Everyone sensed the surge of magic power and turned their heads just in time to witness Riveria unleash her spell, annihilating the monsters in an instant.
"Nice work, Riveria."
Finn said with a half-grin.
The man with the skull mask clicked his tongue, teeth grinding as he witnessed the scene.
"Tch... she wiped out all the Violas that quickly?"
His eyes widened behind the hollow eyeholes of his mask.
'Valletta was right... these Loki Familia bastards aren't to be underestimated.'
At the same time, he was locked in battle with Bete, the two of them exchanging blow after blow.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble we went through just to drag those things to the surface?!"
He roared, a vein throbbing at his temple... but that brief outburst cost him his focus.
"Where the hell are you looking, you bastard!?"
Bete snarled, seizing the opening and driving a brutal kick into the man's midsection, sending him flying back and crashing into a wall.
"You old hag, go help Finn, Tiona and Ais... I'll handle this annoying motherfucker."
Bete cracked his knuckles, lips curling into a feral grin.
"Do you really have to use such crude language?"
Riveria shot him a sideways glance.
Bete merely clicked his tongue in response.
Shaking her head, Riveria turned her attention toward Finn, Tiona and Ais' battle with the mysterious level 7 foe.
Tensing her legs, she launched herself forward, joining the fray without hesitation.
"Vanargand... I see. Even if you're an inferior being, a level 5 is still a level 5 after all."
The man in the skull mask emerged from the rubble, largely unscathed, brushing dust from his clothes as he straightened.
'I felt it when I fought him earlier... but his body is unnaturally tough.'
Bete growled inwardly, tightening his grip on his dual blades.
Even after all his slashes and strikes, he had only managed to leave a few scratches... shallow cuts that barely damaged his opponent.
Bete lowered his stance, muscles coiling like a predator about to pounce.
Steam-like breath spilled from his mouth as his instincts sharpened, golden eyes locked onto the skull-masked man.
'But it doesn't matter... I am faster than him...'
That confidence wasn't empty bravado.
The moment the man finished brushing dust from his cloak, Bete vanished.
The cobblestone beneath his feet shattered as he closed the distance in a blink, twin short swords flashing as they carved toward the man's neck and ribs from opposite angles.
The skull-masked man barely managed to twist his body aside.
Steel screeched as one blade grazed his shoulder, tearing fabric and drawing a thin line on the his skin.
The second strike followed immediately, forcing him to raise his arm to block... only for the impact to send a jolt through his entire body.
"Tch—!"
He skidded backward several meters, boots carving lines through the ground.
'This wolf bastard is getting faster?'
"Annoying."
The man muttered, voice tight with irritation rather than fear.
Bete didn't give him time to recover.
He pressed forward relentlessly, blades weaving into a storm of slashes aimed to overwhelm rather than overpower... cutting tendons, forcing movement, denying breathing room.
Each strike was sharp, precise, and merciless.
But the man with the skull mask didn't remain idle.
Each time Bete lunged in with blinding speed, the masked man answered with a strike of his own... heavy, direct, and merciless.
He didn't bother matching the wolf's footwork.
Instead, he relied on his superior durability and raw strength, letting Bete's blades bite shallowly into his flesh before retaliating with crushing blows.
Their figures blurred across the battlefield, vanishing and reappearing in bursts of motion.
Every clash sent shockwaves rippling through the air, cracking the ground beneath their feet.
Ais, breathing heavily, sweat running down her face, stole a brief glance in Bete's direction.
'They're evenly matched...'
It was a collision of two completely different fighting styles... speed versus endurance, precision versus brute force... yet neither seemed capable of overwhelming the other.
"Ais! Focus!"
Riveria's sharp voice cut through the din, snapping Ais back to reality.
With the addition of Orario's greatest mage, the pressure on their side eased.
But they knew that this balance was fragile.
One misstep, one mistake, and it would mean total defeat.
Yet even amid the chaos, Finn remained calm, his mind steadily analyzing the situation.
'From the very start, their objective was to rescue Revis... that man with the skull mask said it himself.'
'If that's true...'
A lingering question echoed in his thoughts.
'Then this method is far too inefficient.'
These were enemies who had managed to remain hidden for a long time.
'There's no way they could be this tactless.'
'Breaking through the front gate, openly declaring their objective to our faces... are they truly underestimating us?'
Finn narrowed his eyes and shook his head.
'No... this is their strategy.'
'They're nothing more than a distraction.'
The level 7 man in armor... and the skull-masked man alongside him... were being used as pawns.
'A deception meant to keep us occupied...'
'Which means someone has already slipped inside the manor.'
Finn continued to swing his spear... deflecting, striking, thrusting... never allowing his thoughts to slow his movements.
He could see it clearly now.
In his mind, a chessboard formed, a faceless opponent seated across from him.
'How bold... to dedicate a level 7 just to sell the deception.'
'They must've expected me to mobilize the familia's full strength to deal with the threats that they chose to reveal... to lure everyone out of the manor.'
'Or perhaps they were counting on my practical mindset... forcing me to prioritize eliminating a level 7... and abandon the captured level 6, Revis.'
'Whoever planned this... knows me very well.'
Finn allowed himself a faint grin as he reached out and moved one of the pieces on his imaginary board.
'Unfortunately for you... there's an unpredictable variable you failed to account for.'
The protective magic Judas had cast earlier hadn't vanished.
It lingered... quiet, resilient... shielding them from fatal harm, a blessing that kept them from being overwhelmed.
'I would've been forced to call Gareth back if not for this.'
'Thanks to Judas, we can keep fighting... and still have someone handle things on the inside.'
Finn briefly turned his gaze toward the manor.
'Gareth... I leave it to you.'
...
Inside the Twilight Manor's basement, a shadow in a dark corner suddenly rose, as if it had come to life, a pair of ominous eyes opening within it.
Slowly, the shadow took on a human shape.
The darkness then dissolved, revealing a female figure wearing a mask with a distorted shape of an elephant and a crow.
Just as the figure reached out to open the metal door to Revis' cell... a thick hand suddenly grabbed her arm and brought her to a halt.
"What are you doing, lass?"
A deep voice rumbled, heavy with warning.
"This ain't a place you should be wanderin' around so casually."
Gareth stood behind her, towering and immovable, his stern gaze locked onto the intruder.
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