They Called Me Trash? Now I'll Hack Their World-Chapter 213: Traitor!

"What is your actual problem?!" Yenna shouted, the heat of her fire magic beginning to unconsciously bleed into the air around her.

"Look at what just happened! What wrong will it do if we just go back, find our party, and come back for this floor later?!"

Edric gritted his teeth, his jaw locking tight.

We don’t have the time, he thought bitterly. He let out a heavy, exhausted sigh.

"Fine. We’ll look for them," Edric finally conceded, turning to face her. "But first, we need to—"

He didn’t finish the sentence.

From the deep shadows of the corridor, five figures stepped silently into the dim light. They were draped in pitch-black cloaks, their faces hidden beneath heavy cowls, their hands gripping wicked, curved daggers.

Yenna’s eyes widened in sheer shock.

Rolf stumbled backward, his breath hitching in perfectly acted panic.

"E-Edric?!" he stammered, his voice cracking.

Yenna looked from the five heavily armed assassins straight to Edric, who had his hand resting calmly on his sword. Her mind violently connected the wrong dots.

"You bastard," Yenna hissed, her voice vibrating with absolute, unadulterated rage.

She stepped away from him, her hands igniting with roaring flames. "You did this! This was the reason you separated us! You damn traitor!"

Edric’s brow furrowed. "Yenna—"

"I knew it!" she screamed, the fire in her palms burning blindingly hot.

"I knew you were up to no good! The rescue earlier was just an act to let our guards down so you could lead us into a slaughterhouse! I never should have believed Mira!"

One of the hooded figures let out a dark, raspy chuckle.

"What a fierce lady."

"Right?" another assassin chimed in, stepping forward and dragging the flat of his blade against the stone wall. "Why don’t we just gut the guy first and have some fun with her? The boss won’t mind, right?"

The other figures began to grin beneath their hoods, a chorus of dark, predatory chuckles echoing in the corridor.

Yenna’s face went crimson. The air in the cavern warped from the sheer intensity of the heat rolling off her body.

"You sons of bitches," Yenna snarled, raising both of her blazing hands. "Die—"

But...

Sklch!

The wet, sickening sound of tearing flesh cut off her war cry.

Yenna froze.

The roaring flames in her hands flickered and instantly died.

A terrible, paralyzing cold erupted in the center of her back, radiating outward and freezing the blood in her veins.

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. She let out a choked, breathless gasp.

Slowly, agonizingly, she turned her head over her shoulder.

Standing directly behind her, his hand firmly gripping the hilt of the dagger buried deep into her spine, was Rolf.

The sheepish, terrified posture was completely gone, replaced by a cold, clinical stillness.

"W-why?" Yenna whispered, her lips trembling as a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Rolf let out a soft, pathetic gasp, his eyes widening in faux horror.

"I-I’m sorry, Yenna! I didn’t mean to... I was just so scared, and my hand slipped, and—"

"Shut up!" Edric roared, drawing his sword in a blur of silver steel, his aura violently flaring.

But before Edric could take a single step, Rolf’s pathetic facade instantly vanished. His face twisted into a sadistic, mocking grin.

He viciously twisted the dagger still buried in Yenna’s back.

Yenna let out a blood-curdling scream, her knees buckling instantly.

"Ah, ah, ah," Rolf tutted, wrapping his free arm around Yenna’s neck to hold her upright, keeping the blade securely lodged in her spine.

He leveled a dead, terrifying glare at Edric. "Take one step, and she loses her life. Right here. Right now."

Edric froze, his boots planted firmly against the stone, his knuckles white around the hilt of his sword.

Yenna sobbed, her vision already beginning to blur. Her immense strength was rapidly draining away, leaving her limbs feeling like lead.

"The toxins on this blade are slow, but they’re very strong, you know," Rolf whispered into Yenna’s ear, though his eyes never left Edric.

With his free hand, Rolf reached into his belt and pulled out a small glass vial filled with a clear liquid, holding it up to the light.

"If you want to save her... just stay exactly where you are, Edric."

Edric gritted his teeth so hard he tasted blood. His dark eyes flicked from the vial to Yenna’s rapidly paling face.

"Put your blade down," Rolf ordered, his voice echoing with absolute authority.

Edric didn’t argue. He slowly opened his fingers. The masterwork sword clattered loudly against the stone floor.

He stood up straight, raising his empty hands. "Now... let her go."

Rolf threw his head back and began to laugh... a sharp, genuine, maniacal sound that chilled Yenna to her core.

"What’s the rush?" Rolf chuckled, his grip tightening around Yenna’s throat.

He looked at Edric with pure, unadulterated contempt.

"You know, Edric... you were always a massive pain in the ass. Always lurking in the shadows. Always looking where you weren’t supposed to. Always messing with my plans."

Rolf’s grin widened, his eyes practically glowing with sadistic glee in the dim light.

"But today," He declared, his voice echoing loudly in the cavern, "I finally get to rid myself of the nuisance once and for all."

He gave a slight nod to the assassins.

The two nearest hooded figures lunged forward instantly.

Edric couldn’t defend himself. He didn’t even try to dodge. The two poisoned daggers sank deeply into his abdomen, punching through his armor and burying themselves to the hilt.

Edric let out a violent, ragged cough, a thick spray of dark blood erupting from his lips.

His legs gave out, and he collapsed heavily onto his knees, his head dropping forward as the assassins ripped their blades free.

Through her half-shut, failing eyes, Yenna gasped, a tear cutting through the dust on her cheek as she watched the man she had just condemned bleed out on the stone floor.

"EDRIC!"