An Archer's Promise Chapter 77: Poison

Beta read by Gamercrusher55, Shigiya and Fluffy Slayer

Gonna be posting the poll for what y'all want me to start working on whenever I have free time. Either today or tomorrow, I'll add all the ideas I had in mind along with the option for a follow up chapter for Unlimited Souls Works.

Next update update is To Love a Sword

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Archer remembered his first days after being dropped into this unfamiliar land. He had spent them gathering scraps of information wherever he could, and continuing to do so as he traveled across Eostia. Passing from one settlement to another, speaking to traders, mercenaries, and anyone who would answer a question for the price of a drink. He wanted to understand the borders, the rulers, the alliances, and whether the enemies he was tasked to hunt down might have extended their reach beyond his estimation. Thankfully, the Kuroinu were mostly focused on Olga's domain back then.

But every document he found about the geography and history of this world came from the archives of the clergy from the Church of the Goddess, copied and edited by priests who cared more about doctrine than accuracy. Dates shifted, names changed, entire events conveniently vanished from the records, and even an entirely false origin story. Frustrating for sure, but not exactly something he had never dealt with before.

Most of what he learned about Fullstar did not come from books at all. It came from innkeepers swapping tales with travelers, from off-duty soldiers bragging in taverns, from passing merchants who spoke more about taxes and road conditions than about politics. The information was scattered, inconsistent, and often outright wrong. Still, he gathered every rumor he could find, piecing together a picture that was more guesswork than fact.

Now, standing in the center of a ring encircled by armed elves with the apparent Queen Evelyn herself held at swordpoint, Archer found the irony hard to ignore.

“This is going to be tricky,” he muttered dryly, eyes flicking towards Maia, who shot him a questioning look to which he couldn't help but release a faint chuckle at, that held no real humor. Trouble kept arriving without pause, stacking problem upon problem until irritation gave way to resignation. He had stopped expecting peace and instead braced himself for whatever nonsense came next.

Evelyn, however, met the situation with fury rather than being compliant, as one would expect from someone caught like this.

“Is this another of your schemes, Celestine?” she demanded, her voice raised high. The edge of his sword hovered at her throat, close enough to chill her skin but not yet cut it. A faint tremor in her tone betrayed nerves she tried to hide. “Do you plan to kill me, or take me hostage so you can seize my kingdom after losing your own to that wretched Dark Elf? I should have known you would fail and turn to such disgraceful tactics sooner or later. Release me now, unless you want to face another army marching from the west!”

‘Not exactly the best way to negotiate one's safety,’ noted the man dryly. For a woman with cold steel at her neck, she showed little concern for her life, or at least…she tried to showcase that image with little success. Her entire focus on Celestine, most likely pressuring the blonde to give him a signal to let her go or something.

“You misunderstand, Evelyn,” Celestine said evenly with a relaxed smile on her face. “We didn’t come here to make war with you. Truth is, we didn’t even come here willingly.”

“Then learn to lie better,” she snapped back.

“She’s not lying!” Maia shouted before Archer could answer. She sounded exhausted rather than angry. “We were literally teleported here! One second, we were in some abandoned elven ruins, the next thing we know, we’re literally landing right in the middle of your territory!”

“Silence, human!” Evelyn cut her off sharply. “I should have all of you hanged for daring to talk over the queen, you dirty li—hn!”

She froze when Archer shifted his grip, the blade sliding a hair closer until the cold steel kissed her skin. Not deep enough to cut, but just enough to remind her that her life hangs in the balance.

“You’re too loud,” he said, voice low. “As I told you before, we just want to leave. Let us walk out of here, and you keep your life and throne. Like Maia said, none of us want your crown, your land, or get involved in your war — this is all just a misunderstanding.”

“You dare make demands of me? Of a queen? A human speaking to me like this!? Kill him! No, capture him and throw him into the dungeon!” Evelyn glared at him as though the words themselves offended her more than the weapon at her throat. The elves around them shifted uneasily, watching the exchange without moving in. Archer only lifted one eyebrow in return. He had seen this same pride throughout several instances in his life; rulers measuring a person’s worth by race and birthplace before anything else… It was honestly getting annoying.

“I am—” Evelyn began her rant again, her tone rising.

“Evelyn, please,” Celestine interrupted, stepping forward slightly. “I know there is little trust between us. I know our kingdoms have not stood side by side in years. But we are not your enemies. Both our kingdoms have been attacked, and in response, we have always stayed neutral and even sent each other help several times before. Our families have aided each other before in the past, and all I ask right now is that you listen to me, that the same dangers we are facing right now are the same as yours, whether you want to admit it or not.”

"Don't you dare put us in the same boat! You're nothing but a messenger with the gall to call herself a goddess. You're not even of royal blood!" Evelyn shouted, stomping her foot on the ground. Even though she remained loud and uncooperative, Archer still managed to get something out of their little exchanges. Aside from the fact that they knew each other, their relationship was not exactly the best, and a possibility that people here did not truly believe Celestine was the Goddess… or at least, not the royal family.

"If you're going to kill me," she went on, her tone shaking despite her efforts to hold it steady, "then I swear on my name that no one will let this go unpunished. All of Fullstar will hunt you to the ends of the world!"

Her words tried to carry a threatening tone, but her trembling frame and breaking voice betrayed her fear. The threat lost some of its force when her knuckles went white as she squeezed them too hard, her shoulders stiff as if locked between fear and pride. Even her eyes were teary, looking as if she were about to cry at any moment.

"Then let's make a deal," Celestine said suddenly, raising her chin slightly. "Since this is all a misunderstanding, and if Archer truly wanted to kill you, he would have done so already, why don’t we help each other just this once? We will let you go. In return, guide us to the fastest way out of this forest. I know this is your land, and a place like this must be surrounded by layers of restrictive magics and crawling with ferocious creatures. Without guidance, we could be wandering for days in your land or worse."

"What a worthless bargain," Evelyn snapped back almost instantly. "I gain nothing from it. I don't negotiate with enemies."

