Vexion—the source of the aura—maintained a calm expression as she spoke in a measured tone.
"To have such little sense. Master pulled you into this space without your awareness, and you still haven't figured out a way to escape, let alone save your people. No matter how you look at it, Master is stronger than you. Yet you dare raise your weapons against him. Is this the nature of dark elves? You're no different from barbarians."
Lexa, who thankfully wasn't the target of the skill this time, trembled slightly. Fear and embarrassment made her lower her head.
She knew Kai and Lee had acted rashly. First they retreated into a defensive stance, then immediately demanded the release of their people. Looking at it now, it was insane.
But seeing even her father's most trusted aides unable to lift their heads under Vexion's pressure made her truly understand just how powerful the woman was.
Could this be why Dante had personally entered the Archduke's mansion?
Perhaps he had heard about Vexion and came specifically to recruit her.
The thought left a bitter taste in Lexa's mouth.
Her father had always told her that Legendary skill holders were incredibly rare, especially unaffiliated ones with no kingdom, sect, or organization backing them.
Yet here stood a boy whose skill was among the highest levels of the Legendary tier, accompanied by a subordinate of similar caliber. Legendary monsters weren't supposed to be this common.
Unbeknownst to Lexa, Dante was having similar thoughts. Today had been mostly successful, but it also gave him a headache. Everyone he met was way too strong for what he considered the tutorial phase of his life. If his life was a novel, then the author had seriously screwed him over.
Dante stared at Kai and Lee, who were now kneeling before him, and sighed inwardly. This arc was supposed to be setup material. So why the hell was he surrounded by monsters?
His mother was a monster.
His father was a monster.
Aunt Olive was a monster.
His siblings were monsters.
Even some Archdukes were Legendary-tier.
Never mind the Kings under his father's rule.
How rare were these skills actually?
Surely they couldn't be this common, right? They were literally the second-highest tier. Yet every second person he met was Epic or Legendary. If he didn't have all his cheats...
If he only had two or three skills like everyone else...
If he had been forced to settle for Common or Epic skills...
Wouldn't he just be cannon fodder?
Then he looked at Vexion. Now she was worth something.
Strong skill.
Strong sub-skills.
Good potential.
Hell, if he'd met her as an ordinary little elf, he would've probably been tortured to death. In Dante's eyes, his life would've simply repeated itself.
'Tsk. Whatever. 'I'll write today off as a fluke or maybe this empire is just fucking weird way too fucking strong. I'll avoid these Legendary freaks where I can. Kill too many and people start asking questions. Then stronger people show up. That sounds like a pain in the ass. I have zero masochist tendencies. I'm not interested in glorious life-and-death battles.'
'I'd rather not get injured at all. If someone can injure me, they're probably backed by someone who can kill me. I Need to get the hell out of this empire and get to the academy. Beat up some geniuses. Recruit some useful subordinates. and send them to do the dangerous shit.'
Dante was completely unaware that the problem wasn't that Legendary skills were common.
The problem was that he was surrounded by elves and elves lived long lives.
Long enough for Common skills to become Epic and for Epic skills to eventually evolve into Legendary ones It wasn't easy, but it happened.
In human territories, Epic-tier skills were treated almost the same way Legendary skills were.
But that was a lesson Dante would learn later at Midvest Academy.
Meanwhile, Vexion stared calmly at the weaklings who had dared point their weapons at her master.
Her expression remained composed, but killing intent seeped into the air. The pressure of her aura crushed down on the dark elves. Their bodies trembled and their knees buckled and heir hands shook uncontrollably.
Kai and Lee were stunned.
Confused.
Terrified.
They couldn't understand how they had encountered someone like this. Lexa wanted to beg for mercy, but she wasn't even sure she had the right. Before she could decide, Lexi stepped forward. Dropping to her knees behind Dante, she lowered her forehead to the ground.
"Y-Young Master... p-please have mercy."
Dante, who had been busy mentally cursing the universe, finally snapped out of it.
He looked toward the group and raised a hand.
Immediately, Vexion bowed her head and withdrew her aura.
Dante let out a long sigh.
"I'm over this shit. I was gonna drop you guys off at the last kingdom between our territories, but honestly? Meh. Find your own way home."
He pointed toward the pure elves. As for you lot, I'll drop you off nearby. Find some guards, explain what happened, and they'll probably help you." The pure elves immediately bowed in gratitude. The dark elves, meanwhile, looked ready to panic. Slowly, Kai pushed himself back to his feet despite the lingering pain. Looking toward the princesses, he noticed the disappointment on their faces.
After exchanging a glance with Lee, both men bowed deeply toward Dante and Vexion. Dante ignored them. After moving the pure elves near a military outpost and sealing the spatial layer again, he returned his attention to the remaining dark elves.
"My princesses, we need to leave immediately," Kai said.
He and Lee hurriedly consumed healing pills and potions while speaking.
"Princesses? Why do you look worried? We don't have time—"
"Uncle."
Lexa cut him off immediately. Crossing her arms, she glared at him.
"How exactly do you plan on getting twenty people across multiple kingdoms safely?"
Kai's face immediately darkened and Lee's wasn't much better. The reality of their situation finally hit them. There were over twenty dark elves. They were injured. Their artifact was gone and they were stranded.
"My princess, we still have the artifact your father—"
Lee stopped mid-sentence before both men froze, the look on Lexa's face told them everything.
Something had happened to the artifact.
And now they were responsible.
Dante watched the awkward silence with growing impatience.
"Can you leave already?"
The dark elves behind them looked even more nervous. They knew they had no real say in the matter. If Kai and Lee failed here, they would likely end up slaves again.
Or worse.
Kai and Lee knew it too. Their pride was screaming at them, but reality was winning.
Taking a deep breath, Lee finally lowered his head.
"Young Lord... please assist us." Dante looked at him for a moment. Then he turned toward Vexion.
"Do they look sincere?"
Vexion glanced at the group and shook her head.
"Not at all, Master."
Kai and Lee almost cursed out loud.
Lexa and Lexi hurriedly tried to intervene.
"My Lord, ple—"
A cold glance from Vexion instantly silenced them.
"Those two are the reason you're in this situation in the first place," Vexion said calmly.
"Let them fix it."
Her eyes shifted back toward Dante.
"They're still cursing you under their breath."
Dante considered it for a moment before nodding.
"Fair."
"They clearly need a lesson in humility."
"Take a hand."
The moment those words left his mouth, Lexa, Lexi, Kai, and Lee all froze.
Then a familiar pressure descended.
A crushing aura slammed into them, forcing all four back to their knees.