Upon us

In the Jasim mansion, Rashid and two of his sons, Majeed and Nasim, were walking within the mansion. After they had received news of the incoming army, Rashid knew they had been betrayed, and some of his men were probably with the enemy. He gritted his teeth in frustration and could only prepare with Ramon.

He told his earlier guard to gather all the men he knew he could trust and was prepared to repel any attack that came. Still, he didn't feel at ease. He turned to his second son, Nasim, and spoke.

"Nasim, take the men you trust and have them stationed at the gates. We don't know how many traitors we have in our midst," Rashid said. "Hold the gates and make sure no one gets through," Rashid told his second son.

"Yes, Father."

Nasim left, leaving Rashid alone with Majeed.

"I can't believe the traitor was able to get those men to enter. It's seems it someone closer than I thought"

As he was thinking this, he felt a sharp object approaching from the corner of his eye. Rashid was only able to dodge in the nick of time but not unscathed. The knife had stabbed his shoulder instead of his heart.

"What the hell are you doing, Majeed?" Rashid asked as the Majeed doll almost stabbed him.

"Don't tell me…" The doll raised its sword and was about to deliver the final blow when Ramon came and blocked the attack.

The Majeed doll pressed down on Ramon, but Ramon didn't budge.

"Retract your weapon, young master. It's pointless to go against me," Ramon said calmly.

The Majeed doll didn't reply and was only focused on killing Rashid. Ramon stared at the Majeed doll, and after a while, he frowned.

"I see…" he said calmly.

In a swift movement, Ramon cut down the Majeed doll.

"No!!" Rashid screamed at Ramon. "What are you doing?" he said as the doll fell.

Rashid thought Ramon had just killed his son and was about to question Ramon's actions when the Majeed doll suddenly turned to mud. Rashid blinked for a while, trying to make sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him.

"What in Fate's name is that? What happened to my son?" Rashid asked.

"It seems the young Lord had been replaced by a doll," Ramon replied. "I've seen such a thing before. It is said to belong to Dylan of Eru, one of its pillars. His dolls can copy the image of anyone they draw blood from," Ramon explained.

"So where is my son, and how long has he been replaced?"

"I don't know where the young Lord is, and as for how long he has been replaced, it couldn't have been more than two days ago. I would have noticed if it was longer," Ramon said.

Rashid gritted his teeth in anger. Nothing was going according to plan. Hadia had made their way into his city, his son was missing, and who knows if his wife and his other two children had escaped successfully.

"I thought the battle coming at Amresh/Sworis would give me more time. Turns out I was wrong."

As he was thinking this, one of his soldiers suddenly came.

"My lord, the gate has been breached. Some men suddenly turned on the others and started killing everyone. Lord Nasim is trying his best to hold them, but he can't hold on for long."

Rashid faced Ramon. "How long are Lord Karkal's men from here?"

"About ten minutes," Ramon replied.

"How long can you hold them off with the available men?" Rashid asked.

"As long as necessary," Ramon replied.

As they were talking, the guard who had brought the message thought Ramon was too distracted to notice he was about to attack Rashid. Immediately, he took a step forward, but Ramon's sword had already cut him down.

"Go and help Nasim. I'll be fine. Hold out for as long as possible. We have to win this, no matter what," Rashid said.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan for Meliesse and her allies. They had successfully invaded the mansion with her men, with the help of those loyal to Majeed. Meliesse walked among the men and stood in front of them. She saw ten men standing in their way, stopping them from moving forward. She examined each of them with a piercing gaze.

She stared at the one who seemed to be the leader. He was wearing fancy purple armor, probably made of a higher-tier crystal, and his sword was also of high quality.

"Oh, you must be Lord Rashid's second son. Your brother told me a lot about you. He said you were quite proficient with the sword. Turns out he wasn't lying," Meliesse said, pointing to the men lying dead on the floor.

When Nasim heard what Meliesse said, he frowned.

"So that bastard is the traitor, huh? I guess his cowardice knows no bounds. I'll personally send him to hell, but that will be after I send you there first," Nasim replied.

"Hahaha!" Meliesse let out a loud laugh. "Hell? What do you know about hell? Let me show you."

Meliesse stared deep into the young man's soul. A few seconds later, Nasim found himself in an unfamiliar location.

"What is going on here?" he thought.

"Welcome," Meliesse said as she appeared behind him and held him in a chokehold. Nasim tried to leave her grasp but realized it was futile. His soul was not as powerful as Meliesse's.

She brought her lips closer to his ear and spoke, "You are going to live in hell for the rest of your life, Lord Nasim." Meliesse said before breaking Nasim's neck in one fluid movement.

The young lord fell lifeless in the soulscape and also in the waking world. Everyone around stared at Meliesse in shock. She had not moved from her spot, but somehow, she had caused the young lord to collapse. The rest of the men saw this and surrendered immediately.

"Let's find Lord Rashid and end this charade," Meliesse said, and her men proceeded.

Immediately, they started moving. Another man blocked their way with nothing more than thirty men.

"Oh, Ramon… it's nice of you to finally join the party," Meliesse said immediately when she saw him.

Everyone who recognized Rashid's personal guard took a step back instinctively.

"Where is Lord Nasim?" Ramon asked.

"Oh, him? He's in hell," Meliesse replied with a smile.

Immediately after hearing Meliesse's reply, Ramon disappeared from his previous spot and attacked her. Meliesse didn't falter and blocked the attack with two short knives.