Azura

“What are you planning this time? Aren't you worried Ronald won't be able to hold out on his own?”

Aila spoke with a hint of urgency as soon as Midir pulled her onto the fortress wall.

“Don't worry, those bugs down there move slowly, and Ronald isn't stupid. If he can't win, he can at least run! I brought you up here so you could help me find out if the person controlling the Void Demons is hiding nearby.”

Midir spoke dismissively. Facing the fierce battles erupting in every direction, he reached out and condensed a wind blade to tear apart a swarm of insects diving from mid-air.

“How do you know the controller is nearby? Did you discover something?” Upon hearing Midir's request, Aila immediately became alert, scanning the people around them.

Midir pointed to the decapitated head of the lizard-type Void Demon at his feet, then gestured toward Blake.

“This Void Demon clearly moved differently from its kind. It sneaked in from over there and launched a surprise attack on Blake, the commander. If the controller weren't nearby, how would it know how important Blake is?”

Blake's face turned pale upon hearing the analysis. The thought that such a massive threat might be lurking right beside him filled him with deep unease.

“You have a point, but I'm not particularly skilled at searching for things, especially in such a chaotic situation... I'm not sure if I can do it.”

Aila crossed her arms and pondered for a moment, her tone carrying a trace of hesitation.

“No matter. Just do your best to try. I'll take care of any targets around us; you just focus on searching.”

With that, Midir placed a light element shield around her, isolating her from the surrounding chaos.

Aila felt a surge of warmth in her heart as she looked at the light element shield Midir had constructed for her. She knew all too well how important it was to have such a reliable support in an environment like this.

She nodded, her gaze becoming determined as she prepared to give her all to find the potential controller.

Aila took a deep breath and began to concentrate, using her keen senses to search for anomalies in the vicinity. She closed her eyes, her slender ears twitching slightly as she merged her mind with the environment, attempting to capture even the slightest unusual aura or ripple.

Seeing Aila enter a focused state with her eyes closed, Midir didn't dare disturb her further. He turned to ask Blake.

“Where's Rosal? Wasn't she with you?”

“Huh? She... wasn't she right here?”

Only then did Blake realize that Rosal, who had been nearby just moments ago, had moved away from the immediate battlefield. He had no idea where she had been swept by the tide of people and monsters.

While continuing to clear the swarming Void Demons to maintain a safe zone for Aila, Midir extended his perception across the wall. He finally spotted Rosal's figure in a skirmish about one or two hundred meters away.

At that moment, her small frame was deftly slicing through several Void Demons much larger than herself, rescuing the soldiers pinned beneath their claws.

Through the continuous combat, Rosal had become increasingly proficient with her equipment. While her stamina remained high, she was practically invincible.

Seeing that she seemed to grow even more courageous as the fight progressed, Midir felt slightly relieved. He shifted his attention back to Aila inside the shield.

Aila's expression grew more serious with every passing second. A moment later, she snapped her eyes open, a spark of excitement flashing within them.

“I feel it! Over there!” She pointed toward a hidden corner not far inside the city, where a faint and eerie energy fluctuation was slowly moving.

Just as Aila turned, a sudden streak of cyan light lunged silently from behind her, instantly shattering the light element shield Midir had built.

The sound of the shield breaking and Aila's startled cry rang out almost simultaneously. Thanks to the protection of the light shield, Aila reacted quickly. With her exceptional reflexes and sharp intuition, she twisted her body at the critical moment, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.

However, the cyan light acted like a sentient creature, rebounding immediately after missing its mark. It left a thin wound on her cheek, and blood instantly stained her pretty face, dripping onto her shoulder in a startling display.

This scene caused Midir's heart to tighten. He had never seen Aila in such a disheveled state; even in previous battles, she had never truly been injured.

Only then did the three of them notice a pitch-black figure that had appeared at the rear of the battlefield at some unknown point.

The figure hovered abruptly in mid-air above the city, clad in full-body black armor made of an unknown material that shimmered with a dark, mysterious luster.

In his hand, he held an object resembling a ribbon. That long cyan ribbon was coiling around him like a writhing serpent, and it was the very thing that had wounded Aila's face.

“What is that thing now?”

Midir felt an inexplicable threat from that dark figure. Even the woman in the black gown he had encountered earlier could not compare to the presence before him.

Aila's reaction was even more intense. It was as if an alarm had been triggered within her; her muscles tensed to the limit, and her pale blue pupils constricted to the size of needlepoints.

She gripped her weapon tightly, ready to face this sudden, powerful enemy. At this moment, she was like a cat driven into a corner, her fur standing on end as she assumed an unprecedented combat stance.

Meanwhile, Blake's voice was filled with disbelief and shock: “That... that is the Azure Moon Ribbon! He... he is Master Azura!”

The name struck the three of them like a bolt of thunder, making the already tense atmosphere even more oppressive.

Only then did Midir realize that the black figure floating in mid-air was actually one of the top human combatants who had been missing for several days—the Gale Sword Saint, Azura.

“Master Azura, why are you here? And why are you attacking us?”

Blake questioned loudly, trying to get some clues or an explanation. However, Azura acted as if he hadn't heard a word. He continued to hover silently in the air, a black aura constantly swirling around him, making him look both mysterious and terrifying.

The long cyan ribbon coiling around him suddenly flickered, striking toward Midir like a bolt of lightning.

Seeing the cyan light rushing toward him, Midir quickly condensed a thick shield in front of himself. But the moment the cyan light approached the shield, it bent at an unexpected angle and slashed directly toward Aila.

Unable to dodge in time, Aila could only brace her katana in front of her to barely block the cyan streak. This sharp blade, which had once easily sliced through the armor of giant insects, actually developed cracks under the blow. Finally, unable to withstand the burden, it snapped with a sharp clang.

As the broken tip of the blade was flung into the air, Aila was forced back several steps by the massive force behind the cyan light. She stumbled backward repeatedly under the impact, only managing to steady herself with great difficulty.

After completing the strike, the cyan streak seemed to have exhausted its power, quickly retracting to Master Azura's side and transforming back into that seemingly harmless ribbon.

“Be careful, you two! The Azure Moon Ribbon is Master Azura's unique weapon. It can change into a thousand forms when infused with his Battle Qi, and it is almost impossible to defend against!” Seeing Aila suffer a setback, Blake quickly warned them.

But before he could finish his sentence, the Azure Moon Ribbon behind the Gale Sword Saint turned in mid-air and shot straight for his head.

Midir, who was focused intently on the ribbon beside Azura, reacted immediately. He reached forward with one hand, and a giant hand of frost instantly materialized in the void, blocking the cyan streak right in front of Blake's face.