Celestine's expression barely changed, though the faint curl of her lips hinted at amusement. "Perhaps you don't want to. But what about the others?" She gestured lightly toward the guards encircling their queen. Some shifted uneasily, realizing the weight of her words before she even finished speaking.

"It has been centuries since I last set foot in Fullstar," Celestine continued, her gaze moving slowly across their faces. "I can't say whether your laws remain the same. But if I remember correctly, when a ruler is slain, the guards sworn to protect her meet the same fate. Execution for failing their duty. Isn't that right?"

Her question hung in the air, and immediately the tension crackled through the clearing. Faces paled; even Evelyn stiffened as if someone had poured cold water down her back.

"Hah! What nonsense," Evelyn snapped, though her voice faltered halfway through. "There’s no such thing! T-That ridiculous law has been thrown away completely, and o-only those who do not follow my words are executed! R-Right, m-my words are the rules, and I will execute you all if you don't obey me!" Her voice grew louder, more desperate as a slight quiver betrayed her…Everyone could tell that she was lying.

Celestine did not let the moment slip. "Archer," she said smoothly, "is my most powerful mage. Harm either of us, and not even a thousand of you could stand against him. He alone crushed the Kuroinu and captured Olga Discordia. All by himself."

“...”

“...”

The reaction was not immediate; some tilted their heads in confusion until whispers started to spread around bit by bit. It continued until every elven guard now looked at him with various expressions on their faces. The women’s spears wavered at first, until they slowly lowered their arms entirely. “What the hell are you idiots doing!? She is lying! No human can defeat an elf of any kind, even the impure ones! Are you that stupid!?” Evelyn’s fury climbed, her authority slipping as more signs of resignation continued to spread through her ranks.

"This is treason!" she shrieked, eyes wide. "If you refuse to save me, I’ll seriously have every one of you executed! Kill this human now and capture the rest!"

But no one moved. The guards stayed frozen in place while Celestine’s smile only grew, calm amid the rising panic. Basically becoming a smirk by now, while both Radomira and Mistiora remained frozen in their spot, the former watching the entire thing as if it were a show, and the latter just gazing at everything with very little change in her expression. As for Maia… she was no different than a ball of nerves, looking around hastily as if to search for an escape route.

“Keep talking, and things could get bloody for you. If even your guards are acting this way, then the situation must be dawning on you. You're only going to put yourself in an even worse position if this goes on.” Archer said evenly, as if to remind Evelyn not to forget the situation she was in. He held himself perfectly still, only his eyes shifting. A small part of him considered striking her temple with the pommel of his blade to knock her out cold and be done with her. It would have been quick, efficient, and it would have silenced her arrogance in an instant.

But another part of him held back, curious to see whether this so-called Goddess Reborn had the sense to defuse the tension herself and perhaps even turn it to their advantage. There was also the risk that the moment he made a move, the guards would leap to the wrong conclusion, convinced he had harmed her or worse. Not that he feared them hurting him, rather he worried these protectors would end up hurting the others, and possibly worse if he was not fast enough.

Now, with every eye fixed on her and her pride crumbling, Evelyn stood frozen. The chill bite of Kanshou remained at her neck, the metal pressed just firmly enough to remind her what would happen if she moved. Her lips parted, but no words came out. The defiance in her stance was cracking apart with each passing second as though a storm had stripped it down piece by piece. Moisture gathered at the edges of her eyes, making her look as though she might break down entirely any second and weep where she stood. Celestine waited for her answer patiently.

Maia and the others held their tongues, and as for Archer… he suddenly felt droplets of liquid fall onto his arm and was stunned to realize that for all that previous bravado—the queen of Fullstar really was starting to cry.

“Uuuuh… sniff…Fine,” Evelyn whispered at last, the word barely louder than the faint hum of a mosquito drifting through the air.

“Did you say something?” The blonde elf Goddess Reborn replied, his voice sounding even more cheerful and even somewhat smug. “Better make it louder so everyone can hear it. We wouldn’t want there to be any confusion, Your Majesty.”

“Damn you, Lucross, I said I’m fine!” Evelyn snapped, her voice cracking as the last of her restraint slipped. “I accept the deal! Now get this filthy human away from me! Uuuuaaaah! He has already tainted my body and my honor as it is! Uuuuh! How long do you intend to humiliate me!?”

At this point, the tension seem to evaporate, and Archer let the weapon disperse in the air and watched as the girl fell onto her knees, holding her body as if he had done something irredeemable to her. ‘And this is the queen of Fullstar… somehow, she's making the Princess Knights from before look more competent. She's no different from a spoiled brat.’

He truly started to worry about this world. If Draco wasn’t around, then these people alone were more than enough to cause enough damage to the world as a whole just by themselves.

“No, we're not done yet,” Celestine said at once, countering Evelyn's pleas, shocking the elven queen. “I want you to give your word. Swear on the name of your royal house and your crown as queen that you will not go back on what you have agreed to. No treachery. No betrayal.”

Every layer of caution she added tightened the snare around Evelyn further, forcing the woman to nod through clenched teeth, her pride trampled into the dirt.

“Whatever, just b-because I am a forgiving queen… sniff, I-I will give you some face and accept.” He could see that even some of the other elves around looked away in what could only be described as embarrassment for what they had just witnessed.

He really pitied these people.

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(An hour later)

They had walked in uncomfortable silence for a while. Evelyn had put her clothes back on, refusing to spend one more second in her birthday suit. Of all the things she could have worn, she dressed herself in a pink and white leotard that wrapped around her like a one-piece swimsuit and barely covered her hips and breasts with a little pink ribbon tying her chest area. She wore pure pink leather thigh-high boots and gloves with crown-designed sleeves, and a pink cape lined with white fur. And to wrap up this ridiculous, skimpy, and pink excuse for a royal garb, she wore a bejeweled pink and gold queen’s crown on top of her head.

“Hah…”

He just had to tell himself that this was accepted here, that, for some reason beyond his understanding, this was, for whatever reason, normal here.

