She's very careful now.

In front of Ferris stood what was basically a massive spiked ball. Artemis tracked his every step, her entire body turning as he circled her like a predator sizing up its prey.

It was obvious she had no plans to strike or move away from her wing shield.

Just like that, she became an immovable fortress.

A tedious and boring opponent to fight, sure, but Ferris couldn't really complain. Her strategy was solid.

But there was still room for improvement. Artemis had the sheer power to push Ferris into a corner, even if they were matched in strength, but she chose not to utilize it.

And also her ranged breath, which was nowhere to be seen.

Is she really serious about winning against me in a sword fight, or is she trying to make me think she'll do that?

Ferris paused. He was still a good distance away, safe enough for him to relax his arms.

He then turned in the other direction, still circling around Artemis, who was not budging an inch.

Not able to wait any longer, Ferris did something that was not considered etiquette in duels.

Ferris stepped forward quickly as if to attack, then stepped back just as fast.

Artemis clearly flinched at the sight, and this worried Ferris.

But not in a way that he was in danger—rather, in how he might've affected her mentality.

Did I hit her that hard? She's practically scared of me...

. . .

. . .

. . .

Dash!

Breaking into a full sprint, Ferris simply went straight toward the wyvern.

But just as he was about to step into her attack range, he leapt upward into the air.

Confident that Artemis couldn't change her stance as quickly as he could, Ferris took his chance to lose his dagger by throwing it directly on top of her head.

But she was finally able to adjust herself to block the tiny dagger.

The combined speed of the dagger and the heat of her greatsword created an explosion-like effect that produced a brief smokescreen.

This allowed Ferris to land safely without being counterattacked and also step away further.

Without waiting for Artemis to regain her footing, Ferris picked up one of the museum pieces lying on the floor, using it as another throwable weapon.

I'll just have to break her out of her shell if she won't attack me.

A crack in the air erupted as he swung his entire arm like a whip. Thanks to coating the projectile with his essence, it was able to survive the flight and do some damage on impact.

No matter how fragile or light the artifacts he picked up were, they were all able to cause a great annoyance to the wyvern, who could only take cover behind her wing shield.

The throwing went on for nearly a minute, which caused Ferris's arm to sore a bit from all the hard throwing.

But not once did he detect Artemis falter, as she was still following her turtle strategy as if it were a holy decree.

But Ferris was not planning to stop too. In his mind, this was free damage.

Using his other arm, he kept throwing random objects at her, gradually tearing through the thin membrane of her wings.

Sometimes, he even found real weapons scattered on the ground. Though ancient, they were still effective when coated with his essence.

A spear! Ferris spotted it while running in circles around Artemis.

Picking it up on the run, he planned this one to be much more special than the others.

Double the velocity, and double the essence input.

Now that her wings were at their most fragile state, the ancient spear he was holding would be the one to pierce through them and into her hard scales.

Pushing his muscle fibers to the limit, Ferris launched the spear like it was a tank round.

There's no way she could block that.

The air compressed around the tip of the spear, its speed so great that it crushed the already flattened edge—but that didn't matter.

In ancient times, ballistas were often used against the lesser dragon species, so Ferris found himself amused by the similarity of the situation.

He quickly grabbed another artifact just in case, then realizing it was the prop sword he had broken earlier.

She's done for if she doesn't come up with anything—

Clap.

"!!!" Before he could register that sudden noise, his perspective suddenly shifted to someplace closer to Artemis.

But most importantly, his own velocity had changed, as he was now moving toward Artemis in place of the spear he threw.

Shit! Ferris acted quickly, not letting the sudden change ruin his flow state.

But his expression was too late to change. Artemis noticed that one tiny shift in Ferris's mind and finally went out of her shell, regardless of what had happened right now.

She thrust her greatsword directly toward Ferris's chest, but unfortunately, both of them were just a split second late in acting on their decisions.

Ferris just barely dodged her sword, and Artemis was an inch too far from a fatal hit.

