IBasil slowly turned his head to find Lilith standing before him, her aether blade raised like an unyielding shield.
The ethereal light emanating from her weapon danced in the darkness, casting faint, flickering glimmers around them.
Barely a heartbeat had passed before she drew her blade, blocking their attacker's strike.
A pained groan escaped her lips as she staggered back under the force of the blow, granting Basil a moment to size up their mysterious adversary.
Before them stood a striking figure. Her wild, crimson hair seemed to crackle like flames, and her eyes, burning with the intensity of a raging sun, glowed with an almost supernatural brilliance.
Yet her face remained frozen, expressionless, like a mask of death.
"Ehh—" Basil began.
Slash!
The woman's blade tore through the air a second time, this time aimed at Basil. He jumped back, barely evading the deadly strike.
"Hasn't anyone told you not to—"
He didn't have the chance to finish his sentence. The woman lunged forward with blinding speed, cutting him off mid-word as she directed her next attack toward Lilith.
Without thinking, Basil threw himself between Lilith and the blade, his fist raised to meet the blow.
For the first time, the mysterious warrior displayed a flicker of reaction, her eyes widening ever so slightly at his audacity.
The clash between Basil's fist and the woman's blade unleashed a devastating shockwave, scattering debris and shaking the very air around them.
Basil was sent crashing to the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of him.
He grimaced as a dull ache spread through his arm. This woman was nothing like the Paladin he had fought before. She was faster, more agile, and above all, far more dangerous.
Lilith, shaken, cried out, desperate for answers:
"Who are you? Why are you attacking us?!"
The stranger, unbothered, lowered her weapon slightly and spoke in an icy tone.
"I am Neryana Caldius, Captain of the Imperial Guard of the Solitharian Empire."
Lilith froze, her face betraying utter shock. A figure as prominent as an imperial captain had no business being here, let alone hunting them.
Why… why would someone of such importance be after us? she thought, unable to voice her confusion.
Basil, still on the ground, kept his gaze fixed downward, his face obscured by an unreadable expression.
Neryana pointed her sword at him, her words as sharp as the blade she wielded.
"This man is a threat too great for the Empire and for the balance of this world. He must be eliminated at once."
Lilith, stunned, interjected.
"What are you talking about?! He hasn't done anything!"
Neryana ignored her protests, advancing with unrelenting resolve toward Basil.
Panic surged through Lilith as she glanced down at Basil, hoping to find reassurance or a sign that he still had the situation under control. But what she saw only deepened her worry.
Basil was eerily still, his gaze vacant, as though his mind were somewhere far away.
"Basil?" she whispered, trembling.
But then, he slowly lifted his head. Something had changed. The air around him seemed to thicken, becoming almost tangible.
His fist clenched, his knuckles turning white under the strain, and he fixed Neryana with a look of fierce intensity.
Lilith noticed with a start—there wasn't a single wound on his body.
Had he been pretending?
He inhaled deeply, as if bracing himself for something. Despite the urgency of the moment, Lilith felt a strange sense of certainty emanating from him. She didn't know the extent of his power, but deep down, she believed they would make it through this.
Then, breaking the heavy silence, Basil spoke.
"Go fuck yourself, bitch," he said in a mockingly childish tone, raising an insolent middle finger in the captain's direction.
...Huh?