The heavy battleaxe whistling down toward my head was fast, but my Abyssal Caretaker physique reacted faster.
I didn’t try to block the iron blade head-on.
The giant brute had seven feet of plate armor and momentum on his side.
I threw my weight to the left, slamming my shoulder against the stone wall as the double-headed axe smashed directly into the flagstones.
Sparks flew across the control room. The stone floor shattered into jagged chunks under the crushing force of the impact.
"Nimble little rat!" the executioner growled, his deep voice muffled behind his dark iron visor. "Lord Tristan knew you wouldn’t die in the ravine so easily!"
He ripped his battleaxe free from the cracked floor and swung it sideways in a wide, vicious arc aimed straight at my ribs.
I dropped low onto my hands, letting the heavy iron blade cut through the air inches above my spine.
As the weapon passed over me, I lunged forward.
I thrust my shortsword upward, driving dark Abyssal mana into the steel.
My blade bit straight through the unarmored gap beneath his left armpit, plunging deep into his ribcage.
"Agh!" The executioner spat blood inside his helmet.
He didn’t fall. Instead, he lunged forward, slamming his thick steel shoulder pauldron straight into my chest.
The blunt force hit me like an iron ram. My Iron Body passive absorbed the main impact, saving my ribs from snapping, but the force slid me back six feet across the blood-slick stone floorboards.
"You’re trash, Cassian!" the executioner barked, taking a heavy step toward me as his armor groaned.
"A disinherited bastard playing caretaker to two broken women!
You think this keep is a sanctuary?
Lord Tristan has a hundred heavy infantrymen sitting in Oakhaven village right above your heads!"
Before he could raise his axe again, a sharp needle of pure shadow shot through the open doorway.
The dark mana spike struck the executioner’s right shoulder joint, punching cleanly through the metal plate and severing his tendons. His fingers twitched, and the heavy battleaxe slipped from his grasp, clattering loudly against the stone floor.
"Who are you calling broken, pig?" Isolde’s cold voice echoed from the hallway.
She stood in the doorframe, her eyes glowing with dark magic. Black shadow mana pooled around her hands like liquid ink. Beside her stood Seraphina, holding the doorframe with her left hand while her right hand gripped a heavy steel throwing dagger.
"Cassian, take his head!" Seraphina shouted, her amber eyes blazing with royal authority.
A wave of golden pressure erupted from Seraphina’s body, washing across the room. The imperial aura slammed into the executioner’s mind, making the giant warrior stagger backward in sudden confusion.
I didn’t waste the second he gave me.
I leaped forward, pushing every drop of Abyssal mana from my core into my shortsword. Black fire wrapped around the steel edge. I swung my sword in a clean diagonal stroke straight through his neck.
The black flame cut through iron gorget, muscle, and bone without stopping.
The executioner’s head detached from his shoulders, bouncing across the stone floor before hitting the wall. His body stood still for a second, dark blood spraying from his severed neck, before collapsing onto the ground like a pile of scrap metal.
Quiet returned to the hallway.
I lowered my shortsword and wiped the dark blood from the steel on the executioner’s cloak.
"I told both of you to stay in the bedroom," I said, turning to face them.
Isolde leaned against the doorframe, her knees shaking slightly from using her shadow magic. "And leave you to fight a mountain of tin alone? Don’t be ungrateful, Voss."
Seraphina’s strength gave out, her legs buckling beneath her weight.
I moved instantly, catching her around the waist before she touched the floor. Her wet golden blonde hair spilled over my arm, her chest pressing firmly against mine as I lifted her into my arms.
"Your leg nerves are still healing, Seraphina," I said, looking straight into her eyes. "Don’t force yourself."
"I heard the iron clashing," she murmured softly, her hands gripping my shirt collar tight. Her skin was warm, and her heart beat fast against my chest. "I thought... I thought more of them found us."
"Nobody is taking you," I told her firmly.
Isolde walked over, her eyes scanning my shoulders for cuts. She reached out, her cool fingers brushing over the tear in my sleeve where the brute had hit me.
"Are you injured?" she asked quietly, her sharp tongue gone, replaced by genuine concern.
"Just a bruise," I said. "My Iron Body took it."
She let out a soft breath, her hand lingering on my chest for a moment before she pulled it back, a faint blush warming her cheeks.
I carried Seraphina back into the master bedroom and set her down on the large fur mattress. Isolde followed us inside, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her.
"Rest here. I’m checking his body for orders," I said.
I returned to the ventilation room and knelt beside the dead executioner. I unbuckled his leather pouches and searched his inner tunic. Inside an oilskin pouch, I found a tactical ledger stamped with Tristan Voss’s crest.
I opened the ledger and read the fresh ink:
"Captain Varek assigned to enter keep through upper vents and eliminate targets. Main force: 100 heavy infantry under Lord Tristan Voss stationed in Oakhaven village above. Objective: If targets resist, seal air vents, burn sulfur, and smash subterranean gates."
Tristan was right above us with an entire company.
A blue system panel flared in my vision.
[Wife Investment System: Investment Logged]
Target: Seraphina Aldric & Isolde Draven
Action: Combined tactical combat defense, neutralizing elite executioner threat, and securing enemy moving in orders.
Grade: A+
Reward Granted: ’Abyssal Flame Blade Coating’ (Active Skill) & 400 System Points.
Current Balance: 2,750 System Points
I closed the system window and walked back into the bedroom, holding the ledger in my hand.
"What does it say?" Seraphina asked, raising herself up on her elbows.
