Chapter : 622

The dark shape solidified completely. A tall, incredibly lean man stood directly behind Princess Iris.

He wore sleek, form-fitting black tactical gear. The fabric absorbed the ambient blue light of the room. It did not reflect any shine. A dark cloth wrapped securely around the lower half of his face. It hid his mouth and nose completely. Only his eyes were visible. His eyes were cold, sharp, and totally merciless.

He held a jagged, pitch-black blade in his right hand. The weapon did not look like normal steel. It looked like solidified smoke. It hummed with a quiet, toxic magical energy.

Ken Eliot watched the man form. He chewed his potato chip loudly. Crunch.

"I was absolutely right," Ken praised himself silently in his mind. He offered a goofy, lazy smile. "He is totally wearing a ninja mask. The character designers are incredibly predictable. They just use the exact same stealth template for every single assassin in the game."

Princess Iris did not hear the man form. The assassin moved with perfect silence. He raised his jagged black blade high into the air. He aimed the sharp tip directly at the back of the Princess's neck. He prepared to execute a flawless, instantly lethal strike.

Naomi turned her head. She wanted to check on her team.

Her green eyes landed on the dark figure standing behind the Princess. Her pupils shrank in pure, unfiltered horror. Her heart hammered wildly against her ribs. She saw the black blade falling.

"Princess!" Naomi screamed at the top of her lungs. Her voice echoed over the loud sounds of the battle.

Naomi did not hesitate for a single microsecond. Green wind magic exploded around her combat boots. She dashed forward. She moved with blinding, impossible speed. She crossed the small distance in a flash of red hair.

She stepped directly between Princess Iris and the assassin. She raised her arms. She crossed her twin silver daggers in front of her face.

CLANG!

The jagged black blade slammed violently into Naomi's crossed daggers. Bright silver sparks flew into the air. The impact was incredibly forceful. Naomi gritted her teeth. She planted her boots firmly on the stone floor. She completely stopped the lethal assassination attempt.

Princess Iris spun around instantly. Her violet eyes widened in shock. She raised her silver rapier. She pointed the tip at the masked intruder.

Sayma turned her head. The Vice-Captain gasped loudly. She pushed her thick glasses up. "The barrier did not block him! He bypassed the solid light entirely! He is made of pure darkness!"

The masked assassin smiled a very cruel, mocking smile beneath his dark cloth. He looked at Naomi's struggling arms.

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"You are very fast, little girl," the assassin whispered. His voice sounded like scraping sandpaper. "Your reflexes are commendable. But you are entirely too late. The trap is already set."

Naomi glared fiercely at the man. "Who are you?! You do not wear the colors of the 4th Unit!"

"I am Reddy," the assassin announced smoothly. "They call me the Shadow Weaver. I hail from the nation of ZulFarah. I am a professional."

Laxmi punched her open palm. Bright orange flames roared to life. "ZulFarah? That is a rival nation! You are not part of the Succession War! You are totally cheating!"

Reddy let out a cold, dry laugh. He pushed his dark blade harder against Naomi's daggers.

"I do not care about your petty little tournament," Reddy mocked loudly. He wanted everyone to hear his grand plan. "My employers are not from ZulFarah. My employers live right here in your pristine capital city. The Anti-Empire faction hired me. They paid me a massive, unbelievable fortune. I have a very specific, highly lucrative contract."

Princess Iris frowned deeply. "The Anti-Empire faction? What do they want?"

"They want absolute chaos," Reddy explained proudly. "They want to tear this entire Empire apart from the inside. They want to destroy the government permanently. And the easiest way to destroy a government is to execute the future rulers. My mission is to assassinate every single top-tier Royal candidate in this city."

Reddy pushed Naomi back an inch. He glared at Princess Iris.

"I used the loud, foolish 4th Prince as a convenient distraction," Reddy bragged. "I hid inside his guard's shadow. I slipped right past your defenses. You are my first target, Princess. Your death will be the spark that burns this nation to ash."

Ken slouched on his broken rock. He ate another potato chip. He let out a long, dramatic yawn.

"This guy talks entirely too much," Ken complained lazily in his mind. He shoved his free hand into his pocket. "He just exposed his entire secret plot to the main characters. He literally gave away his employer's name. Villains have zero operational security. They just love the sound of their own voices. He should just attack. Talking wastes so much time."

Reddy suddenly released the pressure on his blade. He jumped a few feet backward. He landed gracefully on the marble floor.

He clapped his hands together. He formed a very specific, highly complex hand sign with his fingers. Dark purple magic instantly flared around his boots.

Ken stopped chewing his chip. He recognized the hand sign immediately.

"Oh, come on," Ken thought casually. He rolled his dark eyes. "A Domain Expansion? He is totally using a Domain Expansion. He even did the hand sign. This is blatant copyright infringement. I should report him to the animation studio. He is stealing other people's ultimate moves."

Thick, pitch-black ink exploded violently from Reddy's body.

The dark ink expanded outward in every direction. It moved with blistering speed. It shot across the floor. It rushed into the air. It formed a massive, totally solid dome of pure night.

The black dome swallowed Reddy completely. It swallowed Princess Iris. It swallowed Naomi.

The dark ink crashed together at the top. The dome sealed perfectly shut. It looked like a giant, flawless sphere of absolute darkness sitting right in the middle of the room. It blocked out all the glowing blue light from the ceiling crystals.

Sayma ran forward frantically. She banged her fists against the outside of the black dome.

"Princess! Naomi!" Sayma shouted politely but urgently. She hit the dome again. The surface felt exactly like cold, solid steel. It did not budge a single millimeter. "I cannot break it! It is an absolute magical isolation barrier! They are completely trapped inside!"

Zinia stomped her boots. She slammed her hands against the black sphere. She used her massive physical strength. She tried to push the dark magic away. "It is totally solid! I cannot move it!"

Inside the black dome, everything was completely pitch black. There was absolutely zero light.

Princess Iris held her silver rapier tightly. She could not see her own hands. She felt a deep sense of rising panic. Naomi stood right beside her. Naomi held her twin daggers ready. The fierce vanguard leader tried to listen for footsteps in the dark.