Evelyn really was quite spoiled; she even needed her handmaid's help dressing herself rather than doing it herself. After she was done, Evelyn had directed one of her guards to show the fastest way off their territory, which they obliged. Now they were being watched slowly as they made the trek out.

When they finally began their return journey, Archer found his attention tugged towards the forest they were re-entering around them, saying goodbye to the beautiful, clear lake clearing they had found themselves in. Something about the overall place unsettled him, though he couldn’t name exactly what. The trees stretched high, their branches weaving together in places to blot out the sun. The air was damp, carrying the faint scent of moss and wet earth.

There was something very strange about this place, and it made him feel uneasy. ‘Now that I think about it, Celestine mentioned monsters when talking to Evelyn, but we haven't encountered even a single creature on our path yet aside from the distant chirping of the birds.’

They moved as a group, his own group huddled together with the queen's protectors, keeping an eye on them. Again, Archer could not shake the prickling sensation of being watched. His instincts whispered warnings he could not so easily ignore, or just call it paranoia for all the times it had saved him before. Perhaps it was Olga trailing them or something similar… If it were the dark elf, he doubted she would abandon them now. The woman had no family left but the one traveling with him. That alone would ensure she remained close, if only from the shadows.

“Well, that went better than I expected,” Maia muttered, finally getting close to him. Despite her words, tension lingered in her shoulders, her posture telling all that he needed to know about her current state. She scanned the trees. “I was half ready for an all-out fight. That girl in the horse-drawn litter is glaring at you with so much hate I almost mistook her for Alicia for a moment.”

Archer’s mouth curved slightly. She was not wrong. From the horse-drawn litter ahead, Evelyn’s golden hair gleamed in the dim light as she sat stiff-backed, no longer bare, her eyes locked on him with a venomous stare. Beside her, Celestine spoke to her in calm tones, the picture of control, while the rest of the guards marched outside the carriage.

“I still think it would have been smarter to split off and find our own way out,” Maia went on, her voice low. “I’m seventy… no, at the very least, ninety percent sure these people won’t let us leave once we reach even close to the capital. They’ll just box us in with more soldiers and throw us in the fucking dungeon! The Queen was such a little brat, I’d half expected her to go back at her word the moment she could; it’s so obvious even a blind man could see it.”

“Celestine claims the royal family values their word as much as their bloodline,” Archer replied. “According to her, they will not betray us.”

Maia shot him a look of disbelief. He answered it with a shrug before adding, “I know what you're thinking, and no, I don’t buy it. But the least I can do is give the benefit of the doubt. Not that it gives me much confidence, considering how things went back there. So yes, it is likely she will go back on her words.”

“Ah, phew, for a second, I thought I was talking to someone else,” Maia said dryly. “Never knew you could be this trusting with some random elf queen we just met. She kinda reminds me of that fucking Michelle.”

“I’ve never met him, but based on what I heard, she can’t have been that bad. You're exaggerating, right?” She rolled his eyes but let it drop. She at least had the sense to keep her doubts quiet rather than stirring trouble. Truthfully, he trusted none of them and planned for them to slip away the moment they neared the capital’s walls.

“Hey, Archer,” came a hushed voice from behind. Radomira drew close, her tone barely above a whisper. “What should we do about… You know, the others?”

“Right…” Again, he did not believe for a second that Olga would vanish or run away after all the effort she made to track down Chloe and now that Mistiora was also with them, then he suspected that either the dark elves were following them, Olga most likely using one of her spells to stay hidden, looking for her chance to act, or perhaps was just waiting for him back in the cave they found on the way here. Both options were good since he made sure to remember the path back to that place in case things got messy here.

“Everyone is already on edge; best to not antagonize them.” He said, turning his attention to Mistiora, who was following Radomira very closely. Her hand grasping at the Tiefling's clothes as if she were a child following its mother, it was funny in a way, as the latter did not even seem to notice it. He knew that there were several eyes on those girls by the surrounding elves, but most of their attention was on Radomira.

‘Not that welcoming of her kind, I see, she did call her a demon after all. But their reaction is not as extreme as those in the seven kingdoms back at the beginning.’ If they tried something at this moment, he was confident that Maia could handle herself for a few moments, but even her blessings would not make her flexible enough against so many different opponents in an all-out brawl. She was not a one-person army, still having her limit of running out of energy eventually.

“She still hasn't talked much yet.” He was told by the redhead, who also took it upon herself to keep an eye on their traveling dark elf. “Can't believe I’m saying this, but I almost feel sorry for the girl. She isn’t as arrogant as Olga. Honestly, that woman could learn a thing or two from her,” she finished, speaking loud enough for Mistiora to hear the entire thing, but of course, she still, just like always, did not react.

“Don't go looking for trouble now, Maia.”

He scolded her a bit, earning a scoff from the woman, who just retorted by crossing her arms while whispering to herself, “Well, look at you already getting defensive over her. Was she that good in bed?” Jealousy sure was a strong drug, though he was not protecting her out of any particularly selfless reasons, just that talking about anything related to the dark queen while surrounded by these people was not exactly the brightest of ideas. Better to wait until they split paths. “Speaking of which, I am a bit surprised your reputation even reached this area of the world. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you didn't do anything big, but Fullstar is so far away and they barely cared about us all these years, so I'm kind of surprised how they reacted after knowing you killed the black dogs.”

“I don’t think they reacted because I defeated Vault and his mercenary group,” he said, earning her attention as she raised an eyebrow. “It was the part with Olga that caught their attention. Regardless of how they may see Celestine and the seven kingdoms, these people still held some level of caution with that woman. She was raising an army of dangerous demons whose numbers just looked like they could keep on growing forever. One would be the right to assume that if the seven kingdoms fell, her next target would have most likely been one of the closest places of import, which would be this one.”

That made the redhead cross her arms with a bitter expression. “So this fuckers were secretly thinking we were going to fail in the end, didn't they?”

He gave her a side eye. “I would like to remind you that, despite having control over seven entire kingdoms, all of you relied on a group of mercenaries, of all things, to solve your problems. A group of mercenaries that you had given an unreasonable amount of authority and power to the point that they basically became the de facto rulers in the eyes of the people. At some point, you all were nothing more than just figurheads.”