"Tristan is sitting in Oakhaven village above the mountain with a hundred heavy infantrymen," I said directly. "He knows we’re down here."
Isolde’s eyes narrowed. "A hundred men? They can’t search every subterranean passage, but if they block the surface vents, they can trap us."
"They don’t know about the secret trade map we found on the study desk," I said, walking over to the bed.
I sat down on the mattress between them. I grabbed the edge of Seraphina’s linen dress and slid it up past her knees, exposing her smooth, pale thighs.
"Cassian... what are you doing?" Seraphina gasped, her cheeks turning bright red as my warm hands gripped her bare thighs.
"The curse purge left heavy blood stagnation in your lower body," I said plainly, looking into her eyes. "If I don’t work the trapped mana out of your upper legs and hips now, your legs will cramp and lock permanently."
Seraphina bit her bottom lip, her hands clutching the fur blanket tightly as my thumbs pressed deep into her thigh muscles. I worked my fingers along her inner thigh, pushing warm Abyssal mana directly into her skin to stimulate her blood flow.
"Ah... mmm..." Seraphina let out a soft, helpless moan, her hips arching off the bed. Her skin flushed hot, a thin coat of sweat glistening on her chest. "It... it feels so hot inside..."
"Hold still," I murmured, sliding my hands higher up her thigh, right near the edge of her silk undergarment, applying steady, firm pressure to the tight nerve clusters.
Seraphina trembled under my touch, her breath coming in quick, shallow gasps.
She looked up at me with heavy, wet eyes, completely surrendering to my hands.
She didn’t pull away.
Instead, she spread her knees slightly wider, letting my fingers work deeper into her inner leg.
Isolde watched us, her breathing turning shallow as she stared at my hands moving over Seraphina’s bare skin.
"Do you want me to help, Cassian?" Isolde asked, her voice dropping into a low, husky whisper. She reached out, her fingers sliding over my shoulder and down my arm until her hand rested on top of mine on Seraphina’s thigh.
"Your shadow mana can help loosen the deep core stagnation," I told Isolde.
Isolde didn’t hesitate.
She crawled closer on the mattress, her purple hair falling over her shoulders.
She raised her own silk skirt, exposing her long, slender legs, and pressed her chest against my arm.
She wrapped her fingers around my wrist, guiding my hand higher up Seraphina’s inner thigh while she used her left hand to knead the tight muscles of Seraphina’s other leg.
"Look at you, Princess," Isolde whispered playfully into Seraphina’s ear, her lips brushing her neck. "You’re trembling so hard just from his hands..."
"Be quiet, Isolde..." Seraphina rasped, her cheeks burning red, but her body relaxed into the bed. She reached out and grabbed my shirt collar, pulling my head down toward hers. "Cassian... don’t stop..."
I leaned down and pressed my lips firmly against Seraphina’s mouth.
She kissed me back with hungry, desperate passion, her tongue meeting mine as her arms wrapped around my neck.
Beside us, Isolde pressed her wet lips against the side of my throat, her breath hot against my collarbone as her hand moved along my chest.
My hands worked rhythmically over Seraphina’s warm thighs and hips, releasing the last knot of stagnant curse mana from her nerve endings. Seraphina shuddered violently in my arms, a long, breathless moan escaping her lips as her core pulsed with restored life and warmth.
A blue window flashed in my sight once more.
[Wife Investment System: Investment Logged]
Target: Seraphina Aldric & Isolde Draven
Action: Deep physical nerve rehabilitation, sensual mana circulation, and intimate dual-bonding care.
Grade: S
Reward Granted: ’Royal Bloodline Activation (Seraphina - 25%)’ & 400 System Points.
Current Balance: 2,750 System Points
Seraphina lay back on the pillows, breathing heavily, her eyes shining with pure affection as she looked up at me. Her legs were warm and completely responsive now. She flexed her toes and bent her knees easily without any pain.
"I can feel everything," Seraphina whispered, her hand resting on my cheek. "Thank you, Cassian."
Isolde rested her head against my shoulder, her fingers playing with my belt buckle. "So... what is our plan for Tristan’s army above?"
"We use the trade map," I said, setting my hands on Isolde’s waist and pulling her close.
"The underground route leads straight into Oakhaven village behind Tristan’s lines.
While his hundred soldiers watch the mountain surface, we go through the tunnels, take his supply wagons, and burn his grain stores."
"If you strip his food, his soldiers won’t stay loyal for three days," Isolde said, her eyes gleaming with cold intelligence. "A hungry mercenary army turns on its commander."
Before I could answer, a thunderous EXPLOSION shook the entire underground keep!
BOOM!
The stone ceiling cracked, raining chunks of rock and thick mortar down onto the wooden floorboards. The oil lamps flickered and died, leaving the bedroom lit only by the dying orange glow of the fireplace.
From the main stone corridor outside, the deafening crunch of heavy iron echoed through the hall - the keep’s front iron gates were being battered from the outside!
High above us, a thick, poisonous green smoke began pouring rapidly out of the ceiling ventilation grates. The harsh, choking stench of burning sulfur flooded the bedroom in seconds.
"Cough! Cough!" Isolde choked, clutching her throat as her eyes watered.
Seraphina gasped for air, her chest heaving as the toxic green gas filled the chamber.
"Tristan’s men smashed the gate locks!" I shouted, pulling both women off the bed. "They’re flooding the keep with sulfur gas to suffocate us!"
Through the green haze in the hallway outside, the sound of dozens of armored boots echoed loudly, accompanied by the clatter of iron shields and drawing swords.
Tristan’s heavy infantry was surging inside!