Elion’s tear-streaked face was expressionless again. But his eyes… they still carried the weight of what she had just witnessed.

“I wasn’t trying to spy,” Evandria said, her voice as calm as she could manage, though she felt nervous inside.

What is he going to do now? Should I run away? But that wouldn’t change anything. I shouldn’t have followed him here, she thought, her mind racing.

Elion looked at her but said nothing. Instead, he began walking toward her, one step, then another.

“W-wait, why are you coming closer?” Evandria panicked, instinctively taking a step back. “I told you, I’m not here to—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Elion closed the remaining distance between them. He stood far too close, overwhelming her senses. Then, without a word, his arm firmly wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly against his chest.

Evandria gasped, her face turning red as her eyes widened in shock. “W-what are you doing?” she blurted out.

But before she could even process what was happening...

Whoosh!

An arrow tore through the night air, aimed straight at them.

Crack!

Elion snatched the arrow mid-flight.

Evandria’s breath hitched. “…What?”

Without even sparing it a glance, Elion tightened his grip. The thick wooden arrow snapped cleanly in half, and the broken pieces thudded uselessly onto the grass.

“Well, well, I’m impressed you were able to sense our presence.” An amused voice echoed through the vineyard, dripping with malice.

Six masked figures emerged between the vines.

“But I thought there was only one of you. I didn’t know there would be two.”

Seeing them, Evandria’s chest tightened. Assassins… Are they here for Elion?

Elion immediately moved her behind him. “Stay back,” he said quietly. His icy tone left no room for argument.

“Guess we’ll just have to take care of both,” said the one who appeared to be their leader.

Elion’s cold blue eyes turned toward the man. “I’d like to see you try.”

***

The first attacker lunged at Elion, raising his short sword.

Slice!

The blade cut through the empty air where Elion’s neck had been a second earlier, missing by inches as he twisted aside. In the exact same motion, Elion’s hand shot out like lightning, seizing the attacker’s wrist and snapping it effortlessly.

“Aaaarrrggh!” the man screamed, a horrific wail echoing through the trees as the bone shattered.

Without a shred of mercy, Elion immediately slammed the man down. The brutal impact knocked the remaining air straight from the attacker’s lungs, throwing up a cloud of dust around them.

Before the first body had even gone still, another shadow rushed in from Elion’s blind spot.

“Behind you!” Evandria shouted.

Elion spun at the sound of her voice. The oncoming blade struck his open palm with a sharp clang as he caught it between his fingers.

In the next instant, he drove his elbow into the attacker’s throat. A sickening crunch followed, and the man collapsed, choking.

Two more attackers charged at once, one striking high, the other sweeping low.

Elion leapt high into the air, the lower blade cutting through nothing but air. For a heartbeat, he seemed suspended, his long black coat flaring behind him like dark wings. Then his foot connected with the first man’s chest, sending him flying backward onto the ground.

The second blade came fast, slashing upward. It tore through the fine fabric of Elion’s sleeve, grazing it but never touching skin.

For the first time, something shifted in his expression.

In one swift motion, Elion seized the attacker by the collar and dragged him forward, slamming him hard against a vine post. The wood splintered with a sharp crack under the force. The attacker crumpled to the ground.

Evandria stood frozen, her heart racing. She had never seen Elion like this. She was not even sure what frightened her more, the men who attacked Elion, or how easily he destroyed them.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a chain blade came slashing toward Elion’s neck, glinting in the moonlight.

He ducked at the last second, and the weapon tore through the vines behind him with a harsh shrrk, sending leaves and ruined grapes scattering across the ground.

But before the chain could retract, Elion moved his fingers slightly. The heavy iron chain froze instantly midair, suspended by his telekinetic control.

Then, with violent force, the blade reversed direction. It shot back along its own path and slammed straight into its owner. The impact lifted the man off his feet before he crashed hard onto the ground.

An absolute silence followed, broken only by the soft rustling of falling leaves. Now only one assassin remained, the one who had been standing back the entire time, their leader.