Leora ended her call and turned to Isaac. “The other teams have begun their attacks.”
Isaac nodded. “Alright.”
Leora paused, then said, “Our mission is to hit the main base of the assassins.”
She watched him closely, maybe expecting him to protest, but Isaac nodded again without hesitation.
“Aren’t you worried?” Leora asked. “It’ll just be the two of us. I might not be able to protect you.”
Isaac shook his head. “If I didn’t trust you with my life, I wouldn’t have accepted you as my bodyguard.”
Inwardly, he thought, ’I figured it would come to this. Leora isn’t someone you send out unless you want something finished for good.’
Leora smiled slightly, then handed him a small red switch.
“This is a life-saving item,” she said. “If you’re in danger, press it. It’ll activate a high-level barrier that can block Champion-rank attacks for a minute. I’ll sense it immediately, no matter where you are, and come to your rescue if we are separated.”
Isaac tucked it safely in his pocket. “Got it.”
They set off together, moving silently through the desolate parts of Akaza Ruin.
The ground was cracked, broken walls stood like gravestones, and an eerie quiet stretched all around.
It took them nearly two hours to reach their destination.
They stopped before a large, heavily reinforced warehouse. Its rusted steel walls gave no hint of what was inside.
It looked abandoned.
But Isaac and Leora both knew better.
“Is this the place?”
“Yes.”
Isaac stared at the warehouse for a few seconds longer.
“This place is too silent. I suppose they already know we are here.”
“You are correct,” Leora said. “We are already surrounded by more than a dozen Assassins, and more are hiding inside the warehouse, waiting to ambush us.”
“Since they know we are waiting for us, we should give them a good show.” Isaac smirked.
He stepped forward. Mana surged through his body and down into the earth.
Sovereign of Land activated immediately.
The ground trembled as roots as thick as cars shot up, grabbing the front gates and tearing them apart in one powerful yank before pulling them into the ground.
But Isaac didn’t stop there.
The roots spread outward, smashing through the neighboring buildings.
The abandoned structures surrounding the warehouse crumbled under the force of the roots, collapsing into broken piles of stone and steel.
Clouds of dust filled the air.
’The assassins hiding in those buildings must be buried now or at least forced to retreat.’ Isaac thought.
He wasn’t about to let hidden enemies flank them.
The roots twisted and grew, wrapping around support beams, tearing down walls, and leaving the warehouse and its immediate surroundings exposed.
Isaac took a step back to observe the destruction. The path to the warehouse was now clear.
He and Leora were about to move forward when a sharp voice suddenly echoed behind them.
“The plan was perfect… but with you here, it’s even better! Hisss!”
Isaac spun around, but it was too late.
A woman blurred into view. Her hair writhed like living snakes. In a flash, she grabbed Leora and pulled her into a portal that looked like cracked mirror.
The portal closed almost instantly, leaving Isaac alone.
“Welcome to my home, I hope you liked that surprise.”
Footsteps echoed from the ruined warehouse entrance.
Isaac turned to face the noise.
A man appeared, moving with slow, heavy steps.
He was massive, easily over two meters tall, muscles thick and scarred. His short-cut hair and calm, confident expression gave him the appearance of a seasoned fighter.
He stopped a few meters from Isaac and grinned.
“So you’re the boy causing all this trouble,” the man said.
Isaac didn’t respond immediately.
“I’m Godric,” the man continued. His voice was rough, like gravel grinding underfoot.
Isaac studied him silently. ’This must be the leader behind the attack.’
Godric spread his arms lazily. “I didn’t expect our plan we concocted to catch one of the powerhouses of Stronghold would snag you too. It’s like catching two birds with one net.”
Isaac stayed silent.
His Mana Resonance told him multiple targets with powerful mana were surrounding him.
The assassins had recovered from his initial attack, and were prepared to launch attacks the moment he did moved.
…
Leora POV
Leora looked around carefully.
The place she stood in looked exactly like the ruined street where she had been with Isaac just moments ago.
Same crumbling buildings. Same empty sky. Same warehouse standing ominously at the center.
But there was one difference.
There was no life here. No mana fluctuations from hidden assassins. No monsters lurking in the ruins. Nothing.
Just complete stillness.
A woman’s voice echoed out, casual and amused. “Seems like you recognize this place.”
Leora turned slightly. A woman with dark green snake-hair and slit eyes stood a few meters away, arms folded across her chest.
“I’m Vespara,” the woman said, smiling easily. “Welcome to the Mirror Dimension.”
Leora stayed silent, waiting for her to explain.
Vespara pointed around them. “This world is a perfect copy of the real one. Everything looks the same. But you’re trapped here, Vice Principal Eleanor.”
Leora’s fingers twitched against the hilt of her sword, but she didn’t move yet.
“To escape a Mirror Dimension,” Vespara said, “you need to kill the caster.”
The woman’s smile widened.
“And that caster is me.”
Leora showed no reactions. She just stared at the woman.
Vespara continued, almost like she was giving a lecture. “We purposefully leaked the location of our small bases. Then we leaked the main base.”
She laughed softly.
“The plan was simple. We knew the stronghold would act cautiously. They would try to split our forces, attack all bases at once, and send their strongest to the main base to crush us completely, quickly, and silently.”
Vespara tilted her head, her eyes glinting.
“That’s how Sanctum of Masters operates, right? Safe, methodical, perfect.”
Leora’s voice finally broke the silence.
“Their strongest is an Overlord. You think you can defeat an Overlord rank awakener?”
Vespara threw her head back and laughed, a bright, mocking sound.
“Overlord?” Vespara said, wiping a fake tear from her eye. “An old hag can’t be an Overlord, Vice Principal Eleanor.”
The air grew heavier.
Leora’s hand, resting on the sword hilt, twitched slightly.