“Leon, first erase this… Gasp, no!”

Before I could finish my sentence, Ines, who had regained consciousness, stabbed a dagger into her leg. Then she smeared the blood from the wound all over the summoning circle.

However, even without doing so, the blood that had already flowed abundantly was seeping into the summoning circle. The moment the blood touched the center of the circle, the ground began to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.

“You crazy bastard!”

I lost my grip on the coal as the ground caved in and I lost my balance. But I couldn’t afford to look back at him. My attention was entirely focused on the summoning circle.

I knelt on the ground, trying to wipe the blood off the summoning circle with the hem of my dress to prevent it from absorbing more of Ines’s blood. The expensive silk dress quickly turned red.

“Sister!”

When I turned at the urgent voice, the dagger that had stabbed Ines was now coming at me.

Iscallion, who dashed like lightning, shielded me and blocked the attack with one arm.

Blood spurted from his arm and fell onto the summoning circle. A moment later, I also felt a burning pain in my arm. Blood from my open wound dripped onto the summoning circle.

“Sister, are you okay?”

Iscallion seemed too flustered to realize that his injury had transferred to me.

I pressed on the wound to stop the bleeding and tried to prevent Ines from continuing the ritual.

But it was already too late.

While I was distracted by the wound, she had already begun the summoning.

‘It’s over.’

I didn’t know what the summoning circle, which had consumed not only Ines’s blood but also mine and Iscallion’s, would bring forth.

The summoning circle glowed red, and the air grew heavy.

Iscallion quickly wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me back.

For a moment, it felt like the density of the air had increased, crushing my lungs.

Above all, the unbearable stench of rotting fish made me gag. It was incomparable to the smell from Ines.

I wondered if she had summoned a transcendent or a sewer.

Unable to withstand the pressure and stench, I buried my face in Iscallion’s chest.

[Aah… ]

A chilling voice, like nails on a chalkboard, echoed.

Something had definitely arrived, but there was no one on the summoning circle except the fallen Ines.

As I wondered, Ines slowly rose. She looked down at her hands with interest.

[So this is… a human body. Fragile and weak.]

The voice was bizarre, making it impossible to tell if it belonged to a man or a woman, a child or an old person. Her beautiful green eyes were now clouded with darkness.

“Ugh, what kind of filthy creature is this? It smells worse than a sewer!”

Iscallion, holding me protectively, spat out fiercely. But Ines(?) was too busy examining her own body.

[Even so, how long has it been since I had a complete body?]

Completely ignored, Iscallion’s thick eyebrows twitched.

“Fine. It doesn’t matter who you are. You’re going to die anyway. Ugh, but at least clean yourself up.”

[Right. Who I am doesn’t matter.]

Ines turned towards us.

[What matters is my will.]

I didn’t know who had been summoned, but just a few words were enough to tell. This being was insane.

She staggered towards us. Her movements were so awkward that she could have been a statue.

[To think that a mere human woman would offer the successor of Enril and the descendant of the Great Wolf as sacrifices. And…]

Ines’s gaze fell on Shahar in my hand.

[What brings the noble son of the dawn to manifest in such a humble form on this earth?]

The comment infuriated me more than the coal.

“What did you say? What’s wrong with my Shahar? My mate stone is the greatest, strongest, most elegant, coolest, cutest, most lovable, and sexiest in the universe!”

Shahar trembled violently, clearly moved by my praise.

“I’m hurt, Sister! You never praised me like that. Tell me I’m great, strong, elegant, cool, cute, lovable, and se…xy…?”

Iscallion shouted in a jealous voice.

[You all seem very relaxed. Let’s see how long that lasts.]

Ines took a step towards us.

Iscallion, who had been glaring at Shahar with burning eyes, turned to face Ines.

“I’m already pissed off, so this is perfect. I don’t know where you crawled out from, but you’re just a piece of trash.”

“No, stay back, Leon. Let’s leave it to Shahar for now.”

“Why? Do you think I can’t handle that guy?”

Already slightly sulking, he asked back with a face full of discontent.

“It’s not that, but we need to move the people to a safe place first.”

If the unconscious people got caught up in this fight, there could be significant casualties. And honestly, I was not entirely confident in leaving Ines to Iscallion.

No matter what kind of entity was inside her, the body was still Ines’s. We had to ensure she didn’t get hurt as much as possible. But I doubted an angry Iscallion would consider such circumstances.

“Shahar, first make sure he doesn’t leave his position. Be careful not to hurt Ines.”

“Understood.”

Shahar immediately flew toward Ines. While he dealt with her, Iscallion and I moved the fallen people out of the mansion. But no matter how strong Iscallion was, it was impossible for the two of us to move so many people.

“Wait here! I’ll bring some people.”

I ran out of the mansion to seek help.

Fortunately, there was a security post not far away.

“Excuse me, huff, hey!”

“Lady Dronay? What brings you here?”

Having sprinted at full speed for the first time in a while, I was out of breath and struggled to speak.

Seeing this, a soldier handed me a rough cup filled with water.

I nodded in thanks and brought the cup to my lips. The lukewarm water flowed into my mouth. At that moment, the nauseating stench once again pierced my nostrils.

“Drink slowly.”

As I coughed urgently, the soldier kindly assumed I had choked.

“Ugh, the water is a bit…”

“Pardon? Is there something wrong? This water was drawn from the well this morning…”

The soldier tasted the water from the cup.

“It seems fine to me.”

At his words, I sniffed again. There was indeed no smell.

‘Was it my imagination?’

It might have been a mistake due to smelling the fishy odor for too long. Even so, I no longer felt like drinking the water.

I handed the cup back to the soldier and quickly tried to state my business.

“It’s nothing. There’s a party at the Poel mansion, and…”

Suddenly, a loud noise shook the earth. Startled, I jumped, but the soldier calmly looked up at the sky.

“The thunder is quite loud. Looks like a shower is coming.”

I followed his gaze.

The sky, which had been clear when I left the Poel mansion, was now covered with dark clouds.

Swoosh.

Without a chance to avoid it, a downpour started.

A sense of foreboding washed over me.

I urgently requested help, looking towards the direction of the Poel mansion.

“There was an accident at the party at the Poel mansion. Everyone has collapsed, and we need help.”

“Understood.”

Despite hearing about an accident, he remained leisurely.

‘What is this?’

Growing impatient with his lack of urgency, I turned around and urged the soldier.

“Hey? I said there was an accident! There might be seriously injured people. We need to contact the temple right now…”

Suddenly feeling a sense of strangeness, I closed my mouth.

‘Were this man’s eyes always black?’

I didn’t think so.

“Anyway, please contact the temple. I’ll be going now.”

My instincts screamed at me to return to where the male leads were.

As soon as I finished speaking, I ran towards the Poel mansion. But the soldier didn’t seem to have any intention of letting me go easily.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

A strong hand grabbed me. I struggled with all my might, but there was no way I could overpower an adult man.

He started running at an incredible speed, carrying me.

As I watched the mansion grow distant, I realized.

Ines was bait. To separate me from the male leads.

I desperately searched my waist. I felt the dagger Gined had given me. Without a second thought, I drew it and swung.

Sizzle.

With the smell of something burning, the soldier dropped me.

Although I had escaped from him, the impact of being thrown roughly prevented me from moving.

“You’ve got quite a useful item there, kid.”

The soldier, with a fierce expression, approached me again. A burn mark was clearly visible on his shoulder.

I quickly picked up the dagger that had fallen beside me and pointed it at him.

But it was obvious that I wouldn’t be able to hold out for long with my clumsy skills.