She shrank a bit into herself after he reminded her of their past failures, at least showing she had the decency to look slightly ashamed. “All right, all right, stop reminding me about it, you're starting to sound like Claudia. I don't need a second person in my life acting like she's my mother.”

Archer chuckled; at least he was glad to see she accepted his words despite her answer. “After we get out of this forest, we should find a way to make haste back to Feoh and get in contact with Alicia as soon as possible… that place will fall into chaos if she does not properly reign in everyone.”

“You want to go again to that place? I know that Draco has been our main source of problems lately, but I'm sure, now at least, Alicia has everything under control. Wouldn’t it be a good opportunity to go back to Ansur? It's been a while since you've been there. I doubt the beast would stay there after what you did to her. If it's just communication, I know Fullstar has a shrine operated by a few shrine maidens working for Kaguya. They have ways to communicate with one another with those talismans of theirs.”

“Kaguya?” He had to admit that piece of information caught him a bit by surprise, anything having to do with that insect-worshipping cult. “Here, of all places?”

“Their faction is quite a friendly one, just like Luu-Luu’s. They mesh well with others and are welcomed almost everywhere, so don't be surprised if you see miko maidens walking down the street. We can stop there and contact Alicia.”

True enough, she had a point; he did not know Draco's current whereabouts, and it was very possible that the blonde pipsqueak could have migrated somewhere else. But he still had a nagging feeling that something wasn’t right. That woman was the personification of arrogance and pride; leaving that place without one final trump card would be no different than admitting defeat, which for sure she would not accept. He knew that Alicia alone wouldn’t be able to handle it in the future if something else happened there. “We’ll see. Let's first focus on our current proble—hm?”

That sensation again—a prickling along the edge of awareness, subtle but unmistakable. Archer snapped his head around, gaze fixed outwards, as if the motion itself might catch the unseen observer in the act. Of course, nothing; his eyes found only empty distance, unchanged. Yet that was enough. Now he knew—they were definitely being watched. The more he dwelled on it, the more this place seemed to shift under him, growing stranger with every heartbeat…

Her overall entourage was not that numerous to begin with, a few dozen of her personal soldiers, just like the entourage Celestine used to have with her knights back in Feoh. He did wonder why a queen like her needed to come this far from the kingdom just to take a dip in a random pond in the middle of nowhere, but the fact that the teleportation spell also brought them near this place made him question why that was the case in the first place. “Maia, do you perhaps have any knowledge of whether or not this place holds any significance to the elves in FullStar?”

”This place? Beats me, I'm not a history nut like Kaguya or even Celestine. Best to ask the bossy elves themselves. That is, if you don't mind getting scratched by that brat as soon as you get close to her.”

“This is their ancestral land.” Both turned in shock to a voice Archer had only heard once at an inn. To their surprise, the one who actually gave them their answer turned out to be Mistiora of all people. The silver-haired beauty had kept her silent all this time, never once even acknowledging them, yet now had finally said something.

Archer, Radomira, and Maia looked at her, as she showed no signs of embarrassment, her mouth still somewhat hidden under her veil, as she continued to speak. “Legend has it that the goddess once came to this pond in order to give birth to the first light elf who would create the kingdom of Fullstar. At least, that's the story the royal family likes to spread. It hasn’t been proven solidly yet, and many old records show no evidence of such a thing, besides their word of mouth.”

“You know your history.” He asked with genuine curiosity, grateful for the peace of information.

“I heard of it during my travels; it is a popular tale spread in Fullstar by their local church.”

Oh? So this place also had something similar to the church of Celestine. He didn’t exactly deal much with those people back in Feoh; still, Archer had a feeling that they would not be so accepting of him and the effect he had on their goddess. He hoped at the very least that things would go as smoothly here, hoping he would not be interacting with them whatsoever in Fullstar.

“Is she safe?” she asked, garnering his attention, as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She didn’t stop as she looked at him with her amber eyes.”You were with her earlier.”

‘How’d she know?’

You think I abandoned her?” To that, the woman shook her head in the negative. “You’re quite trusting of me. Weren’t you determined not to speak to me, and just follow? Anyway, yes, she’s here. And this time, I am going to have to ask you not to do anything hasty or run off anywhere. That would force me to save both of you again, and the more you do that, the more likely you will just end up putting her in danger.”

She lowered her head, complying with his words and not saying anything else for the next few seconds. The moment of silence did not last long as the next moment brought it to an abrupt halt, as he raised his hands to stop those who were trailing behind him. ”Wait,” he said, his face frowning as he stared around the forest with narrowed eyes.

His actions of stopping the journey had reached the front, where the two high-born elves had been discussing, looking at him curiously. “What are you doing? Keep walking!” Some of the elves that were around him immediately wasted no time in drawing their weapons and pointing them at him, already showing him that it was very unlikely these people would let them go after reaching the end of this route.

“Archer?” Maia called out his name, looking where he was gazing to see what he could, but finding nothing unusual.

“Something's not right,” he answered. The nagging feeling kept growing stronger, as if they were being observed. It had clung stubbornly to his senses for the last hour from the moment he arrived in this forest. He thought it was just his unusual environment, but the feeling grew to alarming levels, and unsettling weight rested in his gut.

…

…

Yet no matter how closely he observed his surroundings, he came up with nothing. Nothing seemed to stand out. “There's something really wrong about this forest, I can't even tell if I'm being observed by someone or something… It's messing with my senses. ‘

“We will not ask you again. Keep walking, or else we will make you.” One of the elves warned him, her tone filled with a clear amount of hostility, with intention in her eyes growing more evident by the second. Though this time, he did not even need to say anything, for the next moment, several dozen large orbs were thrown from the forest right in the middle of their group.

Seeing them, Archer immediately put himself in front of Mistiora, who was the closest to him. Right before the cluster released a dense smoke that filled the area quickly.

