Screams of horror filled the air.

Death and destruction surrounded a young maiden as she tightly clung to something wrapped in a piece of clothing.

Her dark green hair and brown eyes sauntered back and forth as she was escorted to safety by her three guards—previously four.

As she ran through the compound, ignoring the burning mansion behind her, or the terror-filled night that seemed to be collapsing on her, her heart raced.

'Father and Mother are dead…' Tears fell from her eyes as she kept moving her legs.

The darkness of the night made it appear as though she was being constantly watched, but she could not stop moving.

'T-this… this is all too awful!' She wanted to scream and cry, but she could not.

She squeezed the package she held very close to her ample bosom, and her mature body jiggled with every swift step she took.

The name of this young maiden was Kara Verte—daughter of the Verte Councilor of the Obsidian Council.

Her family had been one of the first original founders of the Council, so it would count as a surprise to see them in such a desperate state.

But Kara knew why.

Her father had told it to her already—right before sending her off with the Four Cardinal Knights of the Verte Estate.

Compared to the other Obsidian Council Groups, the Verte Estate was practically known to be a Crime Family.

It was common knowledge.

But, there was a reason the Royal Council did not make a move on them—besides the power and influence they wielded.

It was because of their cooperation and desire for balance.

They still paid levies to the Royal Council and even sometimes acted as informants for them.

In essence, they worked at both ends.

But, it seemed none of that was good enough at this point. Despite all the Verte Family had done to stay afloat, the darkness of the world was too much for them to overcome.

And now… they found themselves sinking deeply.

"Huff… huff…"

As Kara quickened her pace, seeing as her Cardinal Knights were encouraging her to do so, she could feel her chest grow hot.

She was nearing her limits, being the mere human that she was.

Combat and Magic Abilities were not her field of expertise at all.

Instead, it was business.

Despite only being 18 years of age, her parents had put her in charge of several areas of business due to her analytic and critical mind.

They also often brought up the topic of marriage, since she was long overdue, but she always shrugged it off.

'I wish I listened to you, mother, father…' She sniffed, her glasses bouncing on her face as she ran.

'I would have at least made you happy with a grandchild before you passed!'

It was too late now.

She could only run with her guards, hoping none of them were caught by the enemy.

"Where do you think you're going?!" A loud voice echoed in front of them, and someone instantly appeared before them.

The suddenness of the voice, and the abrupt appearance of the leader of the carnage caused Kara to reach her breaking point .

"Kyaaa!" Exhaustion and fear caught up to her, causing her to stumble and fall.

She screamed as she helplessly felt her face get trampled on the ground, her pretty dress stained by the dirt all over.

"Lady Kara!" Voices rang in the air as her blurry vision picked up the three guards around her stopping.

Right as they were about to reach for her, their heads were sent flying, and blood sprayed all over the floor.

Kara felt herself being drenched by the hot blood of those she saw as family.

They were all decapitated right in front of her eyes.

Without the aid of her glasses—which was now somewhere on the floor—Kara couldn't properly see.

But, she already knew what happened.

"N-no…" Her whimper softly echoed out as her body couldn't properly move.

The only thing she could do was hold on to the thing she held, wrapped up in cloth.

"Haha! Weaklings—all of them!"

There were Four Cardinal Knights that served as the Verte Family's most powerful group.

They were all incredibly strong, each with a weapon that they were experts in, and unmatched by anyone within the Verte Estate.

However, to the attackers—or, at least the one who led the charge—he found them to be weaklings.

Her blurry vision couldn't see the man now, but she had caught a glimpse of him moments before—when one of the Cardinal Knights offered to distract him while the rest fled with her.

He had a large scar—like a claw mark—implanted on his face, with narrow eyes like that of a sick animal.

He had wavy gray hair, and he looked middle-aged. Despite his body appearing very fragile due to his old age, his intimidating presence made anyone who saw him know he was the real deal.

His name was Fernand, one of the Nine Heads of Destruction within the Mercenary Gang.

"Haaa… haaa…"

The fact that the enemy was here only meant one thing.

'Sir Jusirai is dead…?!'

The strongest of the Cardinal Knights had met his demise when facing this man all alone, and now even the three others were dead.

All of their corpses were lying lifeless on the ground, leaving her as the sole survivor of the entire massacre that had gone down on her Estate.

"Hey, young miss…" Fernand's deep, aged voice caused Kara to shudder once she heard it.

"That's a nice piece of clothing you're clinging tightly to. What you got there?"

She couldn't properly see his face, but Kara knew instinctively that he was grinning very widely.

He was like a demon that had been sent from hell; and this gleaming blood-soaked blade made it clear that he wasn't done with his task.

There remained one more he had to cut down—Kara herself.

"Guess I'll have to check it out once I'm done tearing you to pieces."

Kara tightly shut her eyes as she expected the strike to come.

But… it never came.

Once she opened her eyes, she would see the reason why.

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Thanks for reading!

Yeah… I spent an entire chapter on a new character. Some might be pissed, some might be fine, but I'm sort of in the middle.

Here's one more competitor for Alicia.