The butler's eyes finally caught the figure in the shadows just as the young teenager stepped forward and gave them both a long look.
Recognition flashed across the butler's face as he gasped.
"Young master Nigel?"
Nigel didn't answer. His gaze never left Melissa, and in the next instant, he lunged toward her with mana flaring violently around him.
The air cracked under the force of his swing. Melissa barely managed to raise her sword in time to deflect the first blow, her boots skidding across the marble floor from the impact.
The pressure of his aura alone made her legs feel like lead.
The butler stumbled backward in panic, unable to interfere.
Nigel moved with lethal precision. His strikes were relentless, each heavier than the last, and Melissa could feel herself being overwhelmed.
Her arms trembled from the force, muscles straining as she tried to hold her ground.