"An elf, huh? So her species are called elves," Arix said, turning his gaze to Meilie. She was already in position in a fighting stance, with her gaze fixed on the servant. She held her staff with both hands, pointing it at the servant.

  Arix turned toward Tarin and Lyra. Both were ready with their weapons to strike at any moment. Arix also put his hand forward, tightening his fist with one leg behind. He got into a stance like a monk, fixing his gaze on the servant.

  "An elf without a mouth. Are you that infamous elf who got cursed by the Witch Ranalia?" The masked servant started walking toward Meilie, completely ignoring the other three.

  Tarin, standing in front of Meilie, narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw when he saw the masked servant walking past him. "YOU CANNOT IGNORE ME, YOU FUCKER!" he screamed, turning around and swinging his greatsword with great might.

  But his greatsword didn't reach the servant. It reflected off some unknown barrier around him. He struck again, but nothing. The servant kept walking, not minding Tarin.

  "It looks like the same barrier as the village," Arix screamed.

  "So, elf girl, what are you doing with these lowly humans? Are you defying our lord?" The servant said, bending forward to reach Meilie's height.

  "She can't speak, you fool," Lyra said, reaching to his side and striking with her needle. But she failed to get past the barrier too.

  "Oh, I forgot." The servant straightened up his posture. "Hmm, well, it doesn't matter. You will die today too." He widened his eyes and stared at Meilie, then lifted his hand to strike with his trident.

  His movement was so fast that Meilie couldn't see it. Her eyes widened and her jaw fell. She knew she had no time to run or get out of the way right now.

  From behind, Tarin had already jumped to strike the barrier again. "Aghh…!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, swinging his sword at the servant. A shattering sound echoed through the room, and the servant's attack was stopped. He was pushed forward a little, falling halfway toward the ground.

  "You lowlife humans, you think you can break me?" he screamed while turning around to strike at Tarin. From behind, Meilie recovered from her fear. She knew his guard was down and it was the perfect moment. She pointed her staff at the servant and thought of a spell. "Expectrum Beam." A white ray of light blasted from her staff, directly striking the servant and throwing him back against the wall. Shattering his shield completely.

  The impact shattered the wall with a deafening crack. Dust filled the room.

  "Is he dead?" Lyra asked.

  "No, he is not," Arix replied, staring at the cracked wall.

  The air was already heavy, but now it grew deadly from the pressure. Everyone's heart started beating heavily. The masked servant was already up.

  His gaze fixed on Meilie in a menacing way. "I will kill you all," he said in a calm voice, walking forward with his trident in one hand.

  He held his trident above his head, putting his leg forward, and threw his trident straight at Meilie. It was so fast she had no time to react. It struck her and crashed her against the wall behind.

  "Meilie!" Lyra screamed, running toward her.

  Arix took a deep breath and ran toward the servant. Tarin was beside him. First, Tarin jumped, striking him with the same power as before.

  The servant glanced at Tarin, bringing his hand forward to his neck and grabbing it. Fingers dug into his throat. Tarin thrashed, hands gripping the servant's wrist, breath ragged. He kicked his legs and grabbed the servant's hand, trying to break free.

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  Arix tightened his fist, one leg set behind him and his body turned sideways. Arix's punch landed straight in his stomach, but it did little damage. The servant staggered back from the impact but quickly recovered. He turned his gaze toward Arix.

  Arix's eyes widened as a drop of sweat fell from his cheek to the ground. He was breathing hard, and he knew what was coming.

  The servant kicked Arix with his right leg. Arix flew and crashed against the wall beside Meilie.

  Behind Tarin, Lyra moved into position. Her body bent forward and she was already in a striking position. She remembered Elena’s death and how she had frozen while Elena struggled right in front of her. "I am not freezing this time," she said as she tried striking the needle into the servant's stomach. The needle pierced his skin when the servant grabbed her too with his other hand, picking her up alongside Tarin.

  Arix pushed himself up, watching in front of him. Tarin and Lyra were struggling in the servant's hands. “I will not let anyone die again in front of my eyes,” he whispered. His breath quickened as he turned all around, searching for something.

  He saw Meilie beside him, struck with the trident. The trident had pinned her to the wall beside her neck. She was unconscious and pinned.

  Arix steadied himself and tried removing the trident from the wall. "Aghhh…" he screamed, removing the trident with great force. And it worked.

  The trident was in his hand. He turned toward the servant immediately, holding the trident in one hand, ready to throw.

  He took a deep breath and aimed for the center of the head, then threw it with all the force he could muster. The trident flew straight for the servant's head. He was unable to react to the flying target as it was so fast. The trident struck straight into his head, and he flew back to the same spot as before.

  Tarin and Lyra fell to the ground, gasping for air and coughing. And bleeding.

  Arix was breathing hard. He put both his hands on his knees, gasping for air and looking in front of him, wondering if it was over. But it wasn't.

  The servant held both sides of the trident and pulled it out of his head. The mask shattered and fell to the ground.

  What Arix saw shocked him. His face seemed like a human's, but something was off. He had small rounded horns protruding from his head. His nose was flat. His nostrils seemed to merge with his mouth.

  Despite his shocking appearance, Tarin and Lyra both stood up, picking up their weapons. Arix was waiting behind them. As they all looked at the monster getting up in front of them, they took a deep breath and got into stance again. Blood covered most of Lyra's and Tarin’s faces.

  They all ran at the same time, trying to strike the servant simultaneously. Tarin swung his sword from the left. The servant dodged it by bending below his sword level and grabbed his hand in the middle of the dodge. Lyra, pointing from the right, struck her needle into his stomach again. He was unable to move in time and the needle went into him. He made no sound, grabbed Lyra after she struck by the hair, and threw her against the wall.

  A sickening crack echoed as Lyra hit the wall. She screamed as she fell to the ground, unable to move. She was still conscious but could barely move

  Arix was next. He jumped in the air, trying to strike the servant from above, but failed. The servant grabbed his legs and struck him to the ground behind. He tightened his grip around Tarin's hand with great force. "Agh…" Tarin screamed. He could feel his bones cracking in his hand.

  The servant was staring at Tarin when something stabbed him from behind. Arix picked up a pointy rock from the rubble and stabbed the servant with it. It was a deep wound. Blood fell from the servant's mouth. He turned. Arix yanked Lyra's needle from the servant's stomach. The servant saw Arix's eyes, fixed on his ribs with cold focus.

  Arix stabbed him with the needle again. The servant let go of Tarin's hand and fell backward. Trying to get the needle out of him, he saw Meilie positioned by the wall in front of him, holding her staff with one hand while a trail of blood ran down her face. She was standing sideways, her other hand swinging in the air. The servant couldn't see her eyes clearly—her white hair obscured them.

  A small glowing white ball came out of her staff. At first, it floated slowly in the air. Then it flew straight through the servant's heart, killing him instantly.

  Arix and Tarin were still standing, gasping for air, when they heard a huge shattering sound from above.

  "Maybe the barrier is down," Arix said. He turned toward Meilie.

  "She is strong," he thought when he saw Meilie falling to the ground. He moved toward her slowly, dragging his feet, while Tarin went to Lyra, holding one hand with the other.

  Lyra and Meilie were both alive but unconscious. Arix fell to the ground too, sitting by the wall with both his legs spread out. Tarin knelt on one knee, breathing hard.

  They didn't say anything to each other while dragging Lyra and Meilie to the center of the room, slowly and gently.

  Tarin and Arix rested there quietly. After a few hours, Meilie's eyes fluttered open. She lit up her staff and put it in the middle while they all set up their camp for the night in the same arena where they had fought the masked servant.