Night Knight.

"Who are you?!"

With a sharp swish, the legion commander drew the sword at his waist. Four guards stationed outside the tent heard the commotion and rushed in at once.

"What kind of vile sorcery is this old man using?!"

Inaya cursed as she hurled lightning with one hand and a burst of fire with the other. Though the red-robed elder blocked both attacks with a magical barrier, the tent was instantly filled with smoke and chaos—exactly the effect she had wanted.

"Stop her!!"

The commander's voice thundered through the thick haze. But just as the four guards recovered from their surprise, a blur darted past them. By the time they realized it was the intruder, Inaya had already shifted back into the form of a black cat and slipped into the ranks of soldiers rushing toward the sound.

"Where is she? Did you catch her?"

The commander pushed through the smoke to the entrance. But aside from his four bewildered guards, there was no one there. He knew—the intruder had escaped.

"No matter. She hasn't gone far."

The red-robed elder walked slowly up beside him. Raising his staff, he tapped it against the ground, and glowing runes leapt out, floating around it. The commander, puzzled, watched curiously. The elder noticed his confusion and explained:

"I have sent a signal to the Sevars. They will seal the camp completely."

"Good. Then I'll have my men drag the intruder out."

"Be wary—she wields shapeshifting magic!"

The commander gave a respectful nod to the warning and hurried out. Outside, he immediately encountered reinforcements—soldiers and officers who had come at the noise. He gave them a brief account of what had happened inside, then swiftly mobilized them to search the camp and relay his orders.

"This old man's troublesome…"

Inaya, having shifted forms several times, was now disguised as a laborer, scrubbing a basin stained with animal blood.

She still didn't know how the red-robed elder had detected her, and that soul-piercing spell of his had shaken her badly. In decades of experience, she had never seen anything like it. She had also felt the signal the elder had sent to the Sevars—it carried some sort of information, and soon enough, she understood its meaning.

From the Red Robes' quarter came a violent surge of magic, like a stone cast into still water, sending ripples and waves that any magic-user could sense. It was undoubtedly from the so-called Gus Sacred Pillar, conjuring an enormous barrier that slowly expanded until it enveloped the entire camp.

Getting out now would be difficult—but Inaya, a veteran assassin, was not so easily trapped.

On the main road nearby, a squad of soldiers marched quickly, some breaking off into side paths to rouse the men in every tent with the commander's order to search. Such patrols spread through the camp, and soon almost every soldier was mobilized. Yet the greater the chaos, the more it worked to Inaya's advantage. Evidently, even the elder had little direct experience dealing with a shapeshifting assassin.

Choosing her moment, Inaya altered her guise once more and blended into the soldiers. She moved toward the camp's edge, where the magical barrier shimmered unseen but tangible. Testing it with her hand, she recalled Otto's words about heavy cannons failing to breach it. Whatever those cannons were, the barrier's strength was undeniable. No spell she knew could break it. Inevitably, her thoughts returned to the stone pillar in the Red Robes' quarter. That was the source of the magic. If she could disrupt their chanting—or destroy the pillar itself—the barrier might fall.

Returning to the quarter, she found it reinforced just as she expected. That only confirmed it was the weak point.

This time, she transformed again—into the very likeness of the red-robed elder. Before setting off, she even checked her reflection in a small mirror, perfecting every detail. Ready, she strode confidently to the guarded tent.

"Lord Priest, you're here."

The sentries showed no surprise, exactly as she had hoped. All she needed was to keep playing the part.

"Yes. Carry on with your duty."

Imitating the elder's voice and manner, she dismissed them casually and stepped inside.

"My lord!"

After only a few steps, one guard called her back. Instinct told her trouble was coming—likely some passphrase.

"You instructed me…"

The guard hesitated, clearly uncertain.

"Ah, right—the password…"

At that, the guard relaxed visibly.

"I forgot."

"?"

The answer was so absurd the guard didn't register its meaning at first. Then, even more absurdly, the "priest" suddenly sprang up with unexpected agility, both feet slamming into his chestplate and sending him crashing to the ground.

"Seize him!"

Struggling to rise, the guard realized too late that this was no priest but the intruder. His comrades, still reeling from the sight of their officer being kicked by a priest, reacted only when he shouted again:

"She's the intruder! A shapeshifting assassin!"

At last the guards understood, raising spears and storming inside. But they were too late. Inaya's fireburst had already thrown the chanting Red Robes into chaos.

Those scorched scrambled to tear off burning robes, while the unharmed searched wildly for the source or tried to aid their comrades. Some finally noticed her—but wasn't that… the priest?

With her objective accomplished, Inaya hurled one last fireburst into the opposite wall of the tent. Flames spread fast. She dashed forward, cutting through the confusion, breaking through fire and sparks, and burst out into the open.

The round tent was ringed with guards, yet they remained at their posts—unmoving without orders. That hardly slowed her. With swift steps she slipped past their backs, vanished into the rows of tents, and within moments shifted back into a black cat, leaving the chaos behind.

"What happened?"

The commander stared upward as the barrier dissolved, fragments of light drifting away. He turned to the priest, who had felt the faint magical disturbance at the Gus Sacred Pillar. He knew: once that spot was compromised, no barrier could hold such a cunning infiltrator.

"When I studied in the Holy Kingdom, I heard tales of their kind. It seems the rumors were not exaggerated."

He ignored the commander's confusion, speaking only to himself as he watched the shattered barrier.

"You mean… the shapeshifting assassin?"

The commander pressed.

"A band of apostates—corrupted souls who have forsaken the Holy God."