Chapter 314: “Oops, My Hand Slipped”

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“We’re here. Stop.”

Treya gazed at the lone cottage bathed in the evening sun.

Truthfully, if not for Will insisting on maintaining a low profile, she would have long since replaced this ramshackle “Starting Star” hideout with something far more luxurious.

The twilight cast the house in a soft white hue, like an unfinished watercolor painting.

Treya had grown accustomed to it.

Ever since Will had been taken by Eir, even as she journeyed north, her world had lost all its color.

Gracefully, she stepped down from the “discreet” noble’s carriage—though discreet was relative when one was the Empress.

The Shadowmare Blade Will had gifted her hung at her waist, a constant companion.

“Your Majesty, shall we—”

“Unnecessary. Disperse. Act as if none of this happened.”

She waved off her guards and strode toward the cottage alone.

Eir had come here—and though Treya lacked concrete intel on Will’s whereabouts, Eir was the last person who had seen him.

Her fingers brushed the hilt of her sword.

Something felt… off about the cottage.

The air was thick with tangled auras—conflicting emotions, overlapping presences.

She wasn’t the only one who had returned.

No matter.

Treya had prepared more thoroughly than anyone.

Beyond the sword, she clutched the demon-forged engagement ring in her other hand—linked directly to Demon Castle Zero. The moment it slid onto Will’s finger, the interrupted wedding vows would be complete.

She remembered.

The last time, their ceremony had been stolen from her.

This time—

She took a breath, inserted the key—

BANG!

Before she could turn it, the door exploded outward, nearly taking her head off as a massive silver shield came flying at her face.

“Oh?”

Treya leaned back just in time, the shield grazing the tip of her nose.

Of course. Eir’s aggression was to be expected.

“Lurking around like a thief? Eir has no patience for that, Your Majesty!”

The shield whipped past again, wielded like an axe.

Treya unsheathed her sword, stepping back smoothly.

“Not yet—!”

Eir spun, hefting the shield with terrifying strength, each step cratering the earth.

A fight was inevitable.

“If you’re here, it’s not for anything good,” Eir hissed.

“Just return him.”

Treya’s voice was glacial, her pale blue eyes flickering violet.

“Or do you truly believe… the future you offer him is better than mine?”

“SHUT UP!”

The words struck a nerve.

Eir’s next swing was murderous, aimed straight for Treya’s skull.

No more testing—this was rage.

“Ah. So you are unstable.”

Treya ducked, retaliating with a swift thrust toward Eir’s ribs, forcing her to block.

CLANG!

Shield met sword.

Treya saw it then—

Eir’s gray eyes were bloodshot.

Not just anger.

Pain.

Emptiness.

And the faint redness of recent tears.

“Shut up shut up SHUT UP!”

“Communication seems impossible.”

Three more clashes.

Grass and dirt flew as shield and sword carved through the withered lawn, their battle spilling into the street.

Eir struggled against Treya’s agility—she hadn’t had time to trap her with the Rimefrost Phalanx.

Treya, meanwhile, found the shield’s sheer physical defense absurd. Activating her demonic powers required time.

For now, it was pure martial skill.

Treya’s enhanced reflexes let her predict Eir’s strikes, weaving between them effortlessly.

Eir, bolstered by her new gear, countered with near-instant defensive spells.

“Rimefrost Phalanx—Bloom!”

“Demon Castle Zero—Judging Seraph—!”

And then—

Just as their ultimates charged—

“Brilliance in Silence—Micro.”

A witch’s spell detonated between them.

Light.

Sound.

Everything vanished in a deafening blast.

BOOM!

A crater split the lawn.

Smoke curled upward.

And from the center—

Leah stepped forward, her concealment spell dissipating.

“My, my. Sorry about that. Watching you two go at it… my hand slipped.”

She smirked, twirling her staff.

“Not that I actually wanted to kill you~.”

Her gaze flicked between Eir—panting behind her cracked shield—and Treya, brushing soot off her singed sleeves with icy composure.

“What’s going on? Can’t we talk?”

Leah flipped her red-tipped twin tails over her shoulder.

“Unless you want to reduce this cottage—the one he loved—to rubble?”

Treya scoffed.

“Another one after Will.”

Her sword pointed past Leah, straight at Eir.

“Ask her first.”

Two pairs of eyes locked onto the trembling maid.

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