Every Squad’s plans were in shambles.
Whatever tactic everyone thought they’d come up with to win this test was useless now.
Because of the stunt I pulled, people only had two real options left:
One, be smart and stay back. Don’t head toward the center, since that’s where the stampeding monsters were heading. Give up on capturing the flag and kiss victory goodbye.
Or two, be stupid and charge toward the center of the map. Get swept up in the chaos, fight a horde of monsters head-on, and pray you don’t get trampled before even reaching the flag.
It seemed my sister and her two best friends had chosen the second option.
“Congratulations on ascending, Sammy!” Willem’s mocking voice reached me from behind, clear and sharp even through the guttural growls and shrieks of the monsters closing in. “So that’s why you were so cocky yesterday. You knew you outranked us.”
“Haa!” I stifled a condescending laugh and shot the prince a glare over my shoulder. “You think I need to outrank you to humiliate you?”
Willem’s grin twitched tighter.
Alice stepped forward, flames engulfing her hand violently blazing back to life. “Oh? Then you won’t mind if we take you on together, would you?”
I turned to her.
And only now did I realize just how beat-up the three of them looked.
You see, I’d attracted the attention of every single Spirit Beast lurking in the shadows for miles.
Which meant several dozen monsters were converging on the center from every corner of the ruin.
Which, in turn, meant that anyone trying to reach the center had to wade through a tidal wave of nightmarish creatures just to get here.
And judging by Thalia’s soot-streaked armor, Alice’s slightly bruised face, and the fact that Willem was limping — yeah, it must not have been a fun walk.
It was impressive enough that they even made it here at the same time as me.
The only logical explanation I could think of was that they used a bunch of Enhancement Cards and rushed straight toward the center with wild abandon.
Since most monsters were distracted by my light show, they probably slipped past a few and landed some ambush kills.
Actually, I was pretty sure they probably used their influence too. They must’ve ordered a few other noble Squads to clear a path for them.
It still wouldn’t have been easy.
In fact, judging by how wrecked they looked, some of their ambushes definitely didn’t go well.
But in all fairness, I expected nothing less from them.
They wouldn’t be very good major characters if they weren’t absolute battle geniuses in their own right.
As much as I hated to admit it — and I really, really did — the royal twins and my sister were strong.
Strong enough to cut, burn, and bash their way through the chaos I’d unleashed and still have enough energy left to try picking a fight with me.
Was I proud of them?
No.
Was I mildly impressed?
Unfortunately, yes.
But the bitter truth was… they stood no chance against me.
Especially in their current condition — when they looked like they were running out of Essence.
It was only natural. Activating even one Enhancement Card, let alone several, burns through a lot of Essence.
I shrugged and lifted my sword. “Sure, come at me however you want. I can even wait until some of your followers get here.”
Alice didn’t say a word, but the flames around her arm roared even hotter.
Yeah. That confirmed it.
They used other nobles to push their way through here.
Well, it made no difference to me.
I simply gripped my sword tighter.
Thwaaam—!
—Graaawwr!
But before I could make a move, several buildings behind me were bulldozed flat — plowed through by a mindless army of raging monsters.
Alice instantly outstretched her hand. Incinerating flames traveled down her arm and gathered before her palm, coalescing into a seething ball of pure fire.
In just a second, the fireball ballooned several times in size — growing massive enough to dwarf a modern SUV. At that point, it was even bigger than a cannonball.
Then, it launched forward at blistering speed and collided with the first line of incoming beasts.
A deafening explosion followed, rattling the earth and reducing several more buildings to rubble. Flames surged outward, melting pavement and twisting steel.
A few beasts survived the initial blast and tried to push through the sea of fire. But they were quickly reduced to smoldering ash by the inferno.
I raised an eyebrow, more stunned than I’d have liked to admit.
That kind of raw firepower was far beyond what a [C-rank] should’ve been capable of.
I turned back to them.
Alice’s face had gone pale. She was sweating bullets. It was obvious she had pushed herself too far.
Then my gaze landed on Thalia.
And suddenly, everything made sense.
You see, Thalia’s Origin Card allowed her to enhance the existing properties of any object. She could make a sword sharper. A shield sturdier.
So of course… she made Alice’s flames hotter. More explosive.
Ahh, truly. My sister’s innate ability was dangerous.
…But like I said, they were still in no condition to contest me.
Not today.
Without missing a beat, I channeled a burst of Essence into my legs.
The ground cracked beneath me as I vanished in a blur.
And when I reappeared, I was inches away from my lovely sister.
Although her face was hidden behind a plumed helmet, I could practically see her widened eyes full of shock.
