The enemy spread out around Lady Izi—some wielding spears, others gripping heavy warhammers. Surrounding her at precise five-step intervals were four mages, forming a calcuted ring.

  Raising both hands, Lady Izi’s voice echoed with commanding gravity.

  "In Sanguinem, Ego Regno. (In blood, I reign.)"

  Streams of blood from nearby corpses rose and flowed into her, strengthening her broken body. One of the enemy mages reacted instantly.

  "Vocis Divinae, obstrue eius potestatem! (Divine voice, restrain her power!)"

  As their magic tried to bind her in pce, Lady Izi twisted away just in time.

  She immediately understood—this wasn’t just any incantation. It was a spell specifically designed to restrain an Ascendant like her.

  *They came prepared.*

  As soon as she dodged the spell, spearmen rushed her from all directions. One spear found its mark.

  Her body jolted from the strike, but she gritted her teeth and knocked it away. It wasn’t an ordinary weapon. Silver-pted, ced with magic—it had been forged to kill her.

  Even with the blood she had just absorbed, her body was barely holding up.

  If she had been in peak condition, these foes wouldn’t have been a problem. But in her current state? Nothing was guaranteed.

  *All I can do is hold on—until Code B and Riche arrive.*

  This entire operation had been a trap, set to eliminate her. There was no way such a well-coordinated force had followed the unit on a whim.

  She had walked into a meticulously designed ambush.

  *To wait until I was weakened—what exactly do they gain from killing me?*

  She didn’t have the answer. But one thing she feared more than death was returning alone, leaving behind countless casualties, and facing Chief Secretary Hui.

  *If they attacked me, then other squads must be in danger too.*

  Their tactics were surgical. If this attack extended beyond her team, the Guild’s senior staff could be in peril.

  *Focus. Just survive.*

  Now wasn’t the time to think. It was time to dodge.

  They wouldn’t give her room to cast again.

  Another spell tore through the air. As she evaded it, a hammer nearly crushed her skull.

  There was no end to it.

  *Ugh...*

  A warhammer smmed into her chest, rattling her bones. She showed no pain, swatting the weapon aside with stoic precision.

  They couldn’t know how badly she was hurt.

  Their assault came in waves—spells, then bdes. When she repelled one, another followed instantly. She couldn’t find a single break in the pattern.

  Then—a bolt pierced one of the mages.

  Lady Izi seized the opening, sprinting forward.

  "Animam ex Cruore Vocabo! (From blood, I summon the soul!)"

  The enemies stumbled for a breath. She grabbed the mage by the head—he colpsed without a sound, trembling violently before falling still.

  That bolt... It must’ve been Sibonen and Isrin. She worried for their safety—they had revealed their location—but she had no choice. She had to keep fighting.

  Even with one mage down, the enemy formation held strong.

  A warrior barked to the rear guard:

  "Enemies in the rear. Check it out."

  The Greater Ascendant Counterforce unched its next wave.

  Lady Izi braced herself, enduring with clenched teeth.

  Her regeneration couldn’t keep up.

  Still, she stood her ground.

  ---

  As the fight raged on, the sky began to lighten. Dawn was breaking.

  Visibility improved.

  Isrin quickly loaded her st bolt and fired.

  Another mage fell—Lady Izi finished him off.

  Isrin exhaled heavily.

  "That was my st one. Sibonen, do you have any left?"

  "Just one," he whispered. "But I don’t have a clear shot."

  Their position was blown.

  Sibonen knew—if Lady Izi fell, so would they.

  The forest stirred. Birds shrieked and took flight.

  Sibonen looked to the sky.

  *What’s going on up there...?*

  The sky looked wrong. The air felt heavier.

  *Is it just the chaos of battle? Or something more?*

  He turned to Isrin.

  "Quick question," he whispered. "Can you tell me what Code B is like?"

  ---

  Lady Izi’s thoughts spiraled.

  She could no longer keep absorbing these attacks.

  The loss of a mage had made the spells slightly easier to endure, but not by much.

  *Even surviving is becoming a stretch.*

  A streak of light fshed across the sky.

  A signal fre.

  She stiffened.

  *Another wave of enemies? Or help?*

  How had so many troops ended up in this remote sector?

  *They pnned this. Perfectly.*

  Her body was wrecked. Her healing slowed.

  She had never believed she could fail.

  More attacks came. She dodged what she could. The rest, she absorbed.

  Then—a new pressure from the front.

  The enemy stopped, briefly retreating.

  She stared ahead.

  *No... they didn’t.*

  A siege-css golem appeared.

  A walking fortress, used in national wars.

  Too much. All of this, to kill her.

  *Even at full strength... they would’ve tried anyway.*

  This wasn’t about victory.

  It was extermination.

  The scale—this had to be backed by a kingdom or a Grand Duchy.

  *But why? Why go this far?*

  There was no time to dwell.

  The combined assault resumed.

  She dodged—only to be caught by the golem's arm.

  She crossed her arms to block, knowing it was pointless.

  *This is it.*

  The impact crushed her to the ground. Bones shattered. Pain exploded.

  The enemy paused.

  Lady Izi rolled over and stood, blood trailing from her lips. Her arms dangled—shattered.

  She wouldn’t recover.

  *So this is where it ends.*

  She had never imagined dying in such a forgotten pce.

  And she wasn’t ready to.

  As the enemy charged again, she took a deep breath.

  "Come, then. Let’s see who breaks first."