As the final rays of sunlight dipped below the horizon, New Eridu officially welcomed a brand-new night.
Inside his home, Zhong Yan sat quietly, recalling the intel he had learned earlier from Fairy.
For reasons still unclear, Nin-Village was planning a full-scale strike on Victoria Housekeeping Co. The first phase of their plan involved capturing the four key members—including Ellen—and executing them all together.
Whatever the reasoning behind it, whether Victoria was right or wrong… Zhong Yan didn't care.
He only cared about one thing: Ellen's safety.
If those Nin-Village bastards dared lay a finger on her, he'd make sure they paid dearly.
He had no issue turning Nin-Village into the next Red Fang Gang.
With that thought, Zhong Yan formed a hand seal—Shadow Clone Technique!
In a puff of white smoke, a clone with his exact appearance appeared before him.
"You stay and watch the house. Handle anything unexpected that might happen."
Leaving those orders behind, Zhong Yan activated Kamui—pulling himself into the dimensional rift.
This time… he was handling things personally.
...
"This is bad..."
Inside Victoria Manor, Ellen stared at the chaos unfolding in the backyard and let out a weary sigh.
Their worst fears had come true.
Nin-Village had launched a direct assault on Victoria Housekeeping's HQ—and among them, four of the organization's most feared members had appeared.
The Shadows.
Two of them were the same ones who had attacked Lycaon before. The three were now locked in combat again.
Last time, Lycaon had barely escaped by burning through everything he had. This time, it didn't look like he'd be so lucky.
Either of those Shadows could pose a major threat on their own. Together? They were pushing him to his limit just to stay on his feet.
The other two Shadows had targeted Rina.
Strangely, none of the four seemed remotely interested in Ellen. She had the least pressure on her shoulders out of the trio.
"Ellen! Go protect the Master!"
Lycaon shouted just after cutting down a ninja underling with a single swing.
There was no doubt—the true goal of this invasion wasn't them.
Nin-Village was after their employer.
And now... would be the perfect time to strike.
Ellen usually preferred to slack off, but she wasn't stupid. She understood how serious things had gotten. She briefly considered staying to help—but in the end, she obeyed Lycaon's command.
She slashed through the last ninja in her way, then vanished in a blur, sprinting toward the manor's core.
Seeing her leave, one of the Shadows immediately took the opportunity to send a message to his ambushed allies.
"Murasaki, Ao—Target is approaching your sector. Engage as planned."
...
Meanwhile, sprinting down the manor's covered walkways, Ellen had no idea what was waiting for her.
Just as she neared the far end of the path, a massive fireball burst from the nearby hedges—hurling toward her at breakneck speed.
Reacting instantly, Ellen realized she couldn't dodge in time. She skidded to a halt, spinning her blade and releasing a freezing mist from the weapon's edge.
The fireball collided with the mist barrier and sputtered out.
But that wasn't the end.
A surge of electricity followed closely behind, colliding with the fire and triggering a massive explosion.
The shockwave and heatwave slammed into Ellen, sending her hurtling through the air. She managed to twist mid-flight and dig her blade into the ground—barely stopping herself from being flung further.
The camera cuts to Ellen—burn marks now visible across her uniform. Parts of her outfit were singed, especially the fabric of her thigh-highs.
"...They played me. They were waiting for me to leave."
She finally understood. That was why none of the four Shadows had attacked her earlier. Her opponents had already been selected... and were lying in ambush.
"What a shame, Ellen. We thought those guys back there were just being arrogant—but here you are, walking right into our trap."
A thin young man—early twenties—stepped out from the shadows.
Various devices were mounted across his body, connected to both a utility belt and cannon-like emitters on his hands. In his palm, a control interface flickered.
"Name's Murasaki. Most of the elite in Nin-Village were trained by me personally. That's why they all call me... Master."
Another Shadow.
Clearly, Nin-Village had pulled out all the stops this time.
"I don't care who you are. Just get out of my way."
Facing this formidable foe, Ellen shifted into serious mode.
The burn marks still stung—but she gritted her teeth and burst forward, aiming to end the fight fast.
Murasaki didn't panic. He pulled a staff from the device on his back and pressed a button in his palm. Frost spread from his hand, coating the staff in a thin mist.
CLANG!
The clash of weapons echoed, followed by a swirl of blue vapor.
The two blades had collided—and hard.
"Impressive. So, this is the famed combat maid of Victoria."
Realizing he was slowly being overpowered; Violet narrowed his eyes.
Not wanting to take unnecessary risks, he glanced toward a corner of the manor.
Another pair of eyes was watching.
"...Looks like you're up."
Shadow Ao—Ellen's other target—stepped out from the shadows, responding to Violet's signal.
His gear wasn't as complex as Murasaki's, but that didn't mean he was any weaker.
With a flick of a switch, Ao's eyes suddenly glowed yellow.
In the blink of an eye, twin beams of high-temperature laser burst from his gaze—targeting Ellen from behind.
Still locked in combat with Murasaki, Ellen had no idea the attack was coming. By the time she noticed... it was already too late.
Luckily, she reacted quickly—springing off Murasaki's staff with her legs and flipping backward, blade spinning to intercept the beams.
She blocked them—but only from one direction.
With her attention drawn, Murasaki pressed another button and raised his arm.
Electricity surged from the cannon on his wrist, expanding rapidly into a cage—trapping Ellen mid-air.
Paralyzed, her weapon fell. And the laser from Ao clipped her shoulder, carving a bloody gash.
Apparently not looking to kill her outright, Ao ceased his beam attack. Had he kept going, that shot could've vaporized her head.
But Murasaki wasn't done.
With Ellen trapped, he pressed his control again.
This time, the cannon fired a plume of flame.
Ellen, still reeling from the pain, could only watch as the firestorm barreled toward her.
She knew—if that flame hit the cage, it would trigger a massive explosion.
And at the center of that explosion, completely immobilized... she wouldn't stand a chance.
This... was real despair.