"Huh?" Alice blinked, dulling her eyes.

She lowered her gaze slightly over to her chest and saw a black blade piercing her from behind.

Blood welled on her white fabric, as it slowly dripped down her belly, painting the snowy ground red.

All of it happened in a fraction of a second, but the weird thing was… she didn't feel any pain.

It was as if nothing pierced her body.

"ALICE!"

She fell, but Leon caught her.

The swordmaiden noticed too late, taking out her Moonblade she shot towards the shadowy figure behind Alice.

CLANG!!

Lumina's blade flashed, white light tore the air as she swung.

With a single strike, she tried to cleave the arm holding the sword. But as soon as the Moonblade touched the arm's black surface, a loud metallic sound rang.

The shadowy figure's head slowly turned towards Lumina, its red glowing eyes fixed on hers, and loud huffing and growling could be heard from inside the thick black armor it was wearing.

The black knight who pierced Alice pulled out his sword from her back, twisting his bloody blade, he faced Lumina pointing it at her.

The black knight was able to precisely attack Alice right under the nose of Lumina. And it didn't take her a second to realize that he was as skilled as her.

Lumina didn't waver for a second, one eye on her enemy, she instructed Leon.

"Take care of her, this won't take a breath."

After saying that, both Lumina and the black knight's figure disappeared before Leon's eyes.

Holding Alice by her shoulder, Leon slowly sat on the spot.

He placed Alice facing up on the ground, right in front of him.

Her chest was rising and falling, as a pool of blood covered her.

"This looks bad…" he muttered, looking at her condition.

He didn't know who the black knight was, or what happened just now. But right now his entire focus was on Alice.

Her eyes were open, watery, but it looked to him that she was alive.

'The blade must have missed the vitals,' Leon thought, glancing at her wound.

"Are you dying?" he asked in a calm tone.

"Ah… fuck me… sideways." Alice wheezed, trying to smirk even as her body trembled.

"Which motherfucker… did this," Alice hissed, her lips twitching into a crooked smile.

It didn't hurt, but her body was paralyzed down her shoulder.

Leon glanced at her wound again.

"Does it matter? You're not even dying properly."

"Hah… fuck you. At least let me… pretend I'm dramatic." Her chest rattled as she coughed. "This is the part where you hold your teammate's hand and cry, y'know."

Leon raised an eyebrow.

"The fuck type of nonsense you are even spouting. Do you truly believe I would do that?"

Alice snorted, which quickly turned into a wheeze.

"Cold-hearted bastard. I'm spilling blood here."

"You're not spilling anything important. And technically, you can't die in a 2 star book."

Leon took out a bottle of healing elixir which Lumina gave him, and poured a single drop on Alice's wound.

"This should do it." he muttered.

"Do it my ass!" Alice hissed, seeing his ridiculousness. "Pour some more, you bastard, at least take this seriously."

If someone got injured inside the book, then only their soul would get affected, depending on the difficulty of the book and the type of wound they received inside.

The wound began to close slowly, knitting flesh where the black knight's blade had torn through. Leon poured more of the elixir, watching as the hole in her chest filled up, leaving behind brand new skin.

The paralysis faded. Alice twitched her toes, then let out a long breath.

"Feeling good?" Leon asked.

Alice nodded, though her face was still pale.

"Looks like it… but—"

Her gaze shifted forward. Sparks of bright light flew rapidly, alongside the ringing of steel echoing across the slope.

The movement was fast, too fast for her eyes to follow. But she knew what was happening. The swordmaiden was locked in combat with the one who had run her through.

"That asshole." Alice's lip curled, her finger gripping her ring. "I'll fuck him up myself."

Leon caught her wrist before she could move.

"What do you think you could do? You'll only get in her way. Trust her, and let her handle it."

Alice clicked her tongue, biting back a retort. She hated it, but he wasn't wrong.

Leon's eyes narrowed. With Hawk Eye and Mana Sense activated, he studied the black knight, ignoring Lumina entirely.

'Who is this person?'

The moment the black armored knight drew close, Leon's light affinity triggered, pushing back against the knight's mana. That only happened when two rare opposite affinities clashed.

Light and Dark.

'A demon?' Leon thought.

The black knight looked human on the outside… but inside, he was anything but.

Lumina and the knight kicked apart, landing on opposite sides of the cliff.

Leon saw her Moonblade rise, all seven affinities wrapping tight around it. The black knight's blade, in turn, swallowed dark mana and a few other affinities.

Eyes locked. They moved at the same time.

Their blades hit, the shock tearing through the cliff, the ground screaming under the force.

The knight had blocked her attack.

Lumina's blade shook in her grip, almost flying free.

Her eyes widened.

"Ah—!"

Leon froze too. He noticed something was wrong.

Instead of pushing forward, Lumina kicked back, breaking off the fight.

She landed hard on the snowy ground in front of Leon and Alice, one hand covering her trembling lips.

"N-No… it can't be…"

Alice glanced at Leon. "What? Why'd she stop?"

Leon narrowed his eyes. "That movement… that sword style. It's the same as hers."

Alice frowned. "What does that even mean?"

Leon didn't answer. His chest felt heavy.

In his mind, he only thought of one word.

'Impossible.'

And then, Lumina's voice cracked the silence. Looking at the black demonic knight, she called him.

"…Shin?"

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[A/N: The privilege will be up within 24 hours]

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