Protected, Acknowledgment

Thus, she didn't hesitate when she picked up a heavy glass and smashed it at the guard's head who was holding Athia down.

It hit him hard and his head started bleeding as he fell down. The other guards who saw this, angrily turned to face Iris, and aimed their swords at her.

"Hey kid! we don't have time to play with you! Scram!"

"Scram? I'm sorry, but...no." Iris gazed at them with a smile and glowing red eyes. Then, she positioned her sword and charged at them with full speed!

Azura, who didn't want to fight unless absolutely necessary, saw Iris rushing towards the enemy with the sword in hand, his eyes immediately turned dangerous.

With his prey charging straight into the face of danger, how could he just sit back and do nothing?

As such, he picked up his sword and vanished from his spot, moving past his panicked shadow guard towards Iris.

Iris ran towards one of the shadows and clashed swords with him, both of them standing on even grounds. The shadow didn't expect such strength from a young girl and was taken aback, and Iris used the element of surprise to successfully kick him on the legs.

He fell to the ground and didn't even have the time to make a sound, before he was stabbed through the chest.

Pulling her sword out, Iris ducked and avoided the swing of another shadow's sword. She aimed her swords and stabbed towards him, which he dodged and struck back. Iris blocked his attack with her sword and sent it back, using her agility and speed to strike the man's shoulder, slicing it painfully. In his moment of weakness she wanted to end him, before her senses tingled and she narrowly avoided an attack on the back from another shadow. Caught off-guard, Iris hardly managed to take on the attack with her sword, holding it horizontally against the man's own. Her sword dug into her palm, making a small stream of blood run down her fair arm.

She was already busy with one guard, the other one with the shoulder slash got up and picked his own sword.

"Damn!" Iris cursed as she saw the man pick his sword and aim it at her back. Not giving her a single moment of peace, he raised his arm and slashed!

Iris closed her eyes slightly to endure the pain, but when a few seconds passed and it didn't come, she turned around. The smell of roses assaulted her nose, and her vision was slightly

She looked back and her pupils constricted slightly. Azura was standing behind her, blocking the man's attack on her back!

He stood against her back, leaning on it and making contact with her, while his hand blocked the sword.

Iris was surprised at this, she had never, ever been protected before, in both lives. It was new feeling, to be protected by someone. It felt...strangely nice.

Azura easily warded the man off and slashed him in the stomach, as cruel as he was. He even did this all with one hand, wearing an aloof expression, which showcased his unimaginable strength easily.

Iris broke free from her trance of being protected. She threw off the man on her and sliced him back, tearing through his chest.

Although she felt kind of happy to be saved, she wasn't a weak girl who stood behind others for protection. She could at the very least protect herself.

After the last guard had left her, Athia looked at Iris and Azura killing the guards, her emotions turbulent. She got up from the ground.

Just then, Azer who had been watching from the sidelines with no intention of helping Iris at all, called out to her.

"Athia, come quickly!"

Athia looked at Iris, who signaled her to go back. Her eyes looked blank and distant, not fazed by Azer's lack of care.

Seeing that more people were coming over and knowing that she would only be a burden if she stayed, Athia shot one last glance at Iris and ran over to her father.

After she left, Iris looked at Azura. He was looking at her with his unfathomable eyes, looking dangerous and demanding. She didn't know what to say, so she nodded at him and ran to take on the other guards.

Azura started to follow suit slowly, noticing her lack of regard for him, and slowly planning to fix that.

It wasn't that strong yet but when he chose a prey, anything and everything about her would belong to him. Every emotion, every action, everything was his. As such, Iris was someone he had to force to submit to him, not by gruesome means. He would tame her, until her world revolved around him.

She would make her tell him everything about her, her every secret, everything that made her such an interesting prey.

Just as he was thinking such things, Iris had already slashed down a big bunch of assassins. One after another, she cut them with agility and precision. Her defense was perfect, and her offence was unavoidable. She was like a beast, cutting down anyone and everyone near her with those blank red eyes. Bathed in blood, as if this was just a common occurrence to her, as if she had experienced way worse before.

Azura smiled more. He had to acknowledge her strength. Her willpower and everything that made her so similar to him, he admired them. This was his first time ever acknowledging someone, but it just bought a deeper desire to conquer. His feeling, they were ones that wanted absolute submission. He...wanted to conquer her.

He picked up the pace and started his own mayhem of killing. In just a moment, every guard was dead, at a speed thrice as much as Iris. Yet unlike the blood drenched Iris, not a single drop of blood made it's way into his clothes.

His every strike had been a brutal, painful one. He let his enemies taste the feeling of wanting to die but can't, before he killed them.

This was Azura, the feared prince of darkness. The ruthless and unbeatable killer.

Iris looked at his figure in the heap of corpses, elegant and aloof as always. He turned to glance at her aloofly without much reaction, and left the banquet as the guards approached the dead assassins.

She silently made a note in her heart not to bother with him much, until his assassination. He was the most aloof and I-don't-give-a-damn person she had ever seen. He seemed to have ignored her after saving her, showing that he didn't have much interest in her. Yet if she truly angered him, there would be hell to pay.

She had a feeling he wouldn't care even if the world ended, he would hold up the falling skies. She had unknowingly started to respect him a little.