SSS-Ranked Evolution: Worlds Unbound-Chapter 69: Enemy within (dont buy)

"Unfortunately, he has tied my hands behind my back. The issue you raise had been discussed, but he refused to accept any help from me. Unfortunately there is nothing I can do." she cast her eyes to the side for a hot moment.

"But my queen!" Her sudden increase in tempo had drawn attention to them and with a deep breath, she steadied it once more, "surely you can use your status to influence him, you know how high he places you. He cannot go against his lover can he?"

Reina’s green orbs widened, she reminisced of the time she begged him to consider not going alone, but he had said no, many times and at some point, stopped talking to her. Reina was silent for a while, "you can stop him." she could see Rami’s desperation, her care, she didn’t want him dying.

"It would be disrespectful to him to go down that route, we should let him go and pray that he comes back victorious." it hurt her to say that, but Ren has not given her the choice to say something better, "we take care of here and plan for evacuation as soon as possible. I believe we have begun?"

"Yes my queen, we have opened the tunnels and—" Rami was cut short when the tune of the horn registered into their brain cells. It was followed by heavy trooping and soon the place was in a disarray, "an attack?!"

"Intruders should not be allowed to live!" The queen in her sprung forward and immediately, Rami was behind her. As they ran to the place their people had trooped to, the temperature fell and the chill in the air made them shiver but they didnt stop running. The faster they moved, the more the frozen figures of their people came to view, "what in the heavens?" Reina was disoriented, but disorientation cleared when a wave of ice dagger was thrown at them.

It forced them to separate, Rami rolling to evade some while Reina flipped over her batch. When they both landed, Reina had her claws out ready to fight and Rami had brought out a short sword. What they met in front of them was a woman who was as white as snow. She wore garbs and a mask to cover her face, her hair was white, and her blue eyes were menacing. She stood beside a frozen tiger and broke his head off, admiring it as a gift to give to her master.

"Intruder! Who are you? And what are you seeking?!" Rami drew a defensive, coming in front of Reina but the emotion in the woman’s eyes was that of boredom, she took her time to speak, she never rushed after all.

"I have come for the queen, give her to me and I will let you live. Refuse, and you will end up like the others." out of her hand, she materialized a blade of ice, and when it shattered, it revealed an intricately carved dagger, but that didn’t phase Rami. The woman had a dark chill to her voice and soon her expression became unreadable, "the empire has needs of her."

"Death it is." Rami charged for the assassin, White Rose.

In a blur of movement, Rami charged, her short sword aimed for White Rose’s chest. But in an instant, White Rose vanished, leaving a trail of icy mist in her wake. The assassin reappeared behind Rami with a whisper of frost in the air, her dagger aimed for Rami’s back.

Rami reacted just in time, twirling gracefully and meeting the ice dagger with the edge of her blade. The clash sent a sharp shockwave through the clearing, both combatants skidding back from the impact.

Rami smirked, "You have to do more than that to get me down."

White Rose’s expression remained cold and unreadable. Without warning, she disappeared again.

Rami’s instincts kicked in, and she glanced upward just in time to see White Rose descending from above, dagger poised for a deadly strike. With a sharp intake of breath, Rami flipped into an aerial cartwheel, narrowly avoiding the icy blade as it sliced through the air where she’d stood.

Landing lightly on her feet, Rami barely had a moment to breathe. White Rose was relentless, her strikes fast and precise, her dagger flashing like a shard of ice under the light of the sun, thirsty for the tigress’s blood. Rami found herself constantly on the defensive, flipping, spinning, and twirling to evade each attack.

She felt the frost biting at her skin as White Rose’s power froze the air around them, the temperature dropping with every strike. Frost coated the edges of Rami’s blade, and her breath puffed out in small clouds.

With a surge of determination, Rami twisted to the side, deflecting another strike with her sword. Seeing an opening, she lashed out with a punch, her fist connecting squarely with White Rose’s jaw.

The assassin staggered back a step, her pale, emotionless face flickering briefly with anger. Her frosty blue eyes glowed faintly, and the temperature plunged even lower. "Impressive. I was waiting for that." White Rose said flatly.

Before Rami could retort, frost spread across the ground, and a cold mist enveloped her. It became harder to see, her vision blurred by the icy haze. She sensed the attack before it came, raising her sword to block at the last second. But the force of White Rose’s blow sent the blade flying from her grasp.

A fluid kick followed, catching Rami in the ribs and sending her sprawling across the frozen ground. She rolled to a stop, coughing out blood as she tried to catch her breath.

White Rose stood tall, the icy mist swirling around her like a cloak. She looked down at Rami with a quiet finality, then turned her gaze toward Reina who was no longer in her spot, scanning the camp for where the queen could have done. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"I’ve had enough of you already." But Rami wasn’t finished. Gritting her teeth, she staggered to her feet, her tiger stripes glowing faintly under the sunlight. With a feral growl, "primal instinct!" she activated her claws and let her primal instincts take over.

The transformation was instantaneous. Rami charged at White Rose on all fours, her speed a blur as she zigzagged across the frozen ground. White Rose turned, her expression still calm, and launched a storm of ice daggers toward her opponent.

But Rami was faster. She darted between the deadly shards, leaping into the air, skidding across the frost, and even using trees as springboards to evade the onslaught. Her claws slashed through the air as she closed the gap, aiming for White Rose’s throat.

White Rose leapt back at the last second, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. Rami’s claws raked through the ground instead, leaving a deep gash in the frozen earth.

The assassin stood at a distance now, her gaze cool and unreadable. Frost gathered at her feet, and with a subtle motion, she raised her hand, summoning another storm of ice daggers.

But Rami wasn’t done. Her tiger stripes flared with magic, the glowing lines detaching from her body and reshaping into sharp, blade-like projectiles. With a snarl, "DIE!" she hurled them toward White Rose, the glowing blades colliding with the storm of ice daggers mid-air.

The resulting explosion of energy sent shockwaves rippling through the clearing, a cloud of dust and frost obscuring everything.

For a moment, the battlefield was silent. As the dust cleared, Rami’s eyes scanned the space where White Rose had stood. But there was no sign of the assassin.

Was it over?

Her chest heaved as she took in sharp breaths, her eyes scanned the field and the assassin was nowhere to be seen. Had she escaped? Rami felt her stomach turn, tasting the blood in her mouth, but it was her body trying to warn her of something.

Someone.

"You are strong, but I never lose." That was the whisper she heard, in the wind and when she turned, White Rose was just about to cut her head off with a clean swipe. Her pupils constricted as the blade neared her throat. It was so fast.

But Reina held the blade with her bare hand, just in time, her eyes held an anger that couldn’t be comprehended, and the assassin could see it. Blood seeped from her hand, but she didn’t shift, with her free hand, in a swift motion, "force!" a tiger’s claw manufactured from beast energy was hurled into her body, sending the assassin spiralling away from them.

"My queen?!" Rami was out of breath, she expected Reina to have escaped, but she came back for her. The queen drew a stance as it didn’t take long for the assassin to climb to her feet.

"The evacuation has begun, we distract her till everyone is out." her body slightly bent with her claws beside her. It wasn’t loud, but it was loud enough for her to hear, and she followed the stance of her queen.