Agnes Monvois had expected a different outcome.
From the moment she abducted Ariana Silver, she had carefully predicted how events would unfold. The strongest mage of Perona was the perfect bait. Once word spread, the armies of both cities would inevitably mobilize to hunt her down and rescue the maiden mage.
That had been the entire purpose.
A trap.
With Ariana as the lure, Agnes expected dozens—perhaps hundreds—of soldiers to march into the Forest of Fawl. The Witch had prepared accordingly, gathering mutated beasts and Dark Lords to crush any large force that dared to enter her domain.
But her calculation had overlooked one crucial variable.
Eryndor.
A single warrior had arrived instead of an army.
And against all odds, that one warrior had dismantled everything she had prepared.
Her Dark Lords—defeated.
Her mutated creatures—slaughtered.
The battlefield that was meant to be her advantage had turned into a graveyard of her own forces.
For the first time since the battle began, Agnes realized something unsettling.
This fight might not unfold entirely in her favor.
Her eyes lingered on Eryndor, who still stood amid the devastation despite his injuries.
Interesting.
Still, Ariana had never truly mattered to her.
The maiden mage was only a piece in a larger design.
Agnes's true ambition stretched far beyond the Forest of Fawl. She had no interest in simple victories or petty conflicts between cities. What she desired was far greater.
Power.
Absolute power across the lands.
But achieving that goal required more than dark magic alone.
It required the orb.
The very artifact that had slipped from her grasp.
At that time, when Agnes had been weakened during her healing phase, Sol had taken advantage of the opportunity. Desperate for strength and cunning enough to seize the moment, he had stolen the orb before she could recover.
A bold move.
One she had not forgotten.
It was also the reason Agnes had never joined the invasion led by Kharous Raine. She refused to fight under another's banner. She would not stand in someone else's shadow while Kharous received all the praise and glory.
No.
Agnes would rise on her own terms.
And now, as she watched Eryndor standing defiantly on the battlefield, another thought formed in her mind.
Sol.
The boy who carried the corrupted orb.
Someone like him could become extremely useful.
If manipulated correctly, he could serve as the perfect infiltrator—an unpredictable force capable of advancing her plans from within the lands themselves.
Agnes's lips curled slightly into a calculating smile.
This battle had already served its purpose.
Without another word, she lifted her hand.
Dark magic surged outward.
From the surrounding forest, a hundred mutated animals answered her call, bursting from the shadows with feral roars.
The creatures immediately rushed toward Eryndor.
At the same time, Agnes rose slowly into the air, carried by swirling currents of dark magic. Her figure ascended above the battlefield before drifting backward, retreating into the dark horizon of the forest.
Within seconds, she vanished into the distance.
But Eryndor did not allow himself even a moment of relief.
Despite the wounds covering his body, he raised his weapon once more.
The mutated beasts lunged toward him in waves.
Eryndor moved without hesitation.
His blade carved through the first creature.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Blood sprayed across the ruined clearing as he cut down every single one of them with brutal efficiency. Each strike was precise, each movement controlled despite the exhaustion weighing down his body.
One after another, the creatures fell.
Minutes later, the battlefield was silent again.
The last beast collapsed at Eryndor's feet.
Breathing heavily, he turned immediately toward Ariana.
Without wasting another second, he lifted her carefully into his arms.
Her body was weak.
Her breathing faint.
But she was alive.
That was enough.
Navigating through the dark forest, Eryndor began the long journey back toward safety.
After putting enough distance between them and the battlefield, he activated a communicator and called for medical extraction.
Rescue teams responded quickly.
Three grueling hours later, the medical team finally located them deep within the Forest of Fawl and transported both Eryndor and Ariana back to the city.
They were rushed straight to the hospital.
By the time they arrived, the higher officials were already waiting.
The entire city had been anxiously awaiting news of the rescue mission.
Eryndor was treated immediately, but despite the doctors' protests, he refused to rest for long. The officials needed a report.
Two hours later, still bruised and bandaged but standing tall, Eryndor recounted the entire mission in detail.
The Dark Lords.
The mutated creatures.
Agnes's power.
The officials listened carefully, already discussing strategies for the next confrontation with the Witch.
But as the conversation continued, something caught Eryndor's attention.
Ariana.
She had recovered far too quickly.
Only hours earlier she had been on the brink of death.
Now she was standing again.
Walking.
Speaking.
It didn't make sense.
Suspicion crept into Eryndor's mind.
He turned toward her sharply.
"What do you remember from earlier?" he asked.
Ariana hesitated.
Her hands trembled slightly as she tried to recall the moment.
"I… I don't know," she said quietly.
Her voice shook.
"The Witch was whispering something in my ears… before she kicked me out."
Eryndor's instincts screamed immediately.
Something was wrong.
Then he saw it.
A small movement in Ariana's eyes.
Subtle.
Almost impossible to notice.
But unmistakably unnatural.
His heart dropped.
The realization struck him instantly.
This had never been a simple rescue.
It was another trap.
Far away, Agnes Monvois watched through Ariana's eyes, a cruel smile spreading across her face.
In the next instant, she seized control.
Ariana's body moved suddenly, darting away with unnatural speed.
"Capture her! Now!" Eryndor shouted, forcing himself upright despite the pain ripping through his body.
Soldiers rushed forward.
But they were too slow.
"Damn it," Eryndor muttered through clenched teeth.
"Not even a goddamn minute to rest before something else happens."
Under Agnes's control, Ariana ran straight across the city streets until she reached a quiet place where Sol stood alone, staring silently at the moon.
Her eyes glowed with eerie light.
A portal tore open beside him.
Before Sol could even react—
Ariana struck him with a powerful magic.
The force sent him straight into the portal.
In an instant, he vanished.
The portal snapped shut.
Ariana's body collapsed immediately afterward, the Witch's control disappearing as suddenly as it had begun.
Moments later, soldiers and Eryndor arrived at the scene.
They found her lying unconscious on the ground.
"Get her back to the hospital," Eryndor ordered coldly.
"Fully guarded."
The soldiers carefully lifted her and carried her away.
Meanwhile—
Sol landed hard on unfamiliar ground.
He quickly rose to his feet, weapon already in his hand.
But when he looked up—
He saw her.
Agnes Monvois stood calmly before him.
And somehow… he couldn't move.
The Witch's presence alone was enough to freeze him in place.
She understood exactly what kind of person stood before her.
The rage.
The desperation.
The hunger for power burning inside him, amplified by the corrupted orb.
Agnes smiled slowly.
"Be my right-hand man," she said calmly.
"And I'll give you full control over the power you already wield."
Sol froze.
Those words struck him deeper than any blade.
Full control.
Exactly what he had always wanted.
Agnes stepped closer.
"I can make you stronger than you've ever imagined," she continued, her voice smooth and persuasive.
"But first… you must prove your loyalty."
Her eyes gleamed with cunning.
"Kill Eryndor."
A twisted smile spread across her face.
"Desperation for power makes you fascinating."
She tilted her head slightly.
"So tell me…"
Her voice softened.
"Will you accept my offer?"
Sol tightened his grip on his weapon.
His mind churned with conflict.
But the promise of mastering the orb's power burned in his thoughts like an irresistible flame.
And for a moment—
Silence filled the darkness between them.