Surrounding the group of teenagers and their guards were a mass of assassins covered in dark garments and masks. They wielded all sorts of weapons but the most commonly used ones were a pair of daggers or a crossbow, giving clear indications of their profession. There were over 100 of them and they were all in the 4th Realm, or very close to it.

Even though the guards were also in the 4th Realm and even used much more powerful gear, there were only 36 of them left and that number was rapidly dwindling. If nothing changed then they were finished. Talented as the teenagers they were protecting were, their 3rd Realm strength wouldn’t be able to perform anything substantial, and they most certainly could not help.

“Your highness!” yelled out the strongest guard of them all, he was part of the guards covered in the glowing white armour, and was clearly the leader of them all. He fended off the strike of an assassin with his sword (which was also completely white and glowing) and then cut off his head with an expert manoeuvre. “You must use the Grand Displacement Bead and escape! There are too many-”

“But what about the others!” screamed out a girl whose beauty was so divine that it could turn any untrained male looking at her into a dullard.

She had pure white hair that fell down to her waist, bright white eyes that shimmered like mercury, long white lashes that glittered like diamonds and a feminine body so tasteful that it should have been illegal.

She wore a luxurious white dress with intricate silver patterns that somehow remained unblemished despite making it this far into the forest in such as precarious situation, but going off by its bright hue and the potent Magical Energy it was radiating, it was clear that its was an item even more special than the armour of the white guards.

“If they don’t have their own means of escape, then you can only leave alone!” shouted back the head guard as he ducked a dagger slashing at his head, only to be impaled by an arrow in his right shoulder. However, he showed impeccable discipline and didn’t flinch, managing to dispatch the assassin in front of him with 2 short moves before moving onto the next.

“But they’re my friends! I can’t aban-”

“Your highness, please! If you don’t escape then we will all die here, including your friends. If you alone escape, then you can at least aveng- GUH! Huff! Huff!” SWING! “You can at least avenge us later on!”

The head guard had just been impaled by a sly rapier, but using the unrelenting tenacity that had gotten him to this position, he turned around and swung his sword with such ferocity that it split his hidden attacker in half. And then finished his sentence as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, the girl who was called highness was visibly distraught. The Grand Displacement Bead could only work once and only on one person, it wouldn’t be able to bring the other 3 girls along with her.

But she was the princess of the Ifeden Empire who had been raised with special training, and as such, her mind was sharp. She knew that if she decided to stay here, she wouldn’t be able to do anything at all and she would just die along with her friends. But if she escaped, she could inform her imperial father about the situation and seize the opportunity for revenge later on.

Gathering her thoughts, she gave a look of pity to her 3 closest friends, burning their image into her memory and vowing to take revenge.

The other 3 girls returned her look with scared but brave smiles and encouraged her to flee, breaking her heart even further. But with resolution filling her heart, she raised her delicate wrist to her chest and focused on the twinkling silver bracelet wrapped around it as if she were looking at the time. A moment later, a smooth and tiny dark blue ball appeared out of thin air and she quickly caught it with a flick of her hand.

Satisfied, she turned her attention to her guards, and then to the assassins. Although she wasn’t able to gain a proof of identity from their appearance, she was sure that they were from the Syden Empire and she once again vowed to take revenge, but this time in the most ruthless manner.

“Your highness!” the head guard yelled out once more, surrounded by 4 assassins with similar strength to his own.

His time was coming to an end.

Tears pooled in the princesses eyes, filled with grief at the severe losses she was about to sustain, but with furious eyes she began to press down on the small ball in her hand (which was clearly the Grand Displacement Bead), intent on breaking it. However, just as she was about to succeed, a rough and deep voice spoke into her ear.

“Oh no you don’t.”

SWISH!

“Wh-” the Princess started before a blinding pain cut her off and the hand containing the bead detached from her body and fell to the ground with a light thud.

Her hand had been cut off.

She wanted to scream out in pain, but she had been trained better than that and adrenaline was coursing through her veins, yet still, she couldn’t stop the pitiful whimper for leaving her lips.

The pain of losing one's hand wasn’t one that could be easily ignored.

However, the princess showed great perseverance and reached for the Bead with her other hand.

“Do you honestly think-”

The princess heard the same voice and fear almost petrified her limbs, because deep down, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to make it. She was just doing the best that she could so that she didn’t feel remorseful in her afterlife. But then suddenly, the voice of her assassin was cut off, and a large amount of liquid splattered against her back.

The liquid was crimson in colour and its pungent smell quickly began to irritate her nose.