Elowen did not waste another second.

Her face twisted with pure malice. She pulled her arm back and snapped her wrist forward.

The whip moved faster than sound. It was a blur of blue light and braided leather.

It aimed straight for Marcus and the trembling dragon girl.

Marcus saw the strike coming, and he knew he could not dodge it.

He instinctively turned his body and tried to shield the dragon girl with his own back.

Thwack.

The sound was loud and sharp, but there was no pain.

Marcus opened his eyes.

A curved sheet of green wind hovered inches from his face. The whip had bounced off it harmlessly again.

'Run,' Marcus heard a small voice inside his head.

It was flat and like alwaysaà bored, but it felt like a command.

Marcus looked to his side. The mysterious little girl stood there. She had one hand raised.

She didn't look at him. She was staring at Elowen.

'Go,' she repeated.

Marcus hesitated for a fraction of a second.

Then he looked at the dragon girl clinging to his hand.

'Be careful,' Marcus said.

He turned and pulled the dragon girl with him, and quickly sprinted out of the room.

Their boots pounded against the stone floor of the corridor. They headed straight for the spiral staircase.

Inside the room, Elowen clicked her tongue.

She watched her prey escape. A vein pulsed in her forehead.

She looked back at the little girl in the white dress.

Anger bubbled up in Elowen's chest. It mixed with a deep, grinding frustration.

"You are annoying," Elowen spat. "Truly annoying."

She retracted her whip. The blue mana glowed brighter around the leather.

"It was fun at first," Elowen said. Her voice dropped an octave. "But I am done playing around."

She advanced towards the little girl again. Her steps were heavy and deliberate.

"I am going to peel that white dress off your skin," Elowen threatened.

She lashed out.

This strike was different. It was heavy. It was reinforced with killing intent.

Snap.

A green shield appeared instantly. The whip recoiled.

Elowen didn't stop. She spun and struck from the left.

Snap.

Another shield.

She struck from above. From below. From the right.

She unleashed a storm of attacks. The air in the room screamed as the whip sliced through it.

But the little girl did not move her feet.

She stood in the center of the violence. Her expression was bored.

She flicked her fingers. Shields appeared and vanished in perfect rhythm.

She looked like she was swatting away a persistent fly.

Elowen gritted her teeth. Sweat began to sting her eyes.

'How?' Elowen screamed internally. 'How is she doing this?'

Every shield cost mana. Every block required focus.

Elowen was an adult noble. She had been trained by the best combat mages in the kingdom.

Her mana core was fully developed.

Yet this child was matching her effortlessly.

'She should be exhausted,' Elowen thought frantically. 'She should be running dry.'

But the girl wasn't even breathing hard. She looked like she could do this all day.

Elowen stepped back. She panted heavily.

Physical attacks were not working. She needed a different angle.

She needed to break the girl's concentration.

She needed to make her falter.

Elowen straightened her posture. She forced a cruel smile onto her face.

"You are strong," Elowen said. She let her voice drip with false pity. "But you are foolish."

She gestured toward the door.

"They left you," Elowen taunted. "The man and the dragon. They ran away."

The little girl did not react. She just blinked.

"They used you," Elowen continued. She took a slow step forward. "They abandoned you to save themselves."

Elowen chuckled. It was a dark, wet sound.

"And now you are trapped," she whispered. "The door is blocked. The guards will come."

She widened her eyes. She tried to look terrifying.

"We are going to have so much fun," Elowen promised. "Just you and me. You are trapped here alone with me."

The little girl sighed.

It was a long, heavy sigh. It sounded deeply disappointed.

Elowen felt a flash of rage. She raised her whip for a final, crushing blow.

She swung her arm down.

But the whip did not move.

Elowen frowned. She tried to pull her arm back, but her arm did not move.

Panic flared in her chest. She tried to take a step.

Her legs were frozen.

It wasn't paralysis. It felt like the air around her had turned to solid iron.

An immense pressure crushed her from all sides.

"What..." Elowen gasped. "What the fuck?"

She struggled against the invisible weight. Her bones creaked.

The little girl was looking straight into Elowen's eyes.

The girl's black eyes were bottomless. They held no fear. They held no anger.

They held the absolute indifference of a god looking at an insect.

"You are mistaken about one thing," the little girl said.

Her voice was soft. But it echoed in the stone room like a bell.

"I am not trapped alone with you."

The pressure increased. Elowen felt her ribs groan. She couldn't breathe.

The little girl tilted her head slightly.

"You are the one who is trapped with me."

Elowen's eyes widened in horror.

The little girl flicked her hand. It was a casual, dismissive gesture.

The force hit Elowen like a runaway carriage.

She was lifted off her feet. She flew backward through the air.

She crossed the room in a split second.

CRASH!

And hit the stone wall.

The sound was sickening. It was the sound of meat and bone hitting solid rock.

Spiderweb cracks formed on the wall behind her. Dust fell from the ceiling.

"Kuah!" Elowen coughed up blood from the impact.

Elowen hung there for a second, pinned by the force.

Then she slid down.

She hit the floor with a wet thud.

"Cough. Cough."

Blood splattered from her mouth. It stained her silk dress.

She tried to lift her head, but she couldn't

Her vision swam. Pain exploded in her back and chest.

She slumped forward. Her hair covered her face. She stopped moving.

The room fell silent.

The little girl looked at the damage. She looked at the cracks in the wall.

"Hmm," the girl murmured. "The wall is sturdy."

She smoothed her white dress.

"I guess I didn't need to worry about him getting hurt earlier," she mused.

She shook her head.

"Tch. I should have ended the fight quicker. He is probably panicking."

She turned around. She began to walk toward the door.

She stepped over the scattered torture tools. She ignored the blood on the floor.

She reached the doorway and then paused.

She glanced back over her shoulder.

Elowen was a broken heap on the floor. Her breathing was shallow and ragged.

"Be grateful," the little girl said coldply.

"I didn't kill you."

She turned her head away.

"But make no mistake," she added. "You deserve more than death."

She stepped into the corridor.

"I just don't like unnecessary violence."

She walked toward the spiral staircase. Her footsteps were light and silent.

She left the broken noblewoman in the dark.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.