A few hours ago...

"We have one objective: extract information for the others. As planned: invade the Citadel and survey the surroundings."

Leomaris’s expression darkened.

"I assume Fred and Brad have left the faction."

Hazel shrugged. "It’s nothing. Since our job is the hardest, it’s only expected that they would leave."

"I do not believe they intended to join in the first place, young master. After I rendered their friend unconscious, it was only a matter of time before they departed."

Hazel spoke of her brutal actions as if they were nothing. The calmness of it made Leomaris wonder what exactly she was.

Then he looked at Charlotte and Emerald. One glance at the determination in their eyes and he knew. They were ready for the mission.

"Can you do anything to mask our presence, Charlotte?"

Charlotte glanced through her thoughts for a moment and then nodded. "Closer to me," She said.

Without wasting a beat, they closed in. A few spoken words and something formed, a translucent cube of spiritual energy. White. Barely visible. Almost like it wasn’t there at all.

They stood at the forest’s edge. Behind them, cadets and servants alike, nearly three hundred in total. And yet his faction was the only one that chose to be thieves.

Leomaris liked it nonetheless. It gave him all the time he needed to watch Emerald, whom he was certain wanted him dead today, and more importantly, the opportunity to search for what he came for.

At his command, they moved through the forest toward the Great Citadel. Tall and thin, the trees stretched high, their pointed leaves breaking just enough to keep the night sky in sight no matter how far they went.

’Einstein should be in the hall, surrounded by spiders. That’s where his case must be too. The case is all I need... then I can call the others and have Einstein killed. No... he’s harmless right now. I’ll have to kill him myself to end this raid. I can’t die here.’

He’d broken the cadets into classes and given them their instructions. Now he had enough time, and more than enough reason, to get rid of Emerald.

Emerald had no reason to act. Not with Charlotte and Hazel standing beside Leomaris. Attacking without her partner was suicide, and being surrounded by enemies would keep her cautious. Even so, he intended to make use of the opportunity.

’I doubt her ally will show up, but that works in my favor too. I don’t plan on fighting them until I become a sorcerer.’

Before long, they arrived at the only passage to the citadel. A narrow path, barely wide enough for three abreast, with a sheer drop on both sides.

Hazel had assessed the drop at his instruction. One wrong step and it was over for any of them. More importantly, Emerald’s plans didn’t involve pushing him off these cliffs, he was certain of that.

"Stay alert, guys. We’re invisible, but we still don’t know their abilities."

They nodded in understanding. The closer they got to the citadel, the worse it looked. Nearly thirty feet tall, carved entirely out of a massive rock.

The closer they got, the more the air settled into something almost comfortable.

A few steps in, and the entrance gave way to a massive, spacious hall, a gathering place for soldiers, by the look of it. It seemed small for a Great Citadel. But a thousand soldiers could fill it easily.

Leomaris turned his gaze to Emerald. "Are you sketching everything down, Emerald?"

Almost as though she’d forgotten, she hurriedly pulled a sheet from her pocket and began tracing everything. Adjusting her glasses as if that act of hers would get to Leomaris anymore.

The place unsettled Leomaris, and the air wasn’t pleasant. It came with a sudden urgency to finish the mission before it finished him. He already had everything planned. In his plan, Emerald wouldn’t be returning with them.

A subtle nod to Hazel was all it took. She knew exactly what he meant. She stepped out of the invisible barrier with intention, and in the few seconds that followed, she disappeared.

Leomaris smirked.

’Hazel will handle that. I’ll take care of my role. She’s physically weak, and her ability requires contact. I just need to wait for the right moment.’

Something in the atmosphere shifted before he could take a step. Almost instinctively, his body tilted toward Emerald, catching the wicked smile across her lips and the gentle touch she placed on Charlotte. His heart skipped a beat.

Leomaris immediately stepped back. He already regretted letting Hazel leave. But before he could get away, Charlotte’s smile shifted to match Emerald’s. Wicked and cold, her soulless dark eyes didn’t make her any less terrifying.

"This is for killing my father, you bastard." Emerald removed her glasses, her expression turning sinister.

"It’s time to die, Leomaris Runerth."

She turned to Charlotte. Charlotte stared at Leomaris with a grotesque look, as though his very existence disgusted her. "Yes."

Leomaris drew a dagger. The moment he’d grown suspicious of Emerald, he’d used his ability on her and learned her mysteries. What he found left no room for doubt.

There was no way he was surviving this. His plan was nonexistent now, with Charlotte and Emerald both against him. And yet he needed to hold his ground.

He spoke with an anxious smile tugging at his lips, taking steady steps backward.

"Hah... how pitiful. To live your entire life for revenge. And what happens after I die? Will your father come back to life?"

He knew the bravado and cutting words were hollow. They wouldn’t save him. But they might buy him enough time to flee.

Emerald groaned. "When you sent your lackeys to burn down my father’s office, did you ever think about what would happen next?"

Leomaris chuckled. "What are you, a crybaby? Oh, I see... you’re your father’s daughter. No wonder he killed himself just because his office burned down."

Leomaris was close to the entrance by now. The moment Emerald’s anger boiled over, he moved to flee but froze before he could take a single step. He was terrified.

"How? How did they get here?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

There were supposed to be no monsters here. And yet, countless spiders, enormous in size, filled the space before him. The sight of him was enough to make them angry.

He’d anticipated countless scenarios where everything went wrong. Not one of them included Charlotte as an enemy. Not one included devilish spiders.

Then his chest tightened. His breath began to fail him. And just like that, he understood why Emerald and her allies had marked him with a hostility curse.

"Ahaha..."

Emerald laughed and lunged, but it never reached Leomaris. The sight of him had triggered the hostility in the spiders. Every last one of them was coming for him.

"Shit!"

He turned and sprinted for the entrance. Too many. And Emerald and Charlotte alone were already formidable opponents.

But before he could, a few words from Charlotte sent a massive fist crashing into Leomaris and driving him into the ground, shattering it on impact.

Leomaris felt it. The throb in his head. The blood leaking through his mouth. Every bone in his body screaming in protest.

He knew it all too well. Against Charlotte, it was a death sentence. And when he was slammed through the floor below and saw Charlotte follow him down, that certainty didn’t waver.

His heart threatened to stop beating.