Axel, Eve, and Teruria stood atop the wall, gazing into the distance, while Fenrir hovered a few steps behind them, watching over the trio like a guardian.

None of them appeared frightened, even though the giant flying creatures—wyverns—were hurtling toward them at breakneck speed.

"Hmm?"

But while looking, Axel noticed something weird.

The wyverns' trajectory suggested they weren't aiming to stop at the wall where Axel and the others stood. Instead, they seemed to be headed straight for the castle in the center!

That felt like barging into someone's house without permission!

Fenrir, of course, noticed this too.

To assert control, she fixed her gaze on the approaching creatures and unleashed a focused wave of her killing intent. As sentient beings, tamed or not, the wyverns could sense the vast gap in power between themselves and the lady wolf below, causing them to rapidly descend, disregarding their riders' commands.

"H-Hey, Petrasche? What's wrong? Fly higher!" one of the men atop a wyvern shouted, loud enough for Axel to hear.

However, his wyvern ignored the command and landed right below the wall, in front of Axel. The next moment, the poor semi-dragon bowed its head, almost as if pleading for its life.

The riders were baffled by their partners' unexpected behavior.

They had no idea who Fenrir was, after all.

"People of the Alcott Empire, I presume?"

But disregarding their confusion, Axel spoke loudly enough for all to hear.

"It's our first meeting, so I guess it's fine to say nice to meet you, right?"

Although Axel wasn't being confrontational, his words could be seen as provocative. Still, he was far more composed than a certain Loli Witch who shouted without hesitation.

"You're trying to invade our territory without even saying hi or ho... Have you no manners?!"

However, what they got in response was—

"Damned barbarians!" An angry roar.

At that moment, one of the wyvern knights stood up, pointing an accusatory finger at Axel.

"I'm the First General of the Alcott Empire, the Captain of the Wyvern Knights, the Fourth Prince, Kyle Alcott! We've come to reclaim our princess. Return her to us at once, you beast, or face the consequences!"

"Consequences, huh?" Axel grinned, almost laughing at the prince's demand.

"Barbarians...?"

Unlike Axel, who maintained his composure, Teruria experienced a surge of anger upon receiving such a label. Before she could explode—

"YOU LOT ARE THE FUCKING BARBARIANS!"

An enraged roar echoed, shaking the air and overpowering all other voices.

All eyes turned to the source of the outburst—Eve—who was trembling as tears filled her eyes, struggling to contain her pain and fury.

"How dare you... How dare you, to our Klint Kingdom...!" she cried.

Axel quickly pulled Eve into his embrace, trying to soothe the little girl who had become overly emotional. Although he wasn't familiar with the history between the empire and Eve's former kingdom, he could infer a lot from her explosive reaction.

"Klint Kingdom?"

However, her words seemed to create a misunderstanding.

"Ahh... That small country? So there are still survivors from that place." The prince grinned, a hint of superiority in his voice, as if he had just raised a flag of superiority over his opponent.

"Are you a descendant of that useless king? I ordered all members of his bloodline killed, but it seems we missed one persistent insect over here—"

"Enough."

"...!"

Axel's brief command sent a chill through the wyverns and knights, freezing them in place.

It felt as if a blade were held to their necks, making their bodies tremble in fear. Nevertheless, the Fourth Prince gritted his teeth, resisting the pressure Axel exuded, and growled back, pointing a finger at him once more.

"Damn you, remnants of a weak kingdom! How dare you order me, a Prince, around?! You shall—"

But then, in the next instant, a white flash streaked through the air.

It was so swift that they only realized something had happened after it was done. No one could react, much less dodge it. And just like that...

"Ah..."

The Fourth Prince stared at his own hand—or what remained of it. Everything from his wrist down was gone, already falling to the ground below him, still pointing forward.

"AHHHH! M-My hand...!"

After a moment's delay, the prince began to scream, howling in agony. He clutched the stump of his right hand tightly, trying to stem the bleeding.

"I said, enough." Axel's voice was final.

He remained atop the wall, standing firm. Eve was still tightly held in his embrace, sobbing against his chest, while a bloody sword rested in his left hand.

When did he draw his sword?

How had his slash reached the prince, who stood several dozen meters away?

No one could provide an answer.

As they say, skills beyond a certain level resemble magic!

"I had originally planned to send you all back peacefully," Axel continued, his voice colder than the ninth circle of hell, Cocytus. "But scratch that. From now on, none of you will leave here alive."

"Y-You bastard...! How dare you!"

"He injured our prince! Everyone, attack!"

"Pay the price for your arrogance!"

Of course, none of the knights accepted their fate as is.

In unison, they raised their weapons, preparing to charge at Axel. They looked furious, desperately trying to mask their fear with anger. Yet, despite their struggle, Axel's words remained unyielding.

"Triple Cast. Curse of Paralysis, Curse of the Barbed Prison, Curse of Pain Amplification."

Before they could take a single step, a charming witch's voice echoed, loud and clear.

Within the next moment, something happened.

All the knights and even the wyverns suddenly crumpled to the ground in agony. Their bodies appeared as if they were ensnared in purple-red-and-black barbed vines, resembling a bloody rose.

Even the prince, who had already lost his hand, was dragged into this torment.

Pain.

It consumed their thoughts enough to drive them to the brink of insanity.

Observing the effects of her curses, Teruria showed no remorse, spitting on the ground. "How dare you force Eve to relive such painful memories? Now, crawl on the ground and reflect!"

The Curse of Paralysis rendered them immobile.

The Curse of Barbed Prison made them feel as if a thousand needles were piercing their skin, muscles, nerves, and bones.

Then, the Curse of Pain Amplification intensified their suffering a hundredfold.

Each of them experienced pain as if their entire bodies were being brutally torn apart hundreds, even thousands, of times per minute!

They had no means to escape, let alone alleviate the torment!

It was a perfect formula for torture!

Before any fight could even commence, it all ended...

Or not.

Axel hurled something toward the fourth prince—a straw doll. The moment it made contact, the excruciating pain vanished, leaving him gasping for air. His body was now free to move; his eyes could narrow into a glare at the man above the wall. Eyes bloodshot with indignation and anger.

"Eve..."

But Axel ignored him, shifting his focus to the little princess in his arms and meeting her teary gaze.

"I'll give you a chance. Fight that prince down there and confront your grievances."

He... offered Eve an opportunity.

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