Hidden Agenda

Before Elizabeth could respond, one of her pupils, furious at the insinuation, couldn't contain her anger. Her voice rang out, defiant and protective.

"My Lady said what she believed to be true, for His Highness!" he spat, his eyes burning with indignation. "We don't care if some lunatic can't grasp her words and twists them for his own purposes!"

The man's eyes flashed with amusement as he turned his gaze to the irate pupil. "Insolent," he muttered, his voice heavy with disdain. "Who are you, that you would show such disrespect to your superiors?"

Without missing a beat, he rose to his full height, his presence commanding. "Come here," he ordered, his tone like the crack of a whip. "Kneel before me and apologize."

A cruel smile spread across his face, his eyes glinting with a wicked delight as he savored the moment. "Perhaps your leadership will personally share the burden of your insolence," he added, his words dripping with sarcasm, relishing the trap he had set.

Lady Elizabeth, who had remained calm and composed throughout the exchange, now felt a deep surge of disdain for the lunatic who dared to exploit her pure disciple.

Her thoughts simmered with quiet fury, but before she could voice her contempt, a cold chilling voice cut through the tension of the battlefield.

A voice that was unmistakable, one that carried both authority and sharpness, rang out with unwavering clarity.

"When did the animals of the Secret Order become so bold as to play their tricks on us, the Knowledge Keepers?"

The voice that had spoken was no mere mortal's; it was eternal, majestic, a sound that seemed to echo through the fabric of existence itself. It defied the very laws of nature, and in its presence, there was no force that could stand against it. Every soul in the battlefield, even those who had once been certain of their own power, now felt the crushing weight of their insignificance.

The words reverberated across the battlefield like a thunderclap, and in an instant, a crushing weight seemed to descend upon the members of the Secret Order. One by one, they dropped to their knees, as if the very air around them had thickened, pressing them into the earth.

"Ahhh..." A voice trembled in disbelief as the leader of the Secret Order recoiled. "That woman… when did she arrive here?"

A cold chill ran through the air, and the battlefield seemed to hold its breath as the unmistakable figure of their greatest rival made her presence known, her power undeniable.

Suddenly, a woman materialized from the clouds, her figure shrouded in an ethereal mist that made her appearance seem almost otherworldly.

Her features were concealed, but the air around her shimmered with an undeniable aura of power.

She nodded toward Elizabeth, a silent acknowledgment that they had an understanding, a shared purpose that had long been set into motion.

Without hesitation, Elizabeth took a step forward, her presence calm yet purposeful. She moved slowly, deliberately, toward the kneeling figure of the Secret Order member, her gaze unwavering.

When she stopped before him, she lowered herself just slightly, matching his height.

With one hand, she gripped his hair firmly, forcing his head back, and with the other, she cupped his cheek with surprising strength, her touch like steel masked in velvet.

The man's voice broke the silence, growing more frantic and filled with rage as the pain intensified.

The sound of cracking bones echoed around them as his body writhed in agony under her grasp, each movement an excruciating reminder of his helplessness.

But it didn't end there. With a chilling calmness, Elizabeth placed her hand over his mouth, gripping his jaw with an unnatural strength, and slowly forcefully dragged his tongue from his mouth.

Blood sprayed in every direction, a grotesque display of the violence and humiliation he now suffered. His breath came in ragged gasps, his body trembling, but he could do nothing to stop it.

It was not that he couldn't regrow his tongue; it was the humiliation the utter defeat that would haunt him forever.

The image of his own powerlessness would never fade from his mind. The pain, the loss of his dignity, would remain a scar far deeper than any wound.

As the scene unfolded, every onlooker whether from the Geomancers, Necrologists, or the Knowledge Keepers—could not help but tremble in the face of the raw power they had just witnessed.

A mixture of envy and horror gripped their hearts.

Envy, because they too, belonged to powerful figures but none wielded influence or strength like the woman who had just intervened.

Horror, because they had not dared speak disrespectfully to Elizabeth or her companion, now fully aware of the perilous consequences of underestimating them.

And just as swiftly as it had all begun, the duo vanished into the ether, disappearing with a force that seemed to bend the very air around them.

As the sorcerers watched in stunned silence, the remaining members of the Knowledge Keepers, an esteemed group of female scholars, began to vanish into thin air. One by one, they dissolved into nothingness, their presence erased before the very eyes of the onlookers.

It was clear to all who observed that the power which had propelled their departure belonged to the same ethereal voice that had resonated earlier—calm, yet filled with an undeniable command.

However, the sorcerous leaders present didn't share the same bewilderment.

With eyes narrowed in discernment, they sensed that the Secret Order's sudden commotion concealed a hidden agenda.

Their intuition whispered that there was more to the mysterious disappearances than met the eye.

Despite their instincts, the sorcerous leaders knew they had to prioritize one thing: reporting the demise of their organization's members.

No one had the luxury to engage in a game with the Secret Order; the stakes were too high, and the urgency too great.

As the last of the Knowledge Keepers vanished, secret order leader's expression transformed, a subtle yet sinister smile spreading across his face.

A flicker of relief danced in his eyes, betraying a sense of satisfaction, he had accomplished his objective in coming here.

Then, in a bizarre echo of the Knowledge Keepers' disappearance, the Secret Order members began to vanish one by one, their leader among them.

The air seemed to swallow them whole, leaving behind only an unsettling sense of unease.