In the pounding rain, were the carriages moving quickly?
No.
But the forest was too close. In just this short span, they had already crossed the threshold—into shadow.
Into the cloying darkness of the downpour.
The wind carried with it an unfamiliar, discordant sound.
Allen looked out into the rain.
And then—
The rain stopped.
Literally stopped.
The falling raindrops froze midair, suspended in time, descending at a snail's pace.
Frozen in those deep gray eyes.
Frozen within Allen's [Dragon-Saint Aura]-enhanced [Perception Flow].
The carriage curtain fluttered outward in the wind. In the flickering candlelight spilling from within, a swarm of suspended droplets shimmered in front of his eyes—each glinting with orange arcs of light as they fell slowly, one after another, reflecting in his pupils.
His mind went into overdrive, thoughts racing with unprecedented clarity. And as he processed the image before him, Allen couldn't help but compare it to a scene from a movie in his previous life—where clever lighting effects gave the illusion of rain frozen midair.
But here, in a world of swords and sorcery—
He was actually doing it.
Through the downpour, his [Perception Flow] fed back the "base tone" of the entire environment.
The rain had stilled.
The wind had ceased.
The leaves in the forest no longer swayed in shadow.
And just within the treeline, what began to flicker into focus—was the gleam of drawn blades, cold and lethal.
Rain still fell.
But through the curtain of water—
Arrows were slithering through the raindrops.
This wasn't the friendly "test" from Ghislaine he had imagined.
This was an ambush.
A deliberate, calculated assassination.
Allen blinked, pulling himself out of the extreme pressure of his [Perception Flow] state.
The curtain now whipped wildly in front of his face as the wind surged again.
Footsteps pounded nearby—
Behind him, Eris had already shaken off the cat-eared maid's restraint, and in two steps, she was in front of Allen.
"Hey! Is Ghislaine outside the window? You've been staring out there forever—did she show up?"
Before the last word even finished—
Allen's arm lifted in front of her face.
Back of his hand toward Eris, palm outward, blocking her view of the window entirely.
Oh, you're blocking my view now?
You trying to start something?
The little lioness wasn't one to back down from a challenge.
Her drowsiness evaporated. Those fiery brows shot upward, and she opened her mouth to protest—
And in that split-second—
A whistling arrow dropped from the sky, pierced the rain curtain, and flew straight through the carriage's window frame—slamming directly into Allen's palm!
The force from above made the arrow shriek with violent tremors. But Allen's [Perception Flow] was adjusting its trajectory in real time, redirecting the force so swiftly it nearly created afterimages.
Eris instinctively took a step back—but her pride refused to let her retreat any further. She stood her ground. And in that instant, her sharpened dynamic vision and budding Sword God Style instincts kicked in.
Her crimson eyes widened—just in time to track the arrow's exact path as it trembled between Allen's fingers.
And then—
CRACK.
The arrow burst apart in a shower of splinters, scattering across the carriage.
More arrows followed, whirling chaotically through the rain and slamming into the carriage roof one after another.
They had already entered the forest. From between the trees, shadows broke through the rain.
Charging.
"Sylphy! [Earth Fortress] spell—protect Eris and yourself!!"
Allen twisted, scooping the still-staring Eris into his arms, and tossed her straight into Sylphy's lap.
"Got it!!"
She reacted instantly. After that desperate battle in Snow Valley last winter, she and Allen had developed near-instinctive teamwork. Even though she had no idea what was happening, her body obeyed without question.
From the corner of Allen's eye, he saw her mana surge.
Stone walls erupted from the edges of the carriage, forming a protective encasement.
The [Earth Fortress] spell.
Leaving only a small viewing hole to see through.
Eris, meanwhile, stared at the arrow splinters scattered on the floor. But in her red eyes—
There was no fear.
Only exhilaration.
This was the same girl who, even after being kidnapped, could curse out her captors without breaking a sweat. A few assassins weren't about to scare her.
Sylphy, on the other hand, glanced between the shattered arrow bits and the splashing footsteps fast approaching from outside. She quickly pieced together that this was a targeted attack.
Then she noticed the simmering rage on Allen's face.
Allen's first reaction was to shield Eris… Does that mean—he already guessed this ambush was aimed at her?
Just as that thought clicked—
Eris began squirming.
"Sylphy, let me go! I wanna see what's going on out there!"
But Sylphy tightened her hold and cast a soft but firm [Wind Bind] spell, keeping Eris pinned.
Her voice was sweet and gentle—but quick and sure.
"Let's not do that, okay? If Allen told me to protect you, that means it's seriously dangerous. I know how much you love watching his sword techniques—so I left a little window open just for you. That's enough, right?"
"I—!"
"If you go out, he might get mad and refuse to teach you."
That shut Eris right up.
She scrunched her lips into a scowl, gave a reluctant hmph, and muttered—
"Like I need his teaching…"
But her body betrayed her. She obediently slumped back into Sylphy's embrace, eyes locked on Allen without blinking once.
Sylphy smiled softly and looked up.
And then—
A blade lunged through the carriage wall—aimed directly at Allen's face.
Sylphy and Eris both froze, pupils contracting in horror.
Eris jolted forward on reflex, but Sylphy reacted first—her entire body shifting to intercept.
In that exact moment—
It was like the candlelight blurred—
And a sharp, overlapping whine flooded their ears.
Zzzzzing!!!
Through that sound—
A gleam of cold steel.
A blade.
And then—
Clink. Clink. Clink.
Pieces began to fall.
A knife edge.
A blade.
A hilt.
Fingers.
A wrist.
A whole arm.
Shredded sleeves.
Gushing blood.
The arm that had thrust the weapon inside—was now carved into dozens of thin slices, drifting like feathers through the carriage, scattering at Allen's feet.
Blood spurted from the stump of the attacker's upper arm, just outside the window.
And the entire thing—
Took no more than a single second.
From outside, a gut-wrenching scream tore through the air.
And in the next breath—
Silence.
A severed head thunked onto the window ledge, bounced down the carriage wall, and rolled to a stop at the base of Sylphy and Eris' [Earth Fortress].
Blood still gushed from the neck.
The face, slack-jawed and blood-soaked, still wore an expression of startled disbelief.
Eris and Sylphy stared at the unfamiliar, scruffy, dead-eyed face.
Frozen.
Then—
Sylphy's knees gave out, and she collapsed into the dirt wall behind her.
Only now did she truly understand—
What Allen had meant by [Earth Fortress].
It wasn't a magical shield to protect them from danger.
It was to keep them from getting sprayed with blood.
That was all.