Curse that serpent, Ferris hissed, kicking himself away from Artemis once again, throwing his prop right towards Artemis's eyes to force her to block.

Ferris landed on the charring flooring, but instead of focusing on the wyvern, he focused on another figure approaching from Artemis's flank.

That guy… His gaze fell on the familiar bulky figure who had saved Miss Evening before, by mysteriously teleporting her away from his grasp.

This time, Ferris studied him more closely—his strange clothes and single-piece helmet stood out.

The man bore a strong resemblance to the person who had been with Lilith when Ferris first arrived in the city, yet it was clear they weren't the same.

However, one thing was certain to Ferris, this guy needed to go.

Compared to Artemis's wyvern blessing, whatever this person had was much more unpredictable and more dangerous for fights.

Before Ferris could call him out, Artemis turned toward the intruder before whacking him with her tail.

The impact created a loud boom that kicked up the ash around the battlefield, but the masked man did not move an inch as he merely caught the entire tail with his arms and obliques.

Artemis screamed, "Executor!"

"Aren't your people warriors? You should know not to bother other people!"

The fire exhaled from her wrath burned the man's glistening body, but it didn't leave a mark.

"My body felt the cries of battle. They couldn't resist. See?" The masked man pointed at his quivering abs, which made Artemis yelp, slipping her tail out from his hug.

She growled, "If you want battle, then why don't you go with the other plebeians?"

"I may be a villain, but that's merely a name and a profession I've taken up in the meantime," Executor clarified. "I'm just here to help even the odds."

The wyvern flared inside when she heard the man tell her that she was too weak and needed help. "Do I look like I want your help?!"

. . .

Executor stared at Artemis for a while before turning his attention to the lone figure standing before them.

Executor pointed at Ferris. "You don't. You need my help. That man hasn't been taking you seriously from the start, can't you see that he looks serious once the match up became even?"

I can't hear them... What are they talking about? Ferris sharpened his expression because the heat became too irritating for his eyes to stay open.

Then, Ferris bit his tongue.

Two might be too much. I'm outta here.

A knight shouldn't be ashamed of tactically retreating. Following his teacher's advice, he ran in the opposite direction, creating as much distance as possible.

Meanwhile, the two foreigners were still distracted.

"Do I give a fuck? Fuck off!" Artemis kept yelling at Executor, but she couldn't tell what he was expressing behind that helmet of his.

Executor replied "Aren't people with your type of blessing supposed to have stronger senses? Surely you can tell that you can't win."

Boom!

Stabbing the very earth and creating an earthquake-like tremor, Artemis slammed her massive sword right beside the masked man and buried it deep.

She raised two of her claws. "Twice! You called me weak twice! You lizard-tongued mother—

Executor cut her off and shook his head. "I just don't want to sound mean! Anyways...

We should really focus our attention toward that man. I feel a strong spirit from him, even at the waterpark back then."

However, when he turned toward where Ferris was, he was nowhere to be seen.

Artemis was the first to react to the disappearance, and she did not take it well. "!You mother—

***

Plop.

Ferris climbed on top of the massive shelves and sat among the dusty trinkets, hidden away in a dark space between two crates.

He restricted his essence flow for the time being so he would remain invisible while coming up with a plan.

Instead of fighting them head-on, the best option would simply be not fighting them in the first place.

Damn you, Sagittarius. Why am I holding back against your descendants?

Ferris slammed the back of his head against the crate. He was certain now—Artemis was feeding the dragon egg with the ashes of dead dragons, just like how dragons in his old world nourished their kin.

Maybe it's just a coincidence... Ferris stared blankly into the air.

I'd prefer not to waste all my essence on these two. I need to save it for the demon-level villains.

...Not that I could do much against them anyway.

He pulled out his phone and checked the time.

Forty-five minutes till midnight.

Ferris frowned. Still underground, he might miss whatever Prodigy was planning to drop.

I really need to get out of here.

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