“Shit, Celestine-sama!” Maia made haste to the carriage, with him giving Radomira a signal to follow the redhead to keep an eye on her.

“—!”

His body reacted before his thoughts could assess the situation, muscles moving on instinct as he yanked Mistiora toward him. “Kya!” The feminine dark elf stumbled into his chest with a startled cry, just as a dagger sailed through the air and buried itself in the spot where she had stood seconds earlier. One glance at the weapon told the man all he needed to know. The blade was smeared with some sort of dark, oily substance, its faint sheen betraying a poison crafted to either cripple or numb rather than kill outright. If she had not moved, that shaft would have punched into her legs, taking her out of the fight without ending her life. A capture shot, not a killing one.

‘It can't be the same group from the village after her. No one there should know she is here, nor would they have the means to get here this fast. Are there others in service to Mandeville? We teleported here. No one should know where we are, unless they came with us.’’

For a fleeting moment, the clash of steel in the distance and the growing roar of chaos around them made it feel as if he had stepped back into the ruins he had fought through earlier. The smoke twisted in the air, carrying the shouts and clangs of battle. Even amongst that, he could still hear that brat’s voice shouting for her elven guards to kill the enemy quickly or be killed.

He never imagined meeting someone possibly more headache-inducing and hard-headed than Alicia before the woman finally grew up, but here he was.

“Hm?” At the edge of his vision, the air shifted unnaturally, the hair on his head straightened, and Acher’s instincts screamed. He turned around to react, but even before his eyes locked on the source, a figure was already there, less than a meter away from him, crouched low enough that her chest practically pressed against the ground. A massive iron greatsword loomed over her shoulders, the weapon’s surface marked with nicks and scars — exactly like what he had seen earlier.

Her orange eyes focused on nothing else but his steel gray, locked on him like that of a predator ready to attack as she launched forward. Makeshift bandages of broad leaves and torn cloth covered her arms and legs, the crude wrappings hiding earlier wounds that did little to hide her modesty, even more so than before. Yet nothing about her movements suggested weakness. The weapon came up in a single, vicious arc, the ground beneath her feet cracking as she put her full strength into the swing.

There was no doubt… This was something that a normal man could not have survived, even with piled-on armor after armor. Shields would have splintered, swords would have snapped, and any form of hard leather cleanly cleaved through. Bone and steel alike would have shattered under the weight of that blow.

But instead of the brutal, decisive impact she must have expected, the ascending greatsword encountered no such thing from the other side whatsoever. “Hn” rather than cleaving through flesh, its sharpened end came to hit Archer's boot, with a klang.

“Eeh!”

“Nrgh!”

While his initial intention had been to stop that attack from happening by forcefully pushing down on her sword, he had underestimated the amount of force she pushed within that swing, as he could already feel the metal digging into his boots. Enough to not only overcome his move but to continue on its path, forcing him to go along with the motion, he pulled Mistiora in closer to his chest, as he used it as a platform to jump in the air. ‘Enhanced strength, around the same level as an Orc.’

More of a reason to not let Mistiora be all by herself. He landed on a sturdy high tree branch, hiding Mistiora behind the trunk. His bow already traced behind the trunk — he fired several shots.

Leona’s eyes had widened in disbelief at the first outcome already, so she was caught completely off guard at his new weapon. On instinct, she could only bring the sword in front of her to act as a shield, digging it into the ground. Its size, luckily, was big enough for her to find cover against the arrows that tore through the air. Impacting the sword with such shocking force that it pushed her backwards, her blade leaving a deep gash on the ground. “You gotta be kidding me!” Leona shouted, watching as part of her hair got shredded by the projectiles. Having completely thrown out any current plans of capturing the dark elf.

As Archer landed back down, his bow disappeared in molts of blue light, giving her a glimmer of hope which she grabbed onto firmly and rushed ahead. All of her actions were observed by him as the giant weapon came swinging. ‘Blocking that thing will be foolish when she swings it around with that much strength.’ Reinforcement would help to somewhat even out the gap, but he was not here for a strength comparison contest, opting for something simpler. Bakuya nestling within his grasp, he parried the flat side of the blade against the incoming attack.

A loud screech stung his ears, but the desired outcome occurred as he managed to push that thing off its course using a precise strike. The blade goes above Archer’s head, the crushing momentum missing him by less than a hairbreadth… thus leaving Leona completely open. The latter already realized her blunder but was unable to recover fast enough despite her monstrous strength. “Motherfu—urgh!”

Reinforced boots dug deep within her unguarded stomach, pushed deep with a quick spin to add more momentum. Air forcefully pushed out of her lungs and caused some spit to fling out of her mouth, the Lycanthrope fell backwards like a tumbleweed.

“You somehow survived that fall from the teleportation. I'm almost curious to know how.” Archer said quietly, eyes never leaving hers. “Give up, I won’t let you take her.. Leave with what few men that were dragged along with you in that teleportation accident.”

Was it mercy? Perhaps. Though in a way, he was grateful she attacked, as the conflict painted them in a better light and focused Evelyn’s attention on another party instead. If killed immediately, the blonde elf could just as easily bring her ire back on them.

“Tch.”

The snarl came from deep in her throat before she pushed off, bare feet digging into the ground. She sprang back into the swirling smoke, vanishing into it as if it swallowed her whole. Archer’s gaze tracked the faint trail she left before it too disappeared.

“Stay there and do not move,” he ordered Mistiora before dashing into the middle of the ground where they stood before, never taking her out of his sight.

‘Moving like that with such a weapon, and so silently at that, either she relied on magic to mask her steps, or it’s indeed just pure strength alone.’ Even Archer himself admitted that he would have made some noise carrying something that heavy, yet she slipped through the battlefield like a shadow. How she managed it did not matter.

The battle beyond them began to quiet down. The shouting of Evelyn’s elves was thinning, fewer voices cutting through the smoke. ‘Maia should be able to keep those two safe along with Radomira. These mercenary men were already injured from their last battle; using a surprise attack method would not help much in the long run.’

Then, a faint motion flickered through the haze.

‘There.’

