Depraved Hero's Path

"Ran out of Mana." Zarath smiled at the White Queen.

Two deep, horizontal wounds had been drawn, splitting open the White Knights' stomachs.

"Time to start the killing."

"That bitch…!" Marianne clenched her teeth. Just as she was about to move forward, Elijah grabbed her wrist.

Both Zarath and Léa were visible.

The rest of the Black Army was not.

[The Skill "Black Fog" Imbued in The Black Magician's Staff Activates.]

The Black Fog covered the second Black Rook, the Black Queen, and the Black King.

As the White Queen started running towards Zarath, the latter jumped back, giving Léa a nod as she did so.

"Come here, you little shit!" Petra cursed as she followed Zarath.

"Nu-uh!" The latter chuckled.

The difference in Stats was too big, and the White Queen was quickly catching up to her.

An orb of purple flames suddenly appeared in front of Petra, cutting the chase short.

As Léa entered the Black Fog, the Black Queen extended her arm forward.

'Making my attacks appear that far uses up too much Mana.' Katherine thought to herself as a flurry of Fire Balls exited the Black Fog. 'If we can get the King directly, we won't have to hurt anyone else.'

All of them had been fired towards the White King.

"Don't let them reach Gin!"

"Get closer!" The White Army shouted as they moved to stand in the way.

Katherine scratched her forehead.

'Elijah said I could whatever I want, so…'

[The Skill "King's Order" Activates.]

[Tier: 1.]

[All Stats increase by 10%!]

'I will.'

Katherine exited the Black Fog, running faster than ever thanks to the Queen's Tiara resting on her head.

"This is how it should be!" The White Queen shouted as she ran towards the Black Queen, having blocked the previous attack.

Katherine continued running forward while her gaze momentarily remained on the approaching White Queen on her left.

'If I can get their King, then no one else needs to get hurt.'

She extended an arm towards her and,

"Magic-"

The White Queen's words were interrupted as a small portion of the ground right in front of her foot suddenly rose like the first stair of a staircase. She stumbled and, before she could regain her balance,

"No time." Katherine muttered as a powerful gust of wind was shot in Petra's direction!

[You have Developed the Skill "Wind Blast[D-Rank]"]

As the White Queen was pushed back a dozen steps, the Black Queen continued her approach.

Marianne let out a sigh.

"Did you notice before Zarath cut them?" She asked.

Elijah didn't answer. Instead, he raised the Black Magician's Staff, and the Black Fog started moving.

[The Elite Assassin's Cloak reacts to the darkness around you.]

[Movement Speed increases by 10%.]

[Noise produced by your movements decreases by 80%.]

'Waiting until the Fog goes over to their side would be the appropriate move.' Marianne tightened her grip on the Twin Daggers of Fire & Ice as she stared at the words floating in front of her.

Léa rested her hands on her knees upon arriving by their side, breathing heavily.

"What now?" She asked between haggard breaths. "Two Knights and a Pawn… We're still down… Two Pawns… And two Bishops…"

"Relax, will you?"

"Huh?"

"They might have the numbers for now, but we have Skills and Items." Elijah explained. "We've got this in the bag."

"Right."

"Plus, there's something I want to try." he muttered.

"Of course there is…"

"It doesn't seem like they have a proper way of dealing with magic." Marianne said, her Golden Eyes shining, allowing her to see through and past the Black Fog.

"Yes, that's another thing we have going for us." Léa wiped the sweat off her forehead. "So far, the Goblin Chief is the only enemy we have seen to have used Magic. Well, the only one I have seen at least. It's likely that they haven't crossed paths with anything or anyone capable of using Magic."

"Let's see them try to deal with it then." Elijah hummed as he watched.

'Well, I would like to…' Léa rolled her eyes.

Only Marianne, thanks to her Golden Eyes, and Elijah, thanks to his Eye of Truth, could see through the Fog. Only they could see what Katherine was up to.

"Are we really letting her fight alone?" Zarath asked as she approached. The Black Knight's Sword was resting on her shoulder lazily.

"Let the Queen do her thing."

"Yes, your Majesty." Zarath chuckled with a slight bow.

