The man wearing the orange striped black coat took a deep breath. There was only one way left.

He was confident in his ability to escape. But he was a guardian- one tasked to protect the princess.

His eyes became serious as he charged at the being with all his strength, using his wind attribute to the fullest.

It did not take even a moment to close the gap; he was just before the masked assailant, the blade of his sword very close his unguarded neck.

Just when he was beginning to think it was a sure hit, the assailant disappeared. His sword cut through nothing but empty air.

He quickly took a defensive stance as he scanned the surrounding, only to find the being standing leisurely a few meters away from him.

The wariness in his eyes increased. He was amongst the fastest in the entire Empire, but his opponent seemed to treat his agility very lightly.

But he did not not waste any time as he rushed to the black mask again. This time, he changed strategy and opted for short bursts of attacks instead of powerful slashes.

But the result was the same. The enemy dodged all those super fast attacks that transcended the speed of sound itself with relative ease. Moreover, the assailant had his hands behind the back- clearly mocking him.

But what baffled him wasn’t the agility the mysterious being portrayed, but the fact that he seemed to completely disappear for a moment when his attack was about to connect.

His first property which increased the sharpness of his attacks was the only offensive property he had. Sensing that it was futile to keep on attacking, he decided to use his second property- one that enhanced his already outstanding mobility.

He took a step back and began to circle around the masked man with a speed which made him barely visible to the eyes.

Dust took off from the ground, creating a whirlwind as the man increased his speed even more- even throwing in some of his life force. His goal was not to defeat the mysterious entity anyway. All he had to do was hold him off until the princess escapes, and hopefully bring in reinforcements.

Adrian remained standing still inside the circle marked my blowing dust. His eyes were locked ahead. His lips arched to a smile- a contemptuous one at that.

Wind attribute was known for its breakneck speed. But was it the fastest? Lightning was faster. And as for the fastest, the title belonged to none other than light.

Most said nothing could even get close to the speed of light, let alone match it. However, they were wrong. There was one thing that could keep up light in the department of rapidity. And it was-

<Shadow>

The circling man came to a sudden stop. His feet were inches above the ground. The dust had yet to settle.

Adrian was gripping the neck of the guardian with his right hand, his abyssal eyes looking directly into the pair of those of the guardian’s.

“Quite brave of you to fight a shadow in the dark.” He dropped the mango the ground. “I will give you a hint- keep your eyes on the ground.” He took a step back. “Now, get up.”

The middle aged man rubbed his red marked neck as he got up on his feet, his hand still gripping the sword tight.

He was just about to attack when the enemy disappeared again. He tried peaked his senses, but before he could- he felt a heavy blow on his back, causing him to thump to the ground.

He quickly got up and turned to where the attack came from. The creature disappeared once again.

He suddenly remembered the ‘hint’. And sure enough, something a few shades darker flashed past under his feet. But before he could react, a kick to his waist pushed him to the cold earth once again.

Just as he was trying to get up, a yawn entered his ears.

“It’s getting boring.” Adrian said. He melded with the ground again as he shadowed to just under the middle aged man.

His hand surfaced from the blackness and grabbed towards the man’s throat akin to a bird of prey clawing its prey. He tore the man’s gullet apart before throwing the detached organ and taking back his hand.

The shadow moved away to a distance before taking the form of human again. “But as a reward for entertaining me, you can have a quick death.”

These were the last words the man ever heard as he collapsed to the ground. One of his hands taped his bloody neck while the other still hung on to the the hilt of the sword. Soon, his breathings came to a stop as his eyes closed. He was dead.

Adrian staggered two steps back.

“Tsk.” He clicked his tongue as he fixed his focus on his power core. “The property drains magical energy too fast.”

He sighed and turned to the direction where the princess ran off to.

Cassidy was running with all her might. Now that she was not held back by the troop of soldiers, she began to use her property.

Orange lightning constantly flashed through her legs as she ran with superhuman speed along the concrete road. Cold sweat trickled drenched her extravagant dress while she panted for breath.

The fear which was bred from the sight of that mysterious masked man had yet go away. Her senses were being used to its fullest potential.

Four beings were chasing after her. Despite her rapidity, the ones behind were not falling behind, keeping up with her at all costs.

She suddenly sensed some presence to the front. Was it a friend, or a foe? But she decided to take the risk. She was running out of stamina and could stagger any moment and fall victim to the ambushers.

“HELP!” She shouted her throat out. “HELP!”

She kept running forward, praying to Ervil. Please, be it someone from Edenshield.

She could sense the ones at the front moving towards her with haste. And soon, the ones entered her sight. A few dozens of what looked like horsemen were charging at her. The darkness enshrouded everything.

Hopelessness grasped her heart. But soon, the Khaki coloured uniforms of the troop entered her sight.

It was the soldiers under the Raymond family.

“Help!” She used the last ounce of her strength to shout, before stumbling to the ground. She was safe.

“It’s the princess!” The one at the vanguard shouted before rushing to the fallen lady.

A few surrounded her while the others charged further into the forest.

But they could sense nothing. Not a trance of mana signature remained. So they decided to fall back.

The vanguard of the troop was none other than the son of duke Raymond himself- a dashing young man wearing a khaki noble coat.

“Are you okay, your highness? Where are the escorts?” He knelt and took the princess in his arms.

“I am the only one. The others- everyone’s lost.” She closed her eyes.

Everyone assembled before Adrian.

Elise took a step forward. “The Raymonds rescued her.”

“She escaped?” Adrian took off his mask. There was a smile plastered to his face.

“What a shame.”