If she had attacked him from behind earlier, then her next move would almost certainly be the same: to run around his blind side and strike again. He was proven right when she repeated the tactic, this time skipping any buildup of momentum or strength, going straight for a thrust.

Clang!

The sound split the air as her blade scraped across the gleaming white edge of his Noble Phantasm. Sparks burst between them while his hand twisted, deflecting the strike upward before he stepped in, ready to drive his foot into her side. Yet she clearly learned her lesson from last time and twisted with the deflection, vanishing once more into the smoke.

She made no sound as she retreated. That silence was starting to bother him. Maybe a spell was masking her presence, or a skill that enabled her to blend in with her surroundings… something similar to the way Assassin’s presence concealment worked, but he had doubts if it was something that complex. If so, this fight had just become far more troublesome than he expected.

“Ah!”

She came at him again. The pattern repeated, each emergence from the haze bringing a different attack. Sometimes she struck with a high downward slash, other times with a long horizontal cut meant to carve him in two. The woman even went for thrusts when the opening seemed right. But every blow was met by Bakuya’s edge, steel crashing against steel with a rhythm that rang across the battlefield.

Through it all, he stayed calm. His gaze never left the shifting smoke where she hid between strikes. Leona’s assaults were coming faster now, the intervals shrinking. At first, she always leapt back into the mist after each failed blow, but lately she had started chaining a second attack immediately after the first, hoping to catch him off-guard before vanishing again.

‘She’s not as fast as those Lycanthropes I fought with Olga,’ he thought, adjusting his stance to meet her next strike. ‘But she’s every bit as strong.’

More than a dozen clashes had passed already, and she showed no fatigue. Her breathing never faltered, her movements never slowed. She fought as if her body ignored the limits that should have dragged her down by now.

“Is she trying to wear me out first?” he wondered. “Not a bad plan.”

No longer being a Servant, his limitations as a human would make it impossible for him to engage in prolonged combat; exhaustion would end up catching up to him sooner or later. In fact, he was already getting a bit of soreness in his grip from the prolonged fight on top of the small skirmish against the mercenaries earlier.

The longer the battle dragged on, the clearer her overall style of combat became. She wasn’t a warrior who thrived on head-on clashes and using strength to overpower her opponent, even though she could perfectly do so. Rather, Leona was shaping the fight using stealth, speed, and timing rather than sheer force. Their first encounter before the teleportation incident had been abrupt, catching her unprepared.

He compared her to others in his mind. Alicia had been fast, Maia had been devastatingly strong. This woman fought like the best traits of both had been fused together, not possessing either’s monstrous abilities in that field, but a balance she knew how to use, that in his eyes honestly made her more dangerous than the Princess Knights, at least. Aside from Maia herself or perhaps Claudia with her high durability, he doubted any other Princess Knight could have lasted this long against her.

But he had no interest in dragging this duel out. She struck mostly from his blind side, avoided direct frontal attacks, and favored overhead swings for the momentum they offered.

Thrusts, on the other hand, left her open whenever he deflected them, and she always struggled to recover in time afterward. With each exchange, the pattern became clearer in his mind. So when she lunged again with another thrust, he redirected her blade and countered at once, his strike catching her in the side and sending her sprawling through the smoke once more.

She was slower to rise this time. Her earlier wounds from fighting Olga must still be taking their toll.

‘Perhaps that was the reason she is avoiding a direct clash. The woman knows she is running out of time, each moment carrying her closer to the edge where pain will finally make it impossible for her to stay focused and get caught off guard.’

Archer read that rhythm once more, and in the next heartbeat, using the sequence he had prepared earlier, he flicked his wrist and sent Bakuya spinning through the air. The blade vanished into the haze lingering across the battlefield. “Argh!” A painful cry cut through the smoke a moment later.

“Damn it!” An enraged roar answered it.

Leona emerged once more, this time with a streak of crimson running across her shoulder. Her eyes burned with fury as she charged straight at him, sword raised high above her head. There was no caution now, not even the sign of an attempt to retreat back into the smoke if her strike failed. Most likely in her mind, he was unarmed, and this was her moment to finish him.

“You fool,” Archer muttered under his breath, too low for her to catch. It looks like she hadn’t figured out what those blue molts of light were.

Shock widened her eyes when, in the next instant, his other hand flared with Magical Energy and Kanshou shimmered into existence… its edge gleaming. Instead of turning the black blade to block her downward strike as he had done before, he slashed upward with full force. Steel met steel. Her weapon split clean in two, one half spinning away to bury itself into the dirt while the other half remained in her grip, useless.

“It's already over for you.”

Leona instinctively tried to retreat toward the edges of the fight, but the move came too late. From the swirling smoke behind her, Bakuya shot forward like a silver flash, the blade biting into her side before she could react. The strike tore across her lower stomach, leaving a deep, open wound with blood spilling everywhere.

She twisted desperately at the last possible moment, saving herself from a killing blow, but the wound was still severe enough to wrench a cry of pain from her throat.

“Gah!”

“Leona!”

As the smoke began to disperse, what few remained of her group saw her condition and immediately tried to intervene. “Get her to safety! I'll distract them!”

He had to give it to them; at the very least, they were loyal to their leader. Despite not being in the best shape, with severe wounds on their own bodies, these men pushed themselves to get between him and Leona. The first one, pointing his chipped sword straight at Archer, the latter, on the other hand, merely kept his silence. “Cocky bastard!”

“Your leader has fallen.”

Despite his words, the bearded man tried to attack him first, swinging his sword with all his might, but Archer parried him, doing very little against his opponent. In a flash, both Kanshou and Bakuya moved with him, landing less than a handful of swift cuts. The first one rendered the attacker's arm useless, causing the sword he held to fall, and two more slices across his stomach. He stumbled a bit, his back hitting a tree as he slowly descended downwards, leaving a trail of blood on the trunk.

“W-What the hell! Did he even move!?” Some shouted, confusing his sleight of hand with the blades for speed. That particular display already demoralized them further, and with the sight of their comrades dying at the hands of the elven warriors around them. Their numbers already dwindled down by the second.

