Upon seeing Decar approaching, Delina tried to get up from her position. However, her legs gave way, and she hesitated to sit back down. At that moment, Noah quickly grabbed Delina.

‘Oh no…!’

In truth, her body was exhausted long ago. And now, the fatigue hit her all at once, making it difficult to even stand up.

‘Not just me. Everyone else…’

Delina also knew that everyone’s stamina had reached its limit. Even Zen, who had the best stamina, was panting heavily. They all concealed their exhaustion.

“I guess I was right. The clown lady managed to find the pouch?”

“…”

“As expected, impressive.”

Decar laughed as he looked at the empty branches. Meanwhile, the raindrops were getting thicker, obscuring their vision. Rainwater streamed down Delina’s forehead into her eyes. Delina wiped her eyes for a moment, and in that brief instant, Decar swiftly swung his sword.

“…!”

Calix blocked Decar’s sword. However, Calix, too, was in a weary state, and his hand holding the sword trembled. Decar seemed to notice Calix’s condition and smirked.

“Must be because of the Ulfirim. You don’t want to show your fatigue, huh?”

“…”

“But where’s the Duke? Are you the only one here?”

Instead of answering, Calix swung his sword at Decar. Dodging the attack effortlessly, Decar spoke.

“Oh, did roles get reversed?”

“…”

“I intended to intercept the Duke in the middle before he reached the clown lady. But I ended up meeting the clown lady first. Too bad for the Duke.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Decar’s sword flew toward Calix. Calix tried to dodge, but Decar’s sword left a cut on Calix’s arm. Blood streamed down Calix’s arm.

“Calix!”

The wound wasn’t too deep, but Calix staggered. Clearly not reacting normally, Delina shouted in surprise. Upon seeing this, Decar pointed to his sword with his finger.

“Oh, right. I applied paralysis poison to the sword this time.”

“…”

“I guess we need a more certain method to take the clown lady with us.”

Calix’s body slowly collapsed. He struggled not to fall and tried to stay on one knee. Seeing him, Decar took a step closer.

“Well, would the Duke be sad if the Duke’s vassal dies? Probably, huh?”

Just as Decar finished speaking, he was about to swiftly bring down his sword.

Decar’s sword aimed at Calix was repelled. In the recoil, Decar stepped back, and at the same time, a keyword flashed above Calix’s head and disappeared. Seizing this opportunity, Zen and Noah quickly pulled the immobilized Calix.

“Stay still. It’ll take some time for you to move.”

Bansent looked down at the lying Calix and spoke. In his hand, there was medicine to dispel paralysis.
While they were examining Calix, Ashed drew his sword and slowly approached Decar. Decar, who had been affected successively by Delina’s abilities, blinked his vacant eyes and then smiled, wiping his wet hair.

“Caught by the clown lady again. Was that also the clown lady’s technique just now?”

“…Yes. I will continue to use the technique whenever you attack.”

Though she said that, everyone, including herself, had already used their abilities. Despite hiding that fact, Decar spoke as if it didn’t matter.

“If that’s the case, the clown lady would have already used her technique to escape from here, right?”

“…”

“Or maybe, is there a limit to the technique? Is that why you can’t escape?”

Everyone fell silent at Decar’s words. It became a situation that confirmed Decar’s doubts. Decar raised the corners of his mouth at their reaction, and Delina bit her lip.

Now they had to face Decar purely with swordsmanship and stamina. Zen revealed his fangs fiercely. Delina quickly blocked them in desperation.

“No, Zen. You fight at close range. If that sword grazes you even once, it’s over. Noah, don’t move either.”

Noah, too, was almost out of stamina while fighting Decar. The only one left was Ashed, who could attack from a distance, but he needed to treat Calix. Now, Ashed was the only one remaining.

“Who is this, the next Emperor Your Majesty.”

“…”

“The one who will lead the Empire is getting soaked in rain and doing this here.”

Having seen Calix’s plight, Ashed tightened his grip on the sword with a more tense expression. Decar also slowly moved his sword.

“Well, even so, as the next emperor, you have the duty to protect the imperial citizens, right? Then how about making a deal with me? Just give me the clown lady, and I’ll willingly send the others away.”

“I won’t listen to that.”

Ashed replied, shaking his eyebrows, and immediately swung his sword. While Ashed and Decar clashed swords, the heavy rain that had been falling fiercely began to weaken. The thick clouds also dispersed, gradually brightening the visibility.

However, Ashed was solely focused on defending against Decar’s relentless attacks. Eventually, Decar, confident in his victory, raised his sword high. His sword quickly approached Ashed.

“…!”