a dark vampire hunter looking hat over his messy black hair. His hair stops around his neck, seeing dark bandages cover up most of his face. Due to his hat, bandages, and hair, I could not see his exact facial features. The only thing I can see is his thin, smiling mouth. It sent a chill up my spin, telling me to be weary.

I-Is that Abdul? What is he doing here?!

He saw my gaze, waving at me.

"Yo, you alright? Heard a bit of things happened with-"

"Why the bloody hell are you here?! Are you stalking me?!" Ignoring our enemies, I glared at the man. Offended, he raised his hands up.

"N-N-No! I am not a creeper-"

"He is." A girl muttered, getting my attention. Am I seeing something I shouldn't be? Something weird is going on. Most of Zezrious soldiers would not be so damn... shiny. I mean, the armor that they wear can have a shine to them in the sunlight, but these soldiers have armor that I cannot even comprehend. It was like the armor was created from a different time. A time beyond our current technology. The armor varies person to person. Some of the soldiers have big bulky ones that raised a few questions while others have slim ones. For the bulky armor, tt had a bit of similarities with some of the big soldiers from Zezrious, but the biggest difference with them are the strange glowing tubes in their armor. It has a light blue glow to it, representing the color of pure mana. It runs through the arms, the legs, the back, they just seem different from the regular soldiers of Zezrious. Even their weapons look different from the normal ones. Actually, out of everyone here, the male lead speaker and Abdul are normal looking. Well, Abdul has a strange getup, but it did not feel out of place as much.

And they just came out of nowhere. I could not sense them. Staring at them right now, they all had low ranks, but they are scaring the hell out of the Imperial soldiers right now. If I fought against these unknown soldiers, I would be trying to escape.

"Heh, you two always banter like this?" the bandaged leader said. Abdul says nothing, ignoring the man.

"I will most likely be rude here, and ignorant, but who are you?" I direct my gaze back to the man with the vampire hat.

"Ah, Abdul never mentioned me? And I sent you to fetch her."

"No, I told her that I'll take her to the armory. You, on the other hand, was going to accidentally bump into when she visited, my lord."

"Me? I wouldn't do such a thing. I'm King Len."

.........what?