With a simple command, several swords were conjured in the air, taking aback both the elves and mercenaries. Leona especially became horrified upon finding that each one of those blades was aimed at what remained of her men. Their death at his fingertips with just a simple command, acting as a separating line.

“W-Wait…” Archer stopped right as another one was about to rush at him, turning his attention to Leona, who was being supported by one of the White Wolves mercenaries while a quick, bloody cloth was coiled around her waist. “D-Don’t kill them…if you spare them…I will h-hand-urgh, I will hand myself over.” She said in between her grunts, gritting her teeth while trying to stay conscious.

“...” He stood there quietly at first, observing the woman closely to see if she was planning something else or waiting for him to lower his guard. He doubted she was going to try anything in her current state anymore, and what little remained of her men would not count as a threat anymore. “I can’t make promises for the queen or her entourage, but surrendering right now is your best option regardless of the path you choose — you still have valuable information.”

Understanding what he meant, she nodded. “Give me… your word… that my men won’t be harmed.”

He scoffed, “As long as you don't try anything funny. From Feoh, all the way to the ruins, and now going so far as to launch a surprise attack against the queen of Fullstar. Despite not having fully recovered from your previous injuries. I hope it's worth whatever the person who hired you is paying,” he said. In the next moment, the dozens of swords around him dispersed, this being his answer to the woman who, using her last bit of strength, gave him a nod before losing consciousness. It's a miracle she managed to stay conscious for so long despite having lost so much blood. I'll factor it due to her Lycan side giving her much better survivability.

“Archer!” Radomira's voice called out for him, though this time it sounded quite urgent. He dropped whatever questions he had for Leona and immediately ran off towards the carriage, where his eyes immediately widened upon seeing a scene he never thought would occur right now.

“Maia!” He shouted the redhead's name upon finding her on the ground, held close by Celestine, as a dagger embedded itself in her shoulders. Her face was pale, and she was having a hard time breathing.

“Archer, it’s Maia, she's hurt!” said the Tiefling with a worried expression, tears coming down her face, watching as he rushed to the woman's side and carefully observed her condition.

“Damn, she was poisoned!” he barked, the irritation clear as he watched the girl trembling from the effects already spreading through her system and her temperature soaring unnaturally by the second. Acting quickly, he yanked the dagger out with the blade still having residue of the poison. Blood surged from the wound in a steady stream, splattering across the dirt before he pressed his palm hard over it to stop the flow, creating several bandages and tapes to keep the wound closed. “Can you help her?” he asked, eyes darting toward Celestine. The goddess knelt beside Maia, her face fully focused on her Princess Knight as she placed both hands on the girl’s head. She kept her focus for several seconds before slowly shaking her head.

“I can try to heal the wound itself… but I am not as skilled with healing as my sister,” Celestine admitted calmly with a hint of what sounded like frustration. “But whatever has entered her body… I cannot draw it out. I don’t even know what it is.”

“Damn it, does anyone here know how to treat poison?” he shouted, his voice carrying through the area as his gaze swept across the mercenaries, the elves, even Evelyn's attendants. Nobody stepped forward.

He strode over to one of the captured mercenaries, seizing the man by the collar and hauling him up so roughly his boots barely scraped the ground. “What poison did you use?” Archer demanded, his face close enough that the man could see the cold gleam in his eyes. Perhaps it was the memory of how their leader had fallen earlier, the display of his magecraft, or the killing intent radiating off him, but the mercenary stammered, his composure shattering.

“I—I don’t know the name! It’s just a sap we found on one of the plants here!” the man stuttered, voice cracking as Archer’s grip tightened until the fabric bit into his throat. “Leona said it was poisonous, that’s all!”

“We know of that plant,” came a feminine voice from behind. One of the elven women stepped forward, her expression darkening the moment she laid eyes on Maia’s wound. “If that poison comes from a blue-capped, red-spotted mushroom, then your companion is not in a good situation. It grows only in these forests and is used by our alchemist for brewing various kinds of potions. Left untreated, it kills slowly and painfully.”

“Then you know what I’m about to ask next.”

She nodded. “The palace keeps every kind of antidote against every kind of plant and venomous creatures that walk these areas. But even if you reach Fullstar, the court physician only treats those the royal family authorizes. And with her condition already this bad… by the time you arrive, it will be too late.” She glanced toward her queen, who was busy kicking the corpse of one mercenary who had apparently tried and failed to attack her earlier.

Archer glanced at Maia again. The poison was spreading too fast. Her breathing was shallow now, sweat running down her temple as if her body itself was aflame. He didn’t waste another second. Scooping her up into his arms, he rose in one smooth motion. “Then tell me the path. Now.”

“Follow this road until you reach the river,” the elf woman replied instantly, not even questioning his words, to which he was grateful. “Head upstream until you see the beacon towers. They lead straight to Fullstar.” She paused before adding, “If you take a horse, I can guide—”

“No.” Archer cut her off before turning to Radomira. “How fast can you fly?”

“I’ve improved,” she answered without hesitation, already spreading her wings. “Whatever speed you need, I can reach it.” Had this been before she attained her adult form, the man would have seriously doubted her words. She could barely float back then, let alone fly at great speed. But in her adult form, her rate of improvement was ridiculous to say the least, both in terms of her own magical prowess and the usage of her wings.

"Good, then I want you to keep up with me. I will be running to Fullstar."

As soon as those words landed, several heads snapped towards him. Several pairs of eyes widened, confusion painted across their faces that clearly expected some other plan, anything other than simply rushing straight for the capital. More than a few exchanged glances, their disbelief plain. Some looked at him as if he were an idiot to choose running over just taking a horse.

Archer paid no attention to any of it, gently picking Maia up. Radomira stepped forward, nodding firmly, already bracing herself with a pair of black feathered wings emerging from her back.

"Also, carry her along. She owes us a favor, and she’ll be our entry ticket.”