Elijah took out two Mana Potions from his Inventory. One was handed to Léa, and the other to Zarath.

"Keep the Summoning going." He ordered.

"Sure." Léa nodded and chugged the Mana Potion.

***

With the White Queen out of the way, there was only one thing on Katherine's mind. Getting to the White King.

What would she do then? Kill him? She didn't feel able to do such a thing. Killing a person was going too far. Even attacking the Reality Behind The Painting had felt like an ordeal to her after all.

She momentarily glanced at the King's Crown above.

[Time Left: 2min19sec.]

'If I can corner the White King…' Her gaze went back to the White Army. 'I can force him to resign.'

The Grayish Saber-Toothed Cat growled as it jumped back. While Léa could control it, it could also move and act on its own. It was a "Summoning" Spell after all. The most important thing was not to get damaged. Dodging every blade swung in its direction, even if it meant letting the White Army move forward. It was necessary not to let them realize how weak the summon really was.

"At once!" The White Army shouted as each of the Participants pulled their weapons back, ready to thrust and swing.

Before they could do so, a boom resonated from behind the massive grayish beast.

The next moment, after spinning in the air, Katherine landed on the summon's head, her open palm extended towards the White King.

From that angle, a magic attack couldn't be blocked by them.

Three Fire Balls spun and mixed into one raging sphere.

'Breaking that Barrier comes first. After that, I'll use Wind Magic to move above them and towards their King.'

The attack was shot, and the White King clenched his teeth!

'Move out of the way…? But the Barrier is linked to the Throne! What if the Barrier only appears when someone is seated on the Throne? The attack could destroy the Throne! If that happens, then I'll need constant protection!'

"Not so fast!"

The sphere of spinning flames exploded in mid-air as Petra's shield collided with it.

The White King took a breath in and,

"Destroy it!" He shouted.

[The Skill "King's Order" Activates.]

[Tier: 2.]

[All Stats increase by 20%!]

Léa undid the Summoning just before the Saber-Toothed Cat could be defeated.

'I won't be able to summon it for a while.' She clicked her tongue.

With the summon gone, Katherine re-gained the ground.

Behind her stood the White Queen and, in front of her, the rest of the White Army.

Having received orders from Elijah, she immediately turned around.

"Kill her!" The White King ordered.

Empowered by the King's Order Skill, they prepared to stab Katherine in the back, when the Black Fog engulfed them and the area.

'Just because damage inflicted by me is nullified…' Elijah lowered the Black Magician's Staff. 'Doesn't mean I can't do anything.'

Only Léa remained by his side.

"I'm not letting you go!" Petra shouted as she followed Katherine, who had started running to her right.

"Okay, not really trying to go anywhere though."

As the White Queen and the Black Queen moved away from the center, Zarath and Marianne run through the Black Fog.

"Don't get in my way, alright?" Zarath pulled her arm back, as if preparing to throw a javelin.

"Sure," Marianne answered calmly, her gaze piercing through the Black Fog and locating every Participant on the opposing side. "I'll try."

With the center covered by the Black Fog, only the Kings were spared. Staring at that cloud of darkness, the White King nervously bit on his thumb, convinced that, any second now, something that come out of that cloud.

'Should I move? Should I stay here? The Barrier is good protection, but…'

Léa took a deep breath in.

"While Katherine is fighting their Queen, Marianne and Zarath deal with everyone else. Thanks to the Black Fog, they will be able to fight despite the difference in numbers. Do you think they'll be able to cut through to the White King?"

"Probably not." Elijah answered after a moment. "But the White King isn't my target right now."

"He isn't…?" Léa raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "Who is, then?"

"I really only want Zarath and Marianne to keep the others from advancing." He said, standing up.

"Where are you going?"

"Where are -we- going." He corrected.

"You want to join the fight? You know that if they get you, we lose. And if we lose, we die. That's how the Games here are set up."

Elijah walked up to her, and stared for a moment.

She gulped, and he pulled on her cheek.

"Stop stressing out so much."

"Fine. Let go of my cheek." She mumbled. "I'm not a kid."

Leaving the Throne behind, Léa and Elijah start walking towards the Black Fog.