Beneath the Quiet Mask

Videl immediately communicated through their mental link.

’Amura, I want you to create an opening, so that we can retreat.’

The moment those words echoed inside her mind, Amura’s silver eyes widened in disbelief.

Steel clashed violently nearby as one of the attackers swung a heavy blade toward her neck. Amura twisted her body gracefully, the edge of the sword narrowly brushing past strands of her steel-colored hair before she countered with a sharp slash that forced the man backward.

The forest path had already become a battlefield.

Cold wind swept through the trees while shattered stone and scorched dirt littered the ground around them. The smell of burnt mana lingered heavily in the air. Far above, dark clouds drifted slowly across the morning sky, dimming the sunlight that filtered through the branches.

Videl stood several meters away, her blonde hair fluttering wildly as she blocked a spear strike with her Long Sword. Sparks exploded between the weapons.

Her sapphire eyes remained calm.

Too calm.

That was what unsettled Amura the most.

Even while surrounded by enemies trying to kill her, Videl did not look afraid.

She looked troubled.

When Amura heard what her master said, she was confused. Though the level of opponents were somewhat difficult to deal with and even if they went all out they would get a bit injured, but in the end they would still win. So why should they retreat?

A chain suddenly shot toward Videl from behind.

Clink!

Videl reacted instantly, twisting her body and parrying it away before sliding several steps backward across the dirt path. Her breathing remained steady, but her eyes narrowed slightly as she observed the enemy formation again.

They were coordinated.

Far too coordinated.

As if her master was able to hear her own thoughts, Videl answered.

’I don’t want to kill them, since they might just be forced to do this.’

That one sentence made Amura pause for a brief moment.

Even amidst battle...

Even while assassins aimed for her life...

Videl was still thinking about the possibility that her enemies might have their own circumstances.

Amura stared at her master silently.

The girl standing before those enemies was beautiful beyond reason. Her long blonde hair danced under the dim light while her white fitted shirt clung slightly to her toned figure from sweat and movement. Black leather pants wrapped around her long athletic legs as mana flowed around her body like a faint blue mist.

But what truly stood out...

Was her heart.

That unbearably soft heart.

Amura remembered the first time she truly understood what kind of person Videl was.

A foolish person.

A naive person.

A person who would rather risk her own life than abandon someone else.

Even now, despite knowing this was a trap, despite understanding the danger surrounding them, Videl still refused to take lives unless absolutely necessary.

Amura gritted her teeth lightly as she blocked another incoming strike.

Her master’s kindness...

Was both her greatest strength and greatest flaw.

While Amura was thinking about her master’s flaw, Videl on the other hand had was thinking about something else.

Clang!

Another attack came from the side.

Videl ducked beneath a curved blade before driving her elbow into the attacker’s stomach. The man staggered backward with a groan.

Yet instead of pressing the advantage, Videl retreated again.

Her eyes continuously scanned the battlefield.

Every movement.

Every breath.

Every slight hesitation.

In truth he had another reason for retreating that he didn’t tell Amura.

For some reason she felt that even if she goes all out she wouldn’t really get any advantage against these opponents.

That strange feeling crawled beneath her skin like icy fingers.

Wrong.

Something about this battle felt wrong.

Videl tightened her grip around the Long Sword.

Her instincts had saved her countless times before. Victor once told her that instincts born from battle were sometimes more reliable than logic itself.

And right now...

Every instinct inside her screamed danger.

One of the attackers rushed toward her again, his sword coated in brown mana.

Videl immediately raised her hand.

"Water Bind."

Several streams of water burst from the ground and wrapped around the man’s legs, stopping his charge for a moment.

But strangely—

The attacker did not panic.

Instead, he calmly cut through the spell and retreated backward again.

Videl’s brows furrowed slightly.

Why retreat?

If their goal was truly to kill her, they should have pressed forward relentlessly.

Instead, they attacked carefully.

Measured.

Controlled.

As if testing her.

As if waiting.

Videl couldn’t understand it, but she somehow felt that the opponents were actually holding back on her somehow.

A chill quietly crept down her spine.

Her breathing slowed.

The sounds of battle around her suddenly felt distant as her thoughts sharpened.

The enemy mage from earlier raised his hand once more.

Mana gathered around him.

But instead of immediately releasing the spell, he hesitated for half a second.

Half a second.

To most people, that meant nothing.

To Videl—

It meant everything.

He could have attacked.

He had the opening.

Yet he delayed.

Why?

Another attacker clashed against Amura nearby.

The silver-haired spirit moved beautifully like flowing moonlight, her robe fluttering between strikes as her blade danced through the air. Despite fighting three opponents at once, she remained overwhelmingly elegant.

Yet even Amura had begun noticing it.

Their enemies were dangerous.

Experienced.

Skilled enough to kill.

But somehow...

Not truly trying to finish the fight.

He wasn’t sure why they were holding back, but he knew that these people truly wanted to kill him, which made their actions even more confusing.

Videl’s sapphire eyes darkened slightly.

That contradiction made her deeply uneasy.

Because fake hostility could be understood.

Fake killing intent could be understood.

But genuine killing intent mixed with restraint—

That was terrifying.

It meant they had another purpose.

Capture?

Delay?

Testing her strength?

Or perhaps...

Something even worse.

A sudden gust of wind swept through the forest path.

Leaves scattered violently across the battlefield.

The attackers slowly repositioned themselves again.

Videl took one step backward.

Then another.

Not out of fear.

Out of caution.

Her mind recalled Victor’s calm voice from long ago.

"If something feels wrong during battle, trust that feeling first. Pride gets people killed faster than swords."

At the time she had laughed at him.

Now—

She finally understood.

Amura glanced toward Videl through the mental link.

For the first time since the battle began, she sensed genuine caution from her master.

Not fear.

Not panic.

But the sharp awareness of someone realizing they had stepped into something far larger than expected.

The forest suddenly became eerily quiet.

Even the wind seemed to stop for a moment.

Videl slowly exhaled.

Her grip tightened around the Long Sword as mana quietly flowed beneath her skin.

Retreat first.

Understand later.

That was the correct decision.

Even if her heart hated abandoning things halfway.

Even if part of her wanted to uncover the truth immediately.

Survival came first.

Only the living could save others.

And somewhere deep inside her chest...

That strange feeling only continued growing stronger.