Inside the Command Tent — 10 Minutes Earlier
The air inside the tent was thick with tension.
A lantern flickered softly above, casting long shadows across the table between them—maps, marked routes, symbols of death and conquest spread like a quiet promise.
A man In his thirty sat on one side.
Tall. Lean. Composed.
Grey hair fell neatly behind his ears, his sharp grey eyes fixed on the woman across from him. A thin scar ran across his cheek, not deep—but old enough to have settled into his face like a permanent mark of violence.
His fingers tapped once against the wooden table.
Then stopped.
"Are you really out of your mind…?"
His voice was low.
Controlled.
But the anger beneath it was unmistakable.
Across from him—
Elsa sat lazily in her chair, one leg thrown over the armrest, the other resting on the table itself, boots pressing lightly against the edge of a map.
Carefree.
As if none of this mattered.
She exhaled a thin stream of smoke, not even bothering to look at him.
"Calm down, will you… Marcus."
That was enough.
The table slammed.
Wood cracked slightly under the force as Marcus shot to his feet, his chair scraping harshly against the ground.
"Calm down?!"
His composure shattered, his face twisting in anger.
"You want me to calm down when you bring a Fucking time bomb into our camp?!"
His voice rose—not shouting, but sharp enough to cut.
"You know how important this mission is!"
Elsa groaned, dragging the cigarette from her lips, her expression shifting into mild annoyance.
"Ugh… I had no choice."
She tilted her head slightly, finally looking at him.
"What did you wanted me to do? Kill him?"
A pause.
"Or let him go after I attacked him?"
Her blue eyes narrowed faintly.
"What would you have done?"
"…."
Marcus said nothing.
Because there was no good answer.
A quiet curse slipped from his lips as he dragged a hand down his face before sitting back down heavily.
"Fuck..."
Silence stretched for a moment.
Then—
"You're sure he was alone when you attack him, right?"
Elsa didn't hesitate.
"Yeah. No one else."
Marcus leaned forward, elbows on his knees, fingers pressing against the bridge of his nose.
"…Damn it."
"If the Ravenwood family finds out about this… things will get messy."
Elsa let out a soft, amused breath, smoke curling into the air.
"You're stressing for no reason."
Marcus looked up, eyes sharp.
"You are the reason of my stress?"
A smile spread across Elsa's lips.
"I don't think they will try to find him or anything... because If they cared about him… they wouldn't have let him wander alone in the first place."
Her voice was light—but her gaze wasn't.
"When I found him, he was completely by himself."
A small pause.
"I could've killed him right there."
Her eyes glinted faintly.
"No one would've known."
Marcus didn't respond immediately.
Elsa leaned back further into her chair, completely relaxed.
"So don't worry."
"No one is coming for him."
Her smile deepened slightly.
"Because to them…"
"He's worthless... a manaless trash"
For a split second—
Something darker flickered behind her eyes.
'At least to them.'
Marcus exhaled slowly, the tension in his shoulders easing—but not disappearing.
"I hope you're right…"
He muttered.
Then straightened slightly.
"…So what do we do about him?"
He began listing it out, cold and practical.
"Killing him is out of the question."
"We can't release him either—he's seen too much."
A pause.
"The only viable option is to send him to the Main House and erase his memory."
He glanced up—
Only to see Elsa playing with her ciggreat.
"…Are you even listening?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm listening."
Her tone said otherwise.
Marcus's eye twitched slightly.
"…Do you think you can contact the Main House?"
Elsa shook her head, tapping ash from her cigarette.
"No."
"We have to wait, until we conquer this realm."
Marcus frowned immediately.
"That'll take too long."
"What if the Ravenwoods notice something's wrong?"
Elsa smiled again.
Confident.
Certain.
"That won't happen."
"…You're awfully sure."
"I already told you why."
She leaned forward slightly now, her blue eyes locking onto his.
"They don't care."
"And even if they did—"
"They're already too late."
Marcus held her gaze for a moment.
Then leaned back with a quiet sigh.
"…Fine."
"It's decided then."
"He stays here until the conquest is complete."
For a brief moment—
Silence settled.
Then Elsa spoke again.
Almost casually.
"Oh, and one more thing."
Marcus didn't like that tone.
"…What?"
Her smile widened.
"He will be joining us."
Silence.
Then—
"W—What?!"
Marcus shot up again, disbelief flashing across his face.
"Are you insane?!"
His aura flared this time—sharp, heavy, pressing against the space like an invisible weight.
"Elsa, take this seriously—"
Her eyes glowed.
A faint, icy blue.
And instantly—
The temperature in the tent dropped.
Frost crept along the edges of the table.
The air itself seemed to still.
"I amSerious."
Her voice was soft.
But absolute.
Marcus didn't move.
Didn't flinch.
He simply stared at her.
Unaffected.
Unimpressed.
"…What are you scheming?"
The cold vanished as suddenly as it appeared.
Elsa leaned back again, flicking her cigarette aside.
"Scheming is such an ugly word."
She smiled playfully.
Marcus didn't react.
"…I'm waiting."
"…Fine."
She exhaled slowly.
"I'm going to make him mine."
Marcus's face twisted—not in shock this time.
But in visible disgust.
"…Is that why you didn't kill him?"
Elsa's smile turned sharper.
"Partly."
Her eyes gleamed with something darker now.
"I want to see his father's face."
A pause.
"When he sees his son serving me."
Her voice dropped slightly.
"Don't you think that would be… entertaining?"
Marcus didn't share her amusement.
"I doubt he'd care."
"Oh, he will."
Her tone was certain.
"Even if he feels nothing for the boy—"
"He still carries the name Ravenwood."
Her fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
"A Ravenwood… reduced to a slave?"
She chuckled softly.
"There's no way he won't react."
Marcus sighed again, rubbing his temple.
"…You're insane."
But he didn't argue further.
Instead—
"Then why bring him with us?"
"He's not even an Awakener."
"He'll die."
"Or worse—he'll get someone else killed."
Elsa tilted her head slightly.
"He needs to be strong enough to stand beside me."
A small smile.
"This will be his training."
Marcus scoffed.
"Training?"
"You're taking him into the Inner Layer."
"Even B-Ranks struggle there."
"That's why only ten of us are going."
"Because anyone below B rank will only be a liability"
His voice hardened.
"I'm not bringing a liability."
Elsa's smile didn't fade.
"You're underestimating him. He can hold his own."
Marcus narrowed his eyes. "You're kidding, right? Everyone knows what kind of trash he is."
He stepped closer, voice dropping with contempt. "The only thing good about him is that he's a Ravenwood. And you're telling me to bring a manaless kid—who can't even kill an F-rank monster—into a mirror realm trial?"
Elsa's gaze sharpened, but her smile remained.
"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying."
"..."
Silence.
Then she added "You'll understand when you see him. He's… quite interesting."
Marcus raised an eyebrow, studying her for a long moment. Then he shook his head.
"…We'll see about that."
His eyes shifted toward the entrance of the tent. His voice turned cold again.
"Eryx."
A shadow moved outside.
"Bring in Grey Ravenwood."