"Sir Alve, there are too many of them! We need to retreat!" the knight behind me shouted, his voice shaking with fear.
Before I could respond, Kyle sneered, "Retreat? _To where?_ Soon the entire city will be crawling with stone golems, undead, and monsters."
He paused for a second, then grinned. "Actually... maybe we should deal with _you_ first. A little troublemaker like you could be quite the nuisance for _them_."
_Them?_
He must mean _Lord Veil_… and that other figure he mentioned.
_Damn it... I'm out of options here..._
"Start running! Now!" I barked at the knights. "We need to tell Miss Sera and Miss Kaelyn—_immediately!_"
The knights turned and bolted toward the door, stumbling over themselves in fear. I followed close behind.
_BOOM!_
A violent explosion of mana hit me from the side. Pain erupted through my body as I was sent crashing into the ground.
"How about you stay _here_, Sir Alve?" Kyle mocked, stepping closer.
I gritted my teeth. The burn throbbed with every heartbeat. That hit—unlike before—was direct. I couldn't cut the spell like last time with that demon.
Kyle crouched down beside me, his eyes gleaming with cruelty. "Would you look at that burn? These _magic spells_ are amazing, isn't it?"
_Damn it… it hurts…_
He grabbed my collar and hoisted me up effortlessly.
"Look at you," he spat, "This is the power of someone who's _slain a dragon_. And you? A brat who can't use magic. Can't cast spells. Just swinging a sword with a half-decent body."
He snarled in disgust. "Can you even _save_ anyone like that?"
_CRASH!_
With a furious yell, he hurled me across the room. My body slammed into one of the walls, shattering it. I hit the ground with a bone-crunching thud, buried in rubble, blood running down my face.
Everything hurt. I couldn't even lift my arm.
He scoffed from across the room. "Tch. Here I thought you'd at least _struggle_. But you're just lying there like broken garbage."
He turned, clicking his tongue. "Fine. Kill this brat—just like the others. No point in keeping him alive. We don't have time for this. Let's go meet Lord Veil. He'll be also arriving soon."
And with that, he gave the order to the golems… and walked away from me.