He pointed directly at Evelyn, who blinked in surprise, as though only now realizing the sudden shift in the topic of conversation. “What the—Hua!” She barely had time to form words before the tiefling swooped in, catching her cleanly by the leg and hauling her upward without a single ounce of delicacy. “K-Kidnapped! I am getting kidnapped by the demon! Help me, you idiots!” Evelyn’s startled cry rang through the clearing as the winged figure beat powerful strokes into the air, lifting her skyward while she kicked wildly in protest.

"Your Majesty!" several voices called after her, alarm and anger rising, but the elven guard who spoke to him earlier raised a hand, silencing them before turning to Archer.

“Just keep her safe.”

"I will And you too, keep the others safe," Archer told her plainly, with a reassured tone. He started to find these people more pleasant than he imagined, at least this person in particular was more rational than many he had met so far. "And make sure no one amongst the mercenaries runs away."

He wasted no more words. Reinforcement surged through his legs, the ground beneath him cracking faintly under the sudden burst of speed as he shot forward, the treeline blurring past. His pace was quick, his body moving in perfect rhythm with the flow of energy coursing through him.

Behind him, Radomira somehow managed to keep close, though the strain etched itself across her features, with her wings flapping as fast as they could to keep up. Evelyn, still gripped firmly by the tiefling, flailed in midair with arms swinging helplessly, her voice carrying across the wind as she unleashed a steady stream of curses at both rescuer and captor alike.

“Aaaaaaah! Forget the dungeon, I will skin you two alive and drop you in a bath of saltwater! Unhand me!”

"Not a wise idea, that last one. You might fall and snap your head. Also, we saved your life," Archer replied back, though the White Wolves perhaps were not dumb enough to kill the ruler of an entire Kingdom — she did not need to know that. "The least you can do is save one of ours."

Whether Evelyn heard him or not was another matter entirely. The wind tore at her words, scattering them, though the shrill edge of her furious protests remained clear enough. It didn't help that Radomira flew very close to some of the trees, having the elf get struck by several thin branches along the way.

The route given by the elf earlier guided him through the woods with few obstacles showing up ahead. Celestine and the others would be safe for now; with their queen in his grasp, no one would dare harm them. And if anything went wrong, he knew Olga would step in before the situation reached disaster.

"Over there!" Radomira pointed ahead as the terrain started to clear up a bit.

The kingdom appeared at last, rising against the horizon with towering walls and wide spires glinting faintly in the light. Its size dwarfed even the Princess Knight's domains Archer had seen so far, but there was no time to take in its majesty. He vaulted across the outer defenses in a single motion, Evelyn’s indignant shouting now drawing the attention of townsfolk below.

“Is that the queen?”

“No way, that can't be right.”

“Halt! Intruder!”

People stopped mid-step, staring upward in confusion as they caught sight of the upside-down figure with windswept hair and garments in disarray. The resemblance to their queen was undeniable, yet few could accept what they were seeing; their ruler, carried like a sack of grain by a demon with wings.

This kind of reaction happened all throughout the road, the closer he got to the center. Some of the elves tried to shoot arrows at them, some almost hitting Evelyn. “S-Stop shooting at your queen! Traitors, everyone is trying to kill me! This is mutiny!”

Her reaction immediately stunned the warriors, who started to realize that this person was not just a look-alike, but actually their queen… Guards rallied quickly near the palace gates, spears lowering in unison as Archer landed before them.

"Who dares approach the royal palace? By order of Her Majesty, none may enter! Leave now or face execution!" one barked, a male surprisingly enough, glaring at the trio — only for his words to falter when Archer caught Evelyn by the collar mid-protest, lifting her with effortless precision so she dangled there like an unruly kitten.

The relentless speed and the fact that the woman had been held upside down for so long left her visibly sick, her skin pale and clammy, the sort of look one had right before vomiting. The man holding her stepped forward with urgency in his voice. “This is your queen. We are her allies, and we were attacked on our way here. She needs immediate medical treatment; both of them have been poisoned!” His shout took a few seconds to fully sink in; the gathered guards glancing at one another in hesitation before confusion broke into disarray.

Seeing them falter, he barked louder, his tone carrying through the night air. “If you value your lives, follow my orders now! Open the gates!” His words cut through the hesitation, recalling that particular law mentioned by Celestine for those who failed their ruler, and within moments, the guards moved. The gates groaned open with reluctant speed, the man releasing a faint sigh of relief before hurrying through, Maia still in his arms.

“Urgh… I can see the lights, so… annoyingly bright,” she murmured weakly. Even in her state, there was enough of her spirit left to make such tasteless remarks, the corner of her mouth twitching faintly as she tried to smile.

Archer glanced down at her, lips curling in faint amusement despite the situation. “If you intend to keep the promises you made about all the things you claimed we would one day do together, staying away from that light would be in your best interest.”

“Wait… re… really? Even in the throne room and Alicia's office?” she whispered, a ghost of humor clinging to her words. “Maybe… I already died… this is… cough! This is heaven.”

“Just save your energy, Maia,” he said, the faintest edge of warmth in his voice, relieved that she still had enough strength to joke.

A sudden shrill cry cut through the moment as they reached the inner palace and waited for the healers to show up. Evelyn regained her composure and immediately showed her fury. “You there! I am done with you humans and Celestine's lies! I will have you hanged! Help! Call the guards! I will—GAH!” The woman who had regained her confidence within her own palace clearly thought her earlier fear no longer applied. Her attempt to reverse her promises was cut short when he silenced her with a swift strike to the back of her neck. Her body went limp instantly, collapsing into his arms before he shifted her aside.

“I suggest you summon the physician now,” he called out loudly. “Your queen’s condition is worsening by the moment, and she fell unconscious.”

The words sent the attendants outside into a frenzy, voices rising as they demanded the healer’s presence. He ignored the noise, carrying Maia to a bed and easing her down gently.

“You’ll get better soon,” he murmured, settling beside her, waiting in silence. Radomira was sitting by his side, unconsciously holding his arm for comfort while looking at Maia worriedly.

“Don't worry,” he said, patting Radomira on the head in comfort. “She survived worse.”