She barely managed to raise her kite shield in time to block an upward slash from my golden blade.
But of course, that wasn’t nearly enough to stop me.
My sword struck her shield with such brutal force that it left a deep dent — and the impact sent her skidding back a dozen feet.
Willem used this chance to lunge at me from the side, bringing down his battleaxe in a quick slash meant to catch me off-guard.
I pivoted, twisted my blade, and deflected it with a lazy clang.
“Tch,” Willem clicked his tongue, stumbling half a step from the parry’s recoil. He tried to circle me, but I was faster.
I closed in on him and followed up with a knee to his gut.
He coughed out spit and keeled over.
Alice, despite her exhaustion, wasn’t one to miss an opening. She hurled another fireball — not as massive as the first, but still deadly.
I didn’t dodge.
I cut through it.
My blade glowed golden and I carved straight through the ball of fire like it was paper, cleaving it in half and scattering harmless sparks to the wind.
In the same motion, a pulse of golden light burst from my sword’s edge, forming a crescent wave that raced toward Alice.
The red-haired princess dove to the side, dodging my attack with a roll.
Three hits.
With just three hits, all three of them were already on the defensive.
Thalia’s arm trembled as she steadied her shield again.
Willem hadn’t fully straightened.
Alice was panting while getting back up.
“Kneel,” I told them.
The air suddenly felt tense. Much more than before.
Only the distant roars of monsters and the faint crackles of dying flames all around us filled the intense silence.
It was understandable.
I had just told not one but two royals to… kneel.
And I’m not even counting a future duchess.
It was more than me trying to hurt their ego.
It was a declaration.
A declaration that I didn’t acknowledge their authority.
I didn’t acknowledge them.
Thalia’s helmet tilted slightly, and for a moment, I could almost feel her glare boring into me. Her shield arm was shaking, but she didn’t lower it.
Willem spat blood to the side and rasped. “You know, for someone who suggested we should wait for our reinforcements… you’re awfully eager to end things early.”
Alice said nothing.
She just stood up weakly, her breath ragged and her arms heavy at her sides. But her flames still hadn’t died down.
She looked at me and raised an arm.
I sneered. “So be it.”
Several jagged spikes erupted from the ground in Alice’s direction.
But I didn’t get to see what happened to her next.
Because Thalia charged at me with her shield raised over her chest and her bastard sword gleaming as it came swinging down in a vicious arc.
I sidestepped her strike, but she wasn’t aiming to hit me directly.
The moment her sword smashed into the ground, it triggered a pulse — a blast of rippling energy that exploded beneath my feet.
She must’ve used some kind of Spell Card.
Clever girl.
The blast caught me off-balance, just enough for her shield to slam into my side and send me staggering two steps back.
But that was all she could manage.
Because the moment I recovered, I retaliated with a sweeping slash that cracked against her shield with a thummp like thunder.
She was thrown off her feet. Her shield dissolved in a rain of light sparks.
And before she even hit the ground, I was already spinning on my heel, parrying another blow — this time from Willem.
He had dragged himself upright and came lunging in again, this time with both hands gripping his axe.
I caught it mid-swing.
With one hand.
Willem’s Origin Card helped him summon special flames. But unlike his twin sister, he wasn’t a proper pyromancer.
No, his flames didn’t burn.
They empowered.
They boosted his raw physical strength.
So, despite my superior [B-rank] physique, pushing back against Willem’s brute force was… a bit of a struggle.
But I did it.
I shoved him back a step.
And as soon as that happened, panic flashed across his face. He gritted his teeth and tried to jump back… only to realize he couldn’t.
It wasn’t because I was holding his axe. Oh, no. He was ready to let go of it.
No, the ground beneath him had morphed into quicksand, hardening around his boots and anchoring him in place.
He snarled and tried to break free by exerting even more strength… when suddenly, stony hands burst from the earth, wrapping around his legs like shackles.
“What the–?!” he barked in surprise.
By then, Thalia had already picked herself up and was charging at me again.
But she didn’t get far.
Because those rocky arms that held Willem moved — dragging him back, whipping his body around, and hurling him toward my sister like a ragdoll.
Thalia visibly hesitated. She tried to step aside, but she found her own feet already sunk into the ground.
With no other choice, she crossed her arms over her chest.
Crash—!
Willem’s body hit her full-force, the impact ringing out like a gong as metal struck metal.
Both of them were launched backward, skidding across the cracked pavement in a tangled heap of limbs and steel.
Thalia grunted as she hit the ground.
Willem didn